 No. (6 - 7)   Sixth & Seventh year Summer 2013 A scientific Journal deals with Archaeology and Heritage Issued by Kurdistan Archaeology Syndicate Dr. Abdulla Kh. Qadir abdullahkhorsheed69@gmail.com 00964 750 4484148 Concessionaire Dr. Zidan R. Bradosty  zidanbradosty82@gmail.com 00964 750 4475998   Editor – in - Chief Editorial Manager Aram J. Hamawandy subartu82@yahoo.com  00964 750 490 2080   Editing Staff : Dr. Rafida A. Qaradaghy / Sulaimaniya University Dr. Nuhman J. Ibrahim / Salahaddin University Mr. Aziz M. Zebari / Phd Student/ Cairo University Mr. Abdulla B. Othman / Salahaddin University Mr. Jangy Z. Khdir / Salahaddin University Participats in this Vol . : - JASON UR (Harvard University -USA) - JOHN MACGINNIS (Cambridge University - UK) - KONSTANTINOS KOPANIAS (University of Athens-Greece) - Hikmat Derbaz (Leiden University – Netherland) - Xalaf Faris Tarawna (Mutah University – Jordan) - Fatima H. Al-Slity (Damascus University – Syria) - Amed  Q.  Jum’a (Mosel University – Iraq) - Archaeology Directorate of Sulaymaniyah - Iraqi institute for the Conservation of Antiquities and Heritage - Archaeology Department – Salahaddin University - Erbil Typist & Corrector Aram J. Hamawandy Technician Director Hiwa Computer Address : Kerkuk road – in front of science college – Erbil – Kurdistan (KRG) , Iraq subartojournal@gmail.com Mob. 00964 750 4475998  Subartu Journal  First Cover : Ashtar Arbila Second Cover : Qaysariya of Kifry    Contents Of The English Part Qabra In The Cuneiform Sources The Morphology Of Neo-Assyrian Cities The Tell Nader And Tell Baqrta Project In The Kurdistan Region Of Iraq:Preliminary Report Of The 2011 Season Epic Of Gilgamish The Qishla Of Koya (Field Work And Architectur Research) Contents Of The Kurdish Part The  Kassites  Boundary  Stone  (  Kudorru  )  ….  Analytical Study Reading And Transliteration Of Cuneiform Texts On Boundary Stone (Kudorru ) Of The King ( Mili-Šipak  )  ,  (1188-1174 B.C) Primary Report To Satuqala Excavation , First &Second Season ( 2010 , 2011 ) Nuzi Excavations (1925-1931) History Of Salahaddin Castle From Syria ( Sahion Castle) Restoration Of Esa Bridge The Story Of Build Khan Adila In The Village Of Qushtappeh The Qaysria Of Arbil University Research In The Field Of Archeology Contents Of The Arabic Part What Is The Myth ? Aziz M. Zebary Aram J. Hamawand Aram J. Hamawand Dlshad A. Marf Abdulla B. Othman Nuhman J. Ibrahim Kovan I. Yasen Rezan Q. Xafury Barzan R. Muhamed Zyad A. Muhammed John Macginnis Jason Ur Konstantinos Kopanias & Others Zayd Xesro Akrem Nagger Zidan Rasheed Bradosty 3 11 23 58 63 4 37 47 92 98 103 108 111 126 133 135 144 148 154 161 172 182 203 222 224 243 248 About The East Areas Of The Tigris In The Early Reign Of Shamshi Hikmat Derbaz Addo: Akhazum Kingdom Hittites And Their Role In The Historical Events In The Ancient Near Nuhman J. Ibrahim East Ashur- Nasser Pal Ii Military Campaigns On A Zamoa Region Aziz M. Zebary (Sulaymaniyah) Islamic Glass In The Abbasid Period The Azhar Mosque The Inscriptions And Decorative On The Ayubian Coins Khan Al - Wazeer From Western Kurdistan In The Aleppo Service Buildings In The Amidi, (Barrages And Bridges) Two Scenes From The City Of Amedei (Amadiyah) In Sharfnama Manuscripts Questioning Pure And Environmental Sciences From Iraqi Kurdistanarchitecture During The Islamic Period The Iraqi Antiquities Theft A Final Report On The Results Of Excavations In Tell Sitik Jamal  J.  As’ad Fatima H. Al-Slity Xalaf Faris Tarawna Zidan R. Bradosty Abdulla X. Qadir Jangy Z. Khidr Ahmad Q.  Jum’a Hamid M. Hassan Archaeology Directorate Of Sulaymaniyah         Subartu    Vol.  (6  –7)    2013   11 The  Morphology  of  Neo-­‐Assyrian  Cities     Dr.  Jason  Ur   John  L.  Loeb  Associate  Professor  of  the  Social  Sciences   Department  of  Anthropology     Harvard  University   Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  USA   jasonur@fas.harvard.edu   http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~anthro/ur         To   be   submitted   to   the   journal   Subartu.     Manuscript  date  1  June  2012.Introduction   There   is   a   great   irony   in   the   study   of   Neo-­ Assyrian   urbanism.     The   great   capital   cities   of   Nimrud,  Nineveh,  and  Khorsabad  were  the  first   to   receive   the   attention   of   what   we   might   call   professional   archaeologists.     