located_in_the_administrative_territorial_entity telul eth-thalathat
___MASK36___ ('), officially The Hashemite Kingdom of ___MASK36___ ('), is an Arab kingdom in Western Asia , on the East Bank of the ___MASK36___ River . ___MASK36___ is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the east and south , Iraq to the north - east , ___MASK81___ to the north , Israel , Palestine and the Dead Sea to the west and the Red Sea in its extreme south - west . ___MASK36___ is strategically located at the crossroads of Asia , Africa and Europe . The capital , Amman , is ___MASK36___ ' s most populous city as well as the country ' s economic , political and cultural centre . ___MASK82___ , officially known as the Kingdom ___MASK86___ ___MASK82___ ( KSA ), is an Arab sovereign state in Western Asia constituting the bulk ___MASK86___ the Arabian Peninsula . With a land area ___MASK86___ approximately , ___MASK82___ is geographically the fifth - largest state in Asia and second - largest state in the Arab world after ___MASK62___ . ___MASK82___ is bordered by ___MASK36___ and Iraq to the north , Kuwait to the northeast , Qatar , Bahrain , and the United Arab Emirates to the east , Oman to the southeast , and Yemen to the south . It is separated from Israel and Egypt by the Gulf ___MASK86___ Aqaba . It is the only nation with both a Red Sea coast and a Persian Gulf coast , and most ___MASK86___ its terrain consists ___MASK86___ arid desert or barren landforms . Archaeology , or archeology , is the study ___MASK86___ human activity through the recovery and analysis ___MASK86___ material culture . The archaeological record consists ___MASK86___ artifacts , architecture , biofacts or ecofacts , and cultural landscapes . Archaeology can be considered both a social science and a branch ___MASK86___ the humanities . In North America , archaeology is considered a sub - field ___MASK86___ anthropology , while in ___MASK16___ archaeology is often viewed as either a discipline in its own right or a sub - field ___MASK86___ other disciplines . The archaeological record is the body ___MASK86___ physical ( not written ) evidence about the past . It is one ___MASK86___ the core concepts in archaeology , the academic discipline concerned with documenting and interpreting the archaeological record . Archaeological theory is used to interpret the archaeological record for a better understanding ___MASK86___ human cultures . The archaeological record can consist ___MASK86___ the earliest ancient findings as well as contemporary artifacts . Human activity has had a large impact on the archaeological record . Destructive human processes , such as agriculture and land development , may damage or destroy potential archaeological sites . Other threats to the archaeological record include natural phenomena and scavenging . Archaeology can be a destructive science for the finite resources ___MASK86___ the archaeological record are lost to excavation . Therefore archaeologists limit the amount ___MASK86___ excavation that they do at each site and keep meticulous records ___MASK86___ what is found . The archaeological record is the record ___MASK86___ human history , ___MASK86___ why civilizations prosper or fail and why cultures change and grow . It is the story ___MASK86___ the world that humans have created . ___MASK87___ ('), officially the State ___MASK86___ ___MASK87___ ('), is a country in Western Asia . Situated in the ___MASK5___ edge ___MASK86___ Eastern Arabia at the tip ___MASK86___ the Persian Gulf , it shares borders with ___MASK35___ and Saudi Arabia . , ___MASK87___ has a population ___MASK86___ 4 . 2 million people ; 1 . 3 million are Kuwaitis and 2 . 9 million are expatriates . Expatriates account for 70 % ___MASK86___ the population . ___MASK90___ is the capital of the Republic of ___MASK35___ . The population of ___MASK90___ , , is approximately 7 . 216 . 040 making it the largest city in ___MASK35___ , the second largest city in the Arab world ( after Cairo , ___MASK59___ ), and the second largest city in Western Asia ( after Tehran , Iran ). Assyria was a major Mesopotamian ___MASK79___ Semitic - speaking kingdom and empire of the ancient ___MASK46___ . It existed as an independent state from perhaps as early as the 25th century BC in the form of the Assur city - state , until its lapse between 612 BC and 599 BC , spanning the Early to Middle Bronze Age through to the late Iron Age . ___MASK23___ (', ') is a city in northern Iraq . Since October 2016 it has been the site of a military operation led by the Iraqi Government , under Haider al - Abadi , in an effort to dislodge and defeat militant forces . The city has been under the control of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant since June 2014 , and no westerner has entered the city until the latest initiative . The ___MASK100___ of ___MASK23___ , a military offensive to retake the city begun in October 2016 , is the largest deployment of Iraqi forces since the 2003 invasion by U . S . and coalition forces . Sinjar , also known as Shingal is a town in Shingal ___MASK42___ , Nineveh Province , ___MASK35___ near Mount Shingal . The town is inhabited mainly by