Terqa is the name of an ancient city discovered at the site of Tell Ashara on the banks of the middle
EuphratesThe Euphrates is the longest and historically one of the most important rivers of Southwest Asia. Together with the Tigris, the Euphrates is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia...
in
SyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south and Israel to the southwest....
, approximately 80 km from the modern border with
IraqIraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , also known as Mesopotamia, is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert.Iraq shares borders with Jordan to the west, Syria...
. Its name had become Sirqu by Neo-Assyrian times.
Little is yet known of the early history of Terqa, though it was a sizable entity even in the
Early Dynastic period.
In the 2nd millennium BC it was under the control of
Shamshi-AdadShamshi-Adad may refer to:*Shamshi-Adad I*Shamshi-Adad II*Shamshi-Adad III*Shamshi-Adad IV*Shamshi-Adad V...
, followed by
MariMari was an ancient Sumerian and Amorite city, 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...
in the time of Zimri-Lim, and then by
BabylonBabylon was a city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
after Mari's defeat by
HamurabiHamurabi was one of the earliest computer games .Richard Merrill wrote The Sumer Game in 1969 in his FOCAL language, programming it on a DEC PDP-8. Once a version of BASIC was released for the PDP-8, David H. Ahl ported it to BASIC...
of the
First Babylonian DynastyThe chronology of the first dynasty of Babylonia is debated as there is a Babylonian King List A and a Babylonian King List B. In this chronology, the regnal years of List A are used due to their wide usage...
, Terqa became the leading city of the Khana/Hana kingdom after the decline of Babylon.
Terqa is the name of an ancient city discovered at the site of Tell Ashara on the banks of the middle
EuphratesThe Euphrates is the longest and historically one of the most important rivers of Southwest Asia. Together with the Tigris, the Euphrates is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia...
in
SyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south and Israel to the southwest....
, approximately 80 km from the modern border with
IraqIraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , also known as Mesopotamia, is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert.Iraq shares borders with Jordan to the west, Syria...
. Its name had become Sirqu by Neo-Assyrian times.
History
Little is yet known of the early history of Terqa, though it was a sizable entity even in the
Early Dynastic period.
In the 2nd millennium BC it was under the control of
Shamshi-AdadShamshi-Adad may refer to:*Shamshi-Adad I*Shamshi-Adad II*Shamshi-Adad III*Shamshi-Adad IV*Shamshi-Adad V...
, followed by
MariMari was an ancient Sumerian and Amorite city, 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...
in the time of Zimri-Lim, and then by
BabylonBabylon was a city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
after Mari's defeat by
HamurabiHamurabi was one of the earliest computer games .Richard Merrill wrote The Sumer Game in 1969 in his FOCAL language, programming it on a DEC PDP-8. Once a version of BASIC was released for the PDP-8, David H. Ahl ported it to BASIC...
of the
First Babylonian DynastyThe chronology of the first dynasty of Babylonia is debated as there is a Babylonian King List A and a Babylonian King List B. In this chronology, the regnal years of List A are used due to their wide usage...
, Terqa became the leading city of the Khana/Hana kingdom after the decline of Babylon. Later, it fell into the sphere of the Kassite dynasty of
BabylonBabylon was a city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
and eventually the
Neo-Assyrian EmpireThe Neo-Assyrian Empire was a period of Mesopotamian history which began in 934 BC and ended in 609 BC. During this period, Assyria assumed a position as a great regional power, vying with Babylonia and other lesser powers for dominance of the region, though not until the reforms of Tiglath-Pileser...
. A noted stele of Assyrian king
Tukulti-Ninurta II-Family:His father was Adad-nirari II, the second king of the Neo-Assyrian period. His son succeeded him and was named Ashurnasirpal II....
was found at Terqa.
The principal god of Terqa was Dagan.
Proposed Rulers of Terqa
| Ruler | Proposed reign | Notes |
|---|
| Yapah-Sumu |
circa 1750 |
|
| Isi-Sumu-Abu |
|
|
| Yadikh-Abu |
|
Contemporary of Samsu-iluna Samsu-Iluna , was the King of Babylon, who reigned from 1749 BC to 1712 BC.He was a son of Hammurabi. During the reign of Samsu-Iluna the Babylonian Empire lost a lot of provinces....
of BabylonBabylon was a city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
, 7 year names known |
| Kastiliyasu |
|
4 year names known |
| Sunuhru-Ammu |
|
4 year names known |
| Ammi-Madar |
|
1 year name known |
| Isar-Lim |
|
1 year name known |
| Iggid-Lim |
|
|
| Isih-Dagan |
|
1 year name known |
| Hammurapih |
|
3 year names known |
| Parshatatar Parshatatar, or Paršatar, the name of a Hurrian king of Mitanni in the fifteenth century BC. He may be the very same individual as king Barattarna.-Barattarna:...
|
|
Mitanni Mitanni or Hanigalbat was a loosely organized Hurrian-speaking state in northern Syria from ca. 1500 BC-1300 BC...
king |
Archaeology
The main site is around 20 acres in size and has a height of 60 feet. The remains
of Terqa are partly covered by the modern town of Ashara, which limits the
possibilities for excavation.
The site was briefly excavated by E. Herzfeld in 1910.
In 1923, 5 days of excavations were conducted by François Thureau-Dangin and
P. Dhorrne.
From 1974 to 1986, Terqa was excavated for 10 seasons by a team from the
International Institute for Mesopotamian Area Studies including the
Institute of Archaeology at the University of California at Los Angeles, California State University at Los Angeles,
Johns Hopkins UniversityThe Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university located in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Johns Hopkins also maintains full-time campuses elsewhere in Maryland, Washington, D.C., Italy, China, and Singapore...
, the
University of ArizonaThe University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
and the
University of PoitiersThe University of Poitiers is a university located in Poitiers, France.-History:Founded in 1431 by Pope Eugene IV and chartered by King Charles VII, the University of Poitiers was originally composed of five faculties: theology, canon law, civil law, medicine, and arts.In the 16th century, the...
in France. The team was
led by Giorgio Buccellati and Marilyn Kelly-Buccellati.
Notable features found at Terqa include
- A city wall consisting of three concentric masonry walls, 20 feet high and 60 feet in width, fronted by a 60 foot wide moat. The walls encompase a total area of around 60 acres, were build circa 3000 BC and were in use until at least 2000 BC.
- A temple to Ninkarrak
Nintinugga was a Babylonian goddess, the consort of Ninurta. She is identical with another goddess, known as Bau, though it would seem that the two were originally independent....
dating at least as old as the 3rd millenium. The temple finds included Egyptian scarabs.
- The House of Puzurum, where a large and important archive of tablets were found.