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Document Details : Title: Marhaši et la civilisation de l'Oxus Author(s): FRANCFORT, Henri-Paul , TREMBLAY, Xavier Journal: Iranica Antiqua Volume: 45 Date: 2010 Pages: 51-224 DOI: 10.2143/IA.45.0.2047119 Abstract : Marhaši and the Oxus Civilization (BMAC) are proposed to be identified on the basis of textual and archaeological evidence dating of the Akkadian, Ur III and Isin-Larsa periods, between ca. 2300 and 1750 BC. Part I is a fresh review of all the literary sources mentioning the kingdom of Marhaši in the Mesopotamian documents in various languages. Part II discusses the archaeological evidence from Eastern Iran and Central Asia, regarding the location this kingdom and its relationships with the Indus Civilization, Iran, and Mesopotamia. Agreeing that Marhaši is located East of Elam, both parts conclude however that the identification of Marhaþi with the Kerman or Baluchistan province of Iran propounded by P. Steinkeller and F. Vallat is not only insufficiently established, but does not fit well with the archaeological evidence as well as with some texts (esp. Narâm-Sîn's royal inscriptions, Enki and Ninhuršag and the Curse of Akkad) and therefore propose a better alternative, the Central Asian Oxus Civilization. As the first part also points, it is as a matter of fact possible that the very name Margiana may derive from Marhaþi. In the third part, the whole evidence about the language of the Oxus civilization is gathered; the evidence from the personal names seems to point towards an Eastern variant of Hurrian. |
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