Mosul sayfasının kaynağını görüntüle

{{about|the city|the former province|Mosul Vilayet|other uses}}
{{redirect|Moslawi|the dialect|North Mesopotamian Arabic}}
{{original research|date=July 2016}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name          = Mosul
| native_name            = {{native name|ar|الموصل|italics=off}}
| other_name             = مووسڵ 
| image_skyline          = مدينة الموصل.jpg
| imagesize              =
| image_caption          = [[Tigris]], a bridge and Grand Mosque in Mosul
| image_flag             =
| image_seal             =
| image_shield           =
| nickname               = Nīnwē
| motto                  =
| image_map              =
| map_caption            =
| pushpin_map            = Iraq
| pushpin_label_position =
| pushpin_mapsize        =
| pushpin_relief         = 1
| coordinates            = {{coord|36.34|N|43.13|E|region:IQ|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type       = Country
| subdivision_name       = {{flag|Iraq}}
| subdivision_type2      = Governorate
| subdivision_name2      = [[Nineveh Governorate]]
| established_title      =
| established_date       =
| parts_type             = [[ISIL territorial claims|Occupation of part]]
| parts_style            = para
| p1                     = {{Flagicon image|Flag of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant.svg|border}} [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]]
| government_type        =
| leader_title           = Mayor
| leader_name            = Hussein Ali Khajem
| area_footnotes         =
| area_water_percent     =
| elevation_footnotes    = <ref>{{cite web |first=Philip |last=Gladstone |title=Synop Information for ORBM (40608) in Mosul, Iraq |url=http://weather.gladstonefamily.net/site/ORBM |website=Weather Quality Reporter |accessdate=16 June 2014|date=10 February 2014}}</ref>
| elevation_m            = 223
| elevation_ft           = 732
| population_total       = 664,221<!--Note: use population_footnotes for refs, use only unformatted numbers here -->
| population_as_of       = 2015
| population_footnotes   =
| population_urban       = Unknown (estimates range between 750,000 and 1,500,000<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/iraqi-city-of-mosul-transformed-a-year-after-islamic-state-capture-1433888626 |title=Iraqi City of Mosul Transformed a Year After Islamic State Capture|work=Wall Street Journal}}</ref>
| population_demonym     = Moslawi
| population_note        = UNData 1987<ref>{{cite web|url=http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=POP&f=tableCode%3A240 |title=UNSD Demographic Statistics |work=United Nations Statistics Division 1987}}</ref>
| postal_code_type       =
| postal_code            =
| area_code              = 60
| unemployment_rate = 
| website                =
| footnotes              =
| timezone               = [[Arabia Standard Time|AST]]
| utc_offset             = +3
| timezone_DST           =
| utc_offset_DST         =
}}
[[File:Map of Mosul.svg|thumb]]

'''Mosul''' ({{lang-ar|الموصل}} ''{{transl|ar|al-Mawṣil}}'', <small>[[North Mesopotamian Arabic]]:</small> ''{{transl|ayp|el-Mōṣul}}''; {{lang-ku|مووسڵ}},{{lang-syr|ܡܘܨܠ|[[Syriac Latin alphabet|Māwṣil]]}}, {{lang-tr|Musul}}) is a city in northern [[Iraq]]. Since October 2016 it has been the site of a military operation led by the Iraqi Government, under [[Haider al-Abadi]], in an effort to dislodge and defeat militant forces. The city has been under the control of the [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]] since June 2014, and no westerner has entered the city until the latest initiative. The [[Battle of Mosul (2016–17)|Battle of Mosul]], a military offensive to retake the city begun in October 2016, is the largest deployment of Iraqi forces since the [[2003 invasion of Iraq|2003 invasion]] by U.S. and coalition forces.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Hawramy|first1=Fazel|last2=Harding|first2=Luke|title=Iraqi and Kurdish forces close in on Mosul after making quick gains|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/20/mosul-attack-kurdish-forces-launch-large-scale-operation-against-isis-in-iraq|accessdate=20 October 2016|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=20 October 2016}}</ref>

Located some {{convert|400|km|abbr=on}} north of [[Baghdad]], the city stands on the west bank of the [[Tigris]], opposite the ancient [[Old Assyrian Empire|Assyrian]] city of [[Nineveh]] on the east bank. The metropolitan area has grown to encompass substantial areas on both the "Left Bank" (east side) and the "Right Bank" (west side), as the two banks are described by the locals compared to the flow direction of Tigris.

At the start of the 21st century, Mosul and its surrounds had an ethnically and religiously diverse population; the majority of Mosul's population were [[Arabs]], with [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]],<ref>Soane, E.B. ''To Mesopotamia and Kurdistan in Disguise.'' John Murray: London, 1912. p. 92.</ref><ref>Rev. W.A. Wigram (1929). ''The Assyrians and Their Neighbours.'' London.</ref><ref>Unrepresented Nations and People Organization (UNPO). ''Assyrians the Indigenous People of Iraq'' [1]</ref> [[Armenians]], [[Iraqi Turkmens|Turkmens]], [[Kurds in Iraq|Kurds]], [[Yazidis]], [[Shabaki dialect|Shabakis]], [[Mandaeans]], [[Gypsies in Iraq|Kawliya]], [[Circassians]] in addition to other, smaller ethnic minorities. In religious terms, mainstream [[Sunni Islam]] was the largest religion, but with a significant number of followers of the [[Salafi movement]] and [[Christianity]] (the latter followed by the Assyrians and Armenians), as well as [[Shia Islam]], [[Sufism]], Yazidism, [[Shabakism]], [[Yarsanism]] and [[Mandaeism]].

The city's population grew rapidly around the turn of the millennium and by 2004 was estimated to be 1,846,500.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Mosul.aspx |title=Mosul  |publisher=''Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa'' |date=1 January 2004}}</ref> An estimated half million people fled Mosul in the second half of 2014 when the [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|IS]] fought with government forces for control of the city. On November 17, 2014, ISIS attacked the city of Mosul, ultimately killing seven civilians, two soldiers, and wounding 35 others.<ref name="ohchr">{{cite web |format=PDF |url=http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/IQ/UNAMI_OHCHR_POC_Report_FINAL_6July_10September2014.pdf |title=Report on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict in Iraq: 6 July – 10 September 2014 |publisher=[[United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq|UNAMI]] and [[Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights|OHCHR]] |accessdate=21 December 2014}}</ref> While some residents returned, more fled in 2015 as fighting and violence increased, and US bombings pounded the city. 

Historically, important products of the area include Mosul [[marble]] and [[oil]]. The city of Mosul is home to the [[University of Mosul]] and its renowned Medical College, which together was one of the largest educational and research centers in Iraq and the Middle East. The University has since been closed. The Islamic State's leadership in Mosul has kept the Medical College open but it is reported to be barely functional.

Until 2014, the city, together with the nearby [[Nineveh plains]], was one of the historic centers for the Assyrians<ref>Dalley, Stephanie (1993). "Nineveh After 612 BC." ''Alt-Orientanlische Forshchungen 20''. p.134.</ref><ref>Robert D Biggs - "Especially in view of the very early establishment of Christianity in Assyria and its continuity to the present and the continuity of the population, I think there is every likelihood that ancient Assyrians are among the ancestors of modern Assyrians of the area."</ref> and their churches; the [[Assyrian Church of the East]]; its offshoot, the [[Chaldean Catholic Church]]; and the [[Syriac Orthodox Church]], containing the tombs of several [[Old Testament]] prophets such as [[Jonah]], which was destroyed by Islamic State occupation army in July 2014.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/24/world/iraq-violence/|title=ISIS militants destroy the tomb of Jonah|date=25 July 2014 |publisher=CNN |author1=Dana Ford  |author2=Mohammed Tawfeeq |lastauthoramp=yes }}</ref>

==Etymology==

The name of the city is first mentioned by [[Xenophon]] in his expeditionary logs in [[Achaemenid Assyria]] of 401 BC, during the reign of the Persian [[Achaemenid Empire]]. There, he notes a small [[Assyrian people|Assyrian]] town of "Mépsila" ({{lang-grc|Μέψιλα}}) on the Tigris somewhere about where modern Mosul is today (''[[Anabasis (Xenophon)|Anabasis]]'', III.iv.10). It may be safer to identify Xenophon's ''Mépsila'' with the site of Iski Mosul, or "Old Mosul", about {{convert|30|km|abbr=on}} north of modern Mosul, where six centuries after Xenophon's report, the [[Sasanian Empire]]'s center of [[Budh-Ardhashir]] was built. Be that as it may, the name Mepsila is doubtless the root for the modern name.

In its current Arabic form and spelling, the term Mosul, or rather "Mawsil", stands for the "linking point" – or loosely, the "Junction City," in [[Arabic]].  Mosul should not be confused with the ancient Assyrian capital of [[Nineveh]], which is located across the Tigris from Mosul on the eastern bank, at the famed archaeological mound of Kuyunjik (Turkoman for "sheep's hill"). This area is known today as the town of Nebi Yunus ("prophet [[Jonah]]") and is now populated largely by [[Kurds]]. It is the only fully-Kurdish neighborhood in Mosul. The site contains the tomb of the Biblical Jonah, as he lived and died in the then capital of ancient Assyria. Today, this entire area has been absorbed into the Mosul metropolitan area. The [[indigenous peoples|indigenous]] [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]] still refer to the entire city of Mosul as ''Nineveh'' (or rather, Ninweh).<ref>Dalley, Stephanie (1993) "Nineveh After 612 BC," ''Alt-Orientanlische Forshchungen 20,'' p.134</ref>

The ancient Nineveh was succeeded by Mepsila after the fall of [[Assyria]] between 612-599 BC at the hands of a coalition of [[Babylonia]]ns, [[Medes]], [[Persian Empire|Persians]], [[Scythians]], [[Cimmerians]] and [[Sagartians]]. The [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]] largely abandoned the city, building new smaller settlements such as Mepsila nearby.<ref>Reuters article - reprinted in ''Nabu Magazine,'' Vol. 3, Issue 1 (1997)</ref>

Mosul is also named ''al-Faiha'' ("the Paradise"), ''al-Khaḍrah'' ("the Green"), and ''al-Hadbah'' ("the Humped").  It is sometimes described as "The Pearl of the North"<ref name="AtlasTours">[http://www.atlastours.net/iraq/mosul.html "Mosul, Iraq"] from AtlasTours.net</ref> and "the city of a million soldiers".<ref>{{cite news|title=The war against Islamic State (2): Mosul beckons|url=http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21648055-it-will-not-be-easy-retake-iraqs-second-city-mosul-beckons|accessdate=22 April 2015|work=[[The Economist]]|date=11 April 2015}}</ref>

==History==
{{See also|Timeline of Mosul}}

===Ancient era and early Middle Ages===
{{seealso|Syria Etymology}}
[[File:Saint Elijah's Monastery 1.JPG|120px|thumb|[[Dair Mar Elia]] south of Mosul, Iraq's oldest monastery of the [[Assyrian Church of the East]], dating from the [[6th century]]. It was destroyed by [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|ISIS]] in 2014.]]
The area in which Mosul lies was an integral part of [[Assyria]] from as early as the 25th century BC, and after the [[Akkadian Empire]] (2335–2154 BC) which united all of the peoples of [[Mesopotamia]] under one rule, it again became a continuous part of Assyria proper from circa 2050 BC through to the fall of the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]] between 612–599 BC. However, it remained within the [[geopolitics|geopolitical]] province of Assyria for a further thirteen centuries (as a part of [[Achaemenid Assyria]], [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid]] Syria, [[Assyria (Roman province)|Roman Assyria]] and Sasanian [[Asōristān]]) until the [[early Muslim conquests]] of the mid-7th century, after which the region saw a gradual influx of Muslim Arab, Kurdish and Turkic peoples, although the Assyrians continue to use the name ''Athura'' for the ecclesiastical province.

