Tell Ishchali (also Iščāli or Šaǧālī) is an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...

Diyala Province Diyala Governorate ( ) or Diyala Province is a governorate in northeastern Iraq. Provincial Government *Governor: Muthanna al-Tamimi *Deputy Governor: Mohammed Jassim al-Jubouri Council Geography Diyala Governorate extends to the northea ...

(

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 ...

) a few hundred meters from the

Diyala River The Diyala (Arabic: ; ; Farsi: , ) is a river and tributary of the Tigris. It is formed by the confluence of the Sirwan and Tanjaro rivers in Darbandikhan Dam in the Sulaymaniyah Governorate of Northern Iraq. It covers a total distance of . ...

, a tributary of the

Tigris The Tigris ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the eastern of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian Desert, Syrian and Arabia ...

, and 3 miles south by southeast from the ancient city of

Khafajah Khafajah or Khafaje (), ancient Tutub, is an archaeological site in Diyala Governorate, Iraq east of Baghdad. Khafajah lies on the Diyala River, a tributary of the Tigris. Occupied from the Uruk period, Uruk and Jemdet Nasr periods through the e ...

. It is thought to be ancient Nērebtum or Kiti and was, for part of its history, under the control of the city-state of

Eshnunna Eshnunna (also Esnunak) (modern Tell Asmar in Diyala Governorate, Iraq) was an ancient Sumerian (and later Akkadian) city and city-state in central Mesopotamia 12.6 miles northwest of Tell Agrab and 15 miles northwest of Tell Ishchali. Althou ...

which lies about 20 miles to the northeast. It is known to have been occupied during the

Isin-Larsa period The Isin-Larsa period (–1763 BCE, Middle Chronology, or 1961–1699 BCE, Short Chronology) is a phase in the history of ancient Mesopotamia, which extends between the end of the Third Dynasty of Ur and the conquest of Mesopotamia by King Hammur ...

and

Old Babylonian period The Old Babylonian Empire, or First Babylonian Empire, is dated to , and comes after the end of Sumerian power with the destruction of the Third Dynasty of Ur, and the subsequent Isin-Larsa period. The chronology of the first dynasty of Babyloni ...

with excavations ending before earlier levels were reached. Tell Ischali lies about southeast of the modern city of

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

Ancient name

At first, the site of Ishchali was confused with Tutub (now known to be at

). Upon discovery of a date formula that read "year that king Ishme-Bali built the great wall of Nerebtum", that designation gained some support, although the temple dedicated to Inanna suggested Kiti as another possible toponym. Currently, scholarly opinion is split between Nerebtum and Kiti as the result of many tablets from the temple of

Inanna Inanna is the List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian goddess of war, love, and fertility. She is also associated with political power, divine law, sensuality, and procreation. Originally worshipped in Sumer, she was known by the Akk ...

of Kiti being analyzed. The name of Sadlas was also proposed, though an agreement between the rulers of Nērebtum (Ḫammi-dušur) and Šadlaš (Sumu-numhim) on the disposition of prisoners of war is now known.

Nērebtum

A number of bricks of Ipiq-Adad II were found in the Kitium temple inscribed with: Besides Ḫammi-dušur (also Ammi-dušur) two other local rulers of Nērebtum are known from the Old Babylonian period. One, Ikūn-pî-Sîn, also controlled nearby

Tutub Khafajah or Khafaje (), ancient Tutub, is an archaeological site in Diyala Governorate, Iraq east of Baghdad. Khafajah lies on the Diyala River, a tributary of the Tigris. Occupied from the Uruk and Jemdet Nasr periods through the end of the Old ...

. He was a contemporary of

Sabium Sabium (sà-bu-um) (also Sabum) was an Amorite King in the First Dynasty of Babylon, the ''Amorite Dynasty''. He reigned c. 1844 BC – 1831 BC ( MC), and ruled what was at the time a small recently created Amorite kingdom which included th ...

(c. 1844–1831 BC), early ruler of Babylon.Boer, Rients de, "Beginnings of Old Babylonian Babylon: Sumu-abum and Sumu-la-El", Journal of Cuneiform Studies 70.1, pp. 53-86, 2018 A single year name of Iku(n)-pi-Sin is known from a text found at

reading "Year following (the year) when Iku(n)-pi-Sin cap uredDini Akkad. Other proposed rulers of Nērebtum are Išmeḫ-bala and Sumun-abi-yarim. During the reign of Akkad (city)">Akkad. Other proposed rulers of Nērebtum are Išmeḫ-bala and Sumun-abi-yarim. During the reign of Rîm-Anum, ruler of Uruk (c. 1800 BC) prisoners of war from Nērebtum were grouped with those of Eshnunna and Akkad (city)">Akkad for example "Nabi-Šamaš, a man from Nērebtum, Sîn-napšeram, a man from Ešnunna, [NN], a man from Akkad, […]-iddinam, a man from Ešnunna, a total of four slaves, [pris]oners whom [Dagānma-ilum] sent from [Mutiaba] ...".

