Tell Brak

File:TellBrak-NE.jpg

The original name of the city is unknown;{{sfn|Bertman|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=1C4NKp4zgIQC&pg=PA31 31]}} Tell Brak is the current name of the tell.{{sfn|Max|1994|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=YZpsBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA29 29]}} East of the mound lies a dried lake named "Khatuniah" which was recorded as "Lacus Beberaci" (the lake of Brak) in the Roman map Tabula Peutingeriana.{{sfn|Mallowan|1959|p= 24}} The lake was probably named after Tell Brak which was the nearest camp in the area.{{sfn|Mallowan|1947|p= 10}} The name "Brak" might therefore be an echo of the most ancient name.{{sfn|Mallowan|1959|p= 24}}

During the third millennium BC, the city was known as "Nagar", which might be of Semitic origin and mean a "cultivated place".{{sfn|Eidem|1998|p= 75}} The name "Nagar" ceased occurring following the Old Babylonian period,{{sfn|Oates|Oates|McDonald|1997b|p=143}}{{sfn|Bryce|2009|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=AwwNS0diXP4C&pg=PA492 492]}} however, the city continued to exist as Nawar, under the control of Hurrian state of Mitanni.{{sfn|Bryce|2009|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=AwwNS0diXP4C&pg=PA493 493]}}{{sfn|Oates|Oates|2001|p=379}} Hurrian kings of Urkesh took the title "King of Urkesh and Nawar" in the third millennium BC; although there is general view that the third millennium BC Nawar is identical with Nagar,{{sfn|Buccellati|1999|p=241}} some scholars, such as Jesper Eidem, doubt this.{{sfn|Matthews|Eidem|1993|p=205}} Those scholars opt for a city closer to Urkesh which was also called Nawala/Nabula as the intended Nawar.{{sfn|Matthews|Eidem|1993|p=205}}

In Brak Period A (c. 6500–5900 BC), the earliest small settlement is dated to the proto Halaf culture c. 6500 BC.{{sfn|Ur|Karsgaard|Oates|2011|p= [http://dash.harvard.edu/handle/1/5366597 4], 5}} Many objects dated to that period were discovered including the Halaf pottery.{{sfn|Matthews|1997|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=DMhC0MIo6ZIC&pg=PA129 129]}}

In Brak Period B (c. 5900–5200 BC), the Halaf Culture {{sfn|Brooke|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=O9TSAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA204 204]}} Halaf culture transformed into Period C (c. 5200–4400 BC) Northern Ubaid,{{sfn|Forest|2009|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=bRUMQb_1uKcC&pg=PA190 190]}} and many Ubaid materials were found in Tell Brak.{{sfn|Ur|Karsgaard|Oates|2011|p= 4}} Excavations and surface survey of the site and its surroundings, unearthed a large platform of patzen bricks that dates to late Ubaid,{{#tag:ref|Patzens are large rectangular bricks that come in different sizes.{{sfn|Moorey|1999|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=P_Ixuott4doC&pg=PA307 307]}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Ur|Karsgaard|Oates|2011|p= 4}} and revealed that Tell Brak developed as an urban center slightly earlier than better known cities of southern Mesopotamia, such as Uruk.{{sfn|Yoffee|2015|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=l4oyAArnc_AC&pg=PT159 159]}}{{sfn|Oates|1987|p= 193–198}}

File:Augenidole Syrien Slg Ebnöther.jpg

In southern Mesopotamia, the original Ubaid culture evolved into the Uruk period.{{sfn|Glassner|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=fhMTRcUm9WsC&pg=PA31 31]}} The people of the southern Uruk period used military and commercial means to expand the civilization.{{sfn|Brooke|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=O9TSAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA209 209]}} In Northern Mesopotamia, the post Ubaid period is designated Late Chalcolithic / Northern Uruk period,{{sfn|Peasnall|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=C-TQpUtI-dgC&pg=PA372 372]}} during which, Tell Brak started to expand.{{sfn|Ur|Karsgaard|Oates|2011|p= 4}}

Tell Brak Period E (c. 4200–3900 BC; Late Chalcolithic 2; Northern Early Uruk Period) witnessed the building of the City's Walls,{{sfn|Demand|2011|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=YVSg-DOHzJMC&pg=PT74 74]}} and expansion beyond the mound to form a Lower Town,{{sfn|Ur|Karsgaard|Oates|2011|p= 4}} becoming a proto-urban city with a size of c. 55 hectares.{{sfn|Ur|Karsgaard|Oates|2011|p= 6}}

Comparison can be made with Hamoukar in LC1-2 period, where the early urban settlement has been described as "a vast low or flat scatter of pottery and obsidian".{{sfn|Ur|2010}} The population density at both settlements was very low at that stage, so they appeared more like a scattering of various small sites in the same area: "... new indicators of social complexity appeared simultaneously with dramatic settlement expansion at Brak and Khirbat al-Fakhar [Hamoukar], although not in the form known from later periods of northern Mesopotamian history. Both were extensive “proto-urban” settlements of low or variable density, with few other parallels elsewhere in the Near East."{{sfn|Ur|2010}} Another example is, Khirbat al-Fakhar already reached a massive size of 300 ha, or larger than the contemporary Uruk, itself.{{sfn|Ur|2010}}

Area TW of the tell (Archaeologists divided Tell Brak into areas designated with Alphabetic letters.{{sfn|Emberling|McDonald|Charles|Green|2001|p=[https://www.academia.edu/1030115/Excavations_at_Tell_Brak_2000_Preliminary_Report 31]}} See the map for Tell Brak's areas) revealed the remains of a monumental building with two meters thick walls and a basalt threshold.{{sfn|Ur|Karsgaard|Oates|2011|p=5}} In front of the building, a sherd paved street was discovered, leading to the northern entrance of the city.{{sfn|Ur|Karsgaard|Oates|2011|p=5}} Area TW covered an area of nearly 600 square meters up to a depth of 10 meters. A number of beveled rim bowls diagnostic of the Uruk period were found in the TW area.Oates, Joan, "Tell Brak: Uruk Pottery from the 1984 Season", Iraq, vol. 47, pp. 175–86, 1985

Tell Brak Period F can be subdivided into two phases early (c. 3800–3600 BC; Late Chaltolihic 3) and late (c. 3600–3000 BC; Late Chaltolihic 4).

In the Early Brak Period F (c. 3800–3600 BC; LC3), the early city-state continued to expand and reached the size of 130 hectares.{{sfn|Ur|Karsgaard|Oates|2011|p= 7}} Four mass graves, mainly sub-adults and young adults were discovered in the submound, Tell Majnuna (built entirely of rubbish over two centuries), north of the main tell, and they suggest that the process of urbanization was accompanied by internal social stress, and an increase in the organization of warfare.{{sfn|Ferguson|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=8eJoAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA220 220]}}McMahon, Augusta, et al., "Late Chalcolithic Mass Graves at Tell Brak, Syria, and Violent Conflict during the Growth of Early City-States", Journal of Field Archaeology, vol. 36, no. 3, pp. 201–20, 2011 The first half of period F (designated LC3), saw the erection of the Eye Temple,{{#tag:ref|The temple have multiple levels, the earliest two are named the red and grey levels respectively,{{sfn|Akkermans|Schwartz|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=_4oqvpAHDEoC&pg=PA199 199]}} and they date to LC3.{{sfn|Oates|Oates|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=6lDgYxV0DN8C&pg=PA152 152]}} The third level (the white level) is dated to period LC5 (c. 3200–3000 BC),{{sfn|Akkermans|Schwartz|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=_4oqvpAHDEoC&pg=PA199 199]}}{{sfn|Emberling|2002|p=87}} while the fourth and current visible one is named the "Latest Jemdet Nasr", and also dates to the late fourth millennium BC (LC5).{{sfn|Emberling|2002|p=84}} Excavations revealed two rebuilding following the "Latest Jemdet Nasr" building, and they date to the Early Dynastic period I.{{sfn|Emberling|2002|p=84}}{{sfn|Matthews|1997|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=DMhC0MIo6ZIC&pg=PA171 171]}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Ur|Karsgaard|Oates|2011|p= 7}} which was named for the thousands of small alabaster "Eye idols" and "Spectacle-topped idols" figurines discovered in it.{{#tag:ref|Dated to the temple's grey level.{{sfn|Akkermans|Schwartz|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=_4oqvpAHDEoC&pg=PA199 199]}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Akkermans|Schwartz|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=_4oqvpAHDEoC&pg=PA198 198]}} Those idols were also found in area TW.{{sfn|Oates|Oates|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=6lDgYxV0DN8C&pg=PA151 151]}}

In Late Brak Period F (c. 3600–3000 BC; LC4) interatction with Southern Mesopotamia increased,{{sfn|Ur|Karsgaard|Oates|2011|p= 8}} and an Urukean colony was established in the city.{{sfn|Averbeck|2003|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=YmFKA8fQFQoC&pg=PA92 92]}}{{sfn|Algaze|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=qSOYAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA84 84]}} With the end of Uruk culture c 3000 BC, Tell Brak's Urukean colony was abandoned and deliberately leveled by its occupants.{{sfn|Aubet|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=Li66Bd4QZD4C&pg=PA174 174]}}{{sfn|Demand|2011|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=YVSg-DOHzJMC&pg=PT83 83]}}

