Mari, Syria
Mari was an ancient Semitic city-state in modern-day Syria. Its remains form a tell north-west of Abu Kamal on the western bank of the Euphrates River, some southeast of Deir ez-Zor. It flourished as a trade center and hegemonic state between 2900 BC and 1759 BC. The city was built in the middle of the Euphrates trade routes between Sumer in the south and the Eblaite kingdom and the Levant in the west.
Mari was first abandoned in the middle of the 26th century BC but was rebuilt and became the capital of a hegemonic East Semitic state before 2500 BC. This second Mari engaged in a long war with its rival Ebla and is known for its strong affinity with Sumerian culture. It was destroyed in the 23rd century BC by the Akkadians, who allowed the city to be rebuilt and appointed a military governor. The governors became independent with the disintegration of the Akkadian Empire, and rebuilt the city as a regional center of the Euphrates valley. The Shakkanakkus ruled Mari until the second half of the 19th century BC, when the dynasty collapsed for unknown reasons. A short time later, Mari became the capital of the Amorite Lim dynasty. The Amorite Mari lasted only a short time before it was destroyed by Babylonia in c. 1761 BC, but it survived as a small settlement under the rule of the Babylonians and the Assyrians before being abandoned and forgotten during the Hellenistic period.
The Mariotes worshiped both Semitic and Sumerian deities and established their city as a major trading center. Although the pre-Amorite periods were characterized by heavy Sumerian cultural influence, Mari was not a city of Sumerian immigrants but a Semitic-speaking nation with a dialect similar to Eblaite. The Amorites were West Semites who began to settle the area before the 21st century BC; by the Lim dynasty, they became the dominant population in the Fertile Crescent.
Mari's discovery in 1933 provided an important insight into the geopolitical map of ancient Mesopotamia and Syria, due to the discovery of more than 25,000 tablets explicating the state administration in the 2nd millennium BC and the nature of diplomatic relations among the political powers of the region. They also revealed the wide trading networks of the 18th century BC, which connected areas as far as Afghanistan in Southern Asia and Crete in the Mediterranean.
Name
Written in Cuneiform , the name of the city can be traced to Itūr-Mēr, an ancient storm deity of northern Mesopotamia and Syria, who was considered the tutelary deity of the city, Georges Dossin noted that the name of the city was spelled identically to that of the storm god and concluded that Mari was named after him.History
Early Bronze Age
First kingdom
Evidence shows that Mari was founded as a new city in c. 2900 BC during the Mesopotamian Early Dynastic period I, established to control the waterways of the Euphrates trade routes connecting the Levant with the Sumerian south. The city was built about from the Euphrates river to protect it from floods, and was connected to the river by an artificial canal long, the route of which has not been identified.The Mari site is difficult to excavate as it is buried deep under later layers of habitation. A circular flood embankment was unearthed, containing an area in length for gardens and craftsmen's quarters, and a defensive circular internal rampart thick and high, strengthened by defensive towers. Other findings include one of the city gates, a street beginning at the center and ending at the gate, and residential houses. Mari had a central mound, but no temple or palace has been unearthed there. A large building was however excavated, seemingly with an administrative function. It had stone foundations and rooms up to long and wide. The city was abandoned c. 2550 BC at the end of the Early Dynastic period II, for unknown reasons.
Second kingdom
Near the beginning of Early Dynastic period III, before 2500 BC, Mari was rebuilt and populated again. The new city kept many of the first city's exterior features, including the internal rampart and gate. Also kept was the outer circular embankment measuring in diameter, which was topped by a wall two meters thick capable of protecting archers.Image:Ebish-Il Louvre AO17551.jpg|thumb|left| Statue of Ebih-Il, a superintendent in Mari.
The new Mari was carefully planned. Its internal urban structure was radically different from the preceding incarnation. First to be built were the streets that descended from the elevated center into the gates which ensured the drainage of rainwater.
A structure known as the Royal Palace of Mari was built in the heart of the city; the palace also served as a temple. Four successive architectural levels from the second kingdom's palace have been unearthed. The last two levels are dated to the Akkadian period of Sumer. The first two levels were excavated; the findings include a temple dubbed the Enceinte Sacrée dedicated to an unknown deity, a columned throne room, and a hall with three double wood pillars leading to the temple.
Six smaller temples were also discovered, including the temple called the Massif Rouge, and temples dedicated to , Ishtarat, Ishtar, Ninhursag, and Shamash. All the temples except that of Ishtar were located in the center of the city; the area between the Enceinte Sacrée and the Massif Rouge is thought to be the administrative center of the high priest.
The second kingdom appears to have been a powerful and prosperous political center, its kings held the title of Lugal, and many are attested in the city, the most important source being the letter of king Enna-Dagan c. 2350 BC, which was sent to Irkab-Damu of Ebla,. In it, the Mariote king mentions his predecessors and their military achievements. However, the reading of this letter is still uncertain and many interpretations have been presented by scholars.
