Dur-Sharrukin, meaning Fortress of Sargon, was an Assyrian capital built by King Sargon II, near the modern village of Khorsabad in northern Iraq, not far from Nineveh. Construction of the new city, with its palace, temples and walls, began in the late 8th century BCE and the royal court moved there in 706 BCE. Sargon died in battle shortly afterward, and his son Sennacherib moved the capital to Nineveh, leaving Dur-Sharrukin largely abandoned. The site was excavated in the 1840s by the French consul Paul-Émile Botta, who found huge winged human-headed bulls and carved reliefs, many of which are now in the Louvre.
Before and after
- from 747 BCE to 656 BCETwenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt
- c. 729 BCEPiye of Kush conquers Egypt
- from 727 BCE to 715 BCETwenty-fourth Dynasty of Egypt
- from 722 BCE to 223 BCEChu
- from 706 BCE to 605 BCEOrigins of Dur-Sharrukin
- c. 700s BCEConstruction of Great Wall of China
- 8th century BCELibrary of Ashurbanipal
- from 700 BCE to 309 BCEArgead dynasty
- from 664 BCE to 332 BCELate Period of ancient Egypt
More in Civilizations & archaeology
- c. 2,560 BCEConstruction of Great Pyramid of Giza
- 600 BCEFounding of Milan
- 6th century BCEConstruction of Parthenon
- from January 27 BCE to January 395 CERoman Empire
- 11 May 330 CEConstantine dedicates Constantinople
- 25 March 421 CEFounding of Venice
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 8th century BCE.