UNDERSTANDNG HEGEMONIC PRACTICESOF THE EARLYASSYRIAN EMPIRE

ESSAYS DEDICATED TO FRANS V/IGGERMANN

edited by

Bleda S. Dünnqc

NEDERLANDS INSTITUUT VOOR HET NABIJE OOSTEN

LEIDEN

2015

7

6.West of A55ur: The Life and Times of the

Middte Assyrian Dunnu at Tell Sabi Abyado SyrialPeter M. M. G. Akkermans and Frqns A. M. Wiggermann

Leiden University

During the reign of Tukulti-Ninurta I (1233-1197 BC) and his three immediate successors,2 thewestern part of the Middle Assyrian empire was administrated by the successive members of a

secondary branch of the Assyrian royal house: Aðður-iddin, Sulmãnu-muðabði and llì-padâ (seeCancik-Kirschbaum 1999). These officials bore the titles of 'grandvizier'(sukkallu rabû) and'king of Khanigalbat' . Their apparently semi-independent province stretched from the plains of theKhabur in the east to the valley of the Euphrates in the west and the south, and also included thenewly conquered Hurrian temitories to the north of the Jazirah.

The Middle Assyrian presence in the western province entailed the foundation of a numberof dunnus, fortified fatmsteads, one of which was located on the site of Tell Sabi Abyad on theBalikh in nofthern Syria (figure 6.1). An extensive progranìme of excavation in broad horizontalexposures since 1988 has revealed this Assyrian settlement almost in its entirety. A small yetheavily fortified Assyrian dunnu came to light, with ample finds in nearly every building, includingmasses of ceramics, rich inventories of grinding tools, bone implements, metal weaponry,jewellery, seals and sealings, and, perhaps most importantly, almost 400 cuneiform tablets. Dozensof burials have been uncovered as well, comprising simple inhumations, elaborate tombs, children'sgraves in ceramic vessels, and cremations (see below).

From its foundation early in the reign of Tukulti-Ninurta I, the dunnu at Tell Sabi Abyadwas owned and operated by the 'grand vizier' and 'king of Khanigalbat', first A35ur-iddin, thenSulmãnu-mu5ab5i and finally Ih-padâ. In the absence of the proprietor, a steward (abarakku ormasennu) supervised the daily affairs in fhe dunnu: Mannu-kî-Adad under Að5ur-iddin andSulmãnu-mu5ab5i; Buriya and later Tammitte under Ilï-padâ.

Most of the administrative documents found at Tell Sabi Abyad belong to lh-padâ's periodof office, which runs from late in the,reign of Tukulti-Ninurta I through those of his successorsAðður-nadin-apli (1196-1194 BC), A55ur-nIrãrÏ III (1193-1188 BC) and Enlil-kuduni-usur (1187-1183 BC), which is approximately from 1191 to 1183 BC. This period is not covered by thearchives of other westem sites, viz. those of Tell Fekheriye (U5ðukanni), Tell Sheik:h Hamad (Dür-Katlimmu) and Tell Chuera (Kharbe), which are all slightly older. Only the archive of Aba-lã-Îde,the 'overseer ofthe offerings' in AðSur, covers the same period (Freydank 1991).

t This paper was submitted in 2006 and reflects the state of knowledge at that time. Given the imporlance ofthe content it was decide to include this paper in this volume, although it was not possible to substantiallyupdate the paper.2 Dates according to Boese and Wilhelm 1979; Boese 1982. See also Freydank 199 I . On the Middle Assyrianperiod in general, see Hanak 1987; Mayer 1995;1998; Cancik-Kirschbaum 1996; 1999; Faist 2001; Jakob2003.

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After the death of llÎ-padâ, the office of 'king of Khanigalbat' was discontinued and with itthe semi-independent status of the western province. It seems that this change affected the status ofTe|l Sabi Abyad as well, since the dunnu lost its representative functions and virtually stopped

producing cuneifotm texts.The ancient name of the Assyrian settlement at Tell Sabi Abyad is not yet known; the texts

found at the site indicate that the local officials referred to it simply as 'the dunnu' .

6.1 Architecture and Sequence: The Development of the Dunnu at Tell Sabi AbyadTell Sabi Abyad comprises about five hectares and rises up to six metres above the surrounding

alluvial plain of the river Balikh and its many small, seasonal tributaries (f,rgure 6.2). Primarily the

site contains occupation remains from the seventh and sixth millennia BC, with on top of those the

renrnants of a Middle Assyrian dunnu datíng to the final part of the Late Bronze Age and the

beginning of the Iron Age (late thirleenth to early twelfth century BC) (Akkermans and Rossmeisl

1990; Akkermatts et a\.1993; Akkermans and Wiggermann 1999; Wiggermann 2000; Lyon 2000;

Akkennans 2006). The Assyrian settlement covers roughly one hectare in total, while the walled

stronghold at its centre (measuring about 60 by 60 m) takes up about one third of that area (0.36

ha). We distinguish five major building phases, the lowest of which probably belongs to the Mittanip"iioO (level 7), while the oth"rc ur" á11 Middle Assyrian (levels 6-3).3 The preservation of the

various building levels was excellent in most cases, except for the topmost layers, which appear to

have been severely eroded partially. Below, the various Assyrian occupations will be discussed in a

chronological order.

3 The date of the upper building levels 2-1 is sti11 a matter for fuilher investigation. Although Middle

Assyrian ceramics are abundantly found in these levels, the consistent occuffence of post-Assyrian pottery

and other objects argues for a much later date, i.e. the Hellenistic period or even later (Duistermaat 2008).

Vy'ssr op ASSUn: THE LrFE ¡.No Trvss oF THE Mnore AssyRrau Dr¡¡¿¡¿u 9l

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Figwe 6.2: View of Tell Sabi Abyad, prior to the onset of the excavations in 1986.The low rise in the centre of the mound contains the remains of the Middle Assyrian dunnu.

6.1.1 Beginnings: The Level 6 DunnuThe earliest foftress stood about six metres above the modern field level at the highest part of TellSabi Abyad, overlooking the surrounding plain. It probably began as a single large tower in theMittani period (level 7), which, after a period of abandonment of unknown duration, was largelydemolished and subsequently rebuilt on a partially different ground plan by the Assyrians early inthe reign of Tukulti-Ninurta I, at about 1225 BC. The settlement now had a mud-brick defensivewall up to 2 m thick, forming an enclosure measuring about 60 by 60 m (figure 6.3). The mainentrance to the fortress (in the northem defensive wall) was about 1.25 m wide and had largebuttresses on either side. A pair of piers projected from the flanking walls into the passageway,

acting as jambs for a wooden door.In the centre of the fortified area stood the huge, more or less square tower measuring

about 1 8 by 2l m, constructed of heavy mud-brick walls up to 1.9-2 m wide (figure 6.4). Not onlythe sizable walls but also the large, well-constructed staircase suggests that the building originallyhad one or more upper storey(s).4 Apart from its main entrance, which was almost 1.5 m wide, allpassages in the tower consisted of rather low and naffow mud-brick arches (figure 6.5).) Theground floor of the building had ten rooms, ranging in size from 3.7 rn? to about 19 rn?. Thesmallest room contained a latrine (but see Klinkenberg and Lanjouw, this volume, for an alternativeview), whereas a wall in another room had a series of 13 small, shallow niches built of upendedmud bricks.6 In front of the niches was a hearth made upon a low mud-brick platform.

a The excavations have exposed only the ground-floor porlion ofthe fortress. Staircases such as those in thecentral tower and in one of the other buildings suggest that many buildings originally had one or more upperstorey(s). There was undoubtedly much more space in the dunnu than it would appear at first sight.

' Cf. Akkermans et al. (1993, fig. 9b). It is probable that all passages in the fortress were originally vaulted, if wetake into account that doorways, whenever preserved in their entirety, ail consisted ofsuch mud-brick arches.u Cf. Akkermans et al. (1993:9-13 and fig. 10b). The configwation of niches recalls the'pigeonhole system'ofstoring cuneiform tablets at Neo-Babylonian and Neo-Assyrian sites in Mesopotamia; see e.g. Veenhof (1986: 13).

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#Figure 6.4: The central tower in the dunnu, seen from the east'

A second building of monurnental outline stood immediately to the west of the tower. This

building with its (exterior) ground floor of approximately 490 ñ is more or less identical in size to

the towèr but it has a much more regular layout (cf. figures 6.3 and 6.6). This residence or 'paiace'

with its white-washed façade is tripartite in plan: it has a large and long-drawn central hall,

measuring approximately 15 by 4 rn, on the long sides flanked by parallel rows of smaller roolns.

