Mesopotamia in 2nd millennium BC showing Mari in relation to Babylon

Mari (modern Tell Hariri, Syria) was an ancient Sumerian and Amorite city, located 11 kilometers north-west of the modern town of Abu Kamal on the western bank of Euphrates river, some 120 km southeast of Deir ez-Zor, Syria. Mesopotamia (from the Greek meaning "land between the rivers" is an area geographically located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers largely corresponding The 2nd millennium BC marks the transition from the Middle to the Late Bronze Age. Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية Sumer ( Sumerian: sux-Latn [[Ki (earth ki]]-[[EN (cuneiform en]]-'''ĝir15''', Akkadian: Šumeru; possibly Biblical Shinar Amorite ( Sumerian MARTU, Akkadian Tidnum or Amurrūm, Egyptian Amar, Hebrew ’emōrî Abu Kamal (أبو كمال is a city in eastern Syria on the Euphrates River near the border with Iraq. The Euphrates ( ( Arabic: ar نهر الفرات; Turkish: tr Fırat Syriac: syr ܦܪܬ; Hebrew: he פרת Deir ez Zor, also spelled Dayr az-Zawr, Deir al-Zur and other variants (دير الزور Armenian: Տէր Զօր or Der Zor) is a city in Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية It is thought to have been inhabited since the 5th millennium BC, although it flourished from 2900 BC until 1759 BC, when it was sacked by Hammurabi. The 5th millennium BC saw the spread of Agriculture from the Near East throughout southern and central Europe The 29th century BC is a Century which lasted from the year 2900 BC to 2801 BC The 18th century BC was the Century which lasted from 1800 BC to 1701 BC Hammurabi ( Akkadian from Amorite ˤAmmurāpi, "the kinsman is a healer" from ˤAmmu, "paternal kinsman" and Rāpi

Discovery and excavation

Mari was discovered in 1933 on the eastern flank of Syria, near the Iraqi border. Year 1933 ( MCMXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A Bedouin tribe was digging through a mound for a gravestone that would be used for a recently deceased tribesman, when they came across a headless statue. The Bedouin, (from the Arabic (ar بدوي pl badū) are a desert-dwelling Arab Nomadic pastoralist, or previously 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. The Louvre Museum (Musée du Louvre located in Paris is the world's most visited art museum a historic monument and a national museum of France Discoveries came quickly, with the temple of Ishtar being discovered in the next month. Mari was classified by the archaeologists as the "most westerly outpost of Sumerian culture". Since the beginning of excavations, over 25,000 clay tablets in Akkadian language written in cuneiform were discovered.

Mari has been excavated every year since 1933 (except for the period 1939-1951). Less than half of the 1000 by 600 meter area of Mari has been uncovered as of 2005. Although archaeologists have tried to determine how many layers the site descends, it hasn't proved possible. 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".

Mari Tablets

The Mari Tablets are a large group of tablets discovered by French archaeologists in the 1930's. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Archaeology, archeology, or archæology (from Greek grc ἀρχαιολογία archaiologia – grc ἀρχαῖος archaīos Year 1930 ( MCMXXX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. More than 23,000 tablets were found, which gave information about the kingdom of Mari including the customs of the Mari kingdom, as well as giving names of people who lived during that time.

Ancient History

Tablet of King Zimri-Lim of Mari, ca. Zimrilim was king of Mari from about 1779 to 1757 BCE He was the son and heir of Iakhdunlim, but was forced to flee to Yamkhad when his father 1780 BC, Louvre Museum

Mari had been inhabited since the 5th millennium BC, but the real significance of the city was during the third and second millennia BC. The Louvre Museum (Musée du Louvre located in Paris is the world's most visited art museum a historic monument and a national museum of France The inhabitants of Mari were a Semitic people, thought to be part of the same Eblaite and Akkadian migration.

First Golden Age

The city flourished since it was strategically important as a relay point between Sumerian cities of lower Mesopotamia and the cities of northern Syria. Sumer required building materials such as timber and stone from northern Syria, and these materials had to go through Mari to get to Sumer.

First Destruction

After a period of eminence beginning 2900 BC, Mari was destroyed around 24th century BC. The 24th century BC is a Century which lasted from the year 2400 BC to 2301 BC This destruction brought a period of relative decline in importance in the region and the city was reduced to no more than a small village. Historians are divided when it comes to who destroyed the city; some name Sargon of Akkad (who stated that he had passed through Mari on his famous campaign to the west), while others say it was the Eblaites, Mari's traditional commercial rivals. You may be looking for the Assyrian kings Sargon I Ebla ( Arabic: عبيل، إيبلا modern Tell Mardikh, Syria) was an ancient city about 55 km southwest of Aleppo.

