Mari, Syria

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Template:Short description {{#invoke:other uses|otheruses}} Template:Good article Template:Infobox ancient site Mari (Cuneiform: Template:Cuneiform, ma-riki, modern Tell Hariri; Template:Langx) was an ancient Semitic city-state in modern-day Syria. Its remains form a tell Template:Convert north-west of Abu Kamal on the western bank of the Euphrates River, some Template:Convert southeast of Deir ez-Zor. It flourished as a trade center and hegemonic state between 2900 BC and 1759 BC.<ref group="note">Dates are estimated according to the Middle chronology unless otherwise stated.</ref> The city was built in the middle of the Euphrates trade routes between Sumer in the south and the Eblaite kingdom and the Levant in the west.

Mari was first abandoned in the middle of the 26th century BC but was rebuilt and became the capital of a hegemonic East Semitic state before 2500 BC. This second Mari engaged in a long war with its rival Ebla and is known for its strong affinity with Sumerian culture. It was destroyed in the 23rd century BC by the Akkadians, who allowed the city to be rebuilt and appointed a military governor (Shakkanakku). The governors became independent with the disintegration of the Akkadian Empire, and rebuilt the city as a regional center of the Euphrates valley. The Shakkanakkus ruled Mari until the second half of the 19th century BC, when the dynasty collapsed for unknown reasons. A short time later, Mari became the capital of the Amorite Lim dynasty. The Amorite Mari lasted only a short time before it was destroyed by Babylonia in c. 1761 BC, but it survived as a small settlement under the rule of the Babylonians and the Assyrians before being abandoned and forgotten during the Hellenistic period.

The Mariotes worshiped both Semitic and Sumerian deities and established their city as a major trading center. Although the pre-Amorite periods were characterized by heavy Sumerian cultural influence, Mari was not a city of Sumerian immigrants but a Semitic-speaking nation with a dialect similar to Eblaite. The Amorites were West Semites who began to settle the area before the 21st century BC; by the Lim dynasty (c. 1830 BC), they became the dominant population in the Fertile Crescent.

Mari's discovery in 1933 provided an important insight into the geopolitical map of ancient Mesopotamia and Syria, due to the discovery of more than 25,000 tablets explicating the state administration in the 2nd millennium BC and the nature of diplomatic relations among the political powers of the region. They also revealed the wide trading networks of the 18th century BC, which connected areas as far as Afghanistan in Southern Asia and Crete in the Mediterranean.

Name

File:Mari-ki in cuneiform on the statue of Iddi-Ilum.jpg
The name of Mari (Cuneiform: Template:Cuneiform, ma-riki), on the statue of Iddi-Ilum, c. 2090 BC

Written in Cuneiform Template:Cuneiform (ma-riki),Template:Sfn the name of the city can be traced to Itūr-Mēr, an ancient storm deity of northern Mesopotamia and Syria, who was considered the tutelary deity of the city,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Georges Dossin noted that the name of the city was spelled identically to that of the storm god and concluded that Mari was named after him.Template:Sfn

History

Early Bronze Age

First kingdom

Evidence shows that Mari Template:Sfn was founded as a new city in c. 2900 BC during the Mesopotamian Early Dynastic period I, established to control the waterways of the Euphrates trade routes connecting the Levant with the Sumerian south.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The city was built about Template:Convert from the Euphrates river to protect it from floods,Template:Sfn and was connected to the river by an artificial canal Template:Convert long, the route of which has not been identified.Template:Sfn

File:Mari landmarks.png
Mari's landmarks

The Mari site is difficult to excavate as it is buried deep under later layers of habitation.Template:Sfn A circular flood embankment was unearthed,Template:Sfn containing an area Template:Convert in length for gardens and craftsmen's quarters,Template:Sfn and a defensive circular internal rampart Template:Cvt thickTemplate:Sfn and Template:Convert high, strengthened by defensive towers.Template:Sfn Other findings include one of the city gates, a street beginning at the center and ending at the gate, and residential houses.Template:Sfn Mari had a central mound,Template:Sfn but no temple or palace has been unearthed there.Template:Sfn A large building was however excavated (with dimensions of 32 m x 25 m), seemingly with an administrative function. It had stone foundations and rooms up to Template:Convert long and Template:Convert wide.Template:Sfn The city was abandoned c. 2550 BC at the end of the Early Dynastic period II, for unknown reasons.Template:Sfn Template:Clear

Second kingdom

File:Ancient Near East 2400BC.svg
Mari on the map of Ancient Orient around 2400 BCE. Conflict between Ebla and Mari.

