Kuara (Sumer)
Kuara (also known as Kisiga, Ku'ara, modern Tell al-Lahm site, Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq) was an ancient Sumerian city located on the western bank of the mouth of the Euphrates River, about 30 km southeast of Ur. [1] According to the Sumerian king list, Kuara was also the home of Dumuzid, the fisherman, legendary third king of Uruk .[2]
The city's patron deity was Meslamtaea (Nergal). [3] In Sumerian mythology, Kuara was also considered the birthplace of the god Marduk (Asarluhi), Enki's son. The cults of Marduk and Ninehama were centered in Kuara. [4] [5]
| Kuara | |
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 Kuara
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| Coordinates: 30°50′00″N 46°20′00″E / 30.8333333°N 46.3333333°E |
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[edit] History
Kuara was established ca. 2500 BC, during the Sumerian Early Dynastic II period. It was a seaport to the Persian Gulf, and traded with the port of Dilmun. [6]
In 709 BC, the Assyrian king Sargon II was trying to capture Marduk-apal-iddina II, who fled to Kuara, whereupon Sargon's army laid siege and destroyed the city. [7]
Alluvial soil carried by the Euphrates continually extended the land farther into the Persian Gulf; thus the modern site is far from the sea, even though it was a sea port 4500 years ago.
[edit] Archaeology
The site of Tel el Lahm consists of two mounds, with some peripheral ridges, near a dry canal bed.
The location was excavated for a few days in 1855 by J. E. Taylor. He found a few inscribed bricks, and a single cuneiform tablet. [8] [9] While working at Eridu for the British Museum in 1918, R. Campbell Thompson excavated there briefly. [10] In more modern times, Fuad Safar conducted soundings at Kuara. [11]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Frame, p.162
- ^ Beaulieu, p.114
- ^ Sumerian City-States
- ^ A.R. George, Babylonian Topographical Texts, Peeters Publishers, 1992, ISBN 9068314106
- ^ Black, p.134, 365
- ^ Theresa Howard-Carter, Dilmun: At Sea or Not at Sea?: A Review Article, Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 39, no. 1, pp. 54-117, 1987
- ^ Boederman, p.99; Potts, p.191
- ^ J. E. Taylor, Notes on Abu Shahrein and Tel el Lahm, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. 15, pp. 404-415, 1855
- ^ E. Sollberger, Mr. Taylor in Chaldaea, Anatolian Studies, vol. 22, pp. 129-139, 1972
- ^ R. Campbell Thompson, The British Museum excavations at Abu Shahrain in Mesopotamia in 1918, Oxford, 1920
- ^ Fuad Safar, Soundings at Tell Al-Laham, Sumer, vol. 5, pp. 154-172, 1949
[edit] References
- Beaulieu, Paul-Alain (2003) The Pantheon of Uruk During the Neo-Babylonian Period. BRILL. 424p ISBN 9004130241
- Black, Jeremy A (2004) The Literature of Ancient Sumer . Oxford University Press. 436p ISBN 0199263116
- Boederman, John (2002) The Cambridge Ancient History. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521227178
- Frame, Grant (1992) Babylonia 689-627 B.C.: A Political History. Nederlands Historisch-Archaeologisch Instituut te Istanbul. Istanbul, Turkey. 396p. ISBN 9062580696
- Potts, Daniel T. (1997) Mesopotamian Civilization: The Material Foundations. Cornell University Press. 366p ISBN 0801433398
- H. W. F. Saggs, A cylinder from Tell Al-Laham, Sumer, vol. 5, pp. 190-195, 1957
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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