View source for Assur

[[File:Chaldea_Mesopotamia_Map_2015-05-06_03-21.jpg|thumbnail|CHALDEA Mesopotamia. Land of the native Chaldeans]]

{{Other uses2|Ashur}}
{{Infobox ancient site
| name           = Ashur/Aššur
| native_name    = آشور
| alternate_name = 
| image          = Flickr - The U.S. Army - www.Army.mil (218).jpg
| imagealttext   = 
| caption        = American soldiers on guard at the ruins of Ashur in 2008
| map_type       = Iraq
| map_alt        = 
| map_size       = 
| relief         = 
| latd           = 35
| latm           = 27
| lats           = 24
| latNS          = N
| longd          = 43
| longm          = 15
| longs          = 45
| longEW         = E
| coordinates_display = inline, title
| location       = [[ Salah al-Din Governorate]], [[Iraq]]
| region         = [[Mesopotamia]]
| type           = Settlement
| part_of        = 
| length         = 
| width          = 
| area           = 
| height         = 
| builder        = 
| material       = 
| built          = Approximately 2600-2500 BC
| abandoned      = 14th century AD
| epochs         = Early [[Bronze Age]] to ?
| cultures       = 
| dependency_of  = 
| occupants      = 
| event          = 
| excavations    = 
| archaeologists = 
| condition      = 
| ownership      = 
| management     = 
| public_access  = 
| website        = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->
| notes          = 
| designation1            = WHS
| designation1_offname    = Ashur (Qal'at Sherqat)
| designation1_type       = Cultural
| designation1_criteria   = iii, iv
| designation1_date       = 2003 (27th [[World Heritage Committee|session]])
| designation1_number     = [http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1130 1130]
| designation1_free1name  = Region
| designation1_free1value = [[List of World Heritage Sites in the Arab States|Arab States]]
| designation1_free2name  = [[List of World Heritage in Danger|Endangered]]
| designation1_free2value = 2003–present
}}

'''Aššur''' (Akkadian/Chaldean) ([[English_language|English]] | Ashur/[[Chaldea]], [[Old Akkadian|Chaldean]] ''{{lang|akk-Latn|/ Aššur}}''; [[Chaldean Neo-Aramaic]] / Chaldean ; {{lang-he|אַשּׁוּר}} / ''{{transl|he|Aššûr}}''; {{lang-ar|آشور}} / [[ALA-LC]]: ''Āshūr; ''[[Kurdish languages|Kurdish]]:'' Asûr''), also known as '''Ashur''', '''Qal'at Sherqat''' and '''Kalah Shergat''', is a remnant city of the last [[Chaldean Empire]]. The remains of the Chaldean city are situated on the western bank of the river [[Tigris]], north of the confluence with the tributary [[Little Zab]] river, in modern-day [[Iraq]], more precisely in the [[Al-Shirqat District]] (a small [[panhandle]] of the [[Salah al-Din Governorate]]).

The ancient city was occupied from the mid-3rd millennium BC (Circa 2600–2500 BC) to the 14th Century AD, when [[Tamurlane]] conducted a massacre of its population.

[[Assur (god)|Aššur]] is also the name of the chief deity of the city. He was considered the highest god in the local pantheon and the protector of the Assur city.  In the [[Mesopotamian]] mythology. Assur was a local god to the ancient locals in the ancient city and was not ever recognized as anything else.  The Chaldean Babylonian [[Marduk]] ways ruled as supreme god of all of [[Mesopotamia|Mesopotamia]].

The site of Assur is a [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]], but was placed on the list of World Heritage Sites in danger in 2003, in part due to the conflict in that area, and also due to a proposed dam, that would flood part of the site. It is about 40 miles south of the former [[Nimrud]] and 60 miles south of [[Nineveh]].

