ASSUR
![](640px-Flickr_-_The_U.S._Army_-_www.Army.mil_(218).jpg)
American
soldiers on guard at the ruins of Ashur in 2008
![](assur.jpg)
Assur
Location
:
Saladin Governorate, Iraq
Region
: Mesopotamia
Coordinates
: 35°27'24
N 43°15'45 E
Type
:
Settlement
History
:
Founded
: Approximately
2500 BC
Abandoned
:
14th century AD
Periods
: Early
Bronze Age to ?
Site
notes :
Public
access :
Inaccessible
(in a war zone)
UNESCO
World Heritage Site :
Official
name :
Ashur
(Qal'at Sherqat)
Type
: Cultural
Criteria
: iii,
iv
Designated
: 2003
(27th session)
Reference
no. :
1130
Region
: Arab
States
Endangered
: 2003–present
Aššur
(Sumerian: AN.ŠAR2KI, Assyrian cuneiform: Rassam cylinder Anshar-ki.jpg
Aš-šurKI, "City of God Aššur"; Syriac:
Ašur; Old Persian A0ur, Persian: Ašur; Hebrew: Aššûr),
also known as Ashur and Qal'at Sherqat, was the capital of the Old
Assyrian Empire (2025–1750 BC), the Middle Assyrian Empire
(1365–1050 BC), and for a time, of the Neo-Assyrian Empire
(911–608 BC). The remains of the city lie on the western bank
of the Tigris River, north of the confluence with its tributary,
the Little Zab, in what is now Iraq, more precisely in the al-Shirqat
District of the Saladin Governorate.
Occupation
of the city itself continued for approximately 4,000 years, from
c. 2600 BC to the mid-14th century AD, when the forces of Timur
massacred its population. The site is a World Heritage Site, having
been added to that organisation's list of sites in danger in 2003
following the conflict that erupted following the US-led 2003 invasion
of Iraq and as a result of a proposed dam which would flood some
of the site. Assur lies 65 kilometres (40 mi) south of the site
of Nimrud and 100 km (60 mi) south of Nineveh.
History
of research :
Exploration of the site of Assur began in 1898 by German archaeologists.
Excavations began in 1900 by Friedrich Delitzsch, and were continued
in 1903–1913 by a team from the Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft
led initially by Robert Koldewey and later by Walter Andrae. More
than 16,000 clay tablets with cuneiform texts were discovered. Many
of the objects found made their way to the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.
More
recently, Ashur was excavated by B. Hrouda for the Ludwig Maximilian
University of Munich and the Bavarian Ministry of Culture in 1990.
During the same period, in 1988 and 1989, the site was being worked
by R. Dittmann on behalf of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.
Name
:
Aššur is the name of the city, of the land ruled by the
city, and of its tutelary deity from which the natives took their
name, as did the entire nation of Assyria which encompassed what
is today northern Iraq, north east Syria and south east Turkey.
Today the Assyrians are still found throughout the Middle East,
particularly in Iraq, Iran, Syria, Turkey, and the Diaspora in the
western world. Assur is also the origin of the names Syria and terms
for Syriac Christians, these being originally Indo-European derivations
of Assyria, and for many centuries applying only to Assyria and
the Assyrians before also being applied to the Levant and its inhabitants
by the Seleucid Empire in the 3rd century BC.
History
:
Early Bronze Age :
Archaeology reveals the site of the city was occupied by the middle
of the 3rd millennium BC. This was still the Sumerian period, before
Assyria emerged in the 25th to 21st century BC. The oldest remains
of the city were discovered in the foundations of the Ishtar temple,
as well as at the Old Palace. In the subsequent period, the city
was ruled by kings from the Akkadian Empire. During the Third Dynasty
of Ur, the city was ruled by Assyrian governors subject to the Sumerians.
Old
and Middle Assyrian Empire :
![](Meso2mil-English.jpg)
Mesopotamia
in 2nd millennium BC
![](AthurMdinta.jpg)
Layout
and expansion of the city over the centuries
By
the time the Neo-Sumerian Ur-III dynasty collapsed at the hands
of the Elamites around the end of the 21st century BC according
to the Middle Chronology and mid-20th century according to the Short
Chronology following increasing raids by Gutians and Amorites. The
native Akkadian-speaking Assyrian kings were now free while Sumer
fell under the yoke of the Amorites. The Assyrian king Ushpia who
reigned around the 21st century BC is credited with dedicating the
first temple of the god Ashur in his home city, although this comes
from a later inscription from Shalmaneser I in the 13th century.
