Alalakh
Alalaḫ | |
Alternative name | Tell Atchana |
---|---|
Location | Hatay Province, Turkey |
Region | Levant |
Coordinates | 36°14′16″N 36°23′05″E / 36.23778°N 36.38472°E |
Type | Settlement |
History | |
Founded | Early 2nd millennium BC |
Abandoned | Around 600 BC |
Site notes | |
Condition | In ruins |
Alalakh (Tell Atchana; Hittite: Alalaḫ) is an ancient archaeological site approximately 20 kilometres (12 mi) northeast of Antakya (historic Antioch) in what is now Turkey's Hatay Province. It flourished, as an urban settlement, in the Middle and Late Bronze Age, c. 2000-1200 BC.[1] The city contained palaces, temples, private houses and fortifications. The remains of Alalakh have formed an extensive mound covering around 22 hectares.[2] In Late Bronze Age, Alalakh was the capital of the local kingdom of Mukiš.[3]
The first palace was built around 2000 BC, and likely destroyed in the 12th century BC. The site was thought to have never been reoccupied after that, but archaeologist Timothy Harrison showed, in a (2022) lecture's graphic, it was inhabited also in Amuq Phases N-O, Iron Age, c. 1200-600 BC.[4]
Location
It is located in Amik Valley, about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from the modern Syria–Turkey border. Lake Amik was an ancient lake in this area.
Human settlements in Amik Valley goes back to the Neolithic period as early as 6,000 BC. Many other ancient archaeological sites are located in this area, such as Tell Tayinat, which was recently excavated.[5] Tell Atchana is located only about 700m southeast of Tell Tayinat within the flood plain of the Orontes River, where the river enters the Amuq Plain.[6]
History
Treaty clay tablet | |
---|---|
Size | Length: 12 cm (4.7 in) Width: 6.4 cm (2.5 in) |
Writing | cuneiform |
Created | 1480BC (about) |
Present location | Room 54, British Museum, London |
Identification | 131447 |
Alalakh was founded by the
Chronology of Alalakh, related to other sites in the Amuq Lake region, is as follows:[7]
Archaeological Era | Amuq Phases | Date BC |
---|---|---|
Terminal Early Bronze Age | Late J | 2050-2000 |
Middle and Late Bronze Ages | K, L, M | 2000-1150 |
Iron Age I | N | 1150-900 |
Iron Age II | O (Early-Middle.) | 900-738 |
Middle Bronze Age
According to recent excavations led by archaeologists K. A. Yener and Murat Akar, the whole Middle Bronze Age in Alalakh lasted c. 2100-1650 BC, as part of a re-urbanization period in Anatolia as well as in the Near East and Levant.[8] Middle Bronze II began around 19th century BC, in Yener's Period 8 (Woolley's level VIII), in which a palace and a temple, as well as intramural burials, were found. Next, in Period 7 (Level VII), a later palace, an archive, some temples, a city wall, a tripartite gate, households, workshops, extramural and intramural burials were excavated.[9] In the palace of Level VII, during 2015-2019 excavations, more than 70 wall painting fragments were found and radiocarbon-dated to c. 1780-1680 BC.[10]
The written history of the site may begin under the name Alakhtum, with tablets from Mari in the 18th century BC, when the city was part of the kingdom of Yamhad (modern Aleppo). A dossier of tablets records that King Sumu-Epuh sold the territory of Alakhtum to his son-in-law Zimri-Lim, king of Mari, retaining for himself overlordship. After the fall of Mari in 1765 BC, Alalakh seems to have come under the rule of Yamhad again.
Yarim-Lim dynasty
King Abba-El I of Aleppo bestowed the city upon his brother Yarim-Lim of Alalakh, to replace the city of Irridu. Abba-El had destroyed the latter after it revolted against Yarim-Lim.[11] In the 18th to 17th centuries period transition, Alalakh was under the reign of Yarim-Lim, and was the capital of the city-state of Mukiš and vassal to Yamhad, centered in modern Aleppo.[12]
Under the hegemony of Aleppo, a dynasty of Yarim-Lim's descendants was founded; it lasted to the second half of 17th century BC. At that time Alalakh was destroyed, possibly by
Late Bronze Age
After a hiatus of less than a century,
However, according to the archaeological site report, this statue was discovered in a level of occupation dating several centuries after the time that Idrimi lived. But recently, archaeologist Jacob Lauinger considers the statue and inscription can be dated to Woolley's Level III (/II), c. 1400-1350 BC, around 50 to 100 years after Idrimi's lifetime.
