History
:
Periods
: Neolithic, Bronze Age
Cultures
: Halaf culture, Northern Ubaid, Uruk, Kish civilization, Hurrian
Site
notes :
Excavation
dates : 1937–1938, 1976–2011
Archaeologists
: Max Mallowan, David Oates, Joan Oates
Public
access : yes
Tell
Brak (Nagar, Nawar) was an ancient city in Syria; its remains constitute
a tell located in the Upper Khabur region, near the modern village
of Tell Brak, 50 kilometers north-east of Al-Hasaka city, Al-Hasakah
Governorate. The city's original name is unknown. During the second
half of the third millennium BC, the city was known as Nagar and
later on, Nawar.
Starting
as a small settlement in the seventh millennium BC, Tell Brak evolved
during the fourth millennium BC into one of the biggest cities in
Upper Mesopotamia, and interacted with the cultures of southern
Mesopotamia. The city shrank in size at the beginning of the third
millennium BC with the end of Uruk period, before expanding again
around c. 2600 BC, when it became known as Nagar, and was the capital
of a regional kingdom that controlled the Khabur river valley. Nagar
was destroyed around c. 2300 BC, and came under the rule of the
Akkadian Empire, followed by a period of independence as a Hurrian
city-state, before contracting at the beginning of the second millennium
BC. Nagar prospered again by the 19th century BC, and came under
the rule of different regional powers. In c. 1500 BC, Tell Brak
was a center of Mitanni before being destroyed by Assyria c. 1300
BC. The city never regained its former importance, remaining as
a small settlement, and abandoned at some points of its history,
until disappearing from records during the early Abbasid era.
Different
peoples inhabited the city, including the Halafians, Semites and
the Hurrians. Tell Brak was a religious center from its earliest
periods; its famous Eye Temple is unique in the Fertile Crescent,
and its main deity, Belet Nagar, was revered in the entire Khabur
region, making the city a pilgrimage site. The culture of Tell Brak
was defined by the different civilizations that inhabited it, and
it was famous for its glyptic style, equids and glass. When independent,
the city was ruled by a local assembly or by a monarch. Tell Brak
was a trade center due to its location between Anatolia, the Levant
and southern Mesopotamia. It was excavated by Max Mallowan in 1937,
then regularly by different teams between 1979 and 2011, when the
work stopped due to the Syrian Civil War.
Name
:
The original name of the city is unknown; Tell Brak is the current
name of the tell. East of the mound lies a dried lake named "Khatuniah"
which was recorded as "Lacus Beberaci" (the lake of Brak)
in the Roman map Tabula Peutingeriana. The lake was probably named
after Tell Brak which was the nearest camp in the area. The name
"Brak" might therefore be an echo of the most ancient
name.
During
the third millennium BC, the city was known as "Nagar",
which might be of Semitic origin and mean a "cultivated place".
The name "Nagar" ceased occurring following the Old Babylonian
period, however, the city continued to exist as Nawar, under the
control of Hurrian state of Mitanni. Hurrian kings of Urkesh took
the title "King of Urkesh and Nawar" in the third millennium
BC; although there is general view that the third millennium BC
Nawar is identical with Nagar, some scholars, such as Jesper Eidem,
doubt this. Those scholars opt for a city closer to Urkesh which
was also called Nawala/Nabula as the intended Nawar.
History
:
![](nagarimages/Brak_periods.png)
Tell
Brak's periods
Early settlement :
The earliest period A, is dated to the proto Halaf culture c. 6500
BC, when a small settlement existed. Many objects dated to that
period were discovered including the Halaf pottery. By 5000 BC,
Halaf culture transformed into Northern Ubaid, and many Ubaid materials
were found in Tell Brak. Excavations and surface survey of the site
and its surroundings, unearthed a large platform of patzen bricks
that dates to late Ubaid, and revealed that Tell Brak developed
as an urban center slightly earlier than better known cities of
southern Mesopotamia, such as Uruk.