Kiti

The location of Kiti, the cult site of Inanna of Kitītum, is as yet unknown, though it has been suggested that it was an earlier name for Tell Ishchali. She was worshiped in the Diyala region including at the capital city of

where this oracular inscription was found: Kiti is mention on two texts found at Tell Asmar (

) "4 sila oil for sacrifices in ki-ti^ki on the day Bilalama went (away)" and "4 sila oil to ki-ti^ki for anointing purposes".

History

Finds, including stamp seals and cylinder seals, from the Uruk III (Jemdat Nasr) period and Early Dynastic period were found deposited in a ritual context in the Kitītum temple complex and are thought to have been heirlooms of undetermined provenance. Excavated epigraphic evidence and other finds date to the

. While a few early local rulers are known, for most of the known history of Ishchali kings from

held sway there, including Ipiq-Adad and Ibal-pi-El. During the time of Sabium, king of Babylon, Ibal-pi-El I of Ešnunna, Sîn-iddinam of Larsa and Sîn-kašid of Uruk the king of Nerebtum was Iku(n)-pi-Si.

Archeology

The site is a 600 meter by 300 meter irregular mound, with a low spur reaching northward at the northwest corner and small outlying mounds to the north and south, heavily marked by robber holes. The site was surrounded by a city wall, only partially excavated, with at least one large gate. The wall had a width of 8 meters and in the gatehouse of the entrance gate two

cuneiform Cuneiform is a Logogram, logo-Syllabary, syllabic writing system that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Near East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. Cuneiform script ...

tablets were found. In the 1920s, items from illegal excavations at Ishchali began appearing on the open market, including many

clay tablet In the Ancient Near East, clay tablets (Akkadian language, Akkadian ) were used as a writing medium, especially for writing in cuneiform, throughout the Bronze Age and well into the Iron Age. Cuneiform characters were imprinted on a wet clay t ...

s. Significant brick robbing by locals was also occurring.
enri Frankfort, Thorkild Jacobsen, and Conrad Preusser, "Tell Asmar and Khafaje: The First Season's Work in Eshnunna 1930/31", Oriental Institute Communications 13, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1932 To pre-empt this activity, the Iraq expedition of the

Oriental Institute of Chicago The Orient is a term referring to the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of the term '' Occident'', which refers to the Western world. In English, it is largely a me ...

conducted two seasons of excavations there between 1934 and 1936. The expedition was led by

Henri Frankfort Henri "Hans" Frankfort (24 February 1897 – 16 July 1954) was a Dutch Egyptology, Egyptologist, archaeologist and orientalism, orientalist. Early life and education Born in Amsterdam, into a "Reform Judaism, liberal Jewish" family, Frankfort stud ...

and the work at Ishchali was handled by

Thorkild Jacobsen Thorkild Peter Rudolph Jacobsen (; 7 June 1904 – 2 May 1993) was a Danish historian specializing in Assyriology and Sumerian literature. He was one of the foremost scholars on the ancient Near East. Biography Thorkild Peter Rudolph Jacobsen re ...

and architect Harold Hill, all of the Oriental Institute. The architect died before publication leaving only an outline and a few chapter drafts. The excavation only covered the Kitītum Temple, a non-public area south of that temple called the "Serai" by the excavators, a short portion of the city wall with one gate, and the Shamash Temple adjacent to that gate.
enri Frankfort, "Progress of the Work of the Oriental Institute in Iraq, 1934/35: Fifth Preliminary Report of the Iraq Expedition", Oriental Institute Communications 20, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1936
.D. Hill, T. Jacobsen, P. Delougaz, A. Holland, and A. McMahon, "Old Babylonian Public Buildings in the Diyala Region: Part 1 : Excavations at Ishchali, Part 2 : Khafajah Mounds B, C, and D", Oriental Institute Publication 98, Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, 1990 Excavations only reached the Isin-Larsa level before excavations ended. A number of cuneiform tablets from the Old Babylonian period were found and later published. For a few tablets the provenance is in dispute between Ishcali and

. Of the 280 tablets excavated, 138 went to the Oriental Institute with the remaining 142 assigned to the National Museum of Iraq, Iraq Museum. Among them was a fragment of the

Epic of Gilgamesh The ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' () is an epic poetry, epic from ancient Mesopotamia. The literary history of Gilgamesh begins with five Sumerian language, Sumerian poems about Gilgamesh (formerly read as Sumerian "Bilgames"), king of Uruk, some of ...

