Mari

Location:
Euphrates river, Syria. Upstream from ancient Babylon. Location on the river is ideal for trade.

Historical overview:
c. 2400 BC - Finds from Mari (lapis lazuli, gold, and more) show that Mari was part of the earliest trade networks in ancient Mesopotamia. Later "shakkanaku" rulers at Mari.

c. 1800 BC - Mari ruled by Amorite kings who all had "Lim" in their name. Yahdun Lim is killed by a northern king named Shamshi-Adad who installs his son as a ruler at Mari. The purported son of Yahdun-Lim, Zimri-Lim, escapes to the West (probably Aleppo!), returns and takes back the throne. After a decade of rule, Mari is sacked by the famous Hamhurabi of Babylon. Mari never regains prominence.

Archaeology:
Excavations since before WWII have uncovered a massive number of artifacts as well as the palace of Zimri-Lim and beneath that, the earlier 3rd millennium palace.

Some favorite/famous finds:
-c. 15,000 tablets. Letters, administrative texts, rituals, and more. There are clay models of livers for omen reading and texts describing local battles and political relations.
-Bread molds with designs of leaping animals, naked women, and more. Imagine eating that.
-Mari water goddess. Famous across the country (see separate post).
-Votive offerings by the dozens from temples.
-Bronze hollow-cast lion guarding a door of the temple (c. 3 feet remain).

The site / palace:
-All built of clay/mud bricks.
-Winding hallways and rooms (over 100 rooms in Zimri-Lim's palace).
-Remaining walls up to 15' high and 5-6' wide. The walls were originally painted with various scenes.

Impressions:
-E an M got lost trying to figure out what was what with only mounds of mud remaining and multiple levels of the architecture exposed. Site is not labelled and you need to buy a map ahead of time.
-Wild dogs nearby. Um, help.
-Blown away by the enormosity of the early palace. Definitely a "rat in the maze" feeling.