Carchemish (
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
: ''Karkamış''; or ), also spelled Karkemish ( hit, ;
Hieroglyphic Luwian
Hieroglyphic Luwian (''luwili'') is a variant of the Luwian language, recorded in official and royal seals and a small number of monumental inscriptions. It is written in a hieroglyphic script known as Anatolian hieroglyphs.
A decipherment was pr ...
: , /;
Akkadian Akkadian or Accadian may refer to:
* Akkadians, inhabitants of the Akkadian Empire
* Akkadian language, an extinct Eastern Semitic language
* Akkadian literature, literature in this language
* Akkadian cuneiform
Cuneiform is a logo- syllabi ...
: ;
Egyptian
Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt.
Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to:
Nations and ethnic groups
* Egyptians, a national group in North Africa
** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...
: ;
[ ]Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
: ) was an important ancient capital in the northern part of the region of Syria
Syria (Hieroglyphic Luwian: 𔒂𔒠 ''Sura/i''; gr, Συρία) or Sham ( ar, ٱلشَّام, ash-Shām) is the name of a historical region located east of the Mediterranean Sea in Western Asia, broadly synonymous with the Levant. Other s ...
. At times during its history the city was independent, but it was also part of the Mitanni
Mitanni (; Hittite cuneiform ; ''Mittani'' '), c. 1550–1260 BC, earlier called Ḫabigalbat in old Babylonian texts, c. 1600 BC; Hanigalbat or Hani-Rabbat (''Hanikalbat'', ''Khanigalbat'', cuneiform ') in Assyrian records, or ''Naharin'' in ...
, Hittite and 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 ...
s. Today it is on the frontier between Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
and 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 ...
.
It was the location of an important battle, about 605 BC, between the Babylon
''Bābili(m)''
* sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠
* arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel''
* syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel''
* grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn''
* he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel''
* peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru''
* elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...
ians and Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
ians, mentioned in the Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
(Jer. 46:2). Modern neighbouring cities are Karkamış
Karkamış is a town and district of Gaziantep Province in southeastern Turkey, next to the site of ancient Karkemish. The population of the town was 2,998 in 2010.
It is a border checkpoint on the road to Jarabulus in Syria. In 2004, 8,071 vehic ...
in Turkey and Jarabulus
Jarabulus ( ar, جَرَابُلُس / ALA-LC: ''Jarābulus'', Aleppo dialect: ''Jrāblos''; tr, Cerablus) is a Syrian city administratively belonging to Aleppo Governorate, under the de-facto control of the Syrian Opposition. Jarabulus lies on ...
in Syria (also Djerablus, Jerablus, Jarablos, Jarâblos); the original form of the modern toponym seems to have been Djerabis or Jerabis, likely derived from Europos, the ancient name of the Hellenistic-Roman settlement.
Geography of the site
Carchemish is now an extensive set of ruins (90 hectares, of which 55 lie in Turkey and 35 in Syria), located on the West bank of Euphrates River
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'') ...
, about southeast of Gaziantep
Gaziantep (), previously and still informally called Aintab or Antep (), is a major city and capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Mediterranean Region, approximat ...
, Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, and northeast of Aleppo
)), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black".
, motto =
, image_map =
, mapsize =
, map_caption =
, image_map1 =
...
, 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 ...
. The site is crossed by the Baghdad Railway
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
that now forms the Turco-Syrian border. The site includes an acropolis
An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens, ...
along the river, an Inner Town encircled by earthen ramparts and an Outer Town (most of which lies in Syrian territory). A Turkish military base has been established at the site and access but only the acropolis
An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens, ...
is presently of restricted access.
History of research
Carchemish has always been well known to scholars because of several references to it in the Bible (Jer. 46:2; 2 Chr. 35:20; Isa. 10:9) and in Egyptian and Assyrian texts. In 1874, James H. Skene, British Consul at Aleppo proposed its identification. This was confirmed in 1876 by George Smith.[Alessandra Gilibert, "Carchemish". in Syro-Hittite Monumental Art and the Archaeology of Performance: The Stone Reliefs at Carchemish and Zincirli in the Earlier First Millennium BCE, Berlin, New York: De Gruyter, pp. 19-54,2011] Carchemish had been previously identified, incorrectly, with the Classical city of Circesium
Circesium ( syc, ܩܪܩܣܝܢ ', grc, Κιρκήσιον), known in Arabic as al-Qarqisiya, was a Roman fortress city near the junction of the Euphrates and Khabur rivers, located at the empire's eastern frontier with the Sasanian Empire. It wa ...
, at the confluence of the Khabur River and the Euphrates; while some early scholars thought that Jarabulus could be Hierapolis Bambyce
Manbij ( ar, مَنْبِج, Manbiǧ, ku, مەنبج, Minbic, tr, Münbiç, Menbic, or Menbiç) is a city in the northeast of Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria, 30 kilometers (19 mi) west of the Euphrates. In the 2004 census by the Cent ...
, that site is actually located at Manbij
Manbij ( ar, مَنْبِج, Manbiǧ, ku, مەنبج, Minbic, tr, Münbiç, Menbic, or Menbiç) is a city in the northeast of Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria, 30 kilometers (19 mi) west of the Euphrates. In the 2004 census by the Cent ...
in Syria.
