Dur-Kurigalzu (modern in Baghdad Governorate, Iraq) was a city in southern Mesopotamia, near the confluence of the Tigris and Diyala rivers, about west of the center of Baghdad. It was founded by a Kassite king of Babylon, Kurigalzu I (died c. 1375 BC) and was abandoned after the fall of the Kassite dynasty (c. 1155 BC). The city was of such importance that it appeared on toponym lists in the funerary temple of the Egyptian pharaoh, Amenophis III (c. 1351 BC) at Kom el-Hettan".Edel, E./M. Görg (2005): Die Ortsnamenlisten im nördlichen Säulenhof des Totentempels Amenophis' III. Ägypten und Altes Testament 50. Wiesbaden The prefix Dur is an Akkadian term meaning "fortress of", while the Kassite royal name Kurigalzu is believed to have meant "shepherd of the Kassites".Balkan, K. (1954): Kassitenstudien 1. Die Sprache der Kassiten. AOS 37. The tradition of naming new towns Dur dates back to the Old Babylonian period with an example being Dūr-Ammī-ditāna. The city contained a ziggurat and temples dedicated to Mesopotamian gods, as well as a royal palace which covered 420,000 square meters.
The ziggurat at Aqar Quf, standing to a height of about , has been a very visible ancient monument for centuries. For camel caravans and modern road traffic, the ziggurat has served as a signal of the near approach to Baghdad. Because of Aqar Quf's easy accessibility and close proximity to the city of Baghdad, it has been one of Iraq's most visited and best-known sites. The ziggurat was often confused with the Tower of Babel by Western visitors to the area from the 17th century onwards.
History Late Bronze Age The town of Dur Kurigalzu was founded by the Kassite King Kurigalzu I in the early 14th century BC and is situated along an east–west-trending limestone ridge between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. Until the last century, the adjacent Aqar Quf depression would have been inundated with flood water part of the year. This site had access to fresh water from the Euphrates by means of the Isa Canal, known as the Patti-Enlil Canal in ancient times. The city functioned as the capital of Babylonia during the reign of Kurigalzu, and either as the capital or at least an important city during the period after.T. Clayden, "Kurigalzu I and the Restoration of Babylonia", Iraq, vol. 58, pp. 109-121, 1996 It was occupied continuously until the fall of the Kassite Dynasty in the 12th century BC when it was largely abandoned.
Ziggurat
The Ziggurat of Dur-Kurigalzu, built in the early 14th century BC by Kurigalzu I, is located in the city's western area and is devoted to the chief Babylonian God Enlil, who Sumerians believed to govern over wind, air, earth, and storm.T. Clayden, "Dur-Kurigalzu: New Perspectives, Volume 2 Kardunias", Babylonia under the Kassites 2, Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG, 2017J A Brinkman, "Materials and Studies for Kassite History Vol I: A Catalogue of Cuneiform Sources Pertaining to Specific Monarchs of the Kassite Dynasty", Materials and Studies for Kassite History 1 Chicago: The Oriental Institute, 1977
The ziggurat's base measures 69m x 67m and it was constructed of large, well-tempered liben with many stamped baked bricks incorporated into the structure, bearing the name of Kurigalzu and his dedication of the temple E-U-GAL to Enlil.Taha Baqir, "Iraq Government Excavations at 'Aqar Quf First Interim Report", 1942-1943. Iraq Supplement 1, London, pp. 1-16, 1944 Facing the front, the Ziggurat can be approached from three main staircases leading up to the first level.Mustafa, M. A., "Stairways of the ziggurat", Iraq 8, pp. 92–93, 1946 Standing upright on the level withholds a terraced compound, built by layers of receding levels. At its core, there are consistent sun-dried square bricks with reed mats placed in every seven layers of brick to help hold the structure altogether. An axial flight of steps was discovered running outwards from the center of the side of the ziggurat towards the temple-complex and was built of solid kiln-baked brick set in bitumen.Taha Baqir, "Iraq Government Excavations at 'Aqar Quf: Second Interim Report, 1943 - 1944", Iraq Supplement, pp. 1-15. London, 1945"Foreword", Sumer 17, pp. 1–12, 1961 Gullini, G., "New suggestions on ziggurat of Aqarquf", Sumer 41, pp. 133–137, 1986
