Ashur

City on the river Tigris in north Mesopotamia, at a strategic point on trade routes from Sumeria to Anatolia and the Levant. Founded in the 3rd millennium BC, it had become a major trade center by about 1800 BC, when it was seized by the Amorite king Shamshi-Adad. An Akkadian dynasty ruled Ashur from about 1600 BC, overthrowing Mittanian domination in about 1330 BC, and renaming their kingdom Assyria (after Ashur). It remained the Assyrian capital until about 878 BC, and continued to be the religious center. Ashur was destroyed by the Babylonians in 614 BC.