Hatra [key], Arab. Al Hadr, ancient city and fortress, in modern-day Iraq, 68 mi (110 km) SW of Mosul. It flourished from the 1st cent. b.c. to the 2nd cent. a.d. under the Parthian Empire (see Parthia), when it was a fortified religious and trading center. The city is noted for its many temples, dedicated to dieties of several ancient religious traditions; the largest is the Great Temple. Hatra resisted several Roman attempts to conquer it, but fell in a.d. 241 to Shapur I, Sassanid king of Persia, and was destroyed. Excavated during the 20th cent., its ruins constituted some of the most significant stone monuments of Iraq, but in the 2015–16 the Islamist extremist group Islamic State destroyed statues and looted the site.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Ancient History, Middle East
