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101-459: Ekallatum, whose name means "the palaces," became the capital of an Amorite dynasty related to Babylon , which was important in the 19th and 18th centuries BCE period. The history of upper Mesopotamia in this period is documented in the archives of Mari, Syria . It was known to have been on the Tigris river , though which bank is still in some dispute, and in the general vicinity of Assur. The gods of

202-740: A Hurrian minority, found that the inhabitants of Alalakh were a mixture of Copper age Levantines and Mesopotamians, and were genetically similar to contemporaneous Levantines. The view that Amorites were fierce and tall nomads led to an anachronistic theory among some racialist writers in the 19th century that they were a tribe of " Aryan " warriors, who at one point dominated the Israelites. This belief, which originated with Felix von Luschan , fit models of Indo-European migrations posited during his time, but Luschan later abandoned that theory. Houston Stewart Chamberlain claims that King David and Jesus were both Aryans of Amorite extraction. The argument

303-672: A 270-kilometre (170 mi) wall from the Tigris to the Euphrates to hold them off. The Amorites are depicted in contemporary records as nomadic tribes under chiefs, who forced themselves into lands they needed to graze their herds. Some of the Akkadian literature of this era speaks disparagingly of the Amorites and implies that the Akkadian- and Sumerian-speakers of Mesopotamia viewed their nomadic and primitive way of life with disgust and contempt. In

404-448: A capable military leader, but when his father died in around 1775, he proved unable to maintain the whole kingdom; nonetheless, he kept Ekallatum, while his brother lost Mari and was killed. The reign of Ishme-Dagan was chaotic, often being involved in military conflict with Nurrugum (location unknown). Unable to restore power to the city despite his many attempts, he was the target of nearby warlords, in particular, Zimrilim of Mari. When

505-501: A central mound, but no temple or palace has been unearthed there. A large building was however excavated (with dimensions of 32 m x 25 m), seemingly with an administrative function. It had stone foundations and rooms up to 12 meters long and 6 meters wide. The city was abandoned c. 2550 BC at the end of the Early Dynastic period II , for unknown reasons. Around the beginning of Early Dynastic period III (earlier than 2500 BC) Mari

606-537: A climax when the Eblaite vizier Ibbi-Sipish made an alliance with Nagar and Kish to defeat Mari in a battle near Terqa . Ebla itself suffered its first destruction a few years after Terqa in c. 2300 BC, during the reign of the Mariote king Hidar . According to Alfonso Archi  [ de ] , Hidar was succeeded by Ishqi-Mari whose royal seal was discovered. It depicts battle scenes, causing Archi to suggest that he

707-521: A days journey of Assur, most likely at Tell Haikal (Tulul el-Haikal) (East: 43.272797 / North: 35.597384), 15 kilometers north of Assur on the East bank of the Tigris. More recently some researchers have discounted this location and instead suggested Tell Akra twenty kilometers east of Assur, also on the East bank of the Tigris. Recently, the site of Tell Ḥuwaish (also Tal al-Huwaish), 18 kilometers north of Assur on

808-522: A dispute over the city of Hīt that consumed much time in negotiations, during which a war against Elam involved both kingdoms in c. 1765 BC. Finally, the kingdom was invaded by Hammurabi who defeated Zimri-Lim in battle in c. 1761 BC and ended the Lim dynasty, while Terqa became the capital of a rump state named the Kingdom of Hana . In the south, the region of Suhum became a Babylonian province. Mari survived

909-462: A long war, and conquering many of Ebla's cities, including the land of Belan . The next king mentioned in the letter is Saʿumu , who conquered the lands of Ra'ak and Nirum . King Kun-Damu of Ebla defeated Mari in the middle of the 25th century BC. The war continued with Išhtup-Išar of Mari's conquest of Emar at a time of Eblaite weakness in the mid-24th century BC. King Igrish-Halam of Ebla had to pay tribute to Iblul-Il of Mari, who

1010-514: A royal inscription defeating a coalition of Sumerian cities and Amorites near Jebel Bishri in northern Syria c.  2240 BC. His successor, Shar-Kali-Sharri , recorded in one of his year names "In the year in which Szarkaliszarri was victorious over Amurru in the [Jebel Bishri]". By the time of the last days of the Third Dynasty of Ur , the immigrating Amorites had become such a force that kings such as Shu-Sin were obliged to construct

1111-478: A series of military victories by Shamshi-Adad followed, and he seized all of Upper Mesopotamia, founding what historians now call the Kingdom of Upper Mesopotamia. The campaign included the annexing of nearby Assur. He founded his own capital at Shubat-Enlil , entrusting Ekallatum to his elder son Ishme-Dagan I . (His other son, Yasmah-Adad , was placed on the throne of Mari at the time.) Ishme-Dagan appears to have been

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1212-618: A short time after his enthronement in c. 1776 BC. Zimri-Lim's ascension to the throne with the help of Yarim-Lim I affected Mari's status, Zimri-Lim referred to Yarim-Lim as his father, and the Yamhadite king was able to order Mari as the mediator between Yamhad's main deity Hadad and Zimri-Lim, who declared himself a servant of Hadad. Zimri-Lim started his reign with a campaign against the Yaminites , he also established alliances with Eshnunna and Hammurabi of Babylon , and sent his armies to aid

