Tuttul

35.957539.0475Koordinaten: 35 ° 57 ' N, 39 ° 3' O

Tuttul, also Tultul, Arabic Tell Bi'a; is a settlement mound on the Euphrates River in eastern Syria. The heyday of the major ancient city in the former northern Mesopotamia lasted from the second half of the 3rd millennium to the 17th century BC, when it stood last during the Old Babylonian Empire under the hegemony of Mari.

Location

The settlement mound of Tuttul Located two miles east of the old city of al-Raqqa fortified during the Abbasid period near the mouth of the exposure in the Euphrates River on a river terrace. He is now three kilometers and 2.5 kilometers from the Euphrates from exposure. The Euphrataue within the at this point five to six kilometers wide Euphrates valley lies at 240-242 meters above sea level. From this Tuttul is separated by a few meters deeper valley ( Valley of Mišlab ), which is filled by the winter rains with water, and by a slight increase in area of 248 meters. At the foot of the settlement mound 246 meters to be measured, its highest peak is 266 meters. The on the lower reaches one kilometers wide and 20 meters deep cut in the level of exposure riverbed widens just north of the ancient city on four kilometers. The exposure flowed at that time several miles downriver to the confluence parallel along the Euphrates. Today, the tributary is straightened and is directed to a direct path into the Euphrates.

The settlements of the ancient time to Tell Bi'a were to protect against flooding to at least 15 meters high terraces. The fields were irrigated predominantly or exclusively of exposure, since the Euphrates south since the earliest period of settlement flowed past the Valley of Mišlab. This is also evident from cuneiform texts. In a letter from the beginning of the 2nd millennium, the Assyrian king Samsi - Adad I complain inhabitants Tuttuls that of the located at the headwaters of the exposure site Zalpah was ( probably identical with Tell Hammam al - Turkaman ) taken too much river water, which is now missing for one's own field irrigation. The area offered good conditions for growing barley, wheat and sesame. In texts that have been found in Mari, moreover, is occupied livestock and timber production for boat building in the forests of Euphratauen.

Tuttul at that time was as little as today at the expo. Nevertheless, it is likely for the largest city on the lower reaches of the exposure a shipping route to the Euphrates or a port space have given the river. An artificial channel is revealed at the steep slope on the northern edge of the hill with an altitude difference of 35 to 40 meters, which reaches down 4 meters below today's level and was formerly filled with stagnant groundwater. Their function is unclear.

The city was of strategic importance at a crossroads of two transport connections. A route from the southeast, Mari led over Tuttul euphrataufwärts over Emar and further west to Haleb or north to Carchemish. After a road to the south-west chain Qatna, to the north led along the exposure a Route 29 kilometers ( a day trip ) to Tell es - Seman, then Subat - Samas on the upper reaches of the river and on to the upper Khabur valley.

History

The history of settlement in the estuary delta of the two rivers passing through the stages of four cities founded within a few kilometers of each other. The oldest place was Tell Zaidan, one of three up to 10 acres of settlement mounds of a total of 14 settlements in the exposure valley, which were otherwise less than one to four acres in size. Tell Zaidan is about five kilometers east of Tuttul on the edge of the valley and exposure was during the Halaf period (c. 6000-5300 BC, named after Tell Halaf ) and Obed- time ( 5900-4300 ) settled.

The oldest traces of settlement at Tell Bi'a date from the middle of the 4th millennium ( Uruk period). The nearest town was founded the Seleucid Nikephorion around 300 BC two kilometers south of Tell Bi'a at the former bank of the Euphrates. During the Roman Empire the city was called Callinicum ( Kallinikos ), under the Roman Emperor Justinian, he was repaved in the 6th century AD. Its location corresponds to the present-day village or district Mišlab. The present ar - Raqqa has its center two kilometers west of the site of an Abbasid Start at the beginning of the 8th century.

3rd millennium

The few finds from the Uruk- time to let neither the time, nor to the size of the settlement conclusions. The first settlement layers are from the early Bronze Age by the middle of the 3rd millennium. At the western southern slope of the central hill, at least five could be distinguished over and partially adjacent phases with residential buildings, public buildings and six aboveground Lehmziegelgräbern from this period. The graves are comparable to the royal tombs of Ur, and were created for local rulers.

King Sargon of Akkad (c. 2300 BC ), according to inscriptions have penetrated in the third and eleventh year of the reign of his kingdom south Mesopotamian euphrataufwärts about Tuttul to the " cedar mountains " ( Nurgebirge ) and " silver mountains " (Taurus Mountains). The name will appear cedar and silver refers to the economic nature of this legend. On wood and metals, it lacked the Sumern. Sargon was praying in Tuttul to Dagan, whereupon the god had given him these areas (the " upper country "), including Mari, Tuttul, Jarmuti and Ebla. His grandson Naram -Sin will have also reached the "Cedar Mountain "; in which he mentioned Tuttul it could also be so to another Tuttul ( hit ) in what is now northern Iraq.

