Karamles

Karemlash ܟܪܡܠܫ
View of the southern side of the town.
Karemlash
Coordinates: 36°18′13″N 43°24′46″E / 36.30361°N 43.41278°E / 36.30361; 43.41278Coordinates: 36°18′13″N 43°24′46″E / 36.30361°N 43.41278°E / 36.30361; 43.41278
Country	Iraq
Governorate	Ninawa
Municipality	Al-Hamdaniya
Population (2015)
• Total	0
	10,000 prior to ISIS invasion
Time zone	GMT +3

Karemlash (Syriac: ܟܪܡܠܫ‎, Arabic: كرمليس‎‎; also spelled Karemles, Karemlish) is an Assyrian town in northern Iraq located less than 18 miles (29 km) south east of Mosul.

It is surrounded by many hills that along with it made up the historical Akkadian city of Kar-Mullissi (written URU.kar-^dNIN.LÍL), which means "the city of Mullissu" in Akkadian. Residents of the town fled for Iraqi Kurdistan following the invasion of the town by ISIS in August 2014. The town was liberated by Iraqi Security Forces from ISIS rule on October 24, 2016 as part of the larger Battle of Mosul.

There are between 600 and 650 families in Karemlash. The vast majority of the population is ethnically Assyrian. Historically, the population was mostly part of the Church of the East; however, many converted to Catholicism in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Today, the inhabitants of Karemlash are mainly members of the Chaldean Catholic Church, but there are also members of the Syriac Orthodox Church and the Assyrian Church of the East.

Karemlash is believed to be among the first human colonies. Hence, it was visited by almost all Mesopotamian archaeologists searching for the ruins of old Assyria and Babylonia. The first person to excavate in the hills of Karemlash was the Englishman Austen Henry Layard in 1846. Many relief sculptures with cuneiform scripts were found in Tel Ghanim and Tel Barbara (two of the hill surrounding Karemlash). On them were found the names of Assyrian Kings of Sargon and Shalmensar. The remains of an Assyrian temple were found at Tel Barbara, and the remains of an Assyrian palace were found at Tel Ghanim.