Search

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Syria | Zenobia | Legio | Limes (modern Sinǧār), on the southern edge of the Ǧabal Sinǧār in northwestern Iraq [1]. It is first mentioned in an Assyrian letter from the 9th century BC as Māt Singara [2. 155 f.] and was part of the province of Rasapa. As an important intersection of the routes from upper Ḫābūr to the Tigris and from Nisibis to Ḥatra [1] S. is also noted in the Tabula Peutingeriana as Singara [2; 3]. At the end of the 2nd cent. BC, S. was part of the Severan fronti…

[English Version] Hadrian VI., Papst 9.1.1522 (Krönung 31.8.1522) – 14.9.1523 (Adrianus Florensz Boeyens, Adrian von Utrecht, geb. 2.3.1459 Utrecht). Wahrscheinlich empfing H. seine erste Ausbildung von den Brüdern vom gemeinsamen Leben. 1476 begann er sein Studium an der Universität Löwen (1491 Dr. theol.), wo er seit 1489 eine Professur innehatte. Zweimal war er Rektor der Löwener Universität (1493 und 1500–1501), seit 1497 auch Kanzler. Obwohl selbst eher traditionell orientiert, förderte er in …

[German Version] Jan 9, 1522 (coronation Aug 31, 1522) – Sep 14, 1523 (Adrianus Florensz Boeyens, Adrian of Utrecht, b. Mar 2, 1459, Utrecht). Hadrian probably received his early education from the Brothers of the Common Life. In 1476, he began his studies at the University of Leuven (1491 Dr.theol.) where he held a professorship from 1489. He was twice rector of the University of Leuven (1493 and 1500–1501) and chancellor from 1497. Although he was more traditionally oriented himself, he supporte…

The overcoming of distances by people and goods, using means of transport on transport routes. [German version] I. The Ancient Orient The oldest means of transport are people, beasts of burden and boats. They were used for short- and long-distance traffic alike, for individual items and for bulk transport. It was not only in the nomadic context (Nomads) that donkeys and later camels were employed unharnessed for their stamina as beasts of burden, and their ability to travel long distances with little food. In Egypt,…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Mesopotamia (modern Tall al-Muqayyar; Sumerian uriki ; in the OT Ūr kaśdīm, cf. Gn 11,28 and 31; 15,7 i.a.; no Greek name, since it was abandoned in the 4th cent. BC). City in the southernmost part of Babylonia, discovered and identified in 1854 by J. E. Taylor. Excavations on a larger scale took place under C. L. Woolley in 1922-1934, which became well-known because of the discovery of royal tombs with burial gifts of gold, silver and coloured stones. The orig…

[German version] (or tall; Arabic tall, plural tulūl; 'hill', then also 'settlement mound'). A common component of present-day names of ruin sites in the Near East. It indicates a widespread shape for earlier places of settlement in the Near East and Central Asia, which grew, some to a considerable height, by the accumulation of layers of settlement on top of each other. This was caused by the most widespread building material, unbaked mud bricks, which often disintegrated after a few decades. The resu…

[German version] (Ἰχάρα; Ichára, modern Failaka). Island in the Persian Gulf, on the east coast of Arabia. The island, mentioned in Ptolemy (6,7,47 N), is today generally regarded as a variant of  Icarus. While the identification fluctuated between Failaka, Kharg and Qaru for a long time, the equation of Icarus (and thus Ichara?) with Failaka has meanwhile been confirmed by inscriptions. According to Arrian (Anab. 7,20,2-3), the island received its name from Alexander, after an island in the Aegean…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Mesopotamia (modern al-Warkā; Sumerian unu(g)ki; in the OT Erek/ rk, cf. Gn 10:10; Greek Ὀρχόη/ Orchóē). City in southern Babylonia, discovered in 1849 by W. K. Loftus, excavated by German archaeologists since 1912 (with wartime interruptions). Based on settlements of the 5th millennium BC, Uruk developed in the 2nd half of the 4th millennium ('Uruk period') into one of the first large cities, with an area of 250 ha. Uruk was the cult city of Inanna/Ishtar…

[German version] The capital of modern Uzbekistan, on the western slopes of Mount Tianshan, in an oasis irrigated by the Čirčik (a tributary of the Iaxartes). The country of Juni mentioned in 2nd cent. BC Chinese sources was later identified with the area of T. The local name was presumably Čač, as also used in the Islamic period; Arabic authors used Šaš. The earliest traces of settlement date from the 6th-4th cents. BC (Šaš-Tepe). From the 5th cent. AD several towns developed, which ultimately me…

[German version] Town and oasis region (T. basin) in eastern Uyghurstan (Xinjian) in China, to the south of the Tianshan mountains, on the northeastern edge of the Taklamakan desert, an important station on the Silk Road. There are numerous historically and archaeologically significant places there: 10 km to the west of modern T. is the Chinese fortress of Jiaohe, which from the 2nd cent. BC until the 5th cent. AD was the capital of the kingdom of Cheshi. Around 100 BC Gaochang came into being 30 …

[German version] I. Egypt and Ancient Orient The boundaries between games and  sport are fluid; here only relaxation games ( Board games) are treated that are very well known e.g. for Egypt as originals from tomb contexts and pictorial representations e.g. the Senet board game ( znt) was popular. The position regarding the sources for the Ancient Orient is very limited for climatic reasons (wood barely preserved). We can make only assumptions about the rules of games. In addition to the game boards there are game stones, astragaloi ( Astragalos [2]), dice and little dice rods tha…

