Marad (Sumerian: Marda, modern Tell Wannat es-Sadum or Tell as-Sadoum (also Wana-Sedoum),

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

) was an ancient Near Eastern city. Marad was situated on the west bank of the then western branch of the Upper

Euphrates River The Euphrates ( ; see below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originating in Turkey, the Euphrates flows through S ...

west of

Nippur Nippur (Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''Nibru'', often logogram, logographically recorded as , EN.LÍLKI, "Enlil City;"I. E. S. Edwards, C. J. Gadd, N. G. L. Hammond, ''The Cambridge Ancient History: Prolegomena & Prehistory'': Vol. 1, Part 1, Ca ...

in modern-day

and roughly 50 km southeast of

Kish Kish may refer to: Businesses and organisations * KISH, a radio station in Guam * Kish Air, an Iranian airline * Korean International School in Hanoi, Vietnam People * Kish (surname), including a list of people with the name * Kish, a former ...

, on the Arahtu River. The site was identified in 1912 based on a Neo-Babylonian inscription on a truncated cylinder of Nebuchadrezzar noting the restoration of the temple. The cylinder was not excavated but rather found by locals so its provenance was not certain, as to some extent was the site's identification as Marad. In ancient times it was on the canal, Abgal, running between Babylon and Isin. The city's main temple, a

ziggurat A ziggurat (; Cuneiform: 𒅆𒂍𒉪, Akkadian: ', D-stem of ' 'to protrude, to build high', cognate with other Semitic languages like Hebrew ''zaqar'' (זָקַר) 'protrude'), ( Persian: Chogha Zanbilچغازنجبیل) is a type of massive ...

, is E-igi-kalama (House which is the eye of the Land). It was dedicated to Lugal-Marada (thought by some to be a manifestation of

Ninurta Ninurta (: , possible meaning "Lord fBarley"), also known as Ninĝirsu (: , meaning "Lord fGirsu"), is an List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian god associated with farming, healing, hunting, law, scribes, and war who was f ...

), the tutelary deity of Marad and the god of earth and the plow, built by one of Naram-Sin's sons.

History

3rd Millennium BC

Marad was established ca. 2700 BC, during the Sumerian Early Dynastic II period. Although Marad is not mentioned in the Sumerian King List and in the earliest city lists, one of the '' Temple Hymns'' attributed to

Enheduanna Enheduanna ( , also transliteration, transliterated as , , or variants; ) was the (high) priestess of the moon god Sin (mythology), Nanna (Sīn) in the Sumerian city-state of Ur in the reign of her father, Sargon of Akkad ( BCE). She was likely ...

is focused on its city god, Lugal-Marada. The city god of Kazallu, Numushda, is also sometimes mentioned in contracts, though another nearby town, Kiritab, also had Numushda as its titular god so this is not certain. It was ruled by the

Akkadian Empire The Akkadian Empire () was the first known empire, succeeding the long-lived city-states of Sumer. Centered on the city of Akkad (city), Akkad ( or ) and its surrounding region, the empire united Akkadian language, Akkadian and Sumerian languag ...

, after its capture by

Sargon of Akkad Sargon of Akkad (; ; died 2279 BC), also known as Sargon the Great, was the first ruler of the Akkadian Empire, known for his conquests of the Sumerian city-states in the 24th to 23rd centuries BC.The date of the reign of Sargon is highly unc ...

, under a governor. Confirmation of the site as Marad came with four inscribed door sockets found during the excavation at Tell as-Sadoum. They recorded that Lipit-ilē governor at Marad and the son of king Naram-Sin, fourth ruler of the Akkadian Empire, built a temple to the god Lugal-Marda at Marad: After the fall of that empire Marad fell under the sway of the Ur III empire, again via a governor. The city was briefly under the control of Elam under until Elam fell to Ur with the first Ur III ruler,

Ur-Nammu Ur-Nammu (or Ur-Namma, Ur-Engur, Ur-Gur, Sumerian language, Sumerian: ; died 2094 BC) founded the Sumerian Third Dynasty of Ur, in southern Mesopotamia, following several centuries of Akkadian Empire, Akkadian and Gutian period, Gutian rule. Thou ...

writing "Then: Umma, Marda, Šubur, Kazallu, and their settlements, and whatsoever was oppressed by Anšan, verily, I established their freedom". In 1920 a researcher purchased a small tablet "from a little Arab boy in the ruins of Babylon" dated to 3rd year of Amar-Sin, 3rd ruler of the Ur III empire. Lishanum was also mentioned in a Drehem tablet as a governor of an unknown city in the 5th year of Amar-Sin.

