Several other cities in Anatolia also had ''kârum'', but the largest was Kanes. This important ''kârum'' was inhabited by merchants from Assyria for hundreds of years, who traded local tin and wool for luxury items, foodstuffs and spices, and, woven fabrics from the Assyrian homeland and from Elam .
The remains of the ''kârum'' form a large circular mound 500m in diameter and about 20m above the plain, (a Tell ). The ''kârum'' settlement site is the result of several superposed stratigraphic periods. New buildings were constructed on top of the remains of the earlier periods, thus there is a deep Stratigraphy from prehistoric times to the early Hittite period.
- . The first habitation. Writing was not used at this time in this region.
- . Another illiterate period of occupation.
- , 1920 BCE-1840 BCE (middle chronology). During this period, Assyrian merchants established themselves in an Anatolian settlement attached to the city. The ''kârum'' was destroyed by fire at the end of level II, with the inhabitants leaving most of their possessions behind to be found by modern archaeologists. The findings have included enormous numbers of baked clay tablets, some that were enclosed in clay envelopes stamped using Cylinder Seal s. The documents record common activities such as trade and legal arrangements. They record trade between the Assyrian colony and the city-state of Assur , as well as trade between Assyrian merchants and local people. The trade was run by families, not by the state of Assyria. These ''' Kültepe Texts ''' are the oldest written documents from Anatolia. Although they are written in Old Assyrian , the Hittite loanwords and names in these texts are the oldest record of any Indo-European Language (see also Ishara ). Most of the archaeological evidence found is typical of Anatolia rather than Assyria, but the use of cuneiform writing as well as the dialect are the best indications of Assyrian presence. This level was burned to the ground in antiquity, perhaps reflecting the conquest of the city of Assur by the kings of Eshnunna .
- , 1798 BCE - 1740 BCE. After an interval of abandonment, the city was rebuilt over the ruins of the old, and again became a prosperous trade center. This trade was under the control of Ishme-Dagan , who was put in control of Assur when his father, Shamshi-Adad I conquered Ekallatum and Assur. However, the colony was again destroyed by fire; the cause may possibly be found in the fall of Assur to other nearby kings and eventually to Hammurabi Of Babylon .
- . The city was reinhabited, but the Assyrian colony was no longer inhabited. The culture was early Hittite .
The Hittite Kings resided in Nesa before they moved their capital to Hattusa . The native term for the Hittite language is ''Nesili'', i.e. "the language of Nesa".
Kültepe has been successfully excavated by late Professor Tahsin Özgüç (died in 2005) since 1948.
# Kültepe (Kanesh)
# Kayseri - Historical Ruins
# Cappadocia
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