Old Assyrian Empire to place the settlement along the southern bend of the Kızılırmak River. Alişar Hüyük, which has also been suggested as a location, is an archeological site near the present-day village of Alişar. Alişar Hüyük was occupied from the Copper Age (c. 5000 BC — c. 3300 BC) then well into the Bronze Age (c. 3300 BC – c. 1200 BC.) A number of Hittite-era cuneiform tablets written in the Old Assyrian cuneiform script of the Cappadocia-type have been found here. Mention in those tablets of “Ankuwa” has caused speculation that the archaeological site is the Ankuwa mentioned in other Hittite
Old Assyrian Empire I left inscriptions regarding the building of temples to the gods Ashur, Adad and Ishtar in the city. Assur developed rapidly into a center for trade, and trade routes led from the city to Anatolia, where merchants from Assur established trading colonies. These Assyrian colonies in Asia Minor were called karu, and traded mostly with tin and wool. In the city of Assur, the first great temples to the city god Ashur and the weather god Adad were erected. Assur was the capital of the empire of Shamshi-Adad I (c. 1754 BC – c. 1721 BC). He expanded the city's