In   the   following   century   and   a   half,   these   and   other   great   Assyrian   cities   have   continued   to   be   investigated   by   generations   of   now-­legendary   scholars   (Larsen   1996).     Initially   this   was   a   colonial   undertaking,  but  in  the  latter  twentieth   century,   Iraqis   became   active   in   writing   their   own   history,   and   when   they   did   so,   they   too   singled   out   the   great   Assyrian   capitals   and   are   responsible   for   some   of   the   most   spectacular   finds   of   recent   decades   (Hussein   and   Suleiman   2000).   Despite   this   long   and   distinguished   history   of   scholarship,   we   know   remarkably   little   about   Assyrian   cities,   especially   the   imperial   capitals.     The   reason   for   this   situation   stems   from   the   nature   of   the   investigations.     The   excavators’   concerns   revolved   almost   entirely   around   the   apex   of   the   political   hierarchy:   the   kings   and   their   immediate   institutions.     In   this,   they   were   all   remarkably   successful.     Entire   volumes   can   be   written   about   palaces,   their   decorative   programs,   temples,   and   the   matters   of   concern   to   the   individuals   that   inhabited   them  (e.g.,  Russell  1991).    The  attitude  of  early   excavators  to  the  non-­elite  parts  of  the  towns  is     Subartu    Vol.  (6  –7)    2013   typified   by   this   passage   by   American   archaeologists  at  Khorsabad:   Three   campaigns   in   the   town   have   accordingly   now   been   completed,   and,   while   we  do  not  claim  to  have  ‘exhausted’  the  site  by   any   means,   we   do   believe   that   further   digging   would   only   produce   results   incommensurate   with   their   cost   in   contributing   to   our   knowledge   of   this   period.     The   city   is   approximately   a   mile   square   and   was   in   all   probability   solidly   built,   for   wherever   soundings   have   been   made   walls   have   appeared.    But  so  complete  was  the  removal  of   possessions   or   so   thorough   the   pillaging   at   the   time   of   abandonment   that   there   remains   practically   nothing   in   the   line   of   inscriptions  or   utensils   whereby   the   buildings   can   be   identified.     Literally   miles   of   walls   forming   groups   of   meaningless   rooms   are   neither   very   gratifying   nor   very   instructive.     From   the   several   buildings   already   cleared   completely   or   in  part,  we  have  learned  all  that  we  believe  can   be   obtained   from   Khorsabad   in   the   way   of   architectural   principles.     General   methods   of   construction   and   decoration   and   ‘typical’   plans   of   individual   buildings   we   know   from   the   palaces   and   the   citadel   buildings.     To   find   in   usually   barren   rooms   stray   objects   of   historical   or  artistic  merit  would  be  like  searching  for  the   proverbial   needle   in   the   haystack(Loud   and   Altman  1938:3).   The   goals   of   archaeology   have   evolved   in     12 Subartu    Vol.  (6  –7)    2013   recent  decades,  and  we  are  no  longer  concerned   as   exclusively   with   kings   and   their   courts.       Archaeologists   have   become   social   historians,   with   new   concerns   for   how  the  actions  of  king   and   commoners   alike   came   together   to   form   Assyrian   society.     It   is   at   this   point   that   we   realize   just   how   little   we   really   know.     The   enormous   dataset   on   Assyrian   cities   derives   almost   entirely   from   the   investigation   of   the   spaces  and  creations  of  the  king.    In  most  cases,   it   is   impossible   to   say   anything   about   the   lives   of   the   other   residents,   in   some   cases   even   whether  there  were  other  residents.   In   writing   more   holistic   histories   of   these   places,   archaeologists   and   epigraphers   have   attempted   to   fill   in   these   remarkable   gaps  with   evidence   from   other   times   and   places.     