Old Babylonian period

After control by Isin for a time Marad had a brief period of independence before it was captured by Babylon. Some illicitly excavated tablets from this period appeared on the antiquities market, primarily a family archive of an economic nature. Known kings from that independent period are Halun-pi-umu, Sumu-ditana, Sumu-atar, Sumu-numhim, and Yamsi-el. In Old Babylonian times Marad is often mentioned together with Kazallu. It is believed that they were part of the same kingdom. A notable known ruler of Marad, roughly from the same time as Babylonian ruler Sumu-la-El was Alumbiumu. Two year names are known, "Year Alumbiumu became king" and "Year Alumbiumu seized Dilbat". Also the 4th year name of Sumu-la-el and a matching year name of an unknown ruler of Kisurra reads "Year Alumbiumu was smitten by weapons". A royal daughter of Alumbiumu was made

nadītu ''Nadītu'' (; sometimes romanized as ''naditu'', with the long vowel omitted) were a social class in ancient Mesopotamia, attested only in the Old Babylonian period. They were associated with the tutelary gods of specific cities, and are often con ...

at Sippar, during the reign of Sumu-la-el.

Iron age

Marad was also occupied in Neo-Babylonian and Neo-Assyrian times.

Nebuchadnezzar II Nebuchadnezzar II, also Nebuchadrezzar II, meaning "Nabu, watch over my heir", was the second king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, ruling from the death of his father Nabopolassar in 605 BC to his own death in 562 BC. Often titled Nebuchadnezzar ...

(605-562 BC) reports rebuilding the temple of Lugal-Marada:

Later occupation

Light occupation occurred in the Kassite (with ruler Kadashman-Turgu known to have worked on the Lugal-Marda temple) and Parthian periods. A prebend (similar to a

Benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

) document from the reign of

Darius I Darius I ( ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his death in 486 BCE. He ruled the empire at its territorial peak, when it included much of West A ...

(c. 550–486 BC) recording a sale for the temple E-igi-kalama for the god Ea which was written in Marad.

Archaeology

The site of Marad covers an area of about 50 hectares with the main mound, at the northern edge of the site and locally called Bint ish-Shaikh, rising 14 meters above the plain. Marad was excavated by a team from the Iraqi General Directorate of Antiquities and the Qādissiyyah University in 1990 led by Na'el Hannoon, and in 2005 and 2007 led by Abbas Al-Hussainy. On the main mound a hall, thought to be a temple, was excavated on the main mound. To the west of the mound residences from the Old Babylonian period were found. During the latter excavation a number of cuneiform tablets were discovered, mainly from the Isin-Larsa and Old Babylonian periods but a few from Neo-Babylonian times.
Fahad, Saad S., and Abbas A. AL-hussainy. "Two old Babylonian Texts from MARAD (Wana wa AL_Sodum)", Adab AL Rafidayn 42.63 (2012) Most recently excavation occurred in Autumn 2019. A few more cuneiform tablets were found (5 complete, 3 almost complete, 8 small pieces), clay tags, and envelope fragments. The epigraphics, economic/legal in nature, included dates of Marad ruler Sumu-numhim and Babylon ruler Sumu-la-EL (years 27 and 28). After a survey, a trench was excavated in a small tell on the western end of the site which showed three occupation layers ranging from Early Dynastic III through Akkadian, Isin-Larsa and Old-Babylonian. A number of Parthian era graves were found across the site.Abbas, al-Hussainy, et al. "Excavations at Tell as-Sadoum, ancient Marad (Iraq). Summary report on the 2019 archaeological season." (2021), Rivista, pp. 189-218

References

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External links

Clay cylinder of Nebuchadnezzar II at Walters Art GalleryEnvelopes’ made of clay have been unearthed in the ancient Mesopotamian city of Marad ...
Akkadian cities Archaeological sites in Iraq Former populated places in Iraq Former kingdoms