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

在他作为阿契美尼德王朝的继任者统治期间，亚历山大大帝在底格里斯河和尤拉伊奥斯（卡尔卡）的交汇处建立了一个具有战略意义的城市。在塞琉古王朝、阿尔萨西王朝和萨珊王朝的连续统治下，这座城市成为美塞尼省的首府，即现代伊拉克南部和海湾北部的更广阔地区，直到公元5 /6世纪。公元前2世纪中叶，这座城市两次被洪水摧毁，以“查拉克斯·斯帕西努”而闻名，即（其重建者）海斯波辛斯的栅栏。作为波斯湾地区最重要的港口，查拉克斯·斯帕西努成为印度、中国与巴比伦（底格里斯河上的塞琉西亚、克特西丰）和埃利迈斯（苏萨）的塞琉古至萨珊时期的经济和政治中心之间的长途交流的贸易枢纽，也是巴尔米拉商人为罗马帝国的客户从东方进口商品的港口。查拉克斯·斯帕西努可能在公元7 - 8世纪期间遭受了尤拉伊奥斯河和后来的底格里斯河河床的变化，被遗弃了。1965年，J. Hansman在现代Jebel Khanabir发现了这座城市几乎平坦的废墟，面积接近6平方公里，有一个长2.5公里、高4到7米的城墙。但它靠近伊拉克和伊朗边界的位置阻碍了进一步的考古研究。最后，在2016年3月，J. Moon、R. Killick和St. Campbell在现场进行了第一个初步季节。无人机图像和地球物理勘探显示，地表以下的废墟保存完好，可以清楚地识别出规模巨大的街道网格、连续几个阶段的纪念性和较小的建筑，以及像窑炉这样的生产场所。因此，对查拉克斯·斯帕西努遗址的全面记录是2017年至2019年为期三年的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对这一研究进行后续和扩展。第一个目标是详细重建城市的结构。整个地区保存完好，后来的建筑活动非常有限，这为研究城市规划、特定的公共建筑（如宫殿和寺庙）以及居住区，特别是带有码头和仓库的港口提供了极好的可能性。因此，它将大大提高我们对大美索不达米亚塞琉古至萨珊时期城市的有限知识。另一方面，这座城市的历史与河流系统的发展密切相关。因此，本应用程序的第二个目标是将Charax Spasinou置于河流和渠道变化的（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.