36°21N 43°08E, pop (2000e) 884 000. Capital town of Neineva governorate, NW Iraq, on W bank of R Tigris, 352 km/218 mi NW of Baghdad; chief town of N Mesopotamia, 8th13th-c; airfield; railway; university (1967); agricultural market centre; power generation, oil refining, cement, textiles; ruins of ancient Nineveh nearby.
Coordinates: 36°22′0″N, 43°07′0″E
Mosul (Arabic: الموصل al-Mawṣil, Kurdish: Mûsil, Syriac: ܢܝܢܘܐ Nîněwâ, Turkish: Musul) is a city in northern Iraq and the capital of Ninawa Governorate.
The fabric muslin was long manufactured here and is named for this city.
In 1987, the city's population was 664,221 people;
Mosul city is the home of the University of Mosul which is one of the largest educational and research centers in Iraq and the Middle East, this university was established in 1967 (except for the Mosul College of Medicine which was founded in 1959).
Name
The name of the city is an Arabic name which has many meanings, one of which is "the linking point".
Mosul has other Arabic names such as Um Al-Rabi'ain (The City of Two Springs), because autumn and spring are very much alike there.
People
This city is an example of the mixed ethnic and religious nature of Iraq where people lived in harmony for centuries. Further north in the suburban areas, thousands of Kurds, Assyrians and Turkomans make up the rest of Mosul's population.
Historically the population of Mosul has been a mixture of Arabs, Kurds, Armenians, and Assyrians, and a smaller minority of Turkomans.
The city is close to the Kurdish regions of Iraq and is considered by Kurdish officials to be traditionally Kurdish, and situated in the Kurdistan region. There have been some demands from Kurdish parties that Mosul should be included in the Kurdish regional government. Fighting has erupted in recent months, between Sunni Arabs in Mosul and Kurdish fighters entering the city from the Kurdish regional governate..
The majority of people in Mosul are Muslims, but Mosul has the highest proportion of Christians of all the Iraqi cities.
Long before the Muslim conquest in the 7th century, the old city Nineveh Christianized when the Assyrians converted to christianity during the 1st and 2nd centuries.
Migrations from rural areas towards Mosul took place on several occasions through out history, most of these migrations were due to economic or cultural reasons, yet some of them were caused by political agenda of some political parties especially in the last few decades .
Despite the policies instituted by different political powers, including the Saddam regime and the Ba'ath Party, to change the demographic nature of Mosul, this city managed to maintain its multi-cultural and multi-religious mosaic.
Language
The language of the people in Mosul is a special dialect of Arabic which is partially influenced by the Syrian dialect, due to the relatively small distance between the city of Mosul and Syria. Kurds of Mosul speak in Kurmanji dialect of Kurdish which is called Behdini in the region.
Arabic in general is the main language of communication, education, business and official work, due to the vast majority of the Arabic speaking people.
Maslawi
A Maslawi is a person who is from the city of Mosul, Iraq.
History
Ancient and Ottoman Mosul
The area around Mosul has been continuously inhabited for at least 8,000 years. Built on the site of an earlier Assyrian fortress Mosul succeeded Nineveh which was founded by the Assyrians as an outpost or citadel located on the hill of Q'leat on the right bank of the Tigris, across from the ancient city of Nineveh (now the town of Ninewa). In approximately 850 BC, King Ashurnasirpal II of Assyria chose the city of Nimrud to build his capital city where present day Mosul is located. Probably built on the site of an earlier Assyrian fortress, Mosul later succeeded Nineveh as the Tigris bridgehead of the road that linked Syria and Anatolia with Persia.
Mosul became an important commercial center in the 6th century BC. The city changed hands once again with the rise of Sassanid Persia before falling under Muslim rule in 637 AD during the period of the Muslim Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab, Utba bin Farqad Al-Salami was the leader of the Muslims Army that conquered the city. It remained under Ottoman control until 1918, with a brief break in 1623 when Persia seized the city for a short time, and was the capital of Mosul Vilayet one of the three vilayets (provinces) of Ottoman Iraq (the other two being Baghdad Vilayet and Basra Vilayet).
The city is a historic center for the Nestorian Christianity of the Assyrians, containing the tombs of several Old Testament prophets such as Jonah, who is commemorated in a rare joint Muslim/Christian shrine (originally a Nestorian church, now a mosque), and the somewhat more obscure Nahum.
Long before Islam, a number of Arab tribes had settled in., and in later times it played a leading role in the Islamic wars of conquest and became a city of great importance .
Mosul in the 20th century
Mosul's importance as a strategic trading centre declined after the opening of the Suez Canal, which enabled cargoes to travel to and from India by sea rather than by land across Iraq. Mosul provides a key portion of the country's electrical needs via Mosul Dam and several neighbouring thermal turbine facilities. The construction of Mosul University enabled the education of many in the city and surrounding areas, and it features excellent engineering and linguistics departments among its many other academic offerings.
In World War I, forces of the British Empire occupied Mosul in October 1918. Iraq's possession of Mosul was confirmed by the League of Nations in 1926 and the Treaty of Lausanne between Great Britain, Iraq and Turkey.
Some of the villages and towns around Mosul with its large Kurdish population were significantly affected by the anti-Kurdish campaigns of the deposed former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, particularly during the 1990s when the Kurdish population mounted an unsuccessful revolt against the regime. 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 Ninawa Governorate were gradually changed. Saddam was however 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 maybe due to the fact that most of the officers and generals of the Iraqi Army were from Mosul long before the Saddam regime era .