1313-596: A short time before it was destroyed by Babylonia in c. 1761 BC, but it survived as a small settlement under the rule of the Babylonians and the Assyrians before being abandoned and forgotten during the Hellenistic period . The Mariotes worshiped both Semitic and Sumerian deities and established their city as a major trading center. Although the pre-Amorite periods were characterized by heavy Sumerian cultural influence, Mari

1414-436: A small settlement until the Hellenistic period before disappearing from records. By 2015, ISIS devastated and looted systematically the site and specially the royal palace . It was one of the first archaeological sites to be occupied by this group. The founders of the first city may have been Sumerians or more probably East Semitic speaking people from Terqa in the north. I. J. Gelb relates Mari's foundation with

1515-452: A sometime ally, sometime enemy of Dadusha of Eshnunna (whose second year name was "Year in which Dadusza defeated the army of Ekallatum") in regional conflicts. His expansion was halted by Iagitlim's son, Iakhdunlim , and he was soon after defeated by Naram-Sin of Eshnunna , brother and successor of Dadusha, which caused him to flee to Babylon , a city founded and ruled by fellow Amorites. He returned upon Naram-Sin's death. Soon thereafter,

1616-453: A tablet found in Mari, Yaggid-Lim who survived Ila-kabkabu was killed by his servants. However, in c. 1820 BC Yahdun-Lim was firmly in control as king of Mari. Yahdun-Lim started his reign by subduing seven of his rebelling tribal leaders, and rebuilding the walls of Mari and Terqa in addition to building a new fort which he named Dur-Yahdun-Lim. He then expanded west and claimed to have reached

1717-431: Is buried deep under later layers of habitation. A circular flood embankment was unearthed, containing an area 300 meters in length for gardens and craftsmen's quarters, and a defensive circular internal rampart 6.7 m thick and 8 to 10 meters high, strengthened by defensive towers. Other findings include one of the city gates, a street beginning at the center and ending at the gate, and residential houses. Mari had

1818-411: Is clothed in sack-leather ... , lives in a tent, exposed to wind and rain, and cannot properly recite prayers. He lives in the mountains and ignores the places of gods, digs up truffles in the foothills, does not know how to bend the knee (in prayer), and eats raw flesh. He has no house during his life, and when he dies he will not be carried to a burial-place. My girlfriend, why would you marry Martu? As

1919-610: Is described as the last "of the remnant of the Rephaim " ( Deut 3:11 ). The terms Amorite and Canaanite seem to be used more or less interchangeably, but sometimes Amorite refers to a specific tribe living in Canaan. The Biblical Amorites seem to have originally occupied the region stretching from the heights west of the Dead Sea ( Gen. 14:7 ) to Hebron ( Gen. 13:8; Deut. 3:8; 4:46–48 ), embracing "all Gilead and all Bashan " ( Deut. 3:10 ), with

2020-504: Is mentioned in the letter, conquering many of Ebla's cities and campaigning in the Burman region. Enna-Dagan also received tribute; his reign fell entirely within the reign of Irkab-Damu of Ebla, who managed to defeat Mari and end the tribute. Mari defeated Ebla's ally Nagar in year seven of the Eblaite vizier Ibrium 's term, causing the blockage of trade routes between Ebla and southern Mesopotamia via upper Mesopotamia. The war reached

2121-557: Is mentioned that in the days of Samuel , there was peace between them and the Israelites ( 1 Sam. 7:14 ). The Gibeonites were said to be their descendants, being an offshoot of the Amorites who made a covenant with the Hebrews ( 2 Samuel 21:2 ). When Saul later broke that vow and killed some of the Gibeonites, God is said to have sent a famine to Israel ( 2 Samuel 21:1 ). In 2017, Philippe Bohstrom of Haaretz observed similarities between

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2222-510: Is not thought to represent a full Amorite pantheon, as it does not include important members such as the sun and weather deities. The term Amorites is used in the Bible to refers to certain highlanders who inhabited the land of Canaan , described in Genesis as descendants of Canaan, the son of Ham ( Gen. 10:16 ). This aligns with Akkadian and Babylonian traditions that equate Syro-Palestine with

2323-662: The Ahlamu during the Late Bronze Age collapse . The Arameans rose to be the prominent group amongst the Ahlamu. From c. 1200 BC onward, the Amorites disappeared from the pages of history, but the name reappeared in the Hebrew Bible . The language was first attested in the 21st–20th centuries BC and was found to be closely related to the Canaanite , Aramaic and Sam'alian languages. In

2424-562: The Amorite language became the dominant tongue, Akkadian remained the language of writing. The pastoral Amorites in Mari were called the Haneans , a term that indicate nomads in general, those Haneans were split into the Yaminites (sons of the south) and Sim'alites (sons of the north), with the ruling house belonging to the Sim'al branch. The kingdom was also a home to tribes of Suteans who lived in

2525-547: The Eblaite kingdom and the Levant in the west. Mari was first abandoned in the middle of the 26th century BC but was rebuilt and became the capital of a hegemonic East Semitic state before 2500 BC. This second Mari engaged in a long war with its rival Ebla and is known for its strong affinity with Sumerian culture. It was destroyed in the 23rd century BC by the Akkadians , who allowed