Underlying   such   attempts   is   the   common   assumption   that   there   was   a   single   durable   model  for  Mesopotamian  urbanism.    This  study   adopts   a   different   approach.     Rather   than   assuming   the   existence   of   a   single   model   for   Assyrian   urbanism,   it   will   emphasize   variability   among   cities.     This   approach   stems   from   an   ongoing   study   of   cities   in   Mesopotamia   by   the   author   that   stresses   the   creative   interplay   between   top-­down   forces   in   the   form   of   centralized   planning,   and   bottom-­ up   forces   in   the   form   of   social   action   at   the   level   of   individuals,   lineages,   and   neighborhoods.     If   we  put  these  two  directions   at   opposite   ends   of   a   continuum,   existing   scholarship   would   place   Assyrian   cities   rather   far   toward   the   imposed   end   (Ur   in   press-­b).     My   approach   aims   to   check   this   assessment,   not   just   for   Assyrian   urbanism   in   general,   but   for  individual  cities.   Methods  and  Datasets   The   primary   dataset   here   will   be   the   great   imperial   capitals   of   the   Assyrian   heartland  (see   most  recently  Pedde  2012,  Kühne  2011).    Most   are   to   be   found   on   the   terraces   immediately   adjacent   to   the   Tigris   River   (Figure   1).     I   will   also   consider   two   important   provincial   capitals   east  of  the  Tigris:  Erbil  and  Qasr  Shemamok.    I   will   also   refer   to   other   provincial   capitals,   which   have   been   excavated   by   teams   whose   focus   has   been   on   holistic   aspects   of   Assyrian     urbanism;;   the   research   projects   at   these   provincial   capitals,   especially   Sheikh   Hamad   and   Ziyaret   Tepe,   will   be   driving   future   research  in  the  imperial  core.   A   holistic   approach   can   benefit   from   remote   sensing,   and   in   particular   intelligence   photographs   collected   by   the   United   States   government   in   the   1960s   under   the   CORONA   program,   which   was   declassified   in   1995   (Fowler   2002).     These   images   can   resolve   objects   of   two   meters   on   the   ground,   and   are   comparable   to   high   resolution   commercial   satellite   imagery.     More   significant   than   resolution,   however,   is   age.     In   the   1960’s   many   Near   Eastern   landscapes   had   yet   to   experience   the   effects   of   modernization   and   development:   for   instance   the   great   dam   projects   and   state-­planned   irrigation   systems,   or   the   expansion   of   towns   and   cities.     In   this   sense,  CORONA  scenes  give  us  a  window  into   a   past   landscape   that   no   longer   exists.     These   scenes   have   been   employed   with   great   success   on   the   landscapes   of  ancient  Assyria  (Ur  2005,   in   press-­a,   Altaweel   2003,   2008,   Scardozzi   2011).   Frequently,   any   individual   satellite   image   many   not   reveal   any   new   information   about   urban   structure.     In   these   cases,   sometimes  the   problem   is   not   with   the   age   of   the   scenes,   but   rather   the   time   of   year.     Archaeological   features   are   made   visible   via   differences   in   soil   moisture   or   vegetation,   and   late   spring   or   summer   landscapes   are   extremely   dry.     As   an   example,   we   can   compare   two   scenes   of   Nimrud.     The   first   was   acquired   in   August   1968,   at   the   height   of   the   dry   season   (Figure   2A).     The   second   was   acquired   in   February   1967,   in   the   wettest   part   of   the   year   (Figure   2B).    The  summer  scene  only  reveals  details  of   the   excavated   areas   on   the   citadel   and   Fort   Shalmaneser,   and   some   parts   of   the   city   wall.     The  winter  scene,  on  the  other  hand,  reveals  the   urban   entire   fabric   of   the   Assyrian   city,   and   quite   a   bit   about   its   hinterland   as   well   (discussed   in   detail   below).     