Urkesh

37.05694444444440.997222222222Koordinaten: 37 ° 3 ' 25 "N, 40 ° 59' 50" E

Urkeš, also Urkesch, today Tell Mozan, is a Bronze Age settlement mound (tell) in the northeast of Syria, who was settled in the late 3rd and early 2nd millennium. The earliest previously uncovered remains of settlements date from the Early Dynastic period from the beginning of the third millennium.

Location

Urkeš ( Gire Mozan ) is at the upper Khabur about 5 km from the city amude, near the mouth of the Wadi Da'a, on the southern edge of the Tur Abdin, who was then probably Nawar said. It was thus on the road that connected the Anatolian highlands to the north with its rich copper deposits with Mesopotamia, and the east -west route from the Mediterranean to the Zagros. So Urkeš controlled trading in the area of the upper Khabur.

The average rainfall is 400-450 mm, so that the cultivation of winter cereals is possible. The area is now a sagebrush steppe, in the Bronze Age the climate seems however to have been significantly wetter. During the summer months, cotton is grown with irrigation.

Agriculture

According to preliminary archaeobotanical investigations were barley (Hordeum distichum), emmer (Triticum dioccocum ) and naked wheat (Triticum turgidum ) the main cereal crops. Ervil (Vicia ervilia ), chickpeas ( Cicer arietinum ), grass pea ( Lathyrus sativum ) and faba bean (Vicia faba ) were also grown. Besides figs and wine and flax are occupied by macro radicals in the latter it is unclear whether they were domesticated. The Kronwicke ( Coronilla sp.) May have been introduced in the form of manure (sheep / goat) as fuel, Mediterranean Mesquite ( Prosopis ) probably served also as fuel.

History

The city was probably a Hurrian creation. Hurrian names, such as Ewrim - Atal, an official at the time of Naram -Sin are detected. It belonged to the empire of Akkad and came after its end under the influence of Mari, which made managing the city by a viceroy, who was, however, in the population is not very popular, such as letters from the archives of Mari prove.

Archeology

Urkeš excavated since 1984 by Giorgio Buccellati and Marilyn Kelly - Buccellati. Since 1998, the German Oriental Society participated in the excavations.

The tell consists of a lower town of about 130 ha area which is still largely unexplored, and an upper town of 30 hectares here was partly a royal palace ( building AK). A seal impression with animal fighting scenes at a palace door belongs Tar'am - Agade, Naram -Sin of a daughter, take one of the excavators that she was Queen of Urkeš. This would show that the city belonged at that time to the kingdom of Agade.

In some of the buildings and underground grave chambers were discovered from mud bricks, maybe Familiengrüfte.

Ruler

So far, the names are handed down by seven rulers, their order is not entirely clear.

  • Te'irru belongs to the Old Babylonian period around 1800 and is set to BC.

The rulers of the 2nd millennium bear all Hurrian names.

  • Tis - atal could have been a predecessor of Tupkiš
  • Tupkiš, who describes himself as end stop and Lugal seems to belong to the reign Manistušus
  • Satar -mat, his son is to set the outgoing Akkad - time or in the Isin - Larsa period
  • Atal - Sen and Ann- atal: outgoing Akkad - time or in the Isin - Larsa period
Ficus Naram-Sin of Akkad Mari, Syria Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft 2nd millennium BC
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