The Brak Period G (c. 3200–3000 BC; LC5), saw the site contracting during the following periods H and J, and became limited to the mound.{{sfn|Ur|Karsgaard|Oates|2011|p= 9}} In the Brak Period H (c. 3000–2900 BC; Post-Uruk), evidence exists for an interaction with the Mesopotamian south, represented by the existence of materials similar to the ones produced during the southern Jemdet Nasr period.{{sfn|Akkermans|Schwartz|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=_4oqvpAHDEoC&pg=PA200 200]}}

During the Brak Period J (2900–2600 BC) and K (2600–2400 BC) the city remained a small settlement during the Ninevite 5 period, with a small temple and associated sealing activities.{{#tag:ref|The temple is located in area TC, adjacent to the so called "Brak Oval" building.{{sfn|Sołtysiak|2009|p= [http://www.anthropology.uw.edu.pl/ 36]}} It is dated to the Ninevite 5 period,{{sfn|Akkermans|Schwartz|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=_4oqvpAHDEoC&pg=PA216 216]}} period J c. 2700 BC.{{sfn|Porter|2012|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=LKQ0fZFTeHkC&pg=PA186 186]}} The temple consist of a single room with a mud brick altar,{{sfn|Akkermans|Schwartz|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=_4oqvpAHDEoC&pg=PA216 216]}} and contained a cache of over 500 sealings.{{sfn|Ur|2010|p= [http://dash.harvard.edu/handle/1/3210514 411]}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Ur|Karsgaard|Oates|2011|p= 9}}

{{Infobox country

| native_name = Nagar

| conventional_long_name =

| common_name = Nagar

| national_motto =

| era = Bronze Age

| status =

| government_type = Monarchy

| year_start = c. 2600 BC

| year_end = c. 2300 BC

| event_start =

| event_end =

| p1 =

| flag_p1 =

| p2 =

| p3 =

| s1 =

| image_s1 =

| image_flag =

| flag_type =

| coa_size =

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| image_map = First Eblaite Empire.png

| image_map_caption = The kingdom of Nagar c. 2340 BC

| capital = Nagar

| common_languages = Nagarite

| religion = Mesopotamian

| currency =

| Currency =

| title_leader =

| leader1 =

| year_leader1 =

| legislature =

| today =

}}

Around c. 2600 BC, a large administrative building was built and the city expanded out of the tell again.{{sfn|Ur|Karsgaard|Oates|2011|p= 9}} The revival is connected with the Kish civilization,{{sfn|Ristvet|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=GE1sBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA217 217]}} and the city was named "Nagar".{{sfn|Ur|Karsgaard|Oates|2011|p= 10}} Amongst the important buildings dated to the kingdom, is an administrative building or temple named the "Brak Oval",{{sfn|Kolinski|2007|p= [https://www.academia.edu/460648/The_Upper_Khabur_Region_in_the_Second_Part_of_the_Third_Millennium_BC 358]}} located in area TC.{{sfn|Emberling|McDonald|Charles|Green|2001|p=21, 31}} The building have a curved exterior wall reminiscent of the Khafajah "Oval Temple" in central Mesopotamia.{{sfn|Emberling|McDonald|Charles|Green|2001|p= 31}} However, aside from the wall, the comparison between the two buildings in terms of architecture is difficult, as each building follows a different plan.{{sfn|Emberling|McDonald|Charles|Green|2001|p=33, 34}}

The oldest references to Nagar comes from Mari and tablets discovered at Nabada.{{sfn|Eidem|Finkel|Bonechi|2001|p= 99}} However, the most important source on Nagar come from the archives of Ebla.{{sfn|Eidem|Finkel|Bonechi|2001|p= 100}} Most of the texts record the ruler of Nagar using his title "En", without mentioning a name.{{sfn|Eidem|Finkel|Bonechi|2001|p= 99}}{{sfn|Eidem|Finkel|Bonechi|2001|p= 100}} However a text from Ebla mentions Mara-Il, a king of Nagar;{{sfn|Eidem|Finkel|Bonechi|2001|p= 99}} thus, he is the only ruler known by name for pre-Akkadian Nagar and ruled a little more than a generation before the kingdom's destruction.{{sfn|Eidem|Finkel|Bonechi|2001|p= 101}}

At its height, Nagar encompassed most of the southwestern half of the Khabur Basin,{{sfn|Eidem|Finkel|Bonechi|2001|p= 101}} and was a diplomatic and political equal of the Eblaite and Mariote states.{{sfn|Ristvet|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=GE1sBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA84 84]}} The kingdom included at least 17 subordinate cities,{{sfn|Sallaberger|Pruß|2015|p= 85}} such as Hazna,{{sfn|Ristvet|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=GE1sBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA82 82]}} and most importantly Nabada, which was a city-state annexed by Nagar,{{sfn|Ristvet|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=GE1sBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA66 66]}} and served as a provincial capital.{{sfn|Lipiński|2001|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=IiXVqyEkPKcC&pg=PA52 52]}} Nagar was involved in the wide diplomatic network of Ebla,{{sfn|Ristvet|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=GE1sBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA217 217]}} and the relations between the two kingdoms involved both confrontations and alliances.{{sfn|Eidem|Finkel|Bonechi|2001|p= 100}} A text from Ebla mentions a victory of Ebla's king (perhaps Irkab-Damu) over Nagar.{{sfn|Eidem|Finkel|Bonechi|2001|p= 100}} However, a few years later, a treaty was concluded, and the relations progressed toward a dynastic marriage between princess Tagrish-Damu of Ebla, and prince Ultum-Huhu, Nagar's monarch's son.{{sfn|Eidem|1998|p= 75}}{{sfn|Eidem|Finkel|Bonechi|2001|p= 100}}

Nagar was defeated by Mari in year seven of the Eblaite vizier Ibrium's term, causing the blockage of trade routes between Ebla and southern Mesopotamia via upper Mesopotamia.{{sfn|Bretschneider|Van Vyve|Leuven|2009|p= [https://www.academia.edu/645365/War_of_the_lords_The_battle_of_chronology 5]}} Later, Ebla's king Isar-Damu concluded an alliance with Nagar and Kish against Mari,{{sfn|Podany|2010|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=_ez3ih5JgzUC&pg=PA57 57]}} and the campaign was headed by the Eblaite vizier Ibbi-Sipish, who led the combined armies to victory in a battle near Terqa.{{sfn|Liverani|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=_EtJAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT208 208]}} Afterwards, the alliance attacked the rebellious Eblaite vassal city of Armi.{{sfn|Biga|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=AcnmBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA103 103]}} Ebla was destroyed approximately three years after Terqa's battle,{{sfn|Podany|2010|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=_ez3ih5JgzUC&pg=PA58 58]}} and soon after, Nagar followed in c. 2300 BC.{{cite journal|last1= Archi|first1= Alfonso|first2=Maria Giovanna|last2=Biga|year= 2003|title= A Victory over Mari and the Fall of Ebla |journal=Journal of Cuneiform Studies|publisher=The American Schools of Oriental Research|volume=55|pages= 1–44|doi= 10.2307/3515951|jstor= 3515951|s2cid= 164002885|issn= 2325-6737}} Large parts of the city were burned, an act attributed either to Mari,{{sfn|McMahon|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=qSOYAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA472 472]}} or Sargon of Akkad.{{sfn|Bryce|2009|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=AwwNS0diXP4C&pg=PA135 135]}}

File:TellBrakNaramsinN.jpg.]]

Following its destruction, Nagar was rebuilt by the Akkadian empire, to form a center of the provincial administration.{{sfn|Oates|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=EnQ8W6AmCq0C&pg=PA7 7]}} The city included the whole tell and a lower town at the southern edge of the mound.{{sfn|Ur|Karsgaard|Oates|2011|p= 10}} Two public buildings were built during the early Akkadian periods, one complex in area SS,{{sfn|Oates|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=EnQ8W6AmCq0C&pg=PA7 7]}} and another in area FS.{{sfn|Oates|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=EnQ8W6AmCq0C&pg=PA10 10]}} The building of area FS included its own temple and might have served as a caravanserai, being located near the northern gate of the city.{{sfn|Evans|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=8l9X_3rHFdEC&pg=PA228 228]}} The temple was dedicated to the god Šamagan, god of animals of the steppe.Oates, Joan, Theya Molleson, and Arkadiusz Sołtysiak, "Equids and an acrobat: closure rituals at Tell Brak.", Antiquity 82.316, pp. 390-400, 2008 The early Akkadian monarchs were occupied with internal conflicts,{{sfn|Astour|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=0Rwals-oh6kC&pg=PA163 163]}} and Tell Brak was temporarily abandoned by Akkad at some point preceding the reign of Naram-Sin.{{#tag:ref|The nature of the Akkadian early period is ambiguous, local texts do not reflect the reign of Sargon or his successors.{{sfn|McMahon|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=qSOYAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA469 469]}} Two bowels bearing Rimush's inscription were discovered in the palace of his nephew Naram-Sin, however, they could have been diplomatic gifts to a local ruler.{{sfn|Matthews|1997|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=DMhC0MIo6ZIC&pg=PA2 2]}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Oates|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=EnQ8W6AmCq0C&pg=PA11 11]}} The abandonment might be connected with an environmental event, that caused the desertification of the region.{{sfn|Oates|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=EnQ8W6AmCq0C&pg=PA11 11]}}

