Saggarâtum (sa-ga-ra-tumki) was a city in the ancient Near East which is still unlocated though it is known to have been on the Habur River, a tributary of the Euphrates. In texts from Ebla it is called "Sag-garki". One proposal is that other readings of the name were "Sapiratum" or "Sapirete" though this is generally thought to be a different cities.Heimpel, Wolfgang, "Introduction", Letters to the King of Mari: A New Translation, with Historical Introduction, Notes, and Commentary, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 1-36, 2003 Another suggestion is that by the 1st millennium BC it had become "Sangarite".Dalley, Stephanie, "The Late Bronze Age and the Iron Age", Mari and Karana: Two Old Babylonian Cities: With a New Introduction by the Author, Piscataway, NJ, USA: Gorgias Press, pp. 179-207, 2003 Saggarâtum is also mentioned in the texts of Eshnunna ruler Ilūni.Beckman, Gary, "Recriminations on the Diyala: More on Ilūni", Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie, vol. 116, no. 1, pp. 107-124, 2026
Saggarâtum was a river port and known to have been the location of one of the kingdoms icehouses and a source of truffles. In a text from Yaqqim-Addu I, governor of Saggarâtum, to his king Zimri-Lim he wrote:
The religion of Saggarâtum is unclear. A deity "Aštabi-Il" was mentioned in documents found at Mari. A deity, Aštabi, was known to have been worshiped at nearby Ebla in the 3rd millennium BC.Frayne, Douglas R. and Stuckey, Johanna H., "A", A Handbook of Gods and Goddesses of the Ancient Near East: Three Thousand Deities of Anatolia, Syria, Israel, Sumer, Babylonia, Assyria, and Elam, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 1-42, 2021 It is known the cult statutes were held in Saggarâtum. It has been proposed that the Hurrian deities Teshub and Ḫepat were worshiped there though most of the personal names at Saggarâtum were Semitic. Sasson, Jack M. "Hurrians and Hurrian Personal Names in the Mari Texts", Ugarit-Forschungen 6, pp. 353-400, 1974
History
Initially, the area of Mari, including Saggarâtum, came under the control of the Kingdom of Upper Mesopotamia ruled by Shamshi-Adad I of Ekallatum. Shamshi-Adad I assigned control of Mari to his second son Yasmah-Adad. In one text Isme-Dagan I, first son of Shamshi-Adad I, writes to Yasmah-Adad, governor of Saggarâtum: "In truth, because of the emigrees in Saggarâtum, there was rebellious activity, so that the king ordered executions there" Sasson, Jack M., "Treatment of Criminals at Mari: A Survey", Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 90–113, 1977
After the collapse of the Kingdom of Upper Mesopotamia Mari, including Saggarâtum, came under the control of the Lim dynasty of Suprum beginning with Yaggid-Lim. The 2nd ruler, Sumu-Yamam, is known from two year names one being "Year in which Sumu-Yamam built the city wall of Saggaratum".Sumu-Yamam year names at CDLI The Old Babylonian period kingdom of Mari was made up of several parts, the central districts of Mari, Terqa and Saggarâtum, Qaṭṭunān (a short distance upstream on the Habur from Saggarâtum), and Tuttul. Little is known of Qattunan (a location of Tell Fagdami has been suggested) though some of its governors were Akšak-magir, Ilušu-naṣir, Zakira-ḫammu, and Zimri-Addu. Known governors of Saggarâtum were Mášum, Itûr-Asdû (under Yasmah-Addu, also governor of Mari), (Ḫ)abduma-Dagan (died in Zimri-Lim year 1, also a governor of Tuttul), followed by Sumḫu-rabi (Zimri-Lim years 1 to 3), and Yaqqim-Addu I.Sasson, Jack M., "Administration", From the Mari Archives: An Anthology of Old Babylonian Letters, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 119-180, 2015Miglio, Adam E., "Zimri-Lim's Conduct of International Politics", Tribe and State: The Dynamics of International Politics and the Reign of Zimri-Lim, Piscataway, NJ, USA: Gorgias Press, pp. 109-186, 2014Heimpel, Wolfgang, "Index of Individuals", Letters to the King of Mari: A New Translation, with Historical Introduction, Notes, and Commentary, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 525-570, 2003 Mášum, an Amorite, is notable for being contemporary to Hammurabi of Babylon in the period while Babylon was an ally/vassal of Shamshi-Adad I of Ekallatum.Lewy, Hildegard, "Šubat-Šamaš and Tuttul", Orientalia, vol. 27, no. 1, 1958, pp. 1–18, 1958