Nineveh is mentioned in the [[Old Assyrian Empire]] (2025-1750), and during the reign of [[Shamshi-Adad I]] (1809-1776 BC) it is listed as a centre of worship of the goddess [[Ishtar]], and it remained as such during the [[Middle Assyrian Empire]] (1365-1056 BC). During the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]] (911-605 BC) Nineveh grew in size and importance, particularly from the reigns of [[Tukulti-Ninurta II]] and [[Ashurnasirpal II]] (883–859 BC) onward, however he chose the city of Kalhu (the Biblical ''Calah'', modern [[Nimrud]]) as his capital in place of the ancient traditional capital of [[Assur|Aššur]] ([[Ashur]]), {{convert|30|km|abbr=on}} from present day Mosul. Thereafter successive Assyrian emperor- monarchs such as [[Shalmaneser III]], [[Adad-nirari III]], [[Tiglath-Pileser III]], [[Shalmaneser V]] and [[Sargon II]] continued to expand the city. In approximately 700 BC, King [[Sennacherib]] made [[Nineveh]] the new capital of Assyria. Immense building work was undertaken, and Nineveh eclipsed [[Babylon]], Kalhu and Aššur in both size and importance, making it the largest city in the world. A number of scholars believe the true location of the [[Hanging Gardens of Babylon]] were in fact at Nineveh.<ref>Dalley, Stephanie, (2013) The Mystery of the Hanging Garden of Babylon: an elusive World Wonder traced, Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-966226-5</ref> The mound of Kuyunjik in Mosul is the site of the palaces of King [[Sennacherib]], and his successors [[Esarhaddon]], [[Ashurbanipal]], (who established the [[Library of Ashurbanipal]]) and [[Ashur-etil-ilani]]. The Assyrian Empire began to unravel from 626 BC onwards, being consumed by a decade of brutal internal civil wars, greatly weakening it. A war ravaged Assyria was subsequently attacked in 616 BC by a vast coalition of its former subjects; most notably the [[Babylonia]]ns, [[Medes]], [[Persians]], [[Chaldea]]ns, [[Scythians]], [[Cimmerians]] and [[Sagartians]]. Nineveh fell after a siege and bitter house to house fighting in 612 BC during the reign of [[Sinsharishkun]] who was killed defending his capital. His successor, [[Ashur-uballit II]], fought his way out of Nineveh and formed a new Assyrian capital at [[Harran]] (now southeastern Turkey).

Mosul (then Mepsila) later succeeded Nineveh as the Tigris bridgehead of the road that linked Assyria and [[Anatolia]] with the short lived [[Medes|Median Empire]] and succeeding [[Achaemenid Empire]] (546–332 BC) where it was a part of the geopolitical province of Athura, where the region saw a significant economic revival.

It became part of the [[Seleucid Empire]] after Alexander’s conquests in 332 BC. While little is known of the city from the Hellenistic period, Mosul likely belonged to the Seleucid satrapy of ''Syria'', the Greek term for ''Assyria'', Syria originally meaning Assyria rather than the modern nation of [[Syria]], which was conquered by the [[Parthian Empire]] circa 150 BC.

The city changed hands once again with the rise of the Sasanian Empire in [[225]] and became a part of the Sasanian province of Asōristān. Christianity was present among the indigenous [[Assyrian people]] in Mosul as early as the 1st century, although the [[ancient Mesopotamian religion]] remained strong until the [[4th century]]. It became an episcopal seat of the [[Assyrian Church of the East]] in the 6th century.

In 637 (other sources say 641), during the period of the Caliph [[Umar]], the city was annexed to the [[Rashidun Caliphate]] by Utba bin Farqad Al-Salami, during the early Muslim conquests, after which it was dissolved as a geopolitical entity.

===9th century to 1535===
[[File:Siège de Mossoul (1261-1262).jpeg|thumb| [[Persian miniature]] depicting the siege of Mosul in 1261–63 from: {{Citation  |first=Rashid-al-Din |last=Hamadani  |title=[[Jami' al-tawarikh]] |author-mask=Rashid-al-Din Hamadani |publisher=Bibliothèque Nationale de France}}.]]
In the late 9th century control over the city was seized by the [[Turkish people|Turkish]] dynasts [[Ishaq ibn Kundaj]] and his son [[Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Kundaj|Muhammad]], but in 893 Mosul came once again under the direct control of the [[Abbasid Caliphate]]. In the early 10th century Mosul came under the control of the native Arab [[Hamdanid dynasty]]. From Mosul, the Hamdanids under Abdallah ibn Hamdan and his son [[Nasir al-Dawla]] expanded their control over [[Upper Mesopotamia]] for several decades, first as governors of the Abbassids and later as ''de facto'' independent rulers. A century later they were supplanted by the [[Uqaylid dynasty]].

Mosul was conquered by the [[Seljuq Empire]] in the 11th century. After a period under semi-independent [[atabeg]] such as [[Mawdud]], in 1127 it became the centre of power of the [[Zengid dynasty]]. [[Saladin]] besieged the city unsuccessfully in 1182 but finally gained control of it in 1186. In the 13th century it was captured by the [[Mongols]] led by [[Hulagu Khan]], but was spared the usual destruction since its governor, Badr al-Din Luʾluʾ, helped the Khan in his following campaigns in Syria. After the Mongol defeat in the [[Battle of Ain Jalut]] against the [[Mamluk]]s, Badr al-Din's son sided with the latter; this led to the destruction of the city, which later regained some importance but never recovered its original splendor. Mosul was thenceforth ruled by the Mongol [[Ilkhanate]] and [[Jalairid Sultanate]] and escaped [[Timur]]'s destructions.

During 1165 [[Benjamin of Tudela]] passed through Mosul; in his papers he wrote that he found a small Jewish community estimated as 7000 people in Mosul, the community was led by Rabbi Zakkai, presumably connected to the [[Davidic line]]. In 1288–1289, the [[Exilarch]] was in Mosul and signed a supporting paper for [[Maimonides]].<ref name="jews_of_musul_1981">עזרא לניאדו, יהודי מוצל, מגלות שומרון עד מבצע עזרא ונחמיה, המכון לחקר יהדות מוצל, טירת-כרמל: ה'תשמ"א.</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Moses Maimonides: The Man and His Works |first=Herbert A. |last=Davidson |location=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2005 |isbn=0-19-517321-X |page=560}}</ref> In the early 16th century, Mosul was under the Turkmen federation of the [[Ağ Qoyunlu]], but in 1508 it was conquered by the [[Safavid dynasty]] of Iran.

===Ottomans: 1517 to 1918===
What started as irregular attacks in 1517 was finalized in 1538, when [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] [[Sultan]] [[Suleyman the Magnificent]] [[Ottoman–Safavid War (1532–55)|added Mosul]] to his empire by capturing it from his archrivals — [[Safavid Persia]].{{sfn|Rothman|2015|page=236}} Thenceforth Mosul was governed by a [[pasha]]. Mosul was celebrated for its line of walls, comprising seven gates with large towers, a renowned hospital (''maristan'') and a covered market (''qaysariyya''), and was also famous for its fabrics and flourishing trades.

Although [[Mesopotamia]] had been conquered by the [[Ottoman Empire]] in 1533, gains which were confirmed by the [[Peace of Amasya]] (1555) until the [[Ottoman–Safavid War (1623–39)|reconquest]] of [[Baghdad]] in 1638, and the [[Treaty of Zuhab|resulting treaty]] of the year after, Ottoman control over Mesopotamia was not decisive,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Shaw|first1=Stanford J.|last2=Shaw|first2=Ezel Kural|title=History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey: Volume 1, Empire of the Gazis: The Rise and Decline of the Ottoman Empire 1280-1808|date=1976|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|isbn=978-0521291637|page=199}}</ref> and the city of Mosul was considered "still a mere fortress, important for its strategic position as an offensive platform for Ottoman campaigns into Iraq, as well as a defensive stronghold and (staging post) guarding the approaches to [[Anatolia]] and to the Syrian coast. Then with the Ottoman reconquest of Baghdad (1638), the [[Liwa (Arabic)|liwa’]] of Mosul became an independent [[wilayah|wilaya]]."<ref name="Kemp1983">{{cite journal |last=Kemp |first=Percy |title=Power and Knowledge in Jalili Mosul |journal=Middle Eastern Studies |volume=19 |issue=2 |year=1983 |pages=201–12 |doi=10.1080/00263208308700543}}</ref>{{rp |202}} After the Peace of Amasya, the Safavids recaptured most of Mesopotamia one more time during the reign of king [[Abbas I of Persia|Abbas I]] (r. 1588-1629). Amongst the newly appointed Safavid governors of Mesopotamia during those years, was [[Qasem Sultan Afshar]], who was appointed governor of Mosul in 1622.{{sfn|Nasiri|Floor|2008|page=248}}{{sfn|Oberling|1984|pages=582-586}}

Despite being a part of the Ottoman Empire, during the four centuries of Ottoman rule Mosul was considered "the most independent district" within the Middle East, following the Roman model of indirect rule through local notables.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Al-Tikriti |first=Nabil |title=Ottoman Iraq |journal=Journal of the Historical Society |volume=7 |issue=2 |year=2007 |pages=201–11 |doi=10.1111/j.1540-5923.2007.00214.x}}</ref>{{rp |203–4}} "Mosuli culture developed less along Ottoman–Turkish lines than along Iraqi–Arab lines; and Turkish, the official language of the State, was certainly not the dominant language in the province."<ref name="Kemp1983" />{{rp |203}}

In line with its status as a politically stable trade route between the [[Mediterranean Basin|Mediterranean]] and the [[Persian Gulf]] the city developed considerably during the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Similar to the development of the [[Mamluk]] dynasty in Baghdad, during this time "the [[Al-Jalili family|Jalili family]] was establishing itself as the undisputed master of Mosul", and "helping to connect Mosul with a pre-Ottoman, pre-[[Aq Qoyunlu|Turcoman]], pre-[[Mongol Empire|Mongol]], Arab cultural heritage which was to put the town on its way to recapturing some of the prestige and prominence it had enjoyed under the golden reign of [[Badr al-Din Lu'lu'|Badr ad-Din Lu’lu’]]."<ref name="Kemp1983" />{{rp|203}}

Along with the [[al-Omari|al-Umari]] and Tasin al-Mufti families, the Jalilis formed an "urban-based small and medium gentry and a new landed elite", which proceeded to displace the control of previous rural tribes.<ref>{{Citation |last=Khoury |first=Dina Rizk |title=State and Provincial Society in the Ottoman Empire. Mosul, 1540–1834 |publisher=Cambridge |series=Studies in Islamic Civilization |year=1997 |page=19}}</ref> Such families proceed to establish themselves through private enterprise, solidifying their influence and assets through rents on land and taxes on urban and rural manufacturing.

