MARDAMAN
![](mardaman.jpg)
Mardaman
shown within Iraq
Location
: Bassetki, Dohuk Governorate, Iraq
Region
:
Mesopotamia
Coordinates
:
36°57'31.6 N 42°43'17.4 E
Type
:
Settlement
History
:
Founded
:
before 2250 BC
Periods
:
Akkadian Empire to Middle Assyrian Empire
Site
notes :
Excavation
dates :
2016 - present
Archaeologists
:
University of Tübingen
Mardaman
(modern Tell Bassetki) was a northern Mesopotamian city that existed
between ca.2200 and 1200 BC. It was uncovered in 2018 after translation
of 92 cuneiform tablets. The tablets were discovered in summer 2017,
near the Kurdish village of Bassetki, by a team of archaeologists.
The team hailed from Tübingen's Institute for Ancient Near
Eastern Studies, and were led by Prof. Dr. Peter Pfälzner of
the University of Tübingen.
History
:
The city was continuously occupied between 3000 and 600 BC, but
the earliest reference dates to the reign of Naram-Sin of Akkad,
the son of Manishtushu. The city joined under its ruler Duhsusu
in the "Great Revolt" against the third Akkadian king.
The city was destroyed, but was later rebuilt and is mentioned by
sources from the Third Dynasty of Ur in around 2100 -2000 BC as
an important city on Mesopotamia's northern boarder. The city was
then the center of a kingdom, and was captured by Shamshi-Adad I
in 1786.
After
his fall, the city became an independent kingdom under the Hurrian
ruler Tish-ulme. A never dispatched letter, meant to have been sent
to Tishe-ulme from Zimri-Lim, requested that he hand over the city
to Zimri-Lim, who would give it to a local ruler loyal to him. The
relations with Mari seem to have been hostile, also seen in Mardaman's
support for Hadnum. The latter changed its alliance from Zimri-Lim
to the city of Kurda. Haqba-Hammu, the ruler of Karana and ally
of Mari, invaded Hadnum in retaliation, with 2,000 men. Even relief
forces from Mardama could not prevent the capturing of five cities
of Hadnum. Another letter in the Mari archives informed Zimri-Lim
of the conquest of Mardaman by his allies Quarni-Lim of Andarig
and Sharraya of northern Razama. Mardaman suffered another sacking
by the Turukkaeans, a mountain people from the Zagros Mountains
to the north, around 1769/1768.
During
the Middle Assyrian Empire, the city had a final period of prosperity
as a governor's seat between 1250 and 1200 BC. Clay tablets indicate
the name of the governor, Assur-nasir and list some of his activities.
Archaeology
:
The ruins of a Bronze Age city in Bassetki were discovered in 2013
during field search of the University of Tübingen. The excavations
were led by Prof. Dr. Peter Pfälzner and Dr. Hasan Qasim of
the archaeological department in Duhok. In 2016, it was discovered
that the city had a wall from c. 2700 BC protecting the upper city
and an extensive road network, several residential districts and
a palatial building. A temple dedicated to Adad, a Mesopotamian
weather god, evidently existed there. In summer 2017, the archaeologists
excavated 92 tablets dating to the Middle Assyrian Empire, about
1,250 BC in a ceramic vessel that was protected by a thick layer
of clay, possibly for storing of the included tablets. The small,
partially broken tablets were deciphered by Dr. Betina Faist, who
identified Mardaman.
Source
:
https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Mardaman