Between 1878 and 1881 soundings were conducted by Consul Patrick Henderson on behalf of the British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
. Between 1911 and 1914 full excavations were conducted under the direction of D. G. Hogarth. In 1911 on the field there were D. G. Hogarth himself, R. C. Thompson, and T. E. Lawrence
Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916–1918) and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1915–1918 ...
("Lawrence of Arabia"), from 1912 to 1914 C. L. Woolley and T. E. Lawrence, while a last campaign took place in 1920 with C. L. Woolley and Philip Langstaffe Ord Guy
Philip Langstaffe Ord Guy (23 January 1885 – 7 December 1952) was a British archaeologist, administrator, and British Army officer.
Career
Having served in the First World War, Guy assisted with the excavations at Carchemish in Syria and El Amar ...
. Excavations were interrupted in 1914 by World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and then ended in 1920 with the Turkish War of Independence
The Turkish War of Independence "War of Liberation", also known figuratively as ''İstiklâl Harbi'' "Independence War" or ''Millî Mücadele'' "National Struggle" (19 May 1919 – 24 July 1923) was a series of military campaigns waged by th ...
. These expeditions uncovered substantial remains of the Assyrian and Neo-Hittite periods, including defensive structures, temples, palaces, and numerous basalt statues and reliefs with Luwian
The Luwians were a group of Anatolian peoples who lived in central, western, and southern Anatolia, in present-day Turkey, during the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. They spoke the Luwian language, an Indo-European language of the Anatolian sub-fa ...
hieroglyphic inscriptions. Between 1956 and 1998, the whole site had been mined by the Turkish Land Forces
The Turkish Land Forces ( tr, Türk Kara Kuvvetleri), or Turkish Army (Turkish: ), is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The army was formed on November 8, 1920, after the collapse of the ...
.
With the completion in February 2011 of mine clearing operations on the Turkish portion of the site, archaeological work was resumed in September 2011. Excavations in the Inner and Outer Towns were carried out by a joint Turco-Italian team from the Universities of Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...
, Gaziantep
Gaziantep (), previously and still informally called Aintab or Antep (), is a major city and capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Mediterranean Region, approximat ...
, and University of Istanbul
, image = Istanbul_University_logo.svg
, image_size = 200px
, latin_name = Universitas Istanbulensis
, motto = tr, Tarihten Geleceğe Bilim Köprüsü
, mottoeng = Science Bridge from Past to the Future
, established = 1453 1846 1933
...
under the direction of Prof. Dr
Nicolò Marchetti
The second season, from August to November 2012, brought several new art findings and archaeological discoveries, the most remarkable of which is Katuwa's Palace (c. 900 BC) to the east of the Processional Entry.
The third season, from May to October 2013, extended the exposure of Katuwa's palace, retrieving a cuneiform tablet with an exorcism in the name of the god Marduk, as well as the ruins of Lawrence's excavation house in the Inner Town, from which literally hundreds of fragments of sculptures and hieroglyphic inscriptions have been retrieved.
The fourth season started in May 2014 and continued through October 2014: in Katuwa's palace several orthostats exquisitely carved with a procession of gazelle-bearers have been found, some of them in situ, next to a courtyard paved with squared slabs. In the Neo Assyrian period that courtyard was covered by a mosaic floor made of river pebbles forming squares alternating in black and white color. Lawrence's excavation house was completely excavated.
During the fifth season, April to October 2015, more significant discoveries have been made in the palace area, both for Late Hittite sculptures, and Neo Assyrian refurbishments, with tens of items—including two fragments of clay prismatical cylinders inscribed with a unique cuneiform text by Sargon, intended for display, telling how he captured and reorganized the city of Karkemish—retrieved in a 14-m-deep well, sealed in 605 BC at the time of the Late Babylonian takeover.
The sixth season, May to July 2016, saw a number of excavation areas opened also near the border, due to the added security represented by the construction of the wall (see below). Thus, in 2016 a complete stratigraphic record was obtained also for peripheral areas, greatly adding to our understanding of urban development between LB II and the Achaemenid
The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, wikt:𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎶, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an History of Iran#Classical antiquity, ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Bas ...
period.
In the seventh season, from 7 May to 18 July 2017, the major breakthroughs were the beginning of the excavations on the north-western end of the acropolis and the discovery in the eastern Lower Palace area of a monumental building dating from the LB II. Among the finds, in addition to new sculpted complete artworks from the Iron Age, fragments of Imperial Hittite clay cuneiform tablets and c. 250 inscribed bullae should be mentioned.
The eighth season lasted from 4 May to 20 July 2019 and revealed a massive palace on the top of the acropolis dating from Late Bronze II, exposed more architecture and finds from the LB II administrative building in area C East (which seems to be the Hittite E2.KIŠIB) and more of the Iron I storage facility in area S.
Conservation and presentation works have now been completed and the archaeological park at the site is finally open since 13 July 2019, thanks to the support also of Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality
Gaziantep (), previously and still informally #Name, called Aintab or Antep (), is a major city and capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Mediterranean Region, Turk ...
and Gaziantep Governorate: the site may be visited between 9 am and one hour before sunset through guided tours every two hours for security reasons. Financial support has been received by the three Universities mentioned above, by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Sanko Holding, with the technical support also of Şahinbey Municipality and Inta A.Ş.
