Keywords:
Ashur, Late Assyrian period, 614 B.C., Fall of Assyrian empire, siege - defense and capture of Ashur -, Post-imperial period, new excavations in AshurCopyright (c) 2016 ISIMU
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Abstract
The capture of Ashur, the first capital city and the main cult centre of Assyria in 614 B.C. is scantly mentioned in historical sources. Therefore, the archaeological evidence in the main basis for the better understanding of this historical event and of the subsequent period. The destruction of the city can be traced in the official buildings as well as in the private dwellings and streets. The remains show that the siege was not a surprise and the Assyrians prepared themselves for the defense of the city. The fall of Ashur was not the end of the settlement here. At least some places pf the site were reoccupied afterwards and the memory of the abandoned Assyrian state was still in the local cultural tradition in the Parthian period.