As well as elected officials, the social architecture of Mosul was highly influenced by the [[Dominican Order|Dominican fathers]] who arrived in Mosul in 1750, sent by [[Pope Benedict XIV]] (Mosul had a large Christian population, predominantly indigenous [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]]).<ref name="Woods 2006">{{cite web|title=Iraq Perspectives: Catholics and Dominicans in Iraq|publisher=Dominican Life|last=Woods|first=Richard|year=2006|url=http://www.domlife.org/Justice/Iraq/PerspectivesJanuary06.htm|accessdate=2009-09-13}}</ref> They were followed by the Dominican nuns in 1873. They established a number of schools, health clinics, a printing press and an orphanage. The nuns also established workshops to teach girls sewing and embroidery.<ref>{{cite book|title=Christianity in Iraq: Its Origins and Development to the Present Day|publisher=Gracewing|last=Rasam|first=Suha|year=2005|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GYC93sfHXAEC&pg=PA138|accessdate=2009-09-13}}</ref> A congregation of Dominican sisters, founded in the 19th century, still had its motherhouse in Mosul by the early 21st century. Over 120 Assyrian Iraqi Sisters belonged to this congregation.<ref name="Woods 2006" />

In the nineteenth century the Ottoman government started to reclaim central control over its outlying provinces. Their aim was to "restore Ottoman law, and rejuvenate the military" as well as reviving "a secure tax base for the government".<ref name="Shields2000">{{cite book |last=Shields |first=Sarah D. |title=Mosul Before Iraq; Like Bees Making Five-Sided Cells |location=Albanay |publisher=State University of New York Press |year=2000 |isbn=0-7914-4487-2}}</ref>{{rp|24–26}} In order to reestablish rule in 1834 the Sultan abolished public elections for the position of governor, and began "neutraliz[ing] local families such as the [[Al-Jalili family|Jalilis]] and their class."<ref name="Shields2000" />{{rp|28–29}} and appointing new, non-Maslawi governors directly. In line with its reintegration within central government rule, Mosul was required to conform to new Ottoman reform legislation, including the standardization of [[tariff]] rates, the consolidation of internal taxes and the integration of the administrative apparatus with the central government.<ref name="Shields2000" />{{rp|26}}

This process started in 1834 with the appointment of Bayraktar Mehmet Pasha, who was to rule Mosul for the next four years. After the reign of Bayraktar Mehmet Pasha, the Ottoman government (wishing still to restrain the influence of powerful local families) appointed a series of governors in rapid succession, ruling “for only a brief period before being sent somewhere else to govern, making it impossible for any of them to achieve a substantial local power base.”<ref name="Shields2000" />{{rp|29}} Mosul's importance as a trading center declined after the opening of the [[Suez canal]], which enabled goods to travel to and from India by sea rather than by land across Iraq and through Mosul.
[[File:Mosul.jpg|thumb|A coffee house in Mosul, 1914.]]

Mosul was the capital of [[Mosul Vilayet]] one of the three [[vilayet]]s ([[province]]s) of [[Ottoman Iraq]],with a brief break in 1623 when [[Persia]] seized the city.

During [[World War I]] the [[Ottoman Empire]] sided with [[Germany]], the [[Austro-Hungarian Empire]] and [[Bulgaria]] against the [[British Empire]], [[France]] and the [[Russian Empire]]. In northern Mesopotamia, northern Syria and south east Turkey the [[Ottomans]] held the armed support of the [[Kurds]], [[Turcomans]], [[Circassians]] and some [[Arab]] groups, while the British and Russians were militarily supported by the [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]] and [[Armenian people|Armenians]] (particularly in the wake of the [[Armenian genocide]] and [[Assyrian genocide]]), and some Arab groups. The Ottomans were defeated, and in 1918 the [[United Kingdom|British]] occupied Mosul, and indeed the whole of Iraq.

===1918 to 2003===
At the end of World War I in October 1918, after the signature of the [[Armistice of Mudros]], British forces occupied Mosul. After the war, the city and the surrounding area became part of the [[Occupied Enemy Territory Administration]] (1918–20), and shortly [[Mandatory Iraq]] (1920–32). This mandate [[Mosul Question|was contested]] by Turkey which continued to claim the area based on the fact that it was under Ottoman control during the signature of the Armistice. In the [[Treaty of Lausanne]], the dispute over Mosul was left for future resolution by the [[League of Nations]]. Iraq's possession of Mosul was confirmed by the [[League of Nations Mosul|League of Nations]] brokered agreement between [[Turkey]] and Great Britain in 1926. Former Ottoman [[Mosul Vilayet]] eventually became [[Nineveh Province]] of Iraq, but Mosul remained the provincial capital.
[[File:Hadba-16200v.jpg|thumb|Mosul in 1932]]
The city's fortunes revived with the discovery of [[Petroleum|oil]] in the area, from the late 1920s onward. It became a nexus for the movement of oil via truck and pipeline to both [[Turkey]] and Syria. Qyuarrah Refinery was built within about an hour's drive from the city and was used to process tar for road-building projects. It was damaged but not destroyed during the [[Iran–Iraq War]].

The opening of the [[University of Mosul]] in 1967 enabled the education of many in the city and surrounding areas.

After the [[1991 uprisings in Iraq Northern uprisings|1991 uprisings]] by the Kurds Mosul did not fall within the [[1991 uprisings in Iraq Kurdish sovereign enclave|Kurdish-ruled area]], but it was included in the northern [[Iraqi no-fly zones|no-fly zone]] imposed and patrolled by the United States and Britain between 1991 and 2003.

Although this prevented [[Saddam]]'s forces from mounting large-scale military operations again in the region, it did not stop the regime from implementing a steady policy of "Arabisation" by which the demography of some areas of Nineveh Governorate were gradually changed. Despite the program Mosul and its surrounding towns and villages remained home to a mixture of [[Arabs]], [[Kurds]], [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]], [[Armenians]], [[Turkmens]], [[Shabaks]], a few [[Jews]], and isolated populations of [[Yazidi]]s, [[Mandean]]s, [[Kawliya]] and [[Circassians]]. Saddam was able to garrison portions of the 5th Army within the city of Mosul, had [[Mosul International Airport]] under military control, and recruited heavily from the city for his military's officer corps; this may have been due to the fact that most of the officers and generals of the Iraqi Army were from Mosul long before the Saddam regime era.

===2003 to 2014===
[[File:Defense.gov News Photo 030722-A-3450H-043.jpg|thumb|Saddam Hussein's sons [[Qusay Hussein|Qusay]] and [[Uday Hussein|Uday]] were killed in a gun battle in Mosul on July 22, 2003]]
When the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]] was being planned, the United States had originally intended to base troops in Turkey and mount a thrust into northern Iraq to capture Mosul. However, the Turkish parliament refused to grant permission for the operation. When the [[Iraq War]] did break out in March 2003, US military activity in the area was confined to strategic bombing with [[airdrop]]ped [[special forces]] operating in the vicinity. Mosul fell on April 11, 2003, when the Iraqi Army 5th Corps, loyal to Saddam, abandoned the city and eventually surrendered, two days after the fall of Baghdad. US Army Special Forces with Kurdish fighters quickly took civil control of the city. Thereafter began widespread looting before an agreement was reached to cede overall control to US forces.

On July 22, 2003, Saddam Hussein's sons, [[Uday Hussein]] and [[Qusay Hussein]], were killed in a gun battle with Coalition forces in Mosul after a failed attempt at their apprehension.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/07/22/sprj.irq.sons/index.html Pentagon: Saddam's sons killed in raid ]. CNN.com (2003-07-22). Retrieved on 2011-07-02.</ref>  The city also served as the operational base for the [[United States Army|US Army]]'s [[101st Airborne Division]] during the occupational phase of the [[2003 invasion of Iraq|Operation Iraqi Freedom]]. During its tenure, the 101st Airborne Division was able to extensively survey the city and, advised by the 431st [[United States Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command Civil Affairs|Civil Affairs]] Battalion, non-governmental organizations, and the people of Mosul, began reconstruction work by employing the people of Mosul in the areas of security, electricity, local governance, drinking water, wastewater, trash disposal, roads, bridges, and environmental concerns.<ref>[http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iraq/mosul.htm Mosul]. Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved on 2011-07-02.</ref> Other US Army units to have occupied the city include the 4th Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Cavalry Division, the 172nd [[Stryker]] Brigade, the 3rd Brigade-[[2nd Infantry Division (United States)|2nd Infantry Division]], 18th Engineer Brigade (Combat), Alpha Company 14th Engineer Battalion-555th Combat Engineer Brigade, 1st Brigade-[[25th Infantry Division (United States)|25th Infantry Division]], the 511th Military Police Company, the 812th Military Police Company and company-size units from [[Reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United States|Reserve components]], an element of the 364th Civil Affairs Brigade, and the 404th Civil Affairs Battalion which covered the areas north of the Green Line.{{clarify|date=October 2014}}

On [[2004 Mosul bombings|June 24, 2004]], a coordinated series of car-bombs killed 62 people, many of them policemen.

[[File:Merez memorial.jpg|thumb|The memorial that stands outside the entrance to the Dining Hall on FOB Marez where the December 21, 2004 suicide attack occurred.]]
On December 21, 2004, fourteen US soldiers, four American employees of [[Halliburton]], and four Iraqi soldiers were killed in a suicide attack on a dining hall at the [[Forward Operating Base]] (FOB) Marez next to the main US military airfield at Mosul. [[The Pentagon]] reported that 72 other personnel were injured in the attack carried out by a [[suicide bomber]] wearing an explosive vest and the uniform of the Iraqi security services. The [[Islamism|Islamist]] group [[Army of Ansar al-Sunna]] (partly evolved from [[Ansar al-Islam]]) declared responsibility for the attack in an Internet statement.

