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A city older than history itself; Mosul, formerly known as Nineveh, is without a shadow of a doubt one of the most fascinating places on earth, founded by the Assyrians and still inhabited by them today.
The words of Ibn Battuta
“Of ancient and opulent origin, Mosul has an imposing citadel that enjoys a reputation for impregnability, the so-called al-Hadba (the Humpback), with high towers and a solid wall. […]
I have never seen anything like it anywhere else in the world except Delhi, the capital of the king of India!
Ibn Battuta
Capital of Assyria
To deal with Mosul, it is first necessary to speak of Nineveh, the ancient capital of the Assyrian Empire which has now become a suburb of the former. The oldest remains of the latter date back to 6000 BC, making it

So much was the opulence and grandeur of this settlement that, according to the Bible and the Quran, the prophet Jonah went here following his famous adventure with the whale. A decisive peculiarity in the Quranic episode is that the inhabitants of Nineveh were the only ones to follow the messenger of God and thus escape the Divine Punishment. However, great riches always bring great problems and the same was for this great city which was eroded by continuous civil wars, which provided suitable humus for their enemies. In 612 BC a coalition of Iranian tribes and Babylon besieged Nineveh, killing its king Sin-shar-ishkun and causing its first great downfall. Thanks to his exiles, however, the city of Mosul was founded, a few kilometers from where the ancient and never forgotten capital stood.
Between Arabs and Turks
Following this event, Assyria will no longer be independent but will pass under the Achaemenid, Seleucid and Sassanid empires; in 637 it will then be taken by the Rashidun Caliphate, entering from that moment on into the history of the Islamic world. Mosul will become a particularly disputed place in this period, with the

Mosul will then be conquered by: Seljuks, Zengids, Ayyubids, Mongols and Aq Koyunlu, finding refuge for a short time even under the Safavids. Very interesting to note how Benjamin of Tudela, a great
Ottoman Mosul
Starting from 1500, the ancient center will become one of the places of greatest tension between the Safavid and Ottoman Empire, so much so that only with the Treaty of Zuhab of 1639 will there be a definitive peace in those places, finally able to recover from the long tensions. Under the

In this period, various Dominican congregations can also be linked which, sent here by Pope Benedict 14th, built many schools, orphanages, printing works and hospitals. The choice of this place over others was due to the fact that, starting from the 4th century, a large part of the
Iraqi Mosul
Unfortunately, in the First World War the city will suffer losses never seen before and this from both a human and a political point of view. This area will in fact be the victim of the terrible Assyrian Genocide, massacres carried out by the Ottomans at the hands of the

London was particularly keen on this agreement in order to obtain preferential access to the oil wells located near the city, a wealth which, over the years, has proved to be a real curse. Precisely because of its strategic importance, since the birth of the country it became one of the places of greatest wealth and importance, so much so that it became essential for
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