2626-570: The Elamites took Ekallatum in 1765, he sought refuge with his traditional ally -- Hammurabi of Babylon—who helped him take back the throne. His time at Babylon may have been more in the way of captive than ally given: "About the news on Išme-Dagan coming up to Ekallatum that my lord keeps hearing: he certainly did not [go up] to Ekallatum. Matters concerning him have happened, and they (people in Babylon?) started getting after him. The respondent (āpilum) of

2727-695: The Hebrew Bible as inhabitants of Canaan both before and after the conquest of the land under Joshua . It is thought that terms like mar.tu were used to represent what we now call the Amorites: In two Sumerian literary compositions written long afterward in the Old Babylonian period, Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta and Lugalbanda and the Anzu Bird , the Early Dynastic ruler of Uruk Enmerkar (listed in

2828-527: The Jerusalem region, and the Jebusites may have been a subgroup of them ( Ezek. 16:3 ). The southern slopes of the mountains of Judea are called the "mount of the Amorites" ( Deut. 1:7, 19, 20 ). The Book of Joshua states the five kings of the Amorites were first defeated with great slaughter by Joshua ( Josh. 10:5 ). Then, more Amorite kings were defeated at the waters of Merom by Joshua ( Josh. 11:8 ). It

2929-524: The Jordan Valley on the east of the river ( Deut. 4:49 ), the land of the "two kings of the Amorites", Sihon and Og ( Deut. 31:4 and Joshua 2:10; 9:10 ). Sihon and Og were independent kings whose people were displaced from their land in battle with the Israelites ( Numbers 21:21–35 )—though in the case of the war led by Og/Bashan it appears none of them survived, and the land became part of Israel ( Numbers 21:35 ). The Amorites seem to have been linked to

3030-611: The Kassite dynasty under the name of Karduniaš around 1595 BC. In far southern Mesopotamia, the native First Sealand dynasty had reigned over the Mesopotamian Marshes region until the Kassites brought the region under their control. In northern Mesopotamia , the power vacuum left by the Amorites brought the rise of the Mitanni (Ḫanigalbat) c. 1600 BC. From the 15th century BC onward,

3131-610: The Kish civilization , which was a cultural entity of East Semitic speaking populations, that stretched from the center of Mesopotamia to Ebla in the western Levant. At its height, the second city was the home of about 40,000 people. This population was East-Semitic speaking one, and used a dialect much similar to the language of Ebla (the Eblaite language ), while the Shakkanakku period had an East-Semitic Akkadian speaking population. West Semitic names started to be attested in Mari from

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3232-611: The Mediterranean , however he later had to face a rebellion by the Yaminite nomads who were centered at Tuttul , and the rebels were supported by Yamhad 's king Sumu-Epuh , whose interests were threatened by the recently established alliance between Yahdun-Lim and Eshnunna . Yahdun-Lim defeated the Yaminites but an open war with Yamhad was avoided, as the Mariote king became occupied by his rivalry with Shamshi-Adad I of Shubat-Enlil ,

3333-591: The Mediterranean Sea , the Arabian Peninsula included. The most common view is that the "homeland" of the Amorites was a limited area in central Syria identified with the mountainous region of Jebel Bishri . The Amorites are regarded as one of the ancient Semitic-speaking peoples . Ancient DNA analysis on 28 human remains dating to the Middle and Late Bronze Age from ancient Alalakh , an Amorite city with

3434-706: The National Museum of Damascus , and the Deir ez-Zor Museum . In the latter, the southern façade of the Court of the Palms room from Zimri-Lim's palace has been reconstructed, including the wall paintings. Mari has been excavated in annual campaigns in 1933–1939, 1951–1956, and since 1960. André Parrot conducted the first 21 seasons up to 1974, and was followed by Jean-Claude Margueron  [ fr ] (1979–2004), and Pascal Butterlin (starting in 2005). A journal devoted to

3535-695: The Old Babylonian Empire . They also founded the Fourteenth Dynasty of Egypt during the fragmented era of the Second Intermediate Period in the Nile Delta , which was characterized by rulers bearing Amorite names such as Yakbim Sekhaenre , and were likely part of the later Hyksos . The term Amurru in Akkadian and Sumerian texts refers to the Amorites, their principal deity , and an Amorite kingdom . The Amorites are mentioned in

3636-583: The Sumerian King List ) mentions "the land of the mar.tu ". It is not known to what extent these reflect historical facts. There are also sparse mentions about Amorites (often as MAR-DU ) in tablets from the East Semitic -speaking kingdom of Ebla , dating from 2500 BC to the destruction of the city in c.  2250 BC. From the perspective of the Eblaites, the Amorites were a rural group living in

3737-600: The "land of the Amorites". They are described as a powerful people of great stature "like the height of the cedars" ( Amos 2:9 ) who had occupied the land east and west of the Jordan . The height and strength mentioned in Amos 2:9 has led some Christian scholars, including Orville J. Nave, who wrote the Nave's Topical Bible , to refer to the Amorites as "giants". In Deuteronomy , the Amorite king Og

3838-623: The 18th century BC at Mari Amorite scribes wrote in an Eshnunna dialect of the East Semitic Akkadian language . Since the texts contain Northwest Semitic forms, words and constructions, the Amorite language is thought to be a Northwest Semitic language. The main sources for the extremely limited extant knowledge of the Amorite language are the proper names and loanwords, not Akkadian in style, that are preserved in such texts. Amorite proper names were found throughout Mesopotamia in