Archaeological investigations on the Syrian side have been conducted as part of the Land of Carchemish project
The Land of Carchemish Project was a large archaeological research project at Durham University focusing on the archaeological site of Carchemish in northern Syria. It started in 2006 and was directed by Tony Wilkinson and Edgar Peltenburg. It ...
: investigations of the Outer Town of Carchemish were undertaken in conjunction with the DGAM in Damascus and with the funding and sponsorship of the Council for British Research in the Levant The Council for British Research in the Levant (CBRL) is a non-profit organisation that promotes humanities and social science research in the Levant. It consists of two research institutes, the Kenyon Institute in Jerusalem and the British Institut ...
and of the British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences.
It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...
, under the direction of the late Professors T. J. Wilkinson and E. Peltenburg.
The Outer Town area lying in Syria has been designated, already before the Syrian Civil War, an endangered cultural heritage site and labelled "at risk" by the Global Heritage Fund, due to the agricultural expansion
Agricultural expansion describes the growth of agricultural land (arable land, pastures, etc.) especially in the 20th and 21st centuries.
The agricultural expansion is often explained as a direct consequence of the global increase in food and ene ...
and, especially, the urban encroachment. The field assessment of the Syrian part of the Outer Town documented that parts of the modern border town of Jerablus encroached upon the Outer Town. In July 2019, a scientific visit to the outer town in Syria by the Turco-Italian Archaeological Expedition at Karkemish, entailed the protection of the area from further encroachment by the sprawling town of Jerablus
Jarabulus ( ar, جَرَابُلُس / ALA-LC: ''Jarābulus'', Aleppo dialect: ''Jrāblos''; tr, Cerablus) is a Syrian city administratively belonging to Aleppo Governorate, under the de-facto control of the Syrian Opposition. Jarabulus lies o ...
and by the facilities for trucks which were being built to the South of the border: the City Council of Jerablus declared all the area enclosed by the Iron Age city walls a "first degree protected site", meaning the complete ban of any activity on it.
In February 2016, a prefabricated security wall (thus with no foundations that could have damaged the ancient site) was completed by the Turkish Army to the south of the railway, stretching between the Euphrates bridge and the train station of Karkamış.
History
The site has been occupied since the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods (pot burials).
Early Bronze
Cist
A cist ( or ; also kist ;
from grc-gre, κίστη, Middle Welsh ''Kist'' or Germanic ''Kiste'') is a small stone-built coffin-like box or ossuary used to hold the bodies of the dead. Examples can be found across Europe and in the Middle East ...
tombs from ca. 2400 BC (Early Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
). The city is mentioned in documents found in the Ebla
Ebla ( Sumerian: ''eb₂-la'', ar, إبلا, modern: , Tell Mardikh) was one of the earliest kingdoms in Syria. Its remains constitute a tell located about southwest of Aleppo near the village of Mardikh. Ebla was an important center t ...
archives of the 3rd millennium BC.
Middle Bronze
According to documents from the archives of Mari and Alalakh
Alalakh (''Tell Atchana''; Hittite: Alalaḫ) is an ancient archaeological site approximately northeast of Antakya (historic Antioch) in what is now Turkey's Hatay Province. It flourished, as an urban settlement, in the Middle and Late Bronze A ...
, dated from c. 1800 BC, Carchemish was then ruled by a king named Aplahanda
Aplahanda was a king of Carchemish proposed to have reigned between 1786 and 1766 BCE.
He was first known from a cylinder seal translated by Rene Dussaud in 1929. The seal was found at the base of the mound of Ugarit before excavations began.
At ...
, followed by his don Iatar-ami (a contemporary of Mari ruler Zimri-Lim __NOTOC__
Zimri-Lim (Akkadian: ''Zi-im-ri Li-im'') was king of Mari c. 1775–1761 BCE.
Zimri-Lim was the son or grandson of Iakhdunlim, but was forced to flee to Yamhad when his father was assassinated by his own servants during a coup. He ha ...
) and was an important center of timber trade. It had treaty relationships with Ugarit
)
, image =Ugarit Corbel.jpg
, image_size=300
, alt =
, caption = Entrance to the Royal Palace of Ugarit
, map_type = Near East#Syria
, map_alt =
, map_size = 300
, relief=yes
, location = Latakia Governorate, Syria
, region = F ...
and Mitanni
Mitanni (; Hittite cuneiform ; ''Mittani'' '), c. 1550–1260 BC, earlier called Ḫabigalbat in old Babylonian texts, c. 1600 BC; Hanigalbat or Hani-Rabbat (''Hanikalbat'', ''Khanigalbat'', cuneiform ') in Assyrian records, or ''Naharin'' in ...
( Hanilgalbat). Another ruler of Carchemish in that period was Iahdun-Lim. In ancient times, the city commanded the main ford in the region across 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'') ...
, a situation which must have contributed greatly to its historical and strategic importance. After about 1745 BC, and the reign of Yahdul-Lim
Yahdul-Lim was a king of Carchemish proposed to have reigned between 1764 and 1745 BCE. During this period, the information about Carchemish mostly comes from the archives of Mari, Syria.
Son of Aplahanda, he succeeded his brother Yatar-Ami. Litt ...
, not much is further known about Carchemish.
