Tuttul (Akkadian:tu-ut-tu-ulki,[1]Ugaritic:𐎚𐎚𐎍 –TTL[2]) was an ancient Near East city. Tuttul is identified with the archaeological site of Tell Bi'a (also Tall Bi'a) inRaqqa Governorate,Syria. Tell Bi'a is located near the modern city ofRaqqa and at the confluence of the riversBalikh andEuphrates.
The site has an area of about 40 hectares with the main mound and a few subsidiary mounds surrounded by small mounds which are the remains of a city wall. After studying texts atMari, Georges Dossin traveled to a site he called "Tell Biya" and identified it as Tuttul, ending much speculation as to its location.[3][4] Tuttul appeared often in the texts from Mari.[5]
Excavation was conducted in twelve seasons between 1980 and 1995 by a team from theDeutsche Orient-Gesellschaft led by Eva Strommenger. The focus of the excavation has been on the central mound, Mound E. It was topped by the remains of aByzantine-era monastery, including a church, with intactmosaic floors, and a refectory with omega-shaped benches.[6][7]
The level below the monastery isOld Babylonian (early 2nd millennium BC) with a palace termed the "Young/New Palace".[8] This was wherecuneiform tablets dated to the last years of theEkallatum ruler (later ruler of the Upper Kingdom of Mesopotamia)Shamshi-Adad I (c. 1800 BC) were found.[9]
Below that level was an "Old Palace" of the Early Dynastic IIIEblaite period and a large public building of theAkkadian Empire period. Some Early Dynastic I period remains were found below that and the water table was encountered before virgin soil was reached. A few private homes adjacent to thecity wall on Mound B South were also excavated.[10][11]
At the Early Dynastic level on the southern end of Mound E six above ground multichambered rectilinear royal tombs were found. The tombs had beenlooted in antiquity, but contained human and animal bones, jewelry, inlaid furniture, and a large array of pottery.[12] Thirty two individuals (14 female, the rest adult and semi-adult males) were identified. One was intact and was accompanied by a flat axe, two shaft-hole axes, aquiver with a bronze base, and adagger. An extramural cemetery from the same period was found 700 m (2,300 ft) away with graves of much poorer quality.[13][14] In 2002 a geomagnetic prospection of the Early Bronze Age area of Mound D was conducted. It showed a 30 m (98 ft) square building near Palace A and remains of a wall around the palace complex.[15]
Tell Bi'a with Raqqa in the background
A satellite survey of site in Syria showed that the site had been heavily looted.[16][17]
The earliest written record of Tuttul was during the time of theAkkadian Empire whenSargon (2334–2279 BC), the first ruler of the empire, recorded in a text "Sargon, the king bowed down to the god Dagan in Tuttul. He (the god Dagan) gave to him (Sargon) the Upper Land: Mari, Iarmuti, and Ebla far as the Cedar Forest and the Silver Mountains.". Tuttul was later mentioned by his Sargon's grandsonNaram-Sin of Akkad (c. 2254–2218 BC), as one of the cities whose god was asked for him to become deified.[19]
"In view of the fact that he protected the foundations of his city from danger, (the citizens of) his city requested from Astar in Eanna, Enlil in Nippur, Dagan in Tuttul, Ninhursag in Kes, Ea in Eridu, Sin in Ur, Samas in Sippar, (and) Nergal in Kutha, that (Naram-Sin) be (made) the god of their city, and they built within Agade a temple (dedicated) to him."[19]
Tuttul is unrecorded during the Ur III period aside from a mention in one of the campaign records of the rulerShu-Sin.[20] It has been suggested that the Duduli encountered in Ur III texts on occasion is Tuttul.[21]
During theMiddle Bronze Age (c. 2000–1600 BC), Tuttul was asacred city to the godDagan, who was astorm god in the region ofMari,Terqa and Tuttul. His two main temples were at Tuttul andTerqa and his wifeShalash was also worshiped at Tuttul. The god Mullil (another name forEnlil) was also said to "dwell" in Tuttul.[2][22] TheHurrian version of Dagan,Kumarbi, was also worshiped there.[23] There was also a temple of the "River-god" at Tuttul, a poorly understood entity which has been suggested as the deified Euphrates, which was recorded as receiving sacrifices.[24]
Tuttul is then mentioned in a year name ofYahdun-Lim (c. 1800 BC) theAmorite ruler ofMari, "Year in which Yahdun-Lim was victorious against the Yaminites and ... at the gate of Tutul". In his royal tutelary he was named as "Yahdun-Lim, son of Iaggid-Lim, king of Mari, Tuttul, and the land of Hana, mighty king, who controls the banks of the Euphrates ...".[25] In a brick inscription from the building of theShamash temple in Mari he recorded arevolt against his rule that included Tuttul. This revolt was supported bySumu-Epuh, ruler ofYamhad.