Near the beginning of Early Dynastic period III, before 2500 BC, Template:Sfn Mari was rebuilt and populated again.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The new city kept many of the first city's exterior features, including the internal rampart and gate.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Also kept was the outer circular embankment measuring Template:Cvt in diameter, which was topped by a wall two meters thick capable ofTemplate:Sfn protecting archers.Template:Sfn

File:Ebish-Il Louvre AO17551.jpg
Statue of Ebih-Il, a superintendent in Mari. (25th century BC)

The new Mari was carefully planned. Its internal urban structure was radically different from the preceding incarnation.Template:Sfn First to be built were the streets that descended from the elevated center into the gates which ensured the drainage of rainwater.Template:Sfn

A structure known as the Royal Palace of Mari was built in the heart of the city; the palace also served as a temple.Template:Sfn Four successive architectural levels from the second kingdom's palace have been unearthed (the oldest is designated P3, while the latest is P0). The last two levels are dated to the Akkadian period of Sumer.Template:Sfn The first two levels were excavated;Template:Sfn the findings include a temple dubbed the Enceinte Sacrée (sacred enclosure) dedicated to an unknown deity,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn a columned throne room, and a hall with three double wood pillars leading to the temple.Template:Sfn

Six smaller temples were also discovered, including the temple called the Massif Rouge (also dedicated to an unknown deity), and temples dedicated to Template:Ill (INANA.ZA.ZA),<ref>Parrot, André, "Les Temples d’Ishtarat et de Ninni-zaza", Mission Archéologique de Mari, vol. 3, Librairie Orientaliste. Paris: Paul Geuthner, 1967</ref> Ishtarat,Template:Sfn Ishtar, Ninhursag, and Shamash.Template:Sfn All the temples except that of Ishtar were located in the center of the city; the area between the Enceinte Sacrée and the Massif Rouge is thought to be the administrative center of the high priest.Template:Sfn

The second kingdom appears to have been a powerful and prosperous political center,Template:Sfn its kings held the title of Lugal,Template:Sfn and many are attested in the city, the most important source being the letter of king Enna-Dagan c. 2350 BC,<ref group="note">In old readings, it was thought that Enna-Dagan was a general of Ebla. However, the deciphering of Ebla's tablets showed him in Mari and receiving gifts from Ebla during the reigns of his Mariote predecessors.Template:Sfn</ref>Template:Sfn which was sent to Irkab-Damu of Ebla,<ref group="note">Irkab-Damu is not named in the letter but it is almost certain that he was the recipient.Template:Sfn</ref>. In it, the Mariote king mentions his predecessors and their military achievements.Template:Sfn However, the reading of this letter is still uncertain and many interpretations have been presented by scholars.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Mari–Ebla war
File:Helmetted warrior with axe, Mari.jpg
Helmetted warrior with axe, Mari
File:Ishqi-Mari (dark background).jpg
Ishqi-Mari, king of the Second Kingdom of Mari, circa 2300 BC

The earliest attested king in the letter of Enna-Dagan is Ansud, who is mentioned as attacking Ebla, the traditional rival of Mari with whom it had a long war,Template:Sfn and conquering many of Ebla's cities, including the land of Belan.<ref group="note">Located 26 km west of Raqqa.Template:Sfn</ref>Template:Sfn The next king mentioned in the letter is Saʿumu, who conquered the lands of Ra'ak and Nirum.<ref group="note">Located in the Euphrates middle valley close to Sweyhat.Template:Sfn</ref>Template:Sfn King Kun-Damu of Ebla defeated Mari in the middle of the 25th century BC.Template:Sfn The war continued with Išhtup-Išar of Mari's conquest of EmarTemplate:Sfn at a time of Eblaite weakness in the mid-24th century BC. King Igrish-Halam of Ebla had to pay tribute to Iblul-Il of Mari,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn who is mentioned in the letter, conquering many of Ebla's cities and campaigning in the Burman region.Template:Sfn

