Tell Leilan (Shubat-Enlil)
تل ليلان (شباط إنليل)
Site of Shubat-Enlil, capital of King Shamshi-Adad I in the 18th century BC, in the plains of Hasakah near al-Qahtaniyah.
In the fertile Jazira plains near al-Qahtaniyah in Hasakah lies Tell Leilan, the ancient city known in the early second millennium BC as Shubat-Enlil, "seat of the god Enlil".
Settled from the fifth millennium BC, it grew into a large walled city in the third millennium, then was abandoned in the late third millennium, a phase some researchers link to widespread drought and climate change.
It revived when King Shamshi-Adad I made it capital of his northern Mesopotamian kingdom in the 18th century BC. Yale excavations led by Harvey Weiss from the 1970s uncovered temples, palaces, houses and cuneiform archives of letters and treaties between kings. The site also features in scientific debate on ancient climate and societal collapse.
Note: photos may not reflect the site's current condition.
For the visitor
Location: 36.9572, 41.5053 · Open on the map
Photos: Zoeperkoe — via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA)
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