Emar
Encyclopedia
Emar was an ancient Amorite
city on the great bend in the mid-Euphrates
in northeastern Syria
, now on the shoreline of the man-made Lake Assad. It has been the source of many cuneiform
tablet
s, making it rank with Ugarit
, Mari
and Ebla
among the most important archeological sites of Syria
. In these texts, dating from the 14th century BC to the fall of Emar in 1187 BC, and in excavations in several campaigns since the 1970s, Emar emerges as an important Bronze Age
trade center, occupying a liminal position between the power centers of Upper Mesopotamia and Anatolia-Syria. Unlike other cities, the tablets preserved at Emar, most of them in Akkadian
and of the thirteenth century BC, are not royal or official, but record private transactions, judicial records, dealings in real estate, marriages, last wills, formal adoptions. In the house of a priest, a library contained literary and lexical texts in the Mesopotamian tradition, and ritual texts for local cults.
; the city is mentioned in archives at Ebla. In Mari
texts of the eighteenth century BC, (Middle Bronze Age), Emar was under the influence of the neighboring Amorite state of Yamhad
. There was no local tradition of kingship at Emar. For the thirteenth and the early twelfth centuries BC (Late Bronze Age), there is written documentation from Emar itself, mostly in the Akkadian language
, and also references in contemporaneous texts from Hattusa
, Ugarit
, and in Assyrian archives; at the time Emar was within the Hittite
sphere of influence, subject to the king of Carchemish
, a Hittite client-king.
It was the chief city of a Hittite border province known as
the Land of Astata which included Tell Fray
. Correlating the kings of Emar with the known king-list of Carchemish provides some absolute dating.
Archeological and written documentation come to an end in the late twelfth century BC as a result of the Bronze Age collapse
.
The actual date of destruction has been placed at 1187 BC
in the 2nd regnal year of king Meli-Shipak II of Babylon
The site remained desolate at the unstable eastern borders of the Roman Empire, resettled nearby as Barbalissos
. In 253, it was the site of the Battle of Barbalissos
between the Sassanid Persians under Shapur I and Roman troops. Its Byzantine history can be followed at Barbalissos
.
and possibly of his consort Astarte
of the Late Bronze Age (thirteenth and early twelfth century BC).
After the conclusion of the French excavations the site was left unguarded and was systematically looted, bringing many cuneiform tablet
s onto the antiquities gray market stripped of their context. In 1992, the Syrian Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums
took charge of the site, and a fresh series of campaigns revealed earlier strata, of the Middle and Early Bronze Ages (second half of the third millennium and the first half of the second millennium BC) the Imar that was mentioned in the archives of Mari
and elsewhere. Beginning in 1996, the Syrian effort
was joined by a team from the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen
Germany.
So far, around 1100 tablets in Akkadian
have been recovered from the site,
800 from the excavation and around 300 emerging on the antiquities market. In
addition 100 tablets in Hurrian and 1 in Hittite
have also
been found. All but one of the tablets are from the Late Bronze Age.
Amorite
Amorite refers to an ancient Semitic people who occupied large parts of Mesopotamia from the 21st Century BC...
city on the great bend in the mid-Euphrates
Euphrates
The Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia...
in northeastern Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, now on the shoreline of the man-made Lake Assad. It has been the source of many cuneiform
Cuneiform script
Cuneiform script )) is one of the earliest known forms of written expression. Emerging in Sumer around the 30th century BC, with predecessors reaching into the late 4th millennium , cuneiform writing began as a system of pictographs...
tablet
Clay tablet
In the Ancient Near East, clay tablets were used as a writing medium, especially for writing in cuneiform, throughout the Bronze Age and well into the Iron Age....
s, making it rank with Ugarit
Ugarit
Ugarit was an ancient port city in the eastern Mediterranean at the Ras Shamra headland near Latakia, Syria. It is located near Minet el-Beida in northern Syria. It is some seven miles north of Laodicea ad Mare and approximately fifty miles east of Cyprus...
