Zincirli Höyük

Zincirli Höyük is an archaeological site located in the Anti-Taurus Mountains of modern Turkey's Gaziantep Province. During its time under the control of the Neo-Assyrian Empire (c. 700 BC) it was called, by them, Sam'al. It was founded at least as far back as the Early Bronze Age and thrived between 3000 and 2000 BC, and on the highest part of the upper mound was found a walled citadel of the Middle Bronze Age (ca. 2000–1600 BC).

Location

Zinjirli Höyük is located at the northern end of the Kara Su river valley. The site is situated on the western side of the valley at the base of the Amanus Mountains, and measures approximately 40 ha in area. Its location was on the overland route that connected Carchemish to the fertile Cilician plain and further on west to Anatolia.

The city was protected by a double, almost circular wall with a diameter of 720 to 800 meters. Each of the two walls, made of air-dried clay bricks, was over three meters thick with the distance between them being seven meters. The walls had around 100 guard towers around, and three entrances. The residential area was located within the city walls.

On the citadel of Samal there were several palaces of Bit-hilani type, i.e. with an entrance decorated with wooden columns and a transverse main room. The citadel also contained palaces from the Assyrian period, and warehouses.

Early Bronze Age

The site of Sam'al was occupied in the Early Bronze Age III/IV (c. 2700–2100 BC).

It may be speculated if the site was a trade center on the Anatolian Trade Network, bringing metals from Anatolia into the Near East.

Middle Bronze II

At least from c.1700 to 1650 BC Zincirli Höyük was a trading hub with the production of wine transported in a specific type of vessel, the globular flask, being part of the trade centered in the nearby ancient Syrian region of Mamma. Zincirli is located only 9 km north of Tilmen Höyük, possibly the capital of the Zalpa/Zalwar kingdom, which eventually became one of the twenty vassal small states of the Yamhad kingdom based on Aleppo.

New excavations revealed a monumental complex in the Middle Bronze Age II (ca. 1800–1700 BC), and another structure (Complex DD) that was destroyed in the mid to late 17th century BC, maybe by Hititte king Hattusili I. This event was recently radiocarbon-dated to sometime between 1632 and 1610 BC, during the late Middle Bronze Age II (ca. 1700–1600 BC).

Excavations by Chicago-Tubingen Expedition revealed that the bit-hilani palace of Hilani I in Zincirli (believed by the early German excavators to be from Iron Age Sam'al period) was actually a large broadroom temple from Middle Bronze Age II, lasting roughly from 1800 to 1650 BC, destroyed in mid- to late 17th century BC based on 10 radiocarbon dates. Additional samples later produced a radiocarbon date of c. 1632–1610 BC for the destruction. The archaeological site of Zincirli was not abandoned after Hattusili I's sack sometime around 1632 to 1610 BC, as there is recent evidence of Hittite occupation during the Late Bronze Age.

In 2020, the nearby site of Tilmen Höyük was "convincingly identified" with the ancient 'Zalpa' in the Annals of Ḫattušili I. There is also another ancient town of Zalpa, located at Zalpuwa to the north of Ḫattuša near the Black Sea. That northern Zalpa was mentioned in the Hittite "Queen of Kanesh" myth. Scholars were formerly unsure about the location of 'Zalpa' that Hattusili I destroyed, and thought it was in the north.

Late Bronze

The site was thought to have been abandoned during the Hittite and Mitanni periods, but excavations in 2021 season showed evidence of occupation during the Late Bronze Age in Hittite times (ca. 1600–1180 BC).

Iron Age

The Iron Age II town of Zincirli was founded about 900 BC, according to the inscription of Kilamuwa. The name of Gabbar suggests that he was an Aramaean chieftain seizing power in the predominantly Luwian area.

The area flourished in the Iron Age (Iron IIA period), initially under Luwian-speaking Neo-Hittites, and the city soon had become a kingdom. In the 9th and 8th century BC it came under control of the Neo-Assyrian Empire and by the 7th century BC had become a directly ruled Assyrian province.

Aramean kingdom

The Aramean kingdom flourished here from the early 900s to 713 BC, with its capital at Zinjirli. Its native Samalian language name was Yādiya or Ya'diya. The Assyrians knew it as Sam'al, and in Aramaic it was known as Ya'udi, or Yaudi. This was a middle power of the Middle-East in the early first millennium BC.

A dynasty of eleven Aramean kings ruled this city state, that was formerly Luwian. Its location was near the Nur Mountains. The monumental inscription of Kilamuwa, the fifth king of the dynasty, is the earliest inscription that provides us with historical information. Four more of these kings have also left inscriptions later. These are the main sources for historical data about this time period.

The Aramean dynasty founder was king Gabbar, dated around 900 BC. Royal steles and stone tablets from the period of Panamuwa II are also important.

Also the Kilamuwa scepter has been found here in 1943. It is a small gold object inscribed in a similar old type of Phoenician alphabet.

The kingdom became a middle power at the end of the 10th century BC. It had expanded from being a city state and gained territories from Carchemish, around Adana from Quwê and remained independent. It didn't become part of Cilicia.