Mosul
Encyclopedia
Mosul is a city in northern Iraq
and the capital of the Ninawa Governorate
, some 400 km (248.5 mi) northwest of Baghdad
. The original city stands on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the ancient Assyria
n city of Nineveh
on the east bank, but the metropolitan area has now grown to encompass substantial areas on both banks, with five bridges linking the two sides. The majority of its population is now Arab (with Assyrians, Armenian, Turcoman
and Kurdish minorities). It is Iraq's third largest city after Baghdad
and Basra
.
The fabric Muslin
, long manufactured here, is named after this city.
Another historically important product of the area is Mosul marble
.
In 1987, the city's population was 664,221 people; the 2002 population estimate was 1,740,000, and by 2008 was estimated to be 1,800,000.
The city's mayor is now Zuhair Mohsin Mohammed Abdulazeez.
The city of Mosul is home to the University of Mosul
, one of the largest educational and research centers in Iraq and the Middle East.
The city is also a historic center for the Nestorian Christianity of the Assyrians, containing the tombs of several Old Testament
prophets such as Jonah
.
in 401 BC in his expeditionary logs. There, he notes a small town of "Mepsila" (Μέπσιλα) on the Tigris at about where modern Mosul is today (Anabasis
, III.iv.10). It may be safer to identify Xenophone's Mepsila with the site of Iski Mosul, or "Old Mosul", 20 miles north of modern Mosul, where six centuries after Xenophon's report, the Sasanian Persian center of Budh-Ardhashīr was built. Be as it may, the name Mepsila per se, however, is doubtlessly the root for the modern name, albeit, in its metathetic form of Mosul.
Nineveh
gave its place to Mepsila after its violent fall to the Babylonians, Medes and Scythians in 612 BC. In fact, Xenophon makes no mention of it in his expedition of 401 BC (during the reign of the Persian Achaemenid dynasty in this region), although he does note Mepsila.
In its current Islamic form and spelling, the term Mosul, or rather "Mawsil" stands for the "linking point" – or loosely, the Junction City, in Arabic.
Mosul should not be confused with the ancient Assyrian capital of Nineveh which is located across the Tigris from Mosul on the eastern banks, at the famed archaeological mound of Kuyunjik (Turkoman for "sheep's hill"). This area is better known today as the town of Nebi Yunus ("prophet Jonah
"). The site contain the tomb of the Biblical Jonah as he lived and died in Nineveh, then the capital of ancient Assyria. Today, this entire area has been absorbed into Mosul metropolitan area. The surviving Assyrians
, refer to entire city of Mosul as Nineveh (or rather, Ninweh).
It is also named al-Faiha ("the Paradise"), al-Khaḍrah ("the Green") and al-Hadbah ("the Humped"). It is sometimes described as "The Pearl of the North".
It is mentioned in Biblical references that Nineveh was founded by Nimrod
, son of Cush.
In approximately 850 BC, King Ashurnasirpal II of Assyria
chose the city of Nimrud as his capital where present day Mosul is located. In approximately 700 BC, King Sennacherib
made Nineveh the new capital of Assyria. The mound of Kuyunjik in Mosul is the site of the palaces of King Sennacherib and his grandson Ashurbanipal
, who established the Library of Ashurbanipal
.
Mosul later succeeded Nineveh as the Tigris bridgehead of the road that linked Syria and Anatolia
with the Median Empire. In 612 BC, the Mede emperor Cyaxares
, together with the alliance of Nabopolassar
king of Babylon
and the Scythians, conquered Nineveh.
It became part of the Seleucid Empire
after Alexander's conquests in 332 BC and was later taken by the Parthian Empire
in 224 BC.
The city changed hands once again with the rise of Sassanid Persia in 225 AD. Christianity was present among the indigenous Assyrian people in Mosul as early as the 2nd century. It became an episcopal seat of the Nestorian faith in the 6th century. In 637 (other sources say 641), during the period of the Caliph
Umar ibn al-Khattab, the city was annexed to the Islamic empire by Utba bin Farqad Al-Salami
.
Mosul was promoted to the status of capital of Mesopotamia
under the Umayyads in the 8th century, during which it reached a peak of prosperity. During the Abbassid era it was an important trading centre because of its strategic location astride the trade routes to India
, Persia, and the Mediterranean. The Muslim general and conqueror of Sindh
, Muhammad bin Qasim
, is said to have died here in the 8th century AD.
Mosul was conquered by the Seljuk
s in the 11th century. After a period under semi-independent atabeg
such as Mawdud
, in 1127 it became the centre of power of the Zengid dynasty
. Saladin
besieged the city unsuccessfully in 1182. In the 13th century it was captured by the Mongols led by Hulegu, but was spared the usual destruction since its governor, Badr al-Din Luʾluʾ, helped the Khan in his following campaigns in Syria. After the Mongol defeat in the Battle of Ain Jalut
against the Mamluk
s, Badr al-Din's son sided with the latter; this led to the destruction of the city, which later regained some importance but never recovered its original splendor. Mosul was thenceforth ruled by the Mongol Ilkhanid and Jalayrid dynasties, and escaped Tamerlan's destructions.
, but in 1508 it was conquered by the Safawids. Finally, in 1535, Ottoman
sultan
Suleyman the Magnificent added it to his empire. Thenceforth Mosul was governed by a pasha
. Mosul was celebrated for its line of walls, comprising seven gates with large towers, a renowned hospital (maristan) and a covered market (qaysariyya), and was also famous for its fabrics and flourishing trades.
The Dominican fathers
arrived in Mosul in 1750, sent by Pope Benedict XIV
(Mosul had a large Christian population, predominantly Assyrians).
They were followed by the Dominican nuns in 1873. They established a number of schools, health clinics, a printing press and an orphanage. The nuns also established workshops to teach girls sewing and embroidery.
A congregation of Dominican sisters, founded in the 19th century, still has its motherhouse in Mosul. Over 120 Assyrian Iraqi Sisters belong to this congregation.
It remained under Ottoman control until 1918 when it was taken by the British
, with a brief break in 1623 when Persia seized the city, and was the capital of Mosul Vilayet one of the three vilayets (province
s) of Ottoman Iraq.
Mosul's importance as a trading centre declined after the opening of the Suez Canal
, which enabled goods to travel to and from India by sea rather than by land across Iraq and through Mosul. The city's fortunes revived with the discovery of oil
in the area, from the late 1920s onward. It became a nexus for the movement of oil via truck and pipeline to both Turkey
and Syria. Qyuarrah Refinery was built within about an hour's drive from the city and was used to process tar for road-building projects. It was damaged but not destroyed during the Iran–Iraq War. Mosul provides a key portion of the country's electrical needs via Mosul Dam
and several neighboring thermal turbine facilities.
The opening of the University of Mosul in 1967 enabled the education of many in the city and surrounding areas, and it includes engineering and linguistics departments among its many other academic departments.
The region had been part of the Ottoman Empire
from 1534 until the end of World War I
in 1918. The possibility of dissolving this Empire became real with the Great War, since Germany was the ally of the Ottoman Empire. Secret agreements between the French and the British government (known as the Sykes-Picot Agreement
) decided in 1916 to draw a straight line from the Jordan heights to Iran
: where the northern zone (Syria, and later the upcoming Lebanon
) would be under French influence, and the southern zone (Iraq, and later, after renegotiations in 1917, Palestine
which included modern Jordan
) would be under British influence. Mosul was in the northern zone, and would have become a Syrian city; but early discoveries of oil in the region just before the end of the war (1918), pushed the British government to yet another negotiation with the French; to include the region of Mosul into the southern zone (or the British zone). The border line that divides the two sides has not changed since 1918, but it has helped determine the boundaries of the modern Middle East for the coming century with the creation of different countries from the Ottoman Empire.
At the end of World War I in October 1918, after the signature of the Armistice of Mudros
, British forces occupied Mosul. After the war, the city and the surrounding area became part of the British mandate of Iraq. This mandate was contested by Turkey which continued to claim the area based on the fact that it was under Ottoman control during the signature of the Armistice. In the Treaty of Lausanne
, the dispute over Mosul was left for future resolution by the League of Nations
. Iraq's possession of Mosul was confirmed by the League of Nations brokered agreement between Turkey
and Great Britain
in 1926.
Some of the villages and towns around Mosul with its large Kurdish population were significantly affected by the 1991 rebellion suppression by the deposed former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, during the 1991 Kurdish-mounted, unsuccessful revolt against the regime. In the wake of the revolt's failure, a swathe of Kurdish-populated territory in the north and northeast of Iraq fell under the control of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
and Kurdistan Democratic Party, which established autonomous (and de facto independent) rule in the region. Mosul did not fall within the Kurdish-ruled area, but it was included in the no-fly zones imposed and patrolled by the United States and Britain between 1991 and 2003.
Although this prevented Saddam's forces from mounting large-scale military operations again in the region, it did not stop the regime from implementing a steady policy of "Arabisation" by which the demography of some areas of Nineveh Governorate were gradually changed. Despite the program Mosul and its surrounding villages remained home to a mixture of Arabs, Kurds, Assyrians
, Armenians, Turkmens, a few Jews
, and isolated populations of Yazidi
s and Mandeans. Saddam was able to garrison portions of the 5th Army within the Mosul city, had the international flight capable airport under military control, and recruited heavily from the city for his military's officer corps; this may be due to the fact that most of the officers and generals of the Iraqi Army were from Mosul long before the Saddam regime era.
was being planned, the United States had originally intended to base troops in Turkey and mount a thrust into northern Iraq to capture Mosul. However, the Turkish parliament refused to grant permission for the operation. When the war did break out in March 2003, US military activity in the area was confined to strategic bombing with airdrop
ped special forces
operating in the vicinity. Mosul fell on April 11, 2003, when the Iraqi Army 5th Corps, loyal to Saddam, abandoned the city and eventually surrendered, two days after the fall of Baghdad. Kurdish fighters took civil control of the city, and started what eventually became a widespread looting before agreeing to cede control to US forces.