The destruction of Nagar's kingdom created a power vacuum in the Upper Khabur.{{sfn|Astour|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=0Rwals-oh6kC&pg=PA162 162]}} The Hurrians, formerly concentrated in Urkesh,{{sfn|Bryce|2009|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=E1aF0hq1GR8C&pg=PA752 752]}} took advantage of the situation to control the region as early as Sargon's latter years.{{sfn|Astour|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=0Rwals-oh6kC&pg=PA162 162]}} Tell Brak was known as "Nawar" for the Hurrians,{{sfn|van Soldt|2010|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kE8MAlkRlGUC&pg=PA117 117]}} and kings of Urkesh took the title "King of Urkesh and Nawar", first attested in the seal of Urkesh's king Atal-Shen.{{sfn|Buccellati|1999|p=241}}{{sfn|Leick|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=nAGFAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA21 21]}}

The use of the title continued during the reigns of Atal-Shen's successors, Tupkish and Tish-Atal,{{sfn|Bryce|2009|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=E1aF0hq1GR8C&pg=PA752 752]}}{{sfn|Weiss|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=5H4fAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT398 374]}} who ruled only in Urkesh.{{sfn|van Soldt|2010|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=kE8MAlkRlGUC&pg=PA117 117]}} The Akkadians under Naram-Sin incorporated Nagar firmly into their empire.{{sfn|Wossink|2009|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=Oy4xUpsa7DkC&pg=PA30 30]}} The most important Akkadian building in the city is called the "Palace of Naram-Sin",{{#tag:ref|Some of the building's bricks had Naram-Sin's name stamped on it.{{sfn|Wossink|2009|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=Oy4xUpsa7DkC&pg=PA30 30]}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Wossink|2009|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=Oy4xUpsa7DkC&pg=PA30 30]}} which had parts of it built over the original Eye Temple.{{sfn|McDonald|1997|p=109}}{{sfn|Oates|Oates|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=6lDgYxV0DN8C&pg=PA146 146]}} Despite its name, the palace is closer to a fortress,{{sfn|Wossink|2009|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=Oy4xUpsa7DkC&pg=PA30 30]}} as it was more of a fortified depot for the storage of collected tribute rather than a residential seat.{{sfn|Akkermans|Schwartz|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=_4oqvpAHDEoC&pg=PA279 279]}}{{sfn|Oates|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=tFQq3Gs3fi4C&pg=PA171 171]}} The palace was burned during Naram-Sin's reign, perhaps by a Lullubi attack,{{sfn|Bryce|2009|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=AwwNS0diXP4C&pg=PA135 135]}} and the city was burned toward the end of the Akkadian period c. 2193 BC, probably by the Gutians.{{sfn|Bryce|2009|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=AwwNS0diXP4C&pg=PA135 135]}}

In Brak Period N,{{sfn|Oates|2001|p= 170}} the Fall of the Akkadian Empire (c. 2154 BC), saw Nagar becoming a center of an independent Hurrian dynasty,{{sfn|Oates|Oates|McDonald|1997b|p=141}} evidenced by the discovery of a seal, recording the name of king Talpus-Atili of Nagar,{{sfn|Eidem|Finkel|Bonechi|2001|p= [https://www.academia.edu/5261148/The_Third-millennium_Inscriptions 102]}} who ruled during or slightly after the reign of Shar-Kali-Sharri (r. 2217–2193 BC).{{sfn|Wossink|2009|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=Oy4xUpsa7DkC&pg=PA31 31]}}

The view that Tell Brak came under the control of Ur III is refused,{{#tag:ref|Max Mallowan discovered a seal in 1947 and attributed it to Ur-Nammu of Ur; this led to the assumption that Ur controlled Tell-Brak.{{sfn|Eidem|Finkel|Bonechi|2001|p= 109}} However, the translation of the seal showed no sign of Ur-Nammu's name|group=note}}{{sfn|Weiss|1983|p= [http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/paleo_0153-9345_1983_num_9_2_4340 49]}} and evidence exists for a Hurrian rebuilding of Naram-Sin's palace, erroneously attributed by Max Mallowan to Ur-Nammu of Ur.{{sfn|Oates|Oates|2001|p= 129}} Period N saw a reduction in the city's size, with public buildings being abandoned, and the lower town evacuated.{{sfn|Weiss|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=5H4fAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT397 372]}} Few short lived houses were built in area CH during period N,{{sfn|Weiss|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=5H4fAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT397 372]}} and although greatly reduced in size, archaeology provided evidence for continued occupation in the city, instead of abandonment.{{#tag:ref|Harvey Weiss suggest the total abandonment of Nagar within fifty years following the Akkadians departure,{{sfn|Weiss|2012|p= 5}} and attribute the event to a climatic disaster.{{sfn|Weiss|2012|p= 11}} However, this view is controversial.{{sfn|Akkermans|Schwartz|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=_4oqvpAHDEoC&pg=PA283 283]}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Ur|Karsgaard|Oates|2011|p= 12}}

File:TellBrakMitanni.jpg

During Brak Period P (c. 1820–1550 BC; MB IIA), Nagar was densely populated in the northern ridge of the tell.{{sfn|Ur|Karsgaard|Oates|2011|p= 13}} The city came under the rule of Mari,{{sfn|Liverani|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=0d1JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA226 226]}} and was the site of a decisive victory won by Yahdun-Lim of Mari over Shamshi-Adad I of Assyria.{{sfn|Eidem|1998|p= 76}} Nagar lost its importance and came under the rule of Kahat in the 18th century BC.{{sfn|Bryce|2009|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=AwwNS0diXP4C&pg=PA492 492]}}

During period Q, Tell Brak was an important trade city in the Mitanni state.{{sfn|Kuz'mina|2007|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=x5J9rn8p2-IC&pg=PA133 133]}} A two-story palace was built c. 1500 BC in the northern section of the tell,{{sfn|Ur|Karsgaard|Oates|2011|p= 13}}{{sfn|Burney|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=azPl5Jzv930C&pg=PA131 131]}} in addition to an associated temple.{{sfn|Oates|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=EnQ8W6AmCq0C&pg=PA13 13]}} However, the rest of the tell was not occupied, and a lower town extended to the north but is now all but destroyed through modern agriculture.{{sfn|Ur|Karsgaard|Oates|2011|p= 14}} Two Mitannian legal documents, bearing the names of kings Artashumara and Tushratta (c. 1380–1345 BC), were recovered from the city.{{sfn|Evans|2008|p= [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_gr5BgOwEJicC/page/n221 195]}}

Following the death of king Tushratta, the Mitanni Empire collapsed. In the west the Hittites came and created a vassal buffer state in the region of Hanigalbat, while the Assyrians later took territory from the east. Tell Brak was destroyed between c.1300 and 1275 BC,{{sfn|Ur|Karsgaard|Oates|2011|p= 14}} in two waves, first at the hands of the Assyrian king Adad-Nirari I (r. 1305–1274 BC), then by his successor Shalmaneser I.{{sfn|Oates|Oates|McDonald|1997a|p=14}}

Little evidence of an occupation on the tell exists following the destruction of the Mitannian city, however, a series of small villages existed in the lower town during the Assyrian periods.{{sfn|Ur|Karsgaard|Oates|2011|p= 15}} The remains of a Hellenistic settlement were discovered on a nearby satellite tell, to the northwestern edge of the main tell.{{sfn|Ur|Karsgaard|Oates|2011|p= 15}} However, excavations recovered no ceramics of the Parthian-Roman or Byzantine-Sasanian periods, although sherds dating to those periods are noted.{{sfn|Ur|Karsgaard|Oates|2011|p= 15}} In the middle of the first millennium AD, a fortified building was erected in the northeastern lower town.{{sfn|Ur|Karsgaard|Oates|2011|p= 15}} The building was dated by Antoine Poidebard to the Justinian era (sixth century AD), on the basis of its architecture.{{sfn|Ur|Karsgaard|Oates|2011|p= 15}} The last occupation period of the site was during the early Abbasid Caliphate's period,{{sfn|Ur|Karsgaard|Oates|2011|p= 1}} when a canal was built to provide the town with water from the nearby Jaghjagh River.{{sfn|Ur|Karsgaard|Oates|2011|p= 15}}