The socio-economic history of Alalakh during the reign of Idrimi's son and grandson, Niqmepuh and Ilim-ilimma, is well documented by tablets excavated from the site. Idrimi is referred to rarely in these tablets.
In the mid-14th century BC, the Hittite
Archaeology
Tell Atchana was excavated by the British
After several years' surveys beginning in 1995, the
About five hundred cuneiform tablets were retrieved at Level VII, (Middle Bronze Age) and Level IV (Late Bronze Age).[30] The inscribed statue of Idrimi, a king of Alalakh c. early 15th century BC, has provided a unique autobiography of Idrimi's youth, his rise to power, and his military and other successes. The statue is now held in the British Museum. Akkadian texts from Alalakh primarily consist of juridical tablets, which record the ruling family's control over land and the income that followed, and administrative documents, which record the flow of commodities in and out of the palace. In addition, there are a few word lists, astrological omens and conjurations.
Many examples of Nuzi ware, a high quality ceramics associated with the Mitanni period, have been discovered in Alalakh. This type of ceramics, as found at Alalakh/Atchana, is sometimes described as Atchana ware, or as Atchana-Nuzi ware.
Goddess Kubaba
According to Manfred Hutter, the Amik Valley, corresponding to the ancient state of Mukish, and especially Alalakh, was the area where the Syrian and Anatolian goddess Kubaba was originally worshiped. She is generally seen as a benevolent goddess of justice. According to this theory, her worship then spread from Alalakh to Carchemish and Anatolia at large.[31]
Genetics
According to ancient DNA analyses conducted by Skourtanioti et al. (2020) on 28 human remains from Tell Atchana belonging to the Middle and Late Bronze age period (2006-1303 cal BC), the inhabitants of Alalakh were a mixture of
See also
- Cities of the ancient Near East
- Short chronology timeline
Notes
- ^ Ingman, Tara, et al., (2021). "Human mobility at Tell Atchana (Alalakh), Hatay, Turkey during the 2nd millennium BC: Integration of isotopic and genomic evidence", in PLoS ONE 16(6), June 30, 2021, p. 2.
- ^ Riehl, Simone, (2022). "Late Bronze Age Tell Atchana", Tubingen University.
- ^ Yener, K. Aslıhan, (2007). "The Anatolian Middle Bronze Age kingdoms and Alalakh: Mukish, Kanesh and trade", Anatolian Studies 57, pp. 151−160.
- ^ a b Harrison, Timothy, Lynn Welton, and Stanley Klassen, (13 July 2022). "Highway to Science: The Tayinat and CRANE Projects", ARWA Association, Lecture min. 6:58, [in the graphic]: "Iron Age, Ca. 1200-600 BCE, Amuq Phases N-O...Primary Site: Tell Tayinat, Other Excavated Sites: Tell Atchana..."
- ^ Batiuk, S., (2015). 'Map of the Amuq Plain showing the location of Tell Tayinat and other principal settlements', in: Lynn Welton, "The Amuq Plain and Tell Tayinat in the Third Millennium BCE: The Historical and Socio-Political Context", CSMS Journal, Volume 6, Figure 1, p. 16.
- ^ Harrison, Thimothy P., (2014). "Recent Discoveries at Tayinat (Ancient Kunulua/Calno) and Their Biblical Implications", in: Congress Volume Munich 2013, Brill, p. 397: "...Tell Tayinat forms a large low-lying mound approximately one kilometer north of the current course of the Orontes River, and some 700 m northwest of Tell Atchana (ancient Alalakh), its Bronze Age sister settlement. Tayinat sits within the flood plain of the Orontes River, at the point where the river enters the Amuq Plain before working its way westward toward Antakya and the Mediterranean coast..."
- ^ Akar, Murat, (May 9, 2022). "From Petty Kingdoms to Empires: The Changing Social and Political Dynamics from Middle to Late Bronze Ages in Southeastern Anatolia. A Point of View from the Amuq Valley of Hatay", ARWA Association Lecture, min. 5:54.
