Misplaced Pages

#789210

40-536: The dating system is thought to have originated in the ancient city of Assur , and remained the official dating system in Assyria until the end of the Assyrian Empire in the seventh century BC. The names of the limmu who became eponyms were originally chosen by lot sortition , until the first millennium it became a fixed rotation of officers headed by the king who constituted the limmu. The earliest known attestations of

80-512: A mainstay of the Persian Army. The city revived during the Parthian Empire period, particularly between 150 BC and 270 AD, its population expanding and it becoming an administrative centre of Parthian-ruled 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

120-573: 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). 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

160-481: 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 ). Dur-Sharrukin was originally planned to be built on a scale set to surpass that of Ashurnasirpal's. He died in battle and his son and successor Sennacherib (705–682 BC) abandoned

200-604: A way of dating long stretches of the Neo-Assyrian history, and give us in details military exploits and which were considered the most important. Such a translation can be found below (With BC added). Assur Aššur ( / ˈ æ s ʊər / ; Sumerian : 𒀭𒊹𒆠 AN.ŠAR 2 , Assyrian cuneiform : [REDACTED] Aš-šur , "City of God Aššur "; Syriac : ܐܫܘܪ Āšūr ; Old Persian : 𐎠𐎰𐎢𐎼 Aθur , Persian : آشور Āšūr ; Hebrew : אַשּׁוּר ʾAššūr , Arabic : اشور ), also known as Ashur and Qal'at Sherqat ,

240-549: A year eponyms are at Karum-Kanesh , and became used in other Assyrian colonies in Anatolia . Its spread was due to Shamshi-Adad I 's unification of northern Mesopotamia . A number of Old Assyrian limmu lists have been combined into the so-called Revised Eponym List (REL), which spans a period of 255 years in the early second millennium BCE (1972-1718 BCE in the Middle Chronology dating system). The central figure of this period

280-431: 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. 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

320-571: Is focusing on the New City. Saladin Governorate The Saladin , Salah ad Din , or Salah Al-Din Governorate ( Arabic : محافظة صلاح الدين , Muḥāfaẓat Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn ) is one of Iraq 's 19 governorates , north of Baghdad . It has an area of 24,363 square kilometres (9,407 sq mi), with an estimated population of 1,042,200 people in 2003. It is made up of 8 districts, with

360-604: Is located in the heart of the Sunni Triangle , has been rocked by insurgencies , sectarian violence and tribal rivalries ever since Coalition forces invaded Iraq in 2003. Saladin Governorate contains a number of important religious and cultural sites. Samarra , the governorate's largest city, is home to both the Al-Askari Shrine (an important religious site in Shia Islam where the 10th and 11th Shia Imams are buried), and

400-663: The Assyrian eclipse up as June 15, 763 BC. Other events can be dated from this establishment of fact, such as the taking of the Egyptian city of Thebes by the Assyrians in 664 BC, and to be able to determine the date of the minting of ancient coins. Out of 19 surviving clay tablets with limmus, they between them show ten manuscripts that contain lists of years identified by the eponym with a summary note about what happened that year, most often military campaigns. Thus, such lists provide historians

440-585: 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

SECTION 10

#1732844986790

480-650: The Great Mosque of Samarra with its distinctive Malwiya minaret. It also contains an old Zengid mosque. Samarra was the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate in the 9th century CE, and today Abbasid Samarra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site . The ancient Neo-Assyrian Empire Assyrian city of Assur is located in Al-Shirqat District on the banks of the Tigris River . Other sites in the governorate include

520-691: 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 . 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

560-664: The Assyrians (see Etymology of Syria ) before also being applied to the Levant and its inhabitants by the Seleucid Empire in the 3rd century BC. According to the Oxford Companion to the Bible, Assur was "built on a sandstone cliff on the west bank of the Tigris about 35 km (24 mi) north of its confluence with the lower Zab River ". Archaeology reveals the site of the city was occupied by