Remote   sensing   datasets   are   heavily   dependent   on   ground   conditions,   so   the   optimal   strategy   will   examine   multiple   scenes   from   different   seasons   Subartu    Vol.  (6  –7)    2013       and  years.   CORONA   imagery   requires   interpretation.     Under   similar   environmental   conditions   in   western   and   northeastern   Syria,   light   areas   are   anthropogenic  soils,  and  more  specifically,  they   are   areas   of   decayed   and   eroded   mud   brick   architecture   (Wilkinson  et  al.  2006,  Menze  and   Ur  2012,  Ur  2010:50-­51).    Dark  areas  are  spots   where   water   is   being   retained   or   where   vegetation   grows   more   abundantly-­  often  these   are  depressed  areas.    Linear  dark  features,  both   intramural   and   extramural,   can   often   be   interpreted   as   streets   or   tracks   (Ur   2003).     These   signatures   will   be   used   to   interpret   CORONA   images   of   several   Assyrian   cities   below.     Subartu    Vol.  (6  –7)    2013   13 Monumental  Planned  Urban  Elements   We   can   begin   by   considering   location.     From   its   ancestral   roots   at   Ashur,  the  Assyrian   capital   was   moved   and   refounded   several   times.     In   no   case,   however,   was   it   an   entirely   new   foundation.     The   planners   always   chose   pre-­existing   towns   or   sites.     At   Nineveh,   for   example,  the  ancient  mound  at  Kuyunjik  stands   out   sharply.     Even   at   Khorsabad,   the   citadel   palaces   were   probably   placed  atop  a  small  pre-­ existing   mound.     This   pattern   repeats   at   every   major  Assyrian  city  (Figure  3).    It  is  impossible   to   know   precisely   the   decision-­making   processes   of   the   kings   and   planners,   but   they   were  constrained  by  the  need  for  a  pre-­existing   mound.   The   great   city   walls  were  a  source  of  pride   for   the   kings.     The   walls   of   Sennacherib’s   Nineveh   were   25   m   thick   and   extended   for   12   kilometers.     They   held   at   least   fifteen   gates,   and   may   have   been   as   high   as   thirty   meters   (Stronach   1995,   Scott   and   MacGinnis   1990).     We   have   particularly   strong   insight   into   royal   involvement   in   the   creation   of   capital   cities   in   the  case  of  Sargon’s  construction  of  Khorsabad   (Parpola  1995).    For  example,  a  letter  to  Sargon   from   his   Treasurer   gives   some   insight   into   the   construction   process   at   Khorsabad.     The   treasurer   had   to   resolve   a   dispute   between   governors   regarding   work   allocations.     Individual   provincial   governors   were     Subartu    Vol.  (6  –7)    2013   responsible   for   the   construction   of   lengths   of   walls   in   the   new   capital   city  (Parpola  1995:64-­ 65).   In   general,   the   walls   of   new   cities   were   highly   linear.     In   addition   to   the   walls   of   Nimrud   and   Khorsabad,   Balawat   and   Tell   Sheikh   Hamad   were   also   very   geometric.     In   other   cases,   curving   walls   can   be   attributed   to   topography.     At   Nineveh,   for   example,   the   walls   conformed   to   the   Tigris   River   on   the   west,   and   the   river   terrace   to   the   east.     Other   curving   walls   are   more   difficult   to   explain   in   planning   terms.     The   ovoid   shape   of   Erbil,   for   example,   cannot   be   explained   by   its   natural   terrain   (Nováček   2011).     The   same   could   be   said   of   the   walls   of   Ziyaret   Tepe   and   Qasr   Shemamok   (Figure   4).     In   these   cases,   it   appears  that  planners  were  recognizing  existing   urban   realities,   and   then   formalizing   them   with   walls.     The   Urban   Fabric:   The   Example   of   Nimrud   Once   one   moves   beyond  these  monumental   urban  elements  to  consider  the  rest  of  the  urban   fabric,   one   is   faced   with   a   dramatic   lack   of   evidence.   Several   research   projects   had   begun   to   explore   non-­elite   parts   of   several   cities   but   were  cut  short  by  the  first  Gulf  War.    