93

At right angles and in front of these rootrrs was another large hall or, perhaps, courtyard, measuring15 by 5 rnetres and partly paved with baked bricks. Both side-wings are wholly identical in layoutand both have bath facilities and toilets at their rear ends. The floors ofthese sanitary installationswere made watertight with baked bricks, carefully laid and lined with bitumen, and the lowerpofiion of the walls was protected against water by a row of baked bricks set upright. The toilets inthese rooms consisted of recessed niches in one of the walls (figure 6.7). A naffow gutter made ofbaked bricks in the centre ofeach niche led to a cesspit several metres deep on the other side ofthewall. Such installations were not restricted to the residence but have been found throughout theforlress. In front of the main residence was a large, square courlyard measuring approximately l3by 17 m and originally paved with baked bricks.

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Except for the tower and the residence, the original enclosure seems to have had only a fewlarge, banack-like buildings set against the defensive wall. These structures were surrounded bylarge open areas, pafis of which were used for intra-mural burial. The building in the northeast (see

figure 6.3) gave evidence of a stairway, which, although fragmentarily preseled, had an estirnatedheight of about five metres. There can be little doubt that the building had an upper storey. Theopen area surrounding the buildings was gradually built on with houses, storage structures,workshops, etc.

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Figure 6.6: The main residence or 'palace' seen from the air

Interestingly, in the early phase ofoccupation the fortress was sutrounded by an impressive

dry rnoat about 4 m wide and 3.5 m deep, which bounded an area of roughly 80 by 80 m (figure

6.3). The ditch cut sharply into the prehistoric mound, and its sides were partly strengthened with

heavy mud-brick revetments (which in their turn often served as foundations for additional

architecture). Access to the area bounded by the moat was in the northwest, where the ditch was

intemrpted for about 5 m. Heavy mud-brick walls along the sides of this passage indicate areinforced gateway at this spot. The location of the passage is not without reason; the mound has a

long, gently sloping saddle in this area, which allows easy traffic up and down.

Houses, workshops, ovens and other domestic installations characterized the area between

the moat and the fofiress. These buildings were separated frorn the central stronghold by a narrow

street, approximately I.5-2 m wide, parallel to the outer walls of the fortress. In the northwest there

were a number of srnall, iregular stnrctures, one of which contained hundreds of small, semi-

precious worked stones on the floor, which was most likely the raw material for the production ofbeads and pendants. In another location an unhnished cylinder seal in good Middle Assyrian style

was found, suggesting that such seals were produced locally (fìgure 6.8). To the nofih, set along the

moat and partly founded on its revetting walls, was a row of what seem to have been houses, each

with one or two large rooms and several smaller side-rooms. They contained circular bread ovens,

large rnud-brick storage bins and numerous pots and grinding stones, suggestive ofthe preparation

of food. Similar structures of sometirnes considerable size stood to the northeast, outside the area

protected by the moat. One of these buildings was at least 20 rn long and 5.50 m wide, with hearyrnud-brick walls over 1.10 rn wide. Originally, it seems to have consisted of a single large room,

with a rnud-brick bench along one of the long sides. Possibly it served as a barrack.

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Wesr or ASSUR: Tns Ltrs aND TrMss or rHs Mrt¡Le AssyRiAN Dutvwu 95

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Figure 6.7: Toilet in a recessed niche in the eastern wing of the main residence,with the gutter and floor made of baked bricks.

In the southern part of the stronghold, behind the tower and residence, there were mostlysmall and irregular sûuctures, their walls usually consisting of a single row of mud bricks. Theywere built abutting their neighbours, which resulted in an aggregation of contiguous rooms.Sometimes there were small, gravelled yards containing tannurs and mud-brick bins between thebuildings. Many of these structures appear to have been in use for a limited period and saw rapidremodelling or complete rebuilding. In addition, it is doubtful whether these buildings were alwaysroofed; at least some areas may have been working spaces open to the elements, bounded by low,ephemeral walls used for parlitioning or as wind shields.

Figure 6.8: Unfinished cylinder seal, found ina, jar in a potter's workshop.'We

see a kneeling archer aiming his arrow at a ferocious lion standing on its hind legs.Especially the archer is only partly cut out into the stone. Level 6, ca. 1200 BC.

Particularly interesting is the area to the east of the fortress, which seems to have been usedprimarily for the production of pottery. The area was accessible directly from the fortress by meansof a small side-entrance in the eastem defensive wall, through the large 'banack' in this spot.Immediately next to the moat stood a large building measuring about 30 by 4 m, which was

96 P Arx¡m,raNs RNI F. Wcc¡RruaNt'¡

subdivided into a number of rooms of various sizes. The floor of the southernmost room yielded,

among other things, many dozens of carinated bowls, several wasters, fragments of unbaked

ceramics, and two stone potter's wheel bases (figure 6.9). In front of and to the south of the

building were several small enclosures, each of them provided with a pottery kiln (figure 6.10).

These kilns were all of the updraught type, up to 3 m long and 2.5 m wide. They consisted of twochambers built of mud bricks: one underground chamber up to 2 m deep in which the fire burnt and

one above ground in which the pottery that was to be fired was placed. Between the chambers a

floor was constructed which rested on two or three mud-brick arches (depending on the size of the

kiln), and which had round flue holes at regular distances to let the heat through. The kilns and the

other fînds show that pottery was produced en masse at Tell Sabi Abyad (see below). The evidence

for local ceramic manufacture is not restricted to the earliest phase; similar kilns, unbaked

ceramics, and so on, occurred in the later levels of occupation at the site as well (Akkermans and

Duistermaat 2001). Interestingly, one cuneiform text found at Sabi Abyad refers to potters

travelling from one site to another.t One good reason to do so may be that the demand for ceramicsin many places was simply too limited to require a potter in permanent residence (Cf. Pftilzner1993:86).

Figure 6.9: Basalt potter's wheel found on the floor of a potter's workshop to the east of the fortress.

t Tablet T93-3 states: "( ) Wy did you not send a pottel to Dunnu-Aíiur, to the brewer? Let your writteninstructions go to your brewer in Sahlalu, that when the Suteans arive and eat bread before me, he must

make available beer and senting vessels. From whom (else) could I demønd it, who would give (it) to me?"

Wnsr o¡' A55rn: Tsp Lrpp ¡,Nn Tn¡rs oF THE MrorrE, AssvnraN Du¡v¡¿u 97

Both the conshuction and the maintenance of the forlress must have required a vast amountof labour within a relatively shorl period of tirne. For example, the digging of the rnoat required the

removal of roughly 4500 m3 of soil. Moreover, prior to the start of the building programme,extensive terraces were constructed in the area selected for occupation, thereby considerablychanging the topography of the existing prehistoric mound. In addition, hundreds of thousands ofmud bricks were necessary to raise the buildings themselves. The required labour force may havebeen provided by the local communities or by the large numbers of prisoners-of-war and otherdepoftees that, according to the personnel lists and other cuneiform documents, were set to work at

Tell Sabi Abyad.

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Figure 6. 10: The remains of an updraught pottery kiln in the level 6 dunnu. The floor between the lowercombustion chamber and the upper pottery chamber has collapsed. However, part of this floor with the

circular openings to let the flames and hot gases pass upward is still clearly visible.

6.1.2 Renovqtions: The Level 5 FortressDepositional and textual evidence suggests that the forlress was in bad repair in the last decade ofthe thirteenth and the very beginning of the twelfth century BC. The current data indicates thatseveral buildings had partly collapsed or had been abandoned, often leaving ceramic inventoriesand other artefacts in situ. In response to this apparent state of neglect, an extensive programme ofrenovation and parlial reconstruction seems to have been set in motion (representing our buildinglevel 5; see figure 6.11). Although the basic layout remained essentially the same as before, the

renovation entailed a wide array of changes, including the demolition of many buildings and theirsubsequent re-erection, often with a different arrangement of rooms and installations. The outer

defensive walls of the forlress, too, were first partially levelled, then rebuilt. The fotmerly open

spaces inside the walls of the dunnu were densely built up, either through the construction of newbuildings or by the enlargement of existing ones. The interior of the central tower was considerablyreinforced by adding new, heavy, walls to the earlier, still-standing walls (thus creating walls

98 P. ArxpnvaNs nN¡ F. WIccpnrr,ra¡rx

between 2 and3.3 m thick) and by the modification of extant doorways and the partitioning ofrooms. New floors were constructed in all rooms. Probably the rooms at ground-floor level were

primarily used for storage and related domestic activities, in view of the considerable quantities ofceramics (sometimes filled with charred grain) on the floors. However, textual evidence suggests

that these rooms may also have served other purposes, such as the housing of local workers or the

imprisonment of detainees (see also Klinkenberg and Lanjouw, this volume).

