About Assyria

Assyria is the land of the god Assur.

Assur (in Arabic Qal’at Sharqat) was the first Assyrian city-state, founded in the third millennium BC on the right bank of the Tigris, and the seat of a powerful ancient Mesopotamian Empire between the 14th and 9th centuries. Destroyed by the Babylonians, it was revived by the Parthians (Persians) in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD.

With the exception of Assur, three other city-states were Assyrian capitals: Nimroud, Dur-Sharrukin (Khorsabad) and, of course, Nineveh.

About Nimrud

Nimrud, also known as Kahlu, became the capital of Assyria by decision of King Assurnasirpal II (883-859 BC) in the 9th century and remained so until the reign of Sargon II between 721 and 705 BC. C. Excavations at Nimrud revealed one of the largest libraries of cuneiform tablets in Antiquity, ‘including a copy of the first tablet of the standard version of the epic of Gilgamesh. This epic was widely read in the Ancient Near East, from Anatolia to Iraq, from the 2nd millennium to the 3rd century BC’.[1]

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[1] https://archeologie.culture.gouv.fr/nimrud/fr/la-1ere-tablette-de-lepopee-de-gilgamesh

This article by Assyrian archaeologist Aline Tenu[1] is taken from the website Patrimoine du Proche-Orient[2], where you can find out more about the history of the site, its palaces and temples, as well as an archaeological discovery of the site[3]

A long-established site

When Assurnasirpal II (883-859 BC) chose Nimrud, the ancient Kalhu, as his new capital, the city was already an ancient royal foundation dating back to the reign of Salmanasar I (1263-1234 BC). Archaeologists have only found a few shards and seals from this period, but we know that Salmanasar I did not build a new city because ceramics from the Halaf period (6th millennium BC) and the early 3rd millennium BC have been found.

Moreover, texts from the Palaeo-Babylonian period (18th century BC) mention the town under the name of Kalawalhum, and a tomb from this period has been discovered.

A capital city for Assurnasirpal II

The works undertaken by Assurnasirpal II were gigantic and required an abundant workforce, particularly deportees: he had a canal dug to plant trees, built a palace and nine temples, and protected the city with a rampart almost 7.5 km long. To inaugurate his new residence, Assurnasirpal II organised a banquet for 69,574 guests.

A royal city

His son, Salmanasar III (858-824 BC) built a vast palace-arsenal outside the walls and constructed the ziggurat. Adad-nerari III (810-783 BC) restored the temple of Nabu and Tiglath-phalasar III (745-727 BC) built a new palace (the Central Palace). From Sargon II onwards, the city ceased to be the capital of the Empire in favour of Dur-Sharrukin (Khorsabad) and then Nineveh. However, Sargon II carried out major work on the temple of Nabu, as did Assarhaddon, who may have lived in Kalhu for a time at the end of his reign.

Kalhu was also the burial place of four Assyrian queens, including the wives of Assurnasirpal II and Sargon II (721-705 BC). Levels dating from after 612 BC indicate that the site was not abandoned after the fall of Assyria.

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[1] Aline Tenu, CNRS research fellow at UMR 7041, ‘Archéologies et Sciences de l’Antiquité’ at Nanterre, PhD in Oriental archaeology, co-director of the French Archaeological Mission of Peramagron on the Kunara site in Kurdistan, Iraq.:  https://archeologie.culture.gouv.fr/proche-orient/fr/kunara

[2] https://archeologie.culture.gouv.fr/nimrud/fr/histoire-du-site

[3] https://archeologie.culture.gouv.fr/nimrud/fr/les-pionniers-du-xixe-siecle

The first excavations at Nimrud were carried out in 1845 by the British archaeologist Austen Henry Layard. Many of the archaeological finds were transported to the British Museum in London in his time, and are still on display there today.

His Chaldean Iraqi assistant, Hormuzd Rassam, continued the excavations from 1853.

British explorer Gertrude Bell photographed the site in 1909.

From 1949 to 1958, the excavations were resumed by the British archaeologist Max Mallowan, husband of the novelist Agatha Christie, who photographed not only the discoveries but also life on the site.

Other excavation campaigns and restorations were carried out in the following decades by Iraqi, Polish, Italian and British teams.

The looting of the Nimrud archaeological site began in 2003, as soon as Saddam Hussein’s regime collapsed, but it was ISIS that began systematically destroying it in 2015.

The destructions were carried out with bulldozers, but also with explosive devices and hand tools.

The intensity of the devastation was such that the top of the Nimroud ziggurat was ‘decapitated’.

Many Nimrud artefacts were stolen and trafficked as ancient works of art.

At the beginning of the 5th century, Sennacherib, king of Nimrud, had his children Behnam and Sarah killed because they had converted to Christianity. After repenting, Sennacherib decided to convert to Christianity and with him his entire kingdom. This is how the ‘Acts of Mar Behnam’ recounts the tradition of Assyria’s conversion to Christianity.

The monastery of Mar Behnam and Sarah, 8 kms to the East of Nimrud, is not only the site of the martyrdom of the king’s children, but also of their burial.  This makes it the ‘epicentre’ of the Christian faith in Iraq.

