Nineveh was the last capital of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Local and international archaeologists are back and excavating several parts of ancient Nineveh which were damaged strongly by the terrorist group Daish. The ruins of Nineveh are one of the largest ruins in North Mesopotamia. The occupation of this area goes back to prehistory but it …
During the late medieval period Mosul was the center that controlled North Mesopotamia as Wilayah Mosul – Governorate Mosul. Unfortunately the city got the world’s attention with the horrific capture of the city through the terrorist group Daaish, who proclaimed it as their capital while keeping Mosul’s population hostage for 4 years. With the liberation …
Hatra belongs to one of the many capitals ruling in ancient Mesopotamia. The desert city existed for nearly 500 years before it got abundant in 241 AD. During the Parthian period, the city flourished into a rich city because it was on the route between Mesopotamia and the Levant, where it goes along with other …
Samarra is situated on the east bank of the Tigris river and is one of the 4 Islamic holy cities in Iraq. The old city of Samarra was founded by the Abbasid Caliph al-Mutasim. The capital was short-lived for less than 100 years before the capital was relocated back to Baghdad. For this reason, it …
The ruins of Aqar Quf are only 33 km away from Baghdad and hold under its surface the remains of the ancient city Dur Kurigalzu – the capital of the Kassite, who were ruling over middle and south Mesopotamia for over 350 years (1500-1150 BC). Beside the ancient palace and temple walls the most impressive …
One of the most prominent ancient capitals of Mesopotamia that is known – Babylon. Even after the fall of Babylon, when its walls crumbled down to ruins it never lost its legendary reputation. The Bible kept the legendary city in the awareness of human history and spread its legends around the world. Not many other …
Ctesiphon was the winter capital of the Parthian Empire (247 BC-224 AD) and was founded next to the neighboring Hellenistic capital Seleucia on the Tigris. The Sassanians Empire (224-651 AD) took over the capital but the city got sucked several times by the Romans. A legendary battle took place at Ctesiphon (637 A.D.) that marked …
Baghdad, the capital of modern Iraq and also the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate (750 – 1258 A.D.) is recalled as “The Golden Age” of Islam. Baghdad was founded by the Caliph Al Mansur and was named officially “Madinat al-Salam”, which means the “City of Peace”. The past 2 decades showed a very different image …
Lalesh is the holiest place and religious center for the Ezidi community. The Ezidi community is a Kurmanji-Kurdish speaking minority spread between Anatolia, North Mesopotamia and a smaller number in Iran. Lalesh lies in a mountain valley and holds in his temple the shrine of Sheikh Adi, a central figure of the Ezidi monolithic religion. …
Erbil, is the capital of the Kurdistan Region in Iraq and is one of the longest-continuously inhabited settlements in the World. Textual evidence from all over the ancient land of Mesopotamia gives us not only information about the past of Erbil but also its older names. The modern-day name Erbil goes back to Urbilum which …
