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Nineveh (Ninua) was located at the confluence of the Koshr and Tigris rivers in the area of Mosul, Iraq. Once one of the greatest of the ancient cities, Nineveh (Ninua) extended for thirty miles (fifty kilometers) along the eastern bank of the Tigris River, and about ten miles (twenty kilometers) from the river bank towards the hills in the East. The city was situated in the center of a great highway that went from the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean. Serving as a conduit for valuable trade between the East and the West, some of commerce between merchants included carved enamels, cedar wood, furs, glass-work, gold, iron, linen, perfumes, silver, and tin. In early Nineveh (Ninua), circa 1800 BCE, the goddess Ishtar was highly revered. The area was already ancient in the Second Millenium BCE with an elaborate canal system and many large gates along its walls. New architectural structures did not appear in the city until the rule of Ashurnasirpal II from 883 BCE - 859 BCE. Later on succeeding monarchs repaired existing structures and added temples dedicated to Nanna, Nergal, Shamash, and Sin.
Depiction above of a reigning Archer Warrior King riding in a triple reined horse drawn chariot with eight spoked wheels was from the Nineveh North Palace from around 645 BCE. Attendant spiritual warriors fend off a clawed five fingered scaled predator. The mixed genotype animal in pursuit of the chariot appears to be part feline (muzzle, part of body, legs), and part lizard (head and neck crest, part of body, underbelly). Using pre-existing buildings, Sennacherib turned the settlement into a grand capital city around 700 BCE. He built streets, squares, and a huge palace with sculpture lined rooms and doorways flanked by bulls with human heads. The Medes were the first to attack Nineveh (Ninua) in 633 BCE. The Medes were joined in their destructive activities by the Babylonians and Susianians around 625 BCE. Then in 612 BCE, the city fell and was totally demolished. Afterwards, the Medes and Babylonians divided the provinces of the surrounding landscape between themselves as spoils of war. Nineveh (Ninua) was a lost fabled city even during the days of the Greek historian Herodotus in 400 BCE. The city was destined to remain so until the nineteenth century when the French consul at Mosul decided to explore the immense mounds across the river.
During the excavations,
the mound of Khorsabad and the ruins of the palace of Sargon II were discovered.
Then, a British explorer found the palace of Sennacherib in the Kouyunjik mound... Continue on
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