Yazidis , with a Muslim Kurdish minority . Its population in 2013 was estimated at 88 , 023 . The Kurds (  ) also the Kurdish people are an ethnic group in the Middle ___MASK79___ , mostly inhabiting a contiguous area spanning adjacent parts of eastern and southeastern ___MASK30___ ( Northern Kurdistan ), western Iran ( Eastern or Iranian Kurdistan ), northern Iraq ( Southern or Iraqi Kurdistan ), and northern ___MASK81___ ( Western Kurdistan or Rojava ). The Kurds are culturally and linguistically closely related to the Iranian peoples and , as a result , are often themselves classified as an Iranian people . ___MASK81___ , officially known as the Syrian Arab Republic (""), is a country in Western Asia , bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west , Turkey to the north , Iraq to the east , Jordan to the south , and Israel to the southwest . ___MASK81___ ' s capital and largest city is Damascus . ___MASK55___ ('; ') is a city in the north of ___MASK35___ , north of Baghdad and south of ___MASK44___ . It is the capital of ___MASK17___ . ___MASK35___ (, or ; '; '), officially known as the Republic of ___MASK35___ ('; ') is a country in Western Asia , bordered by ___MASK30___ to the north , Iran to the east , Kuwait to the southeast , Saudi Arabia to the south , ___MASK36___ to the southwest , and ___MASK81___ to the west . The capital , and largest city , is Baghdad . The main ethnic groups are Arabs and Kurds ; others include Assyrians , Turkmen , Shabakis , Yazidis , Armenians , Mandeans , Circassians , and Kawliya . Around 95 % of the country ' s 36 million citizens are Muslims , with Christianity , Yarsan , Yezidism , and Mandeanism also present . The official languages of ___MASK35___ are Arabic and Kurdish . ___MASK92___ is a governorate in northern Iraq that contains the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh . It was an integral part of Assyria from the 25th century BC to the 7th century AD , It has an area of and an estimated population of 2 , 453 , 000 people in 2003 . Its chief city and provincial capital is Mosul , which lies across the Tigris river from the ruins of ancient Nineveh . Tal Afar is the second - biggest city . Before 1976 , it was called Mosul Province and included the present - day Dohuk Governorate . ___MASK30___ , officially the Republic of ___MASK30___ ( Turkish : ), is a transcontinental country in Eurasia , mainly in Anatolia in Western Asia , with a smaller portion on the Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe . ___MASK30___ is a democratic , secular , unitary , parliamentary republic with a diverse cultural heritage . ___MASK30___ is bordered by eight countries : Greece to the west ; Bulgaria to the northwest ; Georgia to the northeast ; Armenia , the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan and Iran to the east ; and Iraq and ___MASK81___ to the south . The Aegean Sea is to the west , the Black Sea to the north , and the Mediterranean Sea to the south . The Bosphorus , the Sea of Marmara , and the Dardanelles , which together form the Turkish Straits , divide Thrace and Anatolia ; they also separate Europe and Asia . ___MASK30___ ' s location has given it geopolitical and strategic importance throughout history . Arabs are a people inhabiting the Arab world . They primarily live in the Arab states in Western Asia , ___MASK94___ Africa , the Horn ___MASK86___ Africa , and western ___MASK18___ Ocean islands . Telul eth - Thalathat is an archaeological site located 40 miles ( 64 km ) ___MASK48___ of ___MASK23___ and just east of Tal Afar in Nineveh Province ( Iraq ) . The Islamic State ___MASK86___ ___MASK35___ and the Levant ( ISIL ), also known as the Islamic State ___MASK86___ ___MASK35___ and ___MASK81___ ( ISIS ), Islamic State ( IS ), and by its Arabic language acronym Daesh (" dish "), is a Salafi jihadist unrecognised state and militant group that follows a fundamentalist , Wahhabi doctrine ___MASK86___ Sunni Islam . ISIL gained global notoriety in early 2014 when it drove Iraqi government forces out ___MASK86___ key cities in its Western ___MASK35___ offensive , followed by its capture ___MASK86___ Mosul and the Sinjar massacre . Its adoption ___MASK86___ the name Islamic State and its idea ___MASK86___ a caliphate have been widely criticised , with the United Nations , various governments , and mainstream Muslim groups rejecting its statehood . The Circassians ( Circassian :  , " Adygekher ") are a ___MASK8___ Caucasian ethnic group native to Circassia , many of whom were displaced in the course of the Russian conquest of the Caucasus in the 19th century , especially after the Russian  Circassian War in 1864 . In its narrowest sense , the term " Circassian " includes the twelve Adyghe ( Circassian :  , " Adyge ") tribes ( three democratic and nine aristocratic ), i . e . Abzakh , Besleney , Bzhedug , Hatuqwai , Kabardian , Mamkhegh , Natukhai , Shapsug , Temirgoy , Ubykh , Yegeruqwai , and Zhaney , each one represented by a star on the green - and - gold Circassian flag . However , due to Soviet administrative divisions , Circassians were also designated as the following : " Adygeans " ( Adyghe in Adygea ), " Cherkessians " ( Adyghe in Karachay - Cherkessia ), " Kabardians " ( Adyghe in Kabardino - Balkaria ), " Shapsugians " ( Adyghe in Krasnodar Krai ) although all the four are essentially the same people residing in different political units . Arabic (' or ' ) is a ___MASK41___ Semitic language that was first spoken in Iron Age northwestern Arabia and is now the " lingua franca " ___MASK86___ the Arab world . Arabic also is a liturgical language ___MASK86___ 1 . 