Iron Age and later The temple area, at least, was known to be active in the 7th century BC and in the Neo-Babylonian period. Up until recently (mostly between the 9th and 14th centuries AD), there have been smaller occupations at parts of Aqar Quf, with areas of the site being used for burials and for Arab settlement.T. Clayden, Aspects of the early history of the Kassites and the archaeology of the Kassite period in Iraq (c.1600-1150 BC), Oxford University PhD Dissertation, 1989 It has been suggested that in earlier times the site was named Esâ. Poebel, A., "The city of Esâ (Dûr-Kuri-Galzu)", AS 14, pp. 1–22, 1947
Archaeology In Kassite times the area was defined by a wall that enclosed about . The wall, originally built by Kurigalzu I, was later rebuilt by Kurigalzu II (c. 1332—1308 BC).Walker, C. B. F. "A Duplicate Brick of Kurigalzu II." Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 32, no. 4, pp. 247–48, 1980 The site has several defined areas, Mound A (100 meters south of the ziggurat), Tell Ahmar, Tell Abu Shijar, Tell al-Abyadh, and a private housing area. The main elements, ziggurat, palaces, etc. are all within the city wall. The currently known structures of the site consist of nine temples (T1 to T9), with T1 being the ziggurat and associated temple to Enlil, three palaces (P1 to T3), and five housing areas (H1 to H5)Malko, Helen. "Dūr-Kurigalzu: Insights from Unpublished Iraqi Excavation Reports". Volume 2 Karduniaš. Babylonia under the Kassites 2, edited by Alexa Bartelmus and Katja Sternitzke, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 2017, pp. 479-491
The site was visited by Bengt Bengtsson Oxenstierna in 1616.Potts, Daniel T. "Bengt Bengtsson Oxenstierna (1591–1643): A critical reassessment of his two journeys to the Near East." Fornvännen 116.2 (2021): 114-128 Agar Quf first appeared on a modern map by Edward Ives in 1773.Ives, E. "A voyage from England to India, in the year MDCCLIV. And a historical narrative of the operations of the squadron and army in India, under the command of vice-admiral Watson and colonel Clive in the years 1755, 1756, and 1757; including correspondence between the admiral and the nabob Serajah Dowlah (...)", London, 1773 The site was then described by Claudius James Rich in 1811.Claudius James Rich, "Narrative of a journey to the site of Babylon in 1811", Duncan and Malcolm, 1839 Aqar Quf (referred to then as Akerkuf, Agger Koof, or Akar-kuf) was visited and examined in 1837 by Francis Rawdon Chesney.Francis Rawdon Chesney, "Narrative of the Euphrates Expedition ... 1835, 1836, and 1837", Spottiswood and co, 1868 (Nabu Press - 2010 ) The name of Dur-Kurigalzu was identified by Henry Rawlinson in the mid-19th century.Rawlinson, H. C./E. Norris, "A selection from the historical inscriptions of Chaldæa, Assyria, & Babylonia", The cuneiform inscriptions of Western Asia 1. London, 1861
Excavations were conducted from 1942 through 1945, by Taha Baqir and Seton Lloyd in a joint excavation by the Iraqi Directorate-General of Antiquities and the British School of Archaeology in Iraq.Taha Baqir, "Iraq Government Excavations at 'Aqar Quf: Third Interim Report, 1944 - 1945", Iraq, vol. 8, pp. 73-93, 1946Taha Baqir, "Aqer Quf: Preliminary Report on Excavations by the Directorate General", Sumer 1, pp. 36-75, 1945 Over 100 cuneiform tablets of the Kassite period were recovered, now in the Iraq Museum. Some were date-able to the reigns of Burna-Buriash II and Kashtiliash IV. They also showed that two of the palaces were named the Palace of the Mountain Sheep and the Palace of the Stag. O. R. Gurney, "Further Texts from Dur-Kurigalzu", Sumer, vol. 9, iss. 1, pp. 21–34, 1953 A kudurru (IM 49991) dated to year five of Kassite ruler Nazi-Maruttash was also found.Paulus, S., "Blutige Vertragsstrafen in mittelbabylonischen Kaufurkunden", Zeitschrift für altorientalische und biblische Rechtsgeschichte 15, pp. 15–30, 2009 During the excavation, 5 fragments of a larger-than-life-size statue were discovered. They contain the longest yet found Kassite Sumerian inscriptions. Kramer, S. N.; Baqir, T.; and Levy, S. J., "Fragments of a Diorite Statue of Kurigalzu in the Iraq Museum.", Sumer, vol. 4, iss. 1, pp. 1–38, 1948 Niek Veldhuis, "Kurigalzu's Statue Inscription", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 60, pp. 25-52, 2008 A baked brick pavement (T5) around two kilometers northwest of Tell al-Abyadh was found to be covered with hundreds of broken terracotta figurines dedicated to the god Gula. Bricks found in situ were dated to the reign of Kassite ruler Nazi-Maruttash.M. A. Mustafa, "Kassite figurines", Sumer 3, 19–22, 1947 The excavations included the ziggurat, three temples, and part of the palace of Dur-Kurigalzu II.
