Ziyaret Tepe

Ziyaret Tepe is an ancient settlement located on the Tigris River in southeastern Turkey. Inhabited for much of the past 5,000 years, it's zenith was during the Late Assyrian period, c. 882-611 BC, when Ziyaret Tepe was known as the Assyrian city of Tušhan. During this period, Tušhan guarded the northern border of the Assyrian Empire, housed the regional governor and his bureaucracy, served as a center for exploiting the natural resources (timber, stone, and metals) of the Taurus Mountains to the north, and on occasion housed the Assyrian king and the imperial army. In the rich agricultural valley of the Tigris River, Assyrian farmers harvested vast quantities of grain to support the population of the city and to meet the demands of an expanding empire. Tušhan was a vital part of the Assyrian success story during the Iron Age, a time when the empire was unparalleled in its wealth, power, and influence.

The ancient site had remained largely unexplored until 1997 when an international team under my direction started work at Ziyaret Tepe. This website presents some of the results of eighteen field seasons conducted by our international collaborative research team between 1997 and the conclusion of the field project in 2014.