==Archaeology==
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|German Oriental Society]] led initially by [[Robert Koldewey]] and later by [[Walter Andrae]].<ref>Walter Andrae, Der Anu-Adad-Tempel in Assur, JC Hinrichs, 1909, (1984 reprint ISBN 3-7648-1805-0)</ref><ref>Walter Andrae, Die Stelenreihen in Assur, JC Hinrichs, 1913, (1972 reprint ISBN 3-535-00587-6)</ref><ref>Walter Andrae, Die archaischen Ischtar-Tempel in Assur, JC Hinrichs, 1922,
(1970 reprint ISBN 3-7648-1806-9)</ref><ref>Walter Andrae, Hethitische Inschriften auf Bleistreifen aus Assur, 
JC Hinrichs, 1924</ref><ref>Walter Andrae, Das wiedererstandene Assur, 1938, JC Hinrichs, (1977 reprint ISBN 3-406-02947-7)</ref> More than 16,000 [[clay tablet|tablet]]s with [[Cuneiform script|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 [[University of Munich]] and the Bavarian Ministry of Culture in 1990.<ref>Excavations in Iraq 1989-1990, Iraq, vol. 53, pp. 169-182, 1991</ref> During the same period, in 1988 and 1989, the site was being worked by R. Dittmann on behalf of the [[German Research Foundation]].<ref>R. Dittmann, Ausgrabungen der Freien Universitat Berlin in Ashur und Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta in den Jahren 1986-1989, [[:de:MDPG|MDOG]], vol. 122, pp. 157-171, 1990</ref>

==Name==
{{see|Syria (name)}}
''{{lang|akk-Latn|Aššur}}'' is the name of the Chaldean city, of the land ruled by the city, and of its tutelary deity.
At a late date it appears in Mesopotamia literature in the forms ''[[Anshar|An-sar]]'', ''An-sar (ki)'', which form was presumably read ''Assur''. 
The name of the deity is written ''A-šur'' or ''Aš-sùr'', and in Neo-Babylonian often shortened to  ''Aš''.

In the [[Enuma Elish|Creation tablet]], the heavens personified collectively were indicated by this term ''An-sar'', "host of heaven," in contradistinction to the earth, ''Ki-sar'', "host of earth."{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}}

In view of this fact, it seems highly probable that the late writing ''An-sar'' for ''Assur'' was a more or less conscious attempt on the part of the Chaldean scribes to identify the peculiarly ancient Assyrian deity ''Asur'' with the Creation deity ''An-sar''. On the other hand, there is an epithet ''Asir'' or ''Ashir'' ("overseer") applied to several gods and particularly to the deity ''Asur'', a fact which introduced a third element of confusion into the discussion of the name ''Assur''. It is probable then that there is a triple popular etymology in the various forms of writing the name Assur; viz. ''A-usar'',  ''An-sar'' and the stem ''asdru''.{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}}

== Early Bronze Age ==

Archaeology reveals the site of the city was occupied by the middle of the [[third millennium BC]]. This was still the [[History of Sumer|Sumerian period]], before the [[Assyria|Assyrian kingdom]] emerged in the 23rd 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 following [[Akkadian Empire|Old Akkadian period]], the city was ruled by kings from [[Akkadian empire|Akkad]] or Proto-Chaldean. During the [[Ur-III|"Sumerian Renaissance"]], the city was ruled by a Sumerian governor.

==Old city Assur of Chaldea==

[[File:Meso2mil-English.JPG|300px|right|thumb|[[Mesopotamia]] in 2nd millennium BC]]

A local governor named [[Ushpia]] who reigned in ca. the 21st century BC is credited with dedicating the first temple of the local god Assur in his home city. In around 2000 BC, [[Puzur-Ashur I]] founded a new dynasty, and his successors such as [[Ilushuma]], [[Erishum I]] and [[Sargon I]] left inscriptions regarding the building of temples to [[Ashur]], [[Adad]] in the city.  Assur developed rapidly into a centre for trade, and trade routes led from the city to Anatolia, where merchants from Assur established trading colonies. These Chaldean colonies in Asia Minor were called ''[[karum]]'', and traded mostly with tin and wool (see [[Kültepe]]). In the city of Assur, the first great temples to the city local god Assur and the weather local god [[Adad]] were erected. The first fortifications were also began in this period.