- ^ Akar, Murat, (May 9, 2022). "From Petty Kingdoms to Empires: The Changing Social and Political Dynamics from Middle to Late Bronze Ages in Southeastern Anatolia. A Point of View from the Amuq Valley of Hatay", ARWA Association Lecture, Abstract: "Following the collapse of Early Bronze Age networks, the Middle Bronze Age (ca. 2100-1650) marks the beginning of a process of re-urbanization in Anatolia, the Near East and the Levant defined by increased supra-regional commercial activities and city building strategies reflecting a multi-vocal, vibrant landscape created by various autonomous kingdoms."
- ^ a b Ingman, Tara, et al., (2021). "Human mobility at Tell Atchana (Alalakh), Hatay, Turkey during the 2nd millennium BC: Integration of isotopic and genomic evidence", in PLoS ONE 16(6), June 30, 2021, Table 1. Chronology of Tell Atchana.
- ^ Akar, Murat, et al., (2021). "A Fresh Perspective on Middle Bronze Age at Tell Atchana, Alalakh: The 2007-2019 Seasons", in Sharon R. Steadman and Gregory McMahon (eds.), The Archaeology of Anatolia, Volume IV: Recent Discoveries (2018–2020), Cambridge Scholars Publishing, p. 80.
- ^ Donald J. Wiseman, Abban and Alalah, Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 12, pp. 124-129, 1958
- ^ Johnson, Michael Alexander, (2020). Crafting Culture at Alalakh: Tell Atchana and the Political Economy of Metallurgy, The University of Chicago, ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, p. 1.
- ^ Ingman, Tara, et al., (2020). "Human mobility at Tell Atchana (Alalakh) during the 2nd millennium BC: integration of isotopic and genomic evidence", in bioRxiv preprint, Table 1. Chronology of Tell Atchana, pp. 6-7.
- ^ Yener, Aslihan K., (2021). "Some Thoughts about Middle Bronze Age Alalakh and Ugarit: Reassessing an Alalakh Wall Painting with Archival Data", in: Ougarit, un anniversaire, Bilans et recherches en cours, Peeters, Leuven-Paris-Bristol: "...the use of the Level VII Palace [and] its destruction by Hattusili I in his second year, 1628 BC (middle chronology)..."
- ^ Bowl of Atchana Ware from Alalakh (2016) worldhistory.org
- ^ * [1] von Dassow, Eva. "Alalaḫ between Mittani and Ḫatti." Asia Anteriore Antica. Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Cultures 2 (2020): 196-226
- ^ Lauinger, Jacob, (2021). "Imperial and Local: Audience and Identity in the Idrimi Inscriptions", in Studia Orientalia Electronica, Vol. 9, No. 2, Finnish Oriental Society, p. 31.
- ^ W. F. Albright, "Further Observations on the Chronology of Alalah," Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, vol. 146, pp. 26-34, 1957
- ^ Eric H. Cline, 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed, p. 124
- ^ Woolley, Leonard, (1955). Alalakh, An Account of the Excavations at Tell Atchana 1937-1949, (Reports of the Research Committee of the Society of Antiquaries of London), Oxford.
- ^ Woolley, Sir Leonard, (1953). A Forgotten Kingdom: a Record of the Results Obtained from the Recent Important Excavation of Two Mounds, Atchana and al Mina, in the Turkish Hatay, Penguin Books, Baltimore.
- ^ Maloigne, Hélène (2020-07-16). "Friendship and Fieldwork". History Workshop. Archived from the original on 2020-07-20. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
- ^ [2] Archived 2010-06-16 at the Wayback Machine K. Aslihan Yener, Alalakh: A Late Bronze Age Capital In The Amuq Valley, Southern Turkey, Oriental Institute, 2001
- ^ [3] Archived 2010-06-17 at the Wayback Machine K. Aslihan Yener, "Tell Atchana (Ancient Alalakh) Survey 2001," in Oriental Institute 2001-2002 Annual Report, pp. 13–19, 2002
- ^ [4] Archived 2010-06-16 at the Wayback Machine K. Aslihan Yener, Amuq Valley Regional Projects: Tell Atchana (Alalakh) 2002, Oriental Institute, 2003
- ^ [5] Archived 2013-11-02 at the Wayback Machine Yener et al., Reliving the Legend: The Expedition to Alalakh 2003, Oriental Institute, 2004
- ^ Yener KA, editor. The Amuq Valley Regional Projects: Excavations in the Plain of Antioch: Tell Atchana, Ancient Alalakh, Vol. 1: The 2003–2004 Excavation Seasons. Istanbul: Koç University; 2010
- ^ Yener KA, Akar M, Horowitz MT, editors. Tell Atchana, Alalakh. Volume 2: The Late Bronze II City, the 2006–2010 Excavation Seasons. Istanbul: Koç University Press; 2019.
