Tell Qarqur

35.74264636.330543Koordinaten: 35 ° 44 ' 34 "N, 36 ° 19' 50" E

Qarqar (now Tell Qarqur, Karkar ) is an ancient city at the Nahr al - Asi in Syria in the territory of Hamath. It was a center of worship of the Weather God Hadad.

Battle of Qarqar

Here was 853 BC battle between the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III. and a coalition instead of twelve states. It is described on the Kurkh stele that was found in 1861 in Turkey and in the meantime is in the British Museum. You probably originally stood on a street, so it was a sort of public propaganda. In the upper part it shows the symbols of Shalmaneser gods Assur, Ishtar, Anu and Sin, among which are 102 rows in a inscription which is slightly damaged.

Then left Shalmaneser on his sixth campaign with an army of 100,000 men of Nineveh, crossed the Tigris, the Euphrates, and received the tribute of many cities, including Aleppo. He was then attacked by the troops of the king of Hamath, that he suggested. Then he plundered numerous palaces and cities in the kingdom of Hamath. After Shalmaneser Karkara had taken and plundered, he came on the Orontes to the armed forces of the coalition.

At the anti- Assyrian alliance were involved:

  • King Adad - ' idri ( Hadad - Ezer ʿ ) of Aram - Damascus 1200 chariots, 1200 horsemen and 20,000 foot soldiers
  • King of Hamath Irḥuleni with 700 chariots, 700 horsemen and 10,000 foot soldiers
  • Achabbu King of Israel with 2,000 chariots and 10,000 foot soldiers
  • 500 soldiers from Gubla
  • 1,000 troops from the country Muzra'a (Egypt)
  • The King of Arqa with 10 chariots and 10,000 soldiers
  • King Matinu - ba'li of Aradus with 200 soldiers
  • The King of USNU with 200 soldiers
  • King Adunu - ba'li of Siannu with 30 chariots and 10,000 soldiers
  • Gindibu of Arabia with 1,000 camels
  • Ba'asa, son out of the house rehob, King of Amana ( Amanus Mountains ) with ... [ gap ] 00 (x - hundred) soldiers
  • [ ... illegible ... ]

The number of chariots, which provided Ahab is very high, and many researchers consider it unrealistic. N. Na'aman assumes that it is a typo and only 200 chariots are meant. Kelle (2002) considers that it could be the united forces of the northern and southern kingdom, and of Moab, and Edom.

The Kurkh stele describes a large Assyrian victory, reportedly 14,000 men were killed, and countless chariots captured. Since the Assyrian advance but after the battle came to a standstill and not pulled Shalmaneser in the following two years to the west, is more likely from a defeat.

In the Bible ( 1 Kings ), the Battle of Karkara is surprisingly not mentioned.

Fifth campaign of Ashurnasirpal

Kurh / Kurkh in eastern Turkey is perhaps the Assyrian Tidu identical ( Kessler 1980). Apart from the Stele of Shalmaneser also a stele dated 5 campaign of Ashurnasirpal II was found. It is not mentioned in any of his extant inscriptions.

Sargon II

Towards the end of the 8th century BC Sargon II struck at Qarqar a coalition of Syrian tribes, in whose retinue he could bring under Assyrian rule, the rebellious Damascus again.

Archeology

Tell Qarquar is dug up at the time by the American School of Oriental Research ( ASOR ), headed by Rudolph Dornemann. The Iron Age city has massive fortifications and gates. Among Bronze Age layers were cut.

Orontes River History of the Assyrian people Kurkh Monoliths Sin (mythology) Hadadezer Aram-Damascus Pre-Islamic Arabia Ammon List of battles before 301
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