Enna-Dagan also received tribute;Template:Sfn his reign fell entirely within the reign of Irkab-Damu of Ebla,Template:Sfn who managed to defeat Mari and end the tribute.Template:Sfn Mari defeated Ebla's ally Nagar in year seven of the Eblaite vizier Ibrium's term, causing the blockage of trade routes between Ebla and southern Mesopotamia through upper Mesopotamia.Template:Sfn The war reached a climax when the Eblaite vizier Ibbi-Sipish made an alliance with Nagar and Kish to defeat Mari in a battle near Terqa.Template:Sfn Ebla itself suffered its first destruction a few years after Terqa in c. 2300 BC,Template:Sfn during the reign of the Mariote king Hidar.Template:Sfn According to Template:Ill, Hidar was succeeded by Ishqi-Mari whose royal seal was discovered. It depicts battle scenes, causing Archi to suggest that he was responsible for the destruction of Ebla while still a general.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Destruction of Mari by Sargon of Akkad
File:Soldiers, shell inlay, Mari, Syria.jpg
Soldiers, shell inlay. Mari

Just a decade after Ebla's destruction (c. 2300 BC middle chronology), Mari itself was destroyed and burned by Sargon of Akkad, as shown by one of his year names ("Year in which Mari was destroyed").<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="DTP">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Sfn Michael Astour proposed the date as c. 2265 BC (short chronology).Template:Sfn Ishqi-Mari was probably the last king of Mari before the conquests by the Akkadian Empire.Template:Sfn Sargon of Akkad collected tribute from Mari and Elam:<ref name="Frayne10">Template:Cite book</ref>

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Sargon the King bowed down to Dagan in Tuttul. He (Dagan) gave to him (Sargon) the Upper Land: Mari, Iarmuti, and Ebla, as far as the Cedar Forest and the Silver Mountains{{#if:|

|}}{{#if:Nippur inscription of Sargon<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>See also Inscription of Sargon. E2.1.1.1 Template:Cite book</ref>|

— {{#if:|, in }}Template:Comma separated entries

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Third kingdom

Mari was deserted for two generations before being restored by the Akkadian king Manishtushu.Template:Sfn A governor was appointed to govern the city who held the title Shakkanakku (military governor).Template:Sfn Akkad kept direct control over the city, which is evident by Naram-Sin of Akkad's appointment of two of his daughters to priestly offices in the city.Template:Sfn

Shakkanakku dynasty
File:Statue of Puzur-Ishtar.jpg
Puzur-Ishtar, Shakkanakku (Military Governor) of Mari, circa 2050 BC

In the Akkadian period, the first member of the Shakkanakku dynasty on the lists is Ididish, who was appointed in c. 2266 BC.<ref group="note">According to Jean-Marie Durand, this Shakkanakku was appointed by Manishtushu, other opinions consider Naram-Sin as the appointer of Ididish.Template:Sfn</ref>Template:Sfn According to the lists, Ididish ruled for 60 yearsTemplate:Sfn and was succeeded by his son=, making the position hereditary.Template:Sfn

The layout of the third Mari was similar to that of its predecessor;Template:Sfn phase P0 of the old royal palace was replaced by a new palace for the Shakkanakku.Template:Sfn Another smaller palace was built in the eastern part of the cityTemplate:Sfn housing royal burials that date to the former periods.Template:Sfn The ramparts were rebuilt and strengthened while the embankment was turned into a defensive wall that reached Template:Convert in width.Template:Sfn The former sacred enclosure was maintained,Template:Sfn so was the temple of Ninhursag. However, the temples of Ninni-Zaza and Ishtarat disappeared,Template:Sfn while a new temple called the "temple of lions" (dedicated to Dagan),Template:Sfn was built by the Shakkanakku Ishtup-Ilum and attached to it, was a rectangular terrace that measured Template:Convert for sacrifices.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Akkad disintegrated during Shar-Kali-Sharri's reign,Template:Sfn and Mari gained its independence, but the use of the Shakkanakku title continued during the following Third Dynasty of Ur period.Template:Sfn A princess of Mari married the son of king Ur-Nammu of Ur,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn and Mari was nominally under Ur hegemony.Template:Sfn However, the vassalage did not impede the independence of Mari,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn and some Shakkanakkus used the royal title Lugal in their votive inscriptions, while using the title of Shakkanakku in their correspondence with the Ur's court.Template:Sfn The dynasty ended for unknown reasons not long before the establishment of the next dynasty, which took place in the second half of the 19th century BC.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Middle Bronze Age