The Halafians were the indigenous people of Neolithic northern Syria,{{#tag:ref|Previously, the Halafians were seen either as hill people who descended from the nearby mountains of southeastern Anatolia, or herdsmen from northern Iraq.{{sfn|Akkermans|2000|p= [https://www.academia.edu/564231/Old_and_New_Perspectives_on_the_Origins_of_the_Halaf_Culture 43], 44}} However, those views changed with the archaeology conducted by Peter Akkermans, which proved a continuous indigenous origin of Halaf culture.{{sfn|Akkermans|2000|p= [https://www.academia.edu/564231/Old_and_New_Perspectives_on_the_Origins_of_the_Halaf_Culture 43], 44}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Akkermans|Schwartz|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=_4oqvpAHDEoC&pg=PA116 116]}} who later adopted the southern Ubaidian culture.{{sfn|Forest|2009|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=bRUMQb_1uKcC&pg=PA190 190]}} Contact with the Mesopotamian south increased during the early and middle Northern Uruk period,{{sfn|Akkermans|Schwartz|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=_4oqvpAHDEoC&pg=PA199 199]}} and southern people moved to Tell Brak in the late Uruk period,{{sfn|Jennings|2011|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=mwaw6GxWIGcC&pg=PA73 73]}} forming a colony, which produced a mixed society.{{sfn|Akkermans|Schwartz|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=_4oqvpAHDEoC&pg=PA200 200]}} The Urukean colony was abandoned by the colonists toward the end of the fourth millennium BC, leaving the indigenous Tell Brak a much contracted city.{{sfn|Charles|Pessin|Hald|2010|p= [https://www.academia.edu/3707998/Tolerating_change_at_Late_Chalcolithic_Tell_Brak_responses_of_an_early_urban_society_to_an_uncertain_climate 184]}}{{sfn|Campbell|2012|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=P5q7DDqMbF0C&pg=PA429 429]}} The pre-Akkadian kingdom's population was Semitic,{{sfn|Sallaberger|2007|p= [http://www.persee.fr/doc/anatv_1013-9559_2007_act_19_1_1111 433]}} and spoke its own East Semitic dialect of the Eblaite language used in Ebla and Mari.{{sfn|Archi|2009|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=F2SRqDzB50wC&pg=PA313 313]}} The Nagarite dialect is closer to the dialect of Mari rather than that of Ebla.{{sfn|Lipiński|2001|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=IiXVqyEkPKcC&pg=PA52 52]}}

No Hurrian names are recorded in the pre-Akkadian period,{{sfn|Astour|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=0Rwals-oh6kC&pg=PA163 163]}}{{sfn|Archi|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=5a8-NudlBx8C&pg=PA22 22]}} although the name of prince Ultum-Huhu is difficult to understand as Semitic.{{sfn|Biga|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=AcnmBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA100 100]}} During the Akkadian period, both Semitic and Hurrian names were recorded,{{sfn|Oates|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=EnQ8W6AmCq0C&pg=PA10 10]}}{{sfn|Sallaberger|2007|p= [http://www.persee.fr/doc/anatv_1013-9559_2007_act_19_1_1111 433]}} as the Hurrians appear to have taken advantage of the power vacuum caused by the destruction of the pre-Akkadian kingdom, in order to migrate and expand in the region.{{sfn|Astour|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=0Rwals-oh6kC&pg=PA162 162]}} The post-Akkadian period Tell Brak had a strong Hurrian element,{{sfn|Matney|2012|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=P5q7DDqMbF0C&pg=PA570 570]}} and Hurrian named rulers,{{sfn|Sallaberger|2007|p= [http://www.persee.fr/doc/anatv_1013-9559_2007_act_19_1_1111 433]}} although the region was also inhabited by Amorite tribes.{{sfn|Guichard|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=AcnmBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA152 152]}} A number of the Amorite Yaminite tribes settled the surroundings of Tell Brak during the reign of Zimri-Lim of Mari,{{sfn|Guichard|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=AcnmBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA152 152]}} and each group used its own language (Hurrian and Amorite languages).{{sfn|Guichard|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=AcnmBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA152 152]}} Tell Brak was a center of the Hurrian-Mitannian empire,{{sfn|Evans|2008|p= [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_gr5BgOwEJicC/page/n221 195]}} which had Hurrian as its official language.{{sfn|Billington|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=RklLAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA121 121]}} However, Akkadian was the region's international language, evidenced by the post-Akkadian and Mitannian eras tablets,{{sfn|Guichard|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=AcnmBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA153 153]}}{{sfn|Charpin|2010|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=Rjoa5GDyqb8C&pg=PA94 94]}} discovered at Tell Brak and written in Akkadian.{{sfn|Wilhelm|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=J-f_jwCgmeUC&pg=PA82 82]}}

The findings in the Eye Temple indicate that Tell Brak is among the earliest sites of organized religion in northern Mesopotamia.{{sfn|Jawad|1965|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=i80UAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA73 73]}} It is unknown to which deity the Eye Temple was dedicated,{{sfn|Bertman|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=1C4NKp4zgIQC&pg=PA31 31]}} and the "Eyes" figurines appears to be votive offerings to that unknown deity.{{sfn|Akkermans|Schwartz|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=_4oqvpAHDEoC&pg=PA199 199]}} The temple was probably dedicated for the Sumerian Innana or the Semitic Ishtar; Michel Meslin hypothesized that the "Eyes" figurines were a representation of an all-seeing female deity.{{sfn|Ulmer|2009|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=wKH3qsGzlb0C&pg=PA286 286]}}

During the pre-Akkadian kingdom's era, Hazna, an old cultic center of northern Syria, served as a pilgrimage center for Nagar.{{sfn|Ristvet|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=GE1sBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA76 76], [https://books.google.com/books?id=GE1sBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA90 90]}} The Eye Temple remained in use,{{sfn|Emberling|2002|p=[https://www.academia.edu/1030118/Political_Control_in_an_Early_State_The_Eye_Temple_and_the_Uruk_Expansion_in_Northern_Mesopotamia 85]}} but as a small shrine,{{sfn|Jawad|1965|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=i80UAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA50 50]}} while the goddess Belet Nagar became the kingdom's paramount deity.{{#tag:ref|Belet is the feminine form of Bel, the east-Semitic title of a lord deity.{{sfn|Bertman|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=1C4NKp4zgIQC&pg=PA117 117]}} Belet-Nagar is translated as the lady of Nagar.{{sfn|Oates|Oates|2001|p= 381}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Emberling|2002|p=[https://www.academia.edu/1030118/Political_Control_in_an_Early_State_The_Eye_Temple_and_the_Uruk_Expansion_in_Northern_Mesopotamia 85]}} The temple of Belet Nagar is not identified but probably lies beneath the Mitannian palace.{{sfn|Ur|Karsgaard|Oates|2011|p= 13}} The Eblaite deity Kura was also venerated in Nagar,{{sfn|Biga|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=AcnmBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA100 100]}} and the monarchs are attested visiting the temple of the Semitic deity Dagon in Tuttul.{{sfn|Eidem|Finkel|Bonechi|2001|p= 100}} During the Akkadian period, the temple in area FS was dedicated to the Sumerian god Shakkan, the patron of animals and countrysides.{{sfn|Evans|2003|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=8l9X_3rHFdEC&pg=PA228 228]}}{{sfn|Peyronel|2006|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=LZtREgFVC04C&pg=PA398 398]}}{{sfn|Miller|Shipp|1996|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=27m3y6MNRzYC&pg=PA66 66]}} Tell Brak was an important religious Hurrian center,{{sfn|Astour|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=0Rwals-oh6kC&pg=PA86 86]}} and the temple of Belet Nagar retained its cultic importance in the entire region until the early second millennium BC.{{#tag:ref|Belet-Nagar's worship was spread in wide areas, during year 8 of Amar-Sin's reign, a temple of Belet Nagar was erected in Ur.{{sfn|Archi|2002|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=5a8-NudlBx8C&pg=PA29 29]}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Eidem|1998|p= 75}}

File:TellBrakTW-W.jpg

Northern Mesopotamia evolved independently from the south during the Late Chalcolithic / early and middle Northern Uruk (4000–3500 BC).{{sfn|Averbeck|2003|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=YmFKA8fQFQoC&pg=PA92 92]}} This period was characterized by a strong emphasis on holy sites,{{sfn|Akkermans|1989|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=gnpyREWsfG0C&pg=PA346 346]}} among which, the Eye Temple was the most important in Tell Brak.{{sfn|Oates|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=tFQq3Gs3fi4C&pg=PA162 162]}} The building containing "Eyes" idols in area TW was wood paneled, whose main room had been lined with wooden panels.{{sfn|Ur|Karsgaard|Oates|2011|p= 7}} The building also contained the earliest known semi columned facade, which is a character that will be associated with temples in later periods.{{sfn|Ur|Karsgaard|Oates|2011|p= 7}}

