Tell al-Lahm

Tell al-Lahm (also Tell el-Lahm or Tell el-Lehem) is an archaeological site in Dhi Qar Governorate (Iraq). It is 38 kilometers southeast of the site of ancient Ur. Its ancient name is not known with certainty with Kuara, Kisig, and Dur-Iakin having been proposed. The Euphrates river is 25 kilometers away but in ancient times it, or a branch of it, ran by the site, continuing to flow until Islamic times.

Tell al-Lahm
Tell al-Lahm is located in Iraq
Tell al-Lahm
Shown within Iraq
LocationDhi Qar Governorate, Iraq
RegionMesopotamia
Coordinates30°50′N 46°20′E
Typetell
Site notes
Excavation dates1855, 1918, 1949
ArchaeologistsJ.E. Taylor, R. Campbell Thompson, F. Safar

Archaeology

The site is oblong with an extent of 350 meters by 300 meters, consisting of one main mound with some peripheral ridges and depressions and near a dry canal bed. The surface is irregular due to use in modern times as a cemetery and from local Bedouin camping and digging defensive trenches. The mound rises to about 15 meters. Around the main mound are a number of low (less than 2 meter) mounds, mostly from much later occupation. The largest, 30 meters to the northeast, has about the same area as the main mound. The site is surrounded by the remains of a city wall, which had circular buttresses at the corners.[1]

The location was excavated for a few days in 1855 by John George Taylor. After digging a number of deep trenches he found no buildings, only the remnants of a few brick pavements, and a single cuneiform tablet. The brick inscriptions were too defaced to read. He also found a number of graves from later periods. The content or the disposition of the tablet is unclear.[2][3] While working at Eridu for the British Museum in 1918, R. Campbell Thompson excavated there briefly finding two bricks of Neo-Babylonian ruler Nabonidus and one of Ur III Empire ruler Bur-Sin. There was a sizable Neo-Babylonian settlement to the east of the site (later worked by Fuad Safar) so it is uncertain if the Nabonidus brick is in its original location.[4] In more modern times, Fuad Safar conducted soundings at Kuara in 1949. Six deep soundings were dug on the main mound, providing a detail stratigraphy of the site. The first sounding found an inscribed brick of Bur-Sin. Small pits excavated on the large low mound to the northeast found some Neo-Assyrian remains including a cylinder seal and the rim of a stone vase (thought to be from the main mound originally) inscribed with "dShu-nir". Five soundings were also conducted on the low mound. It found remains of a large building, a few fragmentary cuneiform tablets (disposition unclear), a figurine (thought to be of the god Nabu) and a damaged baked clay cylinder of Nabonidus. At the upper level three blackish partly baked tablets (disposition unclear) were found, two with a date of Achaemenid Empire king Darius. No transcriptions or translations of epigraphy were reported.[1]

The inscription on the Nabonidus cylinder (in literature referred to as "Nabonidus Cylinder II, 6", "[Nabonidus] Inscription 10", and the "Eamaškuga Cylinder"), which figures heavily in debates about the sites original name, reads:

"Nabonidus, king of Babylon, the attentive prince chosen by the god Marduk, the one who provides for Esagil and Ezida ... At that time, (with regard to) Eamaškuga the temple of the goddess Ningal — the pure lady of everything — the pure sheepfold that is inside the city Kissik, which a long time ago had become weak (and) whose walls had buckled, [I removed] its [buckled] walls that had become weak [and (then)] I examined (and) [checked its original] foundation(s) and (thereby) secu[red its brickwork] on top of [its original foundation(s).]] (lacuna) [O Ningal, ...], the [pure] l[ady of everything,]... when you are] joyous[ly dwelling] in E[maškuga],which is inside [the city Kissik], speak good things about [Nabonidus], the king ..."[5]

An earlier epigrapher had translated the key phrase "the pure sheepfold that is inside the city Kissik" as "which is within Dur" sparking speculation about "Dur" and its implication for the name of the city.[6] Another epigrapher suggest the goddess Annunitum rather than Ningal.[7]

The inscribed brick of Ur III ruler Amar-Sin read:

"Amar-Suena, the one called by name by the god Enlil in Nippur, supporter of the temple of the god Enlil, mighty man, king of Ur, king of the four quarters."[8]