3939-544: The Amorite Lim dynasty under king Yaggid-Lim . However, the epigraphical and archaeological evidences showed a high degree of continuity between the Shakkanakku and the Amorite eras. Yaggid-Lim was the ruler of Suprum before establishing himself in Mari, he entered an alliance with Ila-kabkabu of Ekallatum , but the relations between the two monarchs changed to an open war. The conflict ended with Ila-kabkabu capturing Yaggid-Lim's heir Yahdun-Lim and according to

4040-566: The Amorites and the Jews, since both historically existed as well-connected diasporic communities. He also believes that Abraham was among the Amorites who migrated to the Levant, around the same time that the Amorites conquered Ur at 1750 BC, due to his north Syrian heritage and shepherding-based lifestyles. Nonetheless, the Biblical authors only applied the Amorite ethnonym to the pre-Israelite inhabitants of

4141-456: The Amorites were also part. Based on temple architecture, Manfred Bietak argues for strong parallels between the religious practices of the Hyksos at Avaris with those of the area around Byblos , Ugarit , Alalakh and Tell Brak and defines the "spiritual home" of the Hyksos as "in northernmost Syria and northern Mesopotamia", areas typically associated with Amorites at the time. In 1650 BC,

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4242-472: The Babylonians. The new king directed his expansion policy toward the north in the Upper Khabur region, which was named Idamaraz  [ ca ] , where he subjugated the local petty kingdoms in the region such as Urkesh , and Talhayum  [ ca ] , forcing them into vassalage. The expansion was met by the resistance of Qarni-Lim , the king of Andarig , whom Zimri-Lim defeated, securing

4343-784: The Elder Siamun Psusennes II Twenty-third Dynasty of Egypt Harsiese A Takelot II Pedubast I Shoshenq VI Osorkon III Takelot III Rudamun Menkheperre Ini Twenty-fourth Dynasty of Egypt Tefnakht Bakenranef ( Sargonid dynasty ) Tiglath-Pileser Shalmaneser Marduk-apla-iddina II Sargon Sennacherib Marduk-zakir-shumi II Marduk-apla-iddina II Bel-ibni Ashur-nadin-shumi Nergal-ushezib Mushezib-Marduk Esarhaddon Ashurbanipal Ashur-etil-ilani Sinsharishkun Sin-shumu-lishir Ashur-uballit II Mari, Syria Mari ( Cuneiform : 𒈠𒌷𒆠 , ma-ri , modern Tell Hariri ; Arabic : تل حريري )

4444-584: The Hyksos established the Fifteenth Dynasty of Egypt and ruled most of Lower and Middle Egypt contemporaneously with the Sixteenth and Seventeenth dynasties of Thebes during the chaotic Second Intermediate Period . In the 16th century BC, the Amorite era ended in Mesopotamia with the decline and fall of Babylon and other Amorite-ruled cities. The Kassites occupied Babylon and reconstituted it under

4545-515: The Isin ruler Ishbi-Erra , which marked the beginning of the Isin-Larsa period. After the decline of Ur III, Amorite rulers gained power in a number of Mesopotamian city-states beginning in the Isin-Larsa period and peaking in the Old Babylonian period. In the north, the Amorite ruler of Ekallatum , Shamshi-Adad I conquered Assur and formed the large, though short-lived Kingdom of Upper Mesoptamia. In

4646-494: The Khabur River at the modern location of "Khoueïltla". In a long Old Babylonian itinerary from Emar and back (portions on the tablet are lost), Ekallātum is the first stop on the northward route after Assur and the last stop before Assur on the return route. A tablet fragment was found at Tel Hazor which listed an expected trade path from Hazor to Mari and then on to Ekallatum. It has been suggested that Ekallatum lies within

4747-526: The Mariote control over the region in c. 1771 BC, and the kingdom prospered as a trading center and entered a period of relative peace. Zimri-Lim's greatest heritage was the renovation of the Royal Palace , which was expanded greatly to contain 275 rooms, exquisite artifacts such as The Goddess of the Vase statue, and a royal archive that contained thousands of tablets. The relations with Babylon worsened with

4848-596: The Mesopotamian Early Dynastic period I as a new city to control the waterways of the Euphrates trade routes connecting the Levant with the Sumerian south. The city was built about 1 to 2 kilometers from the Euphrates river to protect it from floods, and was connected to the river by an artificial canal 7 to 10 kilometers long whose route is hard to identify today. The city is difficult to excavate as it

4949-590: The Old Babylonian period, as well as places as far afield as Alalakh in Turkey and modern day Bahrain ( Dilmun ). They are also found in Egyptian records. Ugaritic is also a Northwest Semitic language and is possibly an Amorite dialect. A bilingual list of the names of ten Amorite deities alongside Akkadian counterparts from the Old Babylonian period was translated in 2022. These deities are as follows: This list

5050-478: The Sumerian myth "Marriage of Martu", written early in the 2nd millennium BC , a goddess considering marriage to the god of the Amorites is warned: Now listen, their hands are destructive and their features are those of monkeys; (An Amorite) is one who eats what (the Moon-god) Nanna forbids and does not show reverence. They never stop roaming about ..., they are an abomination to the gods' dwellings. Their ideas are confused; they cause only disturbance. (The Amorite)

