Editing Assyria (section)

=== Capital cities ===
[[File:Iraq; Nimrud - Assyria, Lamassu's Guarding Palace Entrance.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Ruins of one of the entrances of the [[Northwest Palace]] at [[Nimrud]], the Assyrian capital 879–706 BC, destroyed by the [[Islamic State]] in 2015|alt=View of a grey stone wall and archway, with the statues of three lamassu (protective deities with wings, the head of a human and the body of a lion or bull).]]
No word for the idea of a capital city existed in Akkadian, the nearest being the idea of a "city of kingship", i.e. an administrative center used by the king, but there are several examples of kingdoms having multiple "cities of kingship". Due to Assyria growing out of the Assur city-state of the Old Assyrian period, and due to the city's religious importance, Assur was the administrative center of Assyria through most of its history. Though the royal administration at times moved elsewhere, the ideological status of Assur was never fully superseded{{Sfn|Reade|2011|p=109}} and it remained a ceremonial center in the empire even when it was governed from elsewhere.{{Sfn|Frahm|2017b|p=170}} The transfer of the royal seat of power to other cities was ideologically possible since the king was Ashur's representative on Earth. The king, like the deity embodied Assyria itself, and so the capital of Assyria was in a sense wherever the king happened to have his residence.{{Sfn|Reade|2011|p=109}}

The first transfer of administrative power away from Assur occurred under Tukulti-Ninurta I,{{sfn|Düring|2020|p=57}} who {{Circa}} 1233 BC{{sfn|Gerster|2005|p=312}} inaugurated Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta as capital.{{sfn|Düring|2020|p=57}} Tukulti-Ninurta I's foundation of a new capital was perhaps inspired by developments in Babylonia in the south, where the [[Kassite dynasty]] had transferred the administration from the long-established city of Babylon to the newly constructed city of [[Dur-Kurigalzu]], also named after a king. It seems that Tukulti-Ninurta I intended to go further than the Kassites and also establish Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta as the new Assyrian cult center. The city was however not maintained as capital after Tukulti-Ninurta I's death, with subsequent kings once more ruling from Assur.{{sfn|Düring|2020|p=57}} 
{{Location map many
| Iraq
| relief = yes
| width      = 300px
| border     = no
| caption = A map of the capital cities of ancient Assyria
| label2 = [[Assur]]
| coordinates2    = {{coord|35|27|24|N|43|15|45|E}}
| pos2 = left
| label1 = [[Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta]]
| coordinates1    = {{coord|35.494685|N|43.270008|E}}
| label3 = [[Nimrud]]
| coordinates3    = {{coord|36|05|53|N|43|19|44|E}}
| label4 = [[Dur-Sharrukin]]
| coordinates4    = {{coord|36|30|34|N|43|13|46|E}}
| pos4 = top
| label5 = [[Nineveh]]
| coordinates5    = {{coord|36|21|34|N|43|09|10|E}}
| pos5 = left
| label6 = [[Harran]]
| coordinates6    = {{coord|36|52|39|N|39|02|02|E}}
}}
The Neo-Assyrian Empire underwent several different capitals. There is some evidence that [[Tukulti-Ninurta II]] ({{reign}}890–884&nbsp;BC), perhaps inspired by his predecessor of the same name, made unfulfilled plans to transfer the capital to a city called [[Nemid Tukulti-Ninurta]], either a completely new city or a new name applied to Nineveh, which by this point already rivalled Assur in scale and political importance.{{Sfn|Reade|2011|p=112}} The capital was transferred under Tukulti-Ninurta II's son Ashurnasirpal II to Nimrud in 879 BC.{{Sfn|Frahm|2017b|p=169}} An architectural detail separating Nimrud and the other Neo-Assyrian capitals from Assur is that they were designed in a way that emphasized royal power: the royal palaces in Assur were smaller than the temples but the situation was reversed in the new capitals.{{Sfn|Reade|2011|p=114}}

In 706 BC, Sargon II transferred the capital to the city of Dur-Sharrukin, which he built himself.{{Sfn|Frahm|2017b|p=183}} Since the location of Dur-Sharrukin had no obvious practical or political merit, this move was probably an ideological statement.{{Sfn|Reade|2011|p=118}} Immediately after Sargon II's death in 705 BC, his son Sennacherib transferred the capital to Nineveh,{{Sfn|Frahm|2017b|pp=183–184}}{{Sfn|Reade|2011|p=120}} a far more natural seat of power.{{Sfn|Reade|2011|p=120}} Though it was not meant as a permanent royal residence,{{Sfn|Radner|2019|p=|pp=140–141}} Ashur-uballit II chose Harran as his seat of power after the fall of Nineveh in 612 BC. Harran is typically seen as the short-lived final Assyrian capital. No building projects were conducted during this time, but Harran had been long-established as a major religious center, dedicated to the god [[Sin (mythology)|Sîn]].{{Sfn|Reade|2011|p=123}}