Balawat(Classical Syriac:ܒܝܬ ܠܒܬ,beṯ labat) is anarchaeological siteof the ancient Assyrian city of Imgur-Enlil, and modern village inNineveh Province(Iraq). It lies 25 kilometres (16 mi) southeast from the city ofMosuland 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) to the south of the modernAssyriantown ofBakhdida.
ܒܝܬ ܠܒܬ | |
 | |
  Shown within Iraq | |
| Location | Nineveh Governorate,Iraq |
|---|---|
| Region | NorthernMesopotamia |
| Coordinates | 36°13′46″N43°24′12″E/ 36.22944°N 43.40333°Eon |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1878, 1956, 1989 |
| Archaeologists | Hormuzd Rassam,M. Mallowan,D.J. Tucker |
Ancient name
editBalawat is the site of the ancientAssyriancity of Imgur-Enlil. The meaning of Imgur-Enlil is "Enlil agreed". Note that there was also a wall in ancientBabylonnamed Imgur-Enlil.[1]
History of archaeological research
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The site was excavated in 1878 by archaeologistHormuzd Rassam.[2][3][4]The site was again excavated byMax Mallowanfor theBritish School of Archaeology in Iraqin 1956.[5]A surface survey was conducted by D. J. Tucker in 1989 for the British Museum. The town walls enclosed an area of around 64 hectares.
Occupation history
editThe city of Imgur-Enlil was founded by the Neo-Assyrian kingAshurnasirpal II(884-859 BC). It lay 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) up the Derrah river from theTigris,where the city ofKalhu(BiblicalNimrud/Calah) was situated. Imgur-Enlil lay between the major Neo-Assyrian cities ofNinevehandArrapha(modernKirkuk) in the southeast along the royal Neo-Assyrian road. Ashurnasirpal II had already transferred the capital fromAssurto Kalhu, and the foundation of Imgur-Enlil may have been a further step to knit up the Neo-Assyrian empire. Construction at the site continued under Ashurnasirpal II's sonShalmaneser III.The city existed for about two and a half centuries but was, like most Neo-Assyrian cities, sacked and destroyed by theMedes,BabyloniansandScythiansduring the fall of the Neo-Assyrian empire 614-605 BC.
Post U.S.-Iraq War construction
editIn November 2004, the village had roads constructed by theUnited States Army,which connected the modern Assyrian village to the ancient Assyrian city ofKalhuand the village ofBakhdida(Al Hamdaniyah.) The project was dubbed "Ninewa Village Roads Project" and was funded by the U.S. government. The contract to build the roads was given to the Ashour General Construction Contracting Company and cost $1,120,000.[6]
Material culture
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Aside from temples and palace buildings, the most important artifacts discovered there were the so-calledBalawat Gates.The gates measured about 20 feet in height and belonged to the temple of Mamu, the god of dreams. These were made up of bronze bands attached through nails to two wooden gates of the palace. The bronze bands depict a sacrifice and war scenes from the campaigns of the Neo-Assyrian kingShalmaneser III(859-824 BC), and were the first depictions of landscape elements (such as trees and mountains) in Assyrian art.[7]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^Al-Rawi, Farouk N. H. (1985)."Nabopolassar's Restoration Work on the Wall" Imgur-Enlil "at Babylon".Iraq.47:1–13.doi:10.2307/4200228.ISSN0021-0889.JSTOR4200228.S2CID191498691.
- ^[1]Hormuzd Rassam, "Excavations and discoveries in Assyria", In: Transactions of the Society of Biblical Archaeology, vol. 7, pp. 37-58, 1882
- ^[2]Theophilus G. Pinches, "The bronze gates discovered by Mr. Rassam at Balawat", In: Transactions of the Society of Biblical Archaeology, vol. 7, pp. 83-118, 1882
- ^[3]Hormuzd Rassam and Robert William Rogers, Asshur and the land of Nimrod, Curts & Jennings, 1897
- ^Oates, David (1974)."Balawat (Imgur Enlil): The Site and Its Buildings".Iraq.36(1/2): 173–178.doi:10.2307/4199984.ISSN0021-0889.JSTOR4199984.S2CID192082396.
- ^"Ninewa Village RoadsProject"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2006-05-16.Retrieved2006-05-13.
- ^Tucker, D. J. (1994)."Representations of Imgur-Enlil on the Balawat Gates".Iraq.56:107–116.doi:10.2307/4200388.ISSN0021-0889.JSTOR4200388.
Further reading
edit- Billerbeck, A./Delitzsch, F., "Die Palasttore Salmanassars II von Balawat", Erklärung ihrerBilder und Inschriften, BA 6/1, Leipzig, 1908
- J.E. Curtis et al., "The Balawat Gates of Ashurnasirpal II", British Museum Press, 2008,ISBN978-0-7141-1166-7
- [4]Unger, Eckhard, "Zum Bronzetor von Balawat, Beiträge zur Erklärung und Deutung der assyrischen Inschriften und Reliefs Salmanassars III", Leipzig, Pfeiffer, 1913
- Léonard W. King, "Bronze Reliefs from the Gates of Shalmanezer. King of Assyria BC 860-825", Longman's & Company, 1915
- Seton Lloyd, "Foundations in the Dust", 1947ISBN978-0500050385
- [5]Theophilus G Pinches and Walter de Gray Birch, The bronze ornaments of the palace gates of Balawat (Shalmaneser II, B.C. 859-825) edited, with an introduction by Walter de Gray Birch; with descriptions and translations by Theophilus G. Pinches, Society of Great Russell Street, 1902
- [6]Theophilus G Pinches, "The Balawat Gates and Their Relation to Assyrian Art", The American Art Review, vol. 1, pp. 527-535, 1880