File:Third Mari.png
Mari at its height in the eighteenth century BC

Lim dynasty

The second millennium BC in the Fertile Crescent was characterized by the expansion of the Amorites, which culminated with them dominating and ruling most of the region,Template:Sfn including Mari which in c. 1830 BC, became the seat of the Amorite Lim dynasty under king Yaggid-Lim.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn However, the epigraphical and archaeological evidences showed a high degree of continuity between the Shakkanakku and the Amorite eras.<ref group="note">This ruled out the former theory that there was an abandonment of Mari during the transition period.Template:Sfn</ref>Template:Sfn

Yaggid-Lim was the ruler of Suprum before establishing himself in Mari,<ref group="note">Suprum is 12 kilometers upstream from Mari, perhaps the modern Tel Abu Hasan.Template:Sfn</ref><ref group="note">It is not certain that Yaggid-Lim controlled Mari, however he is traditionally considered the first king of the dynasty.Template:Sfn</ref>Template:Sfn he entered an alliance with Ila-kabkabu of Ekallatum, but the relations between the two monarchs changed to an open war.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The conflict ended with Ila-kabkabu capturing Yaggid-Lim's heir Yahdun-Lim and according to a tablet found in Mari, Yaggid-Lim who survived Ila-kabkabu was killed by his servants.<ref group="note">The credibility of the tablet is doubted as it was written by Yasmah-Adad who was Ila-kabkabu grandson.Template:Sfn</ref>Template:Sfn However, in c. 1820 BC Yahdun-Lim was firmly in control as king of Mari.<ref group="note">The transition of the Lim family from Suprum to Mari could have been the work of Yahdun-Lim after the war with Ila-kabkabu.Template:Sfn</ref>Template:Sfn

File:Goddess of the vase, Mari,18th century BCE.jpg
Goddess of the vase, Mari, 18th century BC

Yahdun-Lim started his reign by subduing seven of his rebelling tribal leaders, and rebuilding the walls of Mari and Terqa in addition to building a new fort which he named Dur-Yahdun-Lim.Template:Sfn He then expanded west and claimed to have reached the Mediterranean,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn however he later had to face a rebellion by the Yaminite nomads who were centered at Tuttul, and the rebels were supported by Yamhad's king Sumu-Epuh, whose interests were threatened by the recently established alliance between Yahdun-Lim and Eshnunna.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Yahdun-Lim defeated the Yaminites but an open war with Yamhad was avoided,Template:Sfn as the Mariote king became occupied by his rivalry with Shamshi-Adad I of Shubat-Enlil, the son of the late Ila-kabkabu.Template:Sfn The war ended in a defeat for Mari,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn and Yahdun-Lim was assassinated in c. 1798 BC by his possible son Sumu-Yamam,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn who himself got assassinated two years after ascending the throne while Shamshi-Adad advanced and annexed Mari.Template:Sfn

Shamshi-Adad of Assyria and Yasmah-Adad

Shamshi-Adad (r. 1809-1775 BC) appointed his son Yasmah-Adad on the throne of Mari, the new king married Yahdun-Lim's daughter,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn while the rest of the Lim family took refuge in Yamhad,Template:Sfn and the annexation was officially justified by what Shamshi-Adad considered sinful acts committed by the Lim family.Template:Sfn To strengthen his position against his new enemy Yamhad, Shamshi-Adad married Yasmah-Adad to Betlum, the daughter of Ishi-Addu of Qatna.Template:Sfn However, Yasmah-Adad neglected his bride causing a crisis with Qatna, and he proved to be an unable leader causing the rage of his father who died in c. 1776 BC,Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn while the armies of Yarim-Lim I of Yamhad were advancing in support of Zimri-Lim, the heir of the Lim dynasty.<ref group="note">Although officially a son of Yahdun-Lim, in reality he was a grandchild or nephew.Template:Sfn</ref>Template:Sfn

File:Investiture of Zimri-Lim Louvre AO19826 n01.jpg
Investiture of Zimri-Lim (18th century BC)

Zimri-Lim of Mari

As Zimri-Lim advanced, a leader of the Sim'alites (Zimri-Lim's tribe) overthrew Yasmah-Adad,Template:Sfn opening the road for Zimri-Lim who arrived a few months after Yasmah-Adad's escape,Template:Sfn and married princess Shibtu, a daughter of Yarim-Lim I, a short time after his enthronement in c. 1776 BC.Template:Sfn Zimri-Lim's ascension to the throne with the help of Yarim-Lim I affected Mari's status, Zimri-Lim referred to Yarim-Lim as his father, and the Yamhadite king was able to order Mari as the mediator between Yamhad's main deity Hadad and Zimri-Lim, who declared himself a servant of Hadad.Template:Sfn