Under the next ruler, Zimri-Lim, Mari faced problems with incursions by tribal elements, especially the Yaminites. At one point there was a large Yaminite uprising which Zimri-Lim put down, reflected in his year name "Year in which Zimri-Lim was victorious against the Yaminites in Saggaratum and killed their kings". During the Mari period a prophet, Lupaḫumis is recorded as saying "As before, when the Yaminites came to me and settled in Saggaratum, I was the one who spoke to the king: “Do not make a treaty with the Yaminites" indicating that the Yaminites were a problem for the city.Nissinen, Martti, "Sacred Springs and Liminal Rivers: Water and Prophecy in the Ancient Eastern Mediterranean", Prophetic Divination: Essays in Ancient Near Eastern Prophecy, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 441-460, 2019 A Mari directive stated "record all of the Yaminites from Zimri-Lim’s districts of Mari, Terqa, and Saggaratum who are supposed to serve with the king’s armies".Fleming, D. E., "Democracy’s Ancient Ancestors: Mari and Early Collective Governance", Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004 Zimri-Lim, ruler of Mari, had a palace at Saggarâtum.Postgate, J. N., D. O. Edzard, and M. P. Streck, "Palast AV", Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie 10, pp. 212-26, 2004Ziegler N., "Le Harem de Zimri-Lim. La population féminine des palais d’aprè s les archives royales de Mari", FM 4, Mémoires de NABU 5, Paris, 1999
After a long and successful reign which included an alliance with Babylon the kingdom of Mari, minus Mari itself which had been destroyed, fell under the control of Babylon during its expansionist phase under Hammurabi whose 33rd year name included "... overthrew in battle the army of Mari and Malgium and caused Mari and its territory and the various cities of Subartu to dwell under his authority in friendship ...".Yamada, Shigeo, "The City of Ṭābatum and its Surroundings: The Organization of Power in the Post-Hammurabi Period", Organization, Representation, and Symbols of Power in the Ancient Near East: Proceedings of the 54th Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale at Würzburg 20–25 Jul, edited by Gernot Wilhelm, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 591-604, 2012 The last significant mention of Saggarâtum was in the Old Babylonian period during the reign of Samsu-iluna (c. 1749–1712 BC), seventh ruler of First Dynasty of Babylon and son of Hammurabi. His 33rd year name read "Year in which Samsu-iluna the king at the command of Shamash and Marduk restored completely all the brickwork of the city of Saggaratum".Ebeling, E. and Meissner, B., "Reallexikon der Assyriologie (RIA-2)", Berlin, 1938
After the fall of Babylon c. 1600 BC, Saggarâtum, along with Qaṭṭunān, became part of the Kingdom of Ḫana, with Terqa usually considered to be its capitol (though Saggarâtum has been proposed in that role as well). This continued until c. 1400 BC when Hana fell to the Mitanni Empire. After that there are no records of Saggarâtum.Chavalas, Mark, "Terqa and the Kingdom of Khana", The Biblical Archaeologist, vol. 59, no. 2, pp. 90–103, 1996Podany, Amanda H., "Hana and the Low Chronology", Journal of Near Eastern Studies, vol. 73, no. 1, pp. 49–71, 2014Buccellati, Giorgio, "The Kingdom and Period of Khana", Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, no. 270, pp. 43–61, 1988 Yamada, Shigeo, "An adoption contract from Tell Taban, the kings of the land of Hana, and the Hana-style scribal tradition", Revue d’assyriologie et d’archéologie orientale 105.1, pp. 61-84, 2011