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The elaboration of the stronghold was not restricted to its interior but it also included a

series of extensions built along the northern and eastern façades. The original stairwell in the

northeast corner of the fortress, providing access to the fortress's upper storey, had fallen intodisuse and was tumed into a lavatory. A new stairwell was built along the eastern wall.Importantly, the original gate to the fortress was closed off and a new gate was created in the

northwest of the fortress. As before, the gateway to the fortress was flanked on either side by large

mud-brick buttresses. It gave access to a large hall, with a series of tiny rooms at the westem rear

end containing bath and toilet facilities (their floor and lower walls covered with baked bricks, intheir turn coated with a thick, watertight gypsum plaster; figure 6.12). It is not inconceivable that

the spaces in this comer represented the ground floor of a tower, because of their location, small

size, and the considerable width of their walls. The fortress had probably been provided withtowers in at least three of its four corners, whereas its southern wall had two towerlike projectionsnot seen elsewhere.

'WBsr op ASSUn: THr Lrr'¡ aln Tß,rss oF THE Mm¡rp AssyrueN Dr,l¿¡¿u 99

Figure 6.12: Latrine at the westem rear end of the entrance hall to the level 5 dunnu. The floor andlower walls were covered with baked bricks, in their tum coated with a thick, watertight gypsum plaster.

The large hall gave access to a large square courtyard partially paved with baked bricks.This courtyard became of crucial importance in terms of passage and the control thereof; anyonewishing to enter or leave the fortified settlement had to pass through it. Postholes and pivot stonesindicate that all passages to and from this yard were originally closed by wooden doors. One smallbuilding stood in the northwest, strategically located next to the main entrance to the centralcourtyard. The building, consisting of a small strongroom, a corridor, and a lavatory at the rear end,must have served the needs of an official, because of the 137 cuneiform tablets (the remains of anarchive) found in it. The texts identi$ the official in question as the steward Tammitte, who,presumably seated outside his 'ofnice', received his guests and took care of business. In thecourtyard, directly in front of the steward's office, there were fragmentary clay tablets, as well asdozens of clay sealings with cylinder-seal impressions, indicating that sealed products werereceived and opened on the spot, after which the broken sealings were discarded in the yard.

There were several other administrative areas, mainly associated with the large andfrequently remodelled building that stood in the northeastern part of the dunnu. Many dozens ofcuneiform tablets have been found in several rooms in this building otherwise charactenzed byspacious rooms (figure 6.13), a lavalory with a toilet at either end of a corridor,8 and a kitchenconsisting of a single room measuring 4.5 by 3 metres, with raised fireplaces in rows along thenorthern and southem walls. A remarkable find were the many texts on and above the kitchen floor,which must have fallen from an upper storey. In view of the large size of the building and of mostof its rooms, the occurrence of extensive toilet and cooking facilities, and the masses of potteryfound in the rooms (including very large dishes up ro 72 cm in diameter, for communal meals), thisstructure was undoubtedly used to accommodate many people, presumably fhe dunnu staff .

8 These toilets were similar to the ones found elsewhere in the fortress, except for the use of ceramic pipesinstead ofbaked bricks for drainage in one ofthem.

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Figure 6. 13: Parl of a large building in the norlheastem paft of the level 5 dtmrut, shown during

excavation. It was presumably used to accommodate the household staff of the dunnu. Dozens ofcuneiform tablets have been found on the floor in several rooms in this building.

A number of other structures have been identified as the living and working spaces ofofficials or specialized craftsmen. A room to the north of the central tower yielded several tablets

indicating that this area served as the office of the brewer Silli-I5tar-Nabula. A structure to the east

of the tower, characterized by a reception rooÍr, working-room and sanitary installations around an

inner courl, has been recognized as the house of the scribe Belu-eri5, one of the lower-rankingofficials in the local adrninistration. Due north of his house was a potter's workshop, whichspecialized in the production of nipple-based goblets and carinated bowls. Many dozens of these

ceramics as well as wasters and fragments of unbaked vessels of the sarne types were found on the

floor, in association with heaps of finely levigated clay, pots filled with gypsum for repair, and twosmall updraught kilns. A series of srnall buildings in the southem part of the fortress seem to have

been part of a bakery, the responsibility of the 'baker' (alahhinu) Paya. The two dozen tablets

found in this part of the stronghold refer to the distribution of cereals, flour and bread to localpeople as well as to representatives of settlements elsewhere, all under the supervision of Paya.

Moreover, there is good evidence for the storage and processing of grain in this area, in the form oflarge quantities of ground-stone tools and the large-scale presence of circular bread ovens. The

ovens occur in clusters in courtyards and other open spaces, but many of them also stood withinsmall rooms or 'oven houses' where they were the prirnary features.

Significantly, the moat went out of use roughly at the time of the renovation of the rest ofthe fortress. Since the tirne of its construction, it had gradually filled up with household refuse,

ashes from the hearths and ovens, food leftovers, offal, etc. Waste pipes ran into it. As early as the

WBsr op ASSUn: THs Lrs aNt Truns op rne Mrn¡Ls Ass\.RrAN Duu¡¡u 101

beginning of the twelfth century BC the ditch was nearly completely hidden from view and partlybuilt over by auxiliary structures.

The renovation of the fortress had yet another important consequence: most of the earlierarchitecture in the immediate surroundings (between the walls of the dunnu and the former moat)was pulled down. A wholesale clearing took place, with the houses and other, auxiliary, structuresalmost fully levelled. The extensive potter's installations in the southeast area went out of use, butthey seem to have been replaced by a new workshop within the walls of the stronghold itself, thathas already been discussed. Only a few of the earlier buildings to the northeast and east of thefortress, each at a reasonable distance from the walls, seem to have remained in use, although in amodified and expanded form.

Important changes in the layout and organization of the foftress took place once again inthe 1 180s, when parts of the dunnu appears to have been destroyed by fire and when buildings wereallowed to collapse once more. The ending of the settlement in a violent conflagration is shown bythe blackening of floors and walls and the deposition of a thick layer of burnt, sintered mud-brickdebris, black ashes and burnt wooden beams, particularly in the central tower, the residence andsome of the buildings in their vicinity. Large quantities of charred cereals in several silos andstorage structures, too, are indicative of fire and destruction.

There is sorre intriguing evidence suggesting that the fire and destruction constitute thefinal pinnacle of an episode of crisis, which had already begun one or several years before. Thebest indications for this come from the residence, which, prior to the onset of the fire, appears tohave lost its residential role and was turned into a granary, with tons of cleaned barley (field weedshad been sorted out) stored in its main halls. These areas were all ill-suited for the bulk storage ofgrain; rather, the grain must have been kept in sacks which were placed along the walls.Significantly, one of the former bathrooms in the residence now served as a threshing-floor,judging from the extensive botanical residues on the brick-paved floor, whereas other rooms wereused to process grain, as evidenced by the presence oflarge, basalt grinding slabs. The astonishingtransformation of the residence, one of the most prominent architectural features at the site formany decades, into what seems to have been a mere barn, is difficult to explain, unless we assumethat the role and impofiance of the local Assyrian authority had come to an end, with no furlherneed for emblems of power and prestige in the form of monumental architecture.

We are inclined to associate the shift in the architectural organization and the ultimatedestruction of the forlress and its prestige buildings with the death of lll-padâ and the çoncurrentdissensions between IlT-padâ's son Ninurta-apil-Ekur and the royal courl (see below). The internalconflicts within the highest echelon of the kingdom may have deprived the dunnu of its privilegedaccess to the sources of power and the implied benefits of its local position.

6.1.3 Endings: The Levels 4 and 3 SettlementsThe destruction turned the heart of the dunnu into an extensive field of ruins. Although the wallsmust still have been standing to a height of several metres at least, the roofs and upper parls of themonumental tower, the residence and a number of other buildings had wholly collapsed. Theirrooms were filled in with bulþ deposits of fallen mud bricks and other building debris, coveringwhat was destroyed by the fire. The ruins served for the construction of bread ovens and storagebins, the disposal of ashes and other household waste, and the interment of both adults and children(see below). There were attempts to renovate part of the damaged buildings; the renovation,however, did not include the tower and the residence, which were left to decay.

The programme of reconstruction (level 4; ftgtre 6.14) brought important changes in boththe layout and the functioning of the dunnu. The current evidence suggests that the emphasis ofsettlement was in the north and northwest, where it involved the partial levelling of earlier features,the construction of new floors atop the destruction debris, the blocking of what previously was themain gateway to the fortress, and the entire revision of room partitioning in the buildings that wereconsidered to be still suitable for habitation. A kind of ribbon building stood along the former

102 P. Arrp.nlr¡,Ns .rxn F.'Wrcc¡RvaNN

defensive wall of the fortress in the north, comprising what seem to have been two contiguous

houses of more or less eQual size (houses 1 and2 on figure 6.14).Each house consisted of one

large room and several smaller ones, with sanitary installations at their western rear end. In front ofeach house, up to the still-standing ruins of the tower and the residence, was a large, open yard,Iheone separated from the other by a thick wall with a passage in the middle (a remainder of the

previous, level 5, settlement). A small, one-roomed building containing fireplaces and other

installations was set in the yard in front of house 1, probably this structure seled as a kitchen.

