Arslan Tash ( tr, Arslan Taş "Lion Stone"), ancient Hadātu, is an archaeological site in

Aleppo Governorate Aleppo Governorate ( ar, محافظة حلب / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥalab'' / ) is one of the fourteen governorates of Syria. It is the most populous governorate in Syria with a population of more than 4,867,000 (2011 Est.), almost 23% of the ...

in northern

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, around east of

Carchemish Carchemish ( Turkish: ''Karkamış''; or ), also spelled Karkemish ( hit, ; Hieroglyphic Luwian: , /; Akkadian: ; Egyptian: ; Hebrew: ) was an important ancient capital in the northern part of the region of Syria. At times during its ...

and the

Euphrates The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...

and nearby the town of Kobanî.

History

The city was the center of an

Aramean The Arameans ( oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; syc, ܐܪ̈ܡܝܐ, Ārāmāyē) were an ancient Semitic-speaking people in the Near East, first recorded in historical sources from the late 12th century BCE. The Aramean h ...

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

kingdom, which was conquered by

Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the A ...

in the 9th century BC. The site includes a Late Assyrian palace, an early shrine to

Ishtar Inanna, also sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒀭𒈾, nin-an-na, label=none is an ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, divine justice, and political power. She was originally worshiped in S ...

and a

Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

temple, surrounded by city walls and gates adorned with lions carved from stone.

Archaeology

Assyrian palace apartment at Arslan Tash

The site of Arslan Tash was first examined in 1836 by an expedition led by

Francis Rawdon Chesney Francis Rawdon Chesney (16 March 1789 – 30 January 1872) was a British general and explorer. Life He was a son of Captain Alexander Chesney, an Irishman of Scottish descent who, having emigrated to South Carolina in 1772, served under Fra ...

. The first actual excavations were conducted by the French archaeologist

François Thureau-Dangin François Thureau-Dangin (3 January 1872 in Paris – 24 January 1944 in Paris) was a French archaeologist, assyriologist and epigrapher. He played a major role in deciphering of the Sumerian and Akkadian languages. He studied under Julius ...

for the

Louvre Museum The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

in two short seasons during 1928. It worked on the fortifications, a

Hellenistic period In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in 3 ...

temple, a temple to

, the "Bâtiment aux ivoires" and late Assyrian remains. In 2007 and 2008 work at the site resumed when surveys were conducted by a team from

University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continuo ...

and

Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums The Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums (DGAM; ar, المديرية العامة للآثار والمتاحف, french: La Direction Générale des Antiquités et des Musées) is a Syrian government owned agency that is responsible fo ...

of the Syrian Arab Republic. The team was led by Anas al-Khabour and Serena Maria Cecchini. Each season lasted about a week, with the later one including geophysical work.

Gateway reliefs

The

Arslan Tash reliefs The Arslan Tash reliefs are bas-reliefs of human figures and animals which adorned the city gates and temple portals of ancient Hadatu; the modern archeological site of Arslan Tash, literally "the Stone Lion". ( Turkish; Arslan - ''Lion'', Taş - '' ...

are bas-reliefs of people and animals on the gates of the city and temple. The dating of the reliefs is uncertain, though one contains an inscription of

Tiglath-Pileser III Tiglath-Pileser III (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , meaning "my trust belongs to the son of Ešarra"), was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 745 BC to his death in 727. One of the most prominent and historically significant Assyrian kings, Tig ...

of the

Neo-Assyrian Empire The Neo-Assyrian Empire was the fourth and penultimate stage of ancient Assyrian history and the final and greatest phase of Assyria as an independent state. Beginning with the accession of Adad-nirari II in 911 BC, the Neo-Assyrian Empire grew t ...

In February 2015, in the Syrian city of

Raqqa Raqqa ( ar, ٱلرَّقَّة, ar-Raqqah, also and ) (Kurdish languages, Kurdish: Reqa/ ڕەقە) is a city in Syria on the northeast bank of the Euphrates River, about east of Aleppo. It is located east of the Tabqa Dam, Syria's largest dam. T ...

, the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...

(ISIL) publicly ordered the bulldozing of a colossal ancient Assyrian gateway lion sculpture from the 8th century BC. Another lion statue was also destroyed. Both statues originated from the Arslan Tash archaeological site. The destruction was published in the ISIL magazine, '' Dabiq''.

Ivory items

The most important discoveries from Arslan Tash were, however, the ivory objects of high artistic quality which today are kept at the Archaeological Museum in

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

and in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

. Among them is the

Arslan Tash ivory inscription Arslan Tash ivory inscription is a small ivory plaque with an Aramaic language inscription found in 1928 in Arslan Tash in northern Syria (ancient Hadātu) by a team of French archaeologists led by François Thureau-Dangin.Hazael Hazael (; he, חֲזָאֵל, translit=Ḥazaʾēl, or , romanized as: ; oar, 𐡇𐡆𐡀𐡋, translit= , from the triliteral Semitic root ''h-z-y'', "to see"; his full name meaning, " El/God has seen"; akk, 𒄩𒍝𒀪𒀭, Ḫa-za-’- il ...

Aram-Damascus The Kingdom of Aram-Damascus () was an Aramean polity that existed from the late-12th century BCE until 732 BCE, and was centred around the city of Damascus in the Southern Levant. Alongside various tribal lands, it was bounded in its later ye ...

. The inscription is known as KAI 232.

Amulets

The

Arslan Tash amulets The Arslan Tash amulets are talismans found at Arslan Tash ( tr, Arslan Taş, literally "Lion Stone") in northwest Syria, the site of ancient Hadatu. They are to be distinguished from larger finds such as the Arslan Tash reliefs. The inscription ...

are two limestone pieces. They were not excavated, rather purchased from an antiquities dealer, so their actual provenance is uncertain. The writing on the tablets is in Aramaic script, although the language of the inscriptions is Phoenician. The tablets were subject to extensive research over the decades, and they have provided remarkable insights into the society and religion of that period. Some scholars questioned the authenticity of these amulets. Nevertheless, at this time most scholars believe they're genuine.Brown, W. (2019, February 26). Arslan Tash Amulet. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/Arslan_Tash_Amulet/

Gallery

File:Assyrian chariot, charioteer, and a horse rider. Basalt wall relief. From the palace of Tiglath-pileser III at Hadatu, Syria. 744-727 BCE. Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul.jpg, Assyrian chariot, charioteer, and a horse rider. Basalt wall relief. From the palace of Tiglath-pileser III at Hadatu, Syria. 744-727 BCE. Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul File:Basalt wall slab showing Assyrian soldiers in procession, holding long spears. From the palace of Tiglath-pileser III at Hadatu, Syria. Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul.jpg, Basalt wall slab showing Assyrian soldiers in procession, holding long spears. From the palace of Tiglath-pileser III at Hadatu, Syria. Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul File:Basalt wall slab showing three Assyrian soldiers in procession. From the palace of Tiglath-pileser III at Hadatu, Syria. Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul.jpg, Basalt wall slab showing three Assyrian soldiers in procession. From the palace of Tiglath-pileser III at Hadatu, Syria. Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul File:Basalt wall slab showing Assyrian soldiers in procession, holding maces and bows. From the palace of Tiglath-pileser III at Hadatu, Syria. Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul.jpg, Basalt wall slab showing Assyrian soldiers in procession, holding maces and bows. From the palace of Tiglath-pileser III at Hadatu, Syria. Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul

Notes

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External links

Photos of the Arslan Tash ivories in the Louvre.

Archaeological sites in Aleppo Governorate Iron Age sites in Syria Former populated places in Syria