5151-404: The Ur's court. The dynasty ended for unknown reasons not long before the establishment of the next dynasty, which took place in the second half of the 19th century BC. The second millennium BC in the Fertile Crescent was characterized by the expansion of the Amorites , which culminated with them dominating and ruling most of the region, including Mari which in c. 1830 BC, became the seat of

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5252-426: The art was indistinguishable from Sumerian art, so was the architectural style. Mesopotamian influence continued to affect Mari's culture during the Amorite period, which is evident in the Babylonian scribal style used in the city. However, it was less influential than the former periods and a distinct Syrian style prevailed, which is noticeable in the seals of kings, which reflect a clear Syrian origin. The society

5353-455: The burnt library of Zimri-Lim written in Akkadian from a period of 50 years between circa 1800 – 1750 BC. They give information about the kingdom, its customs, and the names of people who lived during that time. More than 3000 are letters, the remainder includes administrative, economic, and judicial texts. Almost all the tablets found were dated to the last 50 years of Mari's independence, and most have now been published. The language of

5454-431: The centralized structure of the Third Dynasty of Ur slowly collapsed, the city-states of the south such as Isin, Larsa and Eshnunna, began to reassert their former independence, and the areas in southern Mesopotamia with Amorites were no exception. Elsewhere, the armies of Elam were attacking and weakening the empire, making it vulnerable. Ur was eventually occupied by the Elamites. They remained until they were rejected by

5555-448: The city to be rebuilt and appointed a military governor ( Shakkanakku ). The governors became independent with the disintegration of the Akkadian Empire, and rebuilt the city as a regional center of the Euphrates valley. The Shakkanakkus ruled Mari until the second half of the 19th century BC, when the dynasty collapsed for unknown reasons. A short time later, Mari became the capital of the Amorite Lim dynasty. The Amorite Mari lasted only

5656-401: The city were Addu ( Hadad ), who resided in Ekallātum, and Istar of Radana, who visited the city from time to time. Its first known king was the Amorite Ila-kabkabu , who seems to have entered into a conflict with Iagitlim of Mari. His son Shamshi-Adad I ascended to the throne around 1810 BCE, continuing the conflict and attempting to extend into the valley along the Khabur River . He was

5757-415: The city who held the title Shakkanakku (military governor). Akkad kept direct control over the city, which is evident by Naram-Sin of Akkad 's appointment of two of his daughters to priestly offices in the city. The first member of the Shakkanakku dynasty on the lists is Ididish , who was appointed in c. 2266 BC. According to the lists, Ididish ruled for 60 years and was succeeded by his son=, making

5858-412: The conquests by the Akkadian Empire . Sargon of Akkad collected tribute from Mari and Elam : Sargon the King bowed down to Dagan in Tuttul . He (Dagan) gave to him (Sargon) the Upper Land: Mari, Iarmuti, and Ebla , as far as the Cedar Forest and the Silver Mountains Mari was deserted for two generations before being restored by the Akkadian king Manishtushu . A governor was appointed to govern

5959-492: The destruction and rebelled against Babylon in c. 1759 BC, causing Hammurabi to destroy the whole city. However, by an act of mercy Hammurabi may have allowed Mari to survive as a small village under Babylonian administration (according to Marc Van De Mieroop). Later, Mari became part of Assyria and was listed among the territories conquered by the Assyrian king Tukulti-Ninurta I (reigned 1243–1207 BC). Afterward, Mari constantly changed hands between Assyria and Babylon. In

6060-400: The discovery of more than 25,000 tablets explicating the state administration in the 2nd millennium BC and the nature of diplomatic relations among the political powers of the region. They also revealed the wide trading networks of the 18th century BC, which connected areas as far as Afghanistan in Southern Asia and Crete in the Mediterranean . Written in Cuneiform 𒈠𒌷𒆠 ( ma-ri ),

6161-415: The district of Terqa . Mari was an absolute monarchy, with the king controlling every aspect of the administration, helped by the scribes who played the role of administrators. During the Lim era, Mari was divided into four provinces in addition to the capital, the provincial seats were located at Terqa, Saggaratum , Qattunan and Tuttul. Each province had its own bureaucracy, the government supplied

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6262-442: The findings include a temple (Enceinte Sacrée or sacred enclosure ) dedicated to an unknown deity, a pillared throne room, and a hall with three double wood pillars leading to the temple. Six smaller temples were discovered in the city, including the temple called the Massif Rouge (unknown dedication), and temples dedicated to Ninni-Zaza  [ it ] (INANA.ZA.ZA), Ishtarat , Ishtar , Ninhursag , and Shamash . All

6363-419: The god Marduk stood in the gate of the palace and was calling out repeatedly: “Išme-Dagan will not escape the hand of Marduk. He (Marduk) ties the bundle. And he will cross the border for it.” These things he called out repeatedly in the gate of the palace, and nobody said anything to him" Subsequently, Ekallatum became a vassal city subservient to the king of Babylon Hammurabi (a year name was "Year Hammu-rabi

6464-414: The high mountains. Reasons include the polemical need to associate them with the "barbaric raw meat eating" Amorites that the Sumerians imagined them as. The authors also wanted to portray these inhabitants as having an ancient history. There are a wide range of views regarding the Amorite homeland. One extreme is the view that kur mar.tu / māt amurrim covered the whole area between the Euphrates and

