Karum (trade post)

Karum (Akkadian: kārum "quay, port, commercial district", plural kārū, from Sumerian kar "fortification (of a harbor), break-water"[1][2][3]) is the name given to ancient Old Assyrian period trade posts[4] in Anatolia (modern Turkey) from the 20th to 18th centuries BC.

In any case, the other city contracted to establish karu in Eblaite territory (Syria), among other things.

Among them were Kültepe (Kanesh in antiquity) in modern Kayseri Province; Alişar Hüyük (Ankuva (?)

The most important Anatolian export was copper, and the Assyrian merchants sold tin and clothing to Anatolia.

[8] The name Karum is given to an upscale shopping mall in Çankaya district of modern-day Ankara, Turkey.

Central Anatolia during the karum period
Letter from Assyria to karum Kanesh concerning the trade in precious metals. 1850–1700 BC. Walters Museum (click on image for more info)
Trade patterns of karu