Tell Afis is an archaeological site in the
Idlib
ar, إدلبي, Idlibi
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region of northern Syria, and lies about fifty kilometres southeast of
Aleppo
)), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black".
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.
The site is thought to be that of ancient Hazrek (or Hazrach; Hatarikka for the Assyrians) capital of
Luhuti
Luhuti, Lukhuti or Lu'ash, was an Iron Age Syro-Hittite Aramean region during the early 1st millennium BC located in northern Syria, in an area that used to be called Nuhašše.
Political Situation and Capital
Luhuti was a region of uncertain po ...
.
History
Occupation of the site is stretching from the fourth millennium BCE to the Neo-Assyrian period.
Late Bronze
Around 1350 BC, the Hittite ruler
Suppiluliuma I gain control over the northern parts of Syria. This region was then called
Nuhasse.
Levels VII to V have been firmly dated to the time of control by 13th century BC Hittite ruler
Hattusili III by seals, pottery, and several tablets.
Iron Age
In the Iron Age, Tell Afis was in the Kingdom of Hamath. The
Stele of Zakkur
The Stele of Zakkur (or ''Zakir'') is a royal stele of King Zakkur of Hamath and Luhuti (or Lu'aš) in the province Nuhašše of Syria, who ruled around 785 BC.
Description
The inscription was on the lower part of the original stele. The upper ...
, dated c, 785 BC, which contains a dedication in Aramaic to the gods
Iluwer
Wer (Wēr), also known as Mer, Ber and Iluwer was a weather god worshiped in parts of Mesopotamia and ancient Syria. It is presumed that he was originally one of the main deities of the northern parts of these areas, but his cult declined in the ...
and
Baalshamin
Baalshamin ( arc, ܒܥܠ ܫܡܝܢ ''Baʿal Šāmīn'' or ''Bʿel Šmīn'' Blit. "Lord of Heaven ), also called Baal Shamem ( phn, 𐤁𐤏𐤋 𐤔𐤌𐤌 ''Baʿl Šāmēm'') and Baal Shamaim ( he, ''Baʿal Šāmayīm''), was a Northwest Semit ...
, was discovered here in 1903. Three additional Aramaic fragments were later found.
Archaeology
The tell is 28 hectares in area (570 meters by 500 meters) with an extensive lower city and an acropolis on the northern edge. In 1932
William F. Albright collected Iron Age pottery in a surface collection. In 1970, 1972, and 1978 excavations were conducted by
Paolo Matthiae
Paolo Matthiae (born 1940) is an Italian archaeologist.
He is a professor of History of Art of the Ancient Near East in the University of Rome La Sapienza; he has been Director of the Ebla Expedition since 1963—in fact, its discoverer— ...
. The site was excavated from 1986 until 2010 by a joint project from the universities of Rome, Pisa and Bologna, under the direction of Stefania Mazzoni and Serena Maria Cecchini. A sizable Iron Age cultic area was discovered on the acropolis.
The site was reportedly damaged by encampments during the
Syrian civil war.
Cunliffe, Emma., Damage to the Soul: Syria's cultural heritage in conflict, Durham University and the Global Heritage Fund, 1 May 2012
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See also
*Cities of the ancient Near East
The earliest cities in history were in the ancient Near East, an area covering roughly that of the modern Middle East: its history began in the 4th millennium BC and ended, depending on the interpretation of the term, either with the conquest by ...
References
{{Coord, 35, 54, 18, N, 36, 47, 55, E, display=title
Iron Age sites in Syria
Archaeological sites in Idlib Governorate