Mari​—Queen Bilong Desert Bifor

MAN from France wea studyim olketa oldfala samting, André Parrot, hem sei: “Hed bilong mi lelebet raraon taem mi kasem bak rum bilong mi bihaen mi and olketa fren bilong mi celebratem nambawan samting wea mifala lucky for faendem.” Long January 1934, long Tell Hariri, klosap long taon bilong Abu Kemal wea stap saed long Euphrates River long Syria, Parrot and team bilong hem digim from graon wanfala statue witim raeting long hem wea sei: “Lamgi-Mari, king bilong Mari, hae priest bilong Enlil.” Olketa barava hapi tumas long samting olketa faendem.

Olketa faendem nao taon bilong Mari! Why nao olketa Bible student interest long diswan?

Why Nao Iumi Interest Long Datfala Taon?

Olketa oldfala raeting story abaotem Mari, bat no eniwan savve long barava ples wea hem stap bifor. Olketa man from Sumer wea copyim olketa manuscript talem hao Mari hem kapitol taon bilong wanfala laen bilong olketa king wea maet bifor, olketa rul ovarem full Mesopotamia. Olketa buildim Mari long saed bilong Euphrates River, and hem garem olketa road wea go thru long hem. Olketa road hia hem road wea olketa bisnisman iusim wea joinim Persian Gulf witim Assyria, Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and olketa taon klosap long Mediterranean Coast. Pipol savve iusim olketa road wea go thru long Mari for tekem go long Mesopotamia olketa samting wea pipol long there faendem hem hard for kasem, olsem timba, metal, and ston. Wei wea Mari askem tax for olketa samting hia mekem hem kamap wanfala rich taon, wea mekem hem garem paoa ovarem olketa nara ples long datfala part bilong world. Bat wei wea hem garem paoa hem finis taem Sargon bilong Akkad faetem and win ovarem Syria.

For samting olsem 300 year bihaen Sargon hem win, olketa bigman bilong army nao rulim Mari. Anda long rul bilong olketa, Mari lelebet kasem bak gud living bilong hem. Bat kasem taem bilong last ruler bilong hem, Zimri-Lim, Mari hem start for lusim paoa bilong hem finis. Zimri-Lim trae for strongim bak olketa ples hem rulim thru long wei for winim samfala war, and thru long wei for mekem samfala agreement witim nara kantri for olketa helpem each other, and for olketa kantri hia sharem olketa man and woman thru long marit. Bat long samting olsem 1760 B.C.E., King Hammurabi bilong Babylon distroem datfala taon and finisim for olowe samting wea Parrot hem kolem “wanfala nation wea living bilong olketa kamap gud winim eni nara pipol long taem bifor.”

Taem olketa soldia bilong Hammurabi spoelem olketa building bilong Mari, olketa no savve hao wei wea olketa duim datwan hem bae barava helpem olketa wea studyim history and olketa oldfala samting distaem. Taem olketa aotem olketa wall wea olketa wakem from mud, olketa berem samfala building 5 meter anda long graon wea barava protectim olketa building hia for staka handred year. Olketa man wea studyim oldfala samting faendem olketa part wea stap yet bilong olketa temple and haos bilong king witim staka nara samting, and tu, plande thousand samting wea garem raeting wea givim information abaotem living bilong pipol long taem bifor kam.

Why nao iumi interest long olketa oldfala samting bilong Mari? Tingim taem wea Abraham hem laef. Abraham hem born long year 2018 B.C.E., wea datwan hem 352 year bihaen long Flood. Genereson bilong hem, hem mek-ten genereson bihaen Noah. Hem obeyim komand bilong God for lusim Ur, wea hem nao hom bilong hem, and go long Haran. Long year 1943 B.C.E., taem Abraham hem 75 year, hem lusim Haran and gogo long Canaan. Man from Italy wea studyim oldfala samting, Paola Matthiae, hem sei: “Mari stap and garem paoa long semtaem wea Abraham lusim Ur and isisi travel go long Jerusalem long Canaan.” So olketa samting olketa faendem long Mari savve helpem iumi for savve wanem kaen world nao faithful servant bilong God, Abraham, stap insaed.a—Genesis 11:10–12:4.