Zimri-Lim started his reign with a campaign against the Yaminites, he also established alliances with Eshnunna and Hammurabi of Babylon,Template:Sfn and sent his armies to aid the Babylonians.Template:Sfn The new king directed his expansion policy toward the north in the Upper Khabur region, which was named Template:Ill,Template:Sfn where he subjugated the local petty kingdoms in the region such as Urkesh,Template:Sfn and Template:Ill, forcing them into vassalage.Template:Sfn The expansion was met by the resistance of Qarni-Lim, the king of Andarig,Template:Sfn whom Zimri-Lim defeated, securing the Mariote control over the region in c. 1771 BC,Template:Sfn and the kingdom prospered as a trading center and entered a period of relative peace.Template:Sfn Zimri-Lim's greatest heritage was the renovation of the Royal Palace, which was expanded greatly to contain 275 rooms,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn exquisite artifacts such as The Goddess of the Vase statue,Template:Sfn and a royal archive that contained thousands of tablets.Template:Sfn

Babylonian period

Mari's relations with Babylon worsened with a dispute over the city of Hīt that consumed much time in negotiations,Template:Sfn during which a war against Elam involved both kingdoms in c. 1765 BC.Template:Sfn Babylon invaded in c. 1761 BC under the rule of Hammurabi and defeated Zimri-Lin, ending the Lim dynasty,Template:Sfn while Terqa became the capital of a rump state called the Kingdom of Hana.Template:Sfn In the south, the region of Suhum became a Babylonian province.

Mari survived the destruction and rebelled against Babylon in c. 1759 BC, which prompted Hammurabi to raze the city.Template:Sfn Marc Van De Mieroop suggests that Hammurab, in a gesture of mercy, may have allowed Mari to survive as a small village under Babylonian administration.Template:Sfn

Late Bronze Age

Mari became part of Assyria and was listed among the territories conquered by the Assyrian king Tukulti-Ninurta I (r. 1243–1207 BC).Template:Sfn Mari frequently changed hands between Assyria and Babylon.Template:Sfn

Iron Age

In the middle of the eleventh century BC, Mari became part of Hana. The king of Hana Tukulti-Mer assumed the title king of Mari and rebelled against Assyria, prompting Assyrian king Ashur-bel-kala (r. 1074-1056 BC) to attack.Template:Sfn In the first half of the 8th century BC Mari came firmly under the authority of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. It was assigned to the governorship of a certain Nergal-Erish, under the authority of king Adad-Nirari III (r. 810–783 BC).Template:Sfn

File:Shamsh-res-usur, governor of Mari and Suhi.jpg
Shamash-Risha-Usur (c. 760 BC)

In c. 760 BC Shamash-Risha-Usur,Template:Sfn an autonomous administrator under the nominal authority of Ashur-dan III, ruled parts of the upper middle Euphrates; he styled himself the governor of the lands of Suhu and Mari, as did his son Ninurta-Kudurri-Usur.Template:Sfn In 760 BC Mari was part of Laqe,<ref group="note">An ancient designation for the land that include the confluence of the Khabur and the Euphrates rivers.Template:Sfn</ref>, suggesting that the title "governor" was a historical designation.Template:Sfn

The city of Mari persisted as a small settlement until the Hellenistic period (323 – 30 BCE) when it disappeared from records.Template:Sfn

Modern history

By 2015, the Islamic State (ISIS) had devastated and systematically looted the site, particularly the Royal Palace of Mari.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It was one of the first archaeological sites to be occupied by this group.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

People, language and government

Template:Further

File:Bust orant Louvre AO17557.jpg
A Mariote from the second kingdom. (25th century BC)

Mari's founders were either Sumerians or speakers of an East Semitic language from Terqa in the north.Template:Sfn Ignace Gelb relates Mari's foundation with the proposed Kish civilization,Template:Sfn a cultural entity of East Semitic-speaking populations that stretched from the center of Mesopotamia to Ebla in the western Levant.Template:Sfn

The population of the second Mari was around 40,000 at its height.Template:Sfn The population spoke an East Semitic dialect very similar to the Eblaite language. Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn In the Shakkanakku period, the population spoke Akkadian, also an East Semitic language.Template:Sfn West Semitic names started to be attested in Mari from the second kingdom era,Template:Sfn and by the middle Bronze-Age, the west Semitic Amorite tribes became the majority of the pastoral groups in the middle Euphrates and Khabur valleys.Template:Sfn Amorite names were in use by end of the Shakkanakku period, including by the ruling dynasts.Template:Sfn