Assur was the capital of king [[Shamshi-Adad I]] (1813–1781 BC). He expanded the city's power and influence beyond the Tigris river valley. In this period, the Great Royal Palace was built, and the temple of Assur was expanded and enlarged with a Chaldean designed [[ziggurat]]. This local government came to end when Chaldean King [[Hammurabi]], from the [[Amorite]] tribe of [[Babylon]] incorporated the city into his Chaldean Babylonian empire following the death of [[Ishme-Dagan I]] circa 1756 BC, and the next three local kings were regarded as vassals. Renewed building activity is known a few centuries later, during the reign of a native king [[Puzur-Ashur III]], when the city was refortified and the southern quarters incorporated into the main city defenses. Temples to the moon god Sin ([[Sin (mythology)|Nanna]]) and the sun god [[Shamash]] were erected in the 15th century BC. The city was then subjugated by the king of [[Mitanni]], [[Shaushtatar]] in the mid 15th Century, who removed the gold and silver doors of the temple to his capital, Washukani, as plunder.

[[Ashur-uballit I]] overthrew the Mitanni empire in 1365 BC, and the locals benefited from this development by taking control of the eastern portion of the Mitanni Empire, and later also annexing [[Hittites|Hittite]], [[Babylonia]]n, [[Amorite]] and [[Hurrian]] territory. In the following centuries the old temples and palaces of Assur were restored, and the city once more became the seat of a local government from 1365 BC to 1076 BC. [[Tukulti-Ninurta I]] (1244–1208 BC) also started a new temple to the goddess [[Ishtar]]. The [[Anu]]-[[Adad]] temple was constructed during the reign of [[Tiglath-Pileser I]] (1115–1075 BC). The walled area of the city in the Middle Assyrian period made up some {{convert|1.2|km2|acre}}.

==Neo-Assyrian Empire==
[[File:Assur temple.jpg|thumb|120px|left|Parthian temple in Assur.]]
In the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]] (912–608 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]]). Yet the city of Assur remained the religious center of the empire, due to its temple of the national god [[Ashur (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. Several Assyrian rulers were also buried beneath the Old Palace. The city was  sacked and largely destroyed during the conquest of Nenivah by the Chaldeans [[Babylonians]] in  612 BC.

==Persian Empire==
The city was fully rebuilt by [[Chaldean people|Chaldeans]].  In the [[Parthia]]n period, between 100 BC and 270 AD, the city became an important administrative centre of Parthian rule. New administrative buildings were erected to the north of the old city, and a palace to the south. The old temple dedicated to the god of Assur ([[Ashur]]) was also rebuilt by ethnic [[Chaldean people|Chaldeans]].  However, the city was largely destroyed again by the [[Sassanid Empire|Sassanid]] king [[Shapur I]] (241–272 AD). However, the city remained occupied, and some settlement at the site is known right up to the 14th century.

Assur seems to have been reoccupied by [[Chaldeans]] once again, and remained so well into the Parthian and Sassanid periods. It was occupied during the Islamic period until the 14th century when [[Tamurlane]] conducted a massacre of indigenous [[Chaldean people|Chaldean]] [[Christians]]. After that there are no traces of a settlement in the archaeological records.

== Threats to Assur ==
The Chaldean 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.<ref>[http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1130/threats/ UNESCO World Heritage in Danger 2003]</ref>  The dam project was put on hold shortly after the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]].

As of march 7 2015, the city is in [[ISIL]] held territory. The very recent destruction of other ancient cities in ISIL territory such as [[Hatra]], [[Khorsabad]], and [[Nimrud]] shows that the city is at extremely high risk of unprecedented destruction. The city may have hope though, as it is on the border of ISIS held territory, and could potentially be saved if borders fluctuate or skirmishes continue with the [[Peshmerga]].