By late Northern Uruk and especially after 3200 BC, northern Mesopotamia came under the full cultural dominance of the southern Uruk culture,{{sfn|Averbeck|2003|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=YmFKA8fQFQoC&pg=PA92 92]}} which affected Tell Brak's architecture and administration.{{sfn|Jennings|2011|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=mwaw6GxWIGcC&pg=PA73 73]}} The southern influence is most obvious in the level named the "Latest Jemdet Nasr" of the Eye Temple,{{sfn|Emberling|2002|p=87}} which had southern elements such as cone mosaics.{{sfn|Collins|2003|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=8l9X_3rHFdEC&pg=PA19 19]}} The Uruk presence was peaceful as it is first noted in the context of feasting; commercial deals during that period were traditionally ratified through feasting.{{#tag:ref|Geoff Emberling argues for a southern forced take-over instead of a peaceful interaction.{{sfn|Algaze|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=qSOYAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA84 84]}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Jennings|2011|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=mwaw6GxWIGcC&pg=PA73 73]}}{{sfn|Porter|2012|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=LKQ0fZFTeHkC&pg=PA140 140]}} The excavations in area TW revealed feasting to be an important local habit, as two cooking facilities, large amounts of grains, skeletons of animals, a domed backing oven and barbequing fire pits were discovered.{{sfn|Porter|2012|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=LKQ0fZFTeHkC&pg=PA141 141]}} Among the late Uruk materials found at Tell Brak is a standard text for educated scribes (the "Standard Professions" text), part of the standardized education taught in the 3rd millennium BC over a wide area of Syria and Mesopotamia.{{sfn|Michałowski|2003|p= [http://cdli.ucla.edu/pubs/cdlj/2003/cdlj2003_003.pdf 1]}}

File:BEYDAR SEAL.jpg

The pre-Akkadian kingdom was famed for its acrobats, who were in demand in Ebla and trained local Eblaite entertainers.{{sfn|Eidem|Finkel|Bonechi|2001|p= 101}} The kingdom also had its own local glyptic style called the "Brak Style",{{sfn|Peyronel|2006|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=LZtREgFVC04C&pg=PA408 408]}} which was distinct from the southern sealing variants, employing soft circled shapes and sharpened edges.{{sfn|Matthews|1997|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=DMhC0MIo6ZIC&pg=PA136 136]}} The Akkadian administration had little effect on the local administrative traditions and sealing style,{{sfn|McMahon|2012|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=P5q7DDqMbF0C&pg=PA655 655]}} and Akkadian seals existed side by side with the local variant.{{sfn|Peyronel|2006|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=LZtREgFVC04C&pg=PA400 400]}} The Hurrians employed the Akkadian style in their seals, and Elamite seals were discovered, indicating an interaction with the western Iranian Plateau.{{sfn|Peyronel|2006|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=LZtREgFVC04C&pg=PA400 400]}}

Tell Brak provided great knowledge on the culture of Mitanni, which produced glass using sophisticated techniques, that resulted in different varieties of multicolored and decorated shapes.{{sfn|Evans|2008|p= [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_gr5BgOwEJicC/page/n221 195]}} Samples of the elaborate Nuzi ware were discovered, in addition to seals that combine distinctive Mitannian elements with the international motifs of that period.{{sfn|Evans|2008|p= [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_gr5BgOwEJicC/page/n221 195]}}

Prior to the Nuzi ware, the predominant ceramic tradition at Brak is known as Khabur ware. Nuzi ware retains some shapes of Khabur ware, as well as some of its surface decorations. The fourth and last phase of Khabur ware (around 1500 BC) is generally contemporaneous with Nuzi ware. Both of them occur in parallel for some time at Brak before the Khabur ware disappears.{{Cite journal

|last=Oguchi

|first=Hiromichi

|title=The Date of The Beginning of Khabur Ware Period 3: Evidence from the Palace of Qarni-Lim at Tell Leilan

|journal=Al-Rafidan

|volume=27

|issue=3

|pages=45–59

|year=2006

|url=http://libw01.kokushikan.ac.jp/data/003076/0000/registfile/0285_4406_027_02.pdf

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320142316/http://libw01.kokushikan.ac.jp/data/003076/0000/registfile/0285_4406_027_02.pdf

|archive-date=2012-03-20

}}

Seals from Tell Brak and Nabada dated to the pre-Akkadian kingdom, revealed the use of four-wheeled wagons and war carriages.{{sfn|Peyronel|2006|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=LZtREgFVC04C&pg=PA402 402]}} Excavation in area FS recovered clay models of equids and wagons dated to the Akkadian and post-Akkadian periods.{{sfn|Peyronel|2006|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=LZtREgFVC04C&pg=PA402 402]}} The models provide information about the types of wagons used during that period (2350–2000 BC),{{sfn|Anthony|2007|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=0FDqf415wqgC&pg=PA403 403]}} and they include four wheeled vehicles and two types of two wheeled vehicles; the first is a cart with fixed seats and the second is a cart where the driver stands above the axle.{{sfn|Kuz'mina|2007|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=x5J9rn8p2-IC&pg=PA133 133]}} The chariots were introduced during the Mitanni era,{{sfn|Kuz'mina|2007|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=x5J9rn8p2-IC&pg=PA133 133]}} and none of the pre-Mitanni carriages can be considered chariots, as they are mistakenly described in some sources.{{sfn|Kuz'mina|2007|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=x5J9rn8p2-IC&pg=PA133 133]}}{{sfn|Anthony|2007|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=0FDqf415wqgC&pg=PA403 403]}}

The first city had the characteristics of large urban centers, such as monumental buildings,{{sfn|Garfinkle|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=GCj09AmtvvwC&pg=PA101 101]}} and seems to have been ruled by a kinship based assembly, headed by elders.{{sfn|Emberling|2015|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=TKawBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA262 262]}} The pre-Akkadian kingdom was decentralized,{{sfn|Ur|2009|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=heRBNMoaDAMC&pg=PA201 201]}} and the provincial center of Nabada was ruled by a council of elders, next to the king's representative.{{sfn|Ristvet|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=GE1sBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA65 65], [https://books.google.com/books?id=GE1sBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA61 61]}} The Nagarite monarchs had to tour their kingdom regularly in order to assert their political control.{{sfn|Ur|2009|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=heRBNMoaDAMC&pg=PA201 201]}}{{sfn|Raccidi|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=zHJPAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA184 184]}} During the early Akkadian period, Nagar was administrated by local officials.{{sfn|Oates|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=EnQ8W6AmCq0C&pg=PA10 10]}} However, central control was tightened and the number of Akkadian officials increased, following the supposed environmental event that preceded the construction of Naram-Sin's palace.{{sfn|Oates|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=EnQ8W6AmCq0C&pg=PA13 13]}} The post-Akkadian Nagar was a city-state kingdom,{{sfn|Hamblin|2006|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=biyDDd0uKGMC&pg=PT294 304]}} that gradually lost its political importance during the early second millennium BC, as no evidence for a king dating to that period exists.{{sfn|Eidem|1998|p= 76}}

Throughout its history, Tell Brak was an important trade center; it was an entrepot of obsidian trade during the Chalcolithic, as it was situated on the river crossing between Anatolia, the Levant and southern Mesopotamia.{{sfn|Ferguson|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=8eJoAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA219 219]}} The countryside was occupied by smaller towns, villages and hamlets, but the city's surroundings were empty within three kilometers.{{sfn|Ur|Karsgaard|Oates|2011|p= 8}} This was probably due to the intensive cultivation in the immediate hinterland, in order to sustain the population.{{sfn|Ur|Karsgaard|Oates|2011|p= 8}} The city manufactured different objects, including chalices made of obsidian and white marble,{{sfn|Ferguson|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=8eJoAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA220 220]}} faience,{{sfn|McIntosh|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=9veK7E2JwkUC&pg=PA254 254]}} flint tools and shell inlays.{{sfn|Jennings|2011|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=mwaw6GxWIGcC&pg=PA72 72]}} However, evidence exists for a slight shift in production of goods toward manufacturing objects desired in the south, following the establishment of the Uruk colony.{{sfn|Jennings|2011|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=mwaw6GxWIGcC&pg=PA73 73]}}

Trade was also an important economic activity for the pre-Akkadian kingdom of Nagar,{{sfn|McMahon|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=qSOYAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA469 469]}} which had Ebla and Kish as major partners.{{sfn|McMahon|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=qSOYAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA469 469]}} The kingdom produced glass,{{sfn|McIntosh|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=9veK7E2JwkUC&pg=PA254 254]}} wool,{{sfn|Eidem|Finkel|Bonechi|2001|p= 101}} and was famous for breeding and trading in the Kunga,{{sfn|Peyronel|Vacca|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=AaZg0ypYrnQC&pg=PA436 436]}}{{sfn|Kuz'mina|2007|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=x5J9rn8p2-IC&pg=PA134 134]}} a hybrid of a jenny (a female donkey) and a male Syrian wild ass.{{cite journal|first1=E. Andrew |last1=Bennett |first2=Jill |last2=Weber |first3=Wejden |last3=Bendhafer |first4=Sophie |last4=Chaplot |first5=Joris |last5=Peters |first6=Glenn M. |last6=Schwartz |first7=Thierry |last7=Grange |first8=Eva-Maria |last8=Geigl |title=The genetic identity of the earliest human-made hybrid animals, the kungas of Syro-Mesopotamia |journal=Science Advances |year=2022 |volume=8 |number=2 |pages=eabm0218 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.abm0218|pmid=35030024 |pmc=8759742 |bibcode=2022SciA....8..218B |s2cid=245963400 }}{{sfn|Kuz'mina|2007|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=x5J9rn8p2-IC&pg=PA134 134]}} Tell Brak remained an important commercial center during the Akkadian period,{{sfn|Liverani|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=_EtJAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT232 232]}} and was one of Mitanni's main trade cities.{{sfn|Kuz'mina|2007|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=x5J9rn8p2-IC&pg=PA133 133]}} Many objects were manufactured in Mitannian Tell Brak, including furniture made of ivory, wood and bronze, in addition to glass.{{sfn|Evans|2008|p= [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_gr5BgOwEJicC/page/n221 195]}} The city provided evidence for the international commercial contacts of Mitanni, including Egyptian, Hittite and Mycenaean objects, some of which were produced in the region to satisfy the local taste.{{sfn|Evans|2008|p= [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_gr5BgOwEJicC/page/n221 195]}}