Yamhad influence
Little is known until the 1620s, when the city is mentioned in connection with the siege of Urshu (Ursha) by the Hittite king Hattusili I Ḫattušili (''Ḫattušiliš'' in the inflected nominative case) was the regnal name of three Hittite kings:
* Ḫattušili I (Labarna II)
*Ḫattušili II
*Ḫattušili III
It was also the name of two Neo-Hittite kings:
* Ḫattušili I (Labarn ...
. At that time, Carchemish was allied with the kingdom of Yamhad
Yamhad was an ancient Semitic kingdom centered on Ḥalab (Aleppo), Syria. The kingdom emerged at the end of the 19th century BC, and was ruled by the Yamhadite dynasty kings, who counted on both military and diplomacy to expand their realm. ...
, centered in Aleppo
)), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black".
, motto =
, image_map =
, mapsize =
, map_caption =
, image_map1 =
...
, in supporting Urshu, but their efforts were unsuccessful, and the city fell, along with many other Syrian cities. Hattusili and his successor Mursili I
Mursili I (also known as Mursilis; sometimes transcribed as Murshili) was a king of the Hittites 1620-1590 BC, as per the middle chronology, the most accepted chronology in our times, (or alternatively c. 1556–1526 BC, short chronology), and wa ...
campaigned several years against Yamhad.
Late Bronze
Egyptian influence
Pharaoh
Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: ''pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the an ...
Thutmose I
Thutmose I (sometimes read as Thutmosis or Tuthmosis I, Thothmes in older history works in Latinized Greek; Ancient Egyptian: '' ḏḥwtj- ms'', ''Tʼaḥawtī-mīsaw'', , meaning "Thoth is born") was the third pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty of E ...
of the Eighteenth Dynasty erected a stele
A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), whe ...
near Carchemish to celebrate his conquest of Syria and other lands beyond the Euphrates.
Mitanni influence
Under the Mitanni Empire, the city was a stronghold of Tushratta of Mitanni until its siege and conquest by Suppiluliuma I (c. 1345 BC).
Hittite influence
Around the end of the reign of Pharaoh Akhenaten
Akhenaten (pronounced ), also spelled Echnaton, Akhenaton, ( egy, ꜣḫ-n-jtn ''ʾŪḫə-nə-yātəy'', , meaning "Effective for the Aten"), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh reigning or 1351–1334 BC, the tenth ruler of the Eighteenth Dy ...
, Carchemish was captured by king Šuppiluliuma I
Suppiluliuma I () or Suppiluliumas I () was king of the Hittites (r. c. 1344–1322 BC (short chronology)). He achieved fame as a great warrior and statesman, successfully challenging the then-dominant New Kingdom of Egypt, Egyptian Empire for con ...
of the Hittites
The Hittites () were an Anatolian people who played an important role in establishing first a kingdom in Kussara (before 1750 BC), then the Kanesh or Nesha kingdom (c. 1750–1650 BC), and next an empire centered on Hattusa in north-centra ...
(c. 14th century BC), who made it into a kingdom ruled by his son Piyassili
Piyassili (also transliterated as ''Piyaššili''; died ca. 1315 BC), also known as Sarri-Kusuh (or ''Šarri-Kušuḫ''), was a Hittite prince and a middle son of King Šuppiluliuma I—younger than the heir Arnuwanda II, but older than the eventu ...
.
Piyassili was followed by his son Shakhurunuwa ( :fr:Sahurunuwa), about whom relatively little is known. He participated in the Battle of Kadesh
The Battle of Kadesh or Battle of Qadesh took place between the forces of the New Kingdom of Egypt under Ramesses II and the Hittite Empire under Muwatalli II at the city of Kadesh on the Orontes River, just upstream of Lake Homs near the mod ...
(1274 BC). Another son of Piyassili, x-Sarruma, probably ruled before him.
Iron Age
The city became one of the most important centres in the Hittite Empire, during the Late Bronze Age, and reached its apogee around the 13th century BC. While the Hittite empire fell to the Sea Peoples
The Sea Peoples are a hypothesized seafaring confederation that attacked ancient Egypt and other regions in the East Mediterranean prior to and during the Late Bronze Age collapse (1200–900 BCE).. Quote: "First coined in 1881 by the Fren ...
during the Bronze Age collapse
The Late Bronze Age collapse was a time of widespread societal collapse during the 12th century BC, between c. 1200 and 1150. The collapse affected a large area of the Eastern Mediterranean (North Africa and Southeast Europe) and the Near Ea ...
, Carchemish survived the Sea Peoples' attacks to continue to be the capital of an important Neo-Hittite
The states that are called Syro-Hittite, Neo-Hittite (in older literature), or Luwian-Aramean (in modern scholarly works), were Luwian and Aramean regional polities of the Iron Age, situated in southeastern parts of modern Turkey and northwestern ...
kingdom in the 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 ...
, and a trading center.
Although Ramesses III states in an inscription dating to his 8th Year from his Medinet Habu mortuary temple that Carchemish was destroyed by the Sea Peoples, the city evidently survived the onslaught.
Kuzi-Teshub I
King Kuzi-Teshub Kuzi-Teshub (also read as Kunzi-Teshub) was a Neo-Hittite King of Carchemish, reigning in the early to mid-12th century BC, likely in 1180-1150 BC.Alessandra Gilibert: ''Syro-Hittite Monumental Art and the Archaeology of Performance''. Berlin 2011, ...