In 2008 a team of Iraqi and British Museum archaeologists assessing damage to archaeological sites in Iraq visited Tell al-Lahm. They found numerous looting holes and significant damage from military activity and the remains of tank emplacements.[9]

History

The earliest known occupation at the site is in the Early Dynastic period. Occupation was extensive in the following Akkadian Empire period, Ur III period, Isin-Larsa period, Old Babylonian period, and Kassite period. Afterward the site showed at most modest occupation (Neo-Babylonian and Neo-Assyrian on a 30 meter distant low mound), aside from later use as a cemetery.[1]

Name

One researcher, based on the recovered cylinder of Nabonidus, contended that Tell al-Lahm was the site of the 1st millennium BC city of Kisik. The primary argument is based on the mention of the E-amas-ku-ga temple of Ningal in that cylinder. Another researcher based this on the fact that there is thought to have been an E-amas-ku-ga temple of Istar in Kisig which has been proposed as the earlier name for Kisik.[7][10][11] Based on the possible mention of a "Dur" in the Nabonidus cylinder an epigrapher proposed that the 1st Millennium BC name of the site was Dur-Iakin. a fortress of the Sealands belonging to the Bit-Iakin tribe.[6][12] The possibility of being named Kuura in the Early Dynatic period is somewhat more tenuous. It relies on 1) the reading of Annunitum instead of Ningal in the Nabonidus cylinder, 2) that Annunitim is a epitaph of Istar, 3) that a temple of Istar with the name E-amas-ku-ga was thought to be in Kisik, and 4) the possibility that Kuara was an earlier name for Kisik.[7]

Dur-Iakin

Dur refers to a fortress in Akkadian so Dur-Iakin is the "Fortress of the Iakin", more formally the Bit-Iakin (also Bit-Yakin).[6] The name is only attested in the 1st Millennium BC. Its most notable occurrence is from the battles between the Neo-Assyrian ruler Sargon II and the Neo-Babylonian (sometimes called Chaldean) ruler Marduk-apla-iddina II. Marduk-apla-iddina II, who is the Merodach-Baladan of the Hebrew Bible, rallied opposition to Sargon, including the Bit-Iakin, at Dur-Iakin, digging a canal to the Euphrates for water. In 709 BC Sargon, according to Assyrian sources, sieged and then in 707 BC destroyed Dur-Iakin, deported its populace, and took away its gods, though Marduk-apla-iddina II escaped to Elam and lived to fight another day.[13][14][15]

Kisik/Kisig

Also sometimes Kissik. It is mostly attested in the 1st Millennium BC with one possible mention in the early 2nd Millennium BC. It has been suggested that the city was named Kisik, usually spelled syllabically but also logographically (EZENxKU7ki) in the 1st millennium BC but had been named Kisig (EZENxSIGki) in earlier periods.[16] A calendar of Neo-Babylonian ruler Nebuchadnezzar II mentions sangu (high priests) of Kissik.[17] It is believed to have been in the region controlled by the Bit-Iakin, like Dur-Iakin.[18][19] One researcher suggested that the residence of the early 2nd Millennium BC Isin-Larsa period ruler Naplanum was at Kisig and that the city was Amorite.[20][21][22] In the time of Neo-Assyrian ruler Ashurbanipal (669–631 BC) the Elamite ruler Nabu-bel-shumate carried away some citizens of Kisig and as a result that town swore an oath to Ashurbanipal and provided troops. They later complained that their troops were not being treated well.[23] Sargon II (722–705 BC) awarded andurāru status to "Dēr, Ur, Uruk, Eridu, Larsa, Kullab, Kisik, and Nemed-Laguda".[24]

Kuara (Ku'ara)

Personal names such as Lú-a.ḫaki "The man from Kuara" are known in the Early Dynastic period.[25] In a Ur III empire period a tablet from Puzrish-Dagan lists an ensi (governor) of Ku'ara as Enlil-zisagal.[26] Several researchers have suggested that the name of the city evolved over time, becoming Kuwara and then later Kumari.[27]

In Sumerian mythology Kuara was considered the birthplace of the god Asarluhi, son of the pantheons primary god Enki (Ea). In the Old Babylonian period, Marduk, previously an insignificant local god of Babylon, was subsumed into the figure of Asarluhi, making him the son of Enki.[28][29] The temple hymns of Enheduana, daughter of Akkadian Empire ruler Sargon of Akkad included a section reading:

