Assyr

Ashur

Aššur ܐܫܘܪ آشور
American soldiers on guard at the ruins of Ashur in 2008
Shown within Iraq
Location	Saladin Governorate, Iraq
Region	Mesopotamia
Coordinates	35°27′24″N 43°15′45″E / 35.45667°N 43.26250°E / 35.45667; 43.26250Coordinates: 35°27′24″N 43°15′45″E / 35.45667°N 43.26250°E / 35.45667; 43.26250
Type	Settlement
History
Founded	Approximately 2500 BC
Abandoned	14th century AD
Periods	Early Bronze Age to ?
Site notes
Public access	Inaccessible (in a war zone)
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	Ashur (Qal'at Sherqat)
Type	Cultural
Criteria	iii, iv
Designated	2003 (27th session)
Reference no.	1130
Region	Arab States
Endangered	2003–present

Aššur (Akkadian; Syriac: ܐܫܘܪ‎ 'Āšūr; Persian: آشور‎: Āšūr; Hebrew: אַשּׁוּר‬: Aššûr, Arabic: اشور‎: Āšūr, Kurdish: Asûr), also known as Ashur and Qal'at Sherqat, was an Assyrian city, capital of the Old Assyrian Empire (2025–1750 BC), of the Middle Assyrian Empire (1365–1050 BC), and for a time, of the Neo-Assyrian Empire of 911–608 BC. The remains of the city lie on the western bank of the Tigris River, north of the confluence with the tributary Little Zab River, in modern-day Iraq, more precisely in the Al-Shirqat District of the Saladin Governorate.

Occupation of the city itself continued for approximately 4000 years, from the mid-3rd millennium BC (c. 2600 BC) to the mid-14th century AD, when the forces of Timur massacred its still indigenous Assyrian (and by then Christian) population. The site is a World Heritage Site, having been added to the list of sites in danger in 2003 following the conflict that erupted following the 2003 invasion of Iraq and as a result of a proposed dam which would flood some of the site. Assur lies 65 km (40 mi) south of the site of Nimrud and 100 km (60 mi) south of Nineveh.