7 billion Muslims . It is one ___MASK86___ six official languages ___MASK86___ the United Nations . It is named after the Arabs , a term initially used to describe peoples living from Mesopotamia in the ___MASK79___ to the Anti - Lebanon mountains in the west , and from northwestern Arabia to the Sinai in the south . The Yazidis ( also Yezidis , " Êzidî ") are an ethnically Kurdish religious community or an ethno - religious group indigenous to ___MASK5___ Mesopotamia ( see also Ezidkhan ) who are strictly endogamous . Their religion , " Yazidism " is linked to ancient Mesopotamian religions and combines aspects of Zoroastrianism , Islam , Christianity and Judaism . Yazidis who marry non - Yazidis are automatically considered to be converted to the religion of their spouse and therefore are not permitted to call themselves Yazidis . They live primarily in the Nineveh Province of ___MASK35___ . Additional communities in ___MASK25___ , Georgia , ___MASK30___ , Iran , and ___MASK81___ have been in decline since the 1990s as a result of significant migration to Europe , especially to Germany . The Yazidis ' cultural practices are observably Kurdish , and almost all speak Kurmanji ( Northern Kurdish ). The Soviet Union considered the Yazidis to be Kurds , as does Sharaf Khan Bidlisi ' s " Sheref - nameh " of 1597 , which cites seven of the Kurdish tribes as being at least partly Yazidi , and Kurdish tribal confederations as containing substantial Yazidi sections . ___MASK26___ (, also , ; ' ), also known as Persia , officially the Islamic Republic ___MASK86___ ___MASK26___ (' ), is a sovereign state in Western Asia . It is bordered to the ___MASK8___ by Armenia , the " de facto " Nagorno - Karabakh Republic , and ___MASK54___ ; to the north by the Caspian Sea ; to the northeast by Turkmenistan ; to the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan ; to the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf ___MASK86___ Oman ; and to the west by ___MASK30___ and Iraq . Comprising a land area ___MASK86___ , it is the second - largest country in the Middle East and the 18th - largest in the world . With 82 . 8 million inhabitants , ___MASK26___ is the world ' s 17th - most - populous country . It is the only country with both a Caspian Sea and an Indian Ocean coastline . The country ' s central location in Eurasia and Western Asia , and its proximity to the Strait ___MASK86___ Hormuz , make it ___MASK86___ great geostrategic importance . Tehran is the country ' s capital and largest city , as well as its leading economic center . Haider Jawad Kadhim Al - Abadi ( or al -' Ibadi born 25 April 1952 ) is an Iraqi politician who has been Prime Minister ___MASK86___ ___MASK35___ since September 2014 . Previously he served as Minister ___MASK86___ Communication from 2003 to 2004 , in the first government after Saddam Hussein . Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings ___MASK86___ Jesus Christ , who serves as the focal point for the religion . It is the world ' s largest religion , with over 2 . 4 billion followers , or 33 % ___MASK86___ the global population , known as Christians . Christians believe that Jesus is the Son ___MASK86___ God and the savior ___MASK86___ humanity whose coming as the Messiah ( the Christ ) was prophesied in the Old Testament . Tal Afar , pronounced / ta . la . fer / and also spelt Tal ' Afar , Tall Afar , Tell Afar or Tel Afar , is a city and ___MASK42___ in the ___MASK92___ of northwestern Iraq , 63 km west of Mosul , 52 km east of Sinjar and 200 km north west of Kirkuk . Western Asia , ___MASK48___ Asia , Southwestern Asia or ___MASK71___ Asia is the westernmost subregion of Asia . The concept is in limited use , as it significantly overlaps with the Middle East ( or Near East ), the main difference being the exclusion of Egypt ( which would be counted as part of North Africa ). The term is sometimes used for the purposes of grouping countries in statistics . An archaeological site is a place ( or group ___MASK86___ physical sites ) in which evidence ___MASK86___ past activity is preserved ( either prehistoric or historic or contemporary ), and which has been , or may be , investigated using the discipline ___MASK86___ archaeology and represents a part ___MASK86___ the archaeological record . Sites may range from those with few or no remains visible above ground , to buildings and other structures still in use . A Christian ( or ) is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity , an Abrahamic , monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings ___MASK86___ Jesus Christ . " Christian " derives from the Koine Greek word " Christós " (  ), a translation ___MASK86___ the Biblical Hebrew term " mashiach ".