Ancient city of Nineveh

The Old Testament describes Nineveh as an ‘exceeding great city of three day’s walk across’ and built by Nimrod.  One of the oldest and most populous city of the ancient Assyrian empire, the ancient ruins of Nineveh are located a short distance from the east bank of the Tigris River and opposite the modern city of Mosul, which is about 350 km NW Baghdad.

Manistusu, a successor of Sargon I, erected a temple of Ishtar at Nineveh during the Semitic dynasty of Akkad (ca 2360-2180 BC).

With the appearance of King Ashur-uballit I (1365-1330 BC), Assyrian and Nineveh with it begun their dominance of the Middle Eastern stage. Nineveh was the cultic center for the worship of Ishtar and Assyrian kings over the next 500 years contributed to rebuilding the city’s temples after earthquakes and to expanding the size and appearance of the shrine.

Sennacherib moved the capital of Assyria from Dur Sharrukin to Nineveh and set himself to build a city unrivalled by any other in the ancient Near East. Sennacherib is responsible for beautifying Nineveh and bringing the capital into prominence.

Sennacherib pulled sown the old palace and built his new one on a platform well above the level of the city.

Sennacherib enlarged the city with temples, broad streets and public gardens. Unique in the Near East were the dimensions and design of his aqueduct, whoosh by its system of dam brought fresh water into the city from the mountains.

Near the headwaters of the Tigris River, Nineveh functioned as a gateway from the mountains to some of the most fertile plains in the Near East. The city was the capital of the Assyrian people from the late eight century to its destruction by the Medes and Babylonians in 612 BC.
Ancient city of Nineveh