Location Saggarâtum is known to have been on the Habur River, a tributary of the Euphrates river and is thought to have been near the confluence between these rivers. The site of Tell Feddeïn, 30 kilometers from the confluence, has been proposed as well as that of Tall Suwwar .Dossin, Georges, "Archives de Sûmu-iamam, roi de Mari", Revue d’Assyriologie et d’archéologie Orientale, vol. 64, no. 1, pp. 17–44, 1970 A subsequent survey of the region indicated those proposals are not correct. Röllig, Wolfgang, and Hartmut Kühne, "The Lower Habur. A preliminary report on a survey conducted by the Tübinger Atlas des Vorderen Orients in 1975", Les Annales Archéologiques Arabes Syriennes, vol. 27/28, pp. 115-140, 1977/1978
The town of Ziniyan (on the border with Terqa) is known to have been in the territory of Saggarâtum.Archi, Alfonso, "Studies in the Pantheon of Ebla, II", Ebla and Its Archives: Texts, History, and Society, Berlin, München, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 601-614, 2015 Also Dur-Yasmaḫ-Addu / Dur-Yaḫdullim which has a suggested location of Tell Mohasan.Safren, Jonathan D., "Dūr-Yaḫdun-Lim: The Raison d’être of an Ancient Mesopotamian Fortress-City", Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 1–47, 1989Sasson, Jack M., "Introduction", From the Mari Archives: An Anthology of Old Babylonian Letters, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 1-20, 2015 And Niḫadu, Manuhatan, Zibnatum, and Dabis.Heimpel, Wolfgang, "Index of Place-Names", Letters to the King of Mari: A New Translation, with Historical Introduction, Notes, and Commentary, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 605-630, 2003
Shamshi-Adad I of Ekallatum wrote to Yasmah-Adad about a planned visit to Mari from his capitol in Shubat-Enlil saying
An itinerary from the time of Shamshi-Adad I indicated that travel between his capitol at that time, Shubat-Enlil, and Saggāratum took 5 days (about 175 kilometers) and proceeded on the route Shubat-Enlil, Tilla, Aslhum, Iyatu(m), Lakusir and then Saggāratum. Goetze, Albrecht, "An Old Babylonian Itinerary", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 51–72, 1953 Charpin, Dominique, "From Mari to Yakaltum: a route westwards according to the royal archives of Mari", Entre les fleuves–III. On the Way in Upper Mesopotamia: Routes, Travels and Environment as Basis for the Reconstruction of Historical Geography 30, pp. 119-132, 2023
Zimri-Lim took two "pilgrimages in his reign. The first proceeded to Ṣuprum, then to Terqa and then upstream of the Ḫabur, to Saggāratum, Raṣum, Tâdum, Ilānṣurā and Razamā ending at Ḫušlā where observances to Addu of Kummê were made.Pappi, Cinzia, "Religion and Politics at the Divine Table: The Cultic Travels of Zimrī-Līm", Organization, Representation, and Symbols of Power in the Ancient Near East: Proceedings of the 54th Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale at Würzburg 20–25 Jul, edited by Gernot Wilhelm, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 579-590, 2012
It is known that there was a canal between Saggarâtum and Suprum. Suprum, upstream of Mari, was the home of the Lim dynasty and Tell Abu Hassan has been suggested for its location.Miglio, Adam E., "A Dynamic Socio-Political Landscape: “Mari and the Land of the Mobile Pastoralists”", Tribe and State: The Dynamics of International Politics and the Reign of Zimri-Lim, Piscataway, NJ, USA: Gorgias Press, pp. 55-108, 2014
Saggarâtum has also been said to be near the Kingdom of Hana and possibly at Tell Abu Ha'it. Podany, Amanda H., et al., "An Adoption and Inheritance Contract from the Reign of Iggid-Lim of Ḫana", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 43/45, pp. 39–51, 1991
The site of Chagar Bazar has also been suggested.Frayne, Douglas, "Towards a Historical Geography of the Khābūr Triangle Region in Old Babylonian Times. Part 1", Journal of the Canadian Society for Mesopotamian Studies 7, pp. 33-45, 2012
See also Cities of the Ancient Near East
References
Further reading