Ancient Worlds - BBC TwoEpisode 1 “Come Together”Mari (modern Tell Hariri, in Syria) was

Ancient Worlds - BBC Two

Episode 1 “Come Together”

Mari (modern Tell Hariri, in Syria) was an ancient Mesopotamian city on the western bank of the Euphrates river and one of the hegemonic states of the area during the 3rd and early 2nd millennia BC. The city flourished as a trade center; it was strategically important as a relay point between the Sumerian cities of lower Mesopotamia,Babylon, the Levant,EgyptandPersia.

Archaeologists have discovered a wealth of prestigious palaces and temples, art schools and an exceptional quantity of administrative archives dating back to the last periods of the city. More than 25.000 clay tablets in Akkadian language written in cuneiform were discovered (The Mari Tablets). 

TheRoyal Palace of Mari was the royal residence of the rulers of the ancient kingdom. King Zimri-lim (reigned from about 1779-5 to 1761 BC) expanded the palace which was possibly the largest at the time. It contained more tan 200 rooms, several statues and exquisite artefacts. The throne room was designed like a temple, its walls covered with brilliantly coloured frescoes. The palace even had its own ice-house so that the king’s honey-sweetened wine could be served cold.

Mari was destroyed by Hammurabi, king of Babylon(this is known from the numerous state archives tablets that recount Hammurabi turning on his old ally king Zimri-lim). After this destruction the city was inhabited sporadically but it never regained its former status.

Mari, Tell Hariri, Syria