FGI]IJKLMNOPO

l-iari I house 1

,-,ìillrlllll

house

it.llt )

-t írl_i

t-,1l-llr

t0

11

12

13

15

EI,il

-t

LI¡I I[._]

I rr-.-lr Jili

ârchilecture in ruined slale

fe,l Sabi Abyad

Middle Assyrian Forlress

Level 4

0 30m

Figure 6.14: Plan of the level4 dunnu and the location of houses I and,2.

The re-use of earlier, still-standing walls also holds for a number of rooms in the

northwest, along the ',vestern outer wall of the settlement. It is not impossible that these rooms

constitute a third house, although the lack of sanitary facilities suggests another, auxiliary, use,

probably in relation to house 1. A large updraught kiln stood in the open areato the north ofhouse1. It is obvious that pottery was still locally produced at Tell Sabi Abyad, as it was in previoustimes (Akkermans and Duistermaat 2001).

There is some evidence for sparse and dispersed occupation elsewhere in and around the

ruins of the dunnu, in the form of the occurrence of bread ovens and storage bins and theoccasional renewal of earlier walls and floors. However, it is clear that the settlement did not regain

its former size and rural grandeur. It remains doubtful whether the settlement was still fortif,red atthis time. The defensive wall of the earlier dunnu musf still have stood to some height, but it is

Wssr op ASSUR: THB Lrrs aND Tlrrrns op rHB MrrnI-e AssvRr¿,¡t Du¡¿¡¿u 103

unknown in what condition. The blocking of the original gate indicates that access to the settlementhad been moved, probably to the east (near house 2).

The final building level 3 is little different from its predecessor. The continuous habitationled to the accumulation of domestic waste in and around the yards in front of the houses in thenorth. Moreover, the ruins of the earlier buildings were in an ongoing process of decay andcollapse, with more and more debris filling in their rooms. In response to this constant heighteningof the areas of occupation, new floors were repeatedly constructed in the buildings, which, in theirturn, must have required the additional raising and renewal of the roofs. Moreover, the yards wereincreasingly built upon with an aggregation of contiguous, small and irregular structures, theirwalls constructed of a single row of mud bricks. Usually they contain one or more circular breadovens or low storage bins. It is doubtful whether these buildings were always roofed; at least some

areas may have been working spaces open to the elements, bounded by low, ephemeral walls usedfor partitioning or as wind shields.

Interestingly, a small number of cuneiform texts found in and around the level 4-3

architecture shows the continuing existence of local and regional functionaries and of thecentralized administration of foodstuffs such as sesame. Thus, despite the decrease of its size and

the decay of its monumental buildings (the tower and residence), the dunnu still functioned in an

imperial system of administration and control, albeit at a much reduced level.The duration of use of this final Assyrian ouþost at Tell Sabi Abyad remains difficult to

establish. It began presumably around 1180 BC, after the death of lli-padâ and after the death ordisappearance of Tammitte some time later. In view of the building activities and (re)constructionsof the architecture, it may have lasted for two or three generations, say 40-50 years. Textualevidence, too, suggests that the dunnuhad been abandoned by the end of the twelfth century BC at

the latest þossibly during the reign of A5ður-rëða-i5i, 1132-1115 BC; see below).

6.2 The BurialsSeveral dozens of burials have been uncovered in the dunnu at Tell Sabi Abyad, including bothadults and children of various ages. So far, the sample comprises 32 inhumations and 8 cremations,with a total of 47 individuals. Most graves were simple, shallow pits, although there were also anumber of more elaborate tombs, built of mud bricks along the sides of the pit and with brickscovering the corpse. In one case, a large pit had been dug first, and then from this pit the actualburial chamber was undercut to the side. When the corpse had been placed inside the grave, it wasclosed with upended mud-bricks and the pit was refilled. Another type of grave consisted ofchildren buried in largejars (figure 6.15). Onejar even contained two child skeletons. The rate ofchild mortality was considerable, with almost one third of the children dying within in their firstyear (Otte 2005; Düring et al.2014).

to4 P. ArreRMaNs aNr F.'WrccsRMaNN

.,,1 þ .

Figure 6.15: A child two or three years old, buried in a large pottery jar.The child was well equþed with ornaments, including two bronze anklets, two necklaces

and a shell headdress. A small rectangular piece ofochre laid upon the abdomen.

The dead were lying either in a crouching posture on their side or in an extended positionon their back, usually with raised knees (figures 6.16-18). Single graves were predominant,although double inhumations occurred occasionally as well. One mass grave contained fiveindividuals buried at the same time. The bodies seemed to have been thrown into the pitunceremoniously; perhaps they were the victims of an execution or a disease (Atkermans andRossmeisl 1990: 23-4 and fig. l3b).

Many (but not all) graves had funerary gifts, comprising usually one or more pottery bowlsand / or personal ornaments like bronze bracelets, anklets, rings, earrings, and necklaces with beadsof various kinds of material. A handful of burials contained more exotic goods as well, such as goldjewellery, faience bowls or cylinder seals (which seem to have been attached to necklacesoriginally). In one of the child graves a small stone pendant was found, which is without doubtprehistoric and which was reused as a personal omament in Assl'rian times. Several burialscontained a ram's skull and other animal bone (figure 6.18), which must have been interred in theflesh and which were perhaps the remains of a funeral meal (cf. Akkermans and Rossmeisl 1990:2s).

Roughly one fourth of the graves were cremations, with the burnt skeletal remains usuallyplaced inside an urn and then interred into a pit. One grave provided solid proof that the urn wasoriginally covered with a cloth tied with cord and carried a clay sealing with a cylinder-sealimpression. This vessel contained the burnt remains of two young adults - a man and a woman,both between 20 and 40 years old. It also contained alarge collection ofnecklaces, rings, pendants,earrings, gem settings and other jewellery made of gold, bronze, iron, stone and bone. Thiscremation is ascribed to either level 4 or level 3.

Wesr oF ASSun: Tns Lne A.No Trrr¡Bs op rHB MlnrreAsS\.RIAN Duw¡¡u 105

Figure 6.16: Burial of a child approximately three years old, placed in a pit lined with mud bricks.Grave gifts consisted of two pottery bowls and five bronze rings.

I

lll

I

Figure 6.17: A child, th¡ee or four years old, lying in an extended position on the backin a small mud-brick tomb. Grave goods consisted of two pottery bowls, both upside down.

Fr06 P. Arx¡ruraNs eu¡ F. Vy'lccpnuauN

Figure 6.l S: Burial of an adult male, between 40 and 44 years old, lying in an extendedposition on the back, with raised knees. V/e see a small pottery bowl and a ram's skull behindthe head ofthe deceased. Other sheep bone was found around and underneath the skeleton. A

faience cylinder seal in good Middle Assyrian style was lying on the skeleton's chest.Originally the seal was no doubt attached to a necklace.

In one case the burnt bones and other content were not placed in a vessel but buried in ashallow, square pit straightaway. The pit was filled with ashes and burnt wood (undoubtedly fromthe funeral pyre), and also contained many hundreds of ornaments of all kinds. There were morethan 1200 beads made of colourful stones, faience and gold (originally part of a number ofnecklaces), as well as a faience scarab, bone hair ornaments, and parts of gold and bronze rings,bracelets, pins, earrings and pendants, one of them in the shape of an animal. There was also aconsiderable quantity of broken and incomplete pottery in the pit. Both the ornaments and theceramics were damaged by the funerary fire and partly molten and deformed. The finds allow areconstruction of the cremation ritual: somewhere on the tell a large funeral pyre was constructed,on which the deceased was placed, probably dressed and adomed with ornaments. Pottery, too, wasplaced on the pyre or, perhaps, ritually broken. Then the pyre was lit, no doubt in the presence ofthose who stood in some kind of relation to the deceased. After the corpse had been burnt, theremains were gathered and buried in a pit that had been specially dug for this purpose. Thiscremation belongs to level 6.

The richness of frnds in the two cremations described above is exceptional; the othercremations contained either simply a number of beads or no goods at all. Interestingly, the ramskulls found in the inhumations occurred in some of the cremation pits as well.

