Assur

Coordinates: 35°27′24″N 43°15′45″E / 35.45667°N 43.26250°E / 35.45667; 43.26250
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Assur
Aššur
ܐܫܘܪ
آشور
American soldiers on guard at the ruins of Ashur, 2008
Assur is located in Near East
Assur
Shown within Near East
Assur is located in West and Central Asia
Assur
Assur (West and Central Asia)
Assur is located in Iraq
Assur
Assur (Iraq)
LocationSaladin Governorate, Iraq
RegionMesopotamia
Coordinates35°27′24″N 43°15′45″E / 35.45667°N 43.26250°E / 35.45667; 43.26250
TypeSettlement
History
FoundedEarly Dynastic Period
Abandoned3rd century AD[1]
PeriodsEarly Bronze Age to classical antiquity
Site notes
Public accessInaccessible (in a war zone) [citation needed] [needs update]
Arab States
Endangered2003–present

Aššur (

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 3,000 years,[4] from the Early Dynastic Period to the mid-3rd century AD, when the city was sacked by the Sasanian Empire. The site is a World Heritage Site and was added to that organisation's list of sites in danger in 2003 as a result of a proposed dam, which would flood some of the site. It has been further threatened by the conflict that erupted following the US-led 2003 invasion of Iraq. 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.[5][6][7][8][9] More than 16,000 clay tablets with cuneiform texts were discovered. The German archeologists brought objects they found to Berlin enhancing the collection of the Pergamon Museum.

More recently, Ashur was excavated by B. Hrouda for the

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.[11]

Name

Main article: Name of Syria

Aššur is the name of the city, of the land ruled by the city, and of its

Etymology of Syria) before also being applied to the Levant and its inhabitants by the Seleucid Empire
in the 3rd century BC.

History

Early Bronze Age

According to the Oxford Companion to the Bible, Assur was "built on a

Sumerians.[13]

Old and Middle Assyrian Periods

Mesopotamia in the 2nd millennium BC

By the time the Neo-Sumerian Ur-III dynasty collapsed at the hands of the

Gutians and Amorites. The native Akkadian-speaking Assyrian kings were now free while Sumer fell under the yoke of the Amorites. The historically unverified king Ushpia 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.[13]

In around 2000 BC,

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).[13]

First Babylonian dynasty empire following the death of Ishme-Dagan I around 1756 BC, while the next three Assyrian kings were viewed as vassals of Babylon.[13]

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.[13]

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).[13]

Neo-Assyrian Empire

An unfinished basalt statue of Shalmaneser III. From Assur, Iraq. 858–824 BCE. Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul
A 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
A map of Assyria
A relief of Ashurnasirpal II, with an official

In the

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.[14]

With the reign of Sargon II (722–705 BC), a new capital began to rise: Dur-Sharrukin (Fortress of Sargon). Dur-Sharrukin was originally planned to be built on a scale set to surpass that of Ashurnasirpal's.[15] He died in battle and his son and successor Sennacherib (705–682 BC) abandoned the city, choosing to magnify Nineveh as his royal capital. 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.[16]

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.[17][18]

Achaemenid Empire

After the Medes were overthrown by the

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.[19]

Parthian Empire

Parthian temple in Assur.

The city revived during the

Assuristan. Assyriologists Simo Parpola and Patricia Crone suggest Assur may have had outright independence in this period. 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 Mesopotamian 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, Tammuz and Shamash, as well as mentions of citizens having compound names that refer to Assyrian gods, such as ʾAssur-ḥēl (Ashur [is] my strength), ʾAssur-emar (Ashur decreed/commanded), ʾAssur-ntan (Ashur gave [a son]), and ʾAssur-šma' (Ashur has heard; cf. Esarhaddon).[20]

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.[21][22] 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.[23]

There were later Roman incursions into Mesopotamia under Lucius Verus and under Septimius Severus, who set up the Roman provinces of Mesopotamia and the Neo-Assyrian kingdom of Osroene.