The temple likely dates to the original settlement of the site when
the people of Ashur established their nation under the patronage
of the city's god. Soon after in around 2000 BC, Puzur-Ashur I founded
a new dynasty, with his successors such as Ilushuma, Erishum I and
Sargon I leaving inscriptions regarding the building of temples
to Ashur, Adad and Ishtar in the city. Prosperity and independence
produced the first significant fortifications in this period. As
the region enjoyed relative peace and stability, trade between Mesopotamia
and Anatolia increased, and the city of Ashur greatly benefited
from its strategic location. Merchants would dispatch their merchandise
via caravan into Anatolia and trade primarily at Assyrian colonies
in Anatolia, the primary one being at Karum Kanesh (Kültepe).
With
Shamshi-Adad I's (1813–1781 BC) capital at Assur, he magnified
the city's power and influence beyond the Tigris river valley, establishing
what some regard as the first Assyrian Empire. In this era, the
Great Royal Palace was built, and the temple of Assur was expanded
and enlarged with a ziggurat. However, this empire met its end when
Hammurabi, the Amorite king of Babylon conquered and incorporated
the city into his short lived empire following the death of Ishme-Dagan
I around 1756 BC, while the next three Assyrian kings were viewed
as vassals. Not long after, the native king Adasi expelled the Babylonians
and Amorites from Assur and Assyria as a whole around 1720 BC, although
little is known of his successors. Evidence of further building
activity is known from a few centuries later, during the reign of
a native king Puzur-Ashur III, when the city was refortified and
the southern districts incorporated into the main city defenses.
Temples to the moon god Sin (Nanna) and the sun god Shamash were
built and dedicated through the 15th century BC. The city was subsequently
subjugated by the king of Mitanni, Shaushtatar in the late 15th
century, taking the gold and silver doors of the temple to his capital,
Washukanni, as spoils.
Ashur-uballit
I emulated his ancestor Adasi and overthrew the Mitanni empire in
1365 BC. The Assyrians reaped the benefits of this triumph by taking
control of the eastern portion of the Mitanni Empire, and later
also annexing Hittite, Babylonian, Amorite and Hurrian territory.
The following centuries witnessed the restoration of the old temples
and palaces of Assur, and the city once more became the throne of
a magnanimous empire from 1365 BC to 1076 BC. Tukulti-Ninurta I
(1244–1208 BC) also constructed a new temple to the goddess
Ishtar. The Anu-Adad temple was established later during the reign
of Tiglath-Pileser I (1115–1075 BC). The walled area of the
city in the Middle Assyrian period made up some 1.2 square kilometres
(300 acres).
Neo-Assyrian
Empire :
![](400px-Unfinished_basalt_statue_of_Shalmaneser_III._From_Assur,_Iraq._858-824_BCE._Ancient_Orient_Museum,_Istanbul.jpg)
Unfinished
basalt statue of Shalmaneser III. From Assur, Iraq. 858–824
BCE. Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul
![](510px-Statue_of_the_god_Kidudu,_guardian_spirit_of_the_wall_of_the_city_of_Ashur._Circa_835_BCE._From_Ashur,_Iraq._The_British_Mueum,_London.jpg)
Statue
of the god Kidudu, guardian spirit of the wall of the city of Ashur.
Circa 835 BC. From Ashur, Iraq. The British Museum, London
![](640px-Map_of_Assyria.png)
Map
of Assyria
![](640px-Ashurnasipal_with_official.jpg)
Ashurnasipal
with official
In
the Neo-Assyrian Empire (912–605 BC), the royal residence
was transferred to other Assyrian cities. Ashur-nasir-pal II (884–859
BC) moved the capital from Assur to Kalhu (Calah/Nimrud) following
a series of successful campaigns and produced some of the greatest
artworks in the form of colossal lamassu statues and low-relief
depictions of the royal court as well as battles. With the reign
of Sargon II (722–705 BC), a new capital began to rise. Dur-Sharrukin
(Fortress of Sargon) on a scale set to surpass that of Ashurnasirpal's.
However, he died in battle and his son and successor Sennacherib
(705–682 BC) abandoned the city, choosing to magnify Nineveh
as his royal capital. However, the city of Ashur remained the religious
center of the empire and continued to be revered as the holy crown
of the empire, due to its temple of the national god Ashur. In the
reign of Sennacherib (705–682 BC), the House of the New Year,
Akitu, was built, and the festivities celebrated in the city. Many
of the kings were also buried beneath the Old Palace while some
queens were buried in the other capitals such as the wife of Sargon,
Ataliya. The city was sacked and largely destroyed during the decisive
battle of Assur, a major confrontation between the Assyrian and
Median armies.
