CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

THE KINGDOM OF MARI



Jean-Claude Margueron (translated by Harriet Crawford)

M

ari is shown as a dot on a map; however, as well as the city itself, the name refers
to a section of the Euphrates valley which runs from Baghouz to Dura Europos,
a distance of some 40 km, with Mari at its centre (Figure 27. 1 ). Because of the nature
of the landscape we are able to define its territory with some certainty. Thus:

1. Mari was established to control the crossing of two vital trade routes linking Syria

with Babylonia. These are the Euphrates from northwestern Syria and the Khabur

River from the east.

2. At the time of the founding of Mari, river transport dominated and it was the

waterways which determined the siting of any centre, whether it was regional or

interregional.

The actions of the founders of Mari and the site they chose for the new city showed

them to be very aware of the type of terrain which is necessary for the creation of an

urban centre at the heart of a state.

Bearing this in mind, we see that Mari’s territory covered a section of the Euphrates

which is more than 200 km long, from the narrows at Halabiya/Zalabiya in the north

to Baghouz to the south. The confluence of the Khabur and the Euphrates gives this

section of the river its unique character because it forms an essential outlet not only

for the plains around the Khabur river, but also, above all, for the mountains to the

north which provided essential raw materials such as wood, stone and minerals which

are absent on the plains of South Mesopotamia. Without this background, Mari would

never have been founded and this section of the Euphrates would not have played the

vital role it did for twelve centuries, from c. 3000 BCto c. 1800 BC.

Mari at the heart of this region had an eventful history and excavations show that

there were three successive towns, built one on top of the other (Figure 27. 2 )

THE FIRST TOWN OF MARI: THE FOUNDATION OF MARI

Mari did not develop from a village which grew bigger and bigger until it became a

town; all the sondages dug so far indicate that there were no remains below Mari I

because the course of the river at that time meant it did not supply water to the site.