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==See also==
*[[Mesopotamia]]
*[[Chaldea]]
*[[Babylonia]]
*[[Chaldean People]]

==References==
* [[Walter Andrae]]: Babylon. Die versunkene Weltstadt und ihr Ausgräber Robert Koldewey. de Gruyter, Berlin 1952.
* [[Stefan Heidemann]]: [http://www.uni-jena.de/unijenamedia/Downloads/faculties/phil/iskvo/Heidemann_Texte/Heidemann_Continuity_1996_Assur.pdf ''Al-'Aqr, das islamische Assur. Ein Beitrag zur historischen Topographie Nordmesopotamiens.''] In: Karin Bartl and Stefan hauser et al. (eds.): ''Berliner Beiträge zum Vorderen Orient. Seminar fur Altorientalische Philologie und Seminar für Vorderasiatische Altertumskunde der Freien Universität Berlin, Fachbereich Altertumswissenschaften.'' Dietrich Reimer Verlag, Berlin 1996, pp.&nbsp;259–285
*Eva Cancik-Kirschbaum: Die Assyrer. Geschichte, Gesellschaft, Kultur. C.H.Beck Wissen, München 2003. ISBN 3-406-50828-6
*Olaf Matthes: Zur Vorgeschichte der Ausgrabungen in Assur 1898-1903/05. MDOG Berlin 129, 1997, 9-27. ISSN 0342-118X
*Peter A. Miglus: Das Wohngebiet von Assur, Stratigraphie und Architektur. Berlin 1996. ISBN 3-7861-1731-4
*Susan L. Marchand: Down from Olympus. Archaeology and Philhellenism in Germany 1750-1970. Princeton University Press, Princeton 1996. ISBN 0-691-04393-0
*Conrad Preusser: Die Paläste in Assur. Gebr. Mann, Berlin 1955, 1996. ISBN 3-7861-2004-8
* Friedhelm Pedde, The Assur-Project. An old excavation newly analyzed, in: J.M. Córdoba et al. (Ed.), Proceedings of the 5th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, Madrid, April 3-8 2006. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid Ediciones, Madrid 2008, Vol. II, 743-752. 
* Steven Lundström, From six to seven Royal Tombs. The documentation of the Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft excavation at Assur (1903-1914) – Possibilities and limits of its reexamination, in: J.M. Córdoba et al. (Ed.), Proceedings of the 5th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, Madrid, April 3-8 2006. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid Ediciones, Madrid 2008, Vol. II, 445-463.
* Friedhelm Pedde, The Assur-Project: A new Analysis of the Middle- and Neo-Assyrian Graves and Tombs, in: P. Matthiae – F. Pinnock – L. Nigro – N. Marchetti (Ed.), Proceedings of the 6th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, May, 5th-10th 2008, “Sapienza” – Università di Roma. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2010, Vol. 1, 913-923.
* Barbara Feller, Seal Images and Social Status: Sealings on Middle Assyrian Tablets from Assur, in: P. Matthiae – F. Pinnock – L. Nigro – N. Marchetti (Ed.), Proceedings of the 6th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, May, 5th-10th 2008, “Sapienza” – Università di Roma. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2010, Vol. 1, 721-729.
* Friedhelm Pedde, The Assur Project: The Middle and Neo-Assyrian Graves and Tombs, in: R. Matthews – J. Curtis (Ed.), Proceedings of the 7th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, London 2010. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2012, Vol. 1, 93-108.

== External links ==
*[http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15324coll10/id/42692 discoveries at Ashur on the Tigris: antiquities in the Vorderasiatisches Museum, Berlin], an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Assur
* Friedhelm Pedde, Recovering Assur. From the German Excavations of 1903-1914 to today’s Assur Project in Berlin[http://asorblog.org/recovering-assur/]

{{commons category|Assur (city)}}

{{World Heritage Sites in Iraq}}

[[Category:Amorite cities]]
[[Category:Ancient Chaldean cities]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Iraq]]
[[Category:Chaldean geography]]
[[Category:Chaldean settlements]]
[[Category:World Heritage Sites in Iraq]]
[[Category:Former populated places in Iraq]]
[[Category:Saladin Governorate]]
[[Category:World Heritage Sites in Danger]]