Where is Hatra located and how far is it from Baghdad?
Hatra is located in the eastern Nineveh Governorate of northern Iraq. Its ruins lie 290 kilometres northwest of Baghdad and 110 kilometres southwest of Mosul.
Questions about Hatra
Short answers, pulled from the story.
Which Roman emperors tried to conquer Hatra and failed?
Trajan attacked Hatra in 116 or 117 AD and failed to take it. Septimius Severus mounted a second siege in 198 or 199 AD with the same result.
Why did ISIL destroy artifacts at Hatra in 2015?
ISIL claimed that statues and carved images were un-Islamic and encouraged polytheism. They released videos showing the destruction of artifacts in early 2015, despite the fact that various Islamic regimes had preserved the site for around 1,400 years.
What film was shot at Hatra?
The 1973 film The Exorcist used Hatra as the setting for its opening scene. The site has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985.
Which king destroyed Hatra in the 3rd century?
Sassanid king Shapur I destroyed Hatra in 241 AD after his forces took the city. Hatra had defeated the Sassanids at the battle of Shahrazoor in 238 AD, but fell to Shapur's army three years later.
What gods were worshipped at Hatra?
Hatra held temples to Nergal, Hermes, Atargatis, Allat, Shamiyyah, and Shamash, among others. The city's inscriptions also mention Ba'al Shamayn and the female deity Ashurbel, thought to be an assimilation of the Assyrian god Ashur and the Babylonian Bel.