. The tablets illegally excavated from Ishchali are in many locations including the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology at Berkeley, the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire in Geneva, Iraq Museum, Oriental Institute, and the

Free Library of Philadelphia The Free Library of Philadelphia is the public library system that serves the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is the 16th-largest public library system in the United States. The Free Library of Philadelphia is a non-Mayoral agency of the ...

. The archive of the chief administrator (sanga) of the Kititum temple is represented by 155 purchased Free Library tablets and 55 excavated Oriental Institute tablets as well as others in the Iraq Museum.

The Serai

South of the Kitītum Temple was a large private residence (thought to have originally been two residences later joined) which the excavators named the Serai. In 1919 a shepherd found two bronze statues here (in a bronze bowl) and they were sold, through a dealer, to the Oriental Institute Museum (A7119 and A7120). Local residents directed the excavators to the site and this was where work began. A number of

tablets and clay sealings were found at the Serai as well as

hematite Hematite (), also spelled as haematite, is a common iron oxide compound with the formula, Fe2O3 and is widely found in rocks and soils. Hematite crystals belong to the rhombohedral lattice system which is designated the alpha polymorph of . ...

weights, terracotta figurines and plaques and a bone

cylinder seal A cylinder seal is a small round cylinder, typically about one inch (2 to 3 cm) in width, engraved with written characters or figurative scenes or both, used in ancient times to roll an impression onto a two-dimensional surface, generally ...

Inanna Temple

The most notable feature of Ishchali is the main temple. It was that of Inanna-Kititum, or Inanna of Kiti (occasionally called Ištar-Kititum). It is one of the largest temples ever found in the ancient Near East at 100 meters by 65 meters, oriented from the southwest to the northeast. The temple lay on a raised platform supported by a brick retaining wall. The lower 13 courses of brick were mortared with mud and those above with bitumen. Rebuilt several times, always following the original plan, the monumental building consisted of one large temple on the west side and two smaller areas on the north which are thought to be shrines (the northwestern most shrine was used for domestic type activities in the later periods). The excavators suggested that one of the small shrines was that of

Ninshubur Ninshubur (,; Ninšubur, "Lady of Subartu" or "Lady of servants"), also spelled Ninšubura, was a Mesopotamian goddess regarded as the ''sukkal'' (divine attendant) of the goddess Inanna. While it is agreed that in this context Ninshubur was rega ...

, the

sukkal Sukkal (conventionally translated from Sumerian as "vizier") was a term which could denote both a type of official and a class of deities in ancient Mesopotamia. The historical sukkals were responsible for overseeing the execution of various com ...

of Kititum though there was no finds to support that. The main, western, temple had a cella, antecella (with entrance towers having vertical grooves), and forecourt. It's main entrance to the south also had flanking towers. In the innermost room of the temple (pirishtum) "two accounts of gold and precious stones were found, as well as various seal cylinders". The main, western, temple was at an elevation 4 meters above the surrounding neighborhood while the remaining part of the Kititium Temple was only raised by 2 meters. A cylinder seal, found in the main temple, was inscribed "Mattatum, daughter of Ubarrum, for her recovery to Kititum presented (this seal)" as well as a building brick with an inscription of

ruler

Ipiq-Adad II Ipiq-Adad II was a king of the city kingdom of Eshnunna in ancient Mesopotamia. He reigned c. 1862-1818 BC. He was the son of Ibal-pi-el ensi (Governor) of Eshnunna. Upon his ascent he used the title ensi but, later in his reign he shifted to de ...

dedicated to Ištar-Kititum. Small finds included terracotta plaques and a copper lamp in the form of a lion found in the antecella of the main temple. The southeast third of the temple was occupied by a large open interior courtyard similar to that at the Temple Oval at

The interior courtyard measured 32 meters wide and 48 meters long. At the southwest end a large staircase flanked by fluted towers led up to the main temple. At the northeast end a second large staircase, also flanked by fluted towers, led down to the street. The excavators defined a stratigraphy with four phases: *Phase I-A - Original building *Phase I-B - Second occupation of the original building *Phase II-A - Rebuilding of north wing (3rd occupation of the original building) *Phase II-B - Fourth occupation of the original building *Widespread conflagration in the Temple and nearby "Serai" area *Phase III - Second building period *Phase IV - Third building period *Conflagration It is generally thought that the Phase III construction was under Eshnunna ruler

(c. 1862-1818 BC) and Phase IV under Eshnunna ruler

Ibal-pi-el II Ibal pi’el II was a king of the city kingdom of Eshnunna in ancient Mesopotamia. He reigned c. 1779–1765 BC). He was the son of Dadusha and nephew of Naram-Suen of Eshnunna. He conquered the cities of Diniktum and Rapiqum. With Ḫammu-r ...

