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129-703: The Tigris passes through historical cities like Mosul , Tikrit , Samarra , and Baghdad . It is also home to archaeological sites and ancient religious communities, including the Mandaeans , who use it for baptism . In ancient times, the Tigris nurtured the Assyrian Empire , with remnants like the relief of King Tiglath-Pileser . Today, the Tigris faces modern threats from geopolitical instability, dam projects, poor water management, and climate change, leading to concerns about its sustainability. Efforts to protect and preserve

258-877: A Jewish community of about 7,000 people led by Rabbi Zakkai, presumed to be a scion of the Davidic line . In 1288–89, when the Exilarch was in Mosul, he signed a supporting paper for Maimonides . In the early 16th century, Mosul was under the Turkmen federation of the Ağ Qoyunlu , but in 1508 it was conquered by the Safavid dynasty of Iran. In the 13th century, Mosul had a flourishing industry making luxury brass items that were ornately inlaid with silver. Many of these items survive today; in fact, of all medieval Islamic artifacts, Mosul brasswork has

387-444: A "familiarity with the provincia ", which, however, might otherwise be explained. For example, he says In the cultivation of the soil, the manners and civilization of the inhabitants, and the extent of its wealth, it is surpassed by none of the provinces, and, in short, might be more truthfully described as a part of Italy than as a province. denoting a general popular familiarity with the region. Pliny certainly spent some time in

516-703: A Plan of Action for promoting exchange and calibration of data and standards pertaining to Tigris river flows was achieved. The consensus, known as the "Geneva Consensus On Tigris River", was reached at a meeting organized in Geneva by the think tank Strategic Foresight Group . In February 2016, the United States Embassy in Iraq as well as the Prime Minister of Iraq Haider al-Abadi issued warnings that Mosul Dam could collapse. The United States warned people to evacuate

645-516: A bath. In winter, he furnished the copier with gloves and long sleeves so his writing hand would not stiffen with cold (Pliny the Younger in avunculus meus ). His extract collection finally reached about 160 volumes, which Larcius Licinius, the Praetorian legate of Hispania Tarraconensis, unsuccessfully offered to purchase for 400,000 sesterces. That would have been in 73/74 (see above). Pliny bequeathed

774-549: A brother ( Domitian ) and joint offices with a father, calling that father "great", points certainly to Titus. Pliny also says that Titus had been consul six times. The first six consulships of Titus were in 70, 72, 74, 75, 76, and 77, all conjointly with Vespasian, and the seventh was in 79. This brings the date of the Dedication probably to 77. In that year, Vespasian was 68. He had been ruling conjointly with Titus for some years. The title imperator does not indicate that Titus

903-655: A campaign against the Germans (a practice which would not have endeared him to the disciplined Pliny). According to his nephew, during this period, he wrote his first book (perhaps in winter quarters when more spare time was available), a work on the use of missiles on horseback, De Jaculatione Equestri ("On the Use of the Dart by Cavalry"). It has not survived, but in Natural History , he seems to reveal at least part of its content, using

1032-460: A century for metalwork it did not make. However, Julian Raby has defended the concept of the Mosul School, arguing that the city did have a distinct metalworking tradition with its own techniques, styles and motifs, and sense of community. He compared Mosul's metalwork to Kashan 's pottery and wrote that "Mawsili metalworkers displayed a conscious sense of community and tradition and, at least in

1161-512: A continuous part of Assyria proper from circa 2050 BC through the fall of the Neo-Assyrian Empire between 612 and 599 BC. Mosul remained within the geopolitical province of Assyria for another 13 centuries (as a part of Achaemenid Assyria , Seleucid , Roman Assyria and Sasanian Asōristān ) until the early Muslim conquests of the mid-7th century. After the Muslim conquests, the region saw

1290-450: A continuous succession. Consequently, Plinian scholars present two to four procuratorships, the four comprising (i) Gallia Narbonensis in 70, (ii) Africa in 70–72, (iii) Hispania Tarraconensis in 72–74, and (iv) Gallia Belgica in 74–76. According to Syme, Pliny may have been "successor to Valerius Paulinus", procurator of Gallia Narbonensis (southeastern France), early in AD 70. He seems to have

1419-720: A covered market ( qaysariyya ), and its fabrics and flourishing trades. Mesopotamia had been acquired by the Ottoman Empire in 1555 by the Peace of Amasya , but until the Treaty of Zuhab in 1639 Ottoman control over Mesopotamia was not decisive. After the Peace of Amasya, the Safavids recaptured most of Mesopotamia one more time during the reign of king Abbas I (r. 1588–1629). Among the newly appointed Safavid governors of Mesopotamia during those years

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1548-460: A gradual influx of Muslim Arab, Kurdish, and Turkic peoples, although indigenous Assyrians continued to use the name Athura for the ecclesiastical province. Nineveh was one of the oldest and most significant cities in antiquity and was settled as early as 6000 BC. The city is mentioned in the Old Assyrian Empire (2025–1750 BC) and during the reign of Shamshi-Adad I (1809–1776 BC) it

1677-451: A largely desert country. Shallow-draft vessels can go as far as Baghdad, but rafts have historically been needed for transport downstream from Mosul . The Tigris is heavily dammed in Iraq and Turkey to provide water for irrigating the arid and semi-desert regions bordering the river valley. Damming has also been important for averting floods in Iraq, to which the Tigris has historically been notoriously prone following April melting of snow in

1806-406: A member of the first generation. The octagon disappears after about 1250, and is also not used by workers known to have been outside Mosul. Another recurring symbol is a rosette with either 10 or 12 leaves found at the bottom of the item - either the base of a ewer or the bottom of the shaft of a candlestick. This is not normally visible, and perhaps because it served no practical purpose, it

1935-402: A mixture of Arabs , Kurds , Assyrians , Armenians , Turkmens , Shabaks , a few Jews , and isolated populations of Yazidis , Mandeans , Kawliya and Circassians . Saddam was able to garrison portions of the 5th Army within Mosul, had Mosul International Airport under military control, and recruited heavily from Mosul for his military's officer corps. This may have been because most of

2064-524: A nexus for the movement of oil via truck and pipeline to Turkey and Syria. Qyuarrah Refinery was built within about an hour's drive from the city and was used to process tar for road-building projects. It was damaged but not destroyed during the Iran–Iraq War . The opening of the University of Mosul in 1967 enabled the education of many in the city and surrounding area. After Iraq's 1991 uprisings , Mosul