On July 22, 2003, Saddam Hussein's sons, Uday Hussein
and Qusay Hussein
, were attacked and killed by Coalition
forces in Mosul. The brothers were killed in a gunbattle that ensued after a failed attempt at their apprehension. The city also served as the operational base for the US Army
's 101st Airborne Division
during the occupational phase of the Operation Iraqi Freedom
. During its tenure, the 101st Airborne Division was able to extensively survey the city and, advised by the 431st Civil Affairs Battalion, non-governmental organizations, and the people of Mosul, began reconstruction work by employing the people of Mosul in the areas of security, electricity, local governance, drinking water, wastewater, trash disposal, roads, bridges, and environmental concerns. Other US Army units to have occupied the city include the 4th Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Cavalry Division, the 172nd Stryker
Brigade, the 3rd Brigade-2nd Infantry Division, 18th Engineer Brigade (Combat), the 1st Brigade-25th Infantry Division, the 511th Military Police Company, the 812th Military Police Company and company-size units from Reserve components, including an element of the 364th Civil Affairs Brigade.
On June 24, 2004
, a coordinated series of car-bombs killed 62 people, many of them policemen.
In November 2004, concurrently with the US and Iraqi attack on the city of Fallujah
, the Battle of Mosul (2004)
began. On November 10, insurgents conducted coordinated attacks on the police stations. The policemen who were not killed in the fighting fled the city, leaving Mosul without any civil police force for about a month. However, soon after the insurgents' campaign to overrun the city had begun, elements from the 25th Infantry Division and components from the Multinational force composed mainly of Albania
n forces, took the offensive and began to maneuver into the most dangerous parts of the city. Fighting continued well into the 11th with the insurgents on the defensive and US forces scouring neighborhoods for any resistance.
On December 21, 2004, fourteen US soldiers, four American employees of Halliburton
, and four Iraqi soldiers were killed in a suicide attack on a dining hall at the Forward Operating Base
(FOB) Marez next to the main US military airfield at Mosul. The Pentagon
reported that 72 other personnel were injured in the attack carried out by a suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest and the uniform of the Iraqi security services. The Islamic terrorist group Army of Ansar al-Sunna (partly evolved from Ansar al-Islam
) declared responsibility for the attack in an Internet statement.
In early 2005, the head of Mosul's anti-corruption unit, Gen. Waleed Kashmoula, was killed by a bomb which exploded outside his office. In October 2005, the Iraq Interior Department attempted to fire the police chief of Mosul. Mosul Sunni leaders saw it as a Kurdish attempt to seize control over the police. In the end the police chief was replaced by a Sunni Arab, MG Wathiq Al Hamdani, who is a city resident.
In December 2007, Iraq reopened the airport in Mosul. An Iraqi Airways
flight carried 152 Hajj
pilgrims to Baghdad, the first commercial flight since US forces declared a no-fly zone in 1993, although further commercial flight remained prohibited. On January 23, 2008, an explosion in an apartment building killed 36 people. The following day, a suicide bomber dressed as a police officer assassinated the local police chief, Brig. Gen. Salah Mohammed al-Jubouri, the director of police for Ninevah province, as he toured the site of the blast.
After November 2004, the city of Mosul suffered tremendously due to deteriorated security conditions (including military actions as well as threats and killing of innocent civilians by terrorists and criminals), unprecedented violence levels (especially on ethnic bases), continuous destruction of the main infrastructures of the city, and neglect and mismanagement by the occupation forces, by the Nineveh Governerate Council, by multiple political parties as well as by the central Iraqi Government in Baghdad.
All these factors deprived the city of its historical, scientific, and intellectual foundations in the last 4 years, when a great lot of scientists, professors, academics, doctors, health professionals, engineers, lawyers, journalists, religious clergy (both Muslims and Christians), historians, as well as the professionals and artists in all walks of life, were either killed or forced to leave the city under the threat of being shot, exactly as it happened elsewhere in Iraq in the years following 2003.
On May 10, 2008, a military offensive was launched by US-backed Iraqi Army Forces led by Maj. Gen. Riyadh Jalal Tawfiq, the commander of military operations in Mosul, in the hope of bringing back stability and security to the city.
Though the representatives of Mosul in the Iraqi Parliament, the intellectuals of the city, and other concerned humanitarian groups agreed on the pressing need for a solution to the unbearable conditions of the city, they still believe that the solution is merely political and administrative. They are also questioning whether such a large scale military offensive will spare the lives of innocent people.
In 2008, many Assyrian Christians (about 12,000) fled the city following a wave of murders and threats
against their community. The murder of a dozen Assyrians, threats that others would be murdered unless they converted to Islam and the destruction of their houses sparked a rapid exodus of the Christian population. Some families crossed the borders to Syria and Turkey while others were given shelter in churches and monasteries. Accusations and blames were exchanged between Sunni fundamentalists and some Kurdish groups for being behind this new exodus. For the time being the motivation of these acts is unclear, but some claims linked it to the imminent provincial elections which took place in January 2009, and the related Assyrian Christians' demands for broader representation in the provincial councils.
An investigation in 2009 pointed out that more than 2,500 Kurd
s had been killed and more than 40 families displaced in Mosul since 2003. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
blames Al-Qaeda
and former Ba'ath Party's. Despite all the odds, the citizens of Mosul have vowed to bring stability and prosperity to Mosul, to rebuild the city, and to regain its historical and cultural roles as one of the three major cities in Iraq and one of the first historic metropolitan areas in the world.
This city is indicative of the mingling ethnic and religious cultures of Iraq. There is a Sunni Arab majority in urban areas, such as downtown Mosul on the Tigris
. Across the Tigris and further north in the suburban areas, thousands of Assyrians
, Kurds, Turkmens
, Shabak
s and Armenian
s, make up the rest of Mosul's population. Sunni Arabs make up the majority of the city's population. Sunni Kurds, Yezidi Kurds, Turkmens and Assyrians are also present. Shabaks
are concentrated on the eastern outskirts of the city.
The population of Mosul has progressively become a mixture of Arabs, Armenians
, Assyrians, Kurds, Turkmens, The Arabization plans were counteracted in the 1980s by former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein
and his Baath party
, which forced some of those minorities to move outside the city, back into Kurdish regions.
The city is close to the Kurdish regions
of Iraq. Kurdish fighters
have been moving into the city since the fall of the Ba'ath government, causing some tensions with the Sunni Arabs of the city. Clashes erupted in recent months, between Sunni Arabs in Mosul and Kurdish fighters entering the city from the Kurdish regional governorates.
Christians who also have a presence in the villages around of Mosul in ancient Nineveh since the foundation of the city (majority follow the Chaldean Catholic Church
, the Syriac Catholic Church
and the Syriac Orthodox Church
, and a minority follow the Assyrian Church of the East
).
There is also a number of Arab Christians
which belong to the Greek Orthodox Church
, Roman Catholic Church
, some follow Chaldean Catholic Church
and Syriac Orthodox Church
, and have a number of protestant churches.
Other religions, such as Yazidi
, Yarsan and Mandean religions also call Mosul home.
Long before the Muslim conquest of the 7th century, the old city Nineveh was Christianized
when the Assyrians converted to Christianity during the 1st and 2nd centuries.
Despite institutional ethnic persecution by various political powers, including the Ba'ath Party regime, Mosul has maintained a multicultural and multi-religious mosaic. The difficult history of Mosul, however, still contributes to tensions among its modern inhabitants.
Mosul had a Jewish population. Like most Iraqi Jews, most left in 1950–51. A larger number may have converted to Islam in the past century but some traditions have been retained. It is very difficult to give a reliable estimate of the Jewish population in Iraq because of the remaining Jews have adapted to the Islamic culture. Most Iraqi Jews have moved to Israel, some to the United States. A rabbi in the American army found an abandoned, dilapidated synagogue in Mosul dating back to the 13th century.
, bearing considerable resemblance to Levantine
dialects, particularily Aleppan
Arabic. Iraqis sometimes describe it as the 'feminine version' of Iraqi Arabic
.
Mosul Arabic is influenced largely by the languages of every ethnic minority group co-existing in the city: Kurds
, Turkmen
, Armenians
, Assyrians, Chaldeans, as well as others -- thus infusing Kurmanji Kurdish
, Turkmen
, Armenian
, and Neo-Aramaic. Each minority language is respectively spoken along side Arabic.
Arabic is the lingua franca
of communication, education, business, and official work to the majority of the city's residents. Upper class and university-educated residents usually have varying degrees of proficiency in English
as well.
BSh) with extremely hot, almost rainless summers and cool, rainy winters. Mosul, although not at a particularly high elevation, still receives much more rain than most of Iraq. Rainfall is close to 3 times that of Baghdad and over twice that of Basra, despite being much further from the Persian Gulf than either. The Kurdish regions to the north are even wetter.
team competing in the top-flight of Iraq
i football – Mosul FC
, currently playing in the Iraqi premier League. Another team from the region, Al-Hadba FC, plays in second league.
Mosul FC was founded in 1947 and represents the entire Ninevah province in Iraq, but due to lack of funding it withdrew from the league in the 2008/2009 season. On the 28 May 2010, Mosul FC beat the Iraqi champions Arbil, in front of a full crowd at the Al Mosul University Stadium by a single goal scored by Anmar Ismaeil.
Opened in 1964, this is currently the main stadium in the province, and is the home of Mosul FC
. It has a capacity of 10,000. As the stadium is not safe for use, the Mosul FC plays their home games in the Al Mosul University Stadium
.
The al Mosul University Stadium is a multi-use stadium. It is currently used mostly for football matches and serves as the home stadium of Mosul FC. The stadium holds 20,000 people.
, the University of Mosul
was founded on 1 April 1967, by merging with College of Medicine which was opened in 1959.
The Mosul Museum
contains many interesting finds from the ancient sites of the old Assyrian capital cities Nineveh and Nimrud
. The Mosul Museum is a fair, olden building, around a courtyard and with an impressive facade of Mosul marble containing displays of Mosul life depicted in tableau form.
The famous English writer, Agatha Christie
, lived in Mosul whilst her second husband, an archaeologist, was involved in the excavation in Nimrud
.
