Villa twice the size of the U.S. White House revealed at ancient Assyrian capital
A magnetic survey at Khorsabad, once the ancient Assyrian capital, has revealed the remains of a huge villa (with 127 rooms), royal gardens, the city’s water gate and five large buildings.
"The site, dating back 2,700 years, was originally established as Dur-Sharrukin, or “Fortress of Sargon,” by Neo-Assyrian Emperor Sargon II in 713 B.C.
The Neo-Assyrian emperor Sargon II began building a new capital city, named after himself, in the desert of what is now Iraq. For a long time, archaeologists believed that this ambitious project had only just begun when it was abandoned, leaving behind nothing but the remains of a building site. However, a recent survey of the site challenges that notion. The city did indeed flourish outside the palace, as evidenced by visualizations of data from a precision magnetometer that reveal hitherto undiscovered structures and infrastructure inside the city walls.
Sargon II died a few years after work began on Dur-Sharrukin (“Fortress of Sargon”), now called Khorsabad. His son quickly set up his own capital in the city of Nineveh, and for the next 2,500 years, Sargon II’s building project was largely forgotten. In the 1800s, French archaeologists rediscovered the site."
On August 7, 2026, Assyrian communities around the world observed the Day of Remembrance for Assyrian Martyrs. On this day, the victims of persecution and mass killings are commemorated, particularly those who perished during the Simele massacre in Iraq in 1933.
The best cookbooks offer more than recipes—they tell the stories of the people behind them, their heritage, and their struggles. That’s exactly what makes The Oldest Kitchen in the World by Matay de Mayee such a treasure.
In a collaboration between Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) and the University of Baghdad, an ancient Babylonian hymn dating back over two millennia has been rediscovered and fully deciphered.
Almost two years after his passing on September 17, 2024, the voice of Evin Agassi still echoes deeply within the hearts of many Assyrians. Agassi was more than a musician; he was a cultural bridge, a storyteller of homeland longings, and a unifying symbol for millions scattered across the globe.
Meet the man who has invested countless hours translating forgotten Assyrian magazines issued more than a century ago, and in the process discovered the thoughts and developments that continue to shape the Assyrian nation today.
A century after its official establishment, Qamishli remains one of the most important reminders of how Assyrians rebuilt their lives after the destruction of their ancestral communities in the Ottoman Empire.
The two oldest Assyrian church rites have been able to preserve their existence for more than fifteen centuries, putting them among the oldest existing organizations in the world.
Leman Altuntaş