Wanem Nao Samting Olketa Faendem Hem Showimaot?

Long Mari and long olketa nara ples long Mesopotamia, pipol barava tinghae long religion. Pipol ting long wei for servem olketa god olsem responsibility bilong olketa. Bifor olketa disaedem eni samting, olketa mas faendemaot fastaem will bilong olketa god. Olketa wea studyim oldfala samting faendem samfala part bilong sixfala temple. Insaed diswan hem Temple Bilong Olketa Lion (wea samfala sei hem temple bilong Dagan, wea hem Dagon long Bible) and olketa holy ples bilong Ishtar, datfala woman god bilong sex, and tu, bilong datfala sun-god Shamash. Long fastaem, each temple garem statue bilong god wea olketa buildim datfala temple for hem and wea olketa offerim sakrifaes and prea go long hem. Olketa worshiper putim olketa smol statue wea smile and wea luk olsem olketa long olketa stul long holy ples. Olketa duim diswan bikos olketa bilivim hao diswan bae mekem worship bilong olketa gohed bihaen olketa go aot from temple. Parrot hem sei: “Olsem kandol wea olketa Catholic iusim long worship bilong olketa distaem, datfala statue hem barava stand for datfala worshiper.”

Barava interesting samting wea olketa faendem long Tell Hariri hem olketa part wea stap yet bilong wanfala maeti haos bilong king, wea olketa kolem diswan followim nem bilong last king wea stap long hem, King Zimri-Lim. Wanfala man from France wea studyim olketa oldfala samting, Louis-Hugues Vincent, storyim diswan olsem “wanfala spesol example bilong olketa design bilong pipol long Middle East bifor.” Hem kavarem area wea winim tu and haf hectare, and hem garem samting olsem 300 rum and courtyard. Nomata long datfala taem tu, pipol ting long disfala haos olsem wanfala long olketa barava spesol samting bilong world. Olsem Georges Roux hem talem long buk bilong hem, Ancient Iraq, “Samting wea showimaot hao pipol evriwea barava tinghae long disfala haos hem hao datfala King bilong Ugarit, wea stap klosap long sea long Syria, no hol bak for sendem son bilong hem go long Mari for visitim ‘datfala haos bilong Zimri-Lim’, nomata datfala gogo hem 600 kilometer.”

Olketa wea visitim datfala haos wea strong tumas, mas go thru long wanfala door wea garem taoa long tufala saed bilong hem, wea lead go long wanfala bigfala courtyard. Last king bilong Mari, Zimri-Lim, hem sidaon long wanfala throne antap long wanfala platform, and long there nao hem deal witim olketa samting saed long army, olketa nara kantri, givim olketa judgment, and welkamim olketa wea visit kam and olketa man wea stand for nara kantri. Haos hia garem staka rum for olketa wea visit, and King savve evritaem arrangem feast for olketa hia. Olketa kaikaim buluka wea olketa bonem or boelem, sheepsheep, gazelle, fish, and kokorako witim garlic and staka difren kaen vegetable and cheese. Bihaen datwan olketa savve kaikaim frut wea fresh, wea olketa draem long sun, or wea olketa mekem long sugar, witim olketa cake wea olketa mekem long enikaen naesfala sheip. Saed long samting for drink, olketa savve drinkim beer or wine.