The
first city :
![](nagarimages/Augenidole_Syrien_Slg_Ebn%F6ther.jpg)
Eye
figurines from the Eye Temple
In southern Mesopotamia, the original Ubaid culture evolved into
the Uruk period. The people of the southern Uruk period used military
and commercial means to expand the civilization. In Northern Mesopotamia,
the post Ubaid period is designated Late Chalcolithic / Northern
Uruk period, during which, Tell Brak started to expand.
Period
Brak E witnessed the building of the city's walls, and Tell Brak
expansion beyond the mound to form a lower town. By the late 5th
millennium BC, Tell Brak reached the size of c. 55 hectares. Area
TW of the tell (Archaeologists divided Tell Brak into areas designated
with Alphabetic letters. See the map for Tell Brak's areas) revealed
the remains of a monumental building with two meters thick walls
and a basalt threshold. In front of the building, a sherd paved
street was discovered, leading to the northern entrance of the city.
The
city continued to expand during period F, and reached the size of
130 hectares. Four mass graves dating to c. 3800–3600 BC were
discovered in the submound, Tell Majnuna, north of the main tell,
and they suggest that the process of urbanization was accompanied
by internal social stress, and an increase in the organization of
warfare. The first half of period F (designated LC3), saw the erection
of the Eye Temple, which was named for the thousands of small alabaster
"Eye idols" figurines discovered in it. Those idols were
also found in area TW.
Interactions
with the Mesopotamian south grew during the second half of period
F (designated LC4) c. 3600 BC, and an Urukean colony was established
in the city. With the end of Uruk culture c 3000 BC, Tell Brak's
Urukean colony was abandoned and deliberately leveled by its occupants.
Tell Brak contracted during the following periods H and J, and became
limited to the mound. Evidence exists for an interaction with the
Mesopotamian south during period H, represented by the existence
of materials similar to the ones produced during the southern Jemdet
Nasr period. The city remained a small settlement during the Ninevite
5 period, with a small temple and associated sealing activities.
Kingdom
of Nagar :
![](nagarimages/First_Eblaite_Empire.png)
The
kingdom of Nagar c. 2340 BC
Nagar
c.
2600 BC – c. 2300 BC
Capital
:
Nagar
Common
languages : Nagarite
Religion
: Mesopotamian
Government
: Monarchy
Historical
era :
Bronze
Age :
• Established c.
2600 BC
• Disestablished c.
2300 BC
Around
c. 2600 BC, a large administrative building was built and the city
expanded out of the tell again. The revival is connected with the
Kish civilization, and the city was named "Nagar". Amongst
the important buildings dated to the kingdom, is an administrative
building or temple named the "Brak Oval", located in area
TC. The building have a curved exterior wall reminiscent of the
Khafajah "Oval Temple" in central Mesopotamia. However,
aside from the wall, the comparison between the two buildings in
terms of architecture is difficult, as each building follows a different
plan.
The
oldest references to Nagar comes from Mari and tablets discovered
at Nabada. However, the most important source on Nagar come from
the archives of Ebla. Most of the texts record the ruler of Nagar
using his title "En", without mentioning a name. However
a text from Ebla mentions Mara-Il, a king of Nagar; thus, he is
the only ruler known by name for pre-Akkadian Nagar and ruled a
little more than a generation before the kingdom's destruction.
At
its height, Nagar encompassed most of the southwestern half of the
Khabur Basin, and was a diplomatic and political equal of the Eblaite
and Mariote states. The kingdom included at least 17 subordinate
cities, such as Hazna, and most importantly Nabada, which was a
city-state annexed by Nagar, and served as a provincial capital.
Nagar was involved in the wide diplomatic network of Ebla, and the
relations between the two kingdoms involved both confrontations
and alliances. A text from Ebla mention a victory of Ebla's king
(perhaps Irkab-Damu) over Nagar. However, a few years later, a treaty
was concluded, and the relations progressed toward a dynastic marriage
between princess Tagrish-Damu of Ebla, and prince Ultum-Huhu, Nagar's
monarch's son.