6565-428: The king of Babylon Marduk-nadin-ahhe (c. 1095–1078 BC) captured Ekallātum. The Neo-Assyrian ruler Sennacherib (705–681 BC) reported that he returned the gods (their cult statues) "Adad and Shala" to Ekallātum after 418 years, claiming they had been deported by Babylonian ruler Marduk-nadin-ahhe (c. 1095–1078 BC). It was speculated by one researcher that the original name of Ekallātum was Hamazi , changed after it

6666-466: The king subjugated the land of the region of Subartu, Ekallatum, Burunda and the land of Zamlasz from the banks of the Tigris to the Sippar canal"), who came to control all of Mesopotamia. With the death of Ishme-Dagan, his son Mut-Ashkur succeeded him. He was the last known king of Ekallatum. Later Ekallātum fell under the control of the Mitanni empire and eventually fell to the Hittites under Šuppiluliuma I (1344–1322 BC). An inscription claims that

6767-441: The letter of king Enna-Dagan c. 2350 BC, which was sent to Irkab-Damu of Ebla , . In it, the Mariote king mentions his predecessors and their military achievements. However, the reading of this letter is still uncertain and many interpretations have been presented by scholars. The earliest attested king in the letter of Enna-Dagan is Ansud , who is mentioned as attacking Ebla, the traditional rival of Mari with whom it had

6868-534: The middle of the eleventh century BC, Mari became part of Hana whose king Tukulti-Mer took the title king of Mari and rebelled against Assyria, causing the Assyrian king Ashur-bel-kala (r. 1074-1056 BC) to attack the city. Mari came firmly under the authority of the Neo-Assyrian Empire , and was assigned in the first half of the 8th century BC to a certain Nergal-Erish to govern under the authority of king Adad-Nirari III (r. 810–783 BC). In c. 760 BC, Shamash-Risha-Usur , an autonomous governor ruling parts of

6969-409: The name of the city can be traced to Itūr-Mēr , an ancient storm deity of northern Mesopotamia and Syria, who was considered the tutelary deity of the city, Georges Dossin noted that the name of the city was spelled identically to that of the storm god and concluded that Mari was named after him. It is believed that Mari did not grow from a small settlement, but was founded c. 2900 BC during

7070-495: The narrow basin of the middle and upper Euphrates in northern Syria. The Eblaites used the term MAR.TU in an early time for a state and people east to Ebla (around Emar and Tuttul ), which means the name Amurru for the west is later than the name for the state or the people. For the Akkadian emperors of central Mesopotamia, mar.tu was one of the "Four Quarters" surrounding Akkad, along with Subartu (north), Sumer (south), and Elam (east). Naram-Sin of Akkad records in

7171-420: The north, northwest and west. The main trade was metals and tin from the Iranian Plateau exported west as far as Crete . Other goods included copper from Cyprus , silver from Anatolia , wood from Lebanon , gold from Egypt , olive oil, wine, and textiles, and even precious stones from modern Afghanistan . Mari was discovered in 1933, on the eastern flank of Syria, near the Iraqi border. A Bedouin tribe

7272-473: The position hereditary. The third Mari followed the second city in terms of general structure, phase P0 of the old royal palace was replaced by a new palace for the Shakkanakku. Another smaller palace was built in the eastern part of the city, and contained royal burials that date to the former periods. The ramparts were rebuilt and strengthened while the embankment was turned into a defensive wall that reached 10 meters in width. The former sacred inclosure

7373-407: The rage of his father who died in c. 1776 BC, while the armies of Yarim-Lim I of Yamhad were advancing in support of Zimri-Lim , the heir of the Lim dynasty. As Zimri-Lim advanced, a leader of the Sim'alites (Zimri-Lim's tribe) overthrew Yasmah-Adad, opening the road for Zimri-Lim who arrived a few months after Yasmah-Adad's escape, and married princess Shibtu the daughter of Yarim-Lim I

7474-476: The rest of the Lim family took refuge in Yamhad, and the annexation was officially justified by what Shamshi-Adad considered sinful acts on the side of the Lim family. To strengthen his position against his new enemy Yamhad, Shamshi-Adad married Yasmah-Adad to Betlum, the daughter of Ishi-Addu of Qatna . However, Yasmah-Adad neglected his bride causing a crisis with Qatna, and he proved to be an unable leader causing

7575-432: The second kingdom era, and by the middle Bronze-Age , the west Semitic Amorite tribes became the majority of the pastoral groups in the middle Euphrates and Khabur valleys. Amorite names started to be observed in the city toward the end of the Shakkanakku period, even among the ruling dynasty members. During the Lim era, the population became predominantly Amorite but also included Akkadian named people, and although

7676-451: The site, released in 8 volumes between 1982 and 1997, was Mari: Annales de recherches interdisciplinaires . Archaeologists have tried to determine how many layers the site descends, according to French archaeologist André Parrot, "each time a vertical probe was commenced in order to trace the site's history down to virgin soil, such important discoveries were made that horizontal digging had to be resumed." Over 25,000 tablets were found in