2193-531: A noblewomen of the Ilkhanate during the early 1300s. What started as irregular attacks in 1517 were finalized in 1538, when Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent added Mosul to his empire by capturing it from his archrival, Safavid Persia . Thenceforth Mosul was governed by a pasha . Mosul was celebrated for its line of walls, comprising seven gates with large towers, a renowned hospital ( maristan ) and

2322-609: A part of the Sasanian province of Asōristān . Christianity was present among the indigenous Assyrian people in Mosul as early as the 1st century, although the ancient Mesopotamian religion remained strong until the 4th century. It became an episcopal seat of the Assyrian Church of the East in the 6th century. In 637 (other sources say 641), during the period of the Caliph Umar , Mosul

2451-512: A period under semi-independent atabeg such as Mawdud , in 1127 it became the centre of power of the Zengid dynasty . Saladin besieged the city of Mosul unsuccessfully in 1182 After his conquest of Aleppo in 1183, ending Zengid rule in Syria, Saladin made a last offensive against Mosul in late 1185, hoping for an easy victory over the presumably demoralized Zengid Emir of Mosul Mas'ud , but failed due to

2580-578: A personal favor. No earlier instances of the Plinii are known. In 59 BC, only about 82 years before Pliny's birth, Julius Caesar founded Novum Comum (reverting to Comum) as a colonia to secure the region against the Alpine tribes , whom he had been unable to defeat. He imported a population of 4,500 from other provinces to be placed in Comasco and 500 aristocratic Greeks to found Novum Comum itself. The community

2709-741: A pre-Ottoman, pre- Turcoman , pre- Mongol , Arab cultural heritage that was to put the town on its way to recapturing some of the prestige and prominence it had enjoyed under the golden reign of Badr ad-Din Lu’lu’ ." Along with the al-Umari and Tasin al-Mufti families, the Jalilis formed an "urban-based small and medium gentry and a new landed elite", which proceeded to displace the control of previous rural tribes. Such families establish themselves through private enterprise, solidifying their influence and assets through rents on land and taxes on manufacturing. As well as by elected officials, Mosul's social architecture

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2838-460: A promotion to military tribune , which was a staff position, with duties assigned by the district commander. Pomponius was a half-brother of Corbulo. They had the same mother, Vistilia , a powerful matron of the Roman upper classes, who had seven children by six husbands, some of whom had imperial connections, including a future empress. Pliny's assignments are not clear, but he must have participated in

2967-460: A role in this transmission. Only two items are definitively known to have been produced in Mosul. The first is the Blacas ewer , made by Shuja' ibn Man'a in 1232, and the second is a silver-inlaid pen box made by Ali ibn Yahya in 1255/6 (653 AH). No other works by either craftsman are known. They form part of the broader Mosul work which consists of 35 known surviving brasses made by artisans with

3096-524: A severe winter killed the first crops planted by the Treviri; they sowed again in March and had "a most abundant harvest." The problem is to identify "this", the year in which the passage was written. Using 77 as the date of composition Syme arrives at AD 74–75 as the date of the procuratorship, when Pliny is presumed to have witnessed these events. The argument is based entirely on presumptions; nevertheless, this date

3225-528: A substantial local power base." Mosul's importance as a trading center declined after the opening of the Suez Canal , which enabled goods to travel to and from India by sea rather than by land through Mosul. Mosul was the capital of Mosul Vilayet , one of the three vilayets ( provinces ) of Ottoman Iraq , with a brief break in 1623, when Persia seized the city. At the end of World War I in October 1918, after

3354-502: A test to be accepted into a craftsman's guild. According to Raby, the Mosul metalwork may have been part of the gifts that Badr al-Din Lu'lu' gave to other rulers to appease them as part of his realpolitik diplomacy. Another notable item tentatively attributed to Mosul metalworkers is the Courtauld bag , which is believed to be the world's oldest surviving handbag . It was likely made for

3483-474: A testament to his father [Ce]ler and his mother [Grania] Marcella The actual words are fragmentary. The reading of the inscription depends on the reconstruction, but in all cases the names come through. Whether he was an augur and whether she was named Grania Marcella are less certain. Jean Hardouin presents a statement from an unknown source that he claims was ancient, that Pliny was from Verona and that his parents were Celer and Marcella. Hardouin also cites

3612-521: A venerable tradition outside Italy). In his next work, Bella Germaniae , Pliny completed the history which Aufidius Bassus left unfinished. Pliny's continuation of Bassus's History was one of the authorities followed by Suetonius and Plutarch . Tacitus also cites Pliny as a source. He is mentioned concerning the loyalty of Burrus , commander of the Praetorian Guard , whom Nero removed for disloyalty. Tacitus portrays parts of Pliny's view of

3741-461: A very ready sleeper, sometimes dropping off in the middle of his studies and then waking up again." A definitive study of the procuratorships of Pliny was compiled by the classical scholar Friedrich Münzer , which was reasserted by Ronald Syme and became a standard reference point. Münzer hypothesized four procuratorships, of which two are certainly attested and two are probable but not certain. However, two does not satisfy Suetonius' description of

3870-575: A wing", responsible for a cavalry battalion of about 480 men. He spent the rest of his military service there. A decorative phalera , or piece of harness, with his name on it has been found at Castra Vetera , modern Xanten, then a large Roman army and naval base on the lower Rhine. Pliny's last commander there, apparently neither a man of letters nor a close friend of his, was Pompeius Paullinus , governor of Germania Inferior AD 55–58. Pliny relates that he personally knew Paulinus to have carried around 12,000 pounds of silver service on which to dine in

3999-573: A writer (whose works did not survive) in Germania Inferior . In AD 47, he took part in the Roman conquest of the Chauci and the construction of the canal between the rivers Maas and Rhine . His description of the Roman ships anchored in the stream overnight having to ward off floating trees has the stamp of an eyewitness account. At some uncertain date, Pliny was transferred to the command of Germania Superior under Publius Pomponius Secundus with

Tigris - Misplaced Pages Continue

4128-563: Is 1,750 km (1,090 mi) long, rising in the Taurus Mountains of eastern Turkey about 25 km (16 mi) southeast of the city of Elazığ and about 30 km (19 mi) from the headwaters of the Euphrates. The river then flows for 400 km (250 mi) through Southeastern Turkey before forming part of the Syria-Turkey border . This stretch of 44 km (27 mi) is

4257-453: Is a major city in northern Iraq , serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate . The city is considered the second-largest city in Iraq in terms of population and area after the capital Baghdad. Mosul is approximately 400 km (250 mi) north of Baghdad on the Tigris river. The Mosul metropolitan area has grown from the old city on the western side to encompass substantial areas on both

