The ancient city of Ashur is located on the Tigris River in northern Mesopotamia in a specific ecological area, on the border between dry-farming and irrigation agriculture. The city dates back to the 3rd millennium BC. From the 14th to the 9th century BC, it was the first capital of the Assyrian Empire, a city-state and a commercial center of international importance. Ashur was also the religious capital of the Assyrians, closely linked with the god Ashur. The city was destroyed by the Babylonians but was revived during the Parthian period in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD.
Year of Inscription: 2003
Criteria: (iii)(iv)
Area: 70 ha
Buffer zone: 100 ha
Province of Salah ad Din
In Danger
Statement of Significance
Criteria (iii): Established in the 3rd millennium BC, Ashur’s most important role was from the 14th to the 9th century BC when it was the first capital of the Assyrian Empire. Ashur was also the religious capital of the Assyrians, and the place of coronation and burial of its kings. Criteria (iv): The remaining excavated parts of Ashur’s public and residential buildings provide an outstanding record of the development of building practice from Sumer and Akkad times to the Assyrian Empire, including a brief revival during the Parthian period.
