Hawramanat Pomegranate Gardens: A Window to the Ancient Karalli

In the cuneiform texts of Sargon II, the king of neo-Assyrian period, the ancient toponym of Karalla/Karalli/Karallu has been mentioned several times as a territory whose inhabitants resisted against Assyrian invaders. So far, researchers have suggested several different options for locating this toponym, especially in the zone between the cities of Sardasht, Marivan and Kamyaran. The discovery of a new clue by the author indicates that after centuries, the name of the mentioned area has been preserved on a native genotype of pomegranate of Uramanat region. The mentioned pomegranate which is called Karalli, is native to Uramanat and its physical features are different from other genotypes of pomegranate in the same region. This new finding, in addition to Tang-i var inscription, largely confirms the possibility of the adaptation of ancient Karalla/ Karalli with modern Uramanat (Kurdish Hawraman), and so confirms the opinion of those researchers who used to seek for ancient Karalli within Uramanat region. Uramanat is a special geographical area covered with high and steep mountains and narrow and deep valleys. It is very rich in water sources, but rarely has plains and flat lands. This natural feature, which distinguishes Uramanat from its neighboring areas, was a main reason that foreigners, including the Assyrian warlike kings could not gain permanent and easy access to the region throughout history. Regarding the available evidence, it seems that some sites in the mentioned Uramanat region which have occupation layers of Iron age III, have links in some aspects with the material culture of the old inhabitants of the ancient Karalla. It seems that the most prestigious city center in the Karalli region was the city with the same name, which according to the available evidence, was probably located in Tang-i var or Uraman-i Taxt area. Future excavations in Uramanat will undoubtedly promote a good leap in our knowledge about Karalla and forced Assyrian presence in western Iran.