Haradum

Haradum
	Shown within Iraq
Alternative name	Khirbit ed-Diniye
Location	Al Anbar Governorate, Iraq
Coordinates	34.433333°N 41.600000°E
Type	settlement
History
Founded	Early 2nd millennium BC
Periods	Bronze Age
Site notes
Excavation dates	1981-1988
Archaeologists	Christine Kepinski-Lecomte
Condition	Ruined
Ownership	Public
Public access	Yes

Haradum (modern Khirbit ed-Diniye (also Khirbet ed-Diniyé), in Al Anbar Governorate Iraq, was an ancient Near East city on the middle Euphrates about 90 kilometers southeast of Mari. It was part of the ancient region of Suhum. The name of the town meant "the place where one stands watch".[1]

History

Babylonia at the time of Hammurabi, ca. 1792-1750 BC

While the site of Haradum was occupied earlier, under the control of Eshnunna, being mentioned in texts from Mari, [2] After a hiatus it grew into a proper town until the 18th century BC under the control of the First Dynasty of Babylon. It was later the site of a Neo-Assyrian fortress.

Babylonian period

The earliest dated record is from the 26th year of King Samsu-iluna of Babylon. Tablets from the reign of Babylonian rulers Abi-eshuh, Ammi-ditana, Ammi-saduqa, and Samsu-Ditana have also been found at Haradum.

Haradum is noted for being one of the earliest examples of a planned city, with a rectilinear layout and straight streets. It contained two temples (dedicated to Ishtar and Adad respectively) but no palace.[3]

Archaeology

The site of Haradum is small, about 1.5 hectares in area (a 150 by 150 meter square) with a fortification wall having a main gate in the western wall. It was excavated for six seasons between 1981 and 1988 by a team from the Délégation Archéologique Française en Iraq led by Christine Kepinski-Lecomte. A number of cuneiform tablets were found in residential and temple contexts. The work was a salvage operation in response to Haditha Dam construction.[4][5][6][7]

The excavators found four 2nd Millennium BC building layers. The first (3D) was from the time of Mari ruler Zimri-Lim (1775–1761 BC) and included a fortification wall. Later construction followed the street plan established at that time. The subsequent levels, under Babylonian and later Middle Assyrian rule dated c. 1750-1700 BC (3C), c. 1700-1665 BC (3B) destroyed by fire, and c. 1665-1130 BC (3A). Part of the later was overlaid by the Neo-Assyrian fortress.[8][9][10]

References

Kepinski, Christine, "Organization of Harrâdum, Suhum, 18th–17th Centuries b.c., Iraqi Middle Euphrates", Organization, Representation, and Symbols of Power in the Ancient Near East: Proceedings of the 54th Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale at Würzburg 20–25 Jul, edited by Gernot Wilhelm, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 143-154, 2022
Wolfgang Heimpel, "Letters to the King of Mari", Eisenbrauns, 2003 ISBN 1-57506-080-9
C.Kepinski-Lecomte, "Spatial occupation of a new town Haradum", in Houses and Households in ancient Mesopotamia. K.R. Veenhof (ed.); Leiden: Nederlands Historisch-Archaeologisch Instituut te Istanbul, pp. 191-96, 1996
Christine Kepinski and Olivier Lecomte, "Mari et Haradum", Mari Annales de Recherches Interdisciplinaires, vol. 4, pp. 615-621, 1985
Christine Kepinski and Olivier Lecomte, "Haradum/Harada, une forteresse sur l'Euphrate", Archeologia, vol. 205, pp. 46-55, 1985
F. Joannes, C. Kepinski, and O.Lecomte, "Présence babylonienne dans le pays de Suhu au XVIIe siècle av. J.-C: L'exemple de Kherbet ed Diniye, Iraq", Revue d'assyriologie d'archéologie orientale, vol. 77, pp. 119-142, 1983
F. Joannes, "Haradum et le pays de Suhum", Archeologia, vol. 205, pp. 56-59, 2005
"Excavations in Iraq, 1981-82", Iraq, vol. 45, no. 2, pp. 199–224, 1983
"Excavations in Iraq, 1983-84", Iraq, vol. 47, pp. 215–39, 1985
"Excavations in Iraq 1987-88", Iraq, vol. 51, pp. 249–65, 1989

External links

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[1] Kepinski, Christine, "Organization of Harrâdum, Suhum, 18th–17th Centuries b.c., Iraqi Middle Euphrates", Organization, Representation, and Symbols of Power in the Ancient Near East: Proceedings of the 54th Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale at Würzburg 20–25 Jul, edited by Gernot Wilhelm, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 143-154, 2022

[2] Wolfgang Heimpel, "Letters to the King of Mari", Eisenbrauns, 2003 ISBN 1-57506-080-9

[3] C.Kepinski-Lecomte, "Spatial occupation of a new town Haradum", in Houses and Households in ancient Mesopotamia. K.R. Veenhof (ed.); Leiden: Nederlands Historisch-Archaeologisch Instituut te Istanbul, pp. 191-96, 1996

[4] Christine Kepinski and Olivier Lecomte, "Mari et Haradum", Mari Annales de Recherches Interdisciplinaires, vol. 4, pp. 615-621, 1985

[5] Christine Kepinski and Olivier Lecomte, "Haradum/Harada, une forteresse sur l'Euphrate", Archeologia, vol. 205, pp. 46-55, 1985

[6] F. Joannes, C. Kepinski, and O.Lecomte, "Présence babylonienne dans le pays de Suhu au XVIIe siècle av. J.-C: L'exemple de Kherbet ed Diniye, Iraq", Revue d'assyriologie d'archéologie orientale, vol. 77, pp. 119-142, 1983

[7] F. Joannes, "Haradum et le pays de Suhum", Archeologia, vol. 205, pp. 56-59, 2005

[8] "Excavations in Iraq, 1981-82", Iraq, vol. 45, no. 2, pp. 199–224, 1983

[9] "Excavations in Iraq, 1983-84", Iraq, vol. 47, pp. 215–39, 1985

[10] "Excavations in Iraq 1987-88", Iraq, vol. 51, pp. 249–65, 1989