Nineveh

Nineveh was made the Assyrian capital by Sennacherib around 700 BC and became, for a few decades, probably the largest city in the world, enclosed by a wall twelve kilometres long with fifteen gates and supplied by an aqueduct system bringing water from the hills. Two great mounds sit within the walls: Kuyunjik, which held the palaces and the library of Ashurbanipal whose clay tablets gave the modern world the Epic of Gilgamesh, and Nebi Yunus, traditionally the tomb of the prophet Jonah. Sections of the wall and several reconstructed gates, including the Mashki and Adad gates, stand on the perimeter. Both gates were destroyed in 2015 and reconstruction has been under way since, with international teams working on the site.

History

Nineveh was founded as early as 6000 BC, in the late Neolithic, and around 5000 BC it passed from a Halaf to an Ubaid village, one of the few in Upper Mesopotamia to grow into a proto-city. As capital of the Neo-Assyrian Empire it was the largest city in the world for about fifty years, until it was sacked in 612 BC by a coalition of Babylonians, Medes and Scythians (Wikipedia, Nineveh).

Highlights

• The city walls - long stretches of rampart along the eastern edge of Mosul.
• The reconstructed gates - Mashki and Adad, rebuilt after 2015.
• Kuyunjik mound - the palace and library mound at the centre.
• Nebi Yunus - the mound traditionally holding Jonah's tomb.

When to go

October to April; the mounds are exposed and summer heat is severe. Access varies by area and some parts remain closed for works.

Things to know

Much of the site is bare mound and reconstruction is ongoing, with sections fenced. Interpretation is minimal. The tablets and reliefs that made Nineveh famous are largely in museums in London and Baghdad. Access arrangements change and should be checked.

Nearby

Mosul is across the river; Nimrud lies south.

Key facts