4386-672: Is also nicknamed al-Faiha ("the Paradise"), al-Khaḍrah ("the Green"), and al-Hadbah ("the Humped"). It is sometimes called "The Pearl of the North" and "the city of a million soldiers." The area where Mosul lies was an integral part of Assyria from as early as the 25th century BC. After the Akkadian Empire (2335–2154 BC), which united all the peoples of Mesopotamia under one rule, Mosul again became

4515-415: Is an octagon filled with complex geometric patterns, which appears on at least 13 items over the course of three decades: the 1220s through the 1240s. Several of the most important Mosul artists from what Raby terms the "second generation of Mosul metalwork" all used this symbol: Ahmad al-Dhaki , Ibn Jaldak, Shuja' ibn Man'a, Dawud ibn Salama, and Yunus ibn Yusuf. A notable absence is Ibrahim ibn Mawaliya,

4644-616: Is first mentioned by Xenophon in his expeditionary logs in Achaemenid Assyria of 401 BC, during the reign of the Persian Achaemenid Empire . There, he notes a small Assyrian town of "Mépsila" ( Ancient Greek : Μέψιλα ) on the Tigris around where Mosul is today ( Anabasis , III.iv.10). It may be safer to identify Xenophon's Mépsila with the site of Iski Mosul, or "Old Mosul," about 30 km (19 mi) north of modern Mosul, where six centuries after Xenophon's report,

4773-400: Is of an unknown date, but D.S. Rice estimated that it was made around 1200. Production of inlaid brasswork in Mosul may have already begun before the turn of the century. The body of Mosul metalwork significantly expands in the 1220s - several signed and dated items are known from this decade, which according to Julian Raby "probably reflects the craft's growing status and production." In

4902-588: Is required to achieve Suetonius' continuity of procuratorships, if the one in Gallia Belgica occurred. Pliny was allowed home (Rome) at some time in AD 75–76. He was presumably at home for the first official release of Natural History in 77. Whether he was in Rome for the dedication of Vespasian's Temple of Peace in the Forum in 75, which was in essence a museum for display of art works plundered by Nero and formerly adorning

5031-772: Is the third of the four rivers branching off the river issuing out of the Garden of Eden . The second mention is in the Book of Daniel , wherein Daniel states he received one of his visions "when I was by that great river the Tigris". The Tigris River is also mentioned in Islam in Sunan Abi Daud 4306. The tomb of Imam Ahmad Bin Hanbal and Syed Abdul Razzaq Jilani is in Baghdad and the flow of Tigris restricts

5160-455: Is trained from his very cradle and perfected." It was followed by eight books entitled Dubii sermonis ( Of Doubtful Phraseology ). These are both now lost works . His nephew relates: "He wrote this under Nero, in the last years of his reign, when every kind of literary pursuit which was in the least independent or elevated had been rendered dangerous by servitude." In 68, Nero no longer had any friends and supporters. He committed suicide, and

5289-577: The Armistice of Mudros , British forces occupied Mosul. After the war, the city and surrounding area became part of the British-occupied Iraq (1918–1920) and then Mandatory Iraq (1920–1932). This mandate was contested by Turkey, which continued to claim the area on the grounds that it was under Ottoman control during the signature of the Armistice. In the Treaty of Lausanne , the dispute over Mosul

Tigris - Misplaced Pages Continue

5418-623: The Hawizeh Marshes . The main channel continues southwards and is joined by the Al-Kassarah , which drains the Hawizeh Marshes. Finally, the Tigris joins the Euphrates near al-Qurnah to form the Shatt-al-Arab . According to Pliny and other ancient historians, the Euphrates originally had its outlet into the sea separate from that of the Tigris. Baghdad , the capital of Iraq , stands on

5547-666: The Hittite nominative form) is the Hurrian name of the Tigris River, which was deified. He was the son of Kumarbi and the brother of Teshub and Tašmišu , one of the three gods spat out of Kumarbi's mouth onto Mount Kanzuras . Later he colluded with Anu and the Teshub to destroy Kumarbi ( The Kumarbi Cycle ). The Tigris appears twice in the Old Testament . First, in the Book of Genesis , it

5676-449: The Library of Ashurbanipal ), Ashur-etil-ilani , Sin-shumu-lishir and Sin-shar-ishkun . The Assyrian Empire began to unravel in 626 BC, being consumed by a decade of brutal internal civil wars, significantly weakening it. A war-ravaged Assyria was attacked in 616 BC by a vast coalition of its former subjects, most notably their Babylonian relations from southern Mesopotamia, together with

5805-529: The Medes , Persians , Chaldeans , Scythians , Cimmerians , and Sagartians . Nineveh fell after a siege and bitter house-to-house fighting in 612 BC during the reign of Sin-shar-ishkun , who was killed defending his capital. His successor, Ashur-uballit II , fought his way out of Nineveh and formed a new Assyrian capital at Harran (now in southeastern Turkey). Mosul (then the Assyrian town of Mepsila, founded by

5934-710: The Pisonian conspiracy to kill Nero and make Piso emperor as "absurd" and mentions that he could not decide whether Pliny's account or that of Messalla was more accurate concerning some of the details of the Year of the Four Emperors . Evidently Pliny's extension of Bassus extended at least from the reign of Nero to that of Vespasian. Pliny seems to have known it was going to be controversial, as he deliberately reserved it for publication after his death: It has been long completed and its accuracy confirmed; but I have determined to commit

6063-521: The Sasanian Empire 's center of Budh-Ardhashir was built. In any case, "Mepsila" is doubtless the root of the current name. In its current Arabic form and spelling, the term Mosul, or rather "Mawsil," means "linking point"—or, loosely, "Junction City," in Arabic . On Mosul's eastern side are the ruins of the ancient city of Nineveh, and Assyrians still call the entire city Nineveh (or Ninweh). Mosul

6192-753: The Seleucid Empire after Alexander 's conquests in 332 BC. While little is known of the city from the Hellenistic period, Mosul likely belonged to the Seleucid satrapy of Syria , the Greek term for Assyria ("Syria" originally meaning Assyria rather than the modern nation of Syria ), which the Parthian Empire conquered circa 150 BC. Mosul changed hands again with the rise of the Sasanian Empire in 225 and became

6321-414: The liwa of Mosul became an independent wilaya ." Despite being a part of the Ottoman Empire, during the four centuries of Ottoman rule Mosul was considered "the most independent district" within the Middle East, following the Roman model of indirect rule through local notables. "Mosuli culture developed less along Ottoman–Turkish lines than along Iraqi–Arab lines; and Turkish, the official language of