In December 2007, Iraq reopened [[Mosul International Airport]]. An [[Iraqi Airways]] flight carried 152 [[Hajj]] pilgrims to Baghdad, the first commercial flight since US forces declared a no-fly zone in 1993, although further commercial flight remained prohibited.<ref name="Forbes.com">[http://www.forbes.com/feeds/afx/2007/12/04/afx4401017.html Iraq reopens Mosul airport after 14 years – US military]</ref> On January 23, 2008, an explosion in an apartment building killed 36 people. The following day, a suicide bomber dressed as a police officer assassinated the local police chief, Brig. Gen. Salah Mohammed al-Jubouri, the director of police for Ninevah province, as he toured the site of the blast.<ref>{{cite news |last=Gamel |first=Kim |url=http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_wires/2008Jan24/0,4675,Iraq,00.html |title=Provincial Police Chief Killed in Mosul |agency=Associated Press |date=January 25, 2008 }}</ref>

In May 2008, a military offensive of the [[Ninawa campaign]] was launched by US-backed Iraqi Army Forces led by Maj. Gen. Riyadh Jalal Tawfiq, the commander of military operations in Mosul, in the hope of bringing back stability and security to the city.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/11/world/middleeast/11iraq.html |title=Sadrists and Iraqi Government Reach Truce Deal |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date=May 11, 2008}}</ref> Though the representatives of Mosul in the [[Iraqi Parliament]], the intellectuals of the city, and other concerned humanitarian groups agreed on the pressing need for a solution to the unbearable conditions of the city, they still believed that the solution was merely political and administrative. They also questioned whether such a large scale military offensive would spare the lives of innocent people.<ref>{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131011204327/http://almosul.org/Action4Mosul/Almosul_Dirk.pdf |date=October 11, 2013 }}</ref>

All these factors deprived the city of its historical, scientific, and intellectual foundations in the last 4 years{{clarify|date=October 2014}}, when many scientists, professors, academics, doctors, health professionals, engineers, lawyers, journalists, religious clergy (both Muslims and Christians), historians, as well as professionals and artists in all walks of life, were either killed or forced to leave the city under the threat of being shot, exactly as happened elsewhere in Iraq in the years following 2003.<ref>{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060515183228/http://www.iraqis.org.uk/Contents/HR/pia_ppp_605.pdf |date=May 15, 2006 |title=Plight of Iraqi Academics }}</ref><ref>{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060629172718/http://almosul.org/Contents/HR/0_FP_HR.htm |date=June 29, 2006 |title=Human Rights in Iraq }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.france24.com/en/20080510-iraqs-deadly-brain-drain-iraq |title=Iraq's deadly brain drain |publisher=France 24 |accessdate=2011-07-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,725055,00.html |work=Time |title=Losing Mosul? |date=October 16, 2004 |accessdate=May 13, 2010}}</ref>

In 2008, many [[Assyrian Christians]] (about 12,000) fled the city following [[2008 attacks on Christians in Mosul|a wave of murders and threats]] against their community. The murder of a dozen Assyrians, threats that others would be murdered unless they converted to Islam and the destruction of their houses sparked a rapid exodus of the Christian population. Some families crossed the borders to Syria and Turkey while others were given shelter in churches and monasteries. Accusations were exchanged between Sunni fundamentalists and some Kurdish groups for being behind this new exodus. For the time being the motivation of these acts is unclear, but some claims linked it to the imminent provincial elections which took place in January 2009, and the related Assyrian Christians' demands for broader representation in the provincial councils.<ref>Muir, Jim. (2008-10-28) [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7696242.stm "Iraqi Christians' fear of exile"]. BBC News. Retrieved on 2011-07-02.</ref><ref>"[http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/10/11/iraq.violence/index.html Christians flee Iraqi city after killings, threats, officials say]." [[CNN]]. 11 October 2008.</ref>

As was predicted by the [[Defense Intelligence Agency|DIA]] and others,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://rinj.org/papers/islamic-schism/ Government|title=Islamic-Schism Prelude to WWIII?|author=Micheal O'Brien|date=June 2015|publisher=The RINJ Foundation}}</ref> Mosul was attacked on June 4, 2014 and after 6 days of fighting, on June 10, 2014, Islamic State [[Fall of Mosul|took over the city]] during the [[Northern Iraq offensive (June 2014)|2014 Northern Iraq offensive]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-iraq-mosul-front-20141005-story.html |title=Iraqi Kurdish forces moving toward complex battle in Mosul |first=Raja |last=Abdulrahim |date=5 October 2014 |work=The [[Los Angeles Times]] |accessdate=21 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29516539 |title=Iraq's battles need sense of resolve|publisher=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=Iraq, Islamic State, Baghdad, War |url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/09/iraq-islamic-state-baghdad-war.html |date=Sep 2014 |newspaper=Al monitor}}</ref> {{As of |2014|August}}, the city's new IS administration was initially dysfunctional with frequent power cuts, tainted water supply, collapse of infrastructure support and failing health care.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/aug/29/islamic-state-isis-mosul-encircled-fear-trapped-in-dark-ages |title=Since Islamic State swept into Mosul, we live encircled by its dark fear|author=Laila Ahmed|work=The Guardian}}</ref>

===Government by Islamic State (IS)===
{{further information|Fall of Mosul}}
On June 10, 2014, [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|Islamic State (IS)]] took control of [[Northern Iraq offensive (June 2014)|Mosul]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Iraqi insurgents seize city|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-25588623 |publisher=BBC|date=11 June 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Militant group seizes cities in Iraq|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2014/06/11/world/meast/iraq-violence/ |publisher=CNN |date=11 June 2014}}</ref> Troop shortages and infighting among top officers and Iraqi political leaders played into Islamic State's hands and fuelled panic that led to the city's abandonment.<ref>{{cite news |title=How Mosul fell - An Iraqi general disputes Baghdad's story |url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/14/us-mideast-crisis-gharawi-special-report-idUSKCN0I30Z820141014 |agency=Reuters |date=14 October 2014}}</ref> Kurdish intelligence had been warned by a reliable source in early 2014 that Mosul would be attacked by IS and [[Ba'ath Party (Iraqi-dominated faction)|ex-Baathists]] (and had informed the US and UK);<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/10918607/How-US-and-Britain-were-warned-of-Isis-advance-in-Iraq-but-turned-a-deaf-ear.html |title=How US and Britain were warned of Isis advance in Iraq but 'turned a deaf ear' |first=Richard |last=Spencer |work=The [[Daily Telegraph]] |date=22 June 2014 |accessdate=21 December 2014}}</ref> however, Iraqi Prime Minister [[Nouri al-Maliki]] and the Defence Minister turned down repeated offers of help from the [[peshmerga]].  Half a million people escaped on foot or by car in the next 2 days.<ref name="Guardian">{{cite news|title=Since Islamic State swept into Mosul, we live encircled by its dark fear |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/aug/29/islamic-state-isis-mosul-encircled-fear-trapped-in-dark-ages |work=The Guardian |date=29 August 2014}}</ref> IS acquired three divisions' worth of up-to-date American arms and munitions—including [[M1129]] Stryker 120-mm mortars and at least 700 armoured [[Humvee]] vehicles from the then fleeing, or since massacred, Iraqi army.<ref name="border">{{cite news|first=Adam |last=Holloway |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11122634/Sharing-a-border-with-Isil-the-worlds-most-dangerous-state.html |title=Sharing a border with Isil - the world's most dangerous state |author-link=Adam Holloway |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=26 September 2014 |accessdate=21 December 2014}}</ref> Many residents initially welcomed IS<ref>{{cite news |title=Under an ISIS Flag, the Sons of Mosul Are Rallying |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/06/16/under-an-isis-flag-the-sons-of-mosul-are-rallying.html |work=The Daily Beast |date=16 June 2014}}</ref> and according to a member of the UK [[Defence Select Committee]] Mosul "fell because the people living there were fed up with the [[sectarianism]] of the Shia dominated Iraqi government."<ref name="border" />

[[File:Iraqi HMMWV in eastern Mosul.png|thumb|Iraqi soldiers drive past an ISIL sign in eastern Mosul, January 2017]]
On 21 January 2015, the US began coordinating airstrikes with a Kurdish-launched offensive, to help them begin the planned operation to retake the city of Mosul.<ref name="Peshmerga begins assault on Mosul">{{Citation |last=Morris |first=Loveday |title=Kurds say they have ejected Islamic State militants from large area in Northern Iraq |date=January 22, 2015 |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/kurds-say-they-have-ejected-islamic-state-from-a-big-area-in-northern-iraq/2015/01/21/ac459372-a1c6-11e4-b146-577832eafcb4_story.html |accessdate=January 25, 2015}}</ref>

Once home to at least 70,000 [[Assyrian Christians]] there are possibly none left today in Mosul, any that do remain are forced to pay a tax for remaining Christian, and live under the constant threat of violence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.basnews.com/index.php/en/news/51224|title=You are being redirected...|publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wnd.com/2015/06/bishop-pleads-for-west-to-accept-mass-asylum-of-iraqi-christians/ |title=Bishop tells West: Defeat ISIS or give Christians asylum |author=Leo Hohmann|publisher=WorldNetDaily}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/190620141|title=Mosul Christians Out of the City for Good |author=Judit Neurink|date=June 19, 2014|publisher=Rudaw}}</ref> The [[indigenous peoples|indigenous]] Assyrians of ancient Mesopotamian ancestry, who have a history in the region dating back over 5,000 years suffered their Christian churches and monasteries being vandalised and burned down,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newyorknewsgrio.com/world/117902-isis-destroy-the-oldest-christian-monastery-in-mosul-iraq.html|title=ISIS destroy the oldest Christian monastery in Mosul, Iraq|publisher=}}</ref> their ancient Assyrian heritage sites dating back to the [[Iron Age]] destroyed, their homes and possessions stolen by IS,<ref name="theguardian.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/24/iraqi-christians-mosul-isis-convert-islam-or-be-executed|title='They are savages,' say Christians forced to flee Mosul by Isis|first=Fazel|last=Hawramy|date=24 July 2014|publisher=|via=The Guardian}}</ref> and ultimatums to convert to Islam, leave their ancient homelands, or be murdered.<ref name="theguardian.com"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/isis-in-iraq-the-brutal-reality-of-life-in-mosul-under-islamic-state-we-are-dying-9850129.html|title=Patrick Cockburn reports on the brutal reality of life in Mosul under Isis|date=9 November 2014|publisher=}}</ref>

