Palace of Zimri-Lim, Mari
قصر زمري ليم في ماري
Royal palace of Mari's last king in the 18th century BC, with hundreds of rooms, painted murals and a huge cuneiform archive.
At the heart of ancient Mari, Tell Hariri near Abu Kamal, lie the remains of the palace of Zimri-Lim, Mari's last great king in the 18th century BC — one of the largest and most famous royal palaces of the ancient Near East, so renowned that other kings sent envoys to see it.
Built of mudbrick, it had hundreds of rooms, halls and courtyards: ceremonial and religious wings, royal apartments, stores, workshops and offices. Painted murals decorated some halls, most famously the Investiture of Zimri-Lim, now in the Louvre.
The royal palace of Mari was built in the heart of the city, also served as a temple, and was rebuilt in successive architectural levels before reaching its final form under Zimri-Lim, last king of the Amorite Lim dynasty, whose city the Babylonians destroyed about 1761 BC. It lies at Tell Hariri, about 11 km north-west of Abu Kamal.
Its archive of tens of thousands of cuneiform tablets — letters, reports, treaties and accounts — reveals politics, diplomacy and daily life in rare detail. Hammurabi of Babylon ended its glory.
Note: photos may not reflect the site's current condition.
For the visitor
Location: 34.5514, 40.8885 · Open on the map
Photos
Photos: Heretiq — via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA) · Zunkir — via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA) · Gianfranco Gazzetti — via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA)
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