The kungas of pre-Akkadian Nagar were used for drawing the carriages of kings before the domestication of the horse,{{sfn|Oates|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=EnQ8W6AmCq0C&pg=PA6 6]}} and a royal procession included up to fifty animals.{{sfn|Ur|2009|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=heRBNMoaDAMC&pg=PA200 200]}} The kungas of Nagar were in great demand in the Eblaite empire;{{sfn|Peyronel|Vacca|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=AaZg0ypYrnQC&pg=PA436 436]}} they cost two kilos of silver, fifty times the price of a donkey,{{sfn|Oates|2005|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=EnQ8W6AmCq0C&pg=PA6 6]}} and were imported regularly by the monarchs of Ebla to be used as transport animals and gifts for allied cities.{{sfn|Peyronel|Vacca|2013|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=AaZg0ypYrnQC&pg=PA436 436]}} The horse was known in the region during the third millennium BC, but was not used as a draught animal before c. 18th century BC.{{sfn|Kuz'mina|2007|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=x5J9rn8p2-IC&pg=PA134 134]}}

Soundings were conducted in 1930 by Antoine Poidebard although little was published.Poidebard, A., 1930. Statue trouvee a Tell Brak, Syria II, 360-4.Poidebard, A., I934. La Trace de Rome, Paris. After a survey of the area in 1934, Tell Brak was excavated for three seasons by the British archaeologist Sir Max Mallowan, husband of Agatha Christie, in 1937 and 1938.{{sfn|Oates|1982|p= 62}} The artifacts from Mallowan's excavations are now preserved in the Ashmolean Museum, National Museum of Aleppo and the British Museum's collection;{{sfn|Matthews|1997|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DMhC0MIo6ZIC&pg=PA217 217]}} the latter contain the Tell Brak Head dating to c. 3500–3300 BC.{{sfn|Collon|1995|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=RTGc9YH-C38C&pg=PA48 48]}}{{sfn|LaSor|1988|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=6OJvO2jMCr8C&pg=PA689 689]}} Two small cuneiform tablets were found and a half dozen fragments, all in the Akkadian period script.Gadd, C. J., "Tablets from Chagar Bazar and Tall Brak, 1937-38", Iraq, vol. 7, pp. 22–66, 1940

A team from the Institute of Archaeology of the University of London, led by David and Joan Oates, worked in the tell for 14 seasons between 1976 and 1993.Oates, Joan, "Excavations at Tell Brak 1992–93", Iraq 55, pp. 155-199, 1993Oates, Joan, and David Oates., "Tell Brak: A Stratigraphic Summary, 1976-1993", Iraq, vol. 56, pp. 167–76, 1994 Finds included several Uruk Period numerical tablets and a number of cuneiform tablets and inscriptions.Finkel, Irving L., "Inscriptions from Tell Brak 1984", Iraq, vol. 47, pp. 187–201, 1985Finkel, Irving L., "Inscriptions from Tell Brak 1985", Iraq, vol. 50, pp. 83–86, 1988N. J. J. Illingworth, "Inscriptions from Tell Brak 1986", Iraq, vol. 50, pp. 87–108, 1988 After 1993, excavations were conducted by a number of field directors under the general guidance of David (until 2004) and Joan Oates. Those directors included Roger Matthews (in 1994–1996), for the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research of the University of Cambridge; Geoff Emberling (in 1998–2002) and Helen McDonald (in 2000–2004), for the British Institute for the Study of Iraq and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Finds included a large cache of carnelian, gold, silver, and lapis lazuli beads, late 3rd millennium arrowheads, stone maceheads, a range of ceramic wares, and an alabaster statuette of a seated bear.R. J. Matthews, et al., "Excavations at Tell Brak, 1994", Iraq, vol. 56, pp. 177–94, 1994R. J. Matthews., "Excavations at Tell Brak, 1995", Iraq, vol. 57, pp. 87–111, 1995R. J. Matthews, "Excavations at Tell Brak, 1996", Iraq, vol. 58, pp. 65–77, 1996Emberling, Geoff and McDonald, Helen, "Recent finds from the northern Mesopotamian city of Tell Brak", Antiquity, vol. 76, pp. 949-950, 2002Emberling, Geoff, and Helen McDonald, "Excavations at Tell Brak 2001-2002: Preliminary Report", Iraq, vol. 65, pp. 1–75, 2003{{Cite book |last=Eiland |first=Murray |title=Excavations at Tell Brak |publisher=British School of Archaeology in Iraq |year=2003 |editor-last=Matthews |editor-first=Roger |volume=4: Exploring an Upper Mesopotamian regional centre, 1994-1996 |chapter=Ceramics and Society |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/9787596}}

File:Brak akkadian tablet BM 131738.jpg

In 2006, Augusta McMahon became field director, also sponsored by the British Institute for the Study of Iraq.{{sfn|Bryce|2009|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=AwwNS0diXP4C&pg=PA135 135]}} A regional archaeological field survey in a {{convert|20|km|abbr=on}} radius around Brak was supervised by Henry T. Wright (in 2002–2005).{{sfn|McMahon|Oates|al-Quntar|Colantoni|2007|p= 145}} The survey data was combined with LANDSAT and 1960s era CORONA satellite images as well as historical photographs.{{sfn|Oates|2009|pages=28}} Many of the finds from the excavations at Tell Brak are on display in the Deir ez-Zor Museum.{{sfn|Matthews|1997|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DMhC0MIo6ZIC&pg=PR5 v]}} The most recent excavations took place in the spring of 2011, but archaeological work is currently suspended due to the ongoing Syrian Civil War.{{sfn|Bowden|2012|p= 51}}

A number of Proto-Literate clay tokens were found at the site, mainly in Uruk leveling fill but in one case in a stratified context. Most of the finds were pellets but also cones, discs, and ovioid bullae. In Late Uruk fill a number of large stone spheres and polished teardrops were found.Jasim, Sabah Abboud, and Joan Oates, "Early Tokens and Tablets in Mesopotamia: New Information from Tell Abada and Tell Brak", World Archaeology, vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 348–62, 1986

According to the Syrian authorities, the camp of archaeologists was looted, along with the tools and ceramics kept in it.{{sfn|Elger|2014}} The site changed hands between the different combatants, mainly the Kurdish People's Protection Units and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.{{sfn|Perry|2014}} In early 2015, Tell Brak was taken by the Kurdish forces after light fighting with the Islamic State.{{sfn|Sommerville|2015}}

{{Portal|History}}

• Chagar Bazar
• Cities of the Ancient Near East
• Hamoukar
• Tall Al-Hamidiya
• Tell Aqab
• Tell Chuera
• Tell Leilan
• Tell Mozan