7777-490: The society, temples included prophets, who gave council to the king and participated in the religious festivals. The first Mari provided the oldest wheel workshop yet discovered in Syria, and was a center of bronze metallurgy . The city also contained districts devoted to smelting , dyeing , and pottery manufacture, using charcoal brought by river boats from the upper Khabur and Euphrates area. The second kingdom's economy

7878-406: The son of the late Ila-kabkabu. The war ended in a defeat for Mari, and Yahdun-Lim was assassinated in c. 1798 BC by his possible son Sumu-Yamam , who himself got assassinated two years after ascending the throne while Shamshi-Adad advanced and annexed Mari. Shamshi-Adad (r. 1809-1775 BC) appointed his son Yasmah-Adad on the throne of Mari, the new king married Yahdun-Lim's daughter, while

7979-527: The south, Babylon became the major power under the Amorite ruler Sumu-la-El and his successors, including the notable Hammurabi . Higher up the Euphrates, to the northwest, the Amorite kingdom of Mari arose, later to be destroyed by Hammurabi. Babylon itself would later be sacked by the Hittites, with its empire assumed by the Kassites . West of Mari, Yamhad ruled from its capital Halab, today's Aleppo, until it

8080-484: The streets that descended from the elevated center into the gates, ensuring the drainage of rain water. At the heart of the city, a royal palace was built that also served as a temple. Four successive architectural levels from the second kingdom's palace have been unearthed (the oldest is designated P3 , while the latest is P0 ). The last two levels are dated to the Akkadian period . The first two levels were excavated;

8181-568: The temples were located in the center of the city except for the Ishtar temple; the area between the Enceinte Sacrée and the Massif Rouge is considered to have been the administrative center of the high priest . The second kingdom appears to have been a powerful and prosperous political center, its kings held the title of Lugal , and many are attested in the city, the most important source being

8282-598: The term Amurru is usually applied to the region extending north of Canaan as far as Kadesh on the Orontes River in northern Syria. After the mid-2nd millennium BC, Syrian Amorites came under the domination of first the Hittites and, from the 14th century BC, the Middle Assyrian Empire . They then appear to have been displaced or absorbed by other semi-nomadic West Semitic -speaking peoples, known collectively as

8383-551: The texts is official Akkadian , but proper names and hints in syntax show that the common language of Mari's inhabitants was Northwest Semitic . Six of the tablets found were in the Hurrian language . Excavations stopped from 2011 as a result of the Syrian Civil War and have not restarted. The site came under the control of armed gangs and suffered large scale looting. A 2014 official report revealed that robbers were focusing on

8484-467: The upper middle Euphrates under the nominal authority of Ashur-dan III , styled himself the governor of the lands of Suhu and Mari, so did his son Ninurta-Kudurri-Usur . However, by that time, Mari was known to be located in the so-called Land of Laqe , making it unlikely that the Usur family actually controlled it, and suggesting that the title was employed out of historical reasons. The city continued as

8585-415: The use of the Shakkanakku title continued during the following Third Dynasty of Ur period. A princess of Mari married the son of king Ur-Nammu of Ur , and Mari was nominally under Ur hegemony. However, the vassalage did not impede the independence of Mari, and some Shakkanakkus used the royal title Lugal in their votive inscriptions, while using the title of Shakkanakku in their correspondence with

8686-569: The villagers with ploughs and agricultural equipments, in return for a share in the harvest. The first and second kingdoms were heavily influenced by the Sumerian south. The society was led by an urban oligarchy , and the citizens were well known for elaborate hair styles and dress. The calendar was based on a solar year divided into twelve months, and was the same calendar used in Ebla "the old Eblaite calendar". Scribes wrote in Sumerian language and

8787-589: The west bank of the Tigris, has been proposed as the location of Ekallātum. Amorite The Amorites ( / ˈ æ m ə ˌ r aɪ t s / ) were an ancient Northwest Semitic -speaking Bronze Age people from the Levant . Initially appearing in Sumerian records c. 2500 BC, they expanded and ruled most of the Levant, Mesopotamia and parts of Egypt from the 21st century BC to the late 17th century BC. The Amorites established several prominent city-states in various locations, such as Isin , Kurda , Larsa , Mari , and Ebla , and later founded Babylon and

8888-549: Was Mari's head of the Pantheon, while Mer was the patron deity. Other deities included the Semitic deities; Ishtar the goddess of fertility, Athtar , and Shamash , the Sun god who was regarded among the city most important deities, and believed to be all-knowing and all-seeing. Sumerian deities included Ninhursag, Dumuzi , Enki , Anu , and Enlil . Prophecy had an important role for

8989-498: Was a tribal one, it consisted mostly of farmers and nomads (Haneans), and in contrast to Mesopotamia, the temple had a minor role in everyday life as the power was mostly invested in the palace. Women enjoyed a relative equality to men, queen Shibtu ruled in her husband's name while he was away, and had an extensive administrative role and authority over her husband's highest officials. The Pantheon included both Sumerian and Semitic deities, and throughout most of its history, Dagan

9090-468: Was an ancient Semitic city-state in modern-day Syria . Its remains form a tell 11 kilometers north-west of Abu Kamal on the Euphrates River western bank, some 120 kilometers southeast of Deir ez-Zor . It flourished as a trade center and hegemonic state between 2900 BC and 1759 BC. The city was built in the middle of the Euphrates trade routes between Sumer in the south and