One  such   project  was  at  Nineveh,  where  a  Berkeley  team   led   by   David   Stronach   undertook   excavations   in  the  northern  Lower  Town  and  began  general   surface   collections   (Stronach   1994,   1995,   Stronach   and   Lumsden   1992,   Lumsden   2000).     The   area   immediately   north   of   Kuyunjik   was   elevated   with   dense   housing.     This   was   the   lower   town   prior   to   Sennacherib.     The   area   north   of   it   had   evidence   for   industry.     The   northern   corner   of   the   lower   town,   near   the   Halahhu   Gate,   had   a   very   light   surface   artifact   scatter;;   this   part   of   the   site   might   have   been   open   space   for   gardens   or   pasture.     The   Berkeley   team   also   reconstructed   some   street   alignments  (Stronach  and  Lumsden  1992).   A   similarly   holistic   research   project   was   begun   in   1987   at   Nimrud   by   an   Italian   mission   under   the   direction   of   the  late  Paolo  Fiorina  of   the   University   of   Turin,  and  was  also  cut  short     14 Subartu    Vol.  (6  –7)    2013   by   the   first   Gulf   War.     Fiorina   attempted   to   reconstruct  the  use  of  space  in  Nimrud’s  lower   town,   mostly   based   on   his   interpretation   of   its   topography   (Fiorina   in   press).     He   found   considerable   open   space;;   one   particularly   large   area  at  the  northeastern  base  of  the  citadel  was   devoid   of  surface  ceramics  and  was  interpreted   as   the   locus   of   the   botanical   and   zoological   gardens   mentioned   in   Ashurnasirpal’s   banquet   stele.     Fiorina   also   reconstructed   the   internal   street   network   as   arteries   that   ran   straight   through   the   town,   from   city   wall   gates   to   known  or  proposed  citadel  gates,  and  they  also   followed   the   city   walls.     Fiornia’s   reconstruction,   via   surface   artifacts   and   topography,   represents   the   first   and   most   extensive   attempt   to   envision   the   structure   of   an   Assyrian   city.     It   contains   some   surprises— for  instance,  the  positioning  of  textually-­known   parks   and   gardens   within   the   city,   and   the   overall  frequency  of  open  space.   This   research   can   be   extended   and   corrected   using   remote   sensing   data   which   were   not   available   to   the   Turin   project   in   the   1980s.     The   CORONA   scene   of   1967   does   show   broad   dark   linear   features   that   probably   were   the   main   urban   arteries   (Figure   2B).     Interestingly,  they  do  not  radiate  outward  from   the   citadel,   but   rather,   they   come   together   generally   in   an   area   400   meters   east   of   it   (Figure   4).     They   appear   straight,   but   not   rigidly   so;;   they  do  not  intersect  at  right  angles,   nor  do  they  run  parallel  to  the  city  walls  or  any   other  visible  feature.    In  the  CORONA  scene,  it   is   not   always   clear   how   they   articulate   with   each   other.     It   is   certain,   however,   that   these   streets   were   very   wide.     The   two   northern   streets   approach   thirty   meters   in   width.     The   main   eastern   street   was   variable,   but   at   its   narrowest,   it   was   still   almost   fifteen   meters   wide.     The   southern   street   between   the   citadel   and   Fort   Shalmaneser   was   consistently   about   nineteen   meters   wide.     All   of   these   measurements   are   probably   underestimates,   since   building   collapse   will   have   eroded   into   the  streets  on  both  sides.   Within   the   city,   there   were   many   small   open   spaces   that   now  appear  as  dark  areas.    A     particularly   large   area   near   the   convergence   of   the  streets  was  over  200  meters  wide.    A  larger   dark   area   at   the   eastern   foot   of   the   citadel   covered   five   hectares;;   this   area   is   a   good   candidate   for   Ashurnasirpal’s   botanical   gardens.   Throughout  the  city,  one  can  see  alternating   light   and   dark   areas   that   probably   represent   residential   blocks   and   intervening   streets   and   plazas.    