Mosul or Al Mawsil, city in northern Iraq, capital of Nìnawá Governorate, on the Tigris River. The city is linked by rail with other major cities in the country and, by way of a series of highways, to Turkey. Mosul is an important trade and market center for the surrounding agricultural region in which fruits and grains are grown and livestock is raised. Rich oil fields are also located in this area. Industries in Mosul include automotive repair and machine shops, cement plants, cotton-textile factories, sugar-beet refineries, and tanneries. In the city are the University of Mosul (1967) and a technical institute. Across the Tigris River are ruins of Nineveh, capital of the ancient kingdom of Assyria. Mosul lost more than half of its population between 1977 and the late 1980s, due in part to the conflict between resident Kurds and the Iraqi government. Population (1991 estimate) 748,000.