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Key Facts |
| Location |
34° 32' N, 40° 53′ E |
| Original Name |
Maru, Mori |
| Year Founded |
3700 BCE |
| Founders |
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| Location Function |
Trading colony |
| Etymology |
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Mari- an ancient city located located 11 kilometers north-west of the modern town of Abu Kamal on the western bank of Euphrates river, some 120 km southeast of Deir ez-Zor, Syria. It is the birthplace of the legendary Amorites also known as the Amurru in the 21st Century BCE. |
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First Golden Age |
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The city flourished since it was strategically important as a relay point between Sumerian cities of lower Mesopotamia and the cities of northern Syria. Sumer required building materials such as timber and stone from northern Syria, and these materials had to go through Mari to get to Sumer. |
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First destruction |
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After a period of eminence beginning 2900 BC, Mari was destroyed around 24th century BC. This destruction brought a period of relative decline in importance in the region and the city was reduced to no more than a small village. Historians are divided when it comes to who destroyed the city; some name Sargon of Akkad (who stated that he had passed through Mari on his famous campaign to the west), while others say it was the Eblaites, Mari's traditional commercial rivals. |
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Second Golden Age |
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The status of the city was revived again under an Amorite dynasty. The second golden age commenced around 1900 BC. Two significant archaeological discoveries were made that dated back to this period. The palace of Zimri-Lim, a king of Mari, contained over 300 rooms. |
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The palace was possibly the largest of its time, and its reputation in neighboring cities and kingdoms was well-known. Supposedly, "King Yahmad of Aleppo and the King of Ugarit both expressed their desire to visit the palace" to see its splendor for themselves. The state archives were also built during this time. From the archives over 25,000 cuneiform tablets have been taken. The tablets, according to Andre Parrot, "brought about a complete revision of the historical dating of the ancient Near East and provided more than 500 new place names, enough to redraw or even draw up the geographical map of the ancient world". |
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Final destruction |
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Mari was destroyed again around 1759 BC by Hammurabi, sixth king of Babylon. This is known from the numerous state archives tablets that recount Hammurabi turning on his old ally Zimrilim, and defeating him in battle. After this destruction, it was inhabited sporadically by Assyrians and Babylonians, but the city remained a village until the arrival of the Greeks, and vanished from history thereafter. |
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The inhabitants of Mari worshiped a vast array of Sumerians gods and goddesses. Dagan, the deity of storms, had an entire temple dedicated to him, as did Ishtar, the goddess of fertility, and Shamash, the Sun god. Shamash was believed to be all-knowing and all-seeing, and in many seals he is seen standing between two large doors. According to the Epic of Gilgamesh, these doors are between Mount Mashu, and are the eastern doors to heaven. Through Mari's extensive trade network, Sumerian gods and goddesses were taken to non-Sumerian cities such as Ebla and Ugarit and incorporated into their native religions. |
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