Thread:Christian Sirolli/@comment-1777104-20160131020023

Hi. I was in the midst of filling in the gaps of this article you started. I went to update, only to find that Supe had rewritten the intro. I went in to add my stuff to his and there you were, only minutes before!

Anyway, a few things. First, I assume you pulled the etymology offline somewhere, but the concordance lists "asar" (that is ASR, or AShR) as the root. This means "to step, to advance or to progress" and not, as you have it, "to be black" or "belonging to Ishara." I pulled up "Name of Syria" and saw a discussion among modern linguists, but didn not see the meaning you have.

The best thing we can do with etymologies is stick to the Bible's languages: Hebrew/Aramaic and Greek. In some places, of course, the ancient languages like Egyptian provide names and places as loan words.

Here is what I had done:

Asshur (also spelled Ashur) was one of the first cities built after the Flood. From its beginning it would grow in influence to become the capital of Assyria (also known as the Assyrian Empire). It was located south of Nineveh on the Tigris River.

Though rarely mentioned by name, as capital the city represented one of the most influential civilizations of the ancient world. Out from the halls of government there, armies would be sent to conquer most of Mesopotamia and the middle east all the way to Egypt.

The town would survive through all the subsequent empires and past the first century AD.

Etymology
Asshur is named after a son of Shem: Asshur. The name is drawn from the root word "ASR," meaning "to advance, to progress." From this, it is apparent that the sons of Noah wished to fulfill the command to increase the population of the new world into which they had come.

Early History
In the third generation after the Flood, Nimrod, son of Cush, began a building program spreading out along the banks of the Tigris River and over towards the Euphrates as well. At the same time, his uncle Asshur built four cities, Nineveh, Rehoboth, Calah, and Resen (noted to be a great city).

After the fall of Babel, long-lived Asshur (his brother Arphaxad lived to be 438 years old), would have fled with his growing family to a safe distance up river, establishing a town below Calah. His family would call the town by his name. Much like the people of Ur, the true God would be soon forgotten. They would begin to worship a god they named Assur, after the city. A temple to this god would dominate the city after the capital had been moved.


 * I like what you did with the Infobox. Use what I have done in any way you wish

Best regards,

SouthWriter, Administrator (and "content manager") 