Tarbisu
Archaeological site in Iraq
title: "Tarbisu" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["archaeological-sites-in-iraq", "former-populated-places-in-iraq"] description: "Archaeological site in Iraq" topic_path: "philosophy" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarbisu" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Archaeological site in Iraq ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox ancient site"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Tarbisu |
| alternate_name | Sherif Khan |
| map_type | Iraq |
| relief | yes |
| coordinates | |
| map_size | 200 |
| location | Ninawa Governorate, Iraq |
| type | settlement |
| built | 2rd millennium BC |
| epochs | Bronze Age, Iron Age |
| excavations | 1850, 1852 |
| archaeologists | Austen Henry Layard, Sir Henry Rawlinson |
| condition | Ruined |
| ownership | Public |
| public_access | Yes |
| :: |
|name = Tarbisu |alternate_name = Sherif Khan |image = |alt = |caption = |map_type = Iraq |map_alt = |relief=yes |coordinates = |map_size = 200 |location = Ninawa Governorate, Iraq |type = settlement |part_of = |length = |width = |area = |height = |builder = |material = |built = 2rd millennium BC |abandoned = |epochs = Bronze Age, Iron Age |cultures = |dependency_of = |occupants = |event = |excavations = 1850, 1852 |archaeologists = Austen Henry Layard, Sir Henry Rawlinson |condition = Ruined |ownership = Public |public_access = Yes |website = |notes = Tarbiṣu (modern Sherif Khan, Ninawa Governorate, Iraq) was an ancient city about 3 miles north of Nineveh.
History
The first mention of location was in a chronicle of Middle Assyrian ruler Arik-den-ili (c. 1317–1306 BC). Tarbiṣu was a minor town which was under the control of Assyria early in the 1st Millennium BC with an early inscription found there dating to the rule of Shalmaneser III (859–824 BC). It grew in size and importance after the capital of the Neo-Assyrian Empire was moved to nearby Nineveh by Sennacherib. Two palaces were built there, one by Esarhaddon for his son and crown prince, Ashurbanipal. Two temples were found at the site, one being the temple of Nergal, constructed by Sennacherib, and added to by Ashurbanipal. One of the gates in the northwest wall of Nineveh was named for Nergal and the road from that gate to Tarbiṣu was paved completely in stone by Sennacherib.
Tarbiṣu was captured by the Medes in 614 BC, led by Cyaxares in the 12th year of Nabopolassar, king of Babylon and faded along with the Assyrian Empire.
Archaeology
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Nineveh_map_city_walls_&_gates.JPG" caption="Wall and Gates of Nineveh"] ::
Tarbiṣu was excavated by Austen Henry Layard in 1850, and then Sir Henry Rawlinson under the auspices of the British Museum in 1852. Among the small finds were "royal cylinder in red carnelian," which had been wrapped in gold leaf, presumably kept as a relic. In 1868 the University of Mosul was granted a license to excavate at the site.
Notes
References
- A Sulaiman, Discovery of the Assyrian City of Tarbisu, Adab al-Rafidain, vol. 2, pp. 15–49, 1971 (Arabic)
- J. E. Curtis, A. K. Grayson, Some Inscribed Objects from Sherif Khan in the British Museum, Iraq vol. 44, no. 1, pp. 87–94, 1982
References
- Grayson, Albert Kirk, "Assyrian Royal Inscriptions: From the beginning to Ashur-resha-ishi I", Vol. 1. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, 1972
- Austen Henry Layard. (1849). "Nineveh and Its Remains: With an Account of a Visit to the Chaldæan Christians of Kurdistan, and the Yezidis, Or Devil-worshippers, and an Enquiry Into the Manners and Arts of the Ancient Assyrians". J. Murray.
- Sir Austen Henry Layard. (1853). "Discoveries in the Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon: With Travels in Armenia, Kurdistan and the Desert: Being the Result of a Second Expedition Undertaken for the Trustees of the British Museum". J. Murray.
- Al-Suliman, Ameer, "Discovering the Assyrian city of Trebissou", Adab AL Rafidayn 1.2, pp. 15-49, 1971
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