ARKEO ARSLAN
History
This section of our website describes the history of Arsantepe Mound. The following sections were created using the resources in the bibliography.
1. The First Settlement and Village Order (6000–4000 BC)
In Arslantepe's earliest periods, the region consisted of modest villages inhabited by small family communities. Houses were mostly made of adobe (brick made from a mixture of soil and straw), single-roomed, and functional. People subsisted on agriculture, animal husbandry, and basic handicrafts, and the community structure was egalitarian. During this period, there was no political authority or administrative center; order operated through traditional community rules and a simple division of labor. However, the mound gradually began to grow, and the region began to realize the potential for a larger center in the future.
2. The Emergence of Temple-Centered Society (4000–3500 BCE)
During this phase, Arslantepe ceases to be an ordinary village and becomes a regional ceremonial and community center. Large temple structures appear on the hilltop, highlighted by spacious courtyards, ceremonial rooms, and colorful wall decorations.
The economic affairs of society—the gathering, storage, and distribution of goods—become increasingly controlled by temple officials. This creates the first distinct elite. The governing structure of society is now entirely religious, with authority reinforced by sacred traditions.
The architecture around the temple shows the first signs of its development into a more monumental and influential centre on a regional scale.
3. Strengthening of the Administrative Order and Bureaucratic Structure (3500–3300 BC)
This is the critical period when Arslantepe enters into its institutional identity. No longer a place solely for religious ceremonies, it features organized warehouses, sealed doors, record-keeping staff, and mass-produced containers.
The administration establishes more systematic control over the community.
Large halls, corridor plans, warehouses and administrative rooms begin to appear in architecture.
This table shows that the first example of a proto-state (the first form of administration and bureaucracy without an official state) emerged in Arslantepe.
Society was now organized both religiously and administratively, and had a more complex structure.
4. The Emergence of Palace-Centered Government (3300–3000 BC)
During this period, Arslantepe became one of the independent political centers of the Near East. The temples declined in power, and a large administrative complex—a kind of early palace—emerged in their place.
This palace focuses on administrative functions rather than ceremonial ones. Inside, it houses grain silos, executive offices, meeting areas, and sections for product inspection.
The social distance between the people and the elite becomes more pronounced. The ruling class now establishes its authority through administrative power and economic control, as well as religious legitimacy.
This period is Arslantepe's brightest political phase: centralized power, organized economy and regular institutions.
5. Collapse, Reconstruction, and the Walled City (3000–2500 BC)
The palace system ended with a devastating fire. Following this rupture, Arslantepe was reorganized, but administrative power on the same scale as the old palace did not return.
In the new period, the settlement shrinks, but the city walls strengthen. Arslantepe no longer becomes a regional settlement but a more limited urban fabric focused on defense.
Architecture becomes simpler and more functional; houses and small community spaces for public life replace large ceremonial or administrative buildings.
This period is a transition period in which the central power weakened but the settlement was not completely abandoned.
6. The Late Hittite Melid Kingdom and the Last Period (1200–600 BC)
Arslantepe regained its importance during this phase, becoming the political center of the Melid Kingdom. The city experienced a revival; monumental entrances made of stone blocks, lion statues at the city gates, and palace-like structures characterized this period.
Political authority has now risen to the level of a regional kingdom.
This period is also the “last great stage” of Arslantepe in history.
It lost its importance from the 7th century BC onwards; although settlement continued until the Roman and Byzantine periods, its former splendor was not seen.
General Evaluation: The Great Story of Arslantepe
The long history of Arslantepe reveals both traditional and innovative steps of Near Eastern political organization on the same stage.
The process from a village to a temple, from a temple to a bureaucracy, from a palace to a walled city and finally to a royal center has shaped the social, economic and political fabric of the region for centuries.
This evolutionary line makes Arslantepe a unique laboratory on the Anatolia-Mesopotamia axis.
Comparative Comment
The history of Arslantepe resembles the process of a community's growth and establishment of order: Initially, small, egalitarian villages were simple and functional, like a startup. During the temple period, identity and rituals were formed, establishing a cultural structure. While operations were standardized through bureaucracy, recording and control systems operated like a medium-sized company. During the palace period, power became centralized, and strategy and resource management became prominent. The walled city experienced a post-crisis downsizing, with defense and functionality taking precedence. In the Melid Kingdom, a broad administration with regional influence emerged. In short, Arslantepe is a reflection of the thousands of years of human communities' value-producing and organizing processes.
Values Commentary
Arslantepe's line demonstrates the evolution of social values from village equality to institutional authority and then to political legitimacy. Initially, community solidarity and production were central values; then, in the temple period, sanctity, order and accountability in the bureaucracy, power and centralization in the palace period, and continuity and security at the state level in the Hittite period came to the fore. Each period optimized its own set of values, feeding the next.