The date of the graves at Tell Sabi Abyad is not always easy to establish, since many ofthem were found close to the surface of the mound, where erosion has taken away the surface iromwhich these graves were dug. The burials occur throughout the sequence of occupation, althoughthe majority seems to belong to the final stages of settlement, i.e. the upper building levels 4-3 ofthe twelfth century BC. It is recalled thar alarge part of the dunnu was aãeserted ruin at this time,thus facilitating its use as a burial site (for aparullel situation at Tell Fekheriye, see Bonatz 2013).The pottery and other finds in the graves are all in good Middle Assyrian style and do not post-datethe local occupation. With respect to the cremations it is important to note that at least onô of them

.Wnsr op ASSun: THs Lm's aut Tnrss op rHB Mrn¡rs Assynrax Du¡a¿u I07

is dated to the lower level 6, indicating that the practice of cremation was already en vogue at thesite in the late thirteenth centurv BC.

6.3 Aspects of Material Culture: Pottery and Small Finds in the DannaThe excavations in the Middle Assyrian layers at Tell Sabi Abyad have yielded rich and highlydiverse material-culture assemblages, most of them consisting of what one would expect in day-to-day domestic contexts: ceramics, basalt grinding slabs, pestles, mortars and other ground-stonetools, bone implements, metal tools, spindle whorls, etc. These assemblages probably differ littlefrom those at sites and in ordinary houses elsewhere. There are, however, a number of findcategories - seals, sealings and cuneiform tablets - which seem to have had a much more limitedintra and intersite distribution; with respect to their role in the Assyrian administrative orgatization,they were probably the prerogative of the officials at the dunnu.

Pottery, as may be expected, has been unearthed in sheer inexhaustible quantities in theBronze Age occupations at Tell Sabi Abyad. Many hundreds of thousands of sherds, as well asover 2000 complete or reconstructable vessels, have been recovered so far, which provide a uniqueinsight into the diversity of ceramics and the use thereof in the Middle Assl'rian period(Duistermaat 2008, this volume). Overall, the pottery constitutes a relatively coherent assembiagecharactenzed by a number of 'typical'Middle Assyrian traits (figure 6.19). Most ceramics (over90% of the assemblage) were made of a clay with added vegetal inclusions, probably chaff oranimal dung. In the case of cooking pots, çoarse quartz or calcite was added for temperingpulposes. Fine clay without any such inclusions was used for the manufacture of delicate, thin-walled goblets. As to shapes, the repertoire typically contains carinated bowls in various sizes,straight-sided bowls, deep bowls with hammer rims, small jars with simple rounded rims, large jarswith rolled rims, straight-sided and curved-walled goblets, strainers, pot stands with triangularrims, and large storage vessels (figures 6.20-22). The pottery is rarely decorated; if a decorationoccurs, it consists usually of incised wa\y or straight lines or of applied clay bands imitating arope. This kind of pottery is well-known from other Middle Assyrian sites in Syria and kaq andrepresents what has been called the Middle Assyrian 'standard' repertoire (PfÌilzner 1995: 199, cf.Duistermaat, this volume).

Figure 6.19: A set of typical Middle Assyrian jars, pots and bowls found at Tell Sabi Abyad.

108 P. Arx¡nueNs eN¡ F. WccpRlrlamv

However, the excavations at Tell Sabi Abyad have also produced a wide range of ceramicswhich deviate from the stairdard repertoire. They include vessels made for special purlor"r, such asthe large, deep bowls with spout and handle(i), so-called .pilgrim

flasks^,, "oomnj

,r"rr"il urralarge bowls with a strainer attached to the insidó (figure e .zi, íos. s-À;. rnere were"also cariiated.bowls with a long, straight wall above the carination-, ,ourrdeá bowls, jars with u ,q.ru.irn ,ì-, ¡u^with handles' and burnished cups with handles (figure 6.23, nos. t-it). ctare¿ p"tt.ry å""r."0twice (figure 6'23, no' 12). Rare and unique

"ru*pl-., of an âppliqué àecoration include the use ofsmall animal or human figures on the neck of pots (frgurå 6.23, no. 13). some shapes arereminiscent of an earlier, Mittani tradition of poìtery -ãnua"¡rá, and túey might bË eitherheirlooms, vessels found at the site by Middle A¡syriän people ¿igéng in tné ir¿itîani iùr"r zlruins, or products of a contemporary, non-Middle Assyrian'"rå-i" ñã¿ition. These shapes' in"rrr¿"

the. so-called 'grain measures' (figure 6.23, no.8), burnished carinated bowls withì*p.àrr"o,white-filled circle decoration (frgure 6.23, nos.3-4), and a bumished jar (figure 6.23, rc. l0).Possibly, at least some of these rare shapes were imported rather than made ãt t"tt Sabi Abyaditself (Duistermaat this volume).A important aspect of the ceramic finds at Tell Sabi Abyad is the extensive evidence forlocal pottery production,in building levels 6 to 4. Several workshops have been identified, inassociation with updraught kilns, unfired pottery, tools, wasters, etc. Tïe organizationof the localcraft seems to have been ofa professional but unassumin g, practicalnature, probably including oneor two full-time potters and several assistants, who põd.,ced most of tñe ceramics for ãaily,utilitarian use by the staffand dependents ofthe dunnu(and, occasionally, other dunnusu, *"ii;. ttis doubtful whether the potters themselves were part of the ofÍicial, Assyrian administration,

although it is clear that they worked by order of this dunnu administration aná under lt, p.ãt*t1",and authority (Duistermaat, this volume). The Middle Assyrian pott"., ut the site basicall'f ,""rn ,ocontinue the old traditions predominant in the previo* ug" of Mittani, but there are somedifferences, particularly with respect to the decreaie of shapJ and ware variability as well as thedecrease of time spent on decoration and 'special' shapes. rhir -"f have ha¿ to ¿o witn

"nung", ioconsumer demands and the.organtzation of production under the l¿i¿¿t" Assyrian -unug"-ãrr, orthe western province of Khanigalbat. Perhâps, fewer potters norv nuà to produce more vessels,while there was less need for atypical or luxury vessels since there was no competition on a freemarket.

Wesr or ASSuR: Tnp Llpe eN¡ TrMss oF rnn Mrnu-E AssyRrAN Du¡ttwu 109

\7\J;\l .;'\,,r ç7 \¡ \7? 3 4 5 6

\.¡I I 10 11

\.13 14 15

16 17

\,rt \,t \r1S 19 zg

?4 25

1.¡-

,('ì

zfr ç r0cr 27

Figure 6.20: Bowls (nos. 1-17); nipple-based goblets (nos. 18-23); andpots (nos.24-27).Levels 6-4 at Tell Sabi Abyad.

P, ArusRMaNs eNo F. Wccpnva¡w110

û 20cm

It,

2

I

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I

I

4

7

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Figure 6.21: Jars (nos. 1-6); strainers (nos.7-9); andpotstands (nos. 10-11)Levels 6-4 at Tell Sabi Abyad.

'Wnsr op ASSUn: THe Llps aND Trvps op rus Mn¡rn ASSvRIAN Dut\tNU 111

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Figare 6.22: Large storage vessels (nos. 1-4); deep bowl with spout and handle (no. 5); deep bowl withstrainer and hole in the base (no. 6); pilgrim flask (no. 7); and cooking vessel with handles (no. 8).

Levels 6-4 at Tell Sabi Abyad.

t12 P. ArrsRMaNs ¡,Nn F. WrccsnvawN

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2 3

4

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11

12 13 f¡ ' zocr

Figure 6.23: Carinated bowls with straight wall above carination (nos. l-4), sometimes grey-bumishedwith impressed, white-filled (gypsum) decoration (nos. 3-4); rounded bowls (nos. 5-6); burnished cup

with handle (no. 7); 'grain measure' (no. 8); large jar (no. 9); bumished jar (no. 10); large jar withhandle and pointed base (no. I l); bowl with green glaze inside and outside (no. l2); and pot withappliqué decoration in the form of stylised human figures (no. 13). Levels 6-4 at Tell Sabi Abyad.