[German version] (Θούμνα/ Thoúmna Ptol. 6,7,31; Τάμνα/ Támna Str. 16,4,2-4 and Steph. Byz.; Thomna Plin. HN 6,153 and 12,64; inscriptions Tumna, cf. Biblical Timna Gn 36:12, 1 Chr 1:51; modern Ḥaǧar Kuḥlān). On the Incense Road between Sabbatha and Mariaba in modern Yemen, once the capital of the kingdom of the Qatabān ( Kattabaneís). Besides houses, excavations have revealed a gate building, a temple and graves. The dating is still uncertain: between 685/430 BC and 100/200 AD. Nissen, Hans Jörg (Berlin) Bibliography G. W. van Beek, s. v. Timna, The Oxford Encyclopedia of…

[German version] Right-hand side valley of the Wādī al-Araba, about 30 km to the north of the Gulf of Aqaba. There were rich copper deposits there, which were mined from the 4th millennium BC until the Islamic period by means of galleries, up to 35 m long, cut into the rock. Smelting sites are evidence of smelting in situ. An Egyptian temple from the time of Sethos [1] I (1290-1279) and Ramses [2] II (1279-1213) particularly deserves mention. Nissen, Hans Jörg (Berlin) Bibliography W. G. Dever, s. v. Timna, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East, vol. …

[German version] (Τόχαροι/ Tócharoi  Str. 11,8,2; Latin Tochari:  Just. Epit. 42,2,2; Thocari: Plin.  HN 6,55; Τάχοροι/ Táchoroi: Ptol. 6,16,4; Athagurae: Amm.  Marc. 23,6,66; Θαγούροι/ Thagoúroi: Ptol. 6,16,2). Group of Inner Asian tribes, after which an Indo-European language is named Tocharian. It is mentioned in the context of the westward migration of the Yuezhi after their defeat in 176 or 174 BC by the Xiongnu (presumed Central-Asiatic antecedents of the Hunni). According to the Geography of Ptolemaeus [65], and in Strabo and Justin (see above) located in Gans…

[German version] Mountain province of central Iranian Zagrus settled from the 6th millennium. L. is especially well known because of the large number of bronze weapons and artefacts from extensive (plundered) cemeteries, particularly from the 1st millennium BC, now in numerous museums. Nissen, Hans Jörg (Berlin) Bibliography F. Hole (ed.), The Archaeology of Western Iran, 1987 L. Vanden Berghe, La nécropole de Mir Khair au Pusht-i Kuh, L., in: Iranica Antiqua 14, 1979, 1-37.

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Diadochi and Epigoni | Phoenicians, Poeni Modern Amrīt, important town in northern Phoenicia south of Aradus [1], which controlled it in 333/2 BC (Arr. Anab. 2,13,8; 14,1; 15,6; Curt. 4,1,6) and in 218 (Pol. 5,68,7). Around the middle of the 2nd cent. M. was independent and was able to defend itself against the Aradians (Diod. Sic. 33,5f.). According to Str. 16,2,12, M. was destroyed and its land divided among settlers from Aradus, but the city must…

[German version] (ἡ Σουσιανή/ hē Sousianḗ), cf. OGIS 54,17; Pol. 5,46,7); today the plain forming part of Ḫūzestān in Iran. From the 3rd millennium onwards the main region of the kingdom of Elam, satrapy of the Achaemenid kingdom, in the Seleucid-Sassanid period referred to as Elymais. Its most significant town (from 4000 BC onwards) was Susa. Nissen, Hans Jörg (Berlin) Bibliography E. Carter, M. W. Stolper, Elam: Surveys of Political History and Archaeology, 1984  J. Wiesehöfer, Das antike Persien, 1993.

[German version] Town in northwestern Iran with Iron Age III remains (7th cent. BC). The objects made of gold, silver, bronze, ivory and ceramics, some magnificent, published as originating in Z. in numerous museums and collections are, however, all from illicit excavations of unknown location: Z. is a label created by dealers in antiquities and unchallenged by the majority of archaeologists. Nissen, Hans Jörg (Berlin) Bibliography O. W. Muscarella, 'Ziwiye' and Ziwiye: The Forgery of a Provenience, in: Journ. of Field Archaeology 4, 1977, 197-219 Id., Art and Archaeology in …

[German version] (or Tape, Tappe; Turkish 'hill'). Frequent component of the modern name of ruin sites in the region from Near to Central Asia. Synonymous with tell. Nissen, Hans Jörg (Berlin)

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Achaemenids | Alexander | Hellenistic states | India, trade with (modern Taḫt-e Ǧamšīd; Greek Πέρσαι Πόλις/ Pérsai Pólis, Περσέπολις/ Persépolis (Diod. Sic. 17,70,1 et passim.; Str. 15,3,6); Latin Persepolis (Curt. 5,4,33 et passim; Amm. Marc. 23,6,42); Ancient Persian Pārsa, homophone of the name of the territory of Persis). Situated on the north eastern edge of the Marv Dašt Plain, approx. 60 km north of Šīrāz near the opening of the valley through which the road to Pasargadae an…