Ancient Khorsabad (Dur Sharrukin)

Situated 20 kilometres northeast of Mosul in Iraq -- Khorsabad was a very short-lived capital of Assyria. Founded by Sargon II (721-705 BC) as a new capital to replace Nimrud Khorsabad was the first Mesopotamian site excavated in the mid 1840's by a French expedition directed by Paul Emile Botta. It lost its role of Capital after the death of Sargon when his son Sennacherib moved the capital to Nineveh. Occupation at Khorsabad continued but the city was important only during the reign of Sargon. It was almost square in plan covering circa 300 hectares. Many of the stone reliefs and cuneiform inscriptions excavated by Botta in the last century are are now in the Louvre. The Oriental Institute also conducted excavations here in 1929-1934. Major architectural finds include the Palace of Sargon II and the smaller palaces of his major officials as well as the temple of Nabu ...

The History of the Ancient Near East Electronic Compendium