تل أحمر | |
 | |
  Shown within Syria | |
| Alternative name | Masuwari, Tell Ahmar |
|---|---|
| Location |  Syria |
| Region | Aleppo Governorate |
| Coordinates | 36°40′26″N38°07′16″E / 36.674°N 38.121°E /36.674; 38.121 |
| Type | Settlement |
| Area | 50 hectares (120 acres) |
| History | |
| Periods | Mittani,Assyrian |
| Site notes | |
| Condition | Ruins |
| Management | Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums |
| Public access | Yes |
Til Barsip orTil Barsib (HittiteMasuwari,[1] modernTell Ahmar;Arabic:تل أحمر) is an ancient site situated inAleppo Governorate,Syria by theEuphrates river about 20 kilometers south of ancientCarchemish.
The site was inhabited as early as theNeolithic period with an important city, then called Abarsal, arising in Early Bronze III and being completely destroyed in EBIV.[2] It is the remains of theIron Age city which is the most important settlement at Tell Ahmar. It was known inHittite as Masuwari.[1][3] The city remained largelyNeo-Hittite up to its conquest by theNeo-Assyrian Empire in the 856 BC and theLuwian language was used even after that.[4][5] Til Barsip was the capital of theAramean-speakingSyro-Hittite state ofBît Adini. After being captured by theAssyrians from its previous kingAhuni,[6] the city was then renamed asKar-Šulmānu-ašarēdu, after the Assyrian kingShalmaneser III, though its original name continued in use. It became a prominent center for the Assyrian administration of the region due to its strategic location at a crossing of theEuphrates river.
After Til Barsip was occupied by Shalmaneser III, the important nearby city ofKarkamish (Carchemish), only 20 km upstream the Euphrates river, remained under the rule of local kings of theHouse of Suhi. The Assyrian sources appear mostly silent about Karkamish until the mid-8th century BC. The only exception was a brief mention bySamši-Adad V (824–811 BC). The Assyrians may have left Karkamish alone either because of its strength, or because they profited from the extensive trade that the city conducted with many locations.[7]
Probably around 848 BC, the change of dynasty at Carchemish took place, and theHouse of Astiruwa started to rule. Carchemish was finally conquered bySargon II in 717 BC.
The tell was first excavated and examined byDavid George Hogarth,[8] who proposed the identification as Til Barsip.[9] Other than this research Hogarth was less interested with Tell Ahmar and Til Barsib and his only other discussion of the site is in a paper written in 1909 where it is only mentioned in name alone.[10]
The site was visited in 1909 byGertrude Lowthian Bell who wrote about the town and also took photographs squeezes from some of the inscriptions and other finds there.[11][12]The site of Tell Ahmar was excavated by the French archaeologistFrançois Thureau-Dangin from 1929 to 1931.[13][14]He uncovered the Iron Age city and anEarly Bronze Agehypogeum burial with a large amount of pottery. Three importantsteles were also discovered at the site. These record how the 8th century BC Aramean king Bar Ga'yah, who may be identical with the Assyrian governorShamshi-ilu, made a treaty with the city ofArpad. Recent excavations at Tell Ahmar were conducted by Guy Bunnens from theUniversity of Melbourne in the late 1980s and through to the present.[15][16][17][18] Excavations ended in 2010.[19]Many ivory carvings of outstanding quality were discovered and these were published in 1997. Current excavations are under the auspices of theUniversity of Liège, Belgium.[20]
Among the early Iron Age monuments discovered in the area was a particularly well-preserved stele known as the Ahmar/Qubbah stele, inscribed inLuwian,[17] which commemorates a military campaign by kingde:Hamiyata of Masuwari around 900 BC. The stele also attests to the continued cult of the deity 'Tarhunzas of the Army', whom Hamiyatas is thought to have linked with Tarhunzas of Heaven and with theStorm-God of Aleppo.[21]This stele also indicates that the first king of Masuwari was named Hapatila, which may represent an old Hurrian nameHepa-tilla.
According to Woudhuizen, the name Hamiatas could also be understood as a Luwian reflection of SemiticAmmi-Ad(d)a (‘Hadad is my paternal uncle'), and Hapatilas asAbd-Ila ('servant of El').[5]
Hamiatas also set up some other Luwian hieroglyphic inscriptions. These are known as Tell Ahmar 2, 4 and 5, and Borowski 3. Hamiatas is also mentioned in an inscription Tell Ahmar 1 by one of his successors referred to as "Ariahinas’ son", as well as in the inscription Aleppo 2 by a confederate named Arpas.[5]
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