Story of lost city of Madaman

                         

                                      Story of lost city of Madaman

        The Assyrian Empire was a powerful state owned by the Mesopotamian civilization in the middle of the EuphratesTigris rivers . According to historical sources , the Assyrian Empire , which was established around the 25th century BC , collapsed in the period between 612-609 BC . The territory of the Assyrian Empire , which was built on the banks of the Tigris River , currently belongs to the states of Northern Iraq , Northeastern Syria , Southeastern Turkey , and Northwestern Iran . 

                                                                         Cuneiform tablets

         A group of archaeologists from Germany's Tubingen University , who have been excavating in the Kurdistan region of Northern Iraq for many years , said in a statement a few weeks ago that they found the ruins of the lost city of Madaman , which belonged to the Assyrian Empire . Among the 4,800 - year - old ruins are said to be 92 tablets with cuneiform characters ( a pointed type of letters used by the ancient Mesopotamians ) buried in a clay boat . The responsibility of reading and understanding the cuneiform tablets found in the village was assigned to Dr. Bettina Fest , a linguist from Heidelberg University in Germany . Accordingly , it was revealed that the land discovered by the archaeologists is the city of Madaman belonging to the Assyrian Empire . 

        Further research has revealed that the city of Madaman , which was built between 2,800 2,650 BC , entered its golden age between 1,900 1,700 BC . It is said that the City , which collapsed between 911 612 BC , was buried at the end of prosperity during the NeoAssyrian period .

         The 92 cuneiform tablets found the date to around 1,250 BC . During that period , the city of Madaman was a part of the Assyrian Empire and its Governance was entrusted to Assur - Na-sir , the Assyrian governor , according to the cuneiform tablets . Prof. Peter Faetzner has said that the tablets describe the administrative and commercial transactions between the governor Assur - Nasir and the inhabitants of Madaman . Also , according to the ancient documents found before this in other archaeological excavation areas , the city of Madaman has been a part of the Assyrian Empire in some cases and as an independent state in some cases .

                                                                               Excavation 

        The palace on the site of the newly discovered cuneiform tablets is said to have been destroyed around 1,200 AD . But the city of Madaman has continued to exist . Prof. Peter Fetzner and the team believe that the City has been completely or partially attacked and destroyed on several occasions in history and has been rebuilt . The cuneiform tablets were placed in a clay boat made of a thick layer of clay . A scholar said that is more likely to be a deliberate act by the residents of Madaman . He said that when the palace was besieged by the enemy forces , the related boards must have been safely hidden . 

        Excavation works in the vicinity of Madaman have not been completed yet . Prof. Peter Fetzner and his team believe that the city of Madaman , on the trade route through Mesopotamia , Anatolia and Syria , may have flourished as a regional state as well as a powerful city . Sometimes it may have been a challenge to the great Mesopotamian civilization . 

        However , archaeologists say that it is extremely fortunate that the area around Madaman has not been affected due to the war in Iraq . Hoping to continue the excavation work that has been going on since 2013 , they expect to uncover a lot of information about the city of Madaman in the near future .