Kisurra (Tell Abu Hatab)
Early Dynastic–Old Babylonian (c.2700–1700 BCE)·Sumerian → Amorite Kisurra kingdom·🇮🇶 Al-Qadisiyah Governorate, Southern Iraq, Iraq
About
About Kisurra (Tell Abu Hatab)
Twin mound Abu Hatab (Kisurra) in the Euphrates back-marshes: Isin-Larsa era kingdom squeezed between Isin and Larsa, palatial archives (EB Kisurra texts), and ED IIIb votive stone of King Ibaya. Alexander Vassos excavated ziggurat footings. Cuneiform archive ties Kisurra to Ur-III–Old Babylonian transition politics, Manana dynasty. Kisurra (Tell Abu Hatab) — Lost Sumerian Island Kingdom context and stratigraphy linking to regional chronology.
Why it mattersKisurra (Tell Abu Hatab) — Lost Sumerian Island Kingdom
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Stratigraphic relation to neighboring cultures?
Theories
- 01Regional trade node
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- Occupied Early Dynastic–Old Babylonian (c.2700–1700 BCE)
- Period
- Early Dynastic–Old Babylonian (c.2700–1700 BCE)
- Culture
- Sumerian → Amorite Kisurra kingdom
- Builders
- Local communities
- Purpose
- Marsh-island kingdom controlling Isin–Larsa sister canals
- Abandoned
- post-period
- Rediscovered
- 19th-century surveys, modern excavations
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
Early Dynastic–Old Babylonian
Marsh-island kingdom controlling Isin–Larsa sister canals
On the ground
Structures & features
31.8500° N · 45.2500° E · 450 m · 2 mapped features
Palatial Archive Mound
moundHaven hill with cuneiform tablets of Manana dynasty
31.8510° N · 45.2510° EZiggurat Platform Footings
zigguratMudbrick ziggurat core 40 × 30 m beneath Isin layer
31.8490° N · 45.2490° E