9191-444: Was an important trading partner and rival, Mari's position made it an important trading center astride the road linking the Levant and Mesopotamia. The Amorite Mari maintained the older aspects of the economy, still largely based on irrigated agriculture along the Euphrates valley. The city remained a trading center for merchants from Babylonia and other kingdoms, with goods from the south and east transported on riverboats bound for

9292-421: Was based on both agriculture and trade. It was centralized and directed through a communal organization, with grain stored in communal granaries and distributed according to social status. The organization also controlled the animal herds in the kingdom. Some groups were direct beneficiaries of the palace instead of the communal organization, including the metal and textile producers and military officials. Ebla

9393-623: Was destroyed by Ishbi-Erra of Isin after the fall of the Ur III empire. An Ekallātum is mentioned in the Old Babylonian period texts of Mari as lying to the West of the Tigris River in the Khābūr Tringle Region . One prominent researcher has suggested that the Mari texts contain two towns named Ekallātum, one on the Tigris and one which was Shamsi-Adad's capital at the headwater of a tributary of

9494-522: Was destroyed by the Hittites in 16th century BC. The city of Ebla , under the control of Yamhad in this period, also had Amorite rulership. There is thought to have been an Amorite presence in Egypt from the 19th century BC. The Fourteenth Dynasty of Egypt , centred in the Nile Delta , had rulers bearing Amorite names such as Yakbim . Furthermore, increasing evidence suggests that the succeeding Hyksos of Egypt were an amalgam of peoples from Syria of which

9595-547: Was digging through a mound called Tell Hariri for a gravestone that would be used for a recently deceased tribesman, when they came across a headless statue. After the news reached the French authorities currently in control of Syria, the report was investigated, and digging on the site was started on December 14, 1933, by archaeologists from the Louvre in Paris. The location of the fragment

9696-418: Was excavated, revealing the temple of Ishtar, which led to the commencing of the full scale excavations. Mari was classified by the archaeologists as the "most westerly outpost of Sumerian culture". Since the beginning of excavations, over 25,000 clay tablets in Akkadian language written in cuneiform were discovered. Finds from the excavation are on display in the Louvre , the National Museum of Aleppo ,

9797-482: Was maintained, so was the temple of Ninhursag. However, the temples of Ninni-Zaza and Ishtarat disappeared, while a new temple called the "temple of lions" (dedicated to Dagan ), was built by the Shakkanakku Ishtup-Ilum and attached to it, was a rectangular terrace that measured 40 x 20 meters for sacrifices. Akkad disintegrated during Shar-Kali-Sharri 's reign, and Mari gained its independence, but

9898-476: Was not a city of Sumerian immigrants but a Semitic-speaking nation with a dialect similar to Eblaite . The Amorites were West Semites who began to settle the area before the 21st century BC; by the Lim dynasty (c. 1830 BC), they became the dominant population in the Fertile Crescent . Mari's discovery in 1933 provided an important insight into the geopolitical map of ancient Mesopotamia and Syria , due to

9999-422: Was rebuilt and populated again. The new city kept many of the first city's exterior features, including the internal rampart and gate. Also kept was the outer circular embankment measuring 1.9 km in diameter, which was topped by a wall two meters thick capable of protecting archers. However, the internal urban structure was completely changed and the new city was carefully planned. First to be built were

10100-1674: Was repeated by the Nazi ideologue Alfred Rosenberg . In the Levant: In Mesopotamia: In Egypt: ( Shamshi-Adad dynasty 1808–1736 BCE) (Amorites) Shamshi-Adad I Ishme-Dagan I Mut-Ashkur Rimush Asinum Ashur-dugul Ashur-apla-idi Nasir-Sin Sin-namir Ipqi-Ishtar Adad-salulu Adasi (Non-dynastic usurpers 1735–1701 BCE) Puzur-Sin Ashur-dugul Ashur-apla-idi Nasir-Sin Sin-namir Ipqi-Ishtar Adad-salulu Adasi ( Adaside dynasty 1700–722 BCE) Bel-bani Libaya Sharma-Adad I Iptar-Sin Bazaya Lullaya Shu-Ninua Sharma-Adad II Erishum III Shamshi-Adad II Ishme-Dagan II Shamshi-Adad III Ashur-nirari I Puzur-Ashur III Enlil-nasir I Nur-ili Ashur-shaduni Ashur-rabi I Ashur-nadin-ahhe I Enlil-Nasir II Ashur-nirari II Ashur-bel-nisheshu Ashur-rim-nisheshu Ashur-nadin-ahhe II Second Intermediate Period Sixteenth Dynasty Abydos Dynasty Seventeenth Dynasty (1500–1100 BCE) Kidinuid dynasty Igehalkid dynasty Untash-Napirisha Twenty-first Dynasty of Egypt Smendes Amenemnisu Psusennes I Amenemope Osorkon

10201-405: Was responsible for the destruction of Ebla while still a general. Just a decade after Ebla's destruction (c. 2300 BC middle chronology), Mari itself was destroyed and burned by Sargon of Akkad , as shown by one of his year names (" Year in which Mari was destroyed "). Michael Astour proposed the date as c. 2265 BC ( short chronology ). Ishqi-Mari was probably the last king of Mari before

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