Other Christian historical buildings:
Turks, who controlled Iraq at that time, but the Mosul artists had a sharper sense of realism based on the subject matter and degree of detail in the painting rather than on representation in three dimensions, which did not occur. Most of the Mosul iconography was Seljuq – for example, the use of figures seated cross-legged in a frontal position. Certain symbolic elements however, such as the crescent and serpents, were derived from the classical Mesopotamian repertory.
Most Mosul paintings were illustrations of manuscripts—mainly scientific works, animal books, and lyric poetry. A frontispiece
painting, now held in the Bibliothèque National, Paris, dating from a late 12th century copy of Galen
's medical treatise, the Kitab al-diriyak ("Book of Antidotes"), is a good example of the earlier work of the Mosul school. It depicts four figures surrounding a central, seated figure who holds a crescent-shaped halo. The painting is in a variety of whole hues; reds, blues, greens, and gold. The Küfic
lettering is blue. The total effect is best described as majestic. Another mid-13th century frontispiece held in the Nationalbibliothek
, Vienna, to another copy of the same text suggests the quality of later Mosul painting. There is realism in its depiction of the preparation of a ruler's meal and of horsemen engaged in various activities, and the painting is as hueredful as that of the early Mosul school, yet it is somehow less spirited. The composition is more elaborate but less successful. By this time the Baghdad school, which combined the styles of the Syrian and early Mosul schools, had begun to dominate. With the invasion of the Mongols in the mid-13th century, the Mosul school came to an end, but its achievements were influential in both the Mamluk and the Mongol schools of miniature painting.
s in Persia and the Būyids in Iraq.
Mosul craftsmen used both gold and silver for inlay on bronze and brass. After delicate engraving had prepared the surface of the piece, strips of gold and silver were worked so carefully that not the slightest irregularity appeared in the whole of the elaborate design. The technique was carried by Mosul metalworkers to Aleppo
, Damascus
, Baghdad, Cairo
, and Persia; a class of similar metalwork from these centres is called Mosul bronzes.
Among the most famous surviving Mosul pieces is a brass ewer inlaid with silver from 1232, and now in the British Museum, by the artist Shujā’ ibn Mana. The ewer features representational as well as abstract design, depicting battle scenes, animals and musicians within medallions. Mosul metalworkers also created pieces for Eastern Christians. A candlestick of this variety from 1238 and housed in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, attributed to Dà’ūd ibn Salamah of Mosul, is bronze with silver inlay. It displays the familiar medallions but is also engraved with scenes showing Christ as a child. Rows of standing figures, probably saints, decorate the base. The background is decorated with typically Islamic vine scrolls and intricate arabesques, giving the piece a unique look.
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
and the capital of the Ninawa Governorate
Ninawa Governorate
Ninawa is a governorate in northern Iraq, and the Arabic name for the biblical city of Nineveh in Assyria. It has an area of and an estimated population of 2,453,000 people in 2003. Its chief city and provincial capital is Mosul, which lies across the Tigris river from the ruins of ancient...
, some 400 km (248.5 mi) northwest of Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
. The original city stands on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the ancient Assyria
Assyria
Assyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
n city of Nineveh
Nineveh
Nineveh was an ancient Assyrian city on the eastern bank of the Tigris River, and capital of the Neo Assyrian Empire. Its ruins are across the river from the modern-day major city of Mosul, in the Ninawa Governorate of Iraq....
on the east bank, but the metropolitan area has now grown to encompass substantial areas on both banks, with five bridges linking the two sides. The majority of its population is now Arab (with Assyrians, Armenian, Turcoman
Iraqi Turkmen
The Iraqi Turkmen are an ethnic group who mainly reside in northern Iraq. Estimates of their numbers vary dramatically, in accordance with Iraq's assimilation policies no realistic and independent census results have been revealed regarding the Iraqi Turkmen population...
and Kurdish minorities). It is Iraq's third largest city after Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
and Basra
Basra
Basra is the capital of Basra Governorate, in southern Iraq near Kuwait and Iran. It had an estimated population of two million as of 2009...
.
The fabric Muslin
Muslin
Muslin |sewing patterns]], such as for clothing, curtains, or upholstery. Because air moves easily through muslin, muslin clothing is suitable for hot, dry climates.- Etymology and history :...
, long manufactured here, is named after this city.
Another historically important product of the area is Mosul marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
.
In 1987, the city's population was 664,221 people; the 2002 population estimate was 1,740,000, and by 2008 was estimated to be 1,800,000.
The city's mayor is now Zuhair Mohsin Mohammed Abdulazeez.
The city of Mosul is home to the University of Mosul
University of Mosul
The University of Mosul is a public university located in Mosul, Iraq. It is one of the largest educational and research centers in the Middle East.- Academic program :...
, one of the largest educational and research centers in Iraq and the Middle East.
The city is also a historic center for the Nestorian Christianity of the Assyrians, containing the tombs of several Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
prophets such as Jonah
Jonah
Jonah is the name given in the Hebrew Bible to a prophet of the northern kingdom of Israel in about the 8th century BC, the eponymous central character in the Book of Jonah, famous for being swallowed by a fish or a whale, depending on translation...
.
Etymology
The name of the city is first mentioned by XenophonXenophon
Xenophon , son of Gryllus, of the deme Erchia of Athens, also known as Xenophon of Athens, was a Greek historian, soldier, mercenary, philosopher and a contemporary and admirer of Socrates...
in 401 BC in his expeditionary logs. There, he notes a small town of "Mepsila" (Μέπσιλα) on the Tigris at about where modern Mosul is today (Anabasis
Anabasis (Xenophon)
Anabasis is the most famous work, in seven books, of the Greek professional soldier and writer Xenophon. The journey it narrates is his best known accomplishment and "one of the great adventures in human history," as Will Durant expressed the common assessment.- The account :Xenophon accompanied...
, III.iv.10). It may be safer to identify Xenophone's Mepsila with the site of Iski Mosul, or "Old Mosul", 20 miles north of modern Mosul, where six centuries after Xenophon's report, the Sasanian Persian center of Budh-Ardhashīr was built. Be as it may, the name Mepsila per se, however, is doubtlessly the root for the modern name, albeit, in its metathetic form of Mosul.
Nineveh
Nineveh
Nineveh was an ancient Assyrian city on the eastern bank of the Tigris River, and capital of the Neo Assyrian Empire. Its ruins are across the river from the modern-day major city of Mosul, in the Ninawa Governorate of Iraq....
gave its place to Mepsila after its violent fall to the Babylonians, Medes and Scythians in 612 BC. In fact, Xenophon makes no mention of it in his expedition of 401 BC (during the reign of the Persian Achaemenid dynasty in this region), although he does note Mepsila.
In its current Islamic form and spelling, the term Mosul, or rather "Mawsil" stands for the "linking point" – or loosely, the Junction City, in Arabic.
Mosul should not be confused with the ancient Assyrian capital of Nineveh which is located across the Tigris from Mosul on the eastern banks, at the famed archaeological mound of Kuyunjik (Turkoman for "sheep's hill"). This area is better known today as the town of Nebi Yunus ("prophet Jonah
Jonah
Jonah is the name given in the Hebrew Bible to a prophet of the northern kingdom of Israel in about the 8th century BC, the eponymous central character in the Book of Jonah, famous for being swallowed by a fish or a whale, depending on translation...
"). The site contain the tomb of the Biblical Jonah as he lived and died in Nineveh, then the capital of ancient Assyria. Today, this entire area has been absorbed into Mosul metropolitan area. The surviving Assyrians
Assyrian people
The Assyrian people are a distinct ethnic group whose origins lie in ancient Mesopotamia...
, refer to entire city of Mosul as Nineveh (or rather, Ninweh).
It is also named al-Faiha ("the Paradise"), al-Khaḍrah ("the Green") and al-Hadbah ("the Humped"). It is sometimes described as "The Pearl of the North".
Ancient era and early Middle Ages
Nimrod
Nimrod means "Hunter"; was a Biblical Mesopotamian king mentioned in the Table of Nations; an eponym for the city of Nimrud.Nimrod can also refer to any of the following:*Nimród Antal, a director...
, son of Cush.
In approximately 850 BC, King Ashurnasirpal II of Assyria
Assyria
Assyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
chose the city of Nimrud as his capital where present day Mosul is located. In approximately 700 BC, King Sennacherib
Sennacherib
Sennacherib |Sîn]] has replaced brothers for me"; Aramaic: ) was the son of Sargon II, whom he succeeded on the throne of Assyria .-Rise to power:...
made Nineveh the new capital of Assyria. The mound of Kuyunjik in Mosul is the site of the palaces of King Sennacherib and his grandson Ashurbanipal
Ashurbanipal
Ashurbanipal |Ashur]] is creator of an heir"; 685 BC – c. 627 BC), also spelled Assurbanipal or Ashshurbanipal, was an Assyrian king, the son of Esarhaddon and the last great king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire...
, who established the Library of Ashurbanipal
Library of Ashurbanipal
-External links:. In our time discussion programme. 45 minutes....
.
Mosul later succeeded Nineveh as the Tigris bridgehead of the road that linked Syria and Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
with the Median Empire. In 612 BC, the Mede emperor Cyaxares
Cyaxares
Cyaxares, Cyaxares the Great or Hvakhshathra , the son of King Phraortes, was the first king of Media. According to Herodotus, Cyaxares, grandson of Deioces, had a far greater military reputation than his father or grandfather, therefore he is often being described as the first official Median...
, together with the alliance of Nabopolassar
Nabopolassar
Nabopolassar was the king of the Babylonia and played a key role in the demise of the Assyrian Empire following the death of the last powerful Assyrian king, Ashurbanipal...
king of Babylon
Babylon
Babylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
and the Scythians, conquered Nineveh.
It became part of the Seleucid Empire
Seleucid Empire
The Seleucid Empire was a Greek-Macedonian state that was created out of the eastern conquests of Alexander the Great. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan.The Seleucid Empire was a major centre...
after Alexander's conquests in 332 BC and was later taken by the Parthian Empire
Parthian Empire
The Parthian Empire , also known as the Arsacid Empire , was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Persia...
in 224 BC.
