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KHORSABAD

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Originally appearing in Volume V15, Page 781 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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KHORSABAD , a See also:

Turkish See also:village in the vilayet of See also:Mosul, 122 M. N.E. of that See also:town, and almost 20 M. N. of See also:ancient See also:Nineveh, on the See also:left See also:bank of the little See also:river Kosar. Here, in 1843, P. E. See also:Botta, then See also:French See also:consul at Mosul, discovered the re-mains of an See also:Assyrian See also:palace and town, at which excavations were conducted by him and Flandin in 1843–1844, and again by See also:Victor See also:Place in 1851-1855. The ruins proved to be those of the town of Dur-Sharrukin, " See also:Sargon's See also:Castle," built by Sargon, See also:king of See also:Assyria, as a royal See also:residence. The town, in the shape of a rectangular parallelogram, with the corners pointing approximately toward the See also:cardinal points of the See also:compass, covered 741 acres of ground. On the See also:north-See also:west See also:side, See also:half within and half without the See also:circuit of the walls, protruding into the See also:plain like a See also:great See also:bastion, stood the royal palace, on a See also:terrace, 45 ft. in height, covering about 25 acres. The palace proper was divided into three sections, built around three sides of a large See also:court on the See also:south-See also:east or See also:city side, into which opened the great See also:outer See also:gates, guarded by winged See also:stone bulls, each See also:section containing suites of rooms built around several smaller inner courts. In the centre was the serai, occupied by the king and his See also:retinue, with an See also:extension towards the north, opening on a large inner court, containing the public reception rooms, elaborately decorated with sculptures and See also:historical See also:inscriptions, representing scenes of See also:hunting, See also:worship, feasts, battles, and the like. The See also:harem, with See also:separate provisions for four wives, occupied the south corner, the domestic quarters, including stables, See also:kitchen, bakery, See also:wine cellar, &c., being at the east corner, to the north-east of the great entrance court.

In the west corner stood a See also:

temple, with a See also:stage-See also:tower (ziggurat) adjoining. The walls of the rooms, which stood only to the height of one See also:storey, were from 9 to 25 ft. in thickness, of See also:clay, faced with See also:brick, in the reception rooms wainscoted with stone slabs or tiles, elsewhere plastered, or, in the harem, adorned with See also:fresco paintings and arabesques. Here and there the floors were formed of tiles or See also:alabaster blocks, but in See also:general they were of stamped clay, on which were spread at the See also:time of occupancy mats and rugs. The exterior of the palace See also:wall exhibited a See also:system of See also:groups of half columns and stepped recesses, an See also:ornament See also:familiar in Babylonian See also:architecture. The palace and city were completed in 707 B.C., and in 706 Sargon took up his residence there. He died the following See also:year, and palace and city seem to have been abandoned shortly thereafter. Up to 1909 this was the only Assyrian palace which had ever been explored systematically, in its entirety, and fortunately it was found on the whole in an admirable See also:state of preservation. An immense number of statues and bas-reliefs, excavated by Botta, were transported to See also:Paris, and formed the first Assyrian museum opened to the See also:world. The See also:objects excavated by Place, together with the objects found by See also:Fresnel's expedition in Babylonia and a See also:part of the results of See also:Rawlinson's excavations at Nineveh, were unfortunately lost in the See also:Tigris, on transport from See also:Bagdad to See also:Basra. Flandin had, however, made careful drawings and copies of all objects of importance from Khorsabad. The whole material was published by the French See also:government in two monumental publications. See P.

E. Botta and E. Flandin, See also:

Monument de Ninive (Paris, 1849-185o ; 5 vols. 400 plates) ; Victor Place, Ninive et l'Assyrie, avec See also:des essais de restauration See also:par F. See also:Thomas (Paris, 1866—1869 ; 3 vols.). (J. P.

End of Article: KHORSABAD

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