"E-kuara, the Temple of Asarluhi in Kuara - Asarluhi, the god of magic and incantations, was Enki’s son. City. Like grain, you grew from the Deep Sea. You took your cosmic powers from the cloud-covered steppe. Kuara, you are the foundation for a worthy hall. Your lord does not hold back his gifts. ... Asarluhi, son of the Deep Sea, has built a home in your holy court, House of Kuara, and has taken his seat upon your throne. Eleven lines. House of Asarluhi in Kuara"[30]

According to various sources Ku'ara contained cult centers or temples to various gods including Lugal-eri-saga, Lugal-nita-zi(d) and Ensi-mah in the Ur III period, (Nin-)ges-zida, and Nin-sun.[31] A tablet from Puzrish-Dagan indicates that only the gods "Ninsun, Asalluḫi and Nindamana" actually had temples in Ku'ara and suggests that Martu, perhaps an early form of Marduk, was also worshiped there.[32] In the Sumerian King List, Kuara was the home of Dumuzid, the fisherman, a god and the legendary third king of Uruk. In fact the SKL lists two Dumizids, the other, Dumizid the shepherd, also being a god and ruler of Bad-Tibira.[33]

See also

References
  1. Fuad Safar, "Soundings at Tell Al-Laham", Sumer, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 154-172, 1949
  2. J. E. Taylor, "Notes on Abu Shahrein and Tel el Lahm", Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. 15, pp. 404-415, 1855
  3. E. Sollberger, "Mr. Taylor in Chaldaea", Anatolian Studies, vol. 22 , pp. 129-139, 1972
  4. R. Campbell Thompson, "The British Museum excavations at Abu Shahrain in Mesopotamia in 1918", Oxford, 1920
  5. Weiershäuser, Frauke and Novotny, Jamie, "III. Nabonidus — Babylonia", The Royal Inscriptions of Amēl-Marduk (561–560 BC), Neriglissar (559–556 BC), and Nabonidus (555–539 BC), Kings of Babylon, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 52-185, 2020
  6. H. W. F. Saggs, "A cylinder from Tell Al-Laham", Sumer, vol. 13, no. 1+2, pp. 190–195, 1957
  7. Jacobsen, Thorkild, "The Waters of Ur", Iraq, vol. 22, pp. 174–85, 1960
  8. Frayne, Douglas, "Amar-Suena E3/2.1.3", Ur III Period (2112-2004 BC), Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp. 235-284, 1997
  9. Curtis, John, et al., "An Assessment of Archaeological Sites in June 2008: An Iraqi-British Project", Iraq, vol. 70, pp. 215–37, 2008
  10. Kessler, K., "Zu den keilschriftlichen Quellen des 2./1. Jahrtausends v. Chr. über Dilmun", in D.T. Potts(ed.), Dilmun: New Studies in the Archaeology and Early History of Bahrain, Berlin, pp. 147-160, 1983
  11. Ahmed, Sami Said, "Geographical Framework", Southern Mesopotamia in the time of Ashurbanipal, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter Mouton, pp. 17-26, 1968
  12. Howard-Carter, Theresa, "Dilmun: At Sea or Not at Sea?: A Review Article", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 39, pp. 54-117, 1987
  13. Johnson, Erika Diane, "Stealing the enemy‘s Gods: an exploration of the phenomenon of Godnap in Ancient Western Asia", Dissertation, University of Birmingham, 2011
  14. Frame, Grant, "Uncertain Dynasties", Rulers of Babylonia, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp. 90-274, 1995
  15. Frame, Grant, "A" New" Cylinder Inscription of Sargon II of Assyria from Melid", Studia Orientalia Electronica 106, pp. 65-82, 2009
  16. Beaulieu, Paul-Alain, "Kissik, Düru and Udannu", Orientalia, vol. 61, no. 4, pp. 400–24, 1992
  17. Beaulieu, Paul-Alain, "The City of Ur and the Neo-Babylonian Empire", Ur in the Twenty-First Century CE: Proceedings of the 62nd Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale at Philadelphia, July 11–15, 2016, edited by Grant Frame, Joshua Jeffers and Holly Pittman, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 153-170, 2021
  18. Zadok, R., "Repértoire Géographique des Textes Cunéi-formes 8: Geographical Names According to New- and Late Babylonian Texts", Beihefte zum TAVO B 7/8, Wiesbaden, 1985