The city changed hands once again with the rise of Sassanid Persia in 225 AD. Christianity was present among the indigenous Assyrian people in Mosul as early as the 2nd century. It became an episcopal seat of the Nestorian faith in the 6th century. In 637 (other sources say 641), during the period of the Caliph
Caliph
The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
Umar ibn al-Khattab, the city was annexed to the Islamic empire by Utba bin Farqad Al-Salami
Utba bin Farqad Al-Salami
Utba bin Farqad Al-Salami was a General under Muslim Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab. He is primarily known as the leader of the Muslim Army that conquered the city of Mosul from Sassanid Persia in 637....
.
Mosul was promoted to the status of capital of Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
under the Umayyads in the 8th century, during which it reached a peak of prosperity. During the Abbassid era it was an important trading centre because of its strategic location astride the trade routes to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Persia, and the Mediterranean. The Muslim general and conqueror of Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
, Muhammad bin Qasim
Muhammad bin Qasim
Muhammad bin Qasim Al-Thaqafi was a Umayyad general who, at the age of 17, began the conquest of the Sindh and Punjab regions along the Indus River for the Umayyad Caliphate. He was born in the city of Taif...
, is said to have died here in the 8th century AD.
9th to 15th centuries
In the late 9th century control over the city was seized by the Hamdanid Arab dynasty, who, for several decades, made it their main stronghold, first as governors of the Abbassid and later as de facto independent rulers. A century later they were supplanted by the Uqaylids.Mosul was conquered by the Seljuk
Great Seljuq Empire
The Great Seljuq Empire was a medieval Persianate, Turko-Persian Sunni Muslim empire, originating from the Qynyq branch of Oghuz Turks. The Seljuq Empire controlled a vast area stretching from the Hindu Kush to eastern Anatolia and from Central Asia to the Persian Gulf...
s in the 11th century. After a period under semi-independent atabeg
Atabeg
Atabeg, Atabek, or Atabey is a hereditary title of nobility of Turkic origin, indicating a governor of a nation or province who was subordinate to a monarch and charged with raising the crown prince...
such as Mawdud
Mawdud
Mawdud ibn Altuntash was a Turkic military leader who was atabeg of Mosul from 1109 to 1113...
, in 1127 it became the centre of power of the Zengid dynasty
Zengid dynasty
The Zengid dynasty was a Muslim dynasty of Turkic origin, which ruled parts of Syria and northern Iraq on behalf of the Seljuk Empire.-History:...
. Saladin
Saladin
Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb , better known in the Western world as Saladin, was an Arabized Kurdish Muslim, who became the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and founded the Ayyubid dynasty. He led Muslim and Arab opposition to the Franks and other European Crusaders in the Levant...
besieged the city unsuccessfully in 1182. In the 13th century it was captured by the Mongols led by Hulegu, but was spared the usual destruction since its governor, Badr al-Din Luʾluʾ, helped the Khan in his following campaigns in Syria. After the Mongol defeat in the Battle of Ain Jalut
Battle of Ain Jalut
The Battle of Ain Jalut took place on 3 September 1260 between Mamluks and the Mongols in eastern Galilee, in the Jezreel Valley, not far from Ein Harod....
against the Mamluk
Mamluk
A Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...
s, Badr al-Din's son sided with the latter; this led to the destruction of the city, which later regained some importance but never recovered its original splendor. Mosul was thenceforth ruled by the Mongol Ilkhanid and Jalayrid dynasties, and escaped Tamerlan's destructions.
16th to 19th centuries
In the early 16th century Mosul was under the Turkmen federation of the Ak KoyunluAk Koyunlu
The Aq Qoyunlu or Ak Koyunlu, also called the White Sheep Turkomans , was an Sunni Oghuz Turkic tribal federation that ruled parts of present-day Eastern Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, northern Iraq, and Iran from 1378 to 1508.-History:According to chronicles from the Byzantine Empire, the Aq Qoyunlu...
, but in 1508 it was conquered by the Safawids. Finally, in 1535, Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
sultan
Sultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
Suleyman the Magnificent added it to his empire. Thenceforth Mosul was governed by a pasha
Pasha
Pasha or pascha, formerly bashaw, was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire political system, typically granted to governors, generals and dignitaries. As an honorary title, Pasha, in one of its various ranks, is equivalent to the British title of Lord, and was also one of the highest titles in...
. Mosul was celebrated for its line of walls, comprising seven gates with large towers, a renowned hospital (maristan) and a covered market (qaysariyya), and was also famous for its fabrics and flourishing trades.
The Dominican fathers
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
arrived in Mosul in 1750, sent by Pope Benedict XIV
Pope Benedict XIV
Pope Benedict XIV , born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was Pope from 17 August 1740 to 3 May 1758.-Life:...
(Mosul had a large Christian population, predominantly Assyrians).
They were followed by the Dominican nuns in 1873. They established a number of schools, health clinics, a printing press and an orphanage. The nuns also established workshops to teach girls sewing and embroidery.
A congregation of Dominican sisters, founded in the 19th century, still has its motherhouse in Mosul. Over 120 Assyrian Iraqi Sisters belong to this congregation.
It remained under Ottoman control until 1918 when it was taken by the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, with a brief break in 1623 when Persia seized the city, and was the capital of Mosul Vilayet one of the three vilayets (province
Province
A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...
s) of Ottoman Iraq.
20th century
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
, which enabled goods to travel to and from India by sea rather than by land across Iraq and through Mosul. The city's fortunes revived with the discovery of oil
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
in the area, from the late 1920s onward. It became a nexus for the movement of oil via truck and pipeline to both Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and Syria. Qyuarrah Refinery was built within about an hour's drive from the city and was used to process tar for road-building projects. It was damaged but not destroyed during the Iran–Iraq War. Mosul provides a key portion of the country's electrical needs via Mosul Dam
Mosul Dam
Mosul Dam or Chambarakat Dam, formerly known as Saddam Dam , is the largest dam in Iraq. It is located on the Tigris River in the western governorate of Ninawa, upstream of the city of Mosul. The hydroelectric dam holds, at full capacity, about of water and provides electricity to the...
and several neighboring thermal turbine facilities.
The opening of the University of Mosul in 1967 enabled the education of many in the city and surrounding areas, and it includes engineering and linguistics departments among its many other academic departments.
The region had been part of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
from 1534 until the end of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in 1918. The possibility of dissolving this Empire became real with the Great War, since Germany was the ally of the Ottoman Empire. Secret agreements between the French and the British government (known as the Sykes-Picot Agreement
Sykes-Picot Agreement
The Sykes–Picot Agreement of 1916 was a secret agreement between the governments of the United Kingdom and France, with the assent of Imperial Russia, defining their respective spheres of influence and control in Western Asia after the expected downfall of the Ottoman Empire during World War I...
) decided in 1916 to draw a straight line from the Jordan heights to Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
: where the northern zone (Syria, and later the upcoming Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
) would be under French influence, and the southern zone (Iraq, and later, after renegotiations in 1917, Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
which included modern Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
) would be under British influence. Mosul was in the northern zone, and would have become a Syrian city; but early discoveries of oil in the region just before the end of the war (1918), pushed the British government to yet another negotiation with the French; to include the region of Mosul into the southern zone (or the British zone). The border line that divides the two sides has not changed since 1918, but it has helped determine the boundaries of the modern Middle East for the coming century with the creation of different countries from the Ottoman Empire.
At the end of World War I in October 1918, after the signature of the Armistice of Mudros
Armistice of Mudros
The Armistice of Moudros , concluded on 30 October 1918, ended the hostilities in the Middle Eastern theatre between the Ottoman Empire and the Allies of World War I...
, British forces occupied Mosul. After the war, the city and the surrounding area became part of the British mandate of Iraq. This mandate was contested by Turkey which continued to claim the area based on the fact that it was under Ottoman control during the signature of the Armistice. In the Treaty of Lausanne
Treaty of Lausanne
The Treaty of Lausanne was a peace treaty signed in Lausanne, Switzerland on 24 July 1923, that settled the Anatolian and East Thracian parts of the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire. The treaty of Lausanne was ratified by the Greek government on 11 February 1924, by the Turkish government on 31...
, the dispute over Mosul was left for future resolution by the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
. Iraq's possession of Mosul was confirmed by the League of Nations brokered agreement between Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
in 1926.
Some of the villages and towns around Mosul with its large Kurdish population were significantly affected by the 1991 rebellion suppression by the deposed former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, during the 1991 Kurdish-mounted, unsuccessful revolt against the regime. In the wake of the revolt's failure, a swathe of Kurdish-populated territory in the north and northeast of Iraq fell under the control of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan is a Kurdish political party in Iraqi Kurdistan. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan was founded on June 1, 1975, by coordinations between Jalal Talabani and Nawshirwan Mustafa...
and Kurdistan Democratic Party, which established autonomous (and de facto independent) rule in the region. Mosul did not fall within the Kurdish-ruled area, but it was included in the no-fly zones imposed and patrolled by the United States and Britain between 1991 and 2003.
Although this prevented Saddam's forces from mounting large-scale military operations again in the region, it did not stop the regime from implementing a steady policy of "Arabisation" by which the demography of some areas of Nineveh Governorate were gradually changed. Despite the program Mosul and its surrounding villages remained home to a mixture of Arabs, Kurds, Assyrians
Assyrian people
The Assyrian people are a distinct ethnic group whose origins lie in ancient Mesopotamia...
, Armenians, Turkmens, a few Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
, and isolated populations of Yazidi
Yazidi
The Yazidi are members of a Kurdish religion with ancient Indo-Iranian roots. They are primarily a Kurdish-speaking people living in the Mosul region of northern Iraq, with additional communities in Transcaucasia, Armenia, Turkey, and Syria in decline since the 1990s – their members emigrating to...
s and Mandeans. Saddam was able to garrison portions of the 5th Army within the Mosul city, had the international flight capable airport under military control, and recruited heavily from the city for his military's officer corps; this may be due to the fact that most of the officers and generals of the Iraqi Army were from Mosul long before the Saddam regime era.