7

Wssr op ASÈIln: THs LrpE aN¡ Trvrss op rHB Mrt¡rp Ass\aRrAN Du¡,tuu 113

Ground-stone tools constitute another material-culture category that was used in greatabundance at Middle Assyrian Tell Sabi Abyad. Large slabs of basalt and, in smaller quantities,limestone, sandstone and other stones were used for the manufacfure of a wide range of objects forthe grinding of cereals, other food products and pigments. Pestles and hand grinders came in manydifferent sizes and shapes, according to their use in different circumstances. Particular attention isdrawn to the basalt grinders in the form of stylized human figures, between 16 and 21 cm in height(figure 6.24). They are represented in a standing posture, with their body and face rendered highlyschematically, and without any explicit indications of gender. The arms, if indicated, are bent infront ofthe chest. These statuettes bear a close resemblance to the so-called'stone spirits'whichhave been found at so many Middle and Late Bronze Age sites in Syro-Mesopotamia and theLevant and which are thought to have served as guardians against evil and black magic (Carter1970). In the case ofTell Sabi Abyad, the statuettes have occurred exclusively in levels 6 to 4 sofar, either in isolation in what seem to have been mere debris layers outside the architecture, or aspart of piles of grinding stones stored in small receptacles.e

Ø

ØØ

Figure 6.24: Basalt grinders in the form of stylized human figures.

e See also the limestone statuette found in one of the rooms of the central tower (Akkermans et al. 1993: 28-

29 andfi.g.22).

tl4 P. Arx¡ruøaNs,q.Nn F. WlcceRMaNN

Hundreds of rnetal objects have been recovered from the Middle Assyrian layers. Theywere predominantly made of bronze, but items of iron, lead and gold occurred as well. The metalfinds usually represent simple toggle pins, used to fasten garments or hair, but there were alsoweapons, including spearheads, arrowheads and daggers, as well as a number ofbronze dishes and

pierced, flattened straws for drinking beer. Bronze was also used for the production of agriculturaltools such as crescent-shaped sickles (fîgure 6.25).t0 Metal seems to have been widely in use forthe production ofpersonal ornaments, such as rings, earrings and bracelets ofgold, bronze and,to a

limited extent, iron. A handful of simple, flattened animal figurines have been recovered,predominantly made of lead.

Figure 6.25: A small brot:øe sickle found, amidst several large pottery jars containingcharred grain, on the floor in an auxiliary structure outside the level 5 fortress.

The many seals and sealings unearthed at the site provide an interesting picture ofthe localpractices of administration and storage. So far, 19 cylinder seals made of stone and clay and morethan 170 clay sealings have been found (Akkermans 1997; Duistermaat in prep.). Impressions ofseals also occur regularly on cuneiforrn tablets. The seals depict a variety ofscenes ofprayer andcontest, including gods, goddesses, Mischwesen,hetoes, warriors, animals, etc. (figure 6.26). Therewere also seals made in a simple geometrical style. One cylinder seal kept in a jat was in anunfinished state (figure 6.8), suggesting that seal cutters were practising their craft at Tell SabiAbyad. The seals were found in a variety of contexts: on the floors of buildings, in pottery vesselsstored in these structures, in refuse layers outside the architecture, and in graves (as part ofnecklaces wom by the deceased: figure 6.26,to. 5).

The sealings, nearly all made of clay (the single exception was made of bitumen),predominantly come from building level 5, although they have also been found in small quantitiesin levels 6 and 4. They often show impressions of cylinder seals or, rarely, stamp seals. So far, theimpressions of 31 different seals, predominantly executed in mainstream Assyrian style, have beenidentified, none of which correlates with one of the seals excavated at the site. Moreover, most ofthem occur only once. The sealings can be divided into two $oups: those that sealed doors (andtherefore must have been applied at the site itself) and those that sealed portable goods (and

r0 The texts found at Tell Sabi Abyad inform us that in one year over 400 bronze sickles were divided amongthe farmers to bring in the harvest - a few of these tools have actually been found during excavation.

Wssr or ASSUR: Tns Lrp's aNo Tmns op rus Mntlp AssyRrAN Du¡¡uu 115

therefore probably came from,elsewhere). Door sealings occur in two types. One type was used toseal doors which were closed with a rope wound around a stone cylindrical knob. The other typewas used to seal doors with ropes wound around a wooden peg, cylindrical or facetted in shape.The category of sealed portable goods comprised a variety of containers, including pottery jars(closed with a piece of cloth), bags, possibly a basket, and at least two wooden boxes (on thereverse of one sealing the boards of the box and a knob are clearly visible). Associated with the boxsealings were collections of cuneiform tablets that were probably stored inside the boxes. Only twoseals were used for the sealing of both doors and portable objects. The others were used exclusivelyfor the sealing ofeither doors or portable goods.

iì¡r:

:",,.j ''''

Figwe 6.26: Selection of cylinder-seal impressions in good Middle Assyrian style.No. 1: cylinder-seal impression on clay envelope (T02-4), found on the floor in a level 6 building.

No. 2: cylinder-seal impression on clay envelope (T96-27), found in a level 4 pit.No. 3: cylinder-seal impression on door sealing (099-329), found in a level 5 building.

No. 4: impression of black stone cylinder seal (298-1), found on the floor in a level 5 yard.No. 5: impression of faience cylinder seal (201-6), found in a male burial, lying on the skeleton's chest.

Originally the seal was no doubt attached to a necklace. Probably level 6.

116 P. A<rnnu.qxs aNr F.'WicceRMaN¡'l

6.4.1 Texts and ArchivesTo date, some 400 cuneiform tablets and envelopes have been unearthed at Tell Sabi Abyad, a

great majority of these being of unbaked clay (figure 6.27). Other inscribed objects, such as seals,

sealings and pottery vessels, are rare. About a quarter of the texts are more or less completely

preserved. The remainder is in various states of fragmentation. The majority of the texts are related

to the administration of what appear to have been the basic functions of the dunnu, i.e. agriculture

and regional safety. They include letters which bring the dunnu info line with the Assyrian

government elsewhere in the western province, lists of Assyrian and foreign dependents who

supply the agricultural and military work force, records of materials distributed or in storage, and

contracts with officials, merchants and local civilians. Rare texts include a poorly preservecl

collection of verdicts (denanu) rendered by llÎ-padâ in the nearby town of Sahlalu, and a treaty ofthe same official with the Sutean Nihsãnu tribe. Texts in support of other roles associated with an

Assyrian provincial centre are few: there are some tablets with extracts from a liver omen series

(composed perhaps on the occasion of an extispicy) and there are tablets with collections of hymns

and prayers (one of them mentioning king A55ur-nãdin-apli). The latter are possibly related to alocal expression of the coronation festivities in the capital of A55ur. Although there is evidence forthe presence ofat least two scribes, there are no school texts at Tell Sabi Abyad.

Figure 6.27 : Selection of cuneiform texts found in the level 5 dunnu at Tell Sabi Abyad.

Most texts belong to building level 5, i.e. the time of grand vizier Ill-padâ and his steward

Tammitte (ca. 1194-1181 BC). Only some 35 texts belong to the upper building levels 4-3. Findspot and contents (basically the names of the main officials and the llmu dates) allow the definitionof eight groups of tablets, which may loosely be called 'archives'. The archives comprise about

four-fifth ofthe total number oftablets. They are ordered below in the sequence oftheir discovery:

1. An archive associated with the office and habitation (?) of the lower administration, i.e. the

scribes in the service of the steward (17 texts; level 5). A passage in the eastem defensive

wall of the dunnu gave access to the working area outside the walled precinct; one text

found in the archive of the lower administration suggests that the areas inside and outside

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WBsr op ASSUn: Tns Llps aND Trlrps op rH¡ Mrnnrs AssyRrAN Du¡'nvu lt7

the wall were distinguiqhed as the 'main dunnu' (the stronghold) and the'dunnu of theSufbareans]' (the working area outside).

2. An archive associated with the storage rooms, mill and ovens of Paya, the baker (25 texts;level 5).

3. An archive associated with the offices and habitation (?) of the steward and the domesticstaff (58 texts; level 5). An inner room of this large building in the northeast of the dunnucontained the earliest texts found so far: a group of 9 sealed and,/or witnessed contractsmade up many years before the period of llï-padâ and Tammitte (these contracts wereapparently not yet settled and, hence, preserved). In these texts IlI-padâ's father Að$ur-iddin and Tammitte's predecessor Mannu-kî-Adad occur as the active officials. The earliestllmu filllrctionary in this group is Sunu-qardü, who belongs in the first decade of Tukulti-Ninurta I.

4. An archive from two pits sunk from the upper level 4, which together contained 28 textsdating back to building level 6. These texts refer to the grand vizier Sulmãnu-muðabði andhis steward Mannu-kî-Adad, and contain hmus such as Ka5tilia5u and Ninuayû, whichindicate a date late in the reign of Tukulti-Ninurta I. Apparently the texts were preservedthrough the end oflevel 6 and through the subsequent level 5, and were disposed ofduringlevel 4.

5. An archive associated with the steward's office in the northwestern comer of the centralcourtyard (137 texts; level 5). Apparently the steward, Tammitte, received guests andpersonnel in the main public courtyard and kept some of his records close at hand. Therewere scribes present, who wrote the records and sometimes witnessed contracts betweenprivate persons and the Assyrian authorities.

6. An archive associated with the office of the brewer, Silli-Iðtar-Nabula (4 texts; level 5).These texts were found in a small room in the old gate. This room cannot have been thebrewery itself, where we would expect large vessels, ovens, and water.

