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43-637: The Kilamuwa Stele was discovered in Sam'al during the 1888–1902 German Oriental Society expeditions led by Felix von Luschan and Robert Koldewey . At the time of its discovery, it was considered to be the only Phoenician text found in Sam'al (numerous Aramaic texts had been found) and the northernmost Phoenician text found in Syria . It is currently located in the Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin . The stele

86-443: A distinct variety of Old Aramaic . Attempts to establish a rigorous definition of "Aramaic" have led to a conclusion of Samalian as distinct from Aramaic, despite some shared features. The site of Pancarli Hoyuk is located about 1 km southeast of Zincirli. A new hieroglyphic Luwian inscription has been discovered here in 2006, and published in 2016. It bears 3 fragmented lines of hieroglyphic Luwian text. The inscription

129-1242: A gesture called "Ubanu tarrashu" which designates "you are my god". His left hand is draped at his left side holding a wilted lotus flower , a symbol of a king's death. He is dressed in king's regalia with hat, and his figure stands at the beginning of the first nine lines of the text. The transcription in square script : אנך. כלמו. בר. חי[א‏] מלך. גבר. על. יאדי. ובל. פ[על] כן בנה . ובל. פעל. וכן. אב. חיא. ובל. פעל. וכן. אח שאל. ובל. פעל. ואנ[ך]. כלמו. בר. תמל. מאש. פעלת בל. פעל. הלפניהם. כן. בת אבי. במתכת. מלכם. אד רם. וכל. שלח. יד לל[ח]ם. וכת. ביד. מלכם כם אש. אכלת זקן. ו[כם.] אש. אכלת. יד. ואדר עלי חלך. ד[נ]נים. ושכר אנך. עלי. מלך אשר. ועלמת. יתן. בש. וגבר. בסות. אנך. כלמו. בר חיא. ישבת. על. כסא. אבי. לפן. הם לכם. הלפנים. יתלנן. משכבם. כם. כלבם. ואנך. למי. כת. אב. ולמי. כת. אם ולמי. כת. אח. ומי. בל חז. פן. ש. שתי. בעל. עדר. ומי. בל חז. פן. אלף. שתי. בעל בקר. ובעל. כסף. ובעל. חרץ. ומי. בל. חז. כתן. למנערי. ובימי. כסי. ב ץ. ואנך. תמכת. משכבם. ליד. והמת. שת. נבש. כם. נבש יתם. באם. ומי. בבנ י אש. ישב. תחתן. ויזק. בספר ז. משכבם. אל יכבד. לבעררם. ובערר ם. אל יכבד. למשכבם ומי. ישחת. הספר ז. ישחת. ראש. בעל. צמד. אש. לגבר וישחת. ראש. בעל חמן. אש. לבמה. ורכבאל. בעל בת. The translation of

172-476: A joint Turco-Italian team directed by Nicolò Marchetti from the University of Bologna Bologna University , in collaboration with Dr. Refik Duru of Istanbul University. Work has created since 2007 an archaeological park. This is a very rich ancient cultural area with over fifty mounds identified on the surrounding plain. The double casemate walls of the city were made of large stones without mortar, and date from

215-415: A satellite state of Denyen and Assyria wanted to occupy this territory. Kilamuva might offer for Deyen to be a satellite state. Before this, he should defeat his greatest foe, Azitawadda. Assyrians won over Denyen and Sam'al in 825 BC. Sam'al became independent after the death of Shalmaneser III. There is an alternative opinion which states that Ya'udi and Sam'al were originally separate royal houses. Indeed,

258-566: A satellite state. The Kingdom of Ya'udi wanted to open a corridor between Assyria and Denyen. It was prevented by the unified Syrian forces. This unity had been dissolved in 825 BC. After the death of Shalmanezer III Denyen couldn't occupy Ya'udi but the Samalians could. Sam'al annexed Ya'udi and moved into the palace of Kilamuva. Sam’al’s friendly relationship with the Assyrian Empire probably started during Shalmaneser’s reign and continued into

301-644: A specific type of vessel, the globular flask, being part of the trade centered in the nearby ancient Syrian region of Mamma. Zincirli is located only 9 km north of Tilmen Höyük , possibly the capital of the Zalpa/Zalwar kingdom, which eventually became one of the twenty vassal small states of the Yamhad kingdom based on Aleppo . New excavations revealed a monumental complex in the Middle Bronze Age II (ca. 1800–1700 BC), and another structure (Complex DD) that

344-666: A transverse main room. The citadel also contained palaces from the Assyrian period, and warehouses. The site of Sam'al was occupied in the Early Bronze Age III/IV (c. 2700–2100 BC). It may be speculated if the site was a trade center on the Anatolian Trade Network, bringing metals from Anatolia into the Near East. At least from c.1700 to 1650 BC Zincirli Höyük was a trading hub with the production of wine transported in