In the following Ur III period (2112-2004) Tuttul was only occasionally mentioned in historical texts and must have been of less importance. Unlike Sargon and Naram -Sin is now oriented the Sumerian rulers with their military power mainly to the east. Nevertheless, there were political contracts to the west in the form of marriage links; be mentioned among other places Mari, Ebla, Shimanum ( northern Iraq or Eastern Turkey ), Urkeš and Habua Kabira (Tell Qannas, euphrataufwärts of Tuttul ). In economic texts of Amar -Sin (reigned 2046-2039 ) is called a designated as En -Si ruler of Tuttul named Jassi -Lim.

Chief god Dagan

Tuttul is best known during the Old Babylonian period from the first half of the 2nd millennium BC as the main cult of the Old Syrian weather god Dagan. Besides Terqa (Tell Ashara on the Euphrates River, 80 kilometers west of the border with Iraq ) was worshiped in Tuttul the "father of the gods" of nordmesopotamisch -Syrian pantheon. The same title was reserved for the main south Mesopotamian god Enlil. Ruler of remote small states came to Tuttul to participate in worship celebrations. About the famous Babylonian cult practices of the gods journey, the procession of gods image mostly on the river, is also reported from Tuttul. The cult statue of the " Dagan of Tuttul " traveled euphrataufwärts by Emar and some other places, but probably not down to Mari. In two cuneiform texts from Ugarit in the small country on the Mediterranean also revered Dagan is mentioned with Tuttul together.

In the archives destroyed by Sargon or Naram -Sin Palace G in Ebla " Tuttul " is mentioned over a hundred times, frequently associated with Dagan, the " Lord of Tuttul ", which was also worshiped in Ebla. Secular rulers of Tuttul are not mentioned here, probably because the city was at the time under the influence of Mari.

The approximate position of Tuttul emerges from two Old Babylonian Itineraren and a lexical text. According to letters from Mari the place must have been due to both the exposure, as well as on the Euphrates. Furthermore, the situation in these texts from Ebla and in mythological stories from the Hittite capital Hattusa will reveal where Dagan is equivalent to the Hurrian god Kumarbi.

Supremacy of Mari

The formerly independent city came shortly after 1800 BC as the entire Euphrates valley including Mari in the sphere of influence of the Assyrian king Samsi - Adad I king Jaḫdun -Lim of Mari ( 1751-1735 ) mentions a " King of Tuttul and the country the Arwānum " whose name Balu - Kullim not clear from sources of Tuttul. The city was under the younger son Samsi -Adad I, Jasmah -Adad (1732-1714), the Assyrian rulers based in Mari during the ancient Assyrian Empire. By letters from his reign ( Mari letters ) the names of some governors from the administrative center Tuttul are known. This also pay tribute to Mari are mentioned. Then Tuttul regained its independence. Jasmah Addad, his father Samsi - Adad I and Zimri- Lim likely to have traveled several times after Tuttul. The king led according to his predecessor again the title of " Zimri Lim, King of Mari, ( Tuttul ) and the country ( Hana ) ". The reign of Samsi -Adad and Jasmah Addad is occupied according Eponymenlisten. In two texts, an otherwise unknown year name is called: "the year, entered in the Zimri- Lim or Lim - Zikri Tuttul. " This year the reconquest of the territories west of Mari could be meant. Maybe Zimri -Lim has destroyed the palace of Tuttul in his second year of reign (1714 after the short chronology ). An archaeological evidence of the presence Zimri -Lim in Tuttul there is not. From Tuttul no Old Babylonian texts are more practically known which are dated after 1700 BC. The decline of the city began with the reign of Zimri -Lim.

The significance during the heyday of Tuttul explained by the border situation between the rich Jamchad, Qatna, Carchemish and Mari. Along the Euphratroute by Tuttul led the trade contacts of the Mari ruler Samsi -Adad and Zimri- Lim to the largest regional power in the West Jamchad, and Qatna to the Mediterranean, from where ships went to Palestine. The changing dependencies and hostilities ended for Tuttul and other cities in the region after the conquest by the Hittites in the 16th century BC, trade relations were lost. In the central hill E Late Bronze Age layers were ( after the middle of the 2nd millennium ) visualized by an off-road section. For medium-and Neo-Assyrian period no pottery finds have surfaced.

