Alternative name | Tell Abu Hatab |
---|---|
Location | Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate, Iraq |
Coordinates | 31°50′17″N 45°28′50″E / 31.83806°N 45.48056°E |
Type | settlement |
Site notes | |
Excavation dates | early 1900s |
Archaeologists | Robert Koldewey |
Condition | Ruined |
Ownership | Public |
Public access | Yes |
Kisurra (modern Tell Abu Hatab, Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate, Iraq) was an ancient Sumerian tell (hill city) situated on the west bank of the Euphrates, 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) north of Shuruppak and due east of Kish.
The site has an area of about 46 hectares which is primarily Ur III and a northern extension of about 17 hectares which is primarily Early Dynastic II-III.
Kisurra was established ca. 2700 BC, during the Sumerian Early Dynastic II period. The southern end of the Isinnitum Canal was joined back into the Euphrates at Kisurra.[1] The city lasted as a center for commerce and transport through the Akkadian, Ur III.
Several kings of Kisurra are known: Itur-Szamasz (who built the temples of Annunitum, Enki, and Adad), Manabaltiel (who built the temple of Ninurta and was a contemporary of Ur-Ninurta of Isin), Szarrasyurrum, Ubaya, Zikrum, Bur-Sin, and Ibbi-Szamasz.[2]
The city continued to flourish into the Middle Bronze.
The Larsa ruler Rim-Sin (1822 to 1763 BC) reports capturing Kisurra in his 20th year of reign.
Cuneiform texts and excavation show a decline during the time of the Babylonian ruler Hammurabi (c.1792-1750 BC).[3] The Samsu-iluna (1750 BC to 1712 BC), successor to Hammurabi, reports destroying Kisurra in his 13th year.[4][5]
German archaeologist Robert Koldewey with the Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft, who excavated at the site in 1902-1903, found many cuneiform tablets from Tell Abu Hatab.[6][7][8][9] In 2016 the QADIS survey project, carried out an aerial and surface survey of the site.[10][11]
Ruler | Approximated dates | Notes and references |
---|---|---|
Itur-Szamasz | r. c. 2138 BC | |
Manabaltiel | r. c. 2123 BC | |
Szarrasyurrum | r. c. 2108 BC | |
Ubaya | r. c. 2093 BC | |
Zikrum | r. c. 2078 BC | |
Bur-Sin | r. c. 2048 BC | |
Ibbi-Szamasz | r. c. 2030 – c. 2013 BC |