After Saddam's fall
When the 2003 invasion of Iraq2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
was being planned, the United States had originally intended to base troops in Turkey and mount a thrust into northern Iraq to capture Mosul. However, the Turkish parliament refused to grant permission for the operation. When the war did break out in March 2003, US military activity in the area was confined to strategic bombing with airdrop
Airdrop
An airdrop is a type of airlift, developed during World War II to resupply otherwise inaccessible troops, who themselves may have been airborne forces. In some cases, it is used to refer to the airborne assault itself. Early airdrops were conducted by dropping or pushing padded bundles from...
ped special forces
Special forces
Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...
operating in the vicinity. Mosul fell on April 11, 2003, when the Iraqi Army 5th Corps, loyal to Saddam, abandoned the city and eventually surrendered, two days after the fall of Baghdad. Kurdish fighters took civil control of the city, and started what eventually became a widespread looting before agreeing to cede control to US forces.
On July 22, 2003, Saddam Hussein's sons, Uday Hussein
Uday Hussein
Uday Saddam Hussein al-Tikriti , was the eldest son of Saddam Hussein from his first wife, Sajida Talfah. He was the brother of Qusay Hussein. Uday was for several years seen as the heir apparent of his father; however, Uday lost his place in the line of succession due to his erratic behavior and...
and Qusay Hussein
Qusay Hussein
Qusay Saddam Hussein al-Tikriti was the second son of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. He was appointed as his father's heir apparent in 2000.- Family :...
, were attacked and killed by Coalition
Coalition
A coalition is a pact or treaty among individuals or groups, during which they cooperate in joint action, each in their own self-interest, joining forces together for a common cause. This alliance may be temporary or a matter of convenience. A coalition thus differs from a more formal covenant...
forces in Mosul. The brothers were killed in a gunbattle that ensued after a failed attempt at their apprehension. The city also served as the operational base for the US Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
's 101st Airborne Division
101st Airborne Division
The 101st Airborne Division—the "Screaming Eagles"—is a U.S. Army modular light infantry division trained for air assault operations. During World War II, it was renowned for its role in Operation Overlord, the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944, in Normandy, France, Operation Market Garden, the...
during the occupational phase of the Operation Iraqi Freedom
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
. During its tenure, the 101st Airborne Division was able to extensively survey the city and, advised by the 431st Civil Affairs Battalion, non-governmental organizations, and the people of Mosul, began reconstruction work by employing the people of Mosul in the areas of security, electricity, local governance, drinking water, wastewater, trash disposal, roads, bridges, and environmental concerns. Other US Army units to have occupied the city include the 4th Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Cavalry Division, the 172nd Stryker
Stryker
The IAV Stryker is a family of eight-wheeled, 4-wheel-drive , armored fighting vehicles derived from the Canadian LAV III and produced by General Dynamics Land Systems, in use by the United States Army. The vehicle is named for two American servicemen who posthumously received the Medal of Honor:...
Brigade, the 3rd Brigade-2nd Infantry Division, 18th Engineer Brigade (Combat), the 1st Brigade-25th Infantry Division, the 511th Military Police Company, the 812th Military Police Company and company-size units from Reserve components, including an element of the 364th Civil Affairs Brigade.
On June 24, 2004
24 June 2004 Mosul bombings
The 24 June 2004 Mosul bombings were a series of coordinated car bomb attacks in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, where five car bombs targeted police stations and a city hospital killing at least 62 and injuring at least 220 people, many of them Iraqi policemen.-External links:* BBC News...
, a coordinated series of car-bombs killed 62 people, many of them policemen.
In November 2004, concurrently with the US and Iraqi attack on the city of Fallujah
Fallujah
Fallujah is a city in the Iraqi province of Al Anbar, located roughly west of Baghdad on the Euphrates. Fallujah dates from Babylonian times and was host to important Jewish academies for many centuries....
, the Battle of Mosul (2004)
Battle of Mosul (2004)
The Battle for Mosul was a battle fought during the Iraq War in 2004 for the capital of the Ninawa Governorate in northern Iraq that occurred concurrently to fighting in Fallujah.- Prelude :...
began. On November 10, insurgents conducted coordinated attacks on the police stations. The policemen who were not killed in the fighting fled the city, leaving Mosul without any civil police force for about a month. However, soon after the insurgents' campaign to overrun the city had begun, elements from the 25th Infantry Division and components from the Multinational force composed mainly of Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
n forces, took the offensive and began to maneuver into the most dangerous parts of the city. Fighting continued well into the 11th with the insurgents on the defensive and US forces scouring neighborhoods for any resistance.
Halliburton
Halliburton is the world's second largest oilfield services corporation with operations in more than 70 countries. It has hundreds of subsidiaries, affiliates, branches, brands and divisions worldwide and employs over 50,000 people....
, and four Iraqi soldiers were killed in a suicide attack on a dining hall at the Forward Operating Base
Forward Operating Base
A forward operating base is any secured forward military position, commonly a military base, that is used to support tactical operations. A FOB may or may not contain an airfield, hospital, or other facilities. The base may be used for an extended period of time. FOBs are traditionally supported...
(FOB) Marez next to the main US military airfield at Mosul. The Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
reported that 72 other personnel were injured in the attack carried out by a suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest and the uniform of the Iraqi security services. The Islamic terrorist group Army of Ansar al-Sunna (partly evolved from Ansar al-Islam
Ansar al-Islam
Ansar al-Islam is a Sunni Islamist group of Iraqis, promoting a radical interpretation of Islam, close to the official Saudi ideology of Wahhabism with strict application of Sharia. The group was formed in the northern provinces of Iraq near the Iranian border, and previously had established...
) declared responsibility for the attack in an Internet statement.
In early 2005, the head of Mosul's anti-corruption unit, Gen. Waleed Kashmoula, was killed by a bomb which exploded outside his office. In October 2005, the Iraq Interior Department attempted to fire the police chief of Mosul. Mosul Sunni leaders saw it as a Kurdish attempt to seize control over the police. In the end the police chief was replaced by a Sunni Arab, MG Wathiq Al Hamdani, who is a city resident.
In December 2007, Iraq reopened the airport in Mosul. An Iraqi Airways
Iraqi Airways
Iraqi Airways Company, operating as Iraqi Airways , is the national carrier of Iraq, headquartered on the grounds of Baghdad International Airport in Baghdad. One of the oldest airlines in the Middle East, Iraqi Airways operates domestic and regional service...
flight carried 152 Hajj
Hajj
The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...
pilgrims to Baghdad, the first commercial flight since US forces declared a no-fly zone in 1993, although further commercial flight remained prohibited. On January 23, 2008, an explosion in an apartment building killed 36 people. The following day, a suicide bomber dressed as a police officer assassinated the local police chief, Brig. Gen. Salah Mohammed al-Jubouri, the director of police for Ninevah province, as he toured the site of the blast.
After November 2004, the city of Mosul suffered tremendously due to deteriorated security conditions (including military actions as well as threats and killing of innocent civilians by terrorists and criminals), unprecedented violence levels (especially on ethnic bases), continuous destruction of the main infrastructures of the city, and neglect and mismanagement by the occupation forces, by the Nineveh Governerate Council, by multiple political parties as well as by the central Iraqi Government in Baghdad.
All these factors deprived the city of its historical, scientific, and intellectual foundations in the last 4 years, when a great lot of scientists, professors, academics, doctors, health professionals, engineers, lawyers, journalists, religious clergy (both Muslims and Christians), historians, as well as the professionals and artists in all walks of life, were either killed or forced to leave the city under the threat of being shot, exactly as it happened elsewhere in Iraq in the years following 2003.
On May 10, 2008, a military offensive was launched by US-backed Iraqi Army Forces led by Maj. Gen. Riyadh Jalal Tawfiq, the commander of military operations in Mosul, in the hope of bringing back stability and security to the city.
Though the representatives of Mosul in the Iraqi Parliament, the intellectuals of the city, and other concerned humanitarian groups agreed on the pressing need for a solution to the unbearable conditions of the city, they still believe that the solution is merely political and administrative. They are also questioning whether such a large scale military offensive will spare the lives of innocent people.
In 2008, many Assyrian Christians (about 12,000) fled the city following a wave of murders and threats
2008 attacks on Christians in Mosul
2008 attacks on Christians in Mosul was a series of attacks which targeted the Christians Mosul, Iraq. The Christians of Mosul which were already targeted during the Iraq War left the city en masse heading to Assyrian Christian villages in Nineveh Plains and Iraqi Kurdistan.Both Sunni extremists,...
against their community. The murder of a dozen Assyrians, threats that others would be murdered unless they converted to Islam and the destruction of their houses sparked a rapid exodus of the Christian population. Some families crossed the borders to Syria and Turkey while others were given shelter in churches and monasteries. Accusations and blames were exchanged between Sunni fundamentalists and some Kurdish groups for being behind this new exodus. For the time being the motivation of these acts is unclear, but some claims linked it to the imminent provincial elections which took place in January 2009, and the related Assyrian Christians' demands for broader representation in the provincial councils.
An investigation in 2009 pointed out that more than 2,500 Kurd
Kürd
Kürd or Kyurd or Kyurt may refer to:*Kürd Eldarbəyli, Azerbaijan*Kürd Mahrızlı, Azerbaijan*Kürd, Goychay, Azerbaijan*Kürd, Jalilabad, Azerbaijan*Kürd, Qabala, Azerbaijan*Qurdbayram, Azerbaijan...
s had been killed and more than 40 families displaced in Mosul since 2003. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan is a Kurdish political party in Iraqi Kurdistan. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan was founded on June 1, 1975, by coordinations between Jalal Talabani and Nawshirwan Mustafa...
blames Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
and former Ba'ath Party's. Despite all the odds, the citizens of Mosul have vowed to bring stability and prosperity to Mosul, to rebuild the city, and to regain its historical and cultural roles as one of the three major cities in Iraq and one of the first historic metropolitan areas in the world.
Demographics
Tigris
The Tigris River is the eastern member of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of southeastern Turkey through Iraq.-Geography:...
. Across the Tigris and further north in the suburban areas, thousands of Assyrians
Assyrian people
The Assyrian people are a distinct ethnic group whose origins lie in ancient Mesopotamia...
