Hatra is known asal-Ḥaḍr (الحضر) inArabic. It is recorded as𐣧𐣨𐣣𐣠 (ḥṭrʾ,vocalized as:Ḥaṭrāʾ) inHatran Aramaic inscriptions, probably meaning "enclosure, hedge, fence". InSyriac, it is usually recorded in the plural formḤaṭrē. In Roman works, it is recorded as GreekÁtra and LatinHatra andHatris.[2]
The temple ofShamash,[3] was officially calledBeit ʾElāhāʾ𐣡𐣩𐣵 𐣠𐣫𐣤𐣠 "House of God", in Hatran Aramaic inscriptions[4] The city was recorded as "Enclosure ofShamash" (ḥtrʾ d-šmš𐣧𐣨𐣣𐣠 𐣣𐣴𐣬𐣴) on a coin.[2]
There is no archeological information on the city before the Parthian period but settlement in the area likely dates back to at least theSeleucid period.[2] Hatra flourished under theParthians, during the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, as a religious and trading center.[5] Later on, the city became the capital of possibly the firstArab Kingdom in the chain of Arab cities running from Hatra, in the northeast, viaPalmyra,Baalbek andPetra, in the southwest. The region controlled from Hatra was theKingdom of Hatra, a semi-autonomous buffer kingdom on the western limits of the Parthian Empire, governed by Arabian princes.
bronze coin struck in Hatra circa 117–138 AD, obverse depicts radiate bust of ShamashPlan of Hatra
Hatra became an important fortified frontier city and played an important role in theSecond Parthian War, withstanding repeated attacks by theRoman Empire. During the 2nd century CE the city repulsed sieges by bothTrajan (116/117) andSeptimius Severus (198/199).[6] Hatra's forces defeated the ascendantSassanid Persians in 238 at the battle ofShahrazoor, but fell shortly after in 241 to the army of Sassanid kingShapur I and was destroyed.[6] The traditional stories of thefall of Hatra tell ofal-Nadirah, daughter of the King of Araba, who betrayed the city into the hands of Shapur as she fell in love with him. The story tells of how Shapur killed the king and married al-Nadirah, but later had her killed also after realizing her ingratitude towards her father.[5][7]
Hatra was the best preserved and most informative example of ancient Arabian architecture. Its plan was circular,[8] and was encircled by inner and outer walls nearly 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) in diameter[9] and supported by more than 160 towers. Atemenos (τέμενος) surrounded the principal sacred buildings in the city's centre. The temples covered some 1.2 hectares and were dominated by the Great Temple, an enormous structure withvaults andcolumns that once rose to 30 metres. The city was famed for its fusion ofGreek,Mesopotamian,Canaanite, Aramean and Arabianpantheons, known inAramaic asBeiṯ Ĕlāhā ("House of God"). The city had temples toNergal (Assyrian-Babylonian andAkkadian),Hermes (Greek),Atargatis (Syro-Aramaean),Allat,Shamiyyah (Arabian), andShamash (theMesopotamian sun god).[5] Other deities mentioned in the Hatran Aramaic inscriptions were the AramaeanBa'al Shamayn, and the female deity known asAshurbel, which was perhaps the assimilation of the two deities the Assyrian godAshur and the BabylonianBel—despite their being individually masculine.
In inscriptions found at Hatra, several rulers are mentioned. Other rulers are sporadically mentioned by classical authors. The earlier rulers are titledmrjʾ (māryā, "lord") and the later onesmlkʾ d-ʿrb ("king of the Arabs";malkā, "king").[2]
According toJohn M. Rosenfield, the statuary of Hatra belong to theParthian cultural sphere, with numerous similarities in terms of clothing, decorative elements or posture, which tend to be massive and frontal, with feet often splayed.[10] The architecture of Hatra itself is generally seen as an example of Parthian architecture.[10] Similarities can be seen with theArt of the Kushans as well, due either to direct cultural exchanges between the area ofMesopotamia and theKushan Empire at that time, or from a common Parthian artistic background leading to similar types of representation.[10]
Headless statue of a nobleman features intricate detail.
Military commander from the city of Hatra.Iraq Museum, Baghdad.
Limestone statue of a military commander in his uniform holding a statue of a deity.