(Kuzi-Tesup) is attested in power here and was the son of Talmi-Teshub who was a contemporary of the last Hittite king, Šuppiluliuma II. He and his successors ruled a "mini-empire" stretching from Southeast Asia Minor to Northern Syria and the West bend of the Euphrates under the title "Great King". This suggests that Kuzi-Tesub saw himself as the true heir of the line of the great Šuppiluliuma I and that the central dynasty at Hattusa was now defunct. This powerful polity lasted from c.1175 to 975 BC when it began losing control of its farther possessions and became gradually a more local city state centered around Carchemish.
After Kuzi-Teshub, some of the kings of Carchemish, such as Tuthaliya I, Sapaziti, and Ura-Tarhunza, continued to use the title ‘Great King’ in order to advance their power interests.
House of Suhi
Suhi I was the first known ruler of the dynasty of Carchemish that followed. He ruled in early 10th century BC, and was followed by Astuwalamanza.
Katuwa The House of Suhi was a dynasty of rulers of Carchemish. The members of this dynasty are best known to us through Hieroglyphic Luwian sources. Only one member of the house of Suhi is specifically mentioned in Assyrian sources. The House of Suhi was ...
, son of Suhi II, is the best known ruler of this dynasty as known in the Hieroglyphic Luwian sources. He reigned around 880 BC.
Relations with Assyria
In the mid-13th century BC, after the fall of the Mitanni, Shalmaneser I visited Carchemish together with Prince Tukultī-Ninurta.
In the 9th century BC, King Sangara (870-848 BC), the last member of the dynasty, paid tribute to Kings Ashurnasirpal II
Ashur-nasir-pal II (transliteration: ''Aššur-nāṣir-apli'', meaning " Ashur is guardian of the heir") was king of Assyria from 883 to 859 BC.
Ashurnasirpal II succeeded his father, Tukulti-Ninurta II, in 883 BC. During his reign he embarked ...
and Shalmaneser III
Shalmaneser III (''Šulmānu-ašarēdu'', "the god Shulmanu is pre-eminent") was king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from the death of his father Ashurnasirpal II in 859 BC to his own death in 824 BC.
His long reign was a constant series of campai ...
of 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 ...
.
Sangara already appeared in the Balawat Bronze Bands of Ashurnasirpal II as a tributary probably at some time before 868 BC. According to the archaeologist Shigeo Yamada, Karkamish may have been known during this period as 'Sazabê', “a fortified city of Sangara the Karkamishean”. Nevertheless, Sangara failed to leave any inscriptions at the city of Karkamish itself as far as is known. Still, in 2015 his name was identified in Hieroglyphic Luwian for the first time in a local inscription.
Following this period, Karkamish does not appear in Assyrian sources until the mid-8th century BC. The only exception was a brief mention by Samši-Adad V
Shamshi-Adad V ( akk, Šamši-Adad) was the King of Assyria from 824 to 811 BC. He was named after the god Adad, who is also known as Hadad.
Family
Shamshi-Adad was a son and successor of King Shalmaneser III, the husband of Queen Shammuramat (by ...
(824–811 BC). Nevertheless, only 20 km downstream 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'') ...
river, at the city of Til-Barsip
Til Barsip or Til Barsib ( Hittite Masuwari, modern Tell Ahmar; ar, تل أحمر) is an ancient site situated in Aleppo Governorate, Syria by the Euphrates river about 20 kilometers south of ancient Carchemish.
History
The site was inhabited ...
(modern Tell Ahmar), the Assyrians established an important provincial capital. They renamed their new city as 'Kar-Shalmaneser', yet the old name was also used.
Stele of Kubaba
In 2015, for the first time, the name of Sangara has been documented in a hieroglyphic Luwian inscription originally erected in Carchemish, itself. The six extant pieces of the basalt stele of Kubaba (goddess)
Kubaba was a Syrian goddess associated particularly closely with Alalakh and Carchemish. She was adopted into the Hurrian and Hittite pantheons as well. After the fall of the Hittite empire, she continued to be venerated by Luwians.
Name
The p ...
from Karkemish, currently housed in three different museums, have finally been all discovered and assembled together. This stele was made by king Kamani of Karkemish around 790 BC. The top part of this stele was drawn in 1876 by George Smith and transported in 1881 to the British Museum.
In 1876, this was the longest hieroglyphic Luwian
inscription known until then. Based on it, Smith was the first to link the site with the Hittites as mentioned in the Bible, and also to identify it as Carchemish.
The Suhi-Katuwa Dynasty are known for their extensive building program. They have left a prominent set of monuments, with sculptures and inscriptions.[ a]
academia.edu
/ref> Among the monuments they left, there are portal lions, inscriptions, relief orthostats
This article describes several characteristic architectural elements typical of European megalithic (Stone Age) structures.
Forecourt
In archaeology, a forecourt is the name given to the area in front of certain types of chamber tomb. Forecourts ...
and freestanding statues.
House of Astiruwa
The House of Astiruwa was the last known dynasty of rulers of Carchemish, and king Astiruwa (ca 848-790 BC) was the founder of this dynasty. Then came kings Yariri The House of Astiruwa was the last known dynasty of rulers of Carchemish. The members of this dynasty are best known to us through Hieroglyphic Luwian sources. One member of the House of Astiruwa may also be referred to in Assyrian sources.
