WHAT IS THE HALAF?

A large tell site on the Khabur River in northeastern Syria near the Turkish border, which is the type site of an important stage of north Mesopotamian development, roughly from the 6th millennium bc to the beginning of the 5th millennium (5050–4300 bc). The distinctive pottery, known as Halaf ware, was exceptionally fine – a thin hard ware in a wide range of competent and attractive shapes bearing brilliant carpet-like designs painted in black, red, and white on the buff surface. Simple steatite stamp seals were coming into use, which imply the development of personal property. In the villages, the typical dwelling was a round house with a vaulted dome (tholos), constructed of mud brick, sometimes on stone foundations. The Halaf culture was succeeded in northern Mesopotamia by the Ubaid culture. It was the seat of an Aramaean kingdom and then a provincial capital of the Neoassyrian Empire. In 808 bc, Adad-nirari III of Assyria sacked the city and reduced the surrounding district to a province of the Assyrian Empire. The Assyrian archives provide valuable details of the administrative affairs of the time. It was the Old Testament “Gozan” to which the Israelites were deported in 722 bc after the capture of Samaria.