During the IS government of Mosul, several phone lines have been cut by IS and many cell phone towers and internet access points were destroyed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2874435/Isis-puts-Iraq-s-second-biggest-city-lockdown-cutting-phone-lines-banning-residents-leaving-ahead-expected-assaults-government-forces.html |title=Isis puts Iraq's second-biggest city into lockdown, cutting phone lines and banning residents from leaving ahead of expected assaults from government forces|author=Ted Thornhill|date=15 December 2014|work=The Daily Mail}}</ref> According to western and pro-Iraqi government press, the residents of the city have been de facto prisoners,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/isis-in-iraq-mosul-residents-are-paying-traffickers-and-risking-their-lives-to-escape-cruel-grip-of-a6700441.html |title=Isis in Iraq: Mosul residents are paying traffickers and risking their lives to escape cruel grip of Islamic State |author=Loveday morris |date=October 19, 2015|work=The Independent}}</ref> forbidden to leave the city unless they post with IS a significant collateral of family members, personal wealth and property. They may then leave the city upon paying a significant "departure tax"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/13/isis-mosul-residents-trapped_n_6862898.html |title=ISIS Blocks Trapped Residents From Leaving Iraq's Mosul|author=Sinan Salaheddin|date=March 13, 2015|work=Huffington Post}}</ref> on a three-day pass (for a higher fee they can surrender their home, pay the fee and leave for good) and if those with a three-day pass fail to return in that time their assets will be seized and family will be killed.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/islamic-state-introduces-new-restrictions-to-prevent-mosul-residents-from-fleeing-city/article23443591/|title=ISIS warns people of Mosul not to leave city|author=Abdelhak Mamoun|date=Mar 11, 2015|publisher=Iraqi News}}</ref>

Most female Yazidis from Mosul and the greater Mosul region (Nineveh) are imprisoned and occasionally many are slaughtered because of their resistance<ref>{{cite web|url=https://rinj.org/interactive/?page_id=1744|title=Catching The ISIS Child Sex Slave Traders in Mosul Iraq|author=Micheal O'Brien|date=October 2, 2015|publisher=The RINJ Foundation}}</ref> to being sold as sex slaves.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/isis-hundreds-yazidi-captives-slaughtered-mosul-1499459 |title=Isis: Hundreds of Yazidi captives slaughtered in Mosul|author=Priya Joshi|work=International Business Times}}</ref> Islamic State occupiers have murdered or driven out most minority groups and converted some Yazidi males and Christians to Islam. Women are required to cover their bodies from head to foot in a strict variant of Sharia rule and men are required to fully grow their beards and hair as does the members of Islamic State. Life in Mosul is one of violent oppression where people suspected of activism against the occupiers, resistance activities, homosexuality, promiscuity or adultery are brutally and summarily tortured and murdered.<ref name="ahmed">{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32831854 |date=9 June 2015 |title=Inside Mosul: What's life like under Islamic State?|author=Laila Ahmed|publisher=BBC News}}</ref>

The IS governor of Mosul, Alian Natiq Mabroush was killed on 18 March 2016 along with ten other jihadist leaders in a U.S. airstrike.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2016/03/isis-governor-mosul-killed-coalition-airstrike/|title=ISIS governor of Mosul killed in coalition airstrike - ARA News|date=18 March 2016|publisher=}}</ref>

During the occupation residents have fought back against IS. In one notable incident they were able to kill five IS militants and destroy two of their vehicles.<ref>http://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/mosul-residents-clash-with-isis-members/</ref>

====Women====
Women must be accompanied by a male guardian<ref name="Guardian" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29415302 |date=29 September 2014 |title=Islamic State crisis: Mother fears for son at Mosul school|publisher=BBC News}}</ref> and wear clothing that covers their body completely including gloves for the hands, niqab for the head and khimar for the full coverage of the body from shoulders to feet.<ref name="ahmed" />

According to Canadian-based NGO "[[The RINJ Foundation]]" which operates medical clinics in Mosul,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-heroes-of-mosul/ |title=The Heroes of Mosul|author=Larry Hart |work=Times Of Israel}}</ref> rape cases in the city prove a pattern of genocide and will lead to a conviction of genocide against Islamic State, in the International Criminal Court, a permanent international tribunal to prosecute individuals for war-time rape, genocide, crimes against humanity, and aggression.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/yasmina-blackburn/rape-in-conflict-is-a-war_b_8018366.html |title=Rape in Conflict Is a War Crime, No Matter How You Spin It|work=Huffington Post / World Post}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=European Parliament resolution on the situation in Northern Iraq/Mosul|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+MOTION+B8-2016-1159+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN|website=The European Parliament|publisher=The European Parliament|accessdate=23 February 2017}}</ref>

Islamic State was in August 2015 reported to be selling captured women and girls to sex slave traders.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vocativ.com/news/226578/jewish-schindler-draws-backlash-for-campaign-to-save-isis-sex-slaves/ |title=Jewish Schindler" Draws Backlash For Campaign To Save ISIS Sex Slaves|publisher=Vocativ}}</ref>

====Persecution of religious and ethnic minorities and destruction of cultural sites====
IS issued an edict expelling (in effect [[ethnic cleansing|ethnically cleansing]]) the remaining predominantly ethnic [[Assyrian people|Assyrian]] and [[Armenian people|Armenian]] Christian Mosul citizens, after the Christians refused to attend a meeting to discuss their future status. According to Duraid Hikmat, an expert on minority relationships and resident of Mosul, the Christians were fearful to attend.<ref name="nytimes.com">{{Citation |last=Rubin |first=Alissa J |date=18 July 2014 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/19/world/middleeast/isis-forces-last-iraqi-christians-to-flee-mosul.html |title=ISIS Forces Last Iraqi Christians to Flee Mosul |newspaper=The New York Times |accessdate=1 August 2013}}</ref> Emboldened IS authorities systematically [[Destruction of cultural heritage by ISIL|destroyed]] and vandalised [[Abrahamic religions|Abrahamic]] cultural artifacts such as the cross from St. Ephrem's Cathedral, the [[Mosques and shrines of Mosul|tomb of Jonah]], and a statue of the [[Virgin Mary]]. IS militants destroyed and pillaged the Tomb of [[Seth]] in Mosul. Artifacts within the tomb were removed to an unknown location.<ref>{{cite news |agency=Al Arabiya |date=26 July 2014 |url=http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/07/26/ISIS-destroy-Prophet-Sheth-shrine-in-Mosul-.html |title=ISIS destroys Prophet Sheth shrine in Mosul |accessdate=1 August 2014}}</ref>

Students from Muslim Shia and Sufi minorities have also been abducted.<ref name="ohchr" />

According to a UN report IS forces are persecuting ethnic groups in and near Mosul. The Assyrians, Kurds, Armenians, Yazidis, Turcoman, Mandeans, Kawliya and Shabaks are victims of unprovoked religiously motivated murders, assaults, theft, kidnappings and the destruction of their cultural sites.<ref name="nytimes.com" />
* [[Mosque of the Prophet Yunus]] or Younis ([[Jonah]]): On one of the two most prominent mounds of [[Nineveh ruins]], used to rise the Mosque (an Assyrian Church year{{clarify|date=October 2014}}) of [[Prophet]] Younis "Biblical [[Jonah]]". Jonah (''Yonan'') the son of [[Amittai]], from the 8th century BC, is believed to be buried here, where King [[Esarhaddon]] of Assyria had once built a palace. It was one of the most important mosques in Mosul and one of the few historic mosques that are found on the east side of the city. On July 24, 2014, the building was destroyed by explosives set by forces of Islamic State.<ref>{{cite news|title=Isis militants blow up Jonah's tomb |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/24/isis-militants-blow-up-jonah-tomb |accessdate=24 July 2014|work=The Guardian|date=24 July 2014}}</ref>
* Mosque of the Prophet Jerjis (Georges): The mosque is believed to be the burial place of Prophet Jerjis. Built of marble with shen reliefs and renovated last in 1393 AD it was mentioned by the explorer Ibn Jubair in the 12th century AD, and is believed also to embrace the tomb of Al-Hur bin Yousif.
* Mashad Yahya Abul Kassem: Built in the 13th century it was on the right bank of the Tigris and was known for its conical dome, decorative brickwork and calligraphy engraved in Mosul blue marble.
* Mosul library: Including the Sunni Muslim library, the library of the 265-year-old Latin Church and Monastery of the Dominican Fathers and the Mosul Museum Library. Among the 112,709 books and manuscripts thought lost are a collection of Iraqi newspapers dating from the early 20th century, as well as maps, books and collections from the Ottoman period; some were registered on a UNESCO rarities list. The library was ransacked and destroyed by explosives on 25 February 2015.<ref>Buchanan, Rose Troup and Saul, Heather (25 February 2015) [http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/isis-burns-thousands-of-rare-books-and-manuscripts-from-mosuls-libraries-10068408.html Isis burns thousands of books and rare manuscripts from Mosul's libraries] The Independent</ref>
* [[Mosul Museum]] and [[Nergal Gate]]: Statues and artefacts that date from the [[Assyria]]n and [[Akkadian Empire|Akkadian]] empires, including artefacts from sites including the Assyrian cities of [[Nineveh]], [[Ashur]], [[Arrapha]], [[Dur-Sharrukin]] and [[Kalhu]] ([[Nimrud]]) and the [[Neo-Assyrian]] site of [[Hatra]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2015/02/isil-video-shows-destruction-mosul-artifacts-150226153158545.html |title=ISIL video shows destruction of Mosul artefacts |date=27 Feb 2015 |publisher=[[Al Jazeera]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Shaheen |first=Kareem |date=26 February 2015 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/26/isis-fighters-destroy-ancient-artefacts-mosul-museum-iraq |title=Isis fighters destroy ancient artefacts at Mosul museum |newspaper=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> Their plans for uprising were accelerated when IS scheduled the destruction of the [[Great Mosque of al-Nuri (Mosul)|al-Ḥadbā]]<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kariml |first1=Ammar |last2=Mojon |first2=Jean-Marc |date=31 July 2014 |url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2014/Jul-31/265532-in-mosul-resistance-against-isis-rises-from-citys-rubble.ashx |title=In Mosul, resistance against ISIS rises from city's rubble |newspaper=The Daily Star |place=Lebanon |accessdate=1 August 2014}}</ref> Many former supporters of IS's Caliphate have voiced protest against IS online in the aftermath of destruction of ancient cultural sites.

