Mari, Syria
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Mari ( Tel Hariri today, Syria ) was a Mesopotamian city-state an important cultural center of the Near East, which dates back very far. However, information on the establishing of Mari are not known. Already in vorsargonischer time Mari was a worthy place in comparison to the larger cities of Babylonia.
History
According to the Sumerian King List as the seventh city of Mari won dominion over Sumer and Mesopotamia after the Flood. Sargon of Akkad set this rule to an end. At the time of the Amorites in 1776 BC there was Zimri- Lim, who led numerous wars. His life is known through letters and an epic. His reign ended Hammurabi, the 1759 BC destroyed the city (after the middle chronology ).
Archeology
Over 20,000 clay tablets in Akkadian have been excavated since 1933. In the research, therefore, is often spoken of clay tablet archives or Mari archives. In addition came Beter figures and statues made of plaster, bronze and lapis lazuli, as the singer Ur - Nanse, to light. Mari is location of the treasure from Ur, 4500 -year-old figures of gold, lapis lazuli, bronze and ivory. In addition, we discovered the huge palace of Mari. In the library there were royal decrees, bills, instructions for the construction of canals, dams, locks, and other facilities of irrigation, and business texts and diplomatic correspondence. In the texts were named before as Peleg, Serug, Nahor, Terah and Haran who as relatives of Abraham, and the names of northern Mesopotamian cities are known from the Bible (Gen 11.17-32 LUT).
The archaeological findings belonging to the temple of Ishtar. Great importance was also the prophecy, for example, the liver divination and astrology helped himself. Mari owed its wealth primarily the duties of the traffic between the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean. Tin, copper and resin products, woods, olive oil and wine were wanted commodity.