Astiru ...
, Kamani, and Sastura.
King Yariri started to reign after 790 BC. He was a great scholar, and left extensive records of his time.
Carchemish was conquered by Sargon II
Sargon II (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , meaning "the faithful king" or "the legitimate king") was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 722 BC to his death in battle in 705. Probably the son of Tiglath-Pileser III (745–727), Sargon is general ...
in 717 BC in the reign of King Pisiri, the last ruler of the House of Astiruwa.
Battle of Carchemish
In the summer of 605 BC, the Battle of Carchemish
The Battle of Carchemish was fought about 605 BC between the armies of Egypt allied with the remnants of the army of the former Assyrian Empire against the armies of Babylonia, allied with the Medes, Persians, and Scythians. This was while Nebuc ...
was fought there by the Babylon
''Bābili(m)''
* sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠
* arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel''
* syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel''
* grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn''
* he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel''
* peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru''
* elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...
ian army of Nebuchadnezzar II
Nebuchadnezzar II (Babylonian cuneiform: ''Nabû-kudurri-uṣur'', meaning "Nabu, watch over my heir"; Biblical Hebrew: ''Nəḇūḵaḏneʾṣṣar''), also spelled Nebuchadrezzar II, was the second king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, ruling ...
and that of Pharaoh Necho II
Necho II (sometimes Nekau, Neku, Nechoh, or Nikuu; Greek: Νεκώς Β'; ) of Egypt was a king of the 26th Dynasty (610–595 BC), which ruled from Sais. Necho undertook a number of construction projects across his kingdom. In his reign, accord ...
of Egypt and the remnants of the 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 ...
n army (Jer. 46:2). The aim of Necho's campaign was to contain the Westward advance of the Babylonian Empire and cut off its trade route across the Euphrates. However, the Egyptians
Egyptians ( arz, المَصرِيُون, translit=al-Maṣriyyūn, ; arz, المَصرِيِين, translit=al-Maṣriyyīn, ; cop, ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, remenkhēmi) are an ethnic group native to the Nile, Nile Valley in Egypt. Egyptian ...
were defeated by the unexpected attack of the Babylonians and were eventually expelled from Syria.
After a brief Neo-Babylonian occupation, the Turco-Italian excavations found evidence for three phases of Achaemenid occupation, a significant reconstruction in Hellenistic times, a monumental phase from the Late Roman period, an Early Byzantine and three Abbasid phases before the final abandonment of the site until the early 1900s.
Kings of Carchemish
Goddess Kubaba
The patron goddess of Carchemish was Kubaba
Kubaba (in the ''Weidner'' or ''Esagila Chronicle''), sux, , , is the only queen on the ''Sumerian King List'', which states she reigned for 100 years – roughly in the Early Dynastic III period (ca. 2500–2330 BC) of Sumerian history. A co ...
, a deity of apparently Hurrian
The Hurrians (; cuneiform: ; transliteration: ''Ḫu-ur-ri''; also called Hari, Khurrites, Hourri, Churri, Hurri or Hurriter) were a people of the Bronze Age Near East. They spoke a Hurrian language and lived in Anatolia, Syria and Northern ...
origins. She was represented as a dignified woman wearing a long robe, standing or seated, and holding a mirror. The main male deity of the town was Karhuha
Karhuha (Karḫuḫa), also known as Karḫuḫi, was the tutelary god of the ancient city of Carchemish. He was associated with deer, and it is presumed his character was similar to that of Hittites, Hittite Kurunta (god), Kurunta. He is first at ...
, akin to the Hittite stag-god Kurunta
Kurunta (Cuneiform: ) was younger son of the early 13th century BC Hittite king Muwatalli II and cousin of Tudhaliya IV.
Kurunta was thereby a Hittite prince and king of Tarhuntassa country. It has been suggested that he may have captured the Hi ...
.
Kubaba was also the goddess of Alalakh
Alalakh (''Tell Atchana''; Hittite: Alalaḫ) is an ancient archaeological site approximately northeast of Antakya (historic Antioch) in what is now Turkey's Hatay Province. It flourished, as an urban settlement, in the Middle and Late Bronze A ...
, located in the coastal Amik Valley
The Amik Valley ( tr, Amik Ovası; ar, ٱلْأَعْمَاق, al-ʾAʿmāq) is located in the Hatay Province, close to the city of Antakya (Antioch on the Orontes River) in the southern part of Turkey. Along with Dabiq in northwestern Syria, ...
.
In 2015, a basalt stele of Kubaba, originally from Karkemish, was assembled back together from six separate broken pieces currently housed in three different museums around the world. This stele was originally made by king Kamani of Karkemish around 790 BC. The Luwian hieroglyphic inscription on this stele can now be read more fully, and it carries some important information about Karkemish history.
Kubaba appears to be one of the three main deities worshipped in Carchemish during the Middle Bronze Age. The other two were Nergal
Nergal ( Sumerian: d''KIŠ.UNU'' or ; ; Aramaic: ܢܸܪܓܲܠ; la, Nirgal) was a Mesopotamian god worshiped through all periods of Mesopotamian history, from Early Dynastic to Neo-Babylonian times, with a few attestations under indicating hi ...
and Nubandag
Nupatik, also known as Lubadag, was a Hurrian god of uncertain character. He is attested in the earliest inscriptions from Urkesh, as well as in texts from many other Hurrian settlements, and possibly continued to be worshiped as late as in the ne ...
