A medieval city within Assyrian walls: the continuity of the town of Arbil in Northern Mesopotamia

0421473 - OÚ 2014 RIV GB eng J - Journal Article
Nováček, K. - Amin, A.M. - Melčák, Miroslav
A medieval city within Assyrian walls: the continuity of the town of Arbil in Northern Mesopotamia.
Iraq. Roč. 75, autumn (2013), s. 1-42. ISSN 0021-0889
Institutional support: RVO:68378009
Keywords : medieval Arbil * North Mesopotamia * topography * remote sensing * archeology
Subject RIV: AC - Archeology, Anthropology, Ethnology

This study presents a first attempt at an archaeological topography of the city of Arbīl (Arbela, Urbilum, Arbail). Arbīl’s large tell and citadel are among the most famous sites in northern Iraq, although research on the site has begun only recently. The study of the immediate hinterlands of the tell, complementary use of written sources, remote sensing and surveys offer a perspective on the extremely long-term evolution of the lower town, whose architectural remains have entirely disappeared under modern building development. Despite many lacunae in the data and a predominance of indirect hypotheses, the urban structure of Assyrian Arbail becomes comprehensible in the context of other Assyrian royal capitals. During the Islamic period, the city underwent a transformation, which merged the once prosperous Sasanian provincial capital with the expanding Muslim community.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0229136