Physical Geography of Assyria
Assyria was an early empire that occupied the eastern part of northern Mesopotamia in the area of the Tigris and its major tributaries, the Lesser and Greater Zab. The land here is fertile and there is ample rain for farming. To the north and east lie the Taurus and Zagros Mountains. To the west the great plain of Jazira was an easy route for invaders; its possession by the Assyrians gave them security and the control of important trade routes. To the south lay the rich (and troublesome) cities of the Mesopotamian delta.
Prehistory of Assyria
Nemrik, a multiphase Neolithic site near the Tigris northwest of Mosul, has revealed semi-subterranean houses with mud-brick walls and interior pillar bases to support a roof. The settlement dates to the eighth and into the seventh millennium BC, with domesticated plants and animals appearing towards the end of the occupation.Tepe Gawra east of the Tigris near Khorsabad was occupied from the sixth to the second millennium BC. The lowest levels reveal a transition between Halaf and Ubaid pottery, followed by long-lasting Ubaid settlement. The temple complex of the penultimate Ubaid level shows striking resemblances to the Ubaid temples at Eridu and Warka. The next set of levels form the Gawran period of the fourth millennium BC, containing the famous round house as well as a sequence of temples. The later levels belong to the second and first millennium BC, terminating in a thin Mitanni settlement.
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