. The chief god was the Mesopotamian-influenced Nergal, who was the city-god of Carchemish. He was also called ''Il-Karkamis'', “God of Karkemish”, as is evidenced on an Old Babylonian hematite cylinder seal in the British Museum collections (BM 89172).
The warrior god Nubandag has Hurrian
The Hurrians (; cuneiform: ; transliteration: ''Ḫu-ur-ri''; also called Hari, Khurrites, Hourri, Churri, Hurri or Hurriter) were a people of the Bronze Age Near East. They spoke a Hurrian language and lived in Anatolia, Syria and Northern ...
roots. According to the Mari texts, he was worshipped at Carchemish in the Old Babylonian period along with Nergal.
Later, beginning in the mid-14th century BC, the city-god of Carchemish became the warrior god Karhuha, similar to Kurunta (god)
Kurunta (Cuneiform: ) is the Hittite god of wild animals and hunting.
Kurunta's Insignia was the deer. He became king of gods after he had thrown Tarhun down from the sky. The god rebel forces humanity against the gods and even does not care ...
. He was seen as a Stag-god, and his cult was probably introduced to Carchemish under the Mitannian influence.
These deities clearly reflect the geographical position of Carchemish at the crossing of important trade routes; because of this, the city became a mixed cultural and religious centre.
Material Culture
Among the many artefacts recovered at Karkemish, typical of this territory are the Handmade Syrian Horses and Riders and the Syrian Pillar Figurines. These are clay figurines dating from mid-8th-7th centuries BCE that have been found in several hundreds in the town. These terracottas were manufactured during the Neo-Assyrian
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 ...
phase of Karkemish and it is currently believed they might have represented male and female characters performing distinguished public roles.[Bolognani B. 2017, pp.172, 220, 246-247; 2020a; 2020b.]
See also
*Cities of the ancient Near East
The earliest cities in history were in the ancient Near East, an area covering roughly that of the modern Middle East: its history began in the 4th millennium BC and ended, depending on the interpretation of the term, either with the conquest by ...
*Short chronology timeline
The chronology of the ancient Near East is a framework of dates for various events, rulers and dynasties. Historical inscriptions and texts customarily record events in terms of a succession of officials or rulers: "in the year X of king Y". Com ...
*Karkamış
Karkamış is a town and district of Gaziantep Province in southeastern Turkey, next to the site of ancient Karkemish. The population of the town was 2,998 in 2010.
It is a border checkpoint on the road to Jarabulus in Syria. In 2004, 8,071 vehic ...
* Carchemish Phoenician inscription
The Carchemish Phoenician inscription is a 5th-century BCE Phoenician inscription on glazed faience tile in Carchemish in the early 1950s during the excavations of Richard David Barnett and Leonard Woolley for the British Museum. It measured 9 x 4 ...
Notes
References
BRITISH MUSEUM EXPEDITION
ogarth D.G., ''Carchemish I: Introductory'', The British Museum Press, London 1914, repr. 1969.
oolley C.L., ''Carchemish II: Town Defences: Report on the Excavations at Jerablus on Behalf of the British Museum'', British Museum Press, London 1921, repr. 1969,
Carchemish II
oolley C.L. & Barnett R.D., ''Carchemish III: Excavations in the Inner Town: Report on the Excavations at Jerablus on Behalf of the British Museum'', British Museum Press, London 1952, repr. 1978,
Carchemish III
TURCO-ITALIAN EXPEDITION
* Bitelli G., Girardi F., Girelli V.A., Digital enhancement of the 3D scan of Suhi I's stele from Karkemish, in ''Orientalia'' 83/2 (2014), pp. 154–161.
* Bolognani B.,''The Iron Age Figurines from Karkemish (2011–2015 Campaigns) and the Coroplastic Art of the Syro-Anatolian Region'', unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Bologna, Bologna (2017)
amsdottorato.unibo.it/8222/7/Bolognani_Barbara_tesi.pdf
* Bolognani B., "The Iron Age Female Figurines from Karkemish and the Middle Euphrates Valley. Preliminary Notes on Some Syrian Pillar Figurines", in Donnat S., Hunziker-Rodewald R., Weygand I. (eds), ''Figurines féminines nues : Proche-Orient, Égypte, Nubie, Méditerranée, Asie centrale (VIIIe millénaire av. J.-C. - IVe siècle ap. J.-C.), Proceedings of the International Conference “Figurines féminines nues. Proche-Orient, Egypte, Nubie, Méditerranée, Asie centrale”, June 25th-26th 2015, MISHA, Strasbourg'', Études d’archéologie et d’histoire ancienne (EAHA), De Boccard, Paris, pp. 209–223 (2020a)
Bolognani 2020a
* Bolognani, B., "Figurines as Social Markers: The Neo-Assyrian Impact on the Northern Levant as Seen from the Material Culture", in Gavagnin K., Palermo R. (eds), ''Imperial Connections. Interactions and Expansions from Assyria to the Roman Period. Proceedings of the 5th “Broadening Horizons” Conference, 5–8 June 2017, Udine''(West & East Monografie 2), University of Udine, Udine, pp. 43–57 (2020b
Bolognani 2020b
* Di Cristina S., Gallerani V., Lepore G., Europos on the Euphrates: Continuities and Discontinuities at an Oriental Classical City, in ''Mesopotamia'' 52 (2017), pp. 129–150.
