Mosul

Mosul is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. It is the second largest city in Iraq overall after the capital Baghdad and situated on the banks of Tigris. The ruins of the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh, once the largest city in the world, are on the east side of the city.

Due to its strategic and central location, the city has traditionally served as a hub of international commerce and travel in the region. It is considered as one of the historically and culturally significant cities of the Arab world. The North Mesopotamian Arabic spoken in Mosul is known as Maslawi and is widely spoken in the region. Together with the Nineveh Plains, Mosul is a historical center of the Assyrians. The surrounding region is ethnically and religiously diverse; a large majority of the city is Arabs, with Kurds, Assyrians, Turkmens, Shabaks, and other minorities comprising the population. Sunni Islam is the largest religion but there are a sizeable number of Christians and Yazidis as well as adherents of other Muslim sects such as Twelver Shi'ism and Shabakism, and in the past, Iraqi Jews. Mosul and its surrounding region are significant in biblical history.

The metropolitan area has grown from the old city on the western side to encompass substantial areas on both the "Left Bank" (east side) and the "Right Bank" (west side), as locals call the two respective sides of the Tigris. Historically, essential products of the area included marble and oil. The region around Mosul is rich in oil reserves. Mosul is home to the University of Mosul and its renowned Medical College, one of the Middle East's largest educational and research centers. The city is also home to historic mosques, Christian sites, synagogues and Yazidi temples.