387-579: Is a 16-line text in the Phoenician language and written in an Old Aramaic form of the Phoenician alphabet. According to William F. Albright , in its script, it resembles very closely the Mesha Stele that is very important in biblical archaeology. King Kilamuwa is shown standing on the upper left and addressing four Mesopotamian gods with his right arm and finger, where he imitates his Mesopotamian lords in

430-515: Is abundant in the area; adobe construction was used only on the upper part of the walls. An Old Syrian stela was discovered in Tilmen in 2004. It was found in the western lower town, in a monumental in antis temple and its temenos in Area M. The stela measures 67 cm in height, and 53 cm in width. It portrays a standing god with his cap with two opposite horns, and an important local official. According to

473-458: Is also located nearby, up only 10km north along the Karasu River. The settlement on the mound began in the 4th millennium BC. It became a large city at the end of the 3rd millennium BC. According to the excavator there was an extensive conflagration level between levels IIIb (Early Bronze IVb) and IIIc (Middle Bronze I) after which a completely new type of pottery appeared. The high point of

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516-528: Is fragmentary, but nevertheless it appears to be of a royal character. Previously, all known inscriptions from this area were exclusively written in Northwest Semitic languages . According to the authors, the most probable conclusion is that PANCARLI inscription represents a ruler or a local king of the tenth or early ninth century BC. This inscription provides new information about the Early Iron Age of

559-655: The Battle of Qarqar in 853 BC, and instead paid tribute to Shalmaneser III. This battle was fought to the south in Syria around Hama. So Assyria did not pursue then its expansion to the Western areas. The campaign of Assyria in 825 BC occupied the vital territories of Sam'al, Quwê had been defeated, but it had been reorganised as Denyen . After the death of Shalmaneser III , Ya'udi again became independent. Some rulers of Sam'al had aggressive expansionist politics; others acceded to one of

602-466: The List of Neo-Hittite kings attests Y'adiya/Ya'udi and Sam'al as two separate royal houses, Ya'udi being the older of the two. Gabar, the founder of Ya'udi, and his successors became a member of the Assyrian satellites. The Kingdom of Sam'al was founded by Hayyanu and his successor was Ahabbu of Siri'laya (Zincirli) in 854 BC. This makes clear why Shalmaneser III lists Ya'udi (Bit-Gabbari) but not Sam'al as

645-562: The Pergamon Museum , Berlin , and Istanbul . Also found was the notable Victory stele of Neo-Assyrian ruler Esarhaddon celebrating his victory over Egyptian pharaoh Taharqa in 671 BC. Three royal inscriptions from Ya'udi or Sam'al are particularly informative for the history of the area. The earliest is from the reign of King Panammu I, the others later at 730 BC. Their language is known as Samalian or Ya'udic. Some scholars including P.-E. Dion and S. Moscati have advanced Samalian as

688-652: The University of Chicago together with the Institute for Ancient Near Eastern Studies of the University of Tübingen began a new long-term excavation project at the site of Zincirli under the directorship of David Schloen and Virginia Herrmann. Eleven seasons of excavation were conducted ending in 2017. Finds included the Kuttamuwa stele , in the Samalian variant of Aramaic and dated c. 740 BC. A destroyed Middle Bronze Age II building

731-503: The 10th century BC. It had expanded from being a city state and gained territories from Carchemish, around Adana from Quwê and remained independent. It didn't become part of Cilicia . In 859 BC, Shalmaneser III moved westward with his army to Lutibu in Sam’al, where he fought a hostile coalition of kings including a ruler of Sam’al named Hayyanu, as well as Sapalulme of Patina (also known as Suppiluliuma (Pattin) ). And soon after, there

774-467: The 1902 excavation at Zincirli Höyük the Kilamuwa Stela (Zincirli 65), a 9th-century BC stele of King Kilamuwa (c. 840–810 BC) in Phoenician language was found at the entrance to Building J. It is written in an Old Aramaic form of the Phoenician alphabet. At the foundation of Gate E of the inner citadel five basalt lion statues were found buried in a pit that ranged as deep as 4.2 meters. The date of

817-576: The 20 kingdoms of Yamhad. In the second half of the 17th century BC, the Hittite Great King Ḫattušili I led a military campaign into the Amuq plain and against Aleppo: at that time Tilmen Höyük was destroyed in a major fire. The city is probably to be identified with ancient Zalbar, mentioned in the Annals of Hattusili I , the capital of Zalbar kingdom. It is also known as Zalbar or Zalwar. The city of Zalpa

