Dur Sharrukin

Dur Sharrukin, ancient Assyrian city located northeast of Nineveh, in Iraq. Built between 717 and 707 bce by the Assyrian king Sargon II (reigned 721–705), Dur Sharrukin exhibits careful town planning. The city measured about 1 square mile (2.59 square km); its outer walls were pierced by seven fortified gates. An inner wall enclosed a temple to Nabu (a god of vegetation and the patron of the art of writing), the royal palace, and the elaborate dwellings of important officials. Soon after the city was finished, however, Sargon was killed in battle, and Dur Sharrukin was quickly deserted.

Excavations at the site (the first archaeological excavations in Mesopotamia) were begun by the French consul Paul-Émile Botta in 1843 and were later continued (1858–65) by his successor, Victor Place, and by an American expedition (1928–35) from the University of Chicago. In addition to excellent wall reliefs, ivories, and monumental winged-bull statues uncovered at the site, one of the most-valuable finds was the Assyrian King List, which recorded Assyrian kings from about 1700 bce to about the middle of the 11th century bce.

In March 2015 Iraq’s Ministry of Antiquities reported that the extremist group Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant had destroyed artifacts at the site and razed walls and other structures.