Alternative name | Khirbit ed-Diniye |
---|---|
Location | Al Anbar Governorate, Iraq |
Coordinates | 34°26′00″N 41°36′00″E / 34.433333°N 41.600000°E |
Type | settlement |
History | |
Founded | Early 2nd millennium BC |
Periods | Bronze Age |
Site notes | |
Excavation dates | 1981-1988 |
Archaeologists | Christine Kepinski-Lecomte |
Condition | Ruined |
Ownership | Public |
Public access | Yes |
Haradum (modern Khirbit ed-Diniye (also Khirbet ed-Diniyé), in Al Anbar Governorate Iraq, was an ancient Near East city on the middle Euphrates about 90 kilometers southeast of Mari. It was part of the ancient region of Suhum. The name of the town meant "the place where one stands watch".[1]
While the site of Haradum was occupied earlier, under the control of Eshnunna, being mentioned in texts from Mari, [2] After a hiatus it grew into a proper town until the 18th century BC under the control of the First Dynasty of Babylon. It was later the site of a Neo-Assyrian fortress.
The earliest dated record is from the 26th year of King Samsu-iluna of Babylon. Tablets from the reign of Babylonian rulers Abi-eshuh, Ammi-ditana, Ammi-saduqa, and Samsu-Ditana have also been found at Haradum.
Haradum is noted for being one of the earliest examples of a planned city, with a rectilinear layout and straight streets. It contained two temples (dedicated to Ishtar and Adad respectively) but no palace.[3]
The site of Haradum is small, about 1.5 hectares in area (a 150 by 150 meter square) with a fortification wall having a main gate in the western wall. It was excavated for six seasons between 1981 and 1988 by a team from the Délégation Archéologique Française en Iraq led by Christine Kepinski-Lecomte. A number of cuneiform tablets were found in residential and temple contexts. The work was a salvage operation in response to Haditha Dam construction.[4][5][6][7]
The excavators found four 2nd Millennium BC building layers. The first (3D) was from the time of Mari ruler Zimri-Lim (1775–1761 BC) and included a fortification wall. Later construction followed the street plan established at that time. The subsequent levels, under Babylonian and later Middle Assyrian rule dated c. 1750-1700 BC (3C), c. 1700-1665 BC (3B) destroyed by fire, and c. 1665-1130 BC (3A). Part of the later was overlaid by the Neo-Assyrian fortress.[8][9][10]