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Khorsabad

Khorsabad, the City of Sargon

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- - Assyria in the 1^st millennium BCE.
  - Environment and climate
  - Agriculture and resources
  - Ashur
  - Nimrud, ancient Kalhu
  - Nineveh
  - Neighbouring territories
- - The Khorsabad site
  - The city
  - The palace
  - The temples sector
- - Construction
  - A new city
  - Raw materials and workforce
  - Organising the construction works
  - An unfinished city
- - Sargon’s reign
  - Genealogy of Sargon
  - A wily politician
  - Military campaigns
  - Death of Sargon
- - Discovery of the site
  - Background to the discovery of the city
  - Paul-Émile Botta’s discovery
  - Victor Place’s excavations
- The luxury of an Assyrian palace
- - Magical protection
  - Winged bulls
  - Genii and heroes
  - Foundation figurines
- - Narrative reliefs
  - The Sargon relief
  - Medes tributaries
  - Transporting timber
  - Court scenes
  - War scenes
  - Executing the reliefs
- - Vanished decorations
  - Coloured bricks
  - Paintings and ceilings
  - Metal decorations
- - Life at court
  - The king and his court
  - Furniture
  - Royal meals
- - The gardens
  - A world in miniature
  - Vegetation
  - Hunting ground
- The Assyrian museum
- Transporting the finds
- Creating the Assyrian museum at the Louvre
- Department of Near Eastern Antiquities at the Louvre
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Khorsabad, the City of Sargon

Founded by Sargon II king of Assyria, the city of Khorsabad, ancient Dur-Sharrukin, extended over 300 hectares and housed a magnificent palace. Discovered in 1843 by Paul-Emile Botta, Khorsabad was the first site to undergo significant archaeological excavations in Mesopotamia.

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Relief of Sargon (detail): Head of High Dignitary

Relief of Sargon (detail): head of high dignitary

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Relief of Sargon (detail): Head of High Dignitary
Relief of Sargon (detail): head of high dignitary

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Relief of Sargon (detail): head of high dignitary

Musée du Louvre / Thierry Ollivier, 2011

Explore the site

Assyria in the 1<sup>st</sup> millennium BCE.
The Khorsabad site
Construction
Sargon’s reign
Discovery of the site
Research

The luxury of an Assyrian palace

Magical protection
Narrative reliefs
Vanished decorations
Life at court
The gardens

The Assyrian museum

Transporting the finds
Creating the Assyrian museum at the Louvre
Department of Near Eastern Antiquities at the Louvre

Resources

Media library
Site plan

The collection

About us
Actors in archaeology
Contact
Content uploading platform
Legal notice
Credits

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Beyond time and space, the Archeologie.culture.fr collection presents the history and life of men through the research of the greatest specialists in French archeology.
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