  19. Da Riva, Rocio, "Nebuchadnezzar II’s Prism (EŞ 7834): A New Edition", Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie, vol. 103, no. 2, pp. 196-229, 2013
  20. Michalowski, Piotr, "Love or Death? Observations on the Role of the Gala in Ur III Ceremonial Life", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 58, pp. 49–61, 2006
  21. Steinkeller, Piotr, "A History of Mashkan-shapir and Its Role in the Kingdom of Larsa", The Anatomy of a Mesopotamian City: Survey and Soundings at Mashkan-shapir, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 26-42, 2004
  22. Michalowski, Piotr, "The Amorites in Ur III Times", The Correspondence of the Kings of Ur: An Epistolary History of an Ancient Mesopotamian Kingdom, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 82-121, 2011
  23. Ahmed, Sami Said, "V. Kandalanu in Babylon and Bel-ibni, Governor of the Sea Land", Southern Mesopotamia in the time of Ashurbanipal, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter Mouton, pp. 104-120, 1968
  24. Frazer, Mary and Adalı, Selim Ferruh, "“The just judgements that Ḫammu-rāpi, a former king, rendered”: A New Royal Inscription in the Istanbul Archaeological Museums", Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie, vol. 111, no. 2, pp. 231-262, 2021
  25. Tavernier, Jan, "Ur and Other Cities in Some Sumerian and Akkadian Personal Names: The Pre-Sargonic and Sargonic Periods", Ur in the Twenty-First Century CE: Proceedings of the 62nd Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale at Philadelphia, July 11–15, 2016, edited by Grant Frame, Joshua Jeffers and Holly Pittman, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 485-502, 2021
  26. Owen, D. I., and E. Wasilewska, "Cuneiform Texts in the Arizona State Museum, Tucson", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 52, pp. 1–53, 2000
  27. Gurney, O. R., "The Fifth Tablet of ‘The Topography of Babylon’", Iraq, vol. 36, no. 1/2, pp. 39–52, 1974
  28. W. G. Lambert, "The Historical Development of the Mesopotamian Pantheon: A Study in Sophisticated Polytheism", in: H. Goedicke and J. J. M. Roberts (ed.), Unity and Diversity, Baltimore, pp. 91–200, 1975
  29. Barberon, Lucile, "To Dedicate or Marry a Nadîtu-Woman of Marduk in Old Babylonian Society", La famille dans le Proche-Orient ancien: réalités, symbolismes et images: Proceedings of the 55e Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale, Paris, edited by Lionel Marti, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 267-274, 2014
  30. Helle, Sophus, "The Temple Hymns", Enheduana: The Complete Poems of the World's First Author, New Haven: Yale University Press, pp. 53-94, 2023
  31. Frayne, Douglas R. and Stuckey, Johanna H., "A Handbook of Gods and Goddesses of the Ancient Near East: Three Thousand Deities of Anatolia, Syria, Israel, Sumer, Babylonia, Assyria, and Elam", University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, 2021
  32. Johandi, Andreas, "The Identity of Martu (dMAR. TU) in the Ur III Period", Studia Antiqua et Archaeologica 27.2, pp. 267-278, 2021
  33. Paul-Alain Beaulieu, "The Pantheon of Uruk During the Neo-Babylonian Period", Brill. ISBN 90-04-13024-1, p. 114, 2003

Further reading
  • Alhawi, Nagham A., Badir N. Albadran, and Jennifer R. Pournelle, "The archaeological sites along the ancient course of Euphrates river", Am. Sci. Res. J. Eng. Technol. Sci. ASRJETS 29, pp. 1-20, 2017
  • Kessler, Karlheinz, "Bemerkungen zu den Tontafeln der Sondagen Fuad Safars 1949 im Tell el-Laḥm", Nomina in aqua scripta. Homenaje a Joaquín María Córdoba Zoilo, hrsg. v. Adolfo J. Domínguez Monedero, pp. 497-510, 2021
  • Röllig, Wolfgang, "Kisiga, Kissik", Reallexikon der Assyriologie, vol. 5, pp. 620-622, 1976-1980 (in German)
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