"... In that same year, — La'um, king of Samanum and the land of the Ubrabium, Bahlu-kullim, king of Tuttul and the land of the Amnanum, Aialum, king of Abattum and the land of the Rabbum — these kings rebelled against him. The troops of Sumu-Epuh of the land of Iamhad came as auxiliary troops (to rescue him) and in the city of Samanum the tribes gathered together against him, but by means of(his) mighty weapon he defeated these three kings of ... He vanquished their troops and their auxiliaries and inflicted a defeat on them. He heaped up their dead bodies. He tore down their walls and made them into mounds of rubble."[25]
Site of Tuttul West to North
Zimri-Lim, ruler or Mari, son of Yahdun-Lim and contemporary ofHammurabi of theFirst Babylonian Empire also included Tuttul in his royal tutelary. Hammurabi defeated Mari and the surrounding region in the 33rd year of his reign, presumably including Tuttul. Afterward the site apparently went into decline and occupation ceased entirely in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. Though there is no archaeological evidence at the site, Tuttul is mentioned in late 2nd millennium BC New KingdomHittite andMiddle Assyrian texts, as the two empires contested for that region.[26]
A number of cuneiform tablets were found at the site, mostly in the Old Babylonian palace. About 51 were used in fill and are somewhat older, thought to be from theIsin-Larsa period. The rest came from the time ofYasmah-Adad. Two tablets were somewhat later in date. There is also a bronze axe, from the antiquities market, inscribed ""Il'e-Lim, lord of Tuttul".[27]
It appears that during the period, the Late Bronze Age, Tuttul served only as a smallcultic center for Dagan.[28]
This town has sometimes also been called the "Northern Tuttul" or "Tuttul on the Balih" with reference to an implied "Southern Tuttul", which was possibly located on the Middle Euphrates between the ancient cities ofMari andBabylon. However, this is a debated issue.[29] The identification of the so-called "Southern Tuttul" with modernHit is uncertain, as Hit is referenced to several times in the Mari archives via its modern name.[30][31]
^[1] Dossin, Georges, “Inscriptions de Fondation Provenant de Mari”, Syria, vol. 21, no. 2, pp. 152–69, 1940
^abGeorge, Andrew, and Manfred Krebernik, "Two Remarkable Vocabularies: Amorite-Akkadian Bilinguals!", Revue d'assyriologie et d'archeologie orientale 116.1, pp. 113-166, 2022
^Dossin, Georges, "Le site de Tuttul-sur-Balîh", Revue d'Assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale 68.1, pp. 25-34, 1974
^Lewy, Hildegard, "Šubat-Šamaš and Tuttul", Orientalia, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 1–18, 1958
^Heimpel, Wolfgang, "Translation of Texts from ARM 26/1", Letters to the King of Mari: A New Translation, with Historical Introduction, Notes, and Commentary, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 173-283, 2003
^Kalla, G., "The Refectory and the Kitchen in the Early Byzantine Monastery of Tell Bi’a (Syria): The Egyptian and Palestinian Connections", In L. Blanke & J. Cromwell (Eds.), Monastic Economies in Late Antique Egypt and Palestine, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 181-211, 2023
^Kalla, Gábor, "Christentum am oberen Euphrat. Das byzantinische Kloster von Tall Bi’a", Antike Welt, Zeitschrift für Archäologie und Kulturgeschichte 30.2, pp. 131-142, 1999
^Miglus, Peter A., "Der altbabylonische Palast in Tuttul (Tall Biʿa): funktionale und historische Aspekte", Der Palast im antiken und islamischen Orient, pp. 139-150, 2019