====Detention of diplomats====
Turkish diplomats and consular staff were detained for over 100 days.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/mosul-consulate-overpowered-by-isil-militants-at-the-gates-turkish-hostage-says.aspx |title=Mosul Consulate 'overpowered' by ISIL militants at the gates, Turkish hostage says |work=[[Hürriyet Daily News]] |first=Sevil |last=Erkuş |date=25 September 2014 |accessdate=21 December 2014}}</ref>

====Human rights====
{{further information|Mass Executions in ISIS Occupied Mosul}}
Scores of people have been executed without fair trial.<ref>{{cite web |title=UN Envoy Condemns Public Execution of Human Rights Lawyer, Ms. Sameera Al-Nuaimy|url=http://www.uniraq.org/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=2674:un-envoy-condemns-public-execution-of-human-rights-lawyer-ms-sameera-al-nuaimy&Itemid=605&lang=en |publisher=[[United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq]] (UNAMI)}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Report on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict in Iraq: 6 July – 10 September 2014|format=PDF |url=http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/IQ/UNAMI_OHCHR_POC_Report_FINAL_6July_10September2014.pdf |publisher=UNAMI Human Rights Office |quote=Executions following illegal/irregular/unlawful courts, in disrespect of due process and fair trial standards}}</ref> Civilians living in Mosul are not permitted to leave IS-controlled areas. IS has executed several civilians that were trying to flee Mosul.<ref>{{cite news |date=Mar 13, 2015 |title=ISIS: Mosul residents trapped |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/13/isis-mosul-residents-trapped_n_6862898.html |newspaper=The Huffington Post}}</ref>

====Armed opposition====
[[File:Iraqi army convoy. Mosul, Northern Iraq, Western Asia. 17 November, 2016.jpg|thumb|Iraqi army convoy in Mosul, 17 November 2016]]
The [[urban guerrilla warfare]] groups may be called the Nabi Yunus Brigade after the Nabi Yunus mosque, or the Kataeb al-Mosul (Mosul Brigade).<ref>{{cite news |last=Mezzofiore |first=Gianluca |date=30 July 2014 |url=http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/mosul-brigades-local-armed-resistance-islamic-state-gains-support-1459057 |title=Mosul Brigades: Local Armed Resistance to Islamic State Gains Support |place=[[United Kingdom|UK]] |newspaper=International Business Times |accessdate=1 August 2014}}</ref> The brigade claims to have killed IS members with sniper fire.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rferl.org/content/islamic-state-mosul-crackdown/26640663.html|title=IS Cracks Down In Mosul, Fearing Residents Mobilizing Against Them |publisher=Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty}}</ref> In the countryside around Mosul, Kurdish and [[Assyrian people|Assyrian]] [[militia]] have also taken up arms to resist IS oppression, and have successfully repelled IS attacks on Kurdish and Assyrian towns and villages.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/isis-in-iraq-assyrian-christian-militia-keep-well-armed-militants-at-bay-but-they-are-running-out-of-10062935.html|title=The Assyrian Christian militia are keeping well-armed Isis at bay - but they are running out of ammunition|date=22 February 2015|publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://warisboring.com/inside-the-christian-militias-defending-the-nineveh-plains-fe4a10babeed|title=Inside the Christian Militias Defending the Nineveh Plains|first=Matt|last=Cetti-Roberts|date=7 March 2015|publisher=}}</ref>

====Battle of Mosul (2016)====
{{Main article|Mosul offensive (2016)|Battle of Mosul (2016–17)}}
After more than two years of IS occupation of Mosul, Iraqi, Kurdish, American, and French forces launched a joint offensive to recapture the city on 16 October 2016.<ref>{{cite news|title=Battle for Mosul: Iraq and Kurdish troops make gains|url=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-37679325|accessdate=17 October 2016|work=BBC News|date=17 October 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Blau |first1=Max |last2=Park |first2=Madison|last3=McLaughlin|first3=Eliott C. |title=Battle for Mosul: Iraqi forces close in |url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/17/middleeast/mosul-isis-operation-begins-iraq/index.html |accessdate=17 October 2016 |publisher=CNN|date=17 October 2016}}</ref> The battle for Mosul is considered key in the [[military intervention against ISIL|military intervention against IS]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Yan |first1=Holly|last2=Muaddi|first2=Nadeem|title=Why the battle for Mosul matters in the fight against ISIS|url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/17/middleeast/battle-for-mosul/|accessdate=17 October 2016 |work=CNN |date=17 October 2016}}</ref> Turkish warplanes participated in the coalition strikes on Mosul, amid the escalating dispute between Baghdad and Ankara about the Turkish presence in Bashiqa. It is the largest deployment of Iraqi forces since the [[2003 invasion of Iraq|2003 invasion by U.S. and coalition forces]].<ref name="dt1017">{{cite news|title=What is the battle for Mosul? Everything you need to know about the fight to liberate Isil's last bastion of power in Iraq|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/10/17/what-is-the-battle-for-mosul-isils-last-bastion-of-power-in-iraq/|accessdate=17 October 2016 |work=The Daily Telegraph|date=17 October 2016}}</ref>

==Demography==
[[File:Crowded marketplace (Mosul, 1932).jpg|right|thumb|A [[souk]] (traditional market) in Mosul, 1932]]
During the 20th century, Mosul city had been indicative of the mingling ethnic and religious cultures of Iraq. There used to be a [[Sunni]] [[Arab people|Arab]] majority in urban areas, such as downtown Mosul west of the [[Tigris]]; across the Tigris and further north in the suburban areas, thousands of [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]], [[Kurds]], [[Iraqi Turkmen|Turkmens]], [[Shabak people|Shabaks]], [[Yazidis]], [[Armenians]] and [[Mandeans]] made up the rest of Mosul's population.<ref>[http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Mosul.html Mosul|Encyclopedia.com: Facts, Pictures, Information]. Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved on 2011-07-02.</ref> [[Shabak people|Shabaks]] were concentrated on the eastern outskirts of the city.

===Religion===
[[File:Badger 1852 Church in Mosul East side.jpg|right|thumb|Assyrian church in Mosul in about 1850]]
Mosul had an ancient [[Jewish]] population. Like their counterparts elsewhere in Iraq, most were forced out in 1950–51. Israel's government actively sought to create the conditions for this return, in a policy known as gathering in the exiles. Most [[Iraqi Jews]] have moved to Israel, and some to the United States.<ref>[https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0014_0_14308.html Mosul]. Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved on 2011-07-02.</ref> In 2003, during the [[Iraq War]], a rabbi in the American army found an abandoned, dilapidated synagogue in Mosul dating back to the 13th century.<ref>Cf. Carlos C. Huerta, ''[http://www.almosul.org/History/MosulHistory/MosulJews_HuertaCC.htm Jewish heartbreak and hope in Nineveh]''.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.almosul.org/History/MosulHistory/MosulJews_HuertaCC.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101119025208/http://www.almosul.org/History/MosulHistory/MosulJews_HuertaCC.htm|title=Jewish Mosul Revisited Jewish heartbreak and hope in Nineveh, By Carlos C. Huerta ظٹظ‡ظˆط¯ ط§ظ"ظ…ظˆطµظ"|archivedate=19 November 2010|publisher=almosul.org}}</ref>

During the IS occupation, religious minorities were targeted by IS to convert to Islam, pay tribute ([[jizya]]) money, leave, or be killed.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/07/19/iraq-isis-abducting-killing-expelling-minorities |title=Iraq: ISIS Abducting, Killing, Expelling Minorities |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=19 July 2014 |publisher=Human Rights Watch |access-date=20 October 2016}}</ref> During the IS attack on Mosul, over 100,000 Christians fled the city.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/613149/ISIS-barbarity-100000-Christians-fled-Mosul-one-night |title=ISIS barbarity: How 100,000 Christians fled Mosul in ONE NIGHT |last1=Gutteridge |first1=Nick |date=20 October 2015  |publisher=Express News |access-date=20 October 2016}}</ref> The persecution of Christians in Mosul and the surrounding Nineveh Plains removed a Christian witness that had been present since the [[1st century]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/iraq-christians-persecuted-by-isis-60-minutes/ |title=Iraq's Christians persecuted by ISIS |last1=Logan |first1=Lara |date=22 March 2015 |publisher=CBS News |access-date=20 October 2016}}</ref>

==Government==
There are sometimes impromptu checkpoints. Beginning in 2014, there were public executions held by IS.<ref name="bbcdiary">{{cite web|title=Islamic State: Diary of life in Mosul|url=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29600573|publisher=BBC}}</ref>

==Economy==
Inflation and unemployment are high.<ref>{{cite news|title=Citizens of Mosul endure economic collapse and repression under Isis rule|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/27/citizens-mosul-iraq-economic-collapse-repression-isis-islamic-state|accessdate=29 October 2014|work=Guardian|author1=Mohammad Moslawi |author2=Fazel Hawramy |author3=Luke Harding  |last-author-amp=yes }}</ref>

==Infrastructure==
The [[Mosul Dam]] was designed to supply Mosul with hydroelectricity and water supplies. However water supply cuts are common<ref>{{cite news|title=In Mosul, Water, Electricity Shortages, And Warnings Of Disease|url=http://www.rferl.org/content/mosul-disease-water-electricity-shortage/26650210.html}}</ref> and mobile phone networks have been shut down.<ref name=bbcdiary />

There are five bridges crossing the Tigris in Mosul, known from north to south as:<ref name="BBCbridges">{{Cite news |url=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-38442811 |title=Mosul battle: Last bridge 'disabled by air strike' |work=BBC News |date=27 December 2016 |accessdate=2 March 2017}}</ref>
*Al Shohada Bridge (also known as "Third Bridge")
*[[Fifth Bridge]]
*Old Bridge (or "Iron Bridge", also known as "First Bridge")
*Al Huriya Bridge (literally: "Freedom Bridge", also known as "Second Bridge")
*Fourth Bridge
During the [[Battle of Mosul (2016–17)]] between [[ISIL]] and the Iraqi Army supported by an [[Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve|international coalition]], two bridges were 'damaged' by coalition airstrikes in October 2016, two others in November, and the Old Bridge was 'disabled' in early December.<ref name="BBCbridges"/> According to the BBC in late December, the bridges were targeted to disrupt the resupply of ISIL forces in East Mosul from West Mosul.<ref name="BBCbridges"/> In January 2017, CNN reported that ISIL itself had 'destroyed' all bridges to slow the Iraqi ground troops' advance, citing Iraqi commander Lt. Gen. Abdul Amir Rasheed Yarallah.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2017/01/13/middleeast/iraq-mosul-troops-advance/ |title=ISIS destroys Mosul bridges as troops advance |author=Mohammed Tawfeeq |work=CNN |date=13 January 2017 |accessdate=2 March 2017}}</ref>

==Climate==
Mosul has a hot [[semi-arid climate]] with extremely hot dry summers and moderately wet, relatively cool winters.

