Kuara (also known as Kisiga, Ku'ara, modern Tell al-Lahm site, Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq) is an archaeological site located on the western bank of the mouth of the Euphrates, about 30 kilometres (19 mi) southeast of Ur.^[1] According to the Sumerian king list, Kuara was also the home of Dumuzid, the fisherman, legendary third king of Uruk .^[2] The city's patron deity was Meslamtaea (Nergal).^[3] In Sumerian mythology, Kuara was also considered the birthplace of the god Marduk (Asarluhi), Enki's son. The cults of Marduk and Ninehama were centered in Kuara.^[4][5]

History[edit]

Kuara was established ca. 2500 BC, during the Sumerian Early Dynastic II period. It was a seaport to the Persian Gulf, and traded with the port of Dilmun.^[6] In 709 BC, the Assyrian king Sargon II was trying to capture Marduk-apal-iddina II, who fled to Kuara, whereupon Sargon's army laid siege and destroyed the city.^[7] Alluvial soil carried by the Euphrates continually extended the land farther into the Persian Gulf; thus the modern site is far from the sea, even though it was a sea port 4500 years ago.

Archaeology[edit]

The site of Tel el Lahm consists of two mounds, with some peripheral ridges, near a dry canal bed. The location was excavated for a few days in 1855 by J. E. Taylor. He found a few inscribed bricks, and a single cuneiform tablet.^[8][9] While working at Eridu for the British Museum in 1918, R. Campbell Thompson excavated there briefly.^[10] In more modern times, Fuad Safar conducted soundings at Kuara.^[11]