The site was first surveyed by Walter Andrae of the German excavation team working in Assur from 1906 to 1911. But systematic excavations have been undertaken only from 1951 by Iraqi archeologists. From the 1980s, the Italian Archaeological Expedition,[13] directed by R. Ricciardi Venco (University of Turin), made major discoveries at Hatra. The excavations were focused on an important house ("Building A"[14]), located close to the Temenos, and on deep soundings in the Temenos central area.[15] Now the Expedition is active in different projects regarding the preservation and development of the archaeological site.[16] In 1990, a Polish expedition of thePolish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology University of Warsaw recorded and studied the city's defense walls.[17]
In 2004,The Daily Telegraph stated "Hatra's finely preserved columns and statues make it one of the most impressive of Iraq's archaeological sites"[18]
Saddam Hussein saw the site's Mesopotamian history as reflecting glory on himself, and sought to restore the site, and others inNinevah,Nimrud,Ashur andBabylon, as a symbol of Arab achievement,[19] spending more than US$80 million in the first phase of restoration of Babylon. Saddam Hussein demanded that new bricks in the restoration use his name (in imitation ofNebuchadnezzar) and parts of one restored Hatra temple have Saddam's name.[20]
Actions by the forces of theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which occupied the area in mid-2014, were a major threat to Hatra. In early 2015 they announced theirintention to destroy many artifacts, claiming that such "graven images" were un-Islamic, encouragedshirk (or polytheism), and could not be permitted to exist, despite the preservation of the site for 1,400 years by various Islamic regimes.ISIL militants pledged to destroy the remaining artifacts. Shortly thereafter, they released a video showing the destruction of some artifacts from Hatra.[21][22] After the bulldozing of Nimrud on March 5, 2015, "Hatra of course will be next" saidAbdulamir Hamdani, an Iraqi archaeologist fromStony Brook University.[23] On March 7, Iraqi official sources reported ISIS had begun the demolishing the ruins of Hatra.[24][25] A video released by ISIL during the next month showed the destruction of the monuments.[26]
UNESCO andISESCO issued a joint statement saying "With this latest act of barbarism against Hatra, (the IS group) shows the contempt in which it holds the history and heritage of Arab people."[27]
The pro-Iraqi governmentPopular Mobilization Forces captured the city on 26 April 2017.[28] A spokeswoman for the militias stated that ISIL had destroyed the sculptures and engraved images of the site, but its walls and towers were still standing though contained holes and scratches received from ISIL bullets. PMF units also stated that the group had mined the site's eastern gates, thus temporarily preventing any assessment of damage by archaeologists.[29] It was reported on 1 May that the site had suffered less damage than feared earlier. A journalist ofEFE had earlier reported finding many destroyed statues, burnt buildings as well as signs of looting.Layla Salih, head of antiquities for Nineveh Governorate, stated that most of the buildings were intact and the destruction didn't compare with that of other archaeological sites of Iraq. A PMF commander also stated that the damage was relatively minor.[30]
Hatra has ahot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classificationBSh). Most rain falls in the winter. The average annual temperature in Hatra is 20.7 °C (69.3 °F). About 257 mm (10.12 in) of precipitation falls annually.
Beyer, Klaus (1998).Die aramäischen Inschriften aus Assur, Hatra und dem übrigen Ostmesopotamien (datiert 44 v. Chr. bis 238 n. Chr.) [The Aramaic inscriptions from Assur, Hatra and the rest of Eastern Mesopotamia (dated 44 BC to 238 AD)]. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht,ISBN3-525-53645-3.
Dirven, Lucinda (ed.) (2013).Hatra. Politics, Culture and Religion between Parthia and Rome. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner,ISBN978-3-515-10412-8.
Sommer, Michael (2003).Hatra. Geschichte und Kultur einer Karawanenstadt im römisch-parthischen Mesopotamien [Hatra. History and culture of a caravan city in Roman-Parthian Mesopotamia]. Mainz: Zabern,ISBN3-8053-3252-1.
Vattioni, Francesco (1981).Le iscrizioni di Ḥatra [The inscriptions of Hatra]. Napoli: Istituto Universitario Orientale di Napoli.
Vattioni, Francesco (1994).Hatra. Napoli: Istituto Universitario Orientale di Napoli.
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