Ashur

Ashur stands on a rocky spur above the Tigris where the river turns, and it was the original capital of the Assyrian empire and the seat of its national god, who carried the same name as the city; even after the capital moved to Nimrud and then Nineveh, kings continued to be crowned and buried here. Occupation runs from the third millennium BC through the Parthian period. What survives is the ziggurat mound, temple platforms for Ashur and for Anu and Adad, the remains of city walls along the bluff, and royal tombs cut into the rock. The site was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2003 and simultaneously placed on the list in danger, initially because of a proposed dam, put on hold in 2003 and since revived.

History

A radiocarbon date from the Ishtar temple suggests the city was founded by the Early Dynastic I period, and under the Third Dynasty of Ur, around 2112-2004 BC, Assur was governed from Ur. In the Old Assyrian period it was the hub of a trading network reaching through Mesopotamia, Syria and Anatolia, run by a city assembly with an official appointed each year to head its finances, and Shamshi-Adad I, who reigned from 1808 to 1775 BC, conquered it and made it his religious capital. It was a capital of the Middle Assyrian Empire for a time and of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 911 to 609 BC, and later a semi-independent state under the Parthians, until the Sasanians sacked it in the mid-3rd century AD; it stayed thinly populated until Timur's massacres of Assyrian Christians in the 14th century drove the last people to the countryside. Layard and Rassam made brief excavations in the 19th century, and German teams worked here from 1900, under Robert Koldewey and then Walter Andrae from 1903 to 1914, finding more than 16,000 cuneiform tablets now in Berlin. In 2003 the site was put on the danger list because of a planned dam, and in 2015, when IS held the area, some sources reported that the citadel was badly damaged, though after the area was retaken a local historian described the damage as minor (Wikipedia, Assur).

The main sights

• The ziggurat mound - the eroded stepped platform above the river.
• Temple foundations - the precincts of Ashur, Anu and Adad.
• City walls - the defensive line along the edge of the bluff.
• Royal tombs - vaulted burials cut below the old palace.

When to go

October to April; summer temperatures on an unshaded mound are severe. Mornings are best for both heat and light. Access arrangements should be confirmed locally in advance rather than assumed.

Before you go

The site is eroded mudbrick and stone at low level, so it takes background reading to make sense of. There is no visitor centre and interpretation is minimal. Access requires local permission and arrangements, which change. There is no shade and no water.

Nearby

Nimrud lies north; Samarra is south along the Tigris.

Key facts