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Karum (
Early references to ''karu'' come from the Ebla tablets; in particular, a vizier known as Ebrium concluded the earliest
In the 2nd millennium BC, money had not yet been invented, and Assyrian merchants used gold for wholesale trade and silver for retail trade. Gold was considered eight times more valuable than silver. However, another metal, ''amutum'', was even more valuable than gold. It is thought to be the newly-discovered iron and was forty times more valuable than silver.
The most important Anatolian export was copper, and the Assyrian merchants sold tin and clothing to Anatolia.
Karum (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, early writing system
* Akkadian myt ...
: ''kārum'' "quay, port, commercial district", plural ''kārū'', from Sumerian
Sumerian or Sumerians may refer to:
*Sumer, an ancient civilization
**Sumerian language
**Sumerian art
**Sumerian architecture
**Sumerian literature
**Cuneiform script, used in Sumerian writing
*Sumerian Records, an American record label based in ...
''kar'' "fortification (of a harbor), break-water") is the name given to ancient Old Assyrian period
The Old Assyrian period was the second stage of Assyrian history, covering the history of the city of Assur from its rise as an independent city-state under Puzur-Ashur I 2025 BC to the foundation of a larger Assyrian territorial state after the ...
trade posts
in Anatolia
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The r ...
(modern 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 ...
) from the 20th to 18th centuries BC. The main centre of ''karum'' trading was at the ancient town of Kanesh.
Assyrian settlements
Early references to ''karu'' come from the Ebla tablets; in particular, a vizier known as Ebrium concluded the earliest treaty
A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal perso ...
fully known to archaeology, known variously as the "Treaty between 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 thr ...
and Aššur
Aššur (; Sumerian: AN.ŠAR2KI, Assyrian cuneiform: ''Aš-šurKI'', "City of God Aššur"; syr, ܐܫܘܪ ''Āšūr''; Old Persian ''Aθur'', fa, آشور: ''Āšūr''; he, אַשּׁוּר, ', ar, اشور), also known as Ashur and Qal'a ...
" or the "Treaty with Abarsal" (scholars have disputed whether the text refers to Aššur or to Abarsal, an unknown location). In either case, the other city contracted to establish ''karu'' in Eblaite territory (Syria), among other things.
Sargon the Great (of Akkadia) who likely destroyed Ebla soon afterward, is said in a much-later Hittite account to have invaded Anatolia to punish Nurdaggal, the king of Purushanda Purushanda (also variously Puruskhanda, Purushhattum or Burushattum) was an Anatolian kingdom of the early second millennium prior to the common era. It was conquered by the Hittites sometime between 1650–1556 BCE.
Etymology
The name is written ...
(in Anatolia), for mistreating the 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, early writing system
* Akkadian myt ...
and Assyrian merchant class in the ''karu'' there. However, no contemporary source mentions that to be the case.
During the 2nd millennium BC, Anatolia was under the sovereignty of Hatti Hatti may refer to
*Hatti (; Assyrian ) in Bronze Age Anatolia:
**the area of Hattusa, roughly delimited by the Halys bend
**the Hattians of the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC
**the Hittites of ''ca'' 1400–1200 BC
**the areas to the west of the Euphrat ...
city-states and later 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-cent ...
. By 1960 BC, Assyrian merchants had established the ''karu'', small colonial settlements next to Anatolian cities, which paid taxes to the rulers of the cities. There were also smaller trade stations which were called ''mabartū'' (singular ''mabartum''). The number of ''karu'' and ''mabartu'' was probably around 20. Among them were Kültepe (Kanesh in antiquity) in modern Kayseri Province
The Kayseri Province ( tr, ) is situated in central Turkey. The population is 1,434,357 of which around 1,175,876 live in the city of Kayseri. It covers an area of 16,917 km2 and it borders with Sivas, Adana, Niğde, Kahramanmaraş, Yo ...
; Alişar Hüyük (Ankuva (?) in antiquity) in modern Yozgat Province
Yozgat Province ( tr, ) is a province in central Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Çorum to the northwest, Kırıkkale to the west, Kırşehir to the southwest, Nevşehir to the south, Kayseri to the southeast, Sivas to the east, Tokat to ...
; and Boğazköy (Hattusa
Hattusa (also Ḫattuša or Hattusas ; Hittite: URU''Ḫa-at-tu-ša'',Turkish: Hattuşaş , Hattic: Hattush) was the capital of the Hittite Empire in the late Bronze Age. Its ruins lie near modern Boğazkale, Turkey, within the great loop of t ...
in antiquity) in modern Çorum Province. (However, Alişar Hüyük was probably a ''mabartum''.) However, after the establishment of the Hittite Empire, the ''karu'' disappeared from Anatolian history.
Trade
In the 2nd millennium BC, money had not yet been invented, and Assyrian merchants used gold for wholesale trade and silver for retail trade. Gold was considered eight times more valuable than silver. However, another metal, ''amutum'', was even more valuable than gold. It is thought to be the newly-discovered iron and was forty times more valuable than silver.
The most important Anatolian export was copper, and the Assyrian merchants sold tin and clothing to Anatolia.
Legacy
The name ''Karum'' is given to anupscale shopping
In economics, a luxury good (or upmarket good) is a good for which demand increases more than what is proportional as income rises, so that expenditures on the good become a greater proportion of overall spending. Luxury goods are in contrast ...
mall in Çankaya district of modern-day Ankara
Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, mak ...
, Turkey. It is a reference to the presence of ''karu'' in Asia Minor
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...
since the very early days of history.{{Cite web , url=http://www.nurolisletme.com.tr/hakkimizda/ , title=About us , website=Nurol İşletme Ve Gayrımenkul A.Ş. Another mall in Ankara's Bilkent district is given the name ''Ankuva''. That is also a reference to archaeological discoveries of various ''karu'' in Central Anatolia.
References