600-660: The Crusader Dome (القبة الصلبية) north of Samarra and the Al-`Ashaq Palace (قصر العاشق). Today, the Saladin Governorate has a diverse population of Arabs , Kurds , Turkmens and Assyrians . In January 2014, there were plans announced by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to make the Tuz Khurmatu district into a new governorate due to its Turkmen majority. However, these plans were not implemented. In October 2011,

640-655: The Kingdom of Upper Mesopotamia, conquered Assur and made it his religious capital (his primary capital being Ekallatum and later Shubat-Enlil ). 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 the First Babylonian dynasty empire following

680-557: 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 an empire from 1365 BC to 1076 BC. Tukulti-Ninurta I (1244–1208 BC) also constructed

720-786: 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. 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

760-584: 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. 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

800-597: The aid of the Canon of Ptolemaeus , which coincides with dates from the Canon between 747 and 631 BC. According to one limmu list, a solar eclipse occurred in the tenth reigning year of the Assyrian king Aššur-dan II, in the month of Sivan (May–June on the Gregorian calendar), by Bur-Sagale. Using the Canon of Kings the tenth year can be dated to 763 BC, and modern astronomy dating has backed

840-527: 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 historical sites, including the cities of Hatra , Khorsabad , and Nimrud , fears rose that Assur would be destroyed too. According to some sources,

SECTION 20

#1732844986790

880-485: The capital being Tikrit . Before 1976 the governorate was part of Baghdad Governorate . The governorate is named after the Kurdish Muslim leader Saladin or Salah ad Din, who hailed from the governorate. This Sunni-dominated governorate is also known as the home of Saddam Hussein , who hailed from the village of Al-Awja . Salah Al-Din governorate, a traditional stronghold of Saddam and his Al-Bu Nasir tribe that

920-552: The citadel of Assur was destroyed or badly damaged in May 2015 by members of ISIL 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 2023, a German archaeological team from Munich has resumed work at Assur. The work

960-475: 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 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

1000-467: 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

1040-509: 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 . 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

1080-692: 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 . Aššur is the name of the city, of the land ruled by the city, and of its tutelary deity from which

1120-478: The death of Ishme-Dagan I around 1756 BC, while the next three Assyrian kings were viewed as vassals of Babylon. 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

1160-507: 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 ). Shamshi-Adad I 's (1813–1781 BC), Amorite ruler of

1200-478: 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 ). The Roman historian Festus wrote in about 370 that in AD 116 Trajan formed from his conquests east of

1240-583: The governorate's administration declared itself a semi-autonomous region, explaining that the declaration was in response to the central government 's "domination over the provincial council authorities". Saladin, which is a largely Sunni governorate, is also hoping that by declaring themselves an autonomous region within Iraq, it will entail them to a larger portion of government funding. The council cited " article 119 of Iraq's constitution " in its call for autonomy, which states that "one or more governorates shall have

Eponym dating system - Misplaced Pages Continue

1280-672: The middle of the 3rd millennium BC. This was still the Sumerian period , before Assyria emerged. 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 . By

1320-654: 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

1360-559: 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

1400-543: 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

1440-483: 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

1480-696: 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 historically unverified king Ushpia

1520-448: The year Šamšī-Adad died to between 1776 and 1768 BCE. In addition, it is known that in the year after his birth (ca. REL 127) a partial solar eclipse was observed, and this fits in with an eclipse on August 5, 1845, BCE. With the establishment of eponym lists, succinct statements about events were sometimes added in order to keep track of the sequence. The most well-known limmu lists run from 911 through to 631 BC, and have been dated with

1560-518: Was Šamšī-Adad I who conquered Aššur in the year REL 165, and reigned Assyria until his death in REL 197. In the Middle Chronology system his reign corresponds to the years 1808-1776 BCE. The absolute chronology of this period has long been controversial. That the Middle Chronology is indeed correct, and not one of the rival absolute chronologies , is supported by a combined dendrochronological (tree-ring) and radiocarbon (C) data analysis, which narrows down

1600-644: 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

#789210