Mari–Ebla war
The earliest attested king in the letter of Enna-Dagan is Ansud, who is mentioned as attacking Ebla, the traditional rival of Mari with whom it had a long war, and conquering many of Ebla's cities, including the land of Belan. The next king mentioned in the letter is Saʿumu, who conquered the lands of Ra'ak and Nirum. King Kun-Damu of Ebla defeated Mari in the middle of the 25th century BC. The war continued with Išhtup-Išar of Mari's conquest of Emar at a time of Eblaite weakness in the mid-24th century BC. King Igrish-Halam of Ebla had to pay tribute to Iblul-Il of Mari, who is mentioned in the letter, conquering many of Ebla's cities and campaigning in the Burman region.Enna-Dagan also received tribute; his reign fell entirely within the reign of Irkab-Damu of Ebla, who managed to defeat Mari and end the tribute. Mari defeated Ebla's ally Nagar in year seven of the Eblaite vizier Ibrium's term, causing the blockage of trade routes between Ebla and southern Mesopotamia through upper Mesopotamia. The war reached a climax when the Eblaite vizier Ibbi-Sipish made an alliance with Nagar and Kish to defeat Mari in a battle near Terqa. Ebla itself suffered its first destruction a few years after Terqa in c. 2300 BC, during the reign of the Mariote king Hidar. According to, Hidar was succeeded by Ishqi-Mari whose royal seal was discovered. It depicts battle scenes, causing Archi to suggest that he was responsible for the destruction of Ebla while still a general.
Destruction of Mari by Sargon of Akkad
Just a decade after Ebla's destruction, Mari itself was destroyed and burned by Sargon of Akkad, as shown by one of his year names. Michael Astour proposed the date as c. 2265 BC. Ishqi-Mari was probably the last king of Mari before the conquests by the Akkadian Empire. Sargon of Akkad collected tribute from Mari and Elam:Third kingdom
Mari was deserted for two generations before being restored by the Akkadian king Manishtushu. A governor was appointed to govern the city who held the title Shakkanakku. Akkad kept direct control over the city, which is evident by Naram-Sin of Akkad's appointment of two of his daughters to priestly offices in the city.Shakkanakku dynasty
In the Akkadian period, the first member of the Shakkanakku dynasty on the lists is Ididish, who was appointed in c. 2266 BC. According to the lists, Ididish ruled for 60 years and was succeeded by his son=, making the position hereditary.The layout of the third Mari was similar to that of its predecessor; phase P0 of the old royal palace was replaced by a new palace for the Shakkanakku. Another smaller palace was built in the eastern part of the city housing royal burials that date to the former periods. The ramparts were rebuilt and strengthened while the embankment was turned into a defensive wall that reached in width. The former sacred enclosure was maintained, so was the temple of Ninhursag. However, the temples of Ninni-Zaza and Ishtarat disappeared, while a new temple called the "temple of lions", was built by the Shakkanakku Ishtup-Ilum and attached to it, was a rectangular terrace that measured for sacrifices.
Akkad disintegrated during Shar-Kali-Sharri's reign, and Mari gained its independence, but the use of the Shakkanakku title continued during the following Third Dynasty of Ur period. A princess of Mari married the son of king Ur-Nammu of Ur, and Mari was nominally under Ur hegemony. However, the vassalage did not impede the independence of Mari, and some Shakkanakkus used the royal title Lugal in their votive inscriptions, while using the title of Shakkanakku in their correspondence with the Ur's court. The dynasty ended for unknown reasons not long before the establishment of the next dynasty, which took place in the second half of the 19th century BC.
Middle Bronze Age
Lim dynasty
The second millennium BC in the Fertile Crescent was characterized by the expansion of the Amorites, which culminated with them dominating and ruling most of the region, including Mari which in c. 1830 BC, became the seat of the Amorite Lim dynasty under king Yaggid-Lim. However, the epigraphical and archaeological evidences showed a high degree of continuity between the Shakkanakku and the Amorite eras.Yaggid-Lim was the ruler of Suprum before establishing himself in Mari, he entered an alliance with Ila-kabkabu of Ekallatum, but the relations between the two monarchs changed to an open war. The conflict ended with Ila-kabkabu capturing Yaggid-Lim's heir Yahdun-Lim and according to a tablet found in Mari, Yaggid-Lim who survived Ila-kabkabu was killed by his servants. However, in c. 1820 BC Yahdun-Lim was firmly in control as king of Mari.
Yahdun-Lim started his reign by subduing seven of his rebelling tribal leaders, and rebuilding the walls of Mari and Terqa in addition to building a new fort which he named Dur-Yahdun-Lim. He then expanded west and claimed to have reached the Mediterranean, however he later had to face a rebellion by the Yaminite nomads who were centered at Tuttul, and the rebels were supported by Yamhad's king Sumu-Epuh, whose interests were threatened by the recently established alliance between Yahdun-Lim and Eshnunna. Yahdun-Lim defeated the Yaminites but an open war with Yamhad was avoided, as the Mariote king became occupied by his rivalry with Shamshi-Adad I of Shubat-Enlil, the son of the late Ila-kabkabu. The war ended in a defeat for Mari, and Yahdun-Lim was assassinated in c. 1798 BC by his possible son Sumu-Yamam, who himself got assassinated two years after ascending the throne while Shamshi-Adad advanced and annexed Mari.