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2007
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“From Urban Culture to Nomadism: a History of Upper Mesopotamia in the
Late Third Millennium,”
in Catherine Kuzucuoğlu and Catherine Marro (eds), Sociétés humaines et changement climatique à la fin du troisième millénaire : une crise a-t-elle eu lieu en Haute Mésopotamie ? Actes du Colloque de Lyon, 5-8 décembre 2005,
Varia Anatolica 19, Paris: De Boccard Edition-Diffusion, pp. 417-456.
See full text
“This article reviews the written sources of the history of Upper Mesopotamia from the time of the archives of Ebla (24th century BC) until the end of the Third Millennium BC. The objective is to define with precision, in terms of space and time, the regions of interest and political control of the different Mesopotamian dynasties or their rulers. At the time of Ebla's archives (24th century BC), the plains of Upper Mesopotamia caned the development of a blossoming urban culture; agriculture and animal husbandry were organized by the cities. A half a century later, however, according to the texts from Mari (18th century BC), large sectors of the Khabur triangle lost most of their urban centers; and the nomads took control of the territory. During several wars between Ebla, Nagar, Mari and 'Kish', urban life is considerably reduced. Upper Mesopotamia, especially the eastern Khabur with Nagar, and the Upper Tigris basin are integrated into the Sargonid Empire. Later, Urkish seems to have taken a major role (22ndcentury BC). At the time of the 3rd Dynasty of Ur (2110-2003 BC), the most important cities were indeed Mari, Ebla, Urshu and Shimanum; other urban centers appear mainly along the valleys of the Tigris and the Euphrates. The northern plains have now lost their political importance, in strong contrast with the regions which surround them. These plains are known as the 'Amorite land' during the Paleobabylonian period, and as it is demonstrated by this article, this region was probably already designated under this term at the time of Ur III. The process of disappearance of urban centers at the end of the Third Millennium BC suggests that Upper Mesopotamia was the ethnogenesis-site of the Amorite nomads” [English translation by mDP from the author's original summary in French].
[mDP – February 2020]
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