Karamlish - History

History

Karamlish is a very old town and is believed to be among the first human colonies, hence, it was visited by almost all Mesopotamian archaeologists searching for the ruins of old Assyria and Babylonia. The first person to excavate in the hills of Karamlish was the Englishman Austen Henry Layard in 1846. Many relief sculptures with cuneiform scripts were found in Tel Ghanim and Tel Barbara (two of the hill surrounding Karamlish). On them were found the names of Assyrian Kings of Sargon and Shalmensar. The remains of an Assyrian temple were found at Tel Barbara, and the remains of an Assyrian palace was found at Tel Ghanim.

Karamlish lost its important stature during the era of Shalmaneser III (859 – 824 BC) whose son Ashur-Daneen-Ablo led a rebellion against his father along with another 27 cities. His father empowered his other brother Shamshi-Adad V, the Governor of Kalah (Nimrud). The civil war lasted for four years, from 827 to 824 BC. With the end of the rebellion, however, Karamlish's neighbor Nimrud did not survive the ravages of the war. Karamlish was so impacted by that rebellion that its people left it and was given the name of "Oro-Karmash" meaning "The Ruined City". Karamlish is still referred to by its Assyrian neighbors as "Karmash". However, Karamlish was reinvigorated during the reigns of Kings Shalmaneser V (726 – 722 BC) and Sargon II (722 – 705 BC), who used it as his temporary capital.