860-555: The Islahiye valley, and the history of the Aramaean dynasty of Gabbar. If the inscription is considered to date to the 10th century BC, it may be the first solid evidence for a Luwian-speaking kingdom in the Islahiye valley, as possibly an offshoot of the Hittite rump-state at Karkemish . Tilmen H%C3%B6y%C3%BCk Tilmen Höyük (also Tilmen Hüyük) is an archaeological mound located near

903-548: The Late Bronze Age. In 2020, the nearby site of Tilmen Höyük was "convincingly identified" with the ancient 'Zalpa' in the Annals of Ḫattušili I. There is also another ancient town of Zalpa, located at Zalpuwa to the north of Ḫattuša near the Black Sea. That northern Zalpa was mentioned in the Hittite "Queen of Kanesh" myth. Scholars were formerly unsure about the location of 'Zalpa' that Hattusili I destroyed, and thought it

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946-401: The anti-Assyrian Syrian coalition. Assyrian sources are not clear regarding Sam'al. Ya'udi was one of Assyria's satellite states in the annals of Shalmaneser III. Though around 830 BC Azitawadda, king of Denyen , states Ya'udi is his satellite country – at the same time, Kilamuwa mentions on his stela that he hired Assyria against Denyen. Other sources from the same period mention Ya'udi as

989-412: The archaeologist Nicolò Marchetti, Also an interesting classic Old Syrian Bulla (seal) was found the palace area in earlier excavations in 1962. The 'Old Syrian period' is generally defined as the time of the rise and predominance of Yamkhad in upper Syria. The clay bulla was found at the mound, and it is believed to be from the first half of the 2nd millennium BC. This find suggests the existence of

1032-553: The city was between the 19th and 15th centuries BC. The finds indicate that Tilmen Höyük was an important link in the cultural contacts between Northern Mesopotamia and Anatolia. One of the monumental structures unearthed is very similar to the palace in Alalah in Amik Plain (7th stratum). Alalah was part of the kingdom of Yamhad , an Amorite kingdom centered mainly in Aleppo. Tilmen was one of

1075-513: The early years of Šamši-Adad V (824-811 BC). This brought prosperity to the kingdom by providing access to the huge volume of the imperial trade. Big construction projects are also dated to this period. At the end, in 717 BC, Assyria occupied the country under the rule of Sargon II . The site covers an area of about 40 hectares. It was visited by archaeologist Osman Hamdi Bey in 1882. In 1883 three German travelers collected and took photographs there. At that time orthostats were still visible at

1118-450: The end of the 2nd millennium BC to the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. Two basalt gate lions were found next to the monumental gate on the east side of the city, which was the main entrance gate. There are two smaller gates, one in the northwest and the other in the southwest. Rectangular defence towers around the perimeter were also constructed, and there was a casemate fortification system. The buildings were made of basalt , which

1161-455: The main sources for historical data about this time period. The Aramean dynasty founder was king Gabbar, dated around 900 BC. Royal steles and stone tablets from the period of Panamuwa II are also important. Also the Kilamuwa scepter has been found here in 1943. It is a small gold object inscribed in a similar old type of Phoenician alphabet. The kingdom became a middle power at the end of

1204-537: The pit is unclear, though the excavators suggested the Middle Bronze age. The statues are in two different styles which the excavators placed as being from the late 10th century BC (Zincirli I) and c. 700 BC (Zincirli IV). These became known as the Sam'al lions . There were five excavation reports: The field diaries of the excavation were lost during World War II . In August 2006, the Oriental Institute of

1247-581: The predominantly Luwian area. The area flourished in the Iron Age (Iron IIA period), initially under Luwian -speaking Neo-Hittites , and the city soon had become a kingdom. In the 9th and 8th century BC it came under control of the Neo-Assyrian Empire and by the 7th century BC had become a directly ruled Assyrian province. The Aramean kingdom flourished here from the early 900s to 713 BC, with its capital at Zinjirli. Its native Samalian language name

1290-594: The stele: Sam%27al Zincirli Höyük is an archaeological site located in the Anti-Taurus Mountains of modern Turkey 's Gaziantep Province . During its time under the control of the Neo-Assyrian Empire (c. 700 BC) it was called, by them, Sam'al . It was founded at least as far back as the Early Bronze Age and thrived between 3000 and 2000 BC, and on the highest part of the upper mound

1333-557: The surface. It was excavated in 1888, 1890, 1891, 1894 and 1902 during expeditions led by Felix von Luschan and Robert Koldewey . Each of the expeditions was supported by the German Orient Committee, except for the fourth (1894), which was financed with monies from the Rudolf-Virchow-Stiftung and private donors. They found a walled heavily fortified teardrop-shaped citadel accessed by the outer citadel gate, which