^Malamat, Abraham, "The King’s Table and Provisioning of Messengers: The Recent Old Babylonian Texts from Tuttul and the Bible", Israel Exploration Journal, vol. 53, no. 2, pp. 172–77, 2003
^Weiss, Harvey, "Archaeology in Syria", American Journal of Archaeology, vol. 98, no. 1, pp. 101–58, 1994
^Otto, Adelheid, "Local, regional, and international. Seal impressions from the palace of Samši-Adad in Tall Biʻa/Tuttul", Languages and cultures in contact, pp. 337-353, 1999
^abWeiss, Harvey, "Archaeology in Syria", American Journal of Archaeology, vol. 101, no. 1, pp. 97–148, 1997
^Ildiko Bosze, "Analysis of the Early Bronze Age Graves in Tell Bi'a (Syria)", BAR International Series, 2009 ISBN 978-1407305295
^Peltenburg, Edgar, "Conflict and Exclusivity in Early Bronze Age Societies of the Middle Euphrates Valley", Journal of Near Eastern Studies, vol. 72, no. 2, pp. 233–52, 2013
^[2] Kohlmeyer, Kay, et al., "Geomagnetic prospection of the Early Bronze Age town of Tuttul/Tell Bi'a, Syria", Archaeologia Polona 41, pp 211, 2003
^Casana, Jesse, and Mitra Panahipour, "Satellite-Based Monitoring of Looting and Damage to Archaeological Sites in Syria", Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology & Heritage Studies, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 128–51, 2014
^[3] Casana, Jesse, "Satellite imagery-based analysis of archaeological looting in Syria", Near Eastern Archaeology 78.3, pp. 142-152, 2015
^Akkermans, P. M. M. G. and Schwartz, G. M., "The Archaeology of Syria: From Complex Hunter-Gatherers to Early Urban Societies (ca. 16,000–300 BC)", Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003ISBN0-521-79666-0
^ab[4] Douglas R. Frayne, "Akkad", The Sargonic and Gutian Periods (2334–2113), University of Toronto Press, pp. 5-218, 1993ISBN0-8020-0593-4
^Frayne, Douglas, "Šū-Sîn", Ur III Period (2112-2004 BC), Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp. 5-90, 1997
^Owen, David I., "Transliterations, Translations, and Brief Comments", The Nesbit Tablets, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 13-110, 2016
^Feliu, Lluís, "The god Dagan in Bronze Age Syria", Leiden Boston, MA: Brill, 2003ISBN90-04-13158-2
^Archi, Alfonso, "The West Hurrian Pantheon and Its Background", in Collins, B. J.; Michalowski, P. (eds.), Beyond Hatti: a tribute to Gary Beckman. Atlanta: Lockwood Press, 2013ISBN978-1-937040-11-6
^Woods, Christopher, "On the Euphrates", Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische Archäologie, vol. 95, no. 1-2, pp. 7-45, 2005
^abFrayne, Douglas, "Mari", Old Babylonian Period (2003-1595 B.C.): Early Periods, Volume 4, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp. 593-649, 1990
^Yamada, Masamichi, "The second military conflict between 'Assyria' and 'Ḫatti' in the reign of Tukulti-Ninurta I", Revue d’Assyriologie et d’archéologie Orientale, vol. 105, pp. 199–220, 2011
^Heimpel, Wolfgang, "On the Recently Published Old Babylonian Texts from Tuttul", Orientalia, vol. 72, no. 3, pp. 307–26, 2003
^Otto, Adelheid, "The Organisation of Residential Space in the Mittani Kingdom as a Mirror of Different Models of Governance", Constituent, Confederate, and Conquered Space: The Emergence of the Mittani State, edited by Eva Cancik-Kirschbaum, Nicole Brisch and Jesper Eidem, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 33-60, 2014