Nagar
was defeated by Mari in year seven of the Eblaite vizier Ibrium's
term, causing the blockage of trade routes between Ebla and southern
Mesopotamia via upper Mesopotamia. Later, Ebla's king Isar-Damu
concluded an alliance with Nagar and Kish against Mari, and the
campaign was headed by the Eblaite vizier Ibbi-Sipish, who led the
combined armies to victory in a battle near Terqa. Afterwards, the
alliance attacked the rebellious Eblaite vassal city of Armi. Ebla
was destroyed approximately three years after Terqa's battle, and
soon after, Nagar followed in c. 2300 BC. Large parts of the city
were burned, an act attributed either to Mari, or Sargon of Akkad.
Akkadian
period :
![](nagarimages/640px-TellBrakNaramsinN.jpg)
Palace
of Naram-Sin
Following its destruction, Nagar was rebuilt by the Akkadian empire,
to form a center of the provincial administration. The city included
the whole tell and a lower town at the southern edge of the mound.
Two public buildings were built during the early Akkadian periods,
one complex in area SS, and another in area FS. The building of
area FS included its own temple and might have served as a caravanserai,
being located near the northern gate of the city. The early Akkadian
monarchs were occupied with internal conflicts, and Tell Brak was
temporarily abandoned by Akkad at some point preceding the reign
of Naram-Sin. The abandonment might be connected with an environmental
event, that caused the desertification of the region.
The
destruction of Nagar's kingdom created a power vacuum in the Upper
Khabur. The Hurrians, formerly concentrated in Urkesh, took advantage
of the situation to control the region as early as Sargon's latter
years. Tell Brak was known as "Nawar" for the Hurrians,
and kings of Urkesh took the title "King of Urkesh and Nawar",
first attested in the seal of Urkesh's king Atal-Shen.
The
use of the title continued during the reigns of Atal-Shen's successors,
Tupkish and Tish-Atal, who ruled only in Urkesh. The Akkadians under
Naram-Sin incorporated Nagar firmly into their empire. The most
important Akkadian building in the city is called the "Palace
of Naram-Sin", which had parts of it built over the original
Eye Temple. Despite its name, the palace is closer to a fortress,
as it was more of a fortified depot for the storage of collected
tribute rather than a residential seat. The palace was burned during
Naram-Sin's reign, perhaps by a Lullubi attack, and the city was
burned toward the end of the Akkadian period c. 2193 BC, probably
by the Gutians.
Post-Akkadian
kingdom :
The Akkadian period was followed by period N, during which Nagar
was the center of an independent Hurrian dynasty, evidenced by the
discovery of a seal, recording the name of king Talpus-Atili of
Nagar, who ruled during or slightly after the reign of Naram-Sin's
son Shar-Kali-Sharri. The view that Tell Brak came under the control
of Ur III is refused, and evidence exists for a Hurrian rebuilding
of Naram-Sin's palace, erroneously attributed by Max Mallowan to
Ur-Nammu of Ur. Period N saw a reduction in the city's size, with
public buildings being abandoned, and the lower town evacuated.
Few short lived houses were built in area CH during period N, and
although greatly reduced in size, archaeology provided evidence
for continued occupation in the city, instead of abandonment.
Foreign
rule and later periods :
![](nagarimages/640px-TellBrakMitanni.jpg)
The
Mitannian palace
During period P, Nagar was densely populated in the northern ridge
of the tell. The city came under the rule of Mari, and was the site
of a decisive victory won by Yahdun-Lim of Mari over Shamshi-Adad
I of Assyria. Nagar lost its importance and came under the rule
of Kahat in the 18th century BC.
During
period Q, Tell Brak was an important trade city in the Mitanni state.
