Tell Ahmar on the Syrian Euphrates: From Chalcolithic Village to Assyrian Provincial Capital

Tell Ahmar – also known as Masuwari, Til Barsib and Kar-Shalmaneser in the first millennium BCE – was first inhabited in the sixth millennium during the Ubaid period, and progressively developed to become a regional centre, and in the eighth and seventh centuries, a provincial capital of the Assyrian empire. Remains from the third millennium (a temple and a funerary complex), the second millennium (an administrative complex and well-preserved houses) and the first millennium (an Assyrian palace and elite residences) are particularly impressive.   The book offers an archaeological and historical synthesis of the results obtained by the excavations of François Thureau-Dangin (1929–1931) and by the more recent excavations of the universities of Melbourne (1988–1999) and Liège (2000–2010). It presents a comprehensive and diachronic view of the evolution of the site, which, by its position on the Euphrates at an important crossroads of ancient communication routes, was at the heart of a game of cultural and political interference between Mesopotamia, the Mediterranean world and Asia Minor.

Table of Contents:
Foreword Acknowledgements Abbreviations   Prologue: The site and its exploration   Part One: Tell Ahmar from its origins to the end of the second millennium: East meets west on the Euphrates 1. Tell Ahmar and the origins of urban life 2. Tell Ahmar in the second millennium   Part Two: Tell Ahmar between Luwians, Aramaeans and Assyrians: Birth of a regional capital 3. Tell Ahmar/Masuwari/Til Barsib and the Aramaean tribe of Adini (c. 1200–856) 4. From Til Barsib to Kar-Shalmaneser – The beginnings of Assyrian domination (c. 856–750)   Part Three: Tell Ahmar in the Assyrian empire: birth of an imperial koine 5. Ashur imposes its mark – The palace and the high dignitaries 6. Urbanism and residential buildings 7. Images in everyday life 8. People and crafts   Epilogue: The end of Tell Ahmar   Fieldwork at Tell Ahmar — Selected bibliography

About the Author :
Guy Bunnens received his PhD from the University of Brussels, held various research positions and taught the history and archaeology of ancient western Asia at Melbourne University. He conducted archaeological excavations at Tell Ahmar between 1988 and 2010.

Review :
"[T]he authors are to be thanked for having presented and shared the archaeology and materials of Tell Ahmar in this comprehensive and rich study."-- "Studia Eblaitica" "It gives a good overview of the site's occupational history and through contextualization it also serves as a good starting point for understanding the Iron Age in the northern Levant and northern Syria."-- "Bibliotheca Orientalis" "[T]he volume presents a solid summary of the results of the various excavations undertaken at the site. It's most fascinating contribution beyond the regional significance is certainly the point when the independent polity of Bit Adini is incorporated into the Assyrian Empire in the mid ninth century BCE, illustrating the interaction between the local population and a foreign imperial administration."--Hermann Gentz "Journal of Anthropological Research, Summer 2023"