Mosul

Mosul (mō`səl, mōsl`), Arab. al Mawsil, city (1987 pop. 664,221), provincial capital, N Iraq, on the Tigris River, opposite the ruins of Nineveh. It is the largest city in N Iraq and the third largest city in the country. Trade in agricultural goods and exploitation of oil in the nearby oil fields are the two main occupations of the inhabitants. Mosul has an oil refinery; its productivity in the 1980s was hindered by the Iran-Iraq War. While most of the urban population is Arab, the surrounding region has a large Kurdish population. The city is the seat of Mosul Univ. and a center of Nestorian Christianity.

Mosul was the chief city of N Mesopotamia from the 8th to 13th cent., when it was devastated by the Mongols. The city remained poor and shabby through its occupation by the Persians (1508) and the Turks (1534–1918). Under the British occupation and mandate (1918–32) it regained its stature as the chief city of the region. Its possession by Iraq was disputed by Turkey (1923–25) but was confirmed by the League of Nations (1926).

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Mosul

 Arabic Al-Mawsil

City (pop., 2003 est.: 1,800,000), northwestern Iraq. Located across the Tigris River from the ruins of ancient Nineveh, which it succeeded, Mosul prospered until 1258, when it was ravaged by the Mongols. It was a centre of the Ottoman Empire (c. 1534–1918). After World War I (1914–18) it was occupied by the British and in 1926 was ceded to Iraq. The country's second largest city and a chief commercial centre in the northwest, it has manufacturing (cement, textiles) and an oil refinery and nearby oil fields. It has many ancient buildings, some dating from the 13th century, including the Great Mosque and the Red Mosque.