A two-story palace was built c. 1500 BC in the northern section
of the tell, in addition to an associated temple. However, the rest
of the tell was not occupied, and a lower town extended to the north
but is now all but destroyed through modern agriculture. Two Mitannian
legal documents, bearing the names of kings Artashumara and Tushratta,
were recovered from the city, which was destroyed between c.1300
and 1275 BC, in two waves, first at the hands of the Assyrian king
Adad-Nirari I, then by his successor Shalmaneser I.
Little
evidence of an occupation on the tell exists following the destruction
of the Mitannian city, however, a series of small villages existed
in the lower town during the Assyrian periods. The remains of a
Hellenistic settlement were discovered on a nearby satellite tell,
to the northwestern edge of the main tell. However, excavations
recovered no ceramics of the Parthian-Roman or Byzantine-Sasanian
periods, although sherds dating to those periods are noted. In the
middle of the first millennium AD, a fortified building was erected
in the northeastern lower town. The building was dated by Antoine
Poidebard to the Justinian era (sixth century AD), on the basis
of its architecture. The last occupation period of the site was
during the early Abbasid Caliphate's period, when a canal was built
to provide the town with water from the nearby Jaghjagh River.
Society
:
People and language :
The Halafians were the indigenous people of Neolithic northern Syria,
who later adopted the southern Ubaidian culture. Contact with the
Mesopotamian south increased during the early and middle Northern
Uruk period, and southern people moved to Tell Brak in the late
Uruk period, forming a colony, which produced a mixed society. The
Urukean colony was abandoned by the colonist toward the end of the
fourth millennium BC, leaving the indigenous Tell Brak a much contracted
city. The pre-Akkadian kingdom's population was Semitic, and spoke
its own East Semitic dialect of the Eblaite language used in Ebla
and Mari. The Nagarite dialect is closer to the dialect of Mari
rather than that of Ebla.
No
Hurrian names are recorded in the pre-Akkadian period, although
the name of prince Ultum-Huhu is difficult to understand as Semitic.
During the Akkadian period, both Semitic and Hurrian names were
recorded, as the Hurrians appear to have taken advantage of the
power vacuum caused by the destruction of the pre-Akkadian kingdom,
in order to migrate and expand in the region. The post-Akkadian
period Tell Brak had a strong Hurrian element, and Hurrian named
rulers, although the region was also inhabited by Amorite tribes.
A number of the Amorite Banu-Yamina tribes settled the surroundings
of Tell Brak during the reign of Zimri-Lim of Mari, and each group
used its own language (Hurrian and Amorite languages). Tell Brak
was a center of the Hurrian-Mitannian empire, which had Hurrian
as its official language. However, Akkadian was the region's international
language, evidenced by the post-Akkadian and Mitannian eras tablets,
discovered at Tell Brak and written in Akkadian.
Religion
:
The findings in the Eye Temple indicate that Tell Brak is among
the earliest sites of organized religion in northern Mesopotamia.
It is unknown to which deity the Eye Temple was dedicated, and the
"Eyes" figurines appears to be votive offerings to that
unknown deity. The temple was probably dedicated for the Sumerian
Innana or the Semitic Ishtar; Michel Meslin hypothesized that the
"Eyes" figurines were a representation of an all-seeing
female deity.
During
the pre-Akkadian kingdom's era, Hazna, an old cultic center of northern
Syria, served as a pilgrimage center for Nagar. The Eye Temple remained
in use, but as a small shrine, while the goddess Belet Nagar became
the kingdom's paramount deity. The temple of Belet Nagar is not
identified but probably lies beneath the Mitannian palace. The Eblaite
deity Kura was also venerated in Nagar, and the monarchs are attested
visiting the temple of the Semitic deity Dagon in Tuttul. During
the Akkadian period, the temple in area FS was dedicated to the
Sumerian god Shakkan, the patron of animals and countrysides. Tell
Brak was an important religious Hurrian center, and the temple of
Belet Nagar retained its cultic importance in the entire region
until the early second millennium BC.