{{Weather box
| location     = Mosul
| metric first = Y
| single line  = Y
| Jan record high C = 21.1
| Feb record high C = 26.9
| Mar record high C = 31.8
| Apr record high C = 35.5
| May record high C = 42.9
| Jun record high C = 44.1
| Jul record high C = 47.8
| Aug record high C = 49.3
| Sep record high C = 46.1
| Oct record high C = 42.2
| Nov record high C = 32.5
| Dec record high C = 25.0
| Jan high C = 12.4
| Feb high C = 14.8
| Mar high C = 19.3
| Apr high C = 25.2
| May high C = 32.7
| Jun high C = 39.2
| Jul high C = 42.9
| Aug high C = 42.6
| Sep high C = 38.2
| Oct high C = 30.6
| Nov high C = 21.1
| Dec high C = 14.1
| Jan low C = 2.2
| Feb low C = 3.4
| Mar low C = 6.8
| Apr low C = 11.2
| May low C = 16.2
| Jun low C = 21.3
| Jul low C = 25.0
| Aug low C = 24.2
| Sep low C = 19.1
| Oct low C = 13.5
| Nov low C = 7.2
| Dec low C = 3.8
| Jan record low C = -17.6
| Feb record low C = -12.3
| Mar record low C = -5.8
| Apr record low C = -4.0
| May record low C = 2.5
| Jun record low C = 9.7
| Jul record low C = 11.6
| Aug record low C = 14.5
| Sep record low C = 8.9
| Oct record low C = -2.6
| Nov record low C = -6.1
| Dec record low C = -15.4
| precipitation colour = green
| Jan precipitation mm = 62.1
| Feb precipitation mm = 62.7
| Mar precipitation mm = 63.2
| Apr precipitation mm = 44.1
| May precipitation mm = 15.2
| Jun precipitation mm = 1.1
| Jul precipitation mm = 0.2
| Aug precipitation mm = 0.0
| Sep precipitation mm = 0.3
| Oct precipitation mm = 11.8
| Nov precipitation mm = 45.0
| Dec precipitation mm = 57.9
| Jan precipitation days = 11
| Feb precipitation days = 11
| Mar precipitation days = 12
| Apr precipitation days = 9
| May precipitation days = 6
| Jun precipitation days = 0
| Jul precipitation days = 0
| Aug precipitation days = 0
| Sep precipitation days = 0
| Oct precipitation days = 5
| Nov precipitation days = 7
| Dec precipitation days = 10
| source 1 = [[World Meteorological Organisation]] (UN)<ref name=WMO>{{cite web |url=http://worldweather.wmo.int/154/c01467.htm|title=World Weather Information Service – Mosul |accessdate=1 January 2011 |publisher=United Nations}}</ref>
| source 2 = ''Weatherbase'' (extremes only)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=80604 |title=Mosul, Iraq Travel Weather Averages |publisher=Weatherbase |date= |accessdate=2012-12-19}}</ref>
| date     = October 2014}}

==Historical and religious buildings==
Mosul is rich in old historical places and ancient buildings: [[mosques]], [[castles]], [[church (building)|churches]], [[monasteries]], and [[schools]], many of which have [[architectural]] features and [[decorative]] work of significance. The town center is dominated by a maze of streets and attractive 19th-century houses. There are old houses here of beauty. The markets are particularly interesting not simply for themselves alone but for the mixture of people who jostle there: [[Arabs]], [[Kurds]], [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]], [[Iraqi Jews]], [[Kurdish Jews]], [[Iraqi Turkmens]], [[Armenians]], [[Yazidi]], [[Mandeans]], [[Romani people|Romani]] and [[Shabaks]].

The [[Mosul Museum]] contains many interesting finds from the ancient sites of the old Assyrian capital cities Nineveh and [[Nimrud]]. The Mosul Museum is a beautiful old building, around a courtyard and with an impressive facade of Mosul marble containing displays of Mosul life depicted in tableau{{clarify|date=November 2014}} form. Recently, On February 26, 2015, IS militants [[Destruction of cultural heritage by ISIL|destroyed]] the ancient Assyrian artifacts of the museum.

The English writer [[Agatha Christie]] lived in Mosul whilst her second husband, an archaeologist, was involved in the excavation in [[Nimrud]].

===Mosques and shrines===
{{Main article|Mosques and shrines of Mosul}}
[[File:Mosul Grand Mosque.jpg|thumb|Mosque in Mosul]]
* Umayyad Mosque: The first ever in the city, built in 640 AD by Utba bin Farqad Al-Salami after he conquered Mosul in the reign of Caliph [[Umar ibn Al-Khattab]]. The only original part still extant is the remarkably elaborate brickwork 52m high [[minaret]] that leans like the [[Tower of Pisa]], called Al-Hadba (The Humped).
* [[The Great (Nuriddin) Mosque]]: Built by Nuriddin [[Zangi]] in 1172 AD next door to the Umayyad Mosque. [[Ibn Battuta]] (the great Moroccan traveller) found a marble fountain there and a mihrab (the niche that indicates the direction of [[Mecca]]) with a Kufic inscription.
* Mujahidi Mosque: The mosque dates back to 12th century AD, and is distinguished for its shen {{clarify|date=October 2014}} dome and elaborately wrought [[mihrab]].
* Prophet Younis Mosque and Shrine: Located east of the city, and included the tomb of [[Prophet Younis]] ([[Jonah]]), dating back to the 8th century BC, with a tooth of the whale that swallowed and later released him. It was completely demolished by IS in July 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/07/25/ISIS-destroys-tombs-of-two-prophets-in-Mosul.html|title=ISIS destroys 'Jonah's tomb' in Mosul|publisher=Al Arabiya|date=25 July 2014}}</ref>
* Prophet Jirjis Mosque and Shrine: The late 14th century mosque and shrine honoring Prophet [[Jirjis]] (George) was built over the Quraysh cemetery. It was destroyed by IS in July 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/28/islamic-state-destroys-ancient-mosul-mosque|title=Islamic State destroys ancient Mosul mosque, the third in a week|agency=Associated Press|work=The Guardian|date=28 July 2014}}</ref>
* Prophet Daniel Shrine: A Tomb attributed to [[Prophet Daniel]] was destroyed by IS in July 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://christiannews.net/2014/07/27/muslim-militants-blow-up-tombs-of-biblical-jonah-daniel-in-iraq/|title=Muslim Militants Blow Up Tombs of Biblical Jonah, Daniel in Iraq|last=Clark|first=Heather|date=27 July 2014|publisher=Christian News Network|accessdate=28 July 2014|quote=Al-Sumaria News also reported on Thursday that local Mosul official Zuhair al-Chalabi told the outlet that ISIS likewise “implanted explosives around Prophet Daniel's tomb in Mosul and blasted it, leading to its destruction.”}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/25/isis-jonah-tomb_n_5620520.html|title=ISIS Destroys Jonah's Tomb In Mosul, Iraq, As Militant Violence Continues|last=Hafiz|first=Yasmine|work=[[The Huffington Post]]|accessdate=28 July 2014|quote=The tomb of Daniel, a man revered by Muslims as a prophet though unlike Jonah, he is not mentioned in the Quran, has also been reportedly destroyed. Al-Arabiya reports that Zuhair al-Chalabi, a local Mosul official, told Al-Samaria News that "ISIS implanted explosives around Prophet Daniel's tomb in Mosul and blasted it, leading to its destruction."}}</ref>
* Hamou Qado (Hema Kado) Mosque: An [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]]-era mosque in the central Maydan area built in 1881, and officially named Mosque of Abdulla Ibn Chalabi Ibn Abdul-Qadi.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/060320151|title=ISIS destroys beloved mosque in central Mosul|publisher=Rudaw}}</ref> It was destroyed by IS in March 2015 because it contained a [[tomb]] that was revered and visited by local Muslims on Thursdays and Fridays.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/iraq-isis-destroys-19th-century-ottoman-mosque-central-mosul-1490786|title=Iraq: Isis destroys 19th century Ottoman mosque in central Mosul|author=Gianluca Mezzofiore|work=International Business Times UK}}</ref>

===Churches and monasteries===
{{Main article|List of churches and monasteries in Nineveh}}
Mosul had the highest proportion of Assyrian Christians of all the Iraqi cities outside of the Kurdish region, and contains several interesting old churches, some of which originally date back to the early centuries of Christianity. Its ancient Assyrian churches are often hidden and their entrances in thick walls are not easy to find. Some of them have suffered from overmuch restoration.
* Shamoun Al-Safa (St. Peter, Mar Petros): This church dates from the 13th century is and named after Shamoun Al-Safa or St. Peter (Mar Petros in Assyrian Aramaic). Earlier it had the name of the two Apostles, Peter and Paul, and was inhabited by the nuns of the Sacred Hearts.
* Church of St. Thomas (Mar Touma in Assyrian Aramaic): One of the oldest historical churches, named after St. Thomas the Apostle who preached the Gospel in the East, including India. The exact time of its foundation is unknown, but it was before 770 AD, since Al-Mahdi, the Abbasid Caliph, is mentioned as listening to a grievance concerning this church on his trip to Mosul.
* Mar Petion Church: Mar Petion, educated by his cousin in a monastery, was martyred in 446 AD. It is the first Chaldean Catholic church in Mosul, after the union of many Assyrians with Rome in the 17th century. It dates back to the 10th century, and lies 3 m below street level. This church suffered destruction, and it has been reconstructed many times. A hall was built on one of its three parts in 1942. As a result, most of its artistic features have been severely damaged.
* Ancient Tahira Church (The Immaculate): Near Bash Tapia, considered one of the most ancient churches in Mosul. No evidence helps to determine its exact area. It could be either the remnants of the church of the Upper Monastery or the ruined Mar Zena Church. Al-Tahira Church dates back to the 7th century, and it lies 3 m below street level. Reconstructed last in 1743.
* Mar Hudeni Church: It was named after Mar [[Ahudemmeh]] (Hudeni) Maphrian of Tikrit who was martyred in 575 AD. Mar Hudeni is an old church of the Tikritans in Mosul. It dates back to the 10th century, lies 7 m below street level and was first reconstructed in 1970. People can get mineral water from the well in its yard. The chain, fixed in the wall, is thought to cure epileptics.
* St. George's Monastery (Mar Gurguis): One of the oldest churches in Mosul, named after St. George, located to the north of Mosul, was probably built late in the 17th century. Pilgrims from different parts of the North{{clarify|date=October 2014}} visit it yearly in the spring, when many people also go out to its whereabouts on holiday.{{clarify|date=October 2014}} It is about 6 m below street level. A modern church was built over the old one in 1931, abolishing much of its archeological significance. The only monuments left are a marble door-frame decorated with a carved Estrangelo (Syriac) inscription, and two niches, which date back to the 13th or 14th century.
* [[Mar Matte]]: This famous monastery is situated about {{convert|20|km|abbr=on}} east of Mosul on the top of a high mountain (Mount Maqloub). It was built by Mar Matte, a monk who fled with several other monks in 362 AD from the Monastery of Zuknin near the City of Amid ([[Diyarbakir]]) in the southern part of Asia Minor (modern Turkey) and the north of Iraq during the reign of Emperor Julian the Apostate (361–363 AD). It has a precious library containing Syrianic scriptures.
* [[Monastery of Mar Behnam]]: Also called Deir Al-Jubb (The Cistern Monastery) and built in the 12th or 13th century, it lies in the Nineveh Plain near Nimrud about {{convert|32|km|abbr=on}} southwest of Mosul. The monastery, a great fort-like building, rises next to the tomb of Mar Behnam, a prince who was killed by the [[Sassania]]ns, perhaps during the 4th century AD. A legend made him a son of an Assyrian king.
* [[Dair Mar Elia (Saint Elijah's Monastery)|St. Elijah's Monastery]] (Dair Mar Elia): Dating from the 6th century, it was the oldest Christian Monastery in Iraq, until its destruction by [[ISIS|IS]] in January 2016.<ref>[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16493810 Chaplains Struggle to Protect Monastery in Iraq]. NPR's ''Morning Edition'', 21 November 2007. Retrieved on 2011-07-02.</ref><ref>[https://news.yahoo.com/only-ap-oldest-christian-monastery-072331055.html] Retrieved on 2016-01-19</ref>