Haos hia garem ples for man savve go toilet, and hem klin. Olketa faendem olketa rum for swim wea garem olketa smol clay tank for swim long hem witim olketa toilet. Olketa kavarem floor and botom part bilong olketa wall witim tar for protectim olketa from wata. Dirty wata hem go aot insaed olketa drain wea olketa wakem long brik, and olketa clay pipe wea olketa kavarem witim tar for mekem olketa no leak. Olketa drain and pipe hia still waka gud nomata bihaen samting olsem 3,500 year wea go pas. Taem thrifala woman bilong King kasem wanfala sik wea savve killim olketa dae, olketa wea stap long haos kasem olketa strict instruction. Sik woman olsem mas stap difren from olketa narawan insaed haos. “No eniwan savve drink from kap bilong hem, kaikai long tebol bilong hem, or sidaon long chair bilong hem.”

Wanem Nao Iumi Savve Lanem From Olketa Raeting?

Parrot and team bilong hem faendem samting olsem 20,000 ston wea garem cuneiform raeting long Akkadian languis. Raeting hia hem olketa leta, and information saed long gavman and economy. Olketa pablisim 5,000 nomoa long olketa raeting hia. Nomata olsem, olketa pablisim olketa long 28 volume. Hao nao olketa savve helpem iumi distaem? Jean-Claude Margueron, wea hem director bilong datfala Mari Archaeological Mission hem sei: “Bifor mifala faendem olketa raeting long Mari mifala no really savve gud abaotem history, olketa organization, kastom, and evriday living bilong pipol long Mesopotamia and Syria long start bilong mek-tu century B.C.E. From olketa raeting hia, mifala barava fit for raetem staka samting abaotem datfala taem.” Olsem Parrot hem talem, samting wea olketa raeting hia “talem abaotem pipol hem barava klosap semsem witim olketa samting wea Old Testament talem abaotem taem bilong olketa laen dadi long Bible.”

Olketa raeting wea olketa faendem long Mari helpem iumi for minim tu samfala samting wea Bible talem. Olsem example, olketa raeting hia showim hao wei for tekem olketa woman bilong wanfala king wea hem enemy, hem “normal samting wea olketa king duim long datfala taem.” So wei wea datfala man Ahithophel wea no loyal long David, talem son bilong David, Absalom, for sleep witim olketa woman bilong dadi bilong hem, hem no wanfala niu samting.—2 Samuel 16:21, 22.

Start kam long year 1933, namba bilong olketa team wea go for dig long Tell Hariri hem 41. Bat kam kasem distaem, olketa dig insaed and lukluk gud long 8 hectare nomoa bilong Mari taon wea full area hem 110 hectare. For sure, olketa no faendem staka long olketa interesting samting wea stap yet long datfala taon long desert bifor wea winim evri narafala taon.

[Footnote]

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(For formatted text, lukim pablikeson)

Persian Gulf

Ur

MESOPOTAMIA

Euphrates

MARI

ASSYRIA

Haran

ANATOLIA

CANAAN

Jerusalem

Mediterranean Sea (Great Sea)

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Insaed disfala raeting King Iahdun-Lim bilong Mari tok praod abaotem construction waka bilong hem

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Disfala statue wea hem Lamgi-Mari, mekem olketa sure hao olketa faendem nao Mari

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Ebih-Il, wanfala bigman long Mari, wea prea

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Platform long haos bilong king wea maet statue bilong wanfala woman god standap long hem bifor

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Olketa oldfala samting bilong Mari, wea showim olketa brik wea olketa wakem from mud

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Wanfala rum for swim long haos bilong King

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Ston witim raeting wea storyim hao King Naram-Sin win long faet againstim Mari

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Olketa faendem samting olsem 20,000 ston wea garem cuneiform raeting long haos bilong king

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© Mission archéologique française de Tell Hariri-Mari (Syrie)

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Document: Musée du Louvre, Paris; statue: © Mission archéologique française de Tell Hariri-Mari (Syrie)

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Statue: Musée du Louvre, Paris; podium and bathroom: © Mission archéologique française de Tell Hariri-Mari (Syrie)

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Victory stele: Musée du Louvre, Paris; palace ruins: © Mission archéologique française de Tell Hariri-Mari (Syrie)