Second Golden Age

The status of the city was revived again under an Amorite dynasty. Amorite ( Sumerian MARTU, Akkadian Tidnum or Amurrūm, Egyptian Amar, Hebrew ’emōrî The second golden age commenced around 1900 BC. The 19th century BC was the century which lasted from 1900 BC to 1801 BC Two significant archaeological discoveries were made that dated back to this period. The palace of Zimri-Lim, a king of Mari, contained over 300 rooms. Zimrilim was king of Mari from about 1779 to 1757 BCE He was the son and heir of Iakhdunlim, but was forced to flee to Yamkhad when his father The palace was possibly the largest of its time, and its reputation in neighboring cities and kingdoms was well-known. Supposedly, "King Yahmad of Aleppo and the King of Ugarit both expressed their desire to visit the palace" to see its splendor for themselves. For other meanings see Aleppo (disambiguation. Halab redirects here for other meanings see Halab (disambiguation. Ugarit ( Ugaritic: ʼugrt; Hebrew:; Arabic:) (modern Ras Shamra رأس شمرة ("top/head/cape of the wild Fennel The state archives were also built during this time. From the archives over 25,000 cuneiform tablets have been taken. The tablets, according to Andre Parrot, "brought about a complete revision of the historical dating of the ancient Near East and provided more than 500 new place names, enough to redraw or even draw up the geographical map of the ancient world".

Final Destruction

Mari was destroyed again around 1759 BC by Hammurabi, sixth king of Babylon. Hammurabi ( Akkadian from Amorite ˤAmmurāpi, "the kinsman is a healer" from ˤAmmu, "paternal kinsman" and Rāpi Babylon was a City-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which can be found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq This is known from the numerous state archives tablets that recount Hammurabi turning on his old ally Zimrilim, and defeating him in battle. Zimrilim was king of Mari from about 1779 to 1757 BCE He was the son and heir of Iakhdunlim, but was forced to flee to Yamkhad when his father After this destruction, it was inhabited sporadically by Assyrians and Babylonians, but the city remained a village until the arrival of the Greeks, and vanished from history thereafter.

Economy

The growth of the city from a small village to an important trading center was due to its diverse economy in the ancient world. The city came to control the trade lanes between different regions such as western Iran, Mesopotamia, Carchemish, and parts of Anatolia. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. Mesopotamia (from the Greek meaning "land between the rivers" is an area geographically located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers largely corresponding Carchemish (called Europus by the Greco-Romans) was an important ancient city of the Mitanni and Hittite empires now on the frontier between Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black Cities that Mari is confirmed to have traded with include Ur, Aleppo, and Ugarit. Ur ( Sumerian:urim; Akkadian: ?) is modern Tell el-Mukayyar, Iraq, and was a city in ancient Sumer. For other meanings see Aleppo (disambiguation. Halab redirects here for other meanings see Halab (disambiguation. Ugarit ( Ugaritic: ʼugrt; Hebrew:; Arabic:) (modern Ras Shamra رأس شمرة ("top/head/cape of the wild Fennel The cargo brought through the city grew to include dates, olives, pottery, porcelain, grains, timber, and stone. Trade might also have occurred with the nearby city of Terqa, but excavations of Terqa are relatively recent and not all results are published. Terqa is the name of an ancient city discovered at the site of Tell Ashara on the banks of the middle Euphrates in Syria, approximately 80 km

Culture and religion

Intendant Ebih-Il, found in the temple of Ishtar at Mari, Archaic Dynasties (ca. Ishtar ( D IŠTAR 𒀭𒌋𒁯 is the Assyrian and Babylonian counterpart to the Sumerian Inanna and to 2400 BC), Louvre Museum

The citizens of Mari were well known for elaborate hair styles and dress, and were considered to be part of Mesopotamian culture, despite being more than 150 miles upriver of Babylon. The Louvre Museum (Musée du Louvre located in Paris is the world's most visited art museum a historic monument and a national museum of France Babylon was a City-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which can be found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq It is theorized by some that Mari functioned as a trading outpost for southern Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia (from the Greek meaning "land between the rivers" is an area geographically located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers largely corresponding

The inhabitants of Mari worshiped a vast array of Sumerians gods and goddesses. Dagan, the deity of storms, had an entire temple dedicated to him, as did Ishtar, the goddess of fertility, and Shamash, the Sun god. Dagon was a major northwest Semitic god reportedly of grain and agriculture Ishtar ( D IŠTAR 𒀭𒌋𒁯 is the Assyrian and Babylonian counterpart to the Sumerian Inanna and to For the Canaanite sun godess see Shemesh Shamash was the common Akkadian name of the Sun-god and god of justice in Babylonia Shamash was believed to be all-knowing and all-seeing, and in many seals he is seen standing between two large doors. A cylinder seal is a cylinder engraved with a 'picture story' used in ancient times to roll an impression onto a two-dimensional surface generally wet Clay. According to the Epic of Gilgamesh, these doors are between Mount Mashu, and are the eastern doors to heaven. The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from Ancient Mesopotamia and is among the earliest known works of literary fiction. For the Canterbury scene band see Mashu (band. Mashu, as described in the Epic of Gilgamesh of Mesopotamian Through Mari's extensive trade network, Sumerian gods and goddesses were taken to non-Sumerian cities such as Ebla and Ugarit and incorporated into their native religions. Ebla ( Arabic: عبيل، إيبلا modern Tell Mardikh, Syria) was an ancient city about 55 km southwest of Aleppo. Ugarit ( Ugaritic: ʼugrt; Hebrew:; Arabic:) (modern Ras Shamra رأس شمرة ("top/head/cape of the wild Fennel