Culture
:
![](nagarimages/640px-TellBrakTW-W.jpg)
Area
TW
Northern Mesopotamia evolved independently from the south during
the Late Chalcolithic / early and middle Northern Uruk (4000–3500
BC). This period was characterized by a strong emphasis on holy
sites, among which, the Eye Temple was the most important in Tell
Brak. The building containing "Eyes" idols in area TW
was wood paneled, whose main room had been lined with wooden panels.
The building also contained the earliest known semi columned facade,
which is a character that will be associated with temples in later
periods.
By
late Northern Uruk and especially after 3200 BC, northern Mesopotamia
came under the full cultural dominance of the southern Uruk culture,
which affected Tell . Brak's architecture and administration. The
southern influence is most obvious in the level named the "Latest
Jemdet Nasr" of the Eye Temple, which had southern elements
such as cone mosaics. The Uruk presence was peaceful as it is first
noted in the context of feasting; commercial deals during that period
were traditionally ratified through feasting. The excavations in
area TW revealed feasting to be an important local habit, as two
cooking facilities, large amounts of grains, skeletons of animals,
a domed backing oven and barbequing fire pits were discovered. Among
the late Uruk materials found at Tell Brak, is a standard text for
educated scribes (the "Standard Professions" text), part
of the standardized education taught in the 3rd millennium BC over
a wide area of Syria and Mesopotamia.
![](nagarimages/BEYDAR_SEAL.jpg)
A
drawing of a seal from Nabada, pre-Akkadian kingdom of Nagar, in
"Brak Style"
The pre-Akkadian kingdom was famed for its acrobats, who were in
demand in Ebla and trained local Eblaite entertainers. The kingdom
also had its own local glyptic style called the "Brak Style",
which was distinct from the southern sealing variants, employing
soft circled shapes and sharpened edges. The Akkadian administration
had little effect on the local administrative traditions and sealing
style, and Akkadian seals existed side by side with the local variant.
The Hurrians employed the Akkadian style in their seals, and Elamite
seals were discovered, indicating an interaction with the western
Iranian Plateau. Tell Brak provided great knowledge on the culture
of Mitanni, which produced glass using sophisticated techniques,
that resulted in different varieties of multicolored and decorated
shapes. Samples of the elaborate Nuzi ware were discovered, in addition
to seals that combine distinctive Mitannian elements with the international
motifs of that period.
Wagons
:
Seals from Tell Brak and Nabada dated to the pre-Akkadian kingdom,
revealed the use of four-wheeled wagons and war carriages. Excavation
in area FS recovered clay models of equids and wagons dated to the
Akkadian and post-Akkadian periods. The models provide information
about the types of wagons used during that period (2350–2000
BC), and they include four wheeled vehicles and two types of two
wheeled vehicles; the first is a cart with fixed seats and the second
is a cart where the driver stands above the axle. The chariots were
introduced during the Mitanni era, and none of the pre-Mitanni carriages
can be considered chariots, as they are mistakenly described in
some sources.
Government
:
The first city had the characteristics of large urban centers, such
as monumental buildings, and seems to have been ruled by a kinship
based assembly, headed by elders. The pre-Akkadian kingdom was decentralized,
and the provincial center of Nabada was ruled by a council of elders,
next to the king's representative. The Nagarite monarchs had to
tour their kingdom regularly in order to assert their political
control. During the early Akkadian period, Nagar was administrated
by local officials. However, central control was tightened and the
number of Akkadian officials increased, following the supposed environmental
event that preceded the construction of Naram-Sin's palace. The
post-Akkadian Nagar was a city-state kingdom, that gradually lost
its political importance during the early second millennium BC,
as no evidence for a king dating to that period exists.