(c. 1779–1765 BC) and has been suggested that the final destruction came in the 31st year of Babylon ruler

Hammurapi Hammurabi (; ; ), also spelled Hammurapi, was the sixth Amorites, Amorite king of the Old Babylonian Empire, reigning from to BC. He was preceded by his father, Sin-Muballit, who abdicated due to failing health. During his reign, he conquere ...

(c. 1792-1750 BC) reflected in the year name "Year Hammu-rabi the king, the heros who gains victory for Marduk, defeated with his mighty weapons the entire army and soldiers of Esznunna ...".Roßberger, E., "Dedicated objects and memory construction at the Ištar-Kitītum temple at Iščāli", in Kaelin, O. . a.(ed.), Proceedings of the 9th international congress on the archaeology of the Ancient Near East 1. Travelling image. Transfer and transformation of visual ideas. Wiesbaden, pp. 419–430, 2016 The many tablets found at the Kitītum Temple give an excellent picture of temple life. A number of cylinder seals dating from the Early Dynastic to the

Larsa Larsa (, read ''Larsamki''), also referred to as Larancha/Laranchon (Gk. Λαραγχων) by Berossus, Berossos and connected with the biblical Arioch, Ellasar, was an important city-state of ancient Sumer, the center of the Cult (religious pra ...

period were also found there, assumed to be relic donations to the temple. Cylinder seals, from the Isin-Larsa and Old Babylon periods, were also found at the Shamash temple and in private homes. Based on texts found there the excavators suggested that there was also a shrine of Ištar-Kititum "e-^dINANNA k i - t i" at Eshnunna .

Sin Temple

Also called the Temple of the Gate. Aside from the temple of Ištar-Kititum a small temple of

Sin In religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law or a law of the deities. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered ...

) was also found. The excavators referred to it as the Sin Temple based on cuneiform tablets found there though in another document it was referred to as the Shamash Temple (apparently based on seal iconography). Specifically, on text of a court case mentioned "in the gate of the god Sin-sa-kamanim" (speculated to mean Sin of the scone), a contract had Sin at the head of a list of witnesses, another was witnessed by Sin and the ruler Sumu-abi-arim, and lastly one that had barley going to the "donkeys of the god Sin". The temple was built around a central courtyard and had a number of adjacent outbuildings. Small finds included terracotta plaques, maceheads, and a lion shaped jewelers weight The temple, lying next to the main gate in the city wall to the east of the Kitītum Temple, was only excavated down to the level of Phase 2 of the Kitītum Temple. Of note, in the treaty between Šadlaš and Nērebtum it states: The god Sin of Kamanum (den.zu sha ka-ma-ni-im) is also known from texts at

Shaduppum Shaduppum, modern Tell Harmal (also Tell Abu Harmal), is an archaeological site in Baghdad Governorate (Iraq). Nowadays, it lies within the borders of modern Baghdad about 600 meters from the site of Tell Muhammad (possibly ancient Diniktum). In ...

and from

where in a case the judges led the litigants to the gate of Sin in Kamanum to swear the god's oath. A that point the litigants come to agreement "Im Tor des Sîn von Kamanum".
ussein, Laith M., "Tell Harmal-Die Texte aus dem Hauptverwaltungsgebäude Serai", 2006

Artifacts from Ishchali

File:Four-faced goddess, Ishchali, Isin-Larsa to Old Babylonia periods, 2000-1600 BC, bronze - Oriental Institute Museum, University of Chicago - DSC07384.JPG, Four-faced goddess, Ishchali, Isin-Larsa to Old Babylonia periods, 2000–1600 BC, bronze - Oriental Institute Museum, University of Chicago File:Storm god, Ishchali, Isin-Larsa to Old Babylonian, 2000-1600 BC, baked clay - Oriental Institute Museum, University of Chicago - DSC07416.JPG, Storm god, Ishchali, Isin-Larsa to Old Babylonian, 2000–1600 BC, baked clay - Oriental Institute Museum, University of Chicago File:Plaque with bull-men holding a palm trunk with sun disk, Ishchali, Isin-Larsa to Old Babylonian, 2000-1600 BC, baked clay - Oriental Institute Museum, University of Chicago - DSC07390.JPG, Plaque with bull-men holding a palm trunk with sun disk, Ishchali, Isin-Larsa to Old Babylonian, 2000–1600 BC, baked clay - Oriental Institute Museum, University of Chicago File:Storm god, Ishchali, Isin-Larsa to Old Babylonian, 2000-1600 BC, baked clay - Oriental Institute Museum, University of Chicago - DSC07418.JPG, Storm god, Ishchali, Isin-Larsa to Old Babylonian, 2000–1600 BC, baked clay - Oriental Institute Museum, University of Chicago

References

External links

Ishchali tablets at CDLITerracotta plaque from Ishchali at the Oriental Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ishchali Archaeological sites in Iraq Diyala Governorate Former populated places in Iraq Tells (archaeology)