Informational notes

{{reflist|group=note|colwidth=40em}}

Citations

{{Reflist|24em}}

Bibliography

{{refbegin|60em}}

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• {{cite book|last=LaSor|first=William Sanford|editor1-first=Geoffrey W.|editor1-last=Bromiley|editor2-first=Everett F.|editor2-last=Harrison|editor3-first= Roland K.|editor3-last=Harrison|editor4-first=William Sanford|editor4-last=LaSor|title=The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia|chapter=Syria|volume= 4|year=1988|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|edition= fully revised|isbn=978-0-8028-3784-4}}
• {{cite book|title=Who's Who in the Ancient Near East|first1=Gwendolyn|last1=Leick|publisher=Routledge|year=2002|isbn=978-1-134-78796-8}}
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• {{cite book|title=Twenty-Five Years of Mesopotamian Discovery (1932–1956)|first1= Max Edgar Lucien|last1=Mallowan|publisher=British School of Archaeology in Iraq|year= 1959|oclc=928965616}}
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• {{cite journal |last1=Matthews|first1=Donald|last2=Eidem|first2=Jesper|year=1993 |title=Tell Brak and Nagar |journal=IRAQ|publisher= Cambridge University Press - On Behalf of The British Institute for the Study of Iraq (Gertrude Bell Memorial)|volume=55|pages=201–207|doi=10.2307/4200376|jstor=4200376|s2cid=191403234 |issn=0021-0889}}
• {{cite book|title=The Early Glyptic of Tell Brak: Cylinder Seals of Third Millennium Syria|first1= Donald M. |last1=Matthews|publisher=University Press Fribourg Switzerland|year= 1997|series=Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis- Series Archaeologica|volume= 15|isbn=978-3-525-53896-8}}
• {{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Library History|editor1-first= Wayne A.|editor1-last=Wiegand|editor2-first=Donald G. |editor2-last= Davis. Jr|first1= Gerald E.|last1=Max|chapter=Ancient Near East|publisher=Garland Publishing |year=1994|isbn=978-1-135-78757-8}}
• {{cite book|first=Helen|last=McDonald|chapter=The Beads|title=Excavations at Tell Brak, Volume 1: The Mitanni and Old Babylonian periods|publisher=McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research and the British School of Archaeology in Iraq|editor1-first=David|editor1-last=Oates|editor2-first=Joan|editor2-last=Oates|editor3-first=Helen|editor3-last=McDonald|isbn=978-0-9519420-5-5|year=1997}}
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• {{cite book|last= McMahon|first=Augusta|editor1-first=Daniel T.|editor1-last=Potts|title=A Companion to the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East|volume=1|chapter=The Akkadian Period: Empire, Environment, and Imagination |year=2012 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-4443-6077-6}}
• {{cite book|editor1-last=Crawford|editor1-first= Harriet|last=McMahon|first=Augusta|title=The Sumerian World|chapter=North Mesopotamia in the Third Millennium BC|year=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-21912-2}}
• {{cite journal|last1=Michałowski|first1=Piotr|year= 2003|title=An Early Dynastic Tablet of ED Lu A From Tell Brak (Nagar)| url=https://cdli.ucla.edu/pubs/cdlj/2003/cdlj2003_003.pdf | journal=Cuneiform Digital Library Journal |publisher= Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative|volume=3|issn= 1540-8779}}
• {{cite book|last1=Miller|first1=Douglas B.|first2=R. Mark|last2=Shipp|title=An Akkadian Handbook: Paradigms, Helps, Glossary, Logograms, and Sign List|year=1996|orig-year=1993|publisher=Eisenbrauns|isbn=978-0-931464-86-7}}
• {{cite book|title=Ancient Mesopotamian Materials and Industries: The Archaeological Evidence|first1=Peter Roger Stuart|last1=Moorey|publisher=Eisenbrauns|year= 1999|orig-year=1994|isbn=978-1-57506-042-2}}
• {{cite book|last1=Oates|first1=David|editor-last= Curtis|editor-first=John|title=Fifty Years of Mesopotamian Discovery, the Work of the British School of Archaeology in Iraq, 1932–1982|chapter=Tell Brak|year=1982|publisher=British School of Archaeology in Iraq|isbn=978-0-903472-05-0}}
• {{cite book|chapter=The Excavations|title=Excavations at Tell Brak, Volume 1: The Mitanni and Old Babylonian periods|publisher=McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research and the British School of Archaeology in Iraq|editor1-first=David|editor1-last=Oates|editor2-first=Joan|editor2-last=Oates|editor3-first=Helen|editor3-last=McDonald|isbn=978-0-9519420-5-5|year=1997a}}
• {{cite book|chapter=Historical Commentary|title=Excavations at Tell Brak, Volume 1: The Mitanni and Old Babylonian periods|publisher=McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research and the British School of Archaeology in Iraq |editor1-first=David|editor1-last= Oates|editor2-first=Joan|editor2-last=Oates|editor3-first=Helen|editor3-last=McDonald|isbn=978-0-9519420-5-5|year=1997b}}
• {{cite book|first1=David|last1=Oates|first2=Joan|last2=Oates|year=2001a|chapter=Archaeological Reconstruction and Historical Commentary|title=Excavations at Tell Brak, Volume 2: Nagar in the third millennium BC|publisher=McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research and the British School of Archaeology in Iraq|editor1-first=David|editor1-last=Oates|editor2-first=Joan|editor2-last=Oates|editor3-first=Helen|editor3-last=McDonald|isbn=978-0-9519420-9-3}}
• {{cite book|last1=Oates|first1=David|first2=Joan|last2=Oates|year=2001b|chapter=Tell Brak|editor-last=Trümpler|editor-first=Charlotte|title=Agatha Christie and Archaeology|publisher=British Museum Press |isbn=978-0-7141-1148-3}}
• {{cite book|last1=Oates|first1=David|first2=Joan|last2=Oates|editor-last=Ehrenberg|editor-first=Erica |title=Leaving No Stones Unturned: Essays on the Ancient Near East and Egypt in Honor of Donald P. Hansen |chapter=The Reattribution of Middle Uruk Materials at Tell Brak|year=2002|publisher=Eisenbrauns |isbn=978-1-57506-055-2}}
• {{cite journal|last1=Oates|first1=Joan|year= 1987|title=A Note on 'Ubaid and Mitanni Pottery from Tell Brak|journal=IRAQ|publisher= Cambridge University Press - On Behalf of The British Institute for the Study of Iraq (Gertrude Bell Memorial)|volume=49|pages=193–198|doi=10.2307/4200272|jstor=4200272|s2cid=162275365 |issn= 0021-0889}}
• {{cite book|first1=Joan|last1=Oates|chapter=The Third-millennium Pottery|title=Excavations at Tell Brak, Volume 2: Nagar in the third millennium BC|publisher=McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research and the British School of Archaeology in Iraq|editor1-first=David|editor1-last=Oates|editor2-first=Joan|editor2-last=Oates|editor3-first=Helen|editor3-last=McDonald|isbn=978-0-9519420-9-3|year=2001}}
• {{cite book|last1=Oates|first1=Joan|chapter=Archaeology in Mesopotamia: Digging Deeper at Tell Brak |series=Proceedings of the British Academy| url=https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/documents/2009/pba131p001.pdf |volume=131|title=2004 Lectures|publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2005|issn=0068-1202 |isbn=978-0-19-726351-8}}
• {{cite book|last=Oates|year=2007 |editor1-first=Joachim |editor1-last=Bretschneider|editor2-first=Jan |editor2-last=Driessen|editor3-first=Karel|editor3-last=van Lerberghe|first=Joan|title=Power and Architecture: Monumental Public Architecture in the Bronze Age Near East and Aegean|chapter=Monumental Public Architecture in Late Chakolithic and Bronze Age Mesopotamia, with particular reference to Tell Brak and Tell al Rimah|series=Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta|volume=156|publisher=Peeters Publishers & Department of Oriental Studies, Leuven|issn=0777-978X|isbn=978-90-429-1831-3}}
• {{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Prehistory, Volume 8: South and Southwest Asia|editor1-first=Peter N.|editor1-last=Peregrine|editor2-first=Melvin|editor2-last=Ember|first1=Brian|last1=Peasnall|chapter= Ubaid|publisher=Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers|year= 2002|isbn=978-0-306-46262-7}}
• {{cite web|last=Perry|first=Tom|publisher=Reuters|date= February 22, 2014|title=Syrian Kurds Take Town From Islamists: Watchdog|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/how-archaelogists-are-trying-to-save-syrian-artifacts-a-983818.html|access-date=December 26, 2016}}
• {{cite journal|last= Peyronel|first= Luca|year= 2006|title=Excavations at Tell Brak, Vol. 2: Nagar in the Third Millennium BC|journal=Orientalia|publisher= Pontificium Institutum Biblicum|volume=75|issue= 4|oclc= 557711946}}
• {{cite book|last1= Peyronel|first1=Luca |last2= Vacca|first2= Agnese|editor1-first= Paolo|editor1-last=Matthiae|editor2-last=Marchetti|editor2-first=Nicolò|title=Ebla and its Landscape: Early State Formation in the Ancient Near East|chapter=Natural Resources, Technology and Manufacture Processes at Ebla. A Preliminary Assessment|year=2013|publisher=Left Coast Press|isbn=978-1-61132-228-6}}
• {{cite book|title= Brotherhood of Kings: How International Relations Shaped the Ancient Near East|first=Amanda H.|last=Podany|year= 2010|isbn=978-0-19-979875-9|publisher= Oxford University Press}}
• {{cite book|title=Mobile Pastoralism and the Formation of Near Eastern Civilizations: Weaving Together Society|first=Anne|last=Porter|publisher= Cambridge University Press|year= 2012|isbn=978-0-521-76443-8}}
• {{cite book|first=Mattia|last=Raccidi|editor1-first=André J.|editor1-last= Veldmeijer|editor2-first=Salima|editor2-last=Ikram|title=Chasing Chariots: Proceedings of the first international chariot conference (Cairo 2012)|chapter=Wagons and Carts in the 3rd Millennium BC. Syrian Jazirah: A Study Through the Documentation|year=2013|publisher=Sidestone Press|isbn=978-90-8890-209-3}}
• {{cite book|title= Ritual, Performance, and Politics in the Ancient Near East|first=Lauren|last= Ristvet|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year= 2014|isbn= 978-1-316-19503-1}}
• {{cite book|last1=Sallaberger|first1=Walther|editor1-first=Catherine|editor1-last=Kuzucuoğlu|editor2-first=Catherine|editor2-last=Marro|year= 2007|title=Sociétés Humaines et Changement Climatique à la Fin du Troisième Millénaire: Une Crise a-t-elle eu Lieu en Haute Mésopotamie?, Actes du Colloque de Lyon (5-8 décembre 2005)|chapter=From Urban Culture to Nomadism : A History of Upper Mesopotamia in the Late Third Millennium|journal= Varia Anatolica |volume=19 |publisher=l'Institut Français d'Études Anatoliennes|isbn=978-2-906053-94-6}}
• {{cite book|first1=Walther|last1=Sallaberger|first2=Alexander|last2=Pruß|title=Labor in the Ancient World|chapter=Home and Work in Early Bronze Age Mesopotamia:“Ration Lists” and “Private Houses” at Tell Beydar/Nabada|editor1-first= Piotr|editor1-last=Steinkeller|editor2-first= Michael|editor2-last=Hudson|year=2015|isbn= 978-3-981-48423-6|publisher=Islet Press|series= International Scholars Conference on Ancient Near Eastern Economics|volume=5}}
• {{cite journal|last1=Sołtysiak|first1=Arkadiusz|year= 2009|title=Short Fieldwork Report: Tell Brak (Syria), Seasons 1984–2009|journal=Bioarchaeology of the Near East|publisher= Department of Bioarchaeology, Institute of Archaeology, University of Warsaw|volume=3|issn=1898-9403}}
• {{cite web|last=Sommerville|first=Quentin|publisher=BBC|date= March 15, 2015|title=Volunteering with the Kurds to fight IS|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-31878803|access-date=December 26, 2016}}
• {{cite book|title=Egyptian Cultural Icons in Midrash|first1= Rivka|last1=Ulmer|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|series=Studia Judaica: Forschungen zur Wissenschaft des Judentums|volume=52|year=2009|doi= 10.1515/9783110223934|issn=0585-5306|isbn=978-3-11-022392-7}}
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• {{cite book|title=The Idea of Writing: Play and Complexity|editor1-first=Alexander J.|editor1-last= de Voogt|editor2-first=Irving L. |editor2-last=Finkel|first1=Wilfred H|last1=van Soldt|chapter=The Adaptation of the Cuneiform Script to Foreign Languages|publisher=Brill|year=2010|isbn=978-90-04-17446-7}}
• {{cite journal|last=Weiss|first=Harvey|year= 1983|title=Excavations at Tell Leilan and the Origins of North Mesopotamian cities in the Third Millennium B.C.|publisher=Association Paléorient |journal=Paléorient |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=39–52|doi=10.3406/paleo.1983.4340|issn=0153-9345}}
• {{cite book|last= Weiss|first=Harvey |editor-last= Weiss|editor-first=Harvey |title=Seven Generations Since the Fall of Akkad|chapter=Quantifying Collapse: The Late Third Millennium Khabur Plains|series=Studia Chaburensia |volume=3 |issn=1869-845X|year=2012|publisher=Harrassowitz Verlag|isbn=978-3-447-06823-9}}
• {{cite book|first=Harvey|last= Weiss|title= The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of the Levant: c. 8000-332 BCE|chapter=The Northern Levant During the Intermediate Bronze Age: Altered Trajectories|editor1-first=Margreet L. |editor1-last=Steiner |editor2-first=Ann E. |editor2-last=Killebrew|year= 2013|isbn=978-0-19-166255-3|publisher=Oxford University Press}}
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{{refend}}

