Tell al-Rimah is a
tell, or archaeological settlement mound, in
Nineveh Province
Nineveh Governorate ( ar, محافظة نينوى, syr, ܗܘܦܪܟܝܐ ܕܢܝܢܘܐ, Hoparkiya d’Ninwe, ckb, پارێزگای نەینەوا, Parêzgeha Neynewa), also known as Ninawa Governorate, is a Governorates of Iraq, governorate in nor ...
(
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 ...
). Its ancient name may have been either Karana or Qattara. It is located in
Nineveh Province
Nineveh Governorate ( ar, محافظة نينوى, syr, ܗܘܦܪܟܝܐ ܕܢܝܢܘܐ, Hoparkiya d’Ninwe, ckb, پارێزگای نەینەوا, Parêzgeha Neynewa), also known as Ninawa Governorate, is a Governorates of Iraq, governorate in nor ...
(
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 ...
), roughly west of
Mosul
Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second large ...
and ancient
Nineveh
Nineveh (; akk, ; Biblical Hebrew: '; ar, نَيْنَوَىٰ '; syr, ܢܝܼܢܘܹܐ, Nīnwē) was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia, located in the modern-day city of Mosul in northern Iraq. It is located on the eastern ban ...
in the
Sinjar
Sinjar ( ar, سنجار, Sinjār; ku, شنگال, translit=Şingal, syr, ܫܝܓܪ, Shingar) is a town in the Sinjar District of the Nineveh Governorate in northern Iraq. It is located about five kilometers south of the Sinjar Mountains. Its p ...
region.
History of archaeological research
The site covers an area roughly 500 meters by 500 meters, surrounded by a polygonal city wall. The interior holds a number of low mounds and a large central mound 30 meters high and 100 meters in diameter.
The region was originally surveyed by
Seton Lloyd
Seton Howard Frederick Lloyd, CBE (30 May 1902, Birmingham, England – 7 January 1996, Faringdon, England), was an English archaeologist. He was President of the British School of Archaeology in Iraq, Director of the British Institute of Archaeol ...
in 1938. The site of Tell al-Rimah was excavated from 1964 to 1971 by a
British School of Archaeology in Iraq
The British Institute for the Study of Iraq (BISI) (formerly the British School of Archaeology in Iraq) is the only body in Britain devoted to research into the ancient civilizations and languages of Mesopotamia. It was founded in 1932 and its aim ...
team led by
David Oates. A large temple and palace from the early second millennium BCE were excavated, as well as a Neo-Assyrian building. Tell al-Rimah also is known for having a third millennium example of brick vaulting.
Occupation history
While it appears that the site was occupied in the third millennium BCE, it reached its greatest size and prominence during the second millennium BCE and in 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 ...
period. The second millennium activity was primarily during the
Old Babylonian
Old Babylonian may refer to:
*the period of the First Babylonian dynasty (20th to 16th centuries BC)
*the historical stage of the Akkadian language
Akkadian (, Akkadian: )John Huehnergard & Christopher Woods, "Akkadian and Eblaite", ''The Camb ...
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 ...
periods. At various times, Tell al-Rimah has been linked with either Qatara or Karana, both cites known to be in that area during the second millennium. A notable find was a large archive of letters of
Iltani, daughter of Samu-Addu, king of Karana.
Material culture
A number of
Old Babylonian
Old Babylonian may refer to:
*the period of the First Babylonian dynasty (20th to 16th centuries BC)
*the historical stage of the Akkadian language
Akkadian (, Akkadian: )John Huehnergard & Christopher Woods, "Akkadian and Eblaite", ''The Camb ...
tablets contemporary with
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 ...
of
Mari and 40 tablets from the time of
Shalmaneser I
Shalmaneser I (𒁹𒀭𒁲𒈠𒉡𒊕 md''sál-ma-nu-SAG'' ''Salmanu-ašared''; 1273–1244 BC or 1265–1235 BC) was a king of Assyria during the Middle Assyrian Empire. Son of Adad-nirari I, he succeeded his father as king in 1265 BC.