7 . An archive of some 25 tablets on a pebble floor next to two large ceramic jars (level 5). Asthe tablets were lying only about 30 cm below the surface level of the tell, they areunfortunately badly preserved.

8. An archive of 36 tablets which were lying, amidst fallen bricks, in a heap against a wall ina yard between two buildings. These texts are undoubtedly out oftheir original context andmust have ended up in the yard as refuse. They form a more or less coherent groupapparently belonging to the reign of Aðður-nãdin-apli, covering the transition from buildinglevel 6 to level 5 at the site. The group is marked by the presence of some extraordinarytexts: omen extracts, a collection of hymns to Iðtar mentioning king Að5ur-nãdin-apli, acollection ofjudicial verdicts rendered by IlÎ-padâ, and a treaty between Ili-padâ and theleaders of Nihsãnu tribe of the Suteans.

6.4.2 Texts and ChronologyThe earliest datable text at Tell Sabi Abyad (ttmu Sunu-qardü) belongs in the f,rrst decade of thereign of Tukulti-NinurtaI(1233-1197 B,C). Since there is no local textual evidence for a MiddleAssyrian occupation at the site preceding this date, nor for officials preceding the grand vizierAðður-iddin and his steward Mannu-li-Adad, it may be assumed that the dunnubegan its existenceprecisely then, as a fresh initiative of the new king and the new grand vizier. Consequently, we take1225 BC as the approximate beginning of Assyrian occupation at Tell Sabi Abyad (building level6).

After an ambitious start, the level 6 settlement ended in disarray, with the moat filled inand buildings decaying inside and outside the walls (see above). Textual evidence for this phase islimited, and there is nothing to suggest a cause for the decline; in any case a slow process ofdeteriorating conditions is more likely than a sudden crisis. The approximate end of this period ofdecay is marked by a letter (T02-32) found in the fill of a ruined level 6 building. The letter appears

118 P. Arx¡ruraNs ¡N¡ F. WIccSRMeNN

to have been written shortly afrcr a rnourning ritual for the 'dead one', apparently Tukulti-NinurtaI, and an audience with the 'living one', apparently A55ur-nãdin-apli. At the time of these

occasions, Ill-padâ is in A55ur, waiting in vain for his steward Mannu-kî-Adad to pay his respects

to the new king (Wiggermarn2006).Building level 5 began during the reign of Aðður-nãdin-apli (1196-1194 BC),'when Ill-

padâ and his chariots returned to the fortresses' (T93-10). Early during this king's reign, Mannu-

kî-Adad disappeared and is succeeded by Buriya, steward ofthe dunnu for only a few years. Buriya

in his tum is succeeded by Tammitte (ca. ll94 BC), who would remain in office until after the

death of lll-padâ at the end of building level 5.

Building level 5 lasted through the reigns of Aðður-nrrãrî III (1193-1188 BC), Enlil-kudurri-usur (1137-1183 BC), and parl of the reign of Ninurta-apil-Ekur (1182-1170 BC). It seem

to end when Tammitte's archive was abandoned in the corridor of his office off the main reception

court (archive 5; see above), but the exact year is unknown. On the assumption that it was III-padâ's death that triggered events in A55ur as well as in his dunnu at Tell Sabi Abyad, both a

reason and a date can be suggested for the end of the level 5 settlement. When III-padâ died duringthe reign of Enlil-kudurri-usur, III-padâ's son, Ninurta-apil-Ekur, was supposed to succeed him as

grand vizier and king of Khanigalbat. Instead, however, Ninurta-apil-Ekur was exiled, presumably

because the king wanted to rid himself of a rival ruling half of the Assyrian empire. Then, after a

brief period in exile, Ninurta-apil-Ekur returned to A55ur and took the throne for hirnself in 1183

BC. By doing so, Ninurta-apil-Ekur united the kingship of Khanigalbat (his inheritance) with that

of Aiður. Once Khanigalbat's former first family ruled in A55ur, the special status of the western

province and the family's possessions there changed: Tell Sabi Abyad and the olher dunnu'sbecame provincial backwaters. Tammitte still held out for several years after his master's death but

was not replaced, while the buildings with representative or military significance (the central towerand the residence) were allowed to fall into ruins. Thus, the date for the end of building level 5 can

be set within the reign of Ninurta-apil-Ekur, around 1180 BC.After building level 5 written documentation for the history of Tell Sabi Abyad and its

region becomes limited. A letter (T97-1) found in one of the upper levels shows that there was stillsome form of centralized Assyrian control in the region, with a state offtcial (holder of a pahutu)residing at Tell Sabi Abyad, with his 'lord' (a higher-ranking Assyrian official) residing elsewhere,

and with his servant apparently travelling between Tell Sabi Abyad and the residence of the 'lord'.Another text of this period (T93-42) records quantities of sesame being disbursed to (or received

from) five persons, showing a degree of internal orgatization and the presence of an

administration. The fact lhat texts from level 6 survived through level 5 into the upper level 4,

where they were finally buried (archive 4), confirms the presence of such an administration, as wellas its continuity. The language and script of the few late texts are in standard Middle Assyrian.

Among the level 6 texts buried in the upper level 4, there is one possibly later text that maygive a clue as to the date of their burial. It is a badly broken letter dated Lo the hmu Ninurta-fnãdin]-apli, who seems to belong to the time of A55ur-re5a-iði (1132-l 1 15 BC), say around 1125. The fact,however, that the llmu is broken and that the addressee of the letter can be reconstructed as

Mannfu-kî-Adad], the steward in the level 6 texts of this group, counsels restraint.

6.5.1 The Middte Assyrian Dunna at Tell Sabi Abyad in the Local ContextThe Middle Assyrian dunnu atTell Sabi Abyad primarily served as a fortified farmstead. It was the

centre of an agricultural area with a radius of approximately 3.5 km, coinciding with the well-watered, arable stretch of land between the Balikh in the west and the higher-situated terraces in the

east (Wiggermann 2000). To the south there is little or no evidence for the presence of Assyrianinstallations, although the texts indicate that the city of Tuttul at the confluence of Balikh and

Euphrates was still inhabited. The number of Assyrian settlements increases to the nor1h, withpopulation centres at Harran and Huzirina, just across the modern Syro-Turkish border.

Wpsr opASSUn: TnB LrrB eNo TtN,tss or rns MtonI.BAss\.RIAN Du¡wu rt9

The lands of fhe dunnu were tilled by unfree iiluhlu serfs, comprising roughly 450 men,

women and children, as well as'by freebom alaju'villagers', again some 450 men, women andchildren. Prior to the Middle Assyrian occupation, the Balikh region was probably largely deserted,

at least by farming communities (Akkermans and Rossmeisl 1990; Curvers 1991; Lyon 2000. See

also Mallowan 1946: 132). Therefore, most or all of these labourers must have been imported: the

iiluhlu with their predominantly Hurrian names came from the conquered territories to the north ofthe Jazirah, whereas the alaju with their predominantly Assyrian names came from the well-populated Assyrian heartlands on the Tigris and possibly the Upper Khabur. In view of the currentarchaeological evidence, these people cannot all have lived at the mound ofSabi Abyad itself; theymust have been dispersed over small, local sites in the neighbourhood, such as, for example,Khirbet esh-Shenef (Wiggermann 2000; see also Bartl 1990).

The proprietor of the dunnu, the grand vizier, used the proceeds of his extensive farmingoperations to finance his public tasks. Most of the surplus grain went into the maintenance of the

armed forces, particularly the extremely expensive chariotry. The steward at the site used part ofthe work force under his control for the manufacture of weapons and chariots, for which the rawmaterials were imported from elsewhere (if necessary).

Establishing an agricultural estate in a previously deserted region has the advantage notonly that problems of ownership and exploitation are avoided but also that a power vacuum is

discontinued - a vacuum from which the mobile pastoralists of the steppe might profit. In fact, the

texts in the dunnu at Tell Sabi Abyad show the Assyrians trying to win control (and succeeding indoing so!) over the local pastoralist hibes and to use these tribes in their regional power play. Ofprime importance in understanding the relationship between the settled Assyrian administration andthe local pastoralists is text T04-37, representing a treaty between IlT-padâ and the NihsãnuSuteans. The text defines the enemies of Assyria as the Kassites, Suheans, Subfareans; Hittites (?)],and other Suteans, and stipulates that the Nihsãnu Suteans should not provide these people withshelter or food. Other texts show that the Suteans informed the Assyrians about suspect movements

of the Suheans, and about anything that happened on the vast plains of the Jazirah. The treaty ends

with two paragraphs concerning the drinking habits of the Suteans, apparently a source ofannoyance to the Assyrians:

"If a Sutean has gone to the town, he [may not drink his beer] at the brewer's; has he takenthe beer with him to the tent camp, he fcan drink] his beer (there); they may sell his beer tohim, but he shall not ftake it with him] without pa¡rment."