Other Christian historical buildings:
* The Roman Catholic Church (built by the Dominican Fathers in Nineveh Street in 1893)
* Mar Michael
* Mar Elias
* Mar Oraha
* [[Rabban Hormizd Monastery]], the monastery of Notre-Dame des Semences, near the Assyrian town of [[Alqosh]]

===Other sites===
* [[Bash Tapia Castle]]: A ruined castle rising high over the Tigris, which was one of the few remnants of Mosul's old walls until it was blown up by IS in 2015.
* [[Mosques and shrines of Mosul Qara Serai (The Black Palace)|Qara Serai]] (The Black Palace): The remnants of the 13th-century palace of Sultan Badruddin Lu'lu'.

==Arts==
{{unreferenced section|date=July 2016}}

===Painting===
The so-called Mosul School of Painting refers to a style of miniature painting that developed in northern Iraq in the late 12th to early 13th century under the patronage of the [[Zangid]] dynasty (1127–1222). In technique and style the Mosul school was similar to the painting of the [[Great Seljuq Empire|Seljuq]] Turks, who controlled Iraq at that time, but the Mosul artists had a sharper sense of realism based on the subject matter and degree of detail in the painting rather than on representation in three dimensions, which did not occur. Most of the Mosul iconography was Seljuq—for example, the use of figures seated cross-legged in a frontal position. Certain symbolic elements however, such as the crescent and serpents, were derived from the classical Mesopotamian repertory.

Most Mosul paintings were illustrations of manuscripts—mainly scientific works, animal books, and lyric poetry. A [[Book frontispiece|frontispiece]] painting, now held in the [[Bibliothèque nationale de France|Bibliothèque nationale]], Paris, dating from a late 12th century copy of [[Galen]]'s medical treatise, the Kitab al-diriyak ("Book of Antidotes"), is a good example of the earlier work of the Mosul school. It depicts four figures surrounding a central, seated figure who holds a crescent-shaped halo. The painting is in a variety of whole hues; reds, blues, greens, and gold. The [[Kufic|Küfic]] lettering is blue. The total effect is best described as majestic. Another mid-13th century frontispiece held in the [[Austrian National Library|Nationalbibliothek]], Vienna, to another copy of the same text suggests the quality of later Mosul painting. There is realism in its depiction of the preparation of a ruler's meal and of horsemen engaged in various activities, and the painting is as many hued as that of the early Mosul school, yet it is somehow less spirited. The composition is more elaborate but less successful. By this time the Baghdad school, which combined the styles of the Syrian and early Mosul schools, had begun to dominate. With the invasion of the Mongols in the mid-13th century the Mosul school came to an end, but its achievements were influential in both the Mamluk and the Mongol schools of miniature painting.

===Metalwork===
From the 13th-century metal craftsmen centred in Mosul influenced the metalwork of the Islamic world, from North Africa to eastern Iran. Under the active patronage of the Zangid dynasty, the Mosul School developed an extraordinarily refined technique of inlay—particularly in silver—far overshadowing the earlier work of the [[Sāmānid]]s in Persia and the [[Buyid dynasty|Būyids]] in Iraq.

Mosul craftsmen used both gold and silver for inlay on bronze and brass. After delicate engraving had prepared the surface of the piece, strips of gold and silver were worked so carefully that not the slightest irregularity appeared in the whole of the elaborate design. The technique was carried by Mosul metalworkers to [[Aleppo]], [[Damascus]], Baghdad, [[Cairo]], and Persia; similar pieces from those centres are called Mosul bronzes.

Among the most famous surviving Mosul pieces is a brass ewer inlaid with silver from 1232, and now in the British Museum, by the artist Shujā’ ibn Mana. The ewer features representational as well as abstract design, depicting battle scenes, animals and musicians within medallions. Mosul metalworkers also created pieces for Eastern Christians. A candlestick of this variety from 1238 and housed in the [[Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris]], attributed to Dà’ūd ibn Salamah of Mosul, is bronze with silver inlay. It displays the familiar medallions but is also engraved with scenes showing Christ as a child. Rows of standing figures, probably saints, decorate the base. The background is decorated with typically Islamic vine scrolls and intricate arabesques, giving the piece a unique look.

==Education==
As per IS policy, even primary schools are gender segregated, putting a strain on educational resources.<ref name=bbcdiary /> Previously the city's largest university, the [[University of Mosul]] was closed in 2014.<ref>{{cite news|title=ISIS Takeover In Iraq: Mosul University Students, Faculty Uncertain About The Future Of Higher Education|url=http://www.ibtimes.com/isis-takeover-iraq-mosul-university-students-faculty-uncertain-about-future-higher-1731468|work=International Business Times|date=3 December 2014}}</ref>

On January 15, 2017, 30 schools reopened in the east of the city, allowing 16,000 children to start classes again. Some of them had no education at all since IS took over Mosul in June 2014.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21715931-hard-work-restoration-begins-schools-are-reopening-mosul-after-two | title = Schools are reopening in Mosul, after two years of jihadist rule | date= 31 January 2017 | accessdate = 31 January 2017 | publisher = ''The Economist'' | }}</ref>

==Sport==
The city has one [[football (soccer)|football]] team capable of competing in the top-flight of Iraqi football – [[Mosul FC]].

==Notable Moslawis==
{{unreferenced section|date=October 2016}}
<!-- Alphabetical order please -->
* [[:ar:يوسف ذنون|Dhanoon, Yousif]]: Arabic calligrapher who designed and executed many inscriptions in mosques throughout the Islamic world.
* [[Zaha Hadid]]: World-famous architect and first woman to win the Pritzker award. Was named "dame" by Queen Elizabeth II.
* [[Jalili dynasty|Al Jalili, Ismael]]: Eye doctor who discovered and researched the "Jalili Syndrome".
* [[Sayyar Jamil|Al Jamil, Sayyar]]: Historian and political analyst.
* [[Behnam Abu alsoof|Abu Al Soof, Behnam]]: Archeologist, anthropologist, historian and writer of Christian ancestry.
* [[Tariq Aziz]], [[Assyrian people|Assyrian]] Deputy Prime Minister 1979–2003 (real name [[Michael Youkhanna]]) (from [[Tel Keppe]])
* [[Munir Bashir]], Assyrian musician and famous musician in the Mideast during the 20th century
* [[Asenath Barzani]], first [[Jewish]] female rabbi
* [[Vian Dakhil]], [[Yazidi]] member of the [[Iraqi parliament]].
* [[Hawar Mulla Mohammed]], [[Arab]] Iraqi soccer player for the national team
* [[Paulos Faraj Rahho]], Assyrian Chaldean Catholic Archbishop of Mosul, assassinated 2008
* [[Taha Yassin Ramadan]], Arab former Vice President of Iraq
* [[Hormuzd Rassam]], Assyrian Archaeologist and diplomat of the 19th century
* [[Kathem Al Saher]], Arab Iraqi pop singer, songwriter, and musician
* [[Salah al-Din al-Sabbagh]], Arab Iraqi Army officer
* [[Ignatius Gabriel I Tappouni]], Assyrian Patriarch of Antioch and all east for the [[Syriac Catholic Church]] between 1929–68, Church Father of the [[Second Vatican Council]] and the first [[Eastern Catholic Churches|Eastern Rite]] [[prelate]] to be raised to the [[College of Cardinals]] since the reign of [[Pope Pius IX]]
* [[Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer]], Arab Interim President of Iraq during 2004–05
* [[Ignatius Zakka I]], Assyrian Patriarch of Antioch and all east for the [[Syrian Orthodox Church]]

==See also==
{{Portal|Iraq}}
* [[Al-Mishraq]], site of 2003 [[sulfur dioxide]] disaster
* [[Battle of Mosul (2016–17)]]
* [[Chaldean Catholic Archeparchy of Mosul]]
* [[Mosul Question]]
* [[Nineveh plains]]
* [[Yazidi genocide]]
* [[Tel Keppe]]
* [[List of Emirs of Mosul]]
* [[List of places in Iraq]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Sources==
:''See also: [[Timeline_of_Mosul Bibliography|Bibliography of the history of Mosul]]''
* {{cite book|last1=Nasiri|first1=Ali Naqi|last2=Floor|first2=Willem M.|title=Titles and Emoluments in Safavid Iran: A Third Manual of Safavid Administration|date=2008|publisher=Mage Publishers|isbn=978-1933823232|page=309}}
* {{cite encyclopedia | article = AFŠĀR | last = Oberling| first = P. | authorlink = | url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/afsar-one-of-the-twenty-four-original-guz-turkic-tribes-t | editor-last = | editor-first =  | editor-link = | encyclopedia  = Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. I, Fasc. 6 | pages = 582–586 | location = | publisher = | year = 1984 | isbn = |ref=harv}}
* {{cite book|last1=Rothman|first1=E. Nathalie|title=Brokering Empire: Trans-Imperial Subjects between Venice and Istanbul|date=2015|publisher=Cornell University Press|isbn=978-0801463129|ref=harv}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Mosul}}
{{wikivoyage|Mosul}}
* [http://ninava-explorer.com/ ninava-explorer]
* [http://www.iraqimage.com/pages/browse/Mosul.html Iraq Image – Mosul Satellite Observation]
* [http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/mosul_2003.jpg Detailed map of Mosul] by the [[National Imagery and Mapping Agency]], from lib.utexas.edu
* {{cite web |author=ArchNet.org |publisher=MIT School of Architecture and Planning |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA |url=http://archnet.org/library/places/one-place.jsp?place_id=1944 |title=Mosul}}

{{Tigris}}
{{Districts of Iraq}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Mosul| ]]
[[Category:Cities in Iraq]]
[[Category:District capitals of Iraq]]
[[Category:Levant]]
[[Category:Populated places in Nineveh Governorate]]