6450-417: The nisbah al-Mawsili, by some 27 different makers. 80% of them are from the years 1220 to 1275, and the remaining 20% are from 1275 to about 1325. Modern western scholarship has termed this body of metalwork attributed to Mosul the " Mosul School ", although the validity of this grouping is disputed. The "indiscriminate" attribution of silver-inlaid brasses to Mosul, particularly by Gaston Migeon at

6579-413: The "Left Bank" (east side) and the "Right Bank" (west side), as locals call the two riverbanks. Mosul encloses the ruins of the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh – once the largest city in the world – on its east side. Mosul is considered among the larger and more historically and culturally significant cities of the Arab world . Due to Mosul's strategic location, it has traditionally served as one of

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6708-408: The 1250s. Extant Mawsili works from these regions seem to be the result of one particular family setting up workshops in Damascus and then Cairo rather than a mass movement of Mosul artisans to those cities. Five Mawsili craftsmen are known from these two cities in the late 13th century, of which 3 or 4 are members of this same family. The first is Husayn ibn Muhammad al-Mawsili , who produced

6837-413: The 19th century still had its motherhouse in Mosul in the early 21st century. Over 120 Assyrian Iraqi Sisters belonged to this congregation. In the 19th century the Ottoman government started to reclaim central control over its outlying provinces. Their aim was to "restore Ottoman law, and rejuvenate the military" and to revive "a secure tax base for the government". In order to reestablish rule, in 1834

6966-631: The Domus Aurea, is uncertain, as is his possible command of the vigiles (night watchmen), a lesser post. No actual post is discernible for this period. On the bare circumstances, he was an official agent of the emperor in a quasiprivate capacity. Perhaps he was between posts. In any case, his appointment as commander of the imperial fleet at Misenum took him there, where he resided with his sister and nephew. Vespasian died of disease on 23 June 79. Pliny outlived him by four months. During Nero's reign of terror, Pliny avoided working on any writing that would attract attention to himself. His works on oratory in

7095-546: The Elder decided to investigate the eruption of Mount Vesuvius , and was sidetracked by the need for rescue operations and a messenger from his friend asking for assistance. Pliny's father took him to Rome to be educated in lawmaking. Pliny relates that he saw Marcus Servilius Nonianus . In AD 46, at about age 23, Pliny entered the army as a junior officer, as was the custom for young men of equestrian rank. Ronald Syme , Plinian scholar, reconstructs three periods at three ranks. Pliny's interest in Roman literature attracted

7224-417: The German Wars"), which is no longer extant . Bella Germaniae , which began where Aufidius Bassus ' Libri Belli Germanici ("The War with the Germans") left off, was used as a source by other prominent Roman historians, including Plutarch , Tacitus , and Suetonius . Tacitus may have used Bella Germaniae as the primary source for his work, De origine et situ Germanorum ("On the Origin and Situation of

7353-423: The Germans"). Pliny the Elder died in AD 79 in Stabiae while attempting the rescue of a friend and her family from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius . Pliny's dates are pinned to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79 and a statement by his nephew that he died in his 56th year, which would put his birth in AD 23 or 24. Pliny was the son of an equestrian Gaius Plinius Celer and his wife, Marcella. Neither

7482-406: The Iraqi Army officers and generals were from Mosul long before the Saddam regime. Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24–79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( / ˈ p l ɪ n i / PLIN -ee ), was a Roman author, naturalist , natural philosopher , and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire , and a friend of the emperor Vespasian . He wrote

7611-483: The Mongol defeat in the Battle of Ain Jalut (1260) against the Mamluks , he sided with the latter and revolted against the Mongols. Hulagu then besieged the city of Mosul for nine month, and destroyed it in 1262. Later Mosul regained some importance but never recovered its original splendor. Mosul was thenceforth ruled by the Mongol Ilkhanate and Jalairid Sultanate and escaped Timur 's destructions. In 1165, Benjamin of Tudela passed through Mosul. He wrote about

7740-549: The Mongol siege and capture of Mosul in July 1262, probably caused a decline in Mosul's metalworking industry. There is a relative lack of known metalwork from the Jazira in the late 1200s; meanwhile, an abundance of metalwork from Mamluk Syria and Egypt is attested from this same period. This doesn't necessarily mean that production in Mosul ended, though, and some extant objects from this period may have been made in Mosul. The earliest definite evidence of Mawsili craftsmen emigrating westward to Mamluk Syria and Egypt dates from

7869-444: The State, was certainly not the dominant language in the province." In line with its status as a politically stable trade route between the Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf , Mosul developed considerably during the 17th and early 18th centuries. Like the development of the Mamluk dynasty in Baghdad, during this time "the Jalili family was establishing itself as the undisputed master of Mosul" and "helping to connect Mosul with

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7998-555: The Tigris to its neighbour, the Euphrates, whose leisurely pace caused it to deposit more silt and build up a higher bed than the Tigris. The Sumerian form was borrowed into Akkadian as Idiqlat and from there into the other Semitic languages (compare Hebrew : חִדֶּקֶל‎ , romanized :  Ḥîddéqel ; Jewish Babylonian Aramaic : דיגלת‎, דיקגלת‎ , romanized:  diqlāṯ or diglāṯ ; Classical Syriac : ܕܩܠܬ‎ , romanized:  Deqlāṯ , Arabic : دِجلَة , romanized :  Dijlah ). Another name for

8127-461: The Tigris used in Middle Persian was Arvand Rud , literally "swift river". Today, however, Arvand Rud ( Persian : اروندرود ) refers to the confluence of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, known in Arabic as the Šaṭṭ al-ʿArab . In Kurdish languages , it is known as Ava Mezin , "the Great Water". The name of the Tigris in languages that have been important in the region: ἡ, ὁ Τίγρις, -ιδος , hē, ho Tígris, -idos The Tigris

8256-445: The Turkish mountains. Mosul Dam is the largest dam in Iraq. Recent Turkish damming of the river has been the subject of some controversy, for both its environmental effects within Turkey and its potential to reduce the flow of water downstream. Water from both rivers is used as a means of pressure during conflicts. In 2014 a major breakthrough in developing consensus between multiple stakeholder representatives of Iraq and Turkey on