- ^ Yener KA. New Excavations at Alalakh: The 14th - 12th Centuries BC. In: Yener KA, editor. Across the Border: Late Bronze-Iron Age Relations Between Syria and Anatolia Proceedings of a Symposium Held at the Research Center of Anatolian Studies, Koc University, Istanbul, May 31-June 1, 2010. Ancient Near Eastern Studies Supplement. Leuven: Peeters; 2013. p. 11–35.
- ^ Jesse Casana, Alalakh and the Archaeological Landscape of Mukish: The Political Geography and Population of a Late Bronze Age Kingdom, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, no. 353 , pp. 7-37, (February 2009)
- OCLC 1286359422.
- S2CID 219105572.
- ^ "ALA136 - E-CTS1239 / H2a2a1g - 祖源树TheYtree". www.theytree.com. Retrieved 2024-02-12.
- PMID 34191795; PMCID: PMC8244877.
References
- VonDassow, E., Von Dassow, E. 1., Owen, D. I. 1., & Wilhelm, G. 1. (2008). State and society in the late Bronze Age: Alalaḫ under the Mittani Empire.Studies on the civilization and culture of Nuzi and the Hurrians.
- Lauinger, J. Following the Man of Yamhad, Culture and History of the Ancient Near East, Volume: 75, Brill, 2015 ISBN 978-90-04-29289-5
- Lauinger, J. (2008). The Temple of Ištar at Old Babylonian Alalakh, Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions, 8(2), 181-217. doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/156921208786611737
- Yener KA, Ingman T, editors. Alalakh and its Neighbors: Proceedings of the 15th Anniversary Symposium at the New Hatay Archaeology Museum, June 10–12, 2015. Leiden: Peeters; 2020
- Ingman T, Eisenmann S, Skourtanioti E, Akar M, Ilgner J, Gnecchi Ruscone GA, et al. (2021) Human mobility at Tell Atchana (Alalakh), Hatay, Turkey during the 2nd millennium BC: Integration of isotopic and genomic evidence. PLoS ONE 16(6): e0241883. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0241883
- ISBN 0-404-18237-2
- Frank Zeeb, "Die Palastwirtschaft in Altsyrien nach den spätaltbabylonischen Getreidelieferlisten aus Alalah (Schicht VII)", Alter Orient und Altes Testament, no. 282. Münster: Ugarit-Verlag, 2001, ISBN 3-934628-06-0
- Marlies Heinz, Tell Atchana, Alalakh. Die Schichten VII-XVII, Neukirchen-Vluyn, 1992.
- Nadav Na'aman, "The Ishtar Temple at Alalakh," Journal of Near Eastern Studies, vol. 39, no. 3, pp. 209–214, 1980
- Juan Oliva, "New Collations and Remarks on Alalakh VII Tablets," Journal of Near Eastern Studies, vol. 64, no.1, pp. 1–22, 2005
- Dominique Collon, The Seal Impressions from Tell Atchana/Alalakh (Alter Orient und Altes Testament), Butzon & Bercker, 1975, ISBN 3-7666-8896-0
- Amir Sumaka'i Fink, Late Bronze Age Tell Atchana (Alalakh): Stratigraphy, chronology, history, British Archaeological Reports, 2010, ISBN 1-4073-0661-8
- C. E. Morris and J. H. Crouwel, "Mycenaean Pictorial Pottery from Tell Atchana (Alalakh)," The Annual of the British School at Athens, vol. 80, pp. 85–98, 1985
- C. Leonard Woolley, Alalakh: An Account of the Excavations at Tell, Oxford University Press, 1955
External links
- official web site of the Alalakh Excavations.
- Alalakh Notice and a basic bibliography.
- Stone guardian lions of Alalakh
- S. Riehl, "Late Bronze Age Tell Atchana" Archaeobotany at Tell Atchana (Tübingen University)