* Dinçol A., Dinçol B., Hawkins J.D., Marchetti N., Peker H., A Stele by Suhi I from Karkemish, in ''Orientalia'' 83/2 (2014), pp. 143–153.
* Dinçol A., Dinçol B., Peker H., An Anatolian Hieroglyphic Cylinder Seal from the Hilani at Karkemish, in ''Orientalia'' 83/2 (2014), pp. 162–165.
* Marchesi G., Epigraphic Materials of Karkemish from the Middle Bronze Age, in ''Orientalia'' 83/2 (2014), pp. 166–181.
* Marchesi G., A Bilingual Literary Text from Karmenish Featuring Marduk (with contributions by W.R. Mayer and S.V. Panayotov), in ''Orientalia'' 83/4 (2014), pp. 333–340.
* Marchetti N., "The 2011 Joint Turco-Italian Excavations at Karkemish", in ''34. kazı sonuçları toplantısı, 28 Mayıs-1 Haziran 2012, Çorum. 1. cilt'', T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı, Ankara (2013), pp. 349–364
kulturvarliklari.gov.tr/Eklenti/7332,34kazi1.pdf?0
* Marchetti N., The 2012 Joint Turco-Italian Excavations at Karkemish, in ''35. kazı sonuçları toplantısı, 27–31 Mayıs 2013, Muğla. 3. cilt'', T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı, Ankara (2014), pp. 233–248
kulturvarliklari.gov.tr/Eklenti/27148,35kazi3.pdf?0
*Marchetti N., ''Karkemish. An Ancient Capital on the Euphrates'' (OrientLab 2), Ante Quem, Bologna (2014)
free download orientlab.net/pubs, free download)
* Marchetti N., Bronze Statuettes from the Temples of Karkemish, in ''Orientalia'' 83/3 (2014), pp. 305–320.
* Marchetti N., Karkemish. New Discoveries in the Last Hittite Capital, in ''Current World Archaeology'' 70 (2015), pp 18–24
* Marchetti N., Les programmes publics de communication visuelle à Karkemish entre la fin du IIe millénaire et le début du Ier millénaire avant J.-C., in V. Blanchard (ed.), Royaumes oubliés. De l'Empire hittite aux Araméens, Louvre éditions, Paris, (2019), pp. 154–161.
* Marchetti N. et al., Karkemish on the Euphrates: Excavating a City's History, in ''Near Eastern Archaeology'' 75/3 (2012), pp. 132–14
jstor.org/stable/10.5615/neareastarch.75.issue-3
* Marchetti N., Peker H., A Stele from Gürçay near Karkemish, in ''Orientalia'' 83/2 (2014), pp. 182–188.
* Peker H., A Funerary Stele from Yunus, in ''Orientalia'' 83/2 (2014), pp. 189–193.
* Peker H., ''Texts from Karkemish I. Luwian Hieroglyphic Inscriptions from the 2011-2015 Excavations'' (OrientLab Series Maior 1), Ante Quem, Bologna (2016).
* Pizzimenti S., Three Glyptic Documents from Karkemish, in ''Orientalia'' 83/2 (2014), pp. 194–201.
* Zaina F. (ed.), ''Excavations at Karkemish I. The Stratigraphic Sequence of Area G'' (OrientLab Series Maior 3), Ante Quem, Bologna, (2019).
* Zecchi M., A Note on Two Egyptian Seal Impressions from Karkemish, in ''Orientalia'' 83/2 (2014), pp. 202–206.
OTHER REFERENCES
* GüterbockH.G., Carchemish, in ''Journal of Near Eastern Studies'' 13/2 (1954), pp. 102–114.
* Hayes Ward W.M., Unpublished or Imperfectly Published Hittite Monuments. III. Reliefs at Carchemish=Jerablûs, The American Journal of Archaeology and of the History of the Fine Arts, vol. 4, pp. 172–174, (1988)
* Hawkins J.D.,"Kargamiš.", Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin (1980).
* Hawkins J.D., ''Corpus of Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions I. Inscriptions of the Iron Age''. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin (2000), .
* Hutter M., "Aspects of Luwian Religion", in H.C. Melchert (ed.), The Luwians, Brill, (2003).
* Peltenburg E., ''Euphrates River Valley Settlement: The Carchemish Sector in the Third Millennium BC'', Oxbow Books, (2007).
* Wilson D.M., ''The British Museum. A history''. The British Museum Press, London, 2002.
* Woolley, C. Leonard, "The Prehistoric Pottery of Carchemish", Iraq, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 146–62, 1934
External links
Official website of the Turco-Italian Archaeological Expedition to Karkemish
Land of Carchemish Project, Syria
Activities of the joint Turkish-Italian Archaeological Mission (in Italian)
Carchemish images
{{Authority control
Carchemish,
Ancient Assyrian cities
Syro-Hittite states
Archaeological sites in Aleppo Governorate
Archaeological sites in Southeastern Anatolia
Former populated places in Syria
Roman towns and cities in Syria
History of Gaziantep Province