8385-449: The attention and friendship of other men of letters in the higher ranks, with whom he formed lasting friendships. Later, these friendships assisted his entry into the upper echelons of the state; however, he was trusted for his knowledge and ability, as well. According to Syme, he began as a praefectus cohortis , a "commander of a cohort " (an infantry cohort, as junior officers began in the infantry), under Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo , himself

8514-441: The attention of Nero, who was a dangerous acquaintance. Under Nero, Pliny lived mainly in Rome. He mentions the map of Armenia and the neighbourhood of the Caspian Sea , which was sent to Rome by the staff of Corbulo in 58. He also witnessed the construction of Nero's Domus Aurea or "Golden House" after the Great Fire of Rome in 64. Besides pleading law cases, Pliny wrote, researched, and studied. His second published work

8643-461: The banks of the Tigris. The port city of Basra straddles the Shatt al-Arab. In ancient times, many of the great cities of Mesopotamia stood on or near the Tigris, drawing water from it to irrigate the civilization of the Sumerians . Notable Tigris-side cities included Nineveh , Ctesiphon , and Seleucia , while the city of Lagash was irrigated by the Tigris via a canal dug around 2900 B.C. The Tigris has long been an important transport route in

8772-417: The campaign against the Chatti of AD 50, at age 27, in his fourth year of service. Associated with the commander in the praetorium , he became a familiar and close friend of Pomponius, who also was a man of letters. At another uncertain date, Pliny was transferred back to Germania Inferior. Corbulo had moved on, assuming command in the east. This time, Pliny was promoted to praefectus alae , "commander of

8901-464: The charge of it to my heirs, lest I should have been suspected, during my lifetime, of having been unduly influenced by ambition. By this means I confer an obligation on those who occupy the same ground with myself; and also on posterity, who, I am aware, will contend with me, as I have done with my predecessors. Pliny's last work, according to his nephew, was the Naturalis Historia ( Natural History ), an encyclopedia into which he collected much of

9030-429: The city's unexpectedly stiff resistance and a serious illness which caused Saladin to withdraw to Harran . Upon Abbasid encouragement, Saladin and Mas'ud negotiated a treaty in March 1186 that left the Zengids in control of Mosul, but under the obligation to supply the Ayyubids with military support when requested. The city remained in control of the Zengids, until Badr al-Din Lu'lu' took over from 1234 to 1259. During

9159-453: The city. Around 700 BC, King Sennacherib made Nineveh Assyria's new capital. Immense building work was undertaken, and Nineveh eclipsed Babylon , Kalhu and Aššur in size and importance, making it the largest city in the world. Many scholars believe the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were at Nineveh. The mound of Kuyunjik in Mosul is the site of the palaces of King Sennacherib and his successors Esarhaddon , Ashurbanipal , (who established

9288-620: The conterraneity (see below) of Catullus . How the inscription got to Verona is unknown, but it could have arrived by dispersal of property from Pliny the Younger 's estate at Colle Plinio , north of Città di Castello , identified with certainty by his initials in the roof tiles. He kept statues of his ancestors there. Pliny the Elder was born at Como , not at Verona: it is only as a native of old Gallia Transpadana that he calls Catullus of Verona his conterraneus , or fellow-countryman, not his municeps , or fellow-townsman. A statue of Pliny on

9417-624: The control of the native Arab Hamdanid dynasty . From Mosul, the Hamdanids under Abdallah ibn Hamdan and his son Nasir al-Dawla expanded their control over Upper Mesopotamia for several decades, first as governors of the Abbassids and later as de facto independent rulers. A century later they were supplanted by the Uqaylid dynasty . Mosul was conquered by the Seljuk Empire in the 11th century. After

9546-469: The customs of our forefathers ( veterum more interdiu ). Pliny the Younger wanted to convey that Pliny the Elder was a "good Roman", which means that he maintained the customs of the great Roman forefathers. This statement would have pleased Tacitus. Two inscriptions identifying the hometown of Pliny the Younger as Como take precedence over the Verona theory. One ( CIL V 5262 ) commemorates the younger's career as

9675-499: The dedication. The only certain fact is that Pliny died in AD 79. Natural History is one of the largest single works to have survived from the Roman Empire and was intended to cover the entire field of ancient knowledge, based on the best authorities available to Pliny. He claims to be the only Roman ever to have undertaken such a work. It encompasses the fields of botany , zoology , astronomy , geology, and mineralogy , as well as

9804-462: The earliest known silver-inlaid work from Damascus in the late 1250s. His presumed son, Ali ibn Husayn ibn Muhammad al-Mawsili , was active in Cairo several decades later. However, the earliest known silver-inlaid brasswork from Cairo belongs to another presumed member of this family, Muhammad ibn Hasan. His one known work, a candlestick dated to 1269, has an inscription which suggests he died before it

9933-526: The early 1200s that Mosul had the demand for large-scale production of them. Mosul was then a wealthy, prosperous capital city, first for the Zengids and then for Badr al-Din Lu'lu'. The origins of Mosul's inlaid brasswork industry are uncertain. The city had an iron industry in the late 10th century, when al-Muqaddasi recorded that it exported iron and iron goods like buckets, knives and chains. However, no surviving metal objects from Mosul are known before

10062-532: The early 13th century. Inlaid metalworking in the Islamic world was first developed in Khurasan in the 12th century by silversmiths facing a shortage of silver. By the mid-12th century, Herat in particular had gained a reputation for its high-quality inlaid metalwork. The practice of inlaying "required relatively few tools" and the technique spread westward, perhaps by Khurasani artisans moving to other cities. By

10191-414: The early years, a proud acknowledgement of tradition" and that the city's metalwork gained a wide reputation or " brand value" lasting for over a century. Part of Raby's argument was that many items shared one or two recurring symbols that "served no practical purpose" and may have been meant as a "brand", "workshop mark", a " guild emblem", or "perhaps as a mark of master craftsmanship". The first one

10320-443: The economy on a sound footing. He needed in his administration all the loyalty and assistance he could find. Pliny, apparently trusted without question, perhaps (reading between the lines) recommended by Vespasian's son Titus , was put to work immediately and was kept in a continuous succession of the most distinguished procuratorships, according to Suetonius . A procurator was generally a governor of an imperial province. The empire

10449-433: The encyclopedic Naturalis Historia ( Natural History ), a comprehensive thirty-seven-volume work covering a vast array of topics on human knowledge and the natural world, which became an editorial model for encyclopedias. He spent most of his spare time studying, writing, and investigating natural and geographic phenomena in the field. Among Pliny's greatest works was the twenty-volume Bella Germaniae ("The History of

