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The Role of the Khosr River in the Sustainability of the City of Nineveh During the Neo-Assyrian Period (911–612 BC)

Khudher Saleh Ahmed1, Sura Ammar Hamza2, Noor Faisal Yahya2, Farah Imad Ezz El-Din2, Zahraa Mahmoud Mohammed2
1College of Archaeology, Department of Archaeology, University of Mosul, Mosul, Iraq
2College of Archaeology, Department of Ancient Iraqi Languages, University of Mosul, Mosul, Iraq
DOI: https://doi.org/10.70517/revcc2624122
Published: 23/09/2026
: Khudher Saleh Ahmed, Sura Ammar Hamza, Noor Faisal Yahya, Farah Imad Ezz El-Din, Zahraa Mahmoud Mohammed. The Role of the Khosr River in the Sustainability of the City of Nineveh During the Neo-Assyrian Period (911–612 BC). Revista Cultura Científica, 2026 Issue 24. pg. 1476-1487.

Abstract

This study examines the role of the Khosr River in sustaining Nineveh during the Neo-Assyrian period through four interrelated dimensions: water supply, agricultural production, urban development, and defensive security. The analysis draws primarily on Neo-Assyrian royal inscriptions, especially those of Sennacherib, together with archaeological, historical-geographical, and remote-sensing studies of the Nineveh region. The concept of sustainability is used here as a modern analytical lens rather than as a claim that the Assyrians employed the term in its contemporary sense. The evidence indicates that the seasonal character and relatively low natural discharge of the Khosr required deliberate hydraulic intervention. Under Sennacherib, springs and tributary waters were integrated into the river system, canals were excavated, dams and regulating structures were constructed, and water was redirected toward Nineveh and its surrounding plain. These interventions helped secure a more reliable urban water supply, supported irrigation and gardens, facilitated major construction projects, and contributed to the organization of the city’s defensive landscape through canals and moats. The study argues that the significance of the Khosr River lay not simply in the presence of a natural watercourse, but in the Assyrian state’s capacity to transform that watercourse into an integrated hydraulic infrastructure. In this sense, the river functioned as a central component of Nineveh’s long-term urban, agricultural, economic, environmental, and security resilience.

Keywords: Khosr River, Nineveh, Neo-Assyrian period, Sennacherib, hydraulic engineering, water management, irrigation, urban sustainability, agricultural sustainability, defensive infrastructure

Abstract

This study examines the role of the Khosr River in sustaining Nineveh during the Neo-Assyrian period through four interrelated dimensions: water supply, agricultural production, urban development, and defensive security. The analysis draws primarily on Neo-Assyrian royal inscriptions, especially those of Sennacherib, together with archaeological, historical-geographical, and remote-sensing studies of the Nineveh region. The concept of sustainability is used here as a modern analytical lens rather than as a claim that the Assyrians employed the term in its contemporary sense. The evidence indicates that the seasonal character and relatively low natural discharge of the Khosr required deliberate hydraulic intervention. Under Sennacherib, springs and tributary waters were integrated into the river system, canals were excavated, dams and regulating structures were constructed, and water was redirected toward Nineveh and its surrounding plain. These interventions helped secure a more reliable urban water supply, supported irrigation and gardens, facilitated major construction projects, and contributed to the organization of the city’s defensive landscape through canals and moats. The study argues that the significance of the Khosr River lay not simply in the presence of a natural watercourse, but in the Assyrian state’s capacity to transform that watercourse into an integrated hydraulic infrastructure. In this sense, the river functioned as a central component of Nineveh’s long-term urban, agricultural, economic, environmental, and security resilience.

Keywords: Khosr River, Nineveh, Neo-Assyrian period, Sennacherib, hydraulic engineering, water management, irrigation, urban sustainability, agricultural sustainability, defensive infrastructure

References

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Khudher Saleh Ahmed
College of Archaeology, Department of Archaeology, University of Mosul, Mosul, Iraq
Khudher.salih@uomosul.edu.iq
Sura Ammar Hamza
College of Archaeology, Department of Ancient Iraqi Languages, University of Mosul, Mosul, Iraq
Noor Faisal Yahya
College of Archaeology, Department of Ancient Iraqi Languages, University of Mosul, Mosul, Iraq
Farah Imad Ezz El-Din
College of Archaeology, Department of Ancient Iraqi Languages, University of Mosul, Mosul, Iraq
Zahraa Mahmoud Mohammed
College of Archaeology, Department of Ancient Iraqi Languages, University of Mosul, Mosul, Iraq

How to cite:

Khudher Saleh Ahmed, Sura Ammar Hamza, Noor Faisal Yahya, Farah Imad Ezz El-Din, Zahraa Mahmoud Mohammed. The Role of the Khosr River in the Sustainability of the City of Nineveh During the Neo-Assyrian Period (911–612 BC). Revista Cultura Científica, 2026 Issue 24. pg. 1476-1487.

Publication History

  • Received: 03/07/2026
  • Accepted: 20/09/2026
  • Published: 23/09/2026
Copyright © 2026, Khudher Saleh Ahmed, Sura Ammar Hamza, Noor Faisal Yahya, Farah Imad Ezz El-Din, Zahraa Mahmoud Mohammed. Published by Revista Cultura Científica. This article is published as open access under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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