, Kurds, Turkmens
Iraqi Turkmen
The Iraqi Turkmen are an ethnic group who mainly reside in northern Iraq. Estimates of their numbers vary dramatically, in accordance with Iraq's assimilation policies no realistic and independent census results have been revealed regarding the Iraqi Turkmen population...
, Shabak
Shabak people
Shabak people are an ethnic and religious minority group living in northern Iraq, who live mainly in the villages of Ali Rash, Khazna, Yangidja, and Tallara in Sinjar district in the province of Ninawa in northern Iraq. Their language, Shabaki, is a Northwestern Iranian language very close to...
s and Armenian
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
s, make up the rest of Mosul's population. Sunni Arabs make up the majority of the city's population. Sunni Kurds, Yezidi Kurds, Turkmens and Assyrians are also present. Shabaks
Shabak people
Shabak people are an ethnic and religious minority group living in northern Iraq, who live mainly in the villages of Ali Rash, Khazna, Yangidja, and Tallara in Sinjar district in the province of Ninawa in northern Iraq. Their language, Shabaki, is a Northwestern Iranian language very close to...
are concentrated on the eastern outskirts of the city.
The population of Mosul has progressively become a mixture of Arabs, Armenians
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
, Assyrians, Kurds, Turkmens, The Arabization plans were counteracted in the 1980s by former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
and his Baath party
Baath Party
The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party was a political party mixing Arab nationalist and Arab socialist interests, opposed to Western imperialism, and calling for the renaissance or resurrection and unification of the Arab world into a single state. Ba'ath is also spelled Ba'th or Baath and means...
, which forced some of those minorities to move outside the city, back into Kurdish regions.
The city is close to the Kurdish regions
Iraqi Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan or Kurdistan Region is an autonomous region of Iraq. It borders Iran to the east, Turkey to the north, Syria to the west and the rest of Iraq to the south. The regional capital is Arbil, known in Kurdish as Hewlêr...
of Iraq. Kurdish fighters
Peshmerga
Peshmerga or Peshmerge is the term used by Kurds to refer to armed Kurdish fighters. Literally meaning "those who face death" the Peshmerga forces of Kurdistan have been in existence since the advent of the Kurdish independence movement in the early 1920s, following the collapse of the Ottoman...
have been moving into the city since the fall of the Ba'ath government, causing some tensions with the Sunni Arabs of the city. Clashes erupted in recent months, between Sunni Arabs in Mosul and Kurdish fighters entering the city from the Kurdish regional governorates.
Religion
The majority of people in Mosul are Sunni Muslims, though Mosul had a proportion of AssyrianAssyrian people
The Assyrian people are a distinct ethnic group whose origins lie in ancient Mesopotamia...
Christians who also have a presence in the villages around of Mosul in ancient Nineveh since the foundation of the city (majority follow the Chaldean Catholic Church
Chaldean Catholic Church
The Chaldean Catholic Church , is an Eastern Syriac particular church of the Catholic Church, maintaining full communion with the Bishop of Rome and the rest of the Catholic Church...
, the Syriac Catholic Church
Syriac Catholic Church
The Syriac Catholic Church is a Christian church in the Levant having practices and rites in common with the Syriac Orthodox Church. They are one of the Eastern Catholic Churches following the Antiochene rite, the Syriac tradition of Antioch, along with the Maronites and Syro-Malankara Christians...
and the Syriac Orthodox Church
Syriac Orthodox Church
The Syriac Orthodox Church; is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church based in the Eastern Mediterranean, with members spread throughout the world. The Syriac Orthodox Church claims to derive its origin from one of the first Christian communities, established in Antioch by the Apostle St....
, and a minority follow the Assyrian Church of the East
Assyrian Church of the East
The Assyrian Church of the East, officially the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East ʻIttā Qaddishtā w-Shlikhāitā Qattoliqi d-Madnĕkhā d-Āturāyē), is a Syriac Church historically centered in Mesopotamia. It is one of the churches that claim continuity with the historical...
).
There is also a number of Arab Christians
Arab Christians
Arab Christians are ethnic Arabs of Christian faith, sometimes also including those, who are identified with Arab panethnicity. They are the remnants of ancient Arab Christian clans or Arabized Christians. Many of the modern Arab Christians are descendants of pre-Islamic Christian Arabian tribes,...
which belong to the Greek Orthodox Church
Greek Orthodox Church
The Greek Orthodox Church is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity sharing a common cultural tradition whose liturgy is also traditionally conducted in Koine Greek, the original language of the New Testament...
, Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, some follow Chaldean Catholic Church
Chaldean Catholic Church
The Chaldean Catholic Church , is an Eastern Syriac particular church of the Catholic Church, maintaining full communion with the Bishop of Rome and the rest of the Catholic Church...
and Syriac Orthodox Church
Syriac Orthodox Church
The Syriac Orthodox Church; is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church based in the Eastern Mediterranean, with members spread throughout the world. The Syriac Orthodox Church claims to derive its origin from one of the first Christian communities, established in Antioch by the Apostle St....
, and have a number of protestant churches.
Other religions, such as Yazidi
Yazidi
The Yazidi are members of a Kurdish religion with ancient Indo-Iranian roots. They are primarily a Kurdish-speaking people living in the Mosul region of northern Iraq, with additional communities in Transcaucasia, Armenia, Turkey, and Syria in decline since the 1990s – their members emigrating to...
, Yarsan and Mandean religions also call Mosul home.
Long before the Muslim conquest of the 7th century, the old city Nineveh was Christianized
Christianization
The historical phenomenon of Christianization is the conversion of individuals to Christianity or the conversion of entire peoples at once...
when the Assyrians converted to Christianity during the 1st and 2nd centuries.
Despite institutional ethnic persecution by various political powers, including the Ba'ath Party regime, Mosul has maintained a multicultural and multi-religious mosaic. The difficult history of Mosul, however, still contributes to tensions among its modern inhabitants.
Mosul had a Jewish population. Like most Iraqi Jews, most left in 1950–51. A larger number may have converted to Islam in the past century but some traditions have been retained. It is very difficult to give a reliable estimate of the Jewish population in Iraq because of the remaining Jews have adapted to the Islamic culture. Most Iraqi Jews have moved to Israel, some to the United States. A rabbi in the American army found an abandoned, dilapidated synagogue in Mosul dating back to the 13th century.
Language
The Arabic of Mosul is considered to be much softer in its pronunciation than that of BaghdadBaghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
, bearing considerable resemblance to Levantine
Levantine Arabic
Levantine Arabic is a broad variety of Arabic spoken in the 100 to 200 km-wide Eastern Mediterranean coastal strip...
dialects, particularily Aleppan
Aleppo
Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...
Arabic. Iraqis sometimes describe it as the 'feminine version' of Iraqi Arabic
Iraqi Arabic
Iraqi Arabic is a continuum of mutually intelligible Arabic varieties native to the Mesopotamian basin of Iraq as well as spanning into eastern and northern Syria, western Iran, southeastern Turkey, and spoken in respective Iraqi diaspora communities.-Varieties:Iraqi Arabic has two major varieties...
.
Mosul Arabic is influenced largely by the languages of every ethnic minority group co-existing in the city: Kurds
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
, Turkmen
Turkmen people
The Turkmen are a Turkic people located primarily in the Central Asian states of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and northeastern Iran. They speak the Turkmen language, which is classified as a part of the Western Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages family together with Turkish, Azerbaijani, Qashqai,...
, Armenians
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
, Assyrians, Chaldeans, as well as others -- thus infusing Kurmanji Kurdish
Kurdish language
Kurdish is a dialect continuum spoken by the Kurds in western Asia. It is part of the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian group of Indo-European languages....
, Turkmen
Turkmen language
Turkmen is the national language of Turkmenistan...
, Armenian
Armenian language
The Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora...
, and Neo-Aramaic. Each minority language is respectively spoken along side Arabic.
Arabic is the lingua franca
Lingua franca
A lingua franca is a language systematically used to make communication possible between people not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both mother tongues.-Characteristics:"Lingua franca" is a functionally defined term, independent of the linguistic...
of communication, education, business, and official work to the majority of the city's residents. Upper class and university-educated residents usually have varying degrees of proficiency in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
as well.
Climate
Mosul experiences a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classificationKöppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
BSh) with extremely hot, almost rainless summers and cool, rainy winters. Mosul, although not at a particularly high elevation, still receives much more rain than most of Iraq. Rainfall is close to 3 times that of Baghdad and over twice that of Basra, despite being much further from the Persian Gulf than either. The Kurdish regions to the north are even wetter.
Sports
The city has one footballFootball (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
team competing in the top-flight of Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
i football – Mosul FC
Mosul FC
Mosul football club is an Iraqi football club based in Mosul. The club only signs players from Mosul.-Iraqi Premier League Withdrawal:In the Iraqi Premier League 2007–08 season, Mosul FC withdrew for security reasons. Hence they came back to the Iraqi Premier League without playing in the lower...
, currently playing in the Iraqi premier League. Another team from the region, Al-Hadba FC, plays in second league.
Mosul FC was founded in 1947 and represents the entire Ninevah province in Iraq, but due to lack of funding it withdrew from the league in the 2008/2009 season. On the 28 May 2010, Mosul FC beat the Iraqi champions Arbil, in front of a full crowd at the Al Mosul University Stadium by a single goal scored by Anmar Ismaeil.
Sports venues
Football stadium- Mosul Stadium
Opened in 1964, this is currently the main stadium in the province, and is the home of Mosul FC
Mosul FC
Mosul football club is an Iraqi football club based in Mosul. The club only signs players from Mosul.-Iraqi Premier League Withdrawal:In the Iraqi Premier League 2007–08 season, Mosul FC withdrew for security reasons. Hence they came back to the Iraqi Premier League without playing in the lower...
. It has a capacity of 10,000. As the stadium is not safe for use, the Mosul FC plays their home games in the Al Mosul University Stadium
Al Mosul University Stadium
Al Mosul University Stadium, is a multi-use stadium in Mosul, Iraq. It is currently used mostly for football matches and serves as the home stadium of Mosul FC. The stadium holds 20,000 people....