10578-420: The exploitation of those resources. It remains a standard work for the Roman period and the advances in technology and understanding of natural phenomena at the time. His discussions of some technical advances are the only sources for those inventions, such as hushing in mining technology or the use of water mills for crushing or grinding grain. Much of what he wrote about has been confirmed by archaeology . It

10707-500: The extracts to his nephew. When composition of Natural History began is unknown. Since he was preoccupied with his other works under Nero and then had to finish the history of his times, he is unlikely to have begun before 70. The procuratorships offered the ideal opportunity for an encyclopedic frame of mind. The date of an overall composition cannot be assigned to any one year. The dates of different parts must be determined, if they can, by philological analysis (the post mortem of

10836-507: The façade of the Como Cathedral celebrates him as a native son. He had a sister, Plinia, who married into the Caecilii and was the mother of his nephew, Pliny the Younger, whose letters describe his work and study regimen in detail. In one of his letters to Tacitus ( avunculus meus ), Pliny the Younger details how his uncle's breakfasts would be light and simple ( levis et facilis ) following

10965-404: The fifth century, Symmachus had little hope of finding a copy. Like Caligula, Nero seemed to grow gradually more insane as his reign progressed. Pliny devoted much of his time to writing on the comparatively safe subjects of grammar and rhetoric. He published a three-book, six-volume educational manual on rhetoric, entitled Studiosus , "The Student". Pliny the Younger says of it: "The orator

11094-556: The final stages of the Mongol invasion of Persia and Mesopotamia , in 1258, while about 80 years old, Badr al-Din Lu'lu' went in person to Meraga to offer his submission to the Mongol invader Hulagu . Badr al-Din helped the Khan in his following campaigns in Syria. Mosul was spared destruction, but Badr al-Din died shortly thereafter in 1259. Badr al-Din's son continued in his father's steps, but after

11223-417: The floodplain of the Tigris because between 500,000 and 1.5 million people were at risk of drowning due to flash flood if the dam collapses, and that the major Iraqi cities of Mosul , Tikrit , Samarra , and Baghdad were at risk. In Sumerian mythology , the Tigris was created by the god Enki , who filled the river with flowing water. In Hittite and Hurrian mythology, Aranzah (or Aranzahas in

11352-421: The former inhabitants out of the ruins of their former capital) later succeeded Nineveh as the Tigris bridgehead of the road that linked Assyria and Anatolia with the short-lived Median Empire and succeeding Achaemenid Empire (546–332 BC), where it was a part of the geopolitical province of Athura (Assyria), where the region, and Assyria in general, saw a significant economic revival. Mosul became part of

11481-482: The hub of international commerce and travel. The North Mesopotamian dialect of Arabic, commonly known as Moslawi , is named after Mosul and is widely spoken in the region. Together with the nearby Nineveh Plains , Mosul is one of the historical centers of the Assyrian people. Mosul and its surroundings have an ethnically and religiously diverse population; a large majority of its population are Arabs , with Assyrians , Turkmens , Kurds and other minorities comprising

11610-554: The imperial magistrate and details his considerable charitable and municipal expenses on behalf of the people of Como. Another (CIL V 5667) identifies his father Lucius' village as present-day Fecchio (tribe Oufentina), a hamlet of Cantù , near Como. Therefore, Plinia likely was a local girl and Pliny the Elder, her brother, was from Como. Gaius was a member of the Plinia gens : the Insubric root Plina still persists, with rhotacism , in

11739-542: The integration of the administrative apparatus with the central government. This process started in 1834 with the appointment of Bayraktar Mehmed Pasha, who was to rule Mosul for the next four years. After his reign, the Ottoman government (wishing still to restrain the influence of powerful local families) appointed a series of governors in rapid succession, ruling "for only a brief period before being sent somewhere else to govern, making it impossible for any of them to achieve

11868-433: The knowledge of his time. Some historians consider this to be the first encyclopedia written. It comprised 37 books. His sources were personal experience, his own prior works (such as the work on Germania), and extracts from other works. These extracts were collected in the following manner: One servant would read aloud, and another would write the extract as dictated by Pliny. He is said to have dictated extracts while taking

11997-462: The last years of Nero's reign (67–68) focused on form rather than on content. He began working on content again probably after Vespasian's rule began in AD 69, when the terror clearly was over and would not be resumed. It was to some degree reinstituted (and later cancelled by his son Titus) when Vespasian suppressed the philosophers at Rome, but not Pliny, who was not among them, representing, as he says, something new in Rome, an encyclopedist (certainly,

12126-575: The latter to inherit the entire estate. The adoption is called a "testamental adoption" by writers on the topic, who assert that it applied to the name change only, but Roman jurisprudence recognizes no such category. Pliny the Younger thus became the adopted son of Pliny the Elder after the latter's death. For at least some of the time, however, Pliny the Elder resided in the same house in Misenum with his sister and nephew (whose husband and father, respectively, had died young); they were living there when Pliny

12255-535: The local surname "Prina". He did not take his father's cognomen , Celer, but assumed his own, Secundus. As his adopted son took the same cognomen, Pliny founded a branch, the Plinii Secundi. The family was prosperous; Pliny the Younger's combined inherited estates made him so wealthy that he could found a school and a library, endow a fund to feed the women and children of Como, and own numerous estates around Rome and Lake Como, as well as enrich some of his friends as

12384-426: The most epigraphic inscriptions. However, the only reference to this industry in contemporary sources is the account of Ibn Sa'id , an Andalusian geographer who traveled through the region around 1250. He wrote that "there are many crafts in the city, especially inlaid brass vessels which are exported (and presented) to rulers". These were expensive items that only the wealthiest could afford, and it wasn't until

12513-518: The most characteristic features of 14th-century Mamluk metalwork: large-scale inspirational candlesticks, and large multi-lobed medallions with a wide border that eventually became filled with flying ducks". Mosul metalwork eventually influenced a tradition of metal inlay in Fars and elsewhere in western Iran in the 14th century. The Ilkhanids rounding up artisans and gathering them in their capital of Tabriz for centralized royal production may have played

12642-463: The movements of the horse to assist the javelin -man in throwing missiles while astride its back. During this period, he also dreamed that the spirit of Drusus Nero begged him to save his memory from oblivion. The dream prompted Pliny to begin forthwith a history of all the wars between the Romans and the Germans, which he did not complete for some years. At the earliest time that Pliny could have left

