Khafajah in the context of "Jemdet Nasr period"

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⭐ Core Definition: Khafajah

Khafajah or Khafaje (Arabic: خفاجة), ancient Tutub, is an archaeological site in Diyala Governorate, Iraq 7 miles (11 km) east of Baghdad. Khafajah lies on the Diyala River, a tributary of the Tigris. Occupied from the Uruk and Jemdet Nasr periods through the end of the Old Babylonian Empire, it was under the control of the Akkadian Empire and then the Third Dynasty of Ur in the 3rd millennium BC. It then became part of the empire of the city-state of Eshnunna lying 12 miles (19 km) southwest of that city, about 5 miles (8.0 km) from the ancient city of Shaduppum, and near Tell Ishchali, both of which Eshnunna also controlled. It then fell to First Babylonian Empire before falling into disuse. The city of Tutub is mentioned in a fragmentary Sumerian temple hymn "... To the shrine Nippur, to the Duranki <we go>, To ..., to the brickwork of Tutub <we go>, To the lofty Abzu ...".

The site of Tulul Khattab (also Telul Khattab) lies 13 kilometers away and at over 50 hectares is one of the largest in the area. The site consists of 14 sub-mounds and it was excavated in 1979 (as it was being exploited by brickmaking industries) recovering 379 Old Babylonian period cuneiform tablets and fragments (225 on Mound 1 and 154 on Mound 2), which featured nine year names of Eshnunna rulers including "Year 2 of Ṣillī-Sîn as king". Only a handful of the tablets have been published.

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In this Dossier

Khafajah in the context of Rimush (Akkad)

Rimush (or Rimuš, 𒌷𒈬𒍑 Ri-mu-uš; died c. 2270 BC) was the second king of the Akkadian Empire. He was the son of Sargon of Akkad. He was succeeded by his brother Manishtushu, and was an uncle of Naram-Sin of Akkad. Naram-Sin posthumously deified Sargon and Manishtushi but not his uncle. His sister was Enheduana, considered the earliest known named author in world history. Little is known about his brother Shu-Enlil. There was a city, Dur-Rimuš (Fortress of Rimush), located near Tell Ishchali and Khafajah. It was known to be a cult center of the storm god Adad.

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Khafajah in the context of Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia)

The Early Dynastic Period (abbreviated ED Period or ED) is an archaeological culture in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) that is generally dated to c. 2900 – c. 2350 BC and was preceded by the Uruk and Jemdet Nasr periods. It saw the development of writing and the formation of the first cities and states. The ED itself was characterized by the existence of multiple city-states: small states with a relatively simple structure that developed and solidified over time. This development ultimately led, directly after this period, to broad Mesopotamian unification under the rule of Sargon, the first monarch of the Akkadian Empire. Despite their political fragmentation, the ED city-states shared a relatively homogeneous material culture. Sumerian cities such as Uruk, Ur, Lagash, Umma, and Nippur located in Lower Mesopotamia were very powerful and influential. To the north and west stretched states centered on cities such as Kish, Mari, Nagar, and Ebla.

The study of Central and Lower Mesopotamia has long been given priority over neighboring regions. Archaeological sites in Central and Lower Mesopotamia—notably Girsu but also Eshnunna, Khafajah, Ur, and many others—have been excavated since the 19th century. These excavations have yielded cuneiform texts and many other important artifacts. As a result, this area was better known than neighboring regions, but the excavation and publication of the archives of Ebla have changed this perspective by shedding more light on surrounding areas, such as Upper Mesopotamia, western Syria, and southwestern Iran. These new findings revealed that Lower Mesopotamia shared many socio-cultural developments with neighboring areas and that the entirety of the ancient Near East participated in an exchange network in which material goods and ideas were being circulated.

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Khafajah in the context of Amorite language

Amorite is an extinct early Semitic language, formerly spoken during the Bronze Age by the Amorite tribes prominent in ancient Near Eastern history. It is known from Ugaritic, which is classed by some as its westernmost dialect, and from non-Akkadian proper names recorded by Akkadian scribes during periods of Amorite rule in Babylonia (the end of the 3rd and the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC), notably from Mari and to a lesser extent Alalakh, Tell Harmal and Khafajah. Occasionally, such names are also found in early Egyptian texts; and one place name, "Sənīr" (שְׂנִיר) for Mount Hermon, is known from the Bible (Book of Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy 3:9).

Amorite is considered an archaic Northwest Semitic language.

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Khafajah in the context of Tell Ishchali

Tell Ishchali (also Iščāli or Šaǧālī) is an archaeological site in Diyala Province (Iraq) a few hundred meters from the Diyala River, a tributary of the Tigris, and 3 miles south by southeast from the ancient city of Khafajah. It is thought to be ancient Nērebtum or Kiti and was, for part of its history, under the control of the city-state of Eshnunna which lies about 20 miles to the northeast. It is known to have been occupied during the Isin-Larsa period and Old Babylonian period with excavations ending before earlier levels were reached. Tell Ischali lies about 3 miles (4.8 km) southeast of the modern city of Baghdad.

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Khafajah in the context of Proto-Elamite script

The Proto-Elamite script is an early Bronze Age writing system briefly in use before the introduction of Elamite cuneiform. The Proto-Elamite script is largely undeciphered (the numerical portion ispartly deciphered).

There are many similarities between the Proto-Elamite tablets and the contemporaneous proto-cuneiform tablets of the Uruk IV period in Mesopotamia. Both writing systems are a relatively isolated phenomenon. Singletons aside tablets have been found at only five Proto-Elamite sites. For comparison, Proto-cuneiform tablets have only been found at Uruk, Jemdet Nasr, Khafajah, and Tell Uqair, and the vast majority of each type have been found at Susa and Uruk. The tablet blanks themselves, the inscribing method, even the practice of using the reverse for summation, when needed, are the same. They serve the same basic function which is administrative accounting of goods in a centrally controlled society. From that base, there are also differences, the signs themselves being the most obvious but extending to smaller areas such as the order in which the tablet was inscribed, are clear. Fortunately, there are a number of similarities between the numeric systems of Proto-cuneiform and Proto-Elamite. Proto-Elamite, in addition to the usual sexagesimal and base-120, also uses its own decimal system.

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