The second paragraph treats a problem concerning beer taken away on credit; apparently the

Assyrians were in the habit of picking up just any Sutean available and to demand from him the

interest due. This type of discriminatory behaviour naturally annoyed the Suteans and was

legislated against in the treaty.Besides agriculture and the implied prevention of a pastoralist take-over, the geographical

position and the texts point towards a third major function of the Assyrian settlement at Tell Sabi

Abyad. Situated between the Assyrian heartland on the one side and the Hittite viceroyalty ofKarkami5 on the other, with apparently no impodant Assyrian settlements to the west, lhe dunnu

served as a custom post for merchant caravans coming from western Syria and the Levant, as a

centre for political and military intelligence, and as a base camp for army operations and borderpatrols.

6.5.2 The Middle Assyrian Dunnu at Tell Sabi Abyad and the HittitesAfter the death of Tukulti-Ninurta I in ll97 BC, the westem province of Khanigalbat continued tobe a fully integrated part of the Middle Assyrian empire, ruled by the grand vizier and 'king ofKhanigalbat', IlT-padâ (ca. ll97-1183 BC). Since the other regional centres which produced texts

during the reign of Tukulti-Ninurta I, US5ukanni (Tell Fekheriye), Kharbe (Tell Chuera) and Dür-Katlimmu (Tell Sheiktr Hamad), stopped doing so around the death of that king, the texts found inlevel 5 at Tell Sabi Abyad (ca. 1194-1181 BC) are the only ones that document this first quarter of

120 P' ArcanveNs aNp F Wtccsn¡¿aNN

rhe rwelfth century. After the death of lll-padã (ca. 1183 BC) and that of Tammitte probably shortly

after.wards, the dynnu reriained in use as an instrument of Assyrian control, albeit in a diminishedimporfance. During this period (building levels 4-3, ca. 1180-1125 BC) written documentationpractically ceased.

Up to about I 1 80 BC, there are no sure signs of decline in the western province of Assyria.Although Kharbe and Dur-Katlimmu seem to have stopped to produce texts, they were still inoperation as Assyrian centres. Along the course of the Balikh, the towns of Harran, Huzirina,Sahlalu and Tuttul were still under Assyrian control, as were those on the Euphrates, such asAraziqi and Marmarigi. The good relations with the local Nihsãnu Suteans were formalizedinatreaty, and the occasional raids by Suheans from the south seem to have been little more than aminor nuisance.

It was only after 1180 BC that the region as a whole became progressively destabilized.The Hittite empire was reduced to a small state along the Euphrates .tpslreám from Karkamið; theHittite vassal state of Emar was destroyed; Mu5ku crossed the Euphrates in the north and settled inthe fotmer Assyrian province of Alzi (around 1164 BC); and the Aramean threat became acuteduring the reign of Tiglath-pileser I (1114-1076 BC).

During the period up to about 1180 BC, Assyrian relations with the mighty neighbour inthe west, the Hittites, were friendly and occasionally even cordial. f.u¿" flourishedunintemrptedly, although it must be admitted that there is currently no way to establish its volumerelative to earlier and later periods. Merchants from Sidon and Canaan crossed the Euphrates atEmar or at Karkamið, and halted at the dunnu at Tell Sabi Abyad to have their merchandise clearedbefore continuing to the Khabur and to A55ur. One text (T93-i0) may sefl/e as an example:

"Speak to Tamnitte, thus says Nãsir-Nabû: (react) as soon as you have reaà my bblet.Earlier I gave you the following instruction: 'caravans which come to me from Karkamismay not pass without your consent and (I added) seal all wares.' Now I have heard thatÇaravans have (in fact) set out towards me (and I repeat) 'whichever caravans come to me,be they ofIll-padâ, ofthe princess, or ofthe nobles, seal everything.' I have also heard thatthey are carrying balsam; (if) any balsam is missing, you [...] to be executed."

The Assyrian state profited frorn impoft duties raised in Aðður on luxury products such as balsam.Other imports had a considerable economic or military significance:- copper and tin (tools,weapons), alum (used in the leather industry), and horses (Faist 2000).

Other texts from Tell Sabi Abyad that involve the Hittites concentrate around an incidentthat took place in the years 1190-1189 BC (+ 3 years): an armed conflict between Emar andKarkami5. In the early twelfth century BC, the Hittite state of Karkami5 was more or lessindependent, with Kuzi-Te5ub, king of Karkamið, styling himself a'great king' (Hawkins l98g;1995). Karkamið was therefore able to enter into direct relations witÀ its Syrian vassals, amongthem Emar, and with foreign powers such as Assyria.

The evidence from Tell Sabi Abyad reveals a conflict between Ahr-malik, the king, or akilmati of Emar (T96-1), and his overlord, the king of Karkarni5. During the reign of Aðður--n1rãrT III(1193-1188 BC), more precisely during this king's eponym (set provisionally at 1190 + 3 years),the tension mounted to such a height that the Assyrians assembléd troops in support of Karkami5(T98-119). Presumably on their way from the land of Harran and the to,wtt of Marmarigi in thenorth to Emar in the south, the Assyrian troops passed the dunnu at Tell Sabi Abyad, wñere theywere fed by the steward (Tammitte) with a total of 164 ovids (T98-119). The town of Marmarigiappears in another Assyrian text dated a few months later (T98-125) and is probably identical withthe Murmuriga known from earlier Hittite sources, strategically located on ihe east (?) bank of theEuphrates not far from Karkami5. The number of ovids consumed at Tell Sabi Abyaà índicates thatthe Assyrian army moving to the south consisted of a few thousand men at the most. yet it seemsthat even this relatively small army seriously taxed the capaciq, of the provincial adrninistration:the texts refer to troops without rations, a starving countryside, uncooperátive nobles (T97-10), anddesertion among the dependents (T93-56).

Wssr op ASSun: Tns Ltps aNr Trir,rss op rHn Mrru-B AssvRltN Du¡,a¿u l2t

Seven days after the army passed the dunnu (it could have reached Emar by then), there ts

evidence for diplomatic activities involving the Assyrian grand vizier lli-padâ and envoys(presumably foreign diplomats) from Karkamið and Emar (T97-10). Ten months later, during theeponymy of Sulmãnu-aha-iddina (Freydank 1991: 170; Cancik-Kirschbaum 1999: 2ll, 213;Pedersén 2001: 368), rumours about peace talks initiated by Ahi-malik came to Ih-padâ's attention(T96-1), apparently this time he was not involved. The scarce sources do not reveal the outcome ofthe conflict but it is likely that Emar returted to the fold.

As is shown by the texts in which he required information about the Hittites (T93-12,T93-6), Ili-padâ had a natural interest in what happened on the other side of the Euphrates. Why he sawfit to support the cause of Karkami5 against that of its vassal Emar is a matter of speculation;perhaps he simply preferred the law, order and unintemrpted trade guaranteed by the status quo.

6.6 ConclusionThe extensive excavations at Tell Sabi Abyad have produced unrivalled insights into the ins and

outs of a Middle Assyrian dunnu of the 12th century BC, including its layout and consûuction, itscomplex and rapidly changing history of use, and its rich material culture and textual evidence.

'We

can demonstrate that this dunnu was the central settlement of a very large farming operation and

functioned as local node of administration and control, involving customs and judicial functions,and was a stronghold serving the military. This institution thus served a vital function in the

maintenance of Assyrian hegemony in this western periphery. The short duration of use, the manychanges in the spatial configuration of the dunnu, and the large amounts of objects and featuresrecovered offer a wealth of data to investigate how this institution functioned and how this changedover time.

AcknowledgementsWe wish to express our gratitude to the Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums inDamascus, Syria, for its continued assistance and encouragement conceming the research at TellSabi Abyad. Particular thanks go to Dr. Bassam Jammous, Director-General, and Dr. Michel al-Maqdissi, Director of Excavations. The excavations at Tell Sabi Abyad were conducted under theauspices of the Netherlands National Museum of Antiquities and Leiden University, under thedirection of Peter M.M.G. Akkermans. The fieldwork was accomplished with the support of the

National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden University, Free University Amsterdam, NetherlandsInstitute for Academic Studies in Damascus, the Netherlands Royal Embassy in Syria, and the

Foundation for Anthropology and Prehistory in the Netherlands. We are very grateful for their help.Wann thanks are also due to Mikko Kriek for his preparation of the illustrations and to KimDuistermaat for the highly useful infonnation on the pottery and the sealings.

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