12771-724: The number of visitors. Baháʼu'lláh , the founder of the Baháʼí Faith , also wrote The Hidden Words around 1858 while he walked along the banks of the Tigris river during his exile in Baghdad. The river featured on the coat of arms of Iraq from 1932 to 1959. Mosul Mosul ( / ˈ m oʊ s əl , m oʊ ˈ s uː l / MOH -səl, moh- SOOL ; Arabic : الموصل ‎ , romanized :  al-Mawṣil , pronounced [alˈmawsˤil] , locally [ɪlˈmoːsˤɪl] ; Kurdish : مووسڵ ‎ , romanized :  Mûsil ; Turkish : Musul ; Syriac : ܡܘܨܠ , romanized :  Māwṣil )

12900-785: The only part of the river that is located in Syria. Some of its affluences are Garzan, Anbarçayi, Batman , and the Great and the Little Zab . Close to its confluence with the Euphrates, the Tigris splits into several channels. First, the artificial Shatt al-Hayy branches off, to join the Euphrates near Nasiriyah . Second, the Shatt al-Muminah and Majar al-Kabir branch off to feed the Central Marshes . Further downstream, two other distributary channels branch off (the Al-Musharrah and Al-Kahla ), to feed

13029-577: The province of Africa , most likely as a procurator. Among other events or features that he saw are the provoking of rubetae , poisonous toads ( Bufonidae ), by the Psylli ; the buildings made with molded earthen walls, "superior in solidity to any cement;" and the unusual, fertile seaside oasis of Gabès (then Tacape), Tunisia, currently a World Heritage Site . Syme assigns the African procuratorship to AD 70–72. The procuratorship of Hispania Tarraconensis

13158-529: The reader". As this is the only geographic region for which he gives this information, Syme hypothesizes that Pliny contributed to the census of Hither Hispania conducted in 73/74 by Vibius Crispus, legate from the Emperor, thus dating Pliny's procuratorship there. During his stay in Hispania, he became familiar with the agriculture and especially the gold mines of the north and west of the country. His descriptions of

13287-516: The reign of terror was at an end, as was the interlude in Pliny's obligation to the state. At the end of AD 69, after a year of civil war consequent on the death of Nero, Vespasian , a successful general, became emperor. Like Pliny, he had come from the equestrian class, rising through the ranks of the army and public offices and defeating the other contenders for the highest office. His main tasks were to re-establish peace under imperial control and to place

13416-428: The rest of cases it depends on nisbah s. However, al-Mawsili is by far the most common nisbah ; only two others are attested: al-Is'irdi (referring to someone from Siirt ) and al-Baghdadi. There are, however, some scientific instruments inlaid with silver that were made in Syria during this period, with the earliest being 1222/3 (619 AH). Instability after the death of Badr al-Din Lu'lu' in 1259, and especially

13545-497: The rest of the city's population. Sunni Islam is the largest religion, but there are a significant number of Christians , as well as adherents of other sects of Islam and other minority religions. Historically, essential products of the area include Mosul marble and oil . Mosul is home to the University of Mosul and its renowned Medical College, one of the Middle East's largest educational and research centers. The city's name

13674-507: The river's legacy are ongoing, with local archaeologists and activists working to safeguard its future. The Ancient Greek form Tigris ( Τίγρις ) is an alternative form of Tígrēs ( Τίγρης ), which was adapted from Old Persian 𐎫𐎡𐎥𐎼𐎠 ( Tigrā ), itself from Elamite Tigra , itself from Sumerian 𒀀𒇉𒈦𒄘𒃼 ( Idigna or Idigina , probably derived from *id (i)gina "running water"). The Sumerian term, which can be interpreted as "the swift river", contrasts

13803-490: The scholars). The closest known event to a single publication date, that is, when the manuscript was probably released to the public for borrowing and copying, and was probably sent to the Flavians, is the date of the Dedication in the first of the 37 books. It is to the imperator Titus. As Titus and Vespasian had the same name, Titus Flavius Vespasianus, earlier writers hypothesized a dedication to Vespasian. Pliny's mention of

13932-471: The service, Nero , the last of the Julio-Claudian dynasty , had been emperor for two years. He did not leave office until AD 68, when Pliny was 45 years old. During that time, Pliny did not hold any high office or work in the service of the state. In the subsequent Flavian dynasty , his services were in such demand that he had to give up his law practice, which suggests that he had been trying not to attract

14061-451: The sultan abolished public elections for governor, and began "neutraliz[ing] local families such as the Jalilis and their class" and appointing new, non-Maslawi governors directly. In line with its reintegration within central government rule, Mosul was required to conform to new Ottoman reform legislation, including the standardization of tariff rates, the consolidation of internal taxes and

14190-484: The turn of the 13th century, the silver-inlaid-brass technique had reached Mosul. A pair of engraved brass flabella found in Egypt and possibly made in Mosul are dated by a Syriac inscription to the year 1202, which would make them the earliest known Mosul brasses with a definite date (although they are not inlaid with anything). One extant item may be even older: an inlaid ewer by the master craftsman Ibrahim ibn Mawaliya

14319-402: The turn of the 20th century, led to a reaction against the term. Later scholars such as Max van Berchem , Mehmet Ağa-Oğlu , and D.S. Rice all took a more skeptical view; van Berchem in particular argued that only six known items could be definitely attributed to Mosul, and others were likely made elsewhere. Souren Melikian-Chirvani remarked in 1973 that Mosul had been famous in the west for

14448-430: The two decades from roughly 1220 to 1240, the Mosul brass industry saw "rapid innovations in technique, decoration, and composition". Artisans were inspired by miniature paintings produced in the Mosul area. Mosul seems to have become predominant among Muslim centers of metalwork in the early 13th century. Evidence is partial and indirect - relatively few objects which directly state where they were made exist, and in

14577-508: The various methods of mining appear to be eyewitness judging by the discussion of gold mining methods in his Natural History . He might have visited the mine excavated at Las Médulas . The last position of procurator, an uncertain one, was of Gallia Belgica , based on Pliny's familiarity with it. The capital of the province was Augusta Treverorum ( Trier ), named for the Treveri surrounding it. Pliny says that in "the year but one before this"

14706-467: The younger nor the elder Pliny mention the names. Their ultimate source is a fragmentary inscription ( CIL V 1 3442 ) found in a field in Verona and recorded by the 16th-century Augustinian friar Onofrio Panvinio . The form is an elegy . The most commonly accepted reconstruction is PLINIVS SECVNDVS AVGV. LERI. PATRI. MATRI. MARCELLAE. TESTAMENTO FIERI IVSSO Plinius Secundus augur ordered this to be made as