General

• Biga, M. G., "The Marriage of Eblaite Princess Tagrisˇ-Damu with a Son of Nagar’s King", Subartu, IV, 2, pp. 17–22, 1998
• Oates, Joan, and David Oates, "An open gate: Cities of the fourth millennium BC (Tell Brak 1997)." Cambridge Archaeological Journal 7.2, pp. 287-297, 1997
• {{cite journal |last1=Oates |first1=David |last2=Oates |first2=Joan |year=1989 |title=Akkadian Buildings at Tell Brak |journal=Iraq |volume=51 |pages=193–211 |doi=10.2307/4200303 |jstor=4200303 |s2cid=162449952 |issn=0021-0889 }}
• {{cite journal |last1=Oates |first1=Joan |year=1982j |title=Some Late Early Dynastic III Pottery from Tell Brak |journal=Iraq |volume=44 |issue=2 |pages=205–219 |doi=10.2307/4200163 |jstor=4200163 |s2cid=163191059 |issn=0021-0889 }}
• {{cite journal |last1=Wilhelm |first1=G. |year=1991 |title=A Hurrian Letter from Tell Brak |journal=Iraq |volume=53 |pages=159–168 | url=https://opus.bibliothek.uni-wuerzburg.de/files/7241/Wilhelm67.pdf | doi=10.2307/4200345 |jstor=4200345 |s2cid=162464364 |issn=0021-0889 }}
• [https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/jasonur/files/ur_2014_urban_form_at_tell_brak.pdf]Ur, Jason A., "Urban form at Tell Brak across three millennia.", in Preludes to Urbanism: Studies in the Late Chalcolithic of Mesopotamia in Honour of Joan Oates, Archaeopress, Oxford, 2014

Excavation Related

• Ambers, J., "Radiocarbon results from Tell Brak", Iraq 55, pp. 198-199, 1993
• Bowman, S. G. E., and J. C. Ambers, "Radiocarbon Dates for Tell Brak, 1987", Iraq, vol. 51, pp. 213–15, 1989
• Clutton-Brock, Juliet, "A Dog and a Donkey Excavated at Tell Brak", Iraq, vol. 51, pp. 217–24, 1989
• Clutton-Brock, Juliet, and Sophie Davies, "More Donkeys from Tell Brak", Iraq, vol. 55, pp. 209–21, 1993
• Emberling, Geoff, et al., "Excavations at Tell Brak 1998: preliminary report.", Iraq, pp. 1-41, 1991
• Fielden, Kate, "Tell Brak 1976: the pottery.", Iraq 39.2, pp. 245-255, 1977
• Fielden, Kate, "A Late Uruk pottery group from Tell Brak, 1978", Iraq 43, pp. 157-166, 1981
• Mallowan, M. E. L., "Excavations at Brak and Chagar Bazar", Iraq, vol. 9, pp. 1-259, 1947
• [http://hdl.handle.net/11401/88782]Roger Mathews, "Excavations at Tell Brak 4: Exploring an Upper Mesopotamian Regional Centre, 1994-1996", McDonald Institute Monographs, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, July 15 2003 ISBN 978-1902937168
• Oates, David, "The Excavations at Tell Brak, 1976.", Iraq 39.2, pp. 233-244, 1977
• Oates, David, "Excavations at Tell Brak, 1978–81.", Iraq 44.2, pp. 187-204, 1982
• Oates, David, "Excavations at Tell Brak, 1983–84.", Iraq 47, pp. 159-173, 1985
• Oates, David, "Excavations at tell brak 1985–86.", Iraq 49, pp. 175-191, 1987
• Oates, David, and Joan Oates, "Excavations at Tell Brak 1990-91.", Iraq 53, pp. 127-145, 1991
• [http://hdl.handle.net/11401/88783]Oates, David, and Joan Oates, "Excavations at Tell Brak. v. 1: The Mitanni and Old Babylonian periods", McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, British School of Archaeology in Iraq, 1997
• [http://hdl.handle.net/11401/88749]Oates, David, and Joan Oates, "Excavations at Tell Brak. v. 2: Nagar in the third millennium BC", McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, British School of Archaeology in Iraq, 2001
• Oates, Joan, "Excavations at Tell Brak, NE Syria, 1992.", Cambridge Archaeological Journal 3.1, pp. 137-140, 1993

{{commons category|Tell Brak}}

• [http://www-personal.umich.edu/~piotrm/brakbib.html Piotr Michałowski, "Bibliographical information (Tell Brak & related matters)]
• [http://sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=B8A60DC1-E7F2-99DF-3948648808A40B78&ec=su_hist SciAm: Ancient Squatters May Have Been the World's First Suburbanites] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200621120706/https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ancient-squatters-worlds-first-suburbanites/ |date=2020-06-21 }}
• [https://oi.uchicago.edu/getinvolved/member/events/tellbrak.html Death and the City: Recent Work at Tell Brak, Syra - Oriental Institute video/audio lecture] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111115459/https://oi.uchicago.edu/getinvolved/member/events/tellbrak.html |date=2013-11-11 }}
• [https://whitelevy.fas.harvard.edu/early-mesopotamian-urbanism-tell-brak-syria White-Levy Brak publication project]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8sTfRi3Ors BISI Webinar: Prof Augusta McMahon on 'From Tell Brak to Lagash' - Augusta McMahon - Feb 21, 2022]
• [https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1577476/archaeology-news-us-spy-satellite-images-middle-east-tell-brak-city-spt Archaeology breakthrough after spy satellite images unveiled world's ‘first city’ - Express - Mar 8, 2022]

{{Syria topics}}

{{Al-Hasakah Governorate}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Populated places established in the 4th millennium BC

Category:States and territories disestablished in the 3rd millennium BC

Category:Akkadian cities

Category:Hurrian cities

Category:Archaeological sites in al-Hasakah Governorate

Category:Stone Age sites in Syria

Category:Former populated places in Syria

Category:Archaeological sites in Syria

Brak

Category:Halaf culture

Category:Ubaid period

Category:Kish civilization

Category:Uruk period

Category:City-states

Category:Former monarchies