File:Statues from Mari. Syria - Aleppo - National Museum.jpg
Statues from Mari in the National Museum of Aleppo

Mari's population had become predominantly Amorite during the Lim era. Textual evidence shows the continued use of Akkadian names<ref group="note">Jean-Marie Durand, although not speculating the fate of the East-Semitic population, believe that the Akkadians during the Lim dynasty are not descended from the East-Semites of the Shakkanakku period.Template:Sfn</ref> and, although the Amorite language became the dominant tongue, Akkadian remained the language of writing.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn The pastoral Amorites in Mari were called Haneans, a general term referring to nomads.Template:Sfn These Haneans were split into the Yaminites (sons of the south) and Sim'alites (sons of the north), with the ruling house belonging to the Sim'al branch.Template:Sfn The kingdom of Mari was also home to tribes of Suteans living in Terqa.Template:Sfn

Mari was an absolute monarchy. The king controlled every aspect of administration, with the aid of scribes who filled ministerial roles.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn During the Lim era, Mari was divided into four provinces in addition to the capital. The provincial seats were located at Terqa, Saggarâtum, Qaṭṭunān, and Tuttul. Each province had its own bureaucracy; Template:Sfn the state supplied the villagers with ploughs and other agricultural equipment in return for a share in the harvest.Template:Sfn

Culture and religion

File:Woman polos Louvre AO17564.jpg
A Mariote woman. (25th century BC)

The first and second kingdoms were heavily influenced by the Sumerian south.Template:Sfn The society was led by an urban oligarchy,Template:Sfn and the citizenry was known for elaborate hair and dress styles.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn They used the Eblaite calendar based on a solar year divided into twelve months.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Scribes wrote in the Sumerian language; art and architecture was indistinguishable from that of Sumer.Template:Sfn

Mesopotamia continued to influence Mariote culture during the Amorite period,Template:Sfn evidenced by the Babylonian scribal style used in the city.Template:Sfn Mesopotamian influence had lessened since former periods, and objects such as royal seals show a clear Syrian origin.Template:Sfn The society was tribal,Template:Sfn, primarily mostly of farmers and nomads (Haneans),Template:Sfn Unlike in Mesopotamia, the Mariote temple played only a minor role in everyday life as state power was invested in the royal palace.Template:Sfn Women enjoyed a relative equality to men;Template:Sfn queen Shibtu ruled in her husband's name while he was away and she had extensive authority over the highest officials.Template:Sfn

The pantheon of Mari included both Sumerian and Semitic deities.Template:Sfn For most of Mari's history, Dagan was the head of the pantheonTemplate:Sfn and Mer the patron deity.Template:Sfn Semitic deities included Ishtar, Template:Sfn Athtar, Template:Sfn and Shamash, an omniscient solar god and one of the most important of the pantheon.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Sumerian deities included Ninhursag,Template:Sfn Dumuzi,Template:Sfn Enki, Anu, and Enlil.Template:Sfn Prophecy was important to temple activity;Template:Sfn prophets participated in religious festivals and gave council to the king.Template:Sfn

Economy

The first Mari provided the oldest wheel workshop yet discovered in Syria,Template:Sfn and was a center of bronze metallurgy.Template:Sfn The city also contained districts devoted to smelting, dyeing, and pottery manufacture,Template:Sfn using charcoal brought by river boats from the upper Khabur and Euphrates area.Template:Sfn

The second kingdom's economy was based on both agriculture and trade.Template:Sfn It was centralized and directed through a communal organization,Template:Sfn with grain stored in communal granaries and distributed according to social status.Template:Sfn The organization also controlled the animal herds in the kingdom.Template:Sfn Some groups were direct beneficiaries of the palace instead of the communal organization, including the metal and textile producers and military officials.Template:Sfn Ebla was an important trading partner and rival,Template:Sfn Mari's position made it an important trading center astride the road linking the Levant and Mesopotamia.Template:Sfn

