Near East Kingdoms

Nineveh (City) (Northern Mesopotamia)

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In southern Mesopotamia the city states of Sumer formed one of the first great civilisations in human history (see feature link). This Near Eastern civilisation developed out of the end of the Pottery Neolithic across the Fertile Crescent, a period which had seen Neolithic Farmer practices spread far and wide across the Near East and beyond.

As irrigation improved so the more southerly reaches of the Euphrates could at last be occupied by humans and their animals, with permanent settlements arising from the sixth millennium BC. Initially these were pastoralist settlements, but soon farming villages appeared and they gradually grew and improved