^Astour, Michael C., "A Reconstruction of the History of Ebla (Part 2)", Eblaitica: Essays on the Ebla Archives and Eblaite Language, Volume 4, edited by Cyrus H. Gordon and Gary A. Rendsburg, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 57-196, 2002ISBN978-1-57506-060-6
^Goetze, Albrecht, "An Old Babylonian Itinerary", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 51–72, 1963
^Goetze, Albrecht, "Tuttul in a ‘Cappadocian’ Proper Name", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 110–110, 1953
[5] Durand, Jean-Marie, and Lionel Marti, "Chroniques du Moyen-Euphrate 3. Les documents du Tell Bi'a", Revue d'assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale 98, pp. 121–150, 2004
Durand, Jean-Marie and Marti, Lionel, "Chronique du moyen-Euphrate 2. Relecture de documents d'Ekalte, Emar et Tuttul", Revue d'assyriologie et ar-chéologie orientale, 97, pp. 141–180, 2003
Hemker, Christiane, "Eine Beterstatuette aus Tuttul", Beschreiben und Deuten in der Archäologie des Alten Orients, pp. 93–102, 1994
[6] M. Krebernik, "Schriftfunde aus Tell Bi‘a 1990", Mit-teilungen der deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft zu Berlin 123, pp. 41–69, 1991
[7] Krebernik, Manfred, "Schriftfunde aus Tall Bi'a 1992". Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft 125, pp. 51–60, 1993
Otto, Adelheid, "Siegelabrollungen aus Tall Bi'a", Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft zu Berlin 124, pp. 45–78, 1992
Selz, Gudrun, "Tage in Tell Bi'a", Gedenkschrift für Mark A. Brandes (1929-2011), hrsg. v. Karin Stella Schmidt, Karin Hornig (Alter Orient und Altes Testament 423), pp. 269–276, 2015
Herbordt, S., et al., "Ausgrabungen in Tall Bi'a 1981", Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orientgesellschaft zu Berlin Berlin 114, pp. 79–101, 1982
Strommenger, Eva, et al., "Ausgrabungen in Tall Bi‟ a 1982 und 1983", MDOG 116, pp. 15–64, 1984
Strommenger, E., et al., "Ausgrabungen in Tall Bi'a 1984", Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft zu Berlin 118, pp. 7–44, 1986
Strommenger, E., et al., "Ausgrabungen in Tall Bi'a 1985", Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft zu Berlin 119, pp. 7–49, 1987
Strommenger, E., "Ergebnisse der Palastgrabung in Tall Bi'a bis 1987", Al-hawliyyat al-atariyya as-suriyya 40, pp. 100–110, 1990
Strommenger, Eva, "Tall Biʻa 1985 und 1987", Archiv für Orientforschung 36, pp. 221–227, 1989
Strommenger, Eva, "Ausgrabungen in Tall Bi'a 1992", Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft zu Berlin 125, pp. 5–31, 1993
Strommenger, Eva, "Die Ausgrabungen in Tall Bi'a 1993", Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft zu Berlin 126, pp. 11–31, 1994
Excavation Reports
Eva Strommenger, Kay Kohlmeyer, "Tall Bi'a/Tuttul–I. Die altorientalischen Bestattungen", Wissenschaftliche Veröffentlichungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft (WVDOG), Saarbrücker Druckerei und Verlag, Saarbrücken, 1998
Manfred Krebernik, "Tall Bi'a/Tuttul–II. Die Altorientalischen Schriftfunde", WVDOG 100, Saarbrücker Druckerei und Verlag, Saarbrücken, 2001
Eva Strommenger, Kay Kohlmeyer, "Tall Bi'a/Tuttul–III. Die Schichten des 3. Jahrtausends v. Chr. im Zentralhügel E", Saarbrücker Druckerei und Verlag, Saarbrücken, 2000
Adelheid Otto, "Tall Bi’a/Tuttul–IV. Siegel und Siegelabrollungen", Saarbrücker Druckerei und Verlag, Saarbrücken, 2004
Peter A. Miglus, Eva Strommenger, "Tall Bi'a/Tuttul–VII. Der Palast A", Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden, 2007
Peter A. Miglus, Eva Strommenger, "Tall Bi'a/Tuttul–VIII. Stadtbefestigungen, Häuser und Tempel", Saarbrücker Druckerei und Verlag, Saarbrücken, 2002