Mosul after Saddam
When the 2003 invasion of Iraq was being planned, the United States had originally intended to base troops in Turkey and mount a thrust into northern Iraq to capture Mosul and the strategically vital oilfields there. Kurdish fighters took over the city and tried to bring order into the city , but they were faced with looters and infighting between Arabs and Kurds in the city, Kurdish forces made off with heavy machines and military weapons, much to the alarm of Turkey (which feared a Kurdish bid for independence, as well as a sympathetic response from the large Kurdish population in the south of Turkey and the east of Syria). On April 15, 2003, U.S. troops returned fire on a mob of anti-occupation protesters in Mosul after members of the crowd threw stones at a US controlled building.
On July 22, 2003, Saddam Hussein's sons, Uday Hussein and Qusay Hussein, were attacked and killed by Coalition forces in Mosul. 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 arena's of security, electricity, local governance, drinking water, wastewater, trash, roads, bridges, and environmental concerns. Iraq destruction of the city of Fallujah, the entire police force of Mosul resigned to turn the city over to Sunni militia (insurgents). In the following month, the Americans had to call in Kurdish forces, which they have forced out a year ago and the city was retaken by US and Kurd army forces, and since that time the local army units (Kurd and US) have been at odds with the local police forces (primarily Sunni Arab), occasionally even at armed conflict.
On December 21, 2004, fourteen U.S. soldiers, four U.S. citizen Halliburton employees, and four Iraqi soldiers allied with the U.S. military were killed in an attack on a dining hall at the Forward Operating Base Marez next to the main U.S. military airfield at Mosul.
In October of 2005, the Iraq Interior Department has been attempting to fire the police chief of Mosul, and the local Mosul Sunni leaders have been threatening to turn the city back over to the insurgents (in response to what they see as a Kurdish grab for control over the police).
Historical Places in Mosul
Mosul is rich in old historical places and ancient buildings: mosques, castles, churches, monasteries, schools, most of which abound in architectural features and decorative works of significance.
The Mosul Museum contains many interesting finds from the ancient sites of the old Assyrian capital cities Nineveh and Nimrud. The Mosul house is a beautiful, old-style building, constructed around a central courtyard and with an impressive facade of Mosul marble.
The famous English writer, Agatha Christie, lived in Mosul whilst her second husband, an archaeologist, was involved in the excavation in Nimrod.
Mosques and Shrines of Mosul
The 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 Great (Nuriddin) Mosque
Built by Nuriddin Zanki in 1172 AD next door to the Umayyad Mosque.
The Mosque of the Prophet Yunus or Younis (jonah)
On one of the two most prominent mounds of Nineveh ruins, rises the Mosque (an Nestorian-Assyrian Church before) of Prophet Younis "Biblical Jonah", the son of Amittai, from the 8th century BC
which is believed to be the burial place of him, and where King Esarhaddon had once built a palace.
This old shrine standing on the site of a Christian church is a mere stone's throw from the built-up walls and gates of Nineveh.
It is one of the most important mosques in Mosul and one of the few historic mosques that are found in the east side of the city.
The Mujahidi Mosque
Dates back to 12th century AD, distinguished for its beautiful dome and elaborately wrought (mihrab).
[[The Mosque of the Prophet Jerjis (Georges)]]
Believed to be the burial place of Prophet Jerjis (pbuh).
Mashad Yahya Abul Kassem
On the right bank of Tigris, known for its conical dome, decorative brick-work and calligraphy engraved in Mosul blue marble, 13th century.
Bash Tapia Castle
Part of Mosul's old walls which has disappeared, with the exception of these imposing ruins rising high over Tigris.
Qara Serai (The Black Palace)
The remnants of the 13th century palace of Sultan Badruddin Lu'lu'.
Churches and Monasteries of Mosul
Mosul has the highest proportion of Christians of all the Iraqi cities, and contains several interesting old churches, some of which originally date back to the early centuries of Christianity.
The oldest church Shamoun Al-Safa (St. Peter), dates from the 13th century and has a most devious approach.
The Church of St. Peter (Shamoun Al-Safa)
The oldest Chaldean church in Mosul, named after Shamoun Al-Safa or St. Peter.
Church of St. Thomas
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 prior to 770 AD, since reference tell that Al-Mahdi, the Abbasid Caliph, listened to a grievance concerning this church on his trip to Mosul.
Mar Petion Church
Mar Petion who was educated by his cousin in monastery, was martyred in 446 AD. It is the first Chaldean Catholic church in Mosul, after the union of the Assyro-Nestorians with Rome.
Ancient Tahira Church (The Immaculate)
Near Bash Tapia, considered one of the most ancient churches in Mosul.
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.
St. George's Monastery (Mar Gurguis)
One of the oldest churches in Mosul, named after St. George, located to the north of Mosul.
Monastery of St. Matte
This famous monastery is situated about 20 km east of Mosul on the top of a high mountain (Mount Maqloub).
Monastery of Mar Behnam
Also called Deir Al-Jubb (The Cistern Monastery), in the Nineveh Plain near Nimrud about 32 km southwest of Mosul, 12th or 13th century.
Other Christian historical buildings:
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