Aqarquf
Aquarquf (or Agarquf , Aqar Quf , Tell-'Abyad) is about 30 km west of Baghdad . This is where the middle of the second millennium BC was. Dur Kurigalzu (KUR-TI) founded by Kurigalzu I during the Kassite period . It was the capital of the Kassite kings of Babylonia.
Excavations
The city was excavated in the 1940s by the Directorate General of Antiquities under the direction of Tahar Baqir .
A large collection of tablets, a temple district and a palace complex were excavated . In addition to numerous objects made of metal and pottery, a collection of fired clay statues was discovered . These show naked female figures, presumably related to the cult of Ištar , heads of men, among them a well-modeled bearded head that is painted in different colors, figures of kneeling prayers, figures of dogs suckling their puppies, some with inscriptions with incantations of Gula , the goddess of healing. Stone ornaments , but also those with gold, silver and lapis lazuli were found. Three frescoes from the 14th century BC BC, showing human figures, were found on a wall of the Temple of Enlil . Palace H contained wall paintings executed in red, cobalt blue, Prussian blue, yellow, white and black pigments. The paintings have parallels in Nuzi (15th century) and Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta (13th century). There were processional representations on the doorways through the extraordinarily thick walls. Remnants of these paintings were kept in the Iraq Museum in Baghdad.
The ziggurat is still around 57 meters high and has been partially reconstructed.
administration
Enlil-bānī, descendant of Amilatum, šandabakku from Nippur was raba'num from KUR-TI. On a clay kudurru (boundary stone with an inscription) of Kuri-galzu I. he is also called nešakku . Presumably under this ruler he was also šandabakku of Nippur and raba'num of KUR-TI. His successor under Burna-buriaš II was Ninurta-nadin-ahhe, whom most scholars consider his son. His successor was Enlil-kidinni, who is also documented under the three following rulers.
Coordinates: 33 ° 21 ′ 13 ″ N , 44 ° 12 ′ 8 ″ E
literature
- Directorate General of Antiquities, Ministry of Information: Guide-Book to the Iraq Museum , Third Edition 1976, Baghdad, Republic of Iraq 1976.
- Poebel, A., The city of Esa (Dur-Kurigalzu). Assyriological Studies 14, 1947, 1-22.
- Yoko Tomabechi, Wall paintings from Dur Kurigalzu. Journal of Near Eastern Studies 42/2, 1983, 123-131.
- Tahar Baqir, Iraq Government Excavations at 'Aqar Quf: Second Interim Report, 1943–1944. Iraq Supplement 1945.
- Tahar Baqir, Iraq Government Excavations at 'Aqar Quf: Third Interim Report, 1944-45. Iraq 8, 1946.
Web links
- Aqarquf and some pictures on the following pages.