120 km south of this town is the site of the Kingdom of Mari (Tel hariri) , near
Abu Kamal. This kingdom dates back to the 3rd millennium b.C. It was ruled
by kings of the 10th dynasty after the flood. The discovery of mari (1932), like
the recent discovery of Ebla (1975), attracted the attention of archaeologists and
researchers in various fields.
Twenty thousand tablets with their cuneiform inscription recount the political
and diplomatic life in these kingdoms. Many of the remains and relics, statues,
jewels, tablets and stamps are now at the Damascus, Aleppo, Deir al-Zor and
Paris museums.
Another archaeological site is at the intersection of the Euphrates and of the
Khabur near Mayadin (Tel al-Ashara) , where the ancient city of Tarqa , the
capital of the Khana kingdom , flourished in the 2nd millennium B.C. after the
fall of Mari. The wall that surrounded the city is one of the most enormous of the
ancient world; it had a diameter of 20m.
