Located in an isolated valley in central Anatolia, Kanesh is a large circular tell. The oldest part of the city has occupation levels that go back to the Neolithic period.  Sometime during the first half of the 20th century BC (c. 1975 BC) the city expanded to encompass a lower city that encompassed an estimated approximately 420 acres.

The Caravans

The period of expansion at Kanesh was a response to the formation of a thriving trade network that crossed the Taurus mountains into central Anatolia. Along this route Assyrian merchants established trading colonies (“karums“), the largest and most important of which was the one at Kanesh, known as Karum Kanesh. Anatolians traded their gold, silver, and copper for woolen textiles and tin.  The back bone of this trade was the sturdy black Cappadocian donkey capable of carrying about 65 kilograms of tin or 25 squares of woolen cloth.  Each caravan was comprised of around 200 of these donkeys.

Everyone seems to have benefited from these trading arrangements. Cities along the major trade routes grew wealthy from the tolls they charged for passage through their land. In exchange they secured the roads for safe passage, a much needed service since a caravan of 200 donkeys would have been easy pickings for bandits in the remote mountains of Anatolia.