Hatra
History
Hatra, the large pre-Islamic Arab city (300 hectares), is an isolated centre in northern Iraq, at the crossroads of the communications routes between central Mesopotamia, Syria and the Mediterranean. Although trade was not one of the city’s main activities, Hatra may have been a layover on a secondary route and may have benefited from its position. In fact, on the Peutingerian Table it is displayed as a layover in the Jazirah’s road network.
Allied with the great Parthian king, who controlled an area that extended from central Asia to Mesopotamia, Hatra was the Jazirah’s main city, probably the “Arabaya” of the local royal inscriptions, ruled by an independent dynasty whose rulers proclaimed themselves “kings of the Arabs”. The presence at the city’s centre of a large and opulent Sanctuary (450x300 m) indicates how Hatra’s development was mostly due to its role of a religious centre dedicated to Shamash, the Sun God, worshipped by Arab tribes.
Hatra’s importance as a religious and commercial centre was complemented by its strategic position, which made it a buffer between the Roman limes and Parthian Mesopotamia. In fact, Hatra was unsuccessfully besieged by both Trajan and Septimius Severus, and fell only in 240-241 A.D. to the Sasanians, the Iranian dynasty that supplanted the Parthian rulers.
After its fall to the Sasanians, the city was progressively abandoned and, consequently, its most recent appearance was remarkably preserved. The urbanistic layout, with its fortifications and temples, is still visible to this day.
The city’s state of conservation is attested by the volumes published by the German archaeologist W. Andrae, who in the early 20th century graphically and photographically documented the architectural finds. Archaeological excavations and restorations were conducted on the site by the Antiquities Department of Iraq only from 1951, but they were limited to the largest monuments, specifically religious buildings.