, Mari
Mari, Syria
Mari was an ancient Sumerian and Amorite city, located 11 kilometers north-west of the modern town of Abu Kamal on the western bank of Euphrates river, some 120 km southeast of Deir ez-Zor, Syria...
and Ebla
Ebla
Ebla Idlib Governorate, Syria) was an ancient city about southwest of Aleppo. It was an important city-state in two periods, first in the late third millennium BC, then again between 1800 and 1650 BC....
among the most important archeological sites of Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
. In these texts, dating from the 14th century BC to the fall of Emar in 1187 BC, and in excavations in several campaigns since the 1970s, Emar emerges as an important Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
trade center, occupying a liminal position between the power centers of Upper Mesopotamia and Anatolia-Syria. Unlike other cities, the tablets preserved at Emar, most of them in Akkadian
Akkadian language
Akkadian is an extinct Semitic language that was spoken in ancient Mesopotamia. The earliest attested Semitic language, it used the cuneiform writing system derived ultimately from ancient Sumerian, an unrelated language isolate...
and of the thirteenth century BC, are not royal or official, but record private transactions, judicial records, dealings in real estate, marriages, last wills, formal adoptions. In the house of a priest, a library contained literary and lexical texts in the Mesopotamian tradition, and ritual texts for local cults.
History
Emar was strategically sited as a trans-shipping point where trade on the Euphrates was reloaded for shipping by overland route. In the middle of the third millennium BC Emar came under the influence of the rulers of EblaEbla
Ebla Idlib Governorate, Syria) was an ancient city about southwest of Aleppo. It was an important city-state in two periods, first in the late third millennium BC, then again between 1800 and 1650 BC....
; the city is mentioned in archives at Ebla. In Mari
Mari, Syria
Mari was an ancient Sumerian and Amorite city, located 11 kilometers north-west of the modern town of Abu Kamal on the western bank of Euphrates river, some 120 km southeast of Deir ez-Zor, Syria...
texts of the eighteenth century BC, (Middle Bronze Age), Emar was under the influence of the neighboring Amorite state of Yamhad
Yamhad
Yamhad was an ancient Amorite kingdom centered at Halab . A substantial Hurrian population also settled in the kingdom, and the Hurrian culture influenced the area. The kingdom was powerful during the Middle Bronze Age, ca. 1800-1600 BC. Its biggest rival was Qatna further south...
. There was no local tradition of kingship at Emar. For the thirteenth and the early twelfth centuries BC (Late Bronze Age), there is written documentation from Emar itself, mostly in the Akkadian language
Akkadian language
Akkadian is an extinct Semitic language that was spoken in ancient Mesopotamia. The earliest attested Semitic language, it used the cuneiform writing system derived ultimately from ancient Sumerian, an unrelated language isolate...
, and also references in contemporaneous texts from Hattusa
Hattusa
Hattusa was the capital of the Hittite Empire in the late Bronze Age. It was located near modern Boğazkale, Turkey, within the great loop of the Kızıl River ....
, Ugarit
Ugarit
Ugarit was an ancient port city in the eastern Mediterranean at the Ras Shamra headland near Latakia, Syria. It is located near Minet el-Beida in northern Syria. It is some seven miles north of Laodicea ad Mare and approximately fifty miles east of Cyprus...
, and in Assyrian archives; at the time Emar was within the Hittite
Hittites
The Hittites were a Bronze Age people of Anatolia.They established a kingdom centered at Hattusa in north-central Anatolia c. the 18th century BC. The Hittite empire reached its height c...
sphere of influence, subject to the king of Carchemish
Carchemish
Carchemish or Kargamış was an important ancient city of the Mitanni, Hittite and Neo Assyrian Empires, now on the frontier between Turkey and Syria. It was the location of an important battle between the Babylonians and Egyptians, mentioned in the Bible...
, a Hittite client-king.
It was the chief city of a Hittite border province known as
the Land of Astata which included Tell Fray
Tell Fray
Tell Fray is a tell, or settlement mound, on the east bank of the Euphrates in Ar-Raqqah Governorate, northern Syria. The archaeological site takes its name from an ancient irrigation canal, hence 'Fray' or 'Little Euphrates'...
. Correlating the kings of Emar with the known king-list of Carchemish provides some absolute dating.
Archeological and written documentation come to an end in the late twelfth century BC as a result of the Bronze Age collapse
Bronze Age collapse
The Bronze Age collapse is a transition in southwestern Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age that some historians believe was violent, sudden and culturally disruptive...