The Amorite Mari maintained the older aspects of the economy, still largely based on irrigated agriculture along the Euphrates valley.Template:Sfn The city remained a trading center for merchants from Babylonia and other kingdoms,Template:Sfn with goods from the south and east transported on riverboats bound for the north, northwest and west.Template:Sfn The main trade was metals and tin from the Iranian Plateau exported west as far as Crete. Other goods included copper from Cyprus, silver from Anatolia, wood from Lebanon, gold from Egypt, olive oil, wine, and textiles, and even precious stones from modern Afghanistan.Template:Sfn

Excavations and archive

File:Ishtup-Ilum excavation in Mari, Syria.jpg
Excavations by the archaeological team of André Parrot in 1936. Discovery of the statue of military Governor Ishtup-Ilum

Mari was discovered in 1933, on the eastern flank of Syria, near the Iraqi border.Template:Sfn A Bedouin tribe was digging through a mound called Tell Hariri for a gravestone that would be used for a recently deceased tribesman, when they came across a headless statue.Template:Sfn After the news reached the French authorities currently in control of Syria, the report was investigated, and digging on the site was started on December 14, 1933, by archaeologists from the Louvre in Paris.Template:Sfn The location of the fragment was excavated, revealing the temple of Ishtar, which led to the commencing of the full scale excavations.Template:Sfn Mari was classified by the archaeologists as the "most westerly outpost of Sumerian culture".Template:Sfn

Since the beginning of excavations, over 25,000 clay tablets in Akkadian language written in cuneiform were discovered.Template:Sfn Finds from the excavation are on display in the Louvre,Template:Sfn the National Museum of Aleppo,Template:Sfn the National Museum of Damascus,Template:Sfn and the Deir ez-Zor Museum. In the latter, the southern façade of the Court of the Palms room from Zimri-Lim's palace has been reconstructed, including the wall paintings.Template:Sfn

Mari has been excavated in annual campaigns in 1933–1939, 1951–1956, and since 1960.Template:Sfn André Parrot conducted the first 21 seasons up to 1974,Template:Sfn and was followed by Template:Ill (1979–2004),Template:Sfn and Pascal Butterlin (starting in 2005).Template:Sfn A journal devoted to the site, released in 8 volumes between 1982 and 1997, was Mari: Annales de recherches interdisciplinaires.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Archaeologists have tried to determine how many layers the site descends, according to French archaeologist André Parrot, "each time a vertical probe was commenced in order to trace the site's history down to virgin soil, such important discoveries were made that horizontal digging had to be resumed."Template:Sfn

Mari tablets

Over 25,000 tablets were found in the burnt library of Zimri-Lim written in AkkadianTemplate:Sfn from a period of 50 years between circa 1800 – 1750 BC.<ref>Sasson, Jack M.. From the Mari Archives: An Anthology of Old Babylonian Letters, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, 2015</ref> They give information about the kingdom, its customs, and the names of people who lived during that time.Template:Sfn More than 3000 are letters, the remainder includes administrative, economic, and judicial texts.Template:Sfn Almost all the tablets found were dated to the last 50 years of Mari's independence,Template:Sfn and most have now been published.Template:Sfn The language of the texts is official Akkadian, but proper names and hints in syntax show that the common language of Mari's inhabitants was Northwest Semitic.Template:Sfn Six of the tablets found were in the Hurrian language.<ref>Campbell, Dennis R. M., and Sebastian Fischer, "A HURRIAN RITUAL AGAINST TOOTHACHE: A REANALYSIS OF MARI 5", Revue d’Assyriologie et d’archéologie Orientale, vol. 112, pp. 31–48, 2018</ref>

Current situation

Excavations stopped from 2011 as a result of the Syrian Civil War and have not restarted.Template:Sfn The site came under the control of armed gangs and suffered large scale looting. A 2014 official report revealed that robbers were focusing on the royal palace, the public baths, the temple of Ishtar, and the temple of Dagan.Template:Sfn Based on satellite imagery, looting continued until at least 2017.<ref>Casana J, Laugier EJ (2017) Satellite imagery-based monitoring of archaeological site damage in the Syrian civil war. PLoS ONE 12(11): e0188589. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0188589</ref>

See also

Notes

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References

Citations

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Sources

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Further reading

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  • Mari Mari passage on the Syrian ministry of culture website (in Arabic).
  • Syrie - Mari Mari page on Britannica.
  • Mari (Tell Hariri) Suggestion to have Mari (Tell Hariri) recognized as a UNESCO world heritage site, in 1999

Template:Ancient states and regions of the Levant Template:Syria topics Template:Deir ez-Zor Governorate Template:Early Rulers of Mesopotamia Template:Authority control

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