Mari was the principal city of the ancient Mesopotamian kingdom of Mari.
Mari stood on the middle Euphrates in modern Syria and flourished because it controlled important routes linking southern Mesopotamia, Syria, and the northern Levant. The city was founded in the early third millennium BCE and became a major political and commercial center.
Its most famous archaeological discovery is the royal palace, where excavators found thousands of cuneiform tablets. Many date to the reign of Zimri-Lim in the eighteenth century BCE and record diplomacy, administration, trade, religion, and military affairs.
Mari was destroyed by Hammurabi of Babylon around 1761 BCE. It should not be confused with Ebla, another important Syrian city whose archives belong largely to an earlier period. The archaeological site of Mari is located at Tell Hariri.