Nineveh

Nineveh, the oldest and most-populous city of the ancient Assyrian empire, situated on the east bank of the Tigris River and encircled by the modern city of Mosul, Iraq. Nineveh was located at the intersection of important north-south and east-west trade routes, and its proximity to a tributary of the Tigris, the Khawṣar River, added to the value of the fertile agricultural and pastoral lands in the district.

The first person to survey and map Nineveh was the archaeologist Claudius J. Rich in 1820, a work later completed by Felix Jones and published by him in 1854. Excavations have been undertaken intermittently since that period by many persons. A.H. (later Sir Henry) Layard during 1845–51 discovered the palace of Sennacherib and took back to England an unrivalled collection of stone bas-reliefs together with thousands of tablets inscribed in cuneiform from the great library of Ashurbanipal. Hormuzd Rassam continued the work in 1852. During 1929–32 R. Campbell Thompson excavated the temple of Nabu (Nebo) on behalf of the British Museum and discovered the site of the palace of Ashurnasirpal II. In 1931–32, together with M.E.L. (later Sir Max) Mallowan, Thompson for the first time dug a shaft from the top of the Quyunjik (Acropolis), 90 feet (30 metres) above the level of the plain, down through strata of accumulated debris of earlier cultures to virgin soil. It was then proved that more than four-fifths of this great accumulation is prehistoric.

History

The first settlement, a small Neolithic (New Stone Age) hamlet, was probably founded not later than the 7th millennium bce. Hassuna-Sāmarrāʾ and Tall Ḥalaf painted pottery of the subsequent Early Chalcolithic (Copper-Stone Age) phases, characteristic of the north, was succeeded by gray wares such as occur westward in the Jabal Sinjār. Farmers during the 4th millennium used clay sickles of a type found in the Ubaid period (see Tall al-ʿUbayd), and these imply contact with the south.

Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors.

SIGN UP

By clicking “Sign Up”, you consent to the Britannica Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

One of the most-remarkable discoveries that Mallowan and Thompson made in the prehistoric strata consisted of roughly made bevelled bowls, overturned in the soil and filled with vegetable matter. These may have been intended as magical offerings to expel evil spirits from houses. Their typology conforms exactly with that of Uruk (Erech) pottery, widespread throughout the Tigris–Euphrates valley in the late 4th millennium. In these levels also large metal vases occur, again characteristic of southern Babylonia, and technologically this district of the Tigris had much in common with the cities of the lower Euphrates valley at this period. This similarity is of particular interest because it indicates that sometime before 3000 bce a period of economic prosperity had united the commercial interests of north and south; later these two civilizations diverged widely.

A little before and after 3000 bce, unpainted Ninevite pottery was similar to that used at Sumerian sites; to approximately the same period belongs a series of attractively painted and incised ware known as Ninevite V, which is a home product distinct from that of the south. Beads found in these strata may be dated c. 2900 bce.

Britannica Quiz

History Buff Quiz

1 of 2

2 of 2

The most-remarkable object of the 3rd millennium bce is a realistic bronze head—life-size, cast, and chased—of a bearded monarch (now in the Iraq Museum, Baghdad). This, the finest piece of metal sculpture ever recovered from Mesopotamia, may represent the famous king Sargon of Akkad (c. 2334–c. 2279 bce). However, because of its brilliant technique and elaborately modelled features, it is thought by some authorities to belong to a rather later stage of the Akkadian Period (c. 2334–c. 2154 bce); if so, the head might represent King Naram-Sin (c. 2254–c. 2218 bce). The hypothesis for the earlier period seems preferable, for metalwork advanced more rapidly in style in Mesopotamia at that period than did stone sculpture, and it is known from inscriptions that Sargon’s second son, Manishtusu, had built the temple of E-Mashmash at Nineveh by virtue of being the “son of Sargon”; thus, a model of the founder of the dynasty would have been appropriately placed there.

Surprisingly, there is no large body of evidence to show that Assyrian monarchs built at all extensively in Nineveh during the 2nd millennium bce. Later monarchs whose inscriptions have appeared on the Acropolis include Shalmaneser I and Tiglath-pileser I, both of whom were active builders in Ashur; the former had founded Calah (Nimrūd). Nineveh had to wait for the neo-Assyrians, particularly from the time of Ashurnasirpal II (ruled 883–859 bce) onward, for a considerable architectural expansion. Thereafter successive monarchs kept in repair and founded new palaces, temples to Sin, Nergal, Nanna, Shamash, Ishtar, and Nabu (Nebo). Unfortunately, severe depredations have left few remains of these edifices.

Explore Britannica Premium!

The trusted destination for professionals, college students, and lifelong learners.

SUBSCRIBE

It was Sennacherib who made Nineveh a truly magnificent city (c. 700 bce). He laid out fresh streets and squares and built within it the famous “palace without a rival,” the plan of which has been mostly recovered and has overall dimensions of about 600 by 630 feet (180 by 190 metres). It comprised at least 80 rooms, of which many were lined with sculpture. A large part of the famous “K” collection of tablets was found there (see below); some of the principal doorways were flanked by human-headed bulls. At this time the total area of Nineveh comprised about 1,800 acres (700 hectares), and 15 great gates penetrated its walls. An elaborate system of 18 canals brought water from the hills to Nineveh, and several sections of a magnificently constructed aqueduct erected by the same monarch were discovered at Jerwan, about 25 miles (40 km) distant.

His successor Esarhaddon built an arsenal in the Nabī Yūnus mound, south of Quyunjik, and either he or his successor set up statues of the pharaoh Taharqa (Tarku) at its entrance as trophies to celebrate the conquest of Egypt. These were discovered by Fuad Safar and Muḥammad ʿAlī Muṣṭafā on behalf of the Iraqi Department of Antiquities in 1954.

Ashurbanipal later in the 7th century bce constructed a new palace at the northwest end of the Acropolis. He also founded the great library and ordered his scribes to collect and copy ancient texts throughout the country. The “K” collection included more than 20,000 tablets or fragments of tablets and incorporated the ancient lore of Mesopotamia. The subjects are literary, religious, and administrative, and a great many tablets are in the form of letters. Branches of learning represented include mathematics, botany, chemistry, and lexicology. The library contains a mass of information about the ancient world and will exercise scholars for generations to come.

Fourteen years after the death of Ashurbanipal, however, Nineveh suffered a defeat from which it never recovered. Extensive traces of ash, representing the sack of the city by Babylonians, Scythians, and Medes in 612 bce, have been found in many parts of the Acropolis. After 612 bce the city ceased to be important, although there are some Seleucid and Greek remains. Xenophon in the Anabasis recorded the name of the city as Mespila. In the 13th century ce the city seems to have enjoyed some prosperity under the atabegs of Mosul. Subsequently, houses continued to be inhabited at least as late as the 16th century ce. In these later levels imitations of Chinese wares have been found.