.
- Al Mosul University StadiumAl Mosul University StadiumAl Mosul University Stadium, is a multi-use stadium in Mosul, Iraq. It is currently used mostly for football matches and serves as the home stadium of Mosul FC. The stadium holds 20,000 people....
The al Mosul University Stadium is a multi-use stadium. It is currently used mostly for football matches and serves as the home stadium of Mosul FC. The stadium holds 20,000 people.
Education
The city's largest universityUniversity
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
, the University of Mosul
University of Mosul
The University of Mosul is a public university located in Mosul, Iraq. It is one of the largest educational and research centers in the Middle East.- Academic program :...
was founded on 1 April 1967, by merging with College of Medicine which was opened in 1959.
Health
Health in Mosul is directed by Nineveh Health Directorate which is related to Iraqi Ministry of Health. The most important hospitals in Mosul are: Al Jamhuri hospital, Ibn seena hospital, Al Khansaa teaching hospital, Al-Salam teaching hospital, Ibn Alatheer hospital, Mosul General hospital, Al Batool hospital, Oncology and Nuclear medicine hospital, Al Shifaa hospital for infections. Other hospitals in Nineveh governorate are Telafer general hospital, Al-Hamdania hospital, Sinjar general hospital, Baaj hospital.Main sights
Mosul is rich in old historical places and ancient buildings: mosques, castles, churches, monasteries, and schools, many of which have architectural features and decorative work of significance. The town center is dominated by a maze of streets and attractive 19th century houses. There are old houses here of beauty. The markets are particularly interesting not simply for themselves alone but for the mixture of types who jostle there: Arabs, Kurds, Assyrians, Turcoman, Armenians, Yazidi, Mandeans, Roma and Shabaks.The Mosul Museum
Mosul Museum
The Mosul Museum is a museum located in Mosul, Iraq. It was badly looted during 2003 Iraq War....
contains many interesting finds from the ancient sites of the old Assyrian capital cities Nineveh and Nimrud
Nimrud
Nimrud is an ancient Assyrian city located south of Nineveh on the river Tigris in modern Ninawa Governorate Iraq. In ancient times the city was called Kalḫu. The Arabs called the city Nimrud after the Biblical Nimrod, a legendary hunting hero .The city covered an area of around . Ruins of the city...
. The Mosul Museum is a fair, olden building, around a courtyard and with an impressive facade of Mosul marble containing displays of Mosul life depicted in tableau form.
The famous English writer, Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
, lived in Mosul whilst her second husband, an archaeologist, was involved in the excavation in Nimrud
Nimrud
Nimrud is an ancient Assyrian city located south of Nineveh on the river Tigris in modern Ninawa Governorate Iraq. In ancient times the city was called Kalḫu. The Arabs called the city Nimrud after the Biblical Nimrod, a legendary hunting hero .The city covered an area of around . Ruins of the city...
.
Mosques and shrines
- Umayyad Mosque: The first ever in the city, built in 640 AD by Utba bin Farqad Al-Salami after he conquered Mosul in the reign of Caliph Umar ibn Al-Khattab. The only original part still extant is the remarkably elaborate brickwork 52m high minaretMinaretA minaret مناره , sometimes مئذنه) is a distinctive architectural feature of Islamic mosques, generally a tall spire with an onion-shaped or conical crown, usually either free standing or taller than any associated support structure. The basic form of a minaret includes a base, shaft, and gallery....
that leans like the Tower of Pisa, called Al-Hadba (The Humped). - The Great (Nuriddin) Mosque: Built by Nuriddin Zangi in 1172 AD next door to the Umayyad Mosque. Ibn BattutaIbn BattutaAbu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Battuta , or simply Ibn Battuta, also known as Shams ad–Din , was a Muslim Moroccan Berber explorer, known for his extensive travels published in the Rihla...
(the great Moroccan traveller) found a marble fountain there and a mihrab (the niche that indicates the direction of MeccaMeccaMecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
) with a Kufic inscription.
- Mosque of the Prophet Yunus or Younis (JonahJonahJonah is the name given in the Hebrew Bible to a prophet of the northern kingdom of Israel in about the 8th century BC, the eponymous central character in the Book of Jonah, famous for being swallowed by a fish or a whale, depending on translation...
): On one of the two most prominent mounds of Nineveh ruins, rises the MosqueMosqueA mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
(a Nestorian-Assyrian Church ear) of ProphetProphetIn religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
Younis "Biblical JonahJonahJonah is the name given in the Hebrew Bible to a prophet of the northern kingdom of Israel in about the 8th century BC, the eponymous central character in the Book of Jonah, famous for being swallowed by a fish or a whale, depending on translation...
". Jonah the son of AmittaiAmittai- In Islam :Amittai is also mentioned in Islam in Prophet Muhammad's Hadith, in which Muhammad emphasizes upon the belief that all prophets are equal in their importance and greatness:...
, from the 8th century BC, is believed to be buried here, where King Esarhaddon had once built a palace. It is one of the most important mosques in Mosul and one of the few historic mosques that are found on the east side of the city. - Mujahidi Mosque: The mosque dates back to 12th century AD, and is distinguished for its shen dome and elaborately wrought mihrabMihrabA mihrab is semicircular niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the qibla; that is, the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca and hence the direction that Muslims should face when praying...
. - Mosque of the Prophet Jerjis (Georges): The mosque is believed to be the burial place of Prophet Jerjis. Built of marble with shen reliefs and renovated last in 1393 AD. It was mentioned by the explorer Ibn Jubair in the 12th century AD, and is believed also to embrace the tomb of Al-Hur bin Yousif.
- Mashad Yahya Abul Kassem: On the right bank of the Tigris, known for its conical dome, decorative brickwork and calligraphy engraved in Mosul blue marble, 13th century.
- Bash Tapia Castle: Mosul's old walls have disappeared, with the exception of these imposing ruins a'rising high over the Tigris.
- Qara Serai (The Black Palace): The remnants of the 13th century palace of Sultan Badruddin Lu'lu'.
Churches and monasteries
Mosul has the highest proportion of Assyrian Christians of all the Iraqi cities, and contains several interesting old churches, some of which originally date back to the early centuries of Christianity. Its ancient Assyrian churches are often hidden and their entrances in thick walls are not easy to find. Some of them have suffered from overmuch restoration.- Shamoun Al-Safa (St. Peter, Mar Petros): The oldest church in Mosul, it dates from the 13th century and named after Shamoun Al-Safa or St. Peter (Mar Petros in Assyrian Aramaic). Early, it had the name of the two Apostles, Peter and Paul, and had early been inhabited by the nuns of the Sacred Hearts.
- Church of St. Thomas (Mar Touma in Assyrian Aramaic): One of the oldest historical churches, named after St. Thomas the Apostle who preached the Gospel in the East, including India. The exact time of its foundation is unknown, but it can be assumed that it dates yester 770 AD, since Al-Mahdi, the Abbasid Caliph, is mentioned as listening to a grievance concerning this church on his trip to Mosul.
- Mar Petion Church: Mar Petion, educated by his cousin in a monastery, was martyred in 446 AD. It is the first Chaldean Catholic church in Mosul, after the union of many Assyrians with Rome in the 17th century. It dates back to the 10th century, and lies 3 m below street level. This church suffered destruction, and it has been reconstructed many times. A hall has been built on one of its three parts in 1942. As a result, most of artistic features have been confused.
- Ancient Tahira Church (The Immaculate): Near Bash Tapia, considered one of the most ancient churches in Mosul. No evidence helps to determine its exact area. It could be either the remnants of the church of the Upper Monastery or the ruined Mar Zena Church. Al-Tahira Church dates back to the 7th century, and it lies 3 m below street. Reconstructed last in 1743.
- Mar Hudeni Church: It was named after Mar Ahudemmeh (Hudeni) Maphrian of Tikrit who martyred in 575 AD. Mar Hudeni is an old church of the Tikritans in Mosul. It dates back to the 10th century, lies 7 m below street and was first reconstructed in 1970. People can get mineral water from the well in its yard. The chain, fixed in the wall, is thought to cure epileptics.
- St. George's Monastery (Mar Gurguis): One of the oldest churches in Mosul, named after St. George, located to the north of Mosul, was probably built late in the 17th century. Pilgrims from different parts of the North visit it yearly in the spring, when many people also go out to its whereabouts on holiday. It is about 6 m below street. A modern church was built over the old one in 1931, abolishing much of its archeological significance. The only monuments left are a marble door-frame decorated with a carved Estrangelo (Syriac) inscription, and two niches, which date back to the 13th or 14th century.
- Mar MatteMar MatteMar Matti Monastery is located atop Mount Maqloub in northern Iraq. About 20 kilometers from Mosul, Mar Matti was founded in AD 363 by a Syriac Christian called Matti who was fleeing persecution from Amid to nearby Nineveh in Asuristan Matti joined a mostly Nestorian population that had a small...
: This famous monastery is situated about 20 km east of Mosul on the top of a high mountain (Mount Maqloub). It was built by Mar Matte, a monk who fled with several other monks in 362 AD from the Monastery of Zuknin near the City of Amid (DiyarbakirDiyarbakirDiyarbakır is one of the largest cities in southeastern Turkey...
) in the southern part of Asia Minor (modern Turkey) and the north of Iraq during the reign of Emperor Julian the Apostate (361–363 AD). It has a precious library containing Syrianic scriptures. - Monastery of Mar Behnam: Also called Deir Al-Jubb (The Cistern Monastery) and built in the 12th or 13th century, it lies in the Nineveh Plain near Nimrud about 32 km southwest of Mosul. The monastery, a great fort-like building, rises next to the tomb of Mar Behnam, a prince who was killed by the Sassanians, perhaps during the 4th century AD. A legend made him a son of an Assyrian king.
- St. Elijah's MonasteryDair Mar Elia (Saint Elijah's Monastery)Dair Mar Elia is an abandoned Christian monastery, the oldest in Iraq, dating from the 6th century. It is located in the Ninawa Governorate just south of Mosul....
(Dair Mar Elia): The oldest Christian Monastery in Iraq, it dates from the 6th century.
