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Concept
Assur
Summary
Aššur (ˈæsʊər; Sumerian: AN.ŠAR2KI, Assyrian cuneiform: Aš-šurKI, "City of God Aššur"; ܐܫܘܪ Āšūr; Old Persian Aθur, آشور: Āšūr; אַשּׁוּר, , اشور), also known as Ashur and Qal'at Sherqat, was the capital of the Old Assyrian city-state (2025–1364 BC), the Middle Assyrian Empire (1363–912 BC), and for a time, of the Neo-Assyrian Empire (911–609 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 3,000 years, 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, 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 south of the site of Nimrud and 100 km (60 mi) south of Nineveh.
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. 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 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 of Syria
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.
Official source
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