Accord ...
were found as well as other objects. The most notable artifact found was the stele of
Adad-nirari III
Adad-nirari III (also Adad-narari) was a King of Assyria from 811 to 783 BC. Note that this assumes that the longer version of the Assyrian Eponym List, which has an additional eponym for Adad-nirari III, is the correct one. For the shorter eponym ...
which mentioned an early king of
Northern Israel
The Northern District ( he, מחוז הצפון, ''Mekhoz HaTzafon''; ar, منطقة الشمال, ''Minṭaqat ash-Shamāl'') is one of Israel's Districts of Israel, six administrative districts. The Northern District has a land area of 4,478&n ...
as "
Jehoash the Samarian" and contains the first cuneiform mention of
Samaria
Samaria (; he, שֹׁמְרוֹן, translit=Šōmrōn, ar, السامرة, translit=as-Sāmirah) is the historic and biblical name used for the central region of Palestine, bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The first- ...
by that name.
Gallery
File:Stele of Adad-nirari III.jpg, Stele of Adad-nirari III from Tell al Rimah, discovered in 1967, now in the Iraq Museum in Baghdad
File:Marble column from Tell al-Rimah, Iraq, Neo-Assyrian period. Iraq Museum.jpg, Marble column from Tell al-Rimah, Iraq, Neo-Assyrian period. Iraq Museum
File:Limestone relief of a male figure from Tell al-Rimah, Iraq. Kassite. Iraq Museum.jpg, Limestone relief of a male figure from Tell al-Rimah, Iraq. Kassite period. Iraq Museum
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 ...
References
Further reading
*Carolyn Postgate, David Oates and Joan Oates, The Excavations at Tell al Rimah: The Pottery, Aris & Phillips, 1998,
*
Stephanie Dalley
Stephanie Mary Dalley FSA (''née'' Page; March 1943) is a British Assyriologist and scholar of the Ancient Near East. She has retired as a teaching Fellow from the Oriental Institute, Oxford. She is known for her publications of cuneiform te ...
, C.B.F Walker and J.D. Hawkins. The Old Babylonian Tablets from Al-Rimah, British School of Archaeology in Iraq, 1976,
*Stephanie Dalley, Mari and Karana: Two Old Babylonian Cities, Gorgias Press, 2002
*C. B. F. Walker, A Foundation-Inscription from Tell al Rimah, Iraq, vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 27–30, 1970
*LANGLOIS, A.-I. (2017). Archibab 2. Les archives de la princesse Iltani découvertes à Tell al-Rimah (XVIIIe
siècle av. J.-C.) et l’histoire du royaume de Karana/Qaṭṭara. Mémoires de NABU 18. Paris: SEPOA
*J. N. Postgate, A Neo-Assyrian Tablet from Tell al Rimah, Iraq, vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 31–35, 1970
*Stephanie Dalley, Old Babylonian Trade in Textiles at Tell al Rimah, Iraq, vol. 39, no. 2, pp. 155–159, 1977
*
Joan Oates
Joan Louise Oates, FBA (''née'' Lines; born 6 May 1928) is an American archaeologist and academic, specialising in the Ancient Near East. From 1971 to 1995, she was a fellow and tutor of Girton College, Cambridge and a lecturer at the University ...
, Late Assyrian Temple Furniture from Tell al Rimah, Iraq, vol. 36, no. 1/2, pp. 179–184, 1974
*
Barbara Parker, Middle Assyrian Seal Impressions from Tell al Rimah, Iraq, vol. 39, no. 2, pp. 257–268, 1977
External links
Rimah digital tablets at CDLI
{{Authority control
Rimah
Rimah Governorate (sometimes pronounced as Rumah or Romah) is one of the governorates of Riyadh Province. It is located about 120 kilometers north-east of Riyadh City, and bounded on the north-east by Eastern Province, on the South by Riyadh, and ...
Rimah
Rimah Governorate (sometimes pronounced as Rumah or Romah) is one of the governorates of Riyadh Province. It is located about 120 kilometers north-east of Riyadh City, and bounded on the north-east by Eastern Province, on the South by Riyadh, and ...
Rimah
Rimah Governorate (sometimes pronounced as Rumah or Romah) is one of the governorates of Riyadh Province. It is located about 120 kilometers north-east of Riyadh City, and bounded on the north-east by Eastern Province, on the South by Riyadh, and ...