Information AboutKhorsabad |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT DUR-SHARRUKIN | |
| 710s bc establishments | |
| assyria | |
| archaeological sites in iraq | |
|
Dur-Sharrukin ("Fortress of Sargon", present day '''Khorsabad''', was the Assyrian capital in the time of , 15 km northeast of Mosul , which is still today inhabited by Assyrians . In 713 BC , Sargon ordered the construction of a new palace and town 20 km north of Niniveh at the foot of the Gebel Musri . Land was bought, and the debts of construction workers were nullified in order to attract a sufficient labour force. The land in the environs of the town was taken under cultivation, and Olive groves were planted to increase Assyria's deficient oil-production.
The court moved to Dur-Sharrukin in 706 BC , although it was not completely finished yet. Sargon was killed during a battle in 705 BC . His son and successor Sennacherib abandoned the project, and relocated the capital with its administration to the city of Nineveh . The city was never completed and was finally abandoned a century later when the Assyrian empire fell. DISCOVERY The town was first discovered by the French consul at Mosul , Paul-Émile Botta in 1843. Botta believed Khorsabad to be the site of biblical Nineveh . The site was excavated in 1842-44 as well as in 1852-55, and artifacts from these excavations were brought to the Louvre in Paris after the discovery. The site of Khorsabad was excavated 1928-1935 by American archaeologists from the Oriental Institute, Chicago. The primary discoveries from Khorsabad are within the study of Assyrian art and architecture. Few other objects from the short-lived city were discovered. BIBLIOGRAPHY
EXTERNAL LINKS |
|
|