The  lower  town  covers  343.4  hectares,   of   which   185.4   hectares   appears   to   have   been   built   space   (Figure   5,   gray   areas).     This   area   represents   only   54%   of   the   area   within   the   walls,   excluding   the   citadel   and   Fort   Shalmaneser.     Although   archaeologists   generally   assume   a   constant   density   of   occupation   within   ancient   settlements,   the   distribution   of   light   soils   (anthrosols)   throughout   the   lower   town   is   highly   variable.     In   the   center   of   the   town,   anthrosols   cover   roughly   50%   of   the   area.     There   are   several   areas   of   particularly   dense   lower   town   settlement:   the   northwestern   corner   (89%   built),   the   middle   of   the   southern   lower   town   (81%  built),  and  the  eastern  central  town  (67%   to   71%   built).     In   each   of   these   areas,   anthrosols   represent   70%   or   more   of   the   total   area.     One   might   interpret   these   areas   as   especially  old  neighborhoods  of  Nimrud,  where   a   few   centuries   of   settlement   have   resulted   in   especially   dense   urban   fabric   of   houses   and   narrow  streets.       Conversely,   there   are   several   areas   of   apparently   low   density.     Light   soils   are   infrequent   immediately   east   of   the   citadel;;   this   area   is   possibly   the   location   of   Ashurnasirpal’s   botanical   gardens   (see   above).     Another   low   density   area   is   to   be   found   west   of   Fort   Shalmaneser,   and  is  likely  to  have  been  staging   or   parade   grounds   for   the   army.     Other   areas   are   more   difficult   to   explain.    Sixty  hectares  of   lower   town   just   inside   its   northeastern   corner   appear   to   have   low   density   settlement,   with   isolated   structures   and   intervening   open   space;;   a   similar   pattern   occurs   north   of   Fort   Shalmaneser   against   the   eastern   wall.     These   spaces   may   have   been   low-­density   elite   neighborhoods,   or   may   have   had   non-­ Subartu    Vol.  (6  –7)    2013       residential   uses,   for   example   gardens   or   animal   penning.   Elsewhere,   similar   signatures   appear.     For   example,   the   interior   of   Balawat   has   an   identical   pattern   of   dark   and   light   (Figure   6A).     This   pattern   does   not,   however,   appear   at   Khorsabad   (Figure   6B),   which   might   suggest   that   its   interior   was   never   fully   settled   prior   to   Sargon’s  death  and  the  relocation  of  the  capital   to  Nineveh.   Subartu    Vol.  (6  –7)    2013   15   Urban  Hinterlands   CORONA   scenes   also   show   how   movement   continued   out   into   the   countryside.     At   Nimrud,   for   example,   a   set   of   three   tracks   converged   at   a   spot   along   the   northern   city   wall,  where  they  would  connect  with  one  of  the   northern   intramural   arteries.     We   can   assume   that   this   was   the   position   of   the   main   northern   gate.    Another  set  of  three  features  converge  on   the   northeastern   corner   of   the   lower   town,   although   no   city   gate   has   been   recognized   at   this   point.     The   eastern   intramural   street   appears   not   to   articulate   with   a   gate,   although   further  ground  research  may  reveal  one.    With  our  understanding  of  the  signature  of   built   areas   as   described   above,   it   is   also   possible   to   investigate   the   question   of   extramural   settlement.     At   Nimrud,   for   example,   an   area   to   the   northwest   might   encompass  as  much  as  30  additional  hectares  of   settlement.     A   similar   area   east   of   the   city   might   cover   fifteen   hectares.     Without   ground   control,  it  is  not  possible  to  tell  if  these  areas  of   settlement  were  contemporary,  of  course.   Some   ground   control   is   available   for   Qasr   Shemamok,   however.     With   the   kind   invitation   of   Olivier   Rouault   and   Maria   Grazia   Masetti-­ Rouault,   I   was   able   to   observe   a   small   area   around   the   site   in   October   2011.     