Archaeologists are busy unearthing lost civilizations, but they haven’t found everything. There are still prominent ancient cities, such as capitals of great kingdoms and empires, that have not yet been excavated by scholars.
We know about these cities because they are described in ancient texts, but their locations can be lost over time.
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1.Irisagrig
Shortly after the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, thousands of ancient stone tablets from a city called Ilisagrig began appearing on the antiques market. From the tablets, scholars were able to learn that Ilisagrig was located in Iraq and flourished about 4,000 years ago.
These boards reveal that the rulers of ancient cities lived in palaces where they kept many dogs. They also had lions to feed their cattle. The people who cared for the lions, known as “lion shepherds,” received rations of beer and bread. The inscription also mentions a temple dedicated to Enki, the god of mischief and wisdom, and that festivals were sometimes held within the temple.
Scholars believe that looters found and sacked Ilisagrig around the time of the 2003 US invasion. Archaeologists have so far not discovered the city, and looters have not come forward to locate it.
2. Ichutawi
Egyptian pharaoh Amenemhat I (r. 1981-1952 BC) ordered the construction of a new capital. This capital is known as “Itjtawy” and its name translates as “He who holds the two lands” or “Amenemhat the one who holds the two lands”. As the name suggests, Amenemhat faced considerable turmoil. His reign ended with his assassination.
Despite Amenemhat’s assassination, Ijtawi remained the capital of Egypt until around 1640 BC, when northern Egypt was occupied by a group known as the “Hyksos” and the kingdom fell.
Ichutawi has not yet been discovered, but archaeologists believe it is somewhere near the ruins of Risht in central Egypt. Part of the reason is that many elite burial sites, including the pyramid of Amenemhat I, are located in Lisht.
3. Akkad
The city of Akkad (also known as Agade) was the capital of the Akkadian Empire, which flourished between 2350 and 2150 BC. At its peak, the empire stretched from the Persian Gulf to Anatolia. Many of its conquests took place during the reign of “Sargon of Akkad,” who lived around 2300 BC. One of the most important structures in Akkad itself is the temple “Urumash”, dedicated to the goddess Ishtar, associated with war, beauty and fertility.
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Akkad has never been found, but it is believed to have been built somewhere in Iraq. Ancient records indicate that the city was destroyed or abandoned when the Akkadian Empire fell around 2150 BC.
4. Al-Yahdu
Al-Yahdu, a name meaning “town” or “city” in Judah, was a place in the Babylonian Empire inhabited by Jews after the kingdom of Judah was conquered by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II in 587 BC. Nebuchadnezzar II sent a portion of the population into exile, something the Babylonians often did after conquering an area.
Approximately 200 stone tablets are known to exist from this settlement, and these tablets indicate that the exiled people who lived in this settlement kept their faith and used the name of God, Yahweh. Al-Yahdu’s location has not been determined by archaeologists, but like many of these lost cities, it was likely located in modern-day Iraq. Given that the tablet has been on the antiques market and there is no record of it being found in archaeological excavations, it seems likely that looters at some point managed to locate it.
5. Washkanni
Washkanni was the capital of the Mitanni Empire, which existed between approximately 1550 BC and 1300 BC and included parts of northeastern Syria, southern Anatolia, and northern Iraq. It was exposed to fierce competition between the Hittite Empire in the north and the Assyrian Empire in the south, and territory was gradually lost to them.
Washkanni has not yet been discovered, and some scholars believe it may be in northeastern Syria. The people who lived in the capital, and indeed in most of its empire, were known as the “Hurrians” and they had their own language, which is known today from ancient texts.
6. Tinis
Tinis (also known as Tinu) is an ancient city in southern Egypt that flourished early in the history of ancient civilizations. According to the ancient writer Manetho, this was the place where some of Egypt’s earliest kings ruled from about 5,000 years ago, when Egypt was being unified. In an article published in the Journal of Abydos, Ali Sediq Othman, an inspector with Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, pointed out that Egypt’s capital was moved to Memphis shortly after unification, and that Tinis became the capital of Nome (an Egyptian province) during the Old Kingdom (c. 2649-2150 B.C.).
Tinis is believed to be near Abydos in southern Egypt, but has not been identified. This is partly because many elite members of society, including royalty, were buried near Abydos around 5,000 years ago.
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