Other Christian historical buildings:
- The Roman Catholic Church (built by the Dominican Fathers in Nineveh Street in 1893)
- Mar Michael
- Mar Elias
- Mar Oraha
- Rabban Hormizd MonasteryRabban Hormizd MonasteryRabban Hormizd Monastery is an important monastery of the Chaldean Church. It is carved out in the mountains about 2 miles from Alqosh, Iraq, 28 miles north of Mosul...
, the monastery of Notre-Dame des Semences, near the Assyrian town of AlqoshAlqoshAlqōsh or Alqūsh is one of the most famous Assyrian towns of the mainly East Syrian rite in Iraq. It is located north of Mosul. The name Alqosh is derived from an Akkadian name Eil-Kushtu, where "Eil" means God and "Kushtu" means righteousness or power...
Painting
The so-called Mosul School of Painting refers to a style of miniature painting that developed in northern Iraq in the late 12th to early 13th century under the patronage of the Zangid dynasty (1127–1222). In technique and style the Mosul school was similar to the painting of the SeljuqGreat Seljuq Empire
The Great Seljuq Empire was a medieval Persianate, Turko-Persian Sunni Muslim empire, originating from the Qynyq branch of Oghuz Turks. The Seljuq Empire controlled a vast area stretching from the Hindu Kush to eastern Anatolia and from Central Asia to the Persian Gulf...
Turks, who controlled Iraq at that time, but the Mosul artists had a sharper sense of realism based on the subject matter and degree of detail in the painting rather than on representation in three dimensions, which did not occur. Most of the Mosul iconography was Seljuq – for example, the use of figures seated cross-legged in a frontal position. Certain symbolic elements however, such as the crescent and serpents, were derived from the classical Mesopotamian repertory.
Most Mosul paintings were illustrations of manuscripts—mainly scientific works, animal books, and lyric poetry. A frontispiece
Book frontispiece
A frontispiece is a decorative illustration facing a book's title page. The frontispiece is the verso opposite the recto title page. Elaborate engraved frontispieces were in frequent use, especially in Bibles and in scholarly books, and many are masterpieces of engraving...
painting, now held in the Bibliothèque National, Paris, dating from a late 12th century copy of Galen
Galen
Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus , better known as Galen of Pergamon , was a prominent Roman physician, surgeon and philosopher...
's medical treatise, the Kitab al-diriyak ("Book of Antidotes"), is a good example of the earlier work of the Mosul school. It depicts four figures surrounding a central, seated figure who holds a crescent-shaped halo. The painting is in a variety of whole hues; reds, blues, greens, and gold. The Küfic
Kufic
Kufic is the oldest calligraphic form of the various Arabic scripts and consists of a modified form of the old Nabataean script. Its name is derived from the city of Kufa, Iraq, although it was known in Mesopotamia at least 100 years before the foundation of Kufa. At the time of the emergence of...
lettering is blue. The total effect is best described as majestic. Another mid-13th century frontispiece held in the Nationalbibliothek
Austrian National Library
The Austrian National Library , is the largest library in Austria, with 7.4 million items in its collections. It is located in the Hofburg Palace in Vienna; since 2005 some of the collections are located in the baroque Palais Mollard-Clary...
, Vienna, to another copy of the same text suggests the quality of later Mosul painting. There is realism in its depiction of the preparation of a ruler's meal and of horsemen engaged in various activities, and the painting is as hueredful as that of the early Mosul school, yet it is somehow less spirited. The composition is more elaborate but less successful. By this time the Baghdad school, which combined the styles of the Syrian and early Mosul schools, had begun to dominate. With the invasion of the Mongols in the mid-13th century, the Mosul school came to an end, but its achievements were influential in both the Mamluk and the Mongol schools of miniature painting.
Metalwork
Starting from the 13th-century, metal craftsmen centred in Mosul influenced the metalwork of the Islamic world from North Africa to eastern Iran. Under the active patronage of the Zangid dynasty, the Mosul School developed an extraordinarily refined technique of inlay—particularly in silver—far overshadowing the earlier work of the SāmānidSamanid
The Samani dynasty , also known as the Samanid Empire, or simply Samanids was a Persian state and empire in Central Asia and Greater Iran, named after its founder Saman Khuda, who converted to Sunni Islam despite being from Zoroastrian theocratic nobility...
s in Persia and the Būyids in Iraq.
Mosul craftsmen used both gold and silver for inlay on bronze and brass. After delicate engraving had prepared the surface of the piece, strips of gold and silver were worked so carefully that not the slightest irregularity appeared in the whole of the elaborate design. The technique was carried by Mosul metalworkers to Aleppo
Aleppo
Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...
, Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
, Baghdad, Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, and Persia; a class of similar metalwork from these centres is called Mosul bronzes.
Among the most famous surviving Mosul pieces is a brass ewer inlaid with silver from 1232, and now in the British Museum, by the artist Shujā’ ibn Mana. The ewer features representational as well as abstract design, depicting battle scenes, animals and musicians within medallions. Mosul metalworkers also created pieces for Eastern Christians. A candlestick of this variety from 1238 and housed in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, attributed to Dà’ūd ibn Salamah of Mosul, is bronze with silver inlay. It displays the familiar medallions but is also engraved with scenes showing Christ as a child. Rows of standing figures, probably saints, decorate the base. The background is decorated with typically Islamic vine scrolls and intricate arabesques, giving the piece a unique look.
Notable births
- Kathem Al SaherKathem Al SaherKadim Al Sahir , is an Iraqi singer, composer, and poet. He has been dubbed the "Caesar of Arabic Song", "George Michael of the Arab world", "Iraq’s Diplomatic Ambassador to the world", and "Iraq’s Ambassador for Peace"....
, Iraqi pop singer, songwriter, and musician - Salah al-Din al-SabbaghSalah al-Din al-SabbaghSalah al-Din al-Sabbagh was an Iraqi Army officer and Arab nationalist that led the Golden Square group which had opposed the government at the time and had highly influenced politics between the years of 1939 to 1941.-Early life and career:...
, Iraqi Army officer - Paulos Faraj RahhoPaulos Faraj RahhoArchbishop Mar Paulos Faraj Rahho was the Chaldean Catholic Archeparch of Mosul, in the northern part of Iraq.Also known as Paul Faraj Rahho and Paulos Faradsch Raho he was born into an ethnic Assyrian family, he lived almost his entire life in Mosul, Iraq, which has a long established community...
, Assyrian Chaldean Archbishop of Mosul, assassinated, late February or early March 2008 - Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-YawerGhazi Mashal Ajil al-YawerGhazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawar is an Iraqi political figure. He was a Vice President of Iraq under the Iraqi Transitional Government from 2005 to 2006, and was Acting President of Iraq under the Iraqi Interim Government from 2004 to 2005....
, Interim President of Iraq during 2004–2005 - Munir BashirMunir BashirMunir Bashir was an Assyrian musician in Iraq and one of the most famous musicians in the Middle East during the 20th century and was considered to be the supreme master of the Arab maqamat scale system....
, Assyrian musician and famous musician in the Mideast during the 20th century - Asenath BarzaniAsenath BarzaniTanna’it Asenath Barzani was a renowned Kurdish Jewish woman who lived in Mosul, Iraq. She was the daughter of the illustrious Rabbi Samuel Barzani. She studied Kabbalah.-The life of Tanna’it Asenath:...
, first Jewish female rabbi - Taha Yassin RamadanTaha Yassin RamadanTaha Yasin Ramadan al-Jizrawi was a prominent Iraqi Kurd, serving as Vice President of Iraq from March 1991 to the fall of Saddam Hussein in April 2003....
, former Vice President of Iraq - Hormuzd RassamHormuzd RassamHormuzd Rassam , was a native Assyrian Assyriologist, British diplomat and traveller who made a number of important discoveries, including the clay tablets that contained the Epic of Gilgamesh, the world's oldest literature...
, Assyrian Assyriologist and diplomat - Hawar Mulla MohammedHawar Mulla MohammedHawar Mulla Mohammed Taher Zebari is an Iraqi Kurdish football player, who plays as Winger and Wingback positions for Zob Ahan in Iran. Hawar is known to be one of the best players in Iraqi national team and was a key figure in Iraq 2007 Asian Cup glory...
, Iraqi soccer player for the national team - Ignatius Zakka I, Patriarch of Antioch and all east
See also
- Chaldean Catholic Archeparchy of MosulChaldean Catholic Archeparchy of MosulThe Chaldean Catholic Archeparchy of Mosul is an Eastern sui juris particular church of the Catholic Church, located in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. Its followers are ethnic Assyrians and speakers of Aramaic. The diocese comprises the city of Mosul. The territory is subdivided in 12 parishes...
- Al-MishraqAl-MishraqAl-Mishraq is a state run sulfur plant near Mosul, Iraq. In June 2003, it was the site of the largest man-made release of sulfur dioxide ever recorded when a fire gained control and burned for almost a month. At its height, the fire was putting 21,000 tonnes of sulfur dioxide a day into the...
, site of 2003 sulfur dioxideSulfur dioxideSulfur dioxide is the chemical compound with the formula . It is released by volcanoes and in various industrial processes. Since coal and petroleum often contain sulfur compounds, their combustion generates sulfur dioxide unless the sulfur compounds are removed before burning the fuel...
disaster - List of Emirs of Mosul
- List of places in Iraq
- Mosul International AirportMosul International AirportMosul International Airport is an airport located at Mosul, Iraq, with a concrete runway. It became a civil airport in 1992 with the construction of a new terminal...
- Nineveh plainsNineveh plainsNineveh plains is a region in the Ninawa Governorate of Iraq to the north and west of the city Mosul. The area generally consists of three districts; Tel Keppe, Al-Hamdaniya, and Al-Shikhan...
- Tel KeppeTel KeppeTel Keppe , is one of the largest formerly Assyrian towns in Iraq. It is located in the Ninawa Governorate, less than 8 miles North East of Mosul in northern Iraq.-Etymology:...
External links
- Iraq Image – Mosul Satellite Observation
- Detailed map of Mosul by the National Imagery and Mapping Agency, from lib.utexas.edu