Achaemenid
Empire :
After the Medes were overthrown by the Persians as the dominant
force in ancient Iran, Assyria was ruled by the Persian Achaemenid
Empire (as Athura) from 549 BC to 330 BC (see Achaemenid Assyria).
The Assyrians of Mada (Media) and Athura (Assyria) had been responsible
for gold and glazing works of the palace and for providing Lebanese
cedar timber, respectively. The city and region of Ashur had once
more gained a degree of militaristic and economic strength. Along
with the Assyrians in Mada, a revolt took place in 520 BC but ultimately
failed. Assyria seems to have recovered dramatically, and flourished
during this period. It became a major agricultural and administrative
centre of the Achaemenid Empire, and its soldiers were a mainstay
of the Persian Army.
Parthian
Empire :
![](463px-Assur_temple.jpg)
Parthian
temple in Assur
The city revived during the Parthian Empire period, particularly
between 150 BC and 270 AD, being resettled and becoming an administrative
centre of Parthian-ruled Assuristan. Assyriologists Simo Parpola
and Patricia Crone suggest Assur may have had outright independence
in this period. Other polities such as Beth Garmai, Beth Nuhadra
and Adiabene also flourished due to the fact that the Parthians
exercised only loose or intermittent control of Assyria. New administrative
buildings were erected to the north of the old city, and a palace
to the south. The old temple dedicated to the national god of the
Assyrians Assur (Ashur) was rebuilt, as were temples to other Assyrian
gods.
Assyrian
Eastern Aramaic inscriptions from the remains of Ashur have yielded
insight into the Parthian-era city with Assyria having its own Aramaic
Syriac script, which was the same in terms of grammar and syntax
as that found at Edessa and elsewhere in the state of Osroene.
German
semiticist Klaus Beyer (1929-2014) published over 600 inscriptions
from Mesopotamian towns and cities including Ashur, Dura-Europos,
Hatra, Gaddala, Tikrit and Tur Abdin. Given that Christianity had
begun to spread amongst the Assyrians throughout the Parthian era,
the original Assyrian culture and religion persisted for some time,
as proven by the inscriptions that include invocations to the gods
Ashur, Nergal, Nanna, Ishtar and Shamash, as well as mentions of
citizens having compound names that refer to Assyrian gods, such
as Assur-hel (Ashur [is] my strength), Assur-emar (Ashur decreed/commanded),
Assur-ntan (Ashur gave [a son]), and Assur-šma' (Ashur has
heard; cf. Esarhaddon).
The
Roman historian Festus wrote in about 370 that in AD 116 Trajan
formed from his conquests east of the Euphrates the new Roman provinces
of Mesopotamia and Assyria. The existence of the latter Roman province
is questioned by C.S. Lightfoot and F. Miller. In any case, just
two years after the province's supposed creation, Trajan's successor
Hadrian restored Trajan's eastern conquests to the Parthians, preferring
to live with him in peace and friendship.
There
were later Roman incursions into Mesopotamia under Lucius Verus
and under Septimius Severus, who set up the Roman provinces of Mesopotamia
and Osroene.
The
Persian Shapur I (241–272) captured and sacked the city in
257 AD after doing the same to Osroene, Adiabene, Beth Nuhadra,
Beth Garmai and Hatra, incorporating them into the Sassanid Empire.
Though
destroyed by Shapur I, the city remained inhabited until the 12th
and 13th century, when it belonged successively to the Zengid dynasty
and the Ilkhanate. It was then abandoned and in part used as a cemetery.
Threats
to Assur :
The site was put on UNESCO's List of World Heritage in danger in
2003, at which time the site was threatened by a looming large-scale
dam project that would have submerged the ancient archaeological
site. The dam project was put on hold shortly after the 2003 invasion
of Iraq.
The
territory around the ancient site was occupied by the Islamic State
of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in 2015. Since ISIL had destroyed
a number of ancient Assyrian sites, including the cities of Hatra,
Khorsabad, and Nimrud, fears rose that Assur would be destroyed
too. According to some sources, the citadel of Assur was destroyed
or badly damaged in May 2015 by members of IS using improvised explosive
devices. An AP report from December 2016 after the Iraqi forces
had retaken the area, said that the militants tried to destroy the
city's grand entrance arches, but they remained standing and a local
historian described the damage as "minor".
As
of February 2017, the group no longer controls the site; however,
it is not secure enough for archaeological experts to evaluate.
Source
:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assur