Rulers
of Tell Brak :
King |
Reign |
Notes |
Early
period, possibly ruled by a local assembly of elders. |
Pre-Akkadian
kingdom of Nagar (c. 2600–2300 BC)
|
Mara-Il |
Fl.
late 24th century BC. |
|
Early
Akkadian period, early 23rd century BC. |
Urkesh
dominance, the Urkeshite king Atal-Shen
styled himself "King of Urkesh and Nawar",
so did his successors who ruled only in Urkesh. |
Akkadian
control, under the rule of Naram-Sin of
Akkad. |
Post-Akkadian
kingdom of Nagar |
Talpus-Atili |
Fl.
end of the third millennium BC. |
Styled
himself "the sun of the country of Nagar". |
Various
foreign rulers such as Mari, Kahat, Mitanni, and
Assyria. |
|
Economy
:
Throughout its history, Tell Brak was an important trade center;
it was an entrepot of obsidian trade during the Chalcolithic, as
it was situated on the river crossing between Anatolia, the Levant
and southern Mesopotamia. The countryside was occupied by smaller
towns, villages and hamlets, but the city's surroundings were empty
within three kilometers. This was probably due to the intensive
cultivation in the immediate hinterland, in order to sustain the
population. The city manufactured different objects, including chalices
made of obsidian and white marble, faience, flint tools and shell
inlays. However, evidence exists for a slight shift in production
of goods toward manufacturing objects desired in the south, following
the establishment of the Uruk colony.
Trade
was also an important economic activity for the pre-Akkadian kingdom
of Nagar, which had Ebla and Kish as major partners. The kingdom
produced glass, wool, and was famous for breeding and trading in
the Kunga, a hybrid of a donkey and a female onager. Tell Brak remained
an important commercial center during the Akkadian period, and was
one of Mitanni's main trade cities. Many objects were manufactured
in Mitannian Tell Brak, including furniture made of ivory, wood
and bronze, in addition to glass. The city provided evidence for
the international commercial contacts of Mitanni, including Egyptian,
Hittite and Mycenaean objects, some of which were produced in the
region to satisfy the local taste.
Equids
:
The Kungas of pre-Akkadian Nagar were used for drawing the carriages
of kings before the domestication of the horse, and a royal procession
included up to fifty animals. The kungas of Nagar were in great
demand in the Eblaite empire; they cost two kilos of silver, fifty
times the price of a donkey, and were imported regularly by the
monarchs of Ebla to be used as transport animals and gifts for allied
cities. The horse was known in the region during the third millennium
BC, but was not used as a draught animal before c. 18th century
BC.
Site
:
Excavations :
![](nagarimages/Tell_brak.png)
Tell
Brak's landmarks
Tell Brak was excavated by the British archaeologist Sir Max Mallowan,
husband of Agatha Christie, in 1937 and 1938. The artifacts from
Mallowan's excavations are now preserved in the Ashmolean Museum,
National Museum of Aleppo and the British Museum's collection; the
latter contain the Tell Brak Head dating to c. 3500–3300 BC.
A
team from the Institute of Archaeology of the University of London,
led by David and Joan Oates, worked in the tell for 14 seasons between
1976 and 1993. After 1993, excavations were conducted by a number
of field directors under the general guidance of David (until 2004)
and Joan Oates. Those directors included Roger Matthews (in 1994–1996),
for the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research of the University
of Cambridge; Geoff Emberling (in 1998–2002) and Helen McDonald
(in 2000–2004), for the British Institute for the Study of
Iraq and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In 2006, Augusta McMahon
became field director, also sponsored by the British Institute for
the Study of Iraq. A regional archaeological field survey in a 20
km (12 mi) radius around Brak was supervised by Henry T. Wright
(in 2002–2005). Many of the finds from the excavations at
Tell Brak are on display in the Deir ez-Zor Museum. The most recent
excavations took place in the spring of 2011, but archaeological
work is currently suspended due to the ongoing Syrian Civil War.
Syrian
Civil War :
According to the Syrian authorities, the camp of archaeologists
was looted, along with the tools and ceramics kept in it. The site
changed hands between the different combatants, mainly the Kurdish
People's Protection Units and the Islamic State of Iraq and the
Levant. In early 2015, Tell Brak was taken by the Kurdish forces
after light fighting with the Islamic State.
Source
:
https://www.historyfiles.co.uk/
KingListsMiddEast/AnatoliaHurrians.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tell_Brak