Tell Rimah — Tall al-Rimah (Qattara)
Tall al-Rimah · Tell ar-Rimah · Qattara of Shamshi-Adad
Ninevite 5 to Neo-Assyrian (2800 BCE–600 BCE; peak OB 1800–1700 BCE)·EBA → Old Babylonian (Qattara, Shamshi-Adad) → Kassite → Neo-Assyrian·🇮🇶 Nineveh Governorate, Sinjar–Hamrin foothills, Tell Afar district, Iraq
About
About Tell Rimah — Tall al-Rimah (Qattara)
Tell Rimah is a 12 ha fortified Middle Bronze–Old Babylonian city (Tall al-Rimah = Qattara), excavated by David Oates (Cambridge/Baghdad School, 1964–71). Shamshi-Adad I winter capital ca. 1775 BCE; large temples A and B, ziggurat, and palace yielded 400 Old Babylonian tablets of Hatnu-rapi and Shamshi-Adad referencing Andarig–Qattara war, bronze figurines and inlaid ivories. Cassite and Neo-Assyrian later levels.
Why it mattersKey to Shamshi-Adad chronology linking Mari, Leilan, Rimah tablets — synchronizes Hammurabi epoch.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Exact equivalence of Qattara=Harbe? debated
Theories
- 01Oates: Rimah proves OB Upper Mesopotamian empire then Babylonian succession
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.2800 BCE (EBA)
- Period
- Ninevite 5 to Neo-Assyrian (2800 BCE–600 BCE; peak OB 1800–1700 BCE)
- Culture
- EBA → Old Babylonian (Qattara, Shamshi-Adad) → Kassite → Neo-Assyrian
- Builders
- Early Jazira then Shamshi-Adad builders
- Purpose
- Winter capital of Shamshi-Adad I and later Kassite administrative town
- Abandoned
- c.600 BCE
- Rediscovered
- 1930s Seton Lloyd reconnaissance; 1964 Oates
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
1964–1971
Oates campaigns; ziggurat and palace tablets
c.1775 BCE
Shamshi-Adad occupation and archive deposit
On the ground
Structures & features
36.2700° N · 42.4500° E · 320 m · 3 mapped features
Rimah Ziggurat and Temple A
templeWhite plastered ziggurat with Temple A doorway lions
36.2707° N · 42.4506° ERimah Palace Tablet Archive
archiveOB palace with 400 tablets of Shamshi-Adad/Hatnu-rapi
36.2693° N · 42.4508° ERimah Neo-Assyrian Fort Gate
fortificationNeo-Assyrian gate with glazed brick rosettes
36.2710° N · 42.4494° E