Royal Palace of Mari
The remains of the royal palace of Mari
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| Location | Mari, Eastern Syria |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 34°33′05″N 40°53′19″E / 34.551399°N 40.888473°E |
| Type | Dwelling |
| Part of | Acropolis |
| Area | 2.5 hectares (6.2 acres) |
| History | |
| Material | Stone |
| Founded | 24th century BC, last major renovation c.1800 BC. |
| Periods | Bronze – Hellenistic |
| Associated with | Yasmah-Adad, Zimrilim |
| Site notes | |
| Condition | Partial restoration |
| Public access | No |
| Active excavation | |
| Mari |
 Euphrates • Terqa • Tuttul Royal Palace |
| Kings |
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Yaggid-Lim • Yahdun-Lim Yasmah-Adad Zimri-Lim (Queen Shibtu) |
| Archaeology |
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Investiture of Zimri-Lim Statue of Ebih-Il Statue of Iddi-Ilum |
The Royal Palace of Mari was the royal residence of the rulers of the ancient kingdom of Mari in eastern Syria. Situated centrally amidst Palestine, Syria, Babylon, Levant, and other Mesopotamian city-states, Mari acted as the “middle-man” to these larger, powerful kingdoms. Both the size and grand nature of the palace demonstrate the importance of Mari during its long history, though the most intriguing feature of the palace is the nearly 25,000 tablets found within the palace rooms. The royal palace was discovered in 1935, excavated with the rest of the city throughout the 1930s, and is considered one of the most important finds made at MariAndré Parrot led the excavations and was responsible for the discovery of the city and the palace. Thousands of clay tablets were discovered through the efforts of André Bianquis, which provided archaeologists the tools to learn about, and to understand, everyday life at the palace and in Mari. The discovery of the tablets also aided in the labeling of various rooms in terms of their purpose and function.
The palace reached its grandest state with its last renovation under king Zimri-Lim in the 18th century BC; in addition to serving as the home of the royal family, the palace would have also housed royal guards, state workers, members of the military, and those responsible for the daily activities of the kingdom. The apartments of the king were well separated from the rest of the palace and relatively simple to identify when Parrot led the excavations. While most rooms in the palace were interconnected and allowed access to one another, the private quarters of the royal family were very isolated. Parrot emphasized the amount of privacy afforded the king and his family, as well as the maximum level of security that was maintained through the architecture of the building.
An entry gate was the only access point of the large palace complex, thus providing added security. The layout of the palace was also built with the security of the royal family in mind. A central court was surrounded by a series of smaller rooms. Entryways to courtyards were positioned in such a way as to make any attacks on those within the courtyard nearly impossible. Such architectural features did not allow any visitor to peer directly into one of the open courts, but forced a visitor to change direction and enter on the side of the court; anyone wishing to use a weapon would not have been able to directly access any room inside of the main gateway.
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Wikipedia