Location
of Adab before the expansion of the Akkadian Empire (in green).
The territory of Sumer appears in orange. Circa 2350 BCE
Alternative
name : Bismya
Location
: Wasit Province, Iraq
Region
: Mesopotamia
Coordinates
: 31°56'49 N 45°58'8 E
Type
: tell
Site
notes :
Excavation
dates :
1885, 1890, 1902, 1903–1904
Archaeologists
:
W.H. Ward, J.P. Peters, W. Andrae, E.J. Banks
History
of archaeological research :
Initial examinations of the site of Bismaya were by William Hayes
Ward of the Wolfe Expedition in 1885 and by John Punnett Peters
of the University of Pennsylvania in 1890, each spending a day
there and finding one cuneiform table and a few fragments. Walter
Andrae visited Bismaya in 1902, found a table fragment and produced
a sketch map of the site.
Excavations
were conducted there for a total of six months, between Christmas
of 1903 and June 1905, for the University of Chicago, primarily
by Dr. Edgar James Banks, with the final part of the dig being
under engineer Victor S. Persons. It proved that these mounds
covered the site of the ancient city of Adab (Ud-Nun), hitherto
known only from the Sumerian King List and a brief mention of
its name in the introduction to the Hammurabi Code. The city was
divided into two parts by a canal, on an island in which stood
the temple, E-mach, with a ziggurat, or stepped tower. It was
evidently once a city of considerable importance, but deserted
at a very early period, since the ruins found close to the surface
of the mounds belong to Shulgi and Ur-Nammu, kings of the Third
Dynasty of Ur in the latter part of the third millennium BC, based
on inscribed bricks excavated at Bismaya. Immediately below these,
as at Nippur, were found artifacts dating to the reign of Naram-Suen
and Sargon of Akkad, c. 2300 BC. Below these there were still
10.5 metres (34 ft) of stratified remains, constituting seven-eighths
of the total depth of the ruins. Besides the remains of buildings,
walls and graves, Dr. Banks discovered a large number of inscribed
clay tablets of a very early period, bronze and stone tablets,
bronze implements and the like.
Statue
of Lugal-dalu, King or Governor of Adab in the 3rd millennium
BCE. He is not listed in the Sumerian King List. An inscription
on the shoulder identifies him, and he is wearing the Kaunakes
Of the tablets, 543 went to the Oriental Institute and roughly
1100, mostly purchased from the locals rather than excavated,
went to the Istanbul Museum. The latter are still apparently unpublished.
But the two most notable discoveries were a complete statue in
white marble, apparently the earliest yet found in Mesopotamia,
now in the Istanbul Archaeology Museums, bearing the inscription,
translated by Banks as "E-mach, King Da-udu, King of, Ud-Nun",
now known as the statue of Lugal-dalu; and a temple refuse heap,
consisting of great quantities of fragments of vases in marble,
alabaster, onyx, porphyry and granite, some of which were inscribed,
and others engraved and inlaid with ivory and precious stones.
Of
the Adab tablets that ended up at the University of Chicago, sponsor
of the excavations, all have been published and also made available
in digital form online. Of the purchased tablets sold piecemeal
to various owners, a few have also made their way into publication.
Though
the Banks expedition to Bismaya was well documented by the standards
of the time and many objects photographed, no final report was
ever produced due to personal disputes. Recently, the Oriental
Institute has re-examined the records and objects returned to
the institute by Banks and produced a report.
In
response to widespread looting, the Iraq State Board of Antiquities
and Heritage conducted an excavation at Adab in 2001.
There
is a Sumerian comic tale of the Three Ox-drivers from Adab.
Adab
and its environment :
Male
bust, perhaps Lugal-kisal-si, king of Uruk. Limestone, Early Dynastic
III. From Adab (Bismaya)
A group of tells or settlement mounds are what remains of the
ancient city. The mounds are about 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) long
and 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) wide, consisting of a number of low
ridges, nowhere exceeding 12 metres (39 ft) in height, lying somewhat
nearer to the Tigris than the Euphrates, about a day's journey
to the south-east of Nippur.
Occupation
history :
Adab was occupied from at least the Early Dynastic Period. According
to Sumerian text Inanna's descent to the netherworld, there was
a temple of Inanna named E-shar at Adab during the reign of Dumuzid
of Uruk. In another text in the same series, Dumuzid's dream,
Dumuzid of Uruk is toppled from his opulence by a hungry mob composed
of men from the major cities of Sumer, including Adab.
A
king of Kish, Mesilim, appears to have ruled at Adab, based on
inscriptions found at Bismaya. One king of Adab, Lugal-Anne-Mundu,
appearing in the Sumerian King List, is mentioned in few contemporary
inscriptions; some that are much later copies claim that he established
a vast, but brief empire stretching from Elam all the way to Lebanon
and the Amorite territories along the Jordan. Adab is also mentioned
in some of the Ebla tablets from roughly the same era as a trading
partner of Ebla in northern Syria, shortly before Ebla was destroyed
by unknown forces.
A
marble statue was found at Bismaya inscribed with the name of
another king of Adab, variously translated as Lugal-daudu, Da-udu,
Lugaldalu, and Esar. Brick stamps, found by Banks during his excavation
of Adab state that the Akkadian ruler Naram-Suen built a temple
to Inanna at Adab, but the temple was not found during the dig,
and is not known for certain to be E-shar.
Several
governors of the city under Ur III are also known. While no later
archaeological evidence was found at Bismaya, the excavations
there were brief, and there were later epigraphic references to
Adab, such as in the Code of Hammurabi.
Rulers
of Adab :
Ruler |
Particulars |
Nin-kisalsi |
Proposed
reign : 2600 BCE
Notes
:
"Governor
of Lagash" |
Lugaldalu |
Proposed
reign : 2450 BCE
Notes
:
Known
from a statue |
E-iginimpa'e |
Proposed
reign : 2400 BCE
Notes
:
Contemporary
with Lugalzagesi |
Meskigal |
Proposed
reign : 2350 BCE
Notes
:
Contemporary
with the Akkadian Empire, with which he collaborated. |
Lugalannemundu |
Proposed
reign : 2300 BCE
Notes
:
C"King
of the four quarters of the world" |
Urdumu
|
Proposed
reign : ?
Notes
:
Ensi,
known from a seal |
Gallery
:
Seal
of "Urdumu, Ensi of Udnunki" ("Urdumu, Governor
of Adab")
UD-NUN-KI,
"City of Adab" on the statue of Lugal-dalu, with rendering
in early Sumero-Akkadian cuneiform
Headless
votive statue, from Adab, Iraq, early dynastic period. Museum
of the Ancient Orient, Turkey
Headless
votive statue, from Adab, Iraq, early dynastic period. Museum
of the Ancient Orient, Istanbul
Head
of a votive statue, from Adab, Iraq, early dynastic period. Museum
of the Ancient Orient, Turkey
Relief
of a naked priest, from Adab, Iraq, early dynastic period. Museum
of the Ancient Orient, Turkey
Cuneiform
inscription on a statue from Adab, mentioning the name of Lugal-dalu
and god ESAR of Adab
Source
:
https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Adab_(city)