|
Syria
Archaeological
Sites
Mari
The ancient Mesopotamian city
of Mari is located on the west bank of the Euphrates River in
present-day Syria and today goes by the name of Tel Al-Hariri, which
means “mound of silkman”. Its strategic location made Mari a very
important city during ancient times. It was a key city on the trade
route between Syria and Mesopotamia, which helped to make it a
powerful and prosperous kingdom. The site at Mari was discovered
accidentally in the early 1930s by Arabs that were digging graves.
Excavations began shortly afterwards by a group of archaeologists from
France. Under the direction of Andre Parrot, the excavators uncovered
many artifacts and structures, including temples, a royal palace and
many cuneiform tablets. The evidence gathered from Mari, indicate that
it had been occupied from before the 3rd millennium B.C. to
about 1750 B.C. when the city was captured and destroyed by Hammurabi
of Babylon.
The largest and most important
find in Mari is the royal palace of King Zimri-Lim. He was the king of
Mari between 1782 and 1759, a very prosperous time. The palace is
located in the northeastern part of the city and measures
approximately 258,335 square feet in size. It consists of nearly three
hundred rooms, stores, courtyards, and a library that contained over
twenty thousand cuneiform tablets. These tablets consist of many
letters, reports, and diplomatic correspondence from all parts of
Mesopotamia and its surrounding region. The letters and correspondence
between King Shamshi-Adad and his two sons that were exchanged during
the time shortly before 1800 B.C., paint us a fairly clear picture of
what things were like in Mesopotamia during that period. Everything
from politics and state administration to economic and legal
information are contained on these cuneiforms. Palaces that were
constructed earlier have been found underneath the Zimir-Lim palace.
Research on these palaces is still being conducted.
Mari also contains many temples
that are located both at the center of the site and at the outer
areas. There are a series of temples along the west wall that are
dedicated to the goddess Ishtar, dating from 2500 to 1800 B.C.. Theses
temples, along with Votive statues and wall paintings from various
structures, that include the famous Investiture of Zimri-Lim, show
that Mari was an artistic center with a highly advanced style of its
own and had a great influence on the surrounding regions.
|