Urkesh

Urkesh was an ally of the Akkadian empire due to dynastic marriages. Tar'am-Agade - the daughter of the Akkadian king Naram-Suen , was married to the King of Urkesh. At the beginning of the second millennium BC. e. Urkesh came under the control of Mari - a city several hundred kilometers to the south. King Urkesh became Marie's vassal (apparently appointed). The people of Urkesh opposed this: there are testimonies from the royal archives of Marie, which say that the residents showed increased resistance. In one of the letters, King Marie tells his Urkesh appointees: “I did not know that your sons hate you. But still, you are mine, even if Urkesh is not mine. ”In the middle of the same millennium, Tell Mozani was a holy place in the then existing Mitanni state. The city was completely abandoned around 1350 BC. e., although archaeologists still have not found a reason for this.

The genealogy and personalities of the rulers of Urkesh are poorly understood and little known, but there are several names that relate to the kings of the city. The first three famous kings, only two of which are known by name, had the Hurrian title endan:

• Tupkish endan (c. 2250 BC)
• Tish-atal endan (year unknown)
• Shatar-mat (year unknown)
• Atal-shen (year unknown)
• Ann Atal (c. 2050 BC)
• Te'irru (circa 1800 BC)

The entire site covers 135 hectares (330 acres), most of which is the city. The highest embankment covers about 18 hectares (44 acres) and rises to 25 m and has another 5 small embankments. The high embankment is surrounded by brick city walls, approximately 8 m wide and 7 m high ^[1] .

The main buildings discovered are the Tupkish royal palace, an underground necropolis (Abi), a monumental temple terrace with an area and a temple on top, a residential area, a burial area, internal and external city walls ^{[2] [3]} .

The first site survey was conducted by Max Mallowan during his research work. Agatha Christie - his wife, wrote that he did not want to continue to excavate, because it seemed to him that he was dealing with ancient Roman finds. However, in the surveyed area during further excavations, no ancient Roman traces were found. Mallowan went to excavate in Chagar Bazar ( Arabic. تل شاغربازار ) - another site south of Urkesh.

Excavations in Tell Mozan began in 1984, and from that moment until now, at least 17 seasons have been carried out. The work was led by Giorgio Bucchellati of the University of California at Los Angeles and Marilyn Kelly-Bucchellati of the University of California ^{[4] [5] [6]} . In 2007, work was aimed at preparing material for publication. Other groups also participated in the excavations at different times, including a group from the German Archaeological Institute .

• History of Ancient Mesopotamia
• Cities of the Ancient Near East

• Giorgio Buccellati and Marilyn Kelly Buccellati, Urkesh / Mozan Studies 3: Urkesh and the Hurrians: A Volume in Honor of Lloyd Cotsen, Undena, 1998, ISBN 0-89003-501-6
• Rick Hauser, READING FIGURINES: Animal Representations in Terra Cotta from Royal Building AK at Urkesh (Tell Mozan), Undena, 2006, ISBN 0-9798937-1-2
• Peter MMG Akkermans and Glenn M. Schwartz, The Archeology of Syria: From Complex Hunter-Gatherers to Early Urban Societies (c. 16,000-300 BC), Cambridge University Press, 2004, ISBN 0-521-79666-0
• Giorgio Buccellati, A Lu E School Tablet from the Service Quarter of the Royal Palace AP at Urkesh, Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 55, pp. 45-48, 2003

• Urkesh excavations (official website)
• Archaeobotany at Tell Mozan (Tübingen University)
• 86th Faculty Research Lecture: The Discovery of Ancient Urkesh and the Question of Meaning in Archeology - Giorgio Buccellati, April 27, 1999 - UCLA webcast (utilizes RealPlayer)