Charax Spasinou: Research on the capital of Mesene, a center of ancient trade

作为阿契美尼德王朝的继承者，亚历山大大帝在位期间在底格里斯河和尤拉伊奥斯河（卡尔卡河）的交汇处建立了一个战略要地。在连续的塞琉古王朝、阿尔萨西德王朝和萨珊王朝统治下，这座城市成为了梅塞涅省的首府，即现代伊拉克南部和海湾北方的更广阔地区，直到公元5/6世纪。在公元前世纪中期两次被洪水摧毁，这座城市以Charax Spasinou而闻名，即（其重建者）Hyspaosines的栅栏。作为波斯湾地区最重要的港口，Charax Spasinou成为印度，中国和巴比伦尼亚（底格里斯河上的Seleucia，Ctesiphon）和Elymais（Susa）的塞琉古王朝到萨珊王朝时期的经济和政治中心之间长途交流的贸易枢纽，也是帕尔米拉商人从东方进口商品的港口。Charax Spasinou遭受了Eulaios河和后来底格里斯河河床的变化，可能在公元7 - 8世纪被遗弃。这座几乎平坦的城市废墟，面积接近6平方公里，有一个2.5公里长的4至7米高的城墙，由J. Hansman于1965年在现代的Jebel Khanabir确定。但它靠近伊拉克和伊朗边境的位置阻止了任何进一步的考古研究。最后，在2016年3月，J. Moon，R.基里克和圣坎贝尔能够进行第一个初步赛季的网站。无人机图像和地球物理勘探显示了地表以下遗址的良好保护，可以清楚地识别出街道网格的大小，几个连续阶段的纪念性和较小的建筑物以及生产场所，如窑炉。因此，Charax Spasinou遗址的全面记录是2017年至2019年三年研究项目的重要组成部分，该项目涉及伊拉克南部濒危文化遗产的鉴定和保护计划，目前由英国文化保护基金资助。本申请的目的是在两个方向上跟进和扩展这项研究。第一个目标是详细重建城市结构。整个地区的杰出保护与非常有限的后期建筑活动为城市规划，宫殿和寺庙等特定公共建筑以及生活区，特别是港口及其码头和仓库提供了极好的可能性。这将大大增加我们对大美索不达米亚塞琉古王朝至萨珊王朝时期城市的有限认识。另一方面，城市的历史与河流系统的发展密切相关。因此，本申请的第二个目的是将Charax Spasinou置于河流和河道变化的（古）环境背景中。

During his reign as successor to the Achaemenids Alexander the Great founded a strategically placed city on the confluence of Tigris and Eulaios (Karkha). Under consecutive Seleucid, Arsacid and Sasanian rulers this city became the capital of the province of Mesene, i.e. the wider region of modern southern Iraq and the northern half of the Gulf, until the 5th/6th century AD. Twice destroyed by floodwaters in the mid-2nd century BC the city became famous as Charax Spasinou, i.e. palisade of (its re-founder) Hyspaosines. As most important port in the Persian Gulf area Charax Spasinou became the trade hub of long-distance exchange between India, China and the economic and political centers of the Seleucid to Sasanian period in Babylonia (Seleucia on the Tigris, Ctesiphon) und Elymais (Susa), but also the harbor used by the merchants of Palmyra to import commodities from the East for customers in the Roman Empire. Charax Spasinou suffered from changes in the course of the Eulaios river and later also of the Tigris river bed and was abandoned, probably in the 7th – 8th century AD. The nearly flat ruin of the city, measuring close to 6 km2 and featuring a 2.5 km long 4 to 7 m high rampart, was identified by J. Hansman in 1965 at modern Jebel Khanabir. But its location close to the border between Iraq and Iran prevented any further archaeological research. Finally, in March 2016 J. Moon, R. Killick and St. Campbell were able to conduct a first preliminary season on the site. Drone images and geophysical prospection demonstrated the excellent preservation of the ruins below the surface which allows to clearly identify the street grid in an outstanding size, monumental and smaller buildings of several consecutive phases and production sites like kilns. Accordingly, the comprehensive documentation of remains at Charax Spasinou is an important part of a three-year research project for the years 2017 to 2019 which concerns the identification and plans for protection of endangered cultural heritage in southern Iraq, currently funded by the British Cultural Protection Fund. The aim of the present application is to follow up and expand on this research in two directions. The first objective is the detailed reconstruction of the city’s structure. The outstanding preservation with very limited later building activity in the entire area offers excellent possibilities for inquiries into city-planning, specific public buildings like palaces and temples as well as living quarters and specifically the harbor with its docks and storehouses. It will thus greatly enhance our limited knowledge on the cities of the Seleucid to Sasanian period in greater Mesopotamia.The city’s history, on the other hand, is intimately related to the developments of the river system. The second objective in this application, therefore, is to place Charax Spasinou within its (palaeo)environmental context of the changing of rivers and channels.