From the Roman period

In the late Roman ( n from about the 3rd century BC) and the early Islamic period, the western part of the settlement mound was used (especially the hill B) as a cemetery. Maybe it was at the foot of the hill in the southeast, a Roman fort, which has not yet been investigated. Beginning of the 6th century a monastery was built on the central settlement hill above the palace, from which the name Tell Bi'a ( " Church Hill" ) stems. In two out of three mosaic floors were inscriptions with the years 509 and 595 to the fore. The monastery is identified with the text from sources known saw Zacchaeus Monastery ( Mar Zakkay ). It was in relation to the southern city of Callinicum and said to have been inhabited until the Abbasid period. Many, found in the floors of the monastery coins offer further information about its history.

History of Research

The archaeological investigations under the French line to al-Raqqa at the beginning of the 20th century not dealt with the Tell Bi'a, but with the remnants of the early Arab period and after the middle of the century under Syrian line with their restoration. Georges Dossin identified 1954 Tuttul mentioned in cuneiform texts from Mari with tell Bi'a. The settlement mound had already been plundered in antiquity and frequented by grave robbers, especially in the area of ​​the ancient cemetery because of the city near the 20th century, before the summer of 1980 began the first surface investigations by the German Oriental Society under the direction of Eva Strommenger. Until the preliminary end of 1995 was financed by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, exposed in 12 campaigns, the main settlement layers in selected areas. 1992 were also found on Tablets of Tell Bi'a the name Tuttul.

Cityscape

The settlement mound has a size of 35 to 40 acres and measures at an approximately semi-circular extension with the straight side to the south in east-west direction and 750 meters from north to south 650 meters. A running along the edge of hills, the situation of the former enclosing recognize. The walls consisted of mud brick and measured on the inside including a cantilevered pillar 6-6.3 meters. Better preserved than the wall itself is on the southern exterior of an offshore Glacis from rammed earth. There, 16 meters outside a smaller and later formed facing was detected, which was about 2 feet wide. Its course was traced to 25 meters in length. The 20 × 20 -foot gatehouse to the south and west consisted partly of stones. Their mud-plastered walls towered on both sides 12 meters out to the outside. The location of the city wall to the north was determined only by a narrow sounding.

The Old Babylonian layers lie in many places only slightly below the current floor level, which is why the structure of the city was already evident before the excavations at various elevations. The highest point of the mound is the central hill E of up to 12 meters towers over the site of the residential city. Here was the first palace of the second half of the 3rd millennium and of the palace built about A ( Young Palace) from the Old Babylonian period. The long history of this building reconstruction ended with Jashmah Adad in the 18th century BC In addition to ceremonial duties of the palace A also had economic functions, as shown by several furnaces that were installed in a large yard, was previously a main room (Room Q) had. The ashes of the furnace was found mixed with other wastes in a pit in the middle of the court, together with a large number of clay tablets and seal impressions. Most seals had come with trade goods from elsewhere in the city or came from residents Tuttuls who were allowed to use private label. Few seals were officially attached.

A 1980 first established over a length of 60 meters and later extended east-west section through the hill E showed below the Byzantine monastery two or three half-meter thick layers of the Middle and Late Bronze Age, by the Byzantine residues by a 10 to 15 centimeters thick soil layer are separated. The building structures 9 denoted E 1 to E is predominantly " central hall houses", whose long rectangular central space is surrounded on both sides by smaller chambers. The main rooms of E 1 and E 2 are about 12 meters long and 5 meters wide. This width could be covered with wooden beams as roof construction just yet. To the northeast of the palace A was another group of houses (E10 ).

Well built houses have been uncovered in the hills to the west of the mound B, a particularly affected by illegal excavations area. There, for example, had the system B 6 of the first layer just below the present surface an area of ​​475 square meters. From the irregular floor plan the location of the outer boundary was determined only on a few meters. Even less clear is to the northwest of the small houses in the hills C residues. Older layers ( 2 and 3) in the Hill B from the beginning of the 2nd millennium, have a dense residential development. Some of the layers are disturbed by an Arab cemetery.

The hill C in the west near the city wall contains the remains of a medium-sized, one-room Ante temple - a frequently encountered in the 3rd and 2nd millennium in Syria design - at the highest elevation in the middle of a residential area. The entrance lay to the east. From the walls of the excavation was at virtually nothing left, the floor plan was developed over the exposed foundation. Its dimensions are without projecting at the front side wall parts 19 × 13 meters. The foundation consisted of approximately square mud brick ( edge length 45 inches, 9-12 inches high ). It is the oldest temple in antis, in which a cult niche is detectable.

According to previous studies, the Byzantine monastery consisted of 2,500 square meters with a church dating from the 6th century, whose mud-brick walls were obtained in the exposure to a height of 80 centimeters.