Tradition also has it that a tunnel was built between the palace of Nimrud and the mausoleum of Behnam and Sarah, so that Queen Shereen, wife of Sennacherib, could secretly visit the tomb of her murdered children before her husband converted.

This tradition explains the strong historical link between Iraqi Christians and the ancient city of Nimrud.

By extension, Iraqi Christians believe that they are the heirs of ancient Mesopotamia.

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Reflections by Yohanna Towaya, administrator of the Hammurabi organisation, on the link between Iraqi Christians and Nimrud: ‘Historically, Nimrud is linked to the Christians. Christians see themselves as the heirs of Assyria. Iraqis also consider Christians to be Assyrians.  Nimrud is close to Mar Behnam and Qaraqosh. There is a tunnel that runs from Mar Behnam to Nimrud. Christians still talk about it.

Economic importance of restoring the Lamassus of Nimroud: Christians from Qaraqosh will be carrying out the excavations and the work. There will be tourism. It will improve the economic situation of the Christians. In this region there is only agriculture and this site.

Why is it important for Mesopotamia to be involved? If it’s not done by Mesopotamia, it won’t be done for a long time. It will be an honour for a small organisation to do this. Everyone will be talking about it. It won’t happen again for a long time. I too will have the honour of taking part in this. Even if we don’t do much, Mesopotamia’s work will live on forever.

Why did the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage (SBAH) think of Mesopotamia? They told me ‘they are serious’. They had followed Mesopotamia’s excellent work at Mar Guorguis (restoration of the last Iraqi medieval wall painting)’.

In 2018, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, in conjunction with the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage (SBAH), set up and funded a team to rescue the archaeological site of Nimrud.

The programme covers the recovery, stabilisation, storage and classification of the tens of thousands of fragments collected.

Iraqis have been trained in new heritage protection methods. Stabilisation supplies and equipment have been installed on the site in preparation for future restoration work.

Since 2022, the TARII organisation (The Academic Research Institute in Iraq – TARII) has been mandated by the SBAH and the Smithsonian Institution to monitor the implementation of this programme and prepare the subsequent stages, in particular the actual restoration work.

Iraqi archaeologist Lana Hadad, TARII’s representative in Erbil, is responsible for this process.

The prospect of restoring the archaeological site of Nimrud may seem out of reach, given the scale of the destruction.

There is, however, the prospect of gradual restoration.

This could begin with the restoration of the Lamassus of Nimrud.

This could be a powerful symbol of the rehabilitation of this remarkable site of ancient history.

At the request of the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage (SBAH) and the Iraqi Academic Research Institute (TARII), the Mesopotamia association has been invited to take part in the restoration of the Lamassus vandalised by daesh in 2015 – 2016, on the Neo-Assyrian archaeological site of Nimrud (Kalhu).

At the instigation of Yohanna Towaya, administrator of the Hammurabi organisation and Mesopotamia partner, an initial meeting was organised on Saturday 8 June 2024 at the Nimrud archaeological site, with representatives from the Antiquities Directorates of Baghdad, Mosul and Al-Hamdaniyah (Bakhdida / Qaraqosh). Iraqi archaeologist Lana Hadad, representing the Academic Research Institute of Iraq (TARII), was also present. Several members of Mesopotamia, both Iraqi and French, took part in the discussion.

1- The programme to revitalise the archaeological site of Nimrud needs to be seen as a whole, and will be carried out in successive stages. To this end, an international conference has been organised in Iraq to assess the objectives, scientific aspects and stages involved.

2- The SBAH hopes that the inaugural stage of this process will be the restoration of the four Lamassus destroyed by ISIS. Mesopotamia is invited to participate in these restorations, along with other international volunteer organisations.

3- The Iraqi authorities will not contribute to the funding of this restoration programme. If Mesopotamia agrees to take part, it will have to raise the necessary funds and will have complete freedom to use them and set up its own team.

4- After deliberation on 9 July 2024, the board of directors of the Mesopotamia association agreed to take part in the project to restore the Lamasssus of Nimrud, at the invitation of the Iraqi authorities. This decision is conditional on obtaining the financial resources necessary for its intervention.

5- The Mesopotamia association cannot imagine embarking on such a process without first seeking high-level scientific validation, as well as technical validation of the resources deployed.

6- This project to restore the Lamassus of Nimrud could be an opportunity to involve Iraqi restorers, selected from among those taking part in a restoration training programme at the Mosul Museum, set up in cooperation with the Louvre Museum.

7- Why not consider organising a training camp with Iraqi or foreign volunteers? Such a scheme must be compatible with the scientific and technical requirements of this restoration project.

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For your information: the Mesopotamia association has set up a work camp as part of the restoration of the medieval mural painting in the Mar Guorguis church in Bakhdida in 2021-2022. Alongside the three French paint restorers, four students from the University of Mosul’s School of Fine Arts took part in the restoration, as did a team of Iraqi volunteers whose complementary technical skills proved vital to the success of the restoration process.