Assur was captured and sacked by Ardashir I of the Sasanian Empire c. 240 AD, whereafter the city was largely destroyed and much of its population was dispersed.[1]

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.[24][25] The dam project was put on hold shortly after the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

The territory around the ancient site was occupied by the

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 ISIL using improvised explosive devices.[26] 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".[27]

As of February 2017, the group no longer controls the site; however, it is not secure enough for archaeological experts to evaluate.[28]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b Radner 2015, pp. 7, 19.
  2. ^ Also phonetically 𒀀𒇳𒊬 a-šur4 or 𒀸𒋩 aš-šur Sumerian dictionary entry Aššur (GN)
  3. ISBN 978-1-61451-426-8
    .
  4. ^ Radner 2015, p. 2.
  5. ISBN 3-7648-1805-0
    )
  6. ISBN 3-535-00587-6
    )
  7. ISBN 3-7648-1806-9
    )
  8. ^ Walter Andrae, Hethitische Inschriften auf Bleistreifen aus Assur, JC Hinrichs, 1924
  9. ISBN 3-406-02947-7
    )
  10. ^ Excavations in Iraq 1989–1990, Iraq, vol. 53, pp. 169-182, 1991
  11. ^ R. Dittmann, Ausgrabungen der Freien Universitat Berlin in Ashur und Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta in den Jahren 1986-1989, MDOG, vol. 122, pp. 157–171, 1990
  12. ^ Metzger, Bruce M.; Coogan, Michael D. (1993). "Assyria". The Oxford Companion to the Bible. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 63–64.
  13. ^ a b c d e f Mark, Joshua J. (2014-06-30). "Ashur". World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  14. ^ Mark, Joshua J. (2014-08-03). "Kalhu / Nimrud". World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  15. ^ Mark, Joshua J. (2014-07-05). "Dur-Sharrukin". World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  16. ^ A Companion to the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East "In 614 BC Assur was conquered by the Medes under king Cyaxares (625-585 BC)"
  17. ^ A Companion to the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East "In 614 BC Assur was conquered by the Medes under king Cyaxares (625-585 BC)"
  18. ^ The Fall and Rise of Jerusalem: Judah Under Babylonian Rule "the Medes left Arrapha, attacked Kalhu (Nimrud) and Ninuwa (Nineveh), and continued rapidly northward to capture the nearby city of Tarbisu. Afterward, they went back down the Tigris and laid siege to the city of Assur. The Babylonian army came to the aid of the Medes only after the Medes had begun the decisive offensive against the city, capturing it, killing many of its residents, and taking many others captive."
  19. ^ "Assyrians after Assyria". Nineveh.com. 4 September 1999. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
  20. ^ Beyer 1998, p. 155
  21. ^ C. S. Lightfoot, "Trajan's Parthian War and the Fourth-Century Perspective" in The Journal of Roman Studies, Vol. 80 (1990), pp. 115-126
  22. ^ Simon Grote, "Another look at the Breviarium of Festus" in The Classical Quarterly, Volume 61, Issue 2 (December 2011), pp. 704-721
  23. ^ Theodore Mommsen, Römische Geschichte (Berlin 1885), vol. V (Die Provinzen von Caesar bis Diocletian), p. 403
  24. ^ UNESCO World Heritage in Danger 2003
  25. ^ At the Iraqi Site of Assur, Ancient History Stands at Risk of Destruction - Smithsonian Magazine - January 2022
  26. ^ Mezzofiore, Gianluca; Limam, Arij (28 May 2015). "Iraq: Isis 'blows up Unesco world heritage Assyrian site of Ashur' near Tikrit". International Business Times. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  27. ^ "Iraq Assur | AP Archive". www.aparchive.com. 2016-12-11. Retrieved 2019-03-25.
  28. ^ "Iraqis seek funds to restore cultural artifacts recovered from ISIS". CBS News. Associated Press. February 24, 2017. Retrieved October 8, 2017.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Assur (city).
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Assur&oldid=1220377313"
This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article: Assur. Articles is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license; additional terms may apply.Privacy Policy