Nusaybin

Nusaybin (pronounced [nuˈsajbin]; Akkadian: Naṣibina;Classical Greek: Νίσιβις, Nisibis; Arabic: نصيبين‎, Syriac: ܢܨܝܒܝܢ‎, Niṣībīn; Armenian: Մծբին, Mtsbin; Kurdish: Nisêbîn) is a city and multiple titular see in Mardin Province, Turkey. The population of the city is 83,832 as of 2009. The population is largely of ethnic Kurdish descent.

With a history going back nearly 3,000 years, Nusaybin was ruled and settled by various groups. First mentioned as an Aramean settlement Naşibīna in 901 BCE and was captured by Assyria in 896 BCE, in the 4th and 5th centuries CE it was one of the great centers of Syriac scholarship, along with nearby Edessa.

History

Ancient Period

First mentioned in 901 BCE, Naşibīna was an Aramaean kingdom captured by the Assyrian king Adad-Nirari II in 896. By 852 BCE, Naṣibina had been fully annexed to the Neo-Assyrian Empire and appeared in the Assyrian Eponym List as the seat of an Assyrian provincial governor named Shamash-Abua. It remained part of the Assyrian Empire until its collapse in 608 BCE.