Me-Turan (also Mê-Turan) is an
archaeological site
An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...
in
Diyala Governorate
Diyala Governorate ( ar, محافظة ديالى ) or Diyala Province is a governorate in central-eastern Iraq.
Provincial government
*Governor: Muthana al-Timimi
*Deputy Governor: Mohammed Jassim al-Jubouri
Council
Geography
Diyala Gov ...
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
comprising the modern Tell Haddad and the two mounds of Tell al-Sib (also Tell as-Sib). In Neo-Assyrian times it was known as Me-Turnat. It was excavated as part of the
Hamrin Dam
The Hemrin Dam is a dam on the Diyala River 100 km northeast of Baghdad, Iraq. The main purpose of the dam is flood control, irrigation and hydroelectric generation. Its power station has a 50 MW capacity. The dam and the attached power hous ...
salvage project.
History
The city of Me-Turan was occupied in the
Isin-Larsa period
The Isin-Larsa period (circa 2025-1763 BCE, Middle Chronology, or 1961-1699 BCE, Short Chronology) is a phase in the history of ancient Mesopotamia, which extends between the end of the Third Dynasty of Ur and the conquest of Mesopotamia by King H ...
(Level 4),
Old Babylonian period
The Old Babylonian Empire, or First Babylonian Empire, is dated to BC – BC, and comes after the end of Sumerian power with the destruction of the Third Dynasty of Ur, and the subsequent Isin-Larsa period. The chronology of the first dynasty ...
(level 2 and 3),
Kassite period
The Kassites () were people of the ancient Near East, who controlled Babylonia after the fall of the Old Babylonian Empire c. 1531 BC and until c. 1155 BC (short chronology).
They gained control of Babylonia after the Hittite sack of Babylon ...
, and
Neo-Assyrian period
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 ...
(level 1). Founded early in the 2nd millennium BC during the Isin-Larsa times it was controlled by Eshnunna through the reign of several of that cities kings. With the rise of Babylon Me-Turan came under the control of that city. After the end of the Old Bablyonian period the city lay fallow until Neo-Assyrian times, excepting some Kassite era residencial housing. At the surface were nine
Parthian Parthian may be:
Historical
* A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern of Greater Iran
* Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD)
* Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language
* Parthian shot, an archery skill famously employed by ...
kilns.
Archaeology
Tell Haddad is a 6 meter high
tell and the largest site in the area after Tell Baradan which it lies 350 meters east of. The two nearby smaller mounds of Tell al-Sib are smaller. Together they formed the ancient city. Excavation at Tell al-Sib began in 1978 when a number of tablets and a gaming board were found. The full site was excavated by Na'il Hannoun and Burhan Shakir beginning in 1979. Work ended in 1984 when the site was flooded. In total around 1000 cuneiform tablets were recovered with 745 being from Tell al-Sib. At the lowest layer, above virgin soil, a jar was found with 34 tablets containing year names of three kings of
Eshnunna
Eshnunna (modern Tell Asmar in Diyala Governorate, Iraq) was an ancient Sumerian (and later Akkadian) city and city-state in central Mesopotamia 12.6 miles northwest of Tell Agrab and 15 miles northwest of Tell Ishchali. Although situated in th ...
, from before the area was conquered by Babylon. In Old Babylonian times the city was surrounded by a four meter wide city wall with towers. Finds from the Old Babylonian period include a duck weight, two extispicy liver models, and large number of cuneiform tablets and fragments. A number are in
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 ...
, mostly of economic content but including medical, mathematical, and incantation texts. One of the mathematical tablets (IM 95771) includes a problem about a trapezoidal water reservoir divided into five sections of equal length. The remainder are written in
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 ...
and include literary texts such as Gilgamesh and the Bull of Heaven as well as a new fragment of the
Laws of Eshnunna. Kassite period housing was excavated. A Neo-Assyrian temple dating to the reign of
Ashurbanipal
Ashurbanipal (Neo-Assyrian language, Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , meaning "Ashur (god), Ashur is the creator of the heir") was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 669 BCE to his death in 631. He is generally remembered as the last great king o ...
, E-šahulla dedicated to
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 ...
was found. The temple dimensions are 80 meters by 47 meters and it was destroyed by fire. An inscription of
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 ...
was also found.
References
Further reading
* Hanoon, N. 1982. Tell al-Seeb and Tell Haddad, BSMS 2, 5-6.
* Sulaimman, B. S. 2003-04. Results of Prospectings in Tell Haddad, Sumer 52, 89-143
* Dr. Fawzi Rashid, " A Royal Text from Tell Haddad ", Sumer 37 (I98I), I OI-I I I (Arabic Section)
* Al-Juboury, Reyadh Ibraheem MA. Unpublished Cuneiform Texts From the Old Babyloian Period-Tell Al-Seeb. Diss. UNIVERSITY OF BAGHDAD, 2019
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 ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Me-Turan
Archaeological sites in Iraq
Ancient cities of the Middle East