In the early 1960s and from 1968 to 1975 the Iraqi Directorate-General of Antiquities continued to do some excavation around the ziggurat as part of a restoration project under Saddam HusseinSalman, I., "Foreword", Sumer 26, pp. a–k, 1970Salman, I., "Foreword", Sumer 27, pp. a–k, 1971Salman, I., "Foreword", Sumer 30, pp. a–p, 1974Salman, I., "Foreword", Sumer 31, pp. a–i, 1975Jeffery Orchard, "Recent Restoration Work in Iraq", Iraq, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 73-77, 1962Ali, S. M., "Archaeological conservation in 'Aqar Quf. The sixteenth season 1974–5", Sumer 36, 150–157, 1980 (Arabic section) The three excavated areas are the mound of Aqar Quf (including the ziggurat and large temple), a public building (approximately to the west), and Tell al-Abyadh where a large palace was partially uncovered (about to the south-west). Several burned cuneiform tablets dated to the reign of Marduk-apla-iddina I were found there.Van Buren, E. Douglas. "Excavations in Mesopotamia." Orientalia, vol. 15, 1946, pp. 497–503 As part of a temple restoration a pottery jar was found containing 220 Islamic silver dirhem coins from the Ilkhanid period.Salman, I., "Foreword", Sumer 25, pp. a–w, 1969
Excavations continued between 1977 and 1980, led by Suphi Anwar Rashid and Amire al-Khayyat, in the temple area. Paving and wall bricks dedicated to Enlil and Ninlil were found as well as a Kassite double jar burial, an inscribed eyestone for Enlil dedicated by Kurigalzu, and two female figurines in ivory.Postgate, J. N./P. J. Watson, "Excavations in Iraq 1977–1978", Iraq 41, pp. 141–181, 1979Roaf, M./J. N. Postgate, "Excavations in Iraq, 1979–1980", Iraq 43, pp. 167–198, 1981
Another area within Dur-Kurigalzu, Tell Abu Shijar, was excavated by Iraqi archaeologists in 1992, 1993, and 2001 finding mainly late Kassite and lesser Parthian/Sassanian remains. Painted plaster wall fragments, similar to those found at Tell al-Abyadh, were recovered as well as a worn cylinder seal and thirteen cuneiform clay tablets. The tablets were unread (and may be lost) but 3 were noted to have dates of the Kassite king Nazi-Maruttash (1307—1282 BC). The site lies 1 kilometer west of the ziggurat and 500 meters southwest of Tell al-Abyadh being about 6 meters in height with only the central 120-meter by 150-meter mound undisturbed by modern activity.Jasim et al.2006Ata K. Jasim et al., "Tell Abu Shijar, near 'Aqar Quf : Summary of excavations", vol. 127, no. 2, pp. 155-166, 2006
In the late-1960s an Italian team conducted a photogrammatic survey of the ziggurat.Sena, C., "Alcune considerazioni sulla la campagna di rilievi fotogrammetrici in Iraq: il rilievo della Ziggurat di Aqar-Quf." In Terra: incipit vita nova. L'architettura di terra cruda dalle origini alpresente. Atti del Seminario, Torino, 16-17 aprile 1997, edited by A. Gilbert and R. Mattone, 49-54. Torino: Politecnico di Torin, 1998
Wall paintings at Tell al-Abyadh