14835-502: Was Qasem Sultan Afshar , who was appointed governor of Mosul in 1622. Before 1638, the Ottomans considered Mosul "still a mere fortress, important for its strategic position as an offensive platform for Ottoman campaigns into Iraq, as well as a defensive stronghold and staging post guarding the approaches to Anatolia and to the Syrian coast. Then, with the Ottoman reconquest of Baghdad (1638),

14964-488: Was The Life of Pomponius Secundus , a two-volume biography of his old commander, Pomponius Secundus. Meanwhile, he was completing his monumental work, Bella Germaniae , the only authority expressly quoted in the first six books of the Annales of Tacitus , and probably one of the principal authorities for the same author's Germania . It disappeared in favor of the writings of Tacitus (which are far shorter), and, early in

15093-594: Was annexed to the Rashidun Caliphate by Utba ibn Farqad al-Sulami during the early Arab Muslim invasions and conquests, after which Assyria dissolved as a geopolitical entity. In the late 9th century the Turkic dynasts Ishaq ibn Kundaj and his son Muhammad seized control over Mosul, but in 893 Mosul came once again under the direct control of the Abbasid Caliphate . In the early 10th century Mosul came under

15222-568: Was completed. The "key figure" for early Mamluk metalwork in Cairo, however, was Ali ibn Husayn. His works from the 1280s both show Mosul influence as well as a different "early Mamluk" style. A final member was Husayn ibn Ahmad ibn Husayn, a grandson of Husayn ibn Muhammad, who was active at the turn of the 14th century and made "a major work" for the Rasulid sultan al-Mu'ayyad Hizabr al-Din Dawud ibn Yusuf . This family appears to have initiated "two of

15351-607: Was eventually abandoned around the middle of the century. The last example of this rosette is the bottom of a candlestick made by Dawud ibn Salama in 1248/9 (646 AH). Raby suggested that Ibrahim ibn Mawaliya "may have been a seminal figure" in the Mosul brasswork industry. The particular phrasing of the "benedictory inscriptions" on his objects, bestowing good luck on their owners, is repeated in several works by other Mosul craftsmen. Two assistants of Ibrahim ibn Mawaliya's are known: his tilmidh (apprentice) Isma'il ibn Ward, and his ghulam Qasim ibn Ali. Ahmad al-Dhaki's workshop

15480-457: Was going to Emperor Vespasian (for he also made use of the night), then he did the other duties assigned to him. In this passage, Pliny the Younger conveys to Tacitus that his uncle was ever the academic, always working. The word ibat (imperfect, "he used to go") gives a sense of repeated or customary action. In the subsequent text, he mentions again how most of his uncle's day was spent working, reading, and writing. He notes that Pliny "was indeed

15609-513: Was highly influenced by the Dominican fathers who arrived in Mosul in 1750, sent by Pope Benedict XIV (Mosul had a large Christian population, predominantly indigenous Assyrians ). In 1873 they were followed by the Dominican nuns, who established schools, health clinics, a printing press, an orphanage, and workshops to teach girls sewing and embroidery. A congregation of Dominican sisters founded in

15738-534: Was included in the northern no-fly zone imposed and patrolled by the United States and Britain between 1991 and 2003. Although this prevented Saddam 's forces from mounting large-scale military operations again in the region, it did not stop his regime from implementing a steady policy of "Arabisation" by which the demography of some areas of Nineveh Governorate were gradually changed. Despite this program, Mosul and its surrounding towns and villages remained home to

15867-520: Was left for future resolution by the League of Nations . In 1926, Iraq's possession of Mosul was confirmed by the League of Nations ' brokered agreement between Turkey and Great Britain. Former Ottoman Mosul Vilayet became the Nineveh Governorate of Iraq, but Mosul remained the provincial capital. Mosul's fortunes revived with the discovery of oil in the area, from the late 1920s onward. It became

15996-797: Was listed as a center of worship of the goddess Ishtar , remaining so during the Middle Assyrian Empire (1365–1056 BC). During the Neo-Assyrian Empire (911–605 BC), Nineveh grew in size and importance, particularly from the reigns of Tukulti-Ninurta II and Ashurnasirpal II (883–859 BC) onward; he chose the city of Kalhu (the Biblical Calah , modern Nimrud ) as his capital in place of the ancient traditional capital of Aššur ( Ashur ), 30 km (19 mi) from present-day Mosul. Thereafter, successive Assyrian emperor-monarchs, such as Shalmaneser III , Adad-nirari III , Tiglath-Pileser III , Shalmaneser V and Sargon II , continued to expand

16125-466: Was next. A statement by Pliny the Younger that his uncle was offered 400,000 sesterces for his manuscripts by Larcius Licinius while he (Pliny the Elder) was procurator of Hispania makes it the most certain of the three. Pliny lists the peoples of "Hither Hispania", including population statistics and civic rights (modern Asturias and Gallaecia ). He stops short of mentioning them all for fear of "wearying

16254-401: Was perpetually short of, and was always seeking, officeholders for its numerous offices. Throughout the latter stages of Pliny's life, he maintained good relations with Emperor Vespasian. As is written in the first line of Pliny the Younger's Avunculus Meus : Ante lucem ibat ad Vespasianum imperatorem (nam ille quoque noctibus utebatur), deinde ad officium sibi delegatum . Before dawn he

16383-548: Was possibly also "intimately connected to others in Mosul". The Mosul metalwork is the only example in the Muslim world where metalworkers recorded their relationships between masters and apprentices ( tilmidh ) and hirelings ( ajir ). This was apparently a point of pride for Mosul artisans. Julian Raby speculated that two elaborate but impractically tiny Mosuli objects, a tiny 6x4 cm box made by Isma'il ibn Ward and an anonymous 8-cm-tall bucket, were made as "credential work" by apprentice or journeyman metalworkers as part of

16512-472: Was sole emperor, but was awarded for a military victory, in this case that in Jerusalem in 70. Aside from minor finishing touches, the work in 37 books was completed in AD 77. That it was written entirely in 77 or that Pliny was finished with it then cannot be proved. Moreover, the dedication could have been written before publication, and it could have been published either privately or publicly earlier without

16641-534: Was thus multi-ethnic and the Plinies could have come from anywhere. Whether any conclusions can be drawn from Pliny's preference for Greek words, or Julius Pokorny 's derivation of the name from north Italic as "bald" is a matter of speculative opinion. No record of any ethnic distinctions in Pliny's time is apparent—the population considered themselves to be Roman citizens. Pliny the Elder did not marry and had no children. In his will, he adopted his nephew, which entitled

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