.
The actual date of destruction has been placed at 1187 BC
in the 2nd regnal year of king Meli-Shipak II of Babylon
Babylon
Babylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
The site remained desolate at the unstable eastern borders of the Roman Empire, resettled nearby as Barbalissos
Barbalissos
Barbalissos was a city rebuilt near the ruinous site of ancient Emar in the Roman province of Mesopotamia, now in Syria.-History:It was a city in the province of Syria Euphratensis, where the Equites Dalmatae Illyriciani kept garrison Barbalissos was a city rebuilt near the ruinous site of ancient...
. In 253, it was the site of the Battle of Barbalissos
Battle of Barbalissos
The Battle of Barbalissos was fought between the Sassanid Persians and Romans at Barbalissos. Shapur I used Roman incursions into Armenia as pretext and resumed hostilities with the Romans. The Romans and Sassanids clashed at Barbalissos...
between the Sassanid Persians under Shapur I and Roman troops. Its Byzantine history can be followed at Barbalissos
Barbalissos
Barbalissos was a city rebuilt near the ruinous site of ancient Emar in the Roman province of Mesopotamia, now in Syria.-History:It was a city in the province of Syria Euphratensis, where the Equites Dalmatae Illyriciani kept garrison Barbalissos was a city rebuilt near the ruinous site of ancient...
.
Archaeology
The initial salvage excavations in advance of the rising waters of the Syrian Tabqa Dam project impounding Lake El Assad were undertaken by two French teams, in 1972-76, under the direction of Jean-Claude Margueron. Excavations revealed a temple area comprising the sanctuaries of the weathergod Ba’alBaal
Baʿal is a Northwest Semitic title and honorific meaning "master" or "lord" that is used for various gods who were patrons of cities in the Levant and Asia Minor, cognate to Akkadian Bēlu...
and possibly of his consort Astarte
Astarte
Astarte is the Greek name of a goddess known throughout the Eastern Mediterranean from the Bronze Age to Classical times...
of the Late Bronze Age (thirteenth and early twelfth century BC).
After the conclusion of the French excavations the site was left unguarded and was systematically looted, bringing many cuneiform tablet
Clay tablet
In the Ancient Near East, clay tablets were used as a writing medium, especially for writing in cuneiform, throughout the Bronze Age and well into the Iron Age....
s onto the antiquities gray market stripped of their context. In 1992, the Syrian Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums
Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums
The Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums is a Syrian government directorate responsible for the protection, promotion and excavation activities in all sites of national heritage in Syria. The directorate was established shortly after Syria's independence in 1946...
took charge of the site, and a fresh series of campaigns revealed earlier strata, of the Middle and Early Bronze Ages (second half of the third millennium and the first half of the second millennium BC) the Imar that was mentioned in the archives of Mari
Mari, Syria
Mari was an ancient Sumerian and Amorite city, located 11 kilometers north-west of the modern town of Abu Kamal on the western bank of Euphrates river, some 120 km southeast of Deir ez-Zor, Syria...
and elsewhere. Beginning in 1996, the Syrian effort
was joined by a team from the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen
Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen
Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen is a public university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of Germany's oldest universities, internationally noted in medicine, natural sciences and the humanities. In the area of German Studies it has been ranked first among...
Germany.
So far, around 1100 tablets in Akkadian
Akkadian language
Akkadian is an extinct Semitic language that was spoken in ancient Mesopotamia. The earliest attested Semitic language, it used the cuneiform writing system derived ultimately from ancient Sumerian, an unrelated language isolate...
have been recovered from the site,
800 from the excavation and around 300 emerging on the antiquities market. In
addition 100 tablets in Hurrian and 1 in Hittite
Hittites
The Hittites were a Bronze Age people of Anatolia.They established a kingdom centered at Hattusa in north-central Anatolia c. the 18th century BC. The Hittite empire reached its height c...
have also
been found. All but one of the tablets are from the Late Bronze Age.
External links
- History of Emar; state of current research, excavations (Tübingen University)
- Archaeobotany at Emar (Tübingen University)
- Materials for Emar Studies (Tübingen University)