I   walked   almost   45   kilometers   around   the   site,   and   confirmed  at  least  90  hectares  of  settled  area,  in   34   distinct   “places   of   interest,”   or   sites.     Although  no  artifacts  were  collected,  these  sites   appear   to   range   from   the   early   3rd   millennium   to   the   late   Ottoman   period.     Of   particular   interest   was   the   high   percentage   of   Assyrian   ceramics   on   the   fields   beyond   the   city   wall,     Subartu    Vol.  (6  –7)    2013   especially   along   the   Siwasor   Chai.     These   sherds   were   predominantly   Middle   Assyrian,   which   raises   the   possibility   that   settlement   at   Shemamok   might   have   been   reduced   and   nucleated  in  the  1st  millennium  BC.   Assyrian  cities  did  not  exist  in  isolation,  but   it   is   very   difficult   to   discuss   the   Assyrian   rural   countryside   in   its   Tigridian   heartland   at   our   present   state   of   knowledge.     Surveys   on   the   western   edge   of   Assyria,   however,   have   revealed   some   patterning   that   suggests   centralized   planning   of   rural   demography   (Wilkinson   et   al.   2005,   Morandi   Bonacossi   2000,   Ur   in   press-­b).     For   example,   around   Hamoukar   and   Tell   al-­Hawa,   the   Early   Bronze   Age   was   a   time   of   urbanization.     By   the   Neo-­ Assyrian   period,   however,   cities   were   gone,   and   the   landscape   had   been   completely   filled   with  dispersed  rural  settlement  (Figure  7).    It  is   tempting  to  attribute  this  striking  pattern  to  the   deliberate   actions   of   the   Assyrian   kings,   who   uprooted   captured   populations   and   forcibly   brought  them  back  to  Assyria  (Oded  1979).   The   Assyrian   landscape   was   also   highly   engineered   in   terms   of   hydrology.     All   capitals   were   served   by   enormous   canal   systems   created   by   the   state.     Best   known   are   Ashurnasirpal’s   Zab   canal   to   Nimrud,   and   the   many   canals   created   by   Sennacherib   above   Nineveh   (Ur   2005,   in   press-­b,   Altaweel   2008,   Kühne   2012).     The   degree   to   which   these   systems   were   exploited   by   the   rural   residents   remains  an  open  question,  but  when  considered   aside   the   evidence   for   deliberate   settlement   colonization   of   captured   populations   by   the   Assyrian   state,   it   appears   that   the   rural   hinterlands   of   the   great   capital   cities   were   carefully   planned   and   transformed   by   the   state,   both   in   terms   of   their   physical   properties   and   their  human  communities  (Ur  in  press-­b).     Assyrian   Urbanism:   Some   Preliminary   Conclusions   This   review   has   been   necessarily   brief,   but   the   case   study   of   Nimrud   does   allow   for   some   preliminary   conclusions   that   should   serve   as   the   basis   for   further   testing,   particularly   once   fieldwork   resumes   in   earnest   in   northern   Iraq.       16 Subartu    Vol.  (6  –7)    2013   Neo-­Assyrian   cities   were   highly   variable   in   their   structure.     Some   elements   were   clearly   plannedcentrally:   palace   and   temple   districts,   and   some   urban   frameworks.     In   many   cases,   however,   urban   elements   took   their   form   via   processes  that  were  planned  locally,  perhaps  by   individuals,   but   more   likely   at   the   neighborhood   level;;   the   emerging   patterning   at   Nimrud   appears   to   fall   into   this   latter   case.     Sometimes,   imperial   planners   had   to   recognize   these   emergent   forms   by   formalizing   them   via   paving   and   walling,   which   is   likely   to   have   been   the   case   at   Ziyaret   and   Shemamok.     Outside   the   city   walls,   our   present   picture   appearsto   show   an   unambiguously   engineered   landscape   of   settlements   and   canals,   but   this   picture   desperately   needs   empirical   verification.       These   are   important   issues   for   how   we   understand   the   nature   of  Neo-­Assyrian  society.     At   present,   the   common   narrative   features   a   single   agent:   the   king.    This  brief  review  has,  I   hope,  demonstrated  that  there  is  room  for  other   actors  in  the  creation  and  evolution  of  Assyrian   cities.   Figures   Figure  1.   Topography  of  Assyria,  with  major   Assyrian  cities  indicated.   Figure  2.   CORONA   satellite   photographs   of   Nimrud.     A.   16   August   1968;;   B.   28   February   1967.   Figure  3.   Profiles   through   three   Assyrian   capitals.   A.   Nineveh;;  B.  Nimrud;;  C.  Khorsabad.     The   thick   line   represents   the   profile   within   the   city   walls.     All   profiles   are   vertically   exaggerated.   Figure  4.   Curved   city   walls   in   Assyrian   provincial   capitals.     A.   Ziyaret   Tepe,   ancient   Tushhan   (CORONA   1102-­1025DA,   11   December   1967).     B.   Qasr   Shemamok,   ancient   Kilizu   (CORONA   1039-­2088DA037,   28   February  1967).    Both  figures  to  same  scale.   Figure  5.   Distribution   of   built   area   and   open   space   at   Nimrud,   based   on   the   interpretation   of   satellite   photographs   (see   Figure   2B).     For   each   500   x   500   m   grid   square,   the   percentage   of   anthropogenic  soils  (built  area,  shown  in  gray)  is   indicated.   Figure  6.   Anthropogenic  soils  at  Balawat  (A)   and   Khorsabad   (B).     CORONA   mission   1039,   acquired  28  February  1967.    Note  that  these  two   scenes  are  not  at  the  same  scale.   Figure  7.   The   evolution   from   nucleated   to   dispersed   settlement   in   the   Hamoukar   and   North   Jazira   Project   areas(based   on   Ur   2010,   Wilkinson   and   Tucker   1995).     A.   Urban   settlement   and   trackways   in   the   later   EBA,   ca.   2600-­2000   BC;;   B.   Rural   settlement   in   the   Neo-­ Assyrian   period   (with   Thiessen   polygons   to   illustrate  hypothetical  settlement  catchments).     Acknowledgements   This   study  is  a  slightly  expanded  version  of   a   paper   presented   at   the   8th   meeting   of   the   International   Congress   on   the   Archaeology   of   the  Ancient  Near  East  (8ICAANE);;  I  thank  the   organizers   for   accepting   it.     I   am   particularly   indebted   to   Carlo   Lippolis   for   providing   an   advance   copy   of   the   forthcoming   article   by   Paolo   Fiorina.     I   thank   Olivier   Rouault   and   Maria   Grazia   Masetti-­Rouault,   directors   of   the   French   Expedition   to   Qasr   Shemamok,   for   encouraging   and   supporting   my   October   2011   reconnaissance  around  the  site,  and  to  Abdullah   Osman   for   his  field  assistance  during  that  time.     I   am   especially   grateful   to   the   Kurdistan   Regional   Government’s   Washington   DC   representation   and   its   director   of   Culture   and   Community   Najat   Abdullah   for   expediting   my   visit   to   Erbil.     CORONA   imagery   is   used   courtesy   of   the   United   States   Geological   Survey  (USGS).         Bibliography   Altaweel,   Mark.   2003.   The   Roads   of   Ashur   and   Nineveh.  Akkadica  124:221-­228.   —.   2008.   The   Imperial   Landscape   of   Ashur:   Settlement   and   Land   Use   in   the   Assyrian   Heartland.   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  1995.   Settlement   Development  in  the  North  Jazira,  Iraq.  Warminster:   Aris  &  Phillips,  Ltd.   Wilkinson,   T.J.,   Eleanor   Wilkinson,   Jason   A.   Ur,   and   Mark   Altaweel.   2005.   Landscape   and   Settlement   in   the   Neo-­Assyrian   Empire.   Bulletin   of   the  American  Schools  of  Oriental  Research  340:23-­ 56.     Subartu    Vol.  (6  –7)    2013     18 Subartu    Vol.  (6  –7)    2013     Fig  1  :  Assyria  Map     Subartu    Vol.  (6  –7)    2013         Subartu    Vol.  (6  –7)    2013   19 Fig2  :   Nimrud  1104-­1039     Subartu    Vol.  (6  –7)    2013     20 Subartu    Vol.  (6  –7)    2013     Fig  3:    urban_profiles   Fig  4  :  Ziyaret  Shemamok     Subartu    Vol.  (6  –7)    2013         Subartu    Vol.  (6  –7)    2013   21 Fig5  :  Nimrud  Classif   Fig6  :  Balawat  Khorsabad     Subartu    Vol.  (6  –7)    2013     22 Subartu    Vol.  (6  –7)    2013     Fig7  :  THS-­NJP  Settlement     Subartu    Vol.  (6  –7)    2013