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3rd–2nd millennium BCE
Mari
Mari (Tell Hariri) on the middle Euphrates was a planned city and river power whose royal archives document the politics of the whole Bronze Age Near East.
Period: Bronze Age · 3000–1200 BCE
Major historical events
- 18th century BCEVerified historical fact
The palace archives were sealed by the city's destruction.
Architecture
Great royal palace with courtyards, wall paintings and a canal-fed circular city plan.
Religion, culture and daily life
Scribal culture, temple economies and treaty-making recorded in tens of thousands of tablets.
Trade
River traffic in tin, timber and grain between Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean.
Important rulers and figures
- Zimri-LimVerified historical fact
Named in the Mari letters as a king of the city.
Archaeological discoveries
- Royal palace archive
- Temple sculpture and wall paintings