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1376-451: The time of Kilamuwa. Multiple important historical inscriptions have been found in this area. They include at least seven inscriptions, as listed at the link above, including the Kuttamuwa stele found in 2008. The German excavations on the citadel recovered large numbers of relief-carved orthostats , along with inscriptions in Aramaic , Phoenician , and Akkadian . These are on exhibit in

1419-576: The town of Islahiye , in the Gaziantep province of Turkey . It is 225 meters in diameter and 21 meters high on the shores of Karasu River . It is located on the western edge of the Sakçagözü Plain. It is very near the Amanos Mountains . The mound rises 20 meters above the vast marshes of Karasu River. The river flows on the eastern and northern edges of town. The archaeological site of Zinjirli

1462-646: Was Yādiya or Ya'diya . The Assyrians knew it as Sam'al, and in Aramaic it was known as Ya'udi , or Yaudi). This was a middle power of the Middle-East in the early first millennium BC. A dynasty of eleven Aramean kings ruled this city state, that was formerly Luwian. Its location was near the Nur Mountains . The monumental inscription of Kilamuwa, the fifth king of the dynasty, is the earliest inscription that provides us with historical information. Four more of these kings have also left inscriptions later. These are

1505-441: Was actually a large broadroom temple from Middle Bronze Age II, lasting roughly from 1800 to 1650 BC, destroyed in mid- to late 17th century BC based on 10 radiocarbon dates. Additional samples later produced a radiocarbon date of c. 1632–1610 BC for the destruction. The archaeological site of Zincirli was not abandoned after Hattusili I 's sack sometime around 1632 to 1610 BC, as there is recent evidence of Hittite occupation during

1548-528: Was also a battle near Alimus (Aliṣir/Alimush), the fortified city of the same Sapalulme the Patinean, where Shalmaneser again fought an anti-Assyrian coalition. Again, kings from Sam’al, Patina, Bit-Adini, Karkemiš, and others were members of this coalition. Shalmaneser defeated them. Hayyanu, king of Sam'al was again taking part, and later he was forced to pay tribute to Shalmaneser at the city of Dabigu along with others of these kings. Hayyanu didn't participate in

1591-460: Was destroyed in the mid to late 17th century BC, maybe by Hititte king Hattusili I . This event was recently radiocarbon-dated to sometime between 1632 and 1610 BC, during the late Middle Bronze Age II (ca. 1700–1600 BC). Excavations by Chicago-Tubingen Expedition revealed that the bit-hilani palace of Hilani I in Zincirli (believed by the early German excavators to be from Iron Age Sam'al period)

1634-562: Was formerly equated by scholars with Zalpuwa ( Zalpuwa ) in Anatolia, located to the north of Ḫattuša near the Black Sea . The excavations were started in 1959 by Dr. Bahadır Alkım and continued until 1972. Also in 1959, excavations were conducted in Gedikli Karahöyük, a nearby settlement. Excavations were also carried out in 1969-1972. The recent excavations were started in 2003 by

1677-598: Was found a walled citadel of the Middle Bronze Age (ca. 2000–1600 BC). Zinjirli Höyük is located at the northern end of the Kara Su river valley. The site is situated on the western side of the valley at the base of the Amanus Mountains , and measures approximately 40 ha in area. Its location was on the overland route that connected Carchemish to the fertile Cilician plain and further on west to Anatolia. The city

1720-546: Was found at Area 2 on the eastern citadel. it is nearby and on the same stratigraphic level as the bit-hilani palace located by early excavators. That palace was present only in its stone foundations as the area was clear for construction of the Neo-Assyrian governors residence (Palace G) of the 7th century BC. With the redating of the bit-hilani structure there is not a complete lack of monumental construction in Iron Age II until

1763-465: Was in the north. The site was thought to have been abandoned during the Hittite and Mitanni periods, but excavations in 2021 season showed evidence of occupation during the Late Bronze Age in Hittite times (ca. 1600–1180 BC). The Iron Age II town of Zincirli was founded about 900 BC, according to the inscription of Kilamuwa. The name of Gabbar suggests that he was an Aramaean chieftain seizing power in

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1806-472: Was protected by a double, almost circular wall with a diameter of 720 to 800 meters. Each of the two walls, made of air-dried clay bricks, was over three meters thick with the distance between them being seven meters. The walls had around 100 guard towers around, and three entrances. The residential area was located within the city walls. On the citadel of Samal there were several palaces of Bit-hilani type, i.e. with an entrance decorated with wooden columns and

1849-559: Was surrounded by the as yet unexcavated town and a further enormous 2.5 kilometer long double fortification wall with three gates (most notably the southern city gate) and 100 bastions. Finds from the excavations are held in the Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin and the Istanbul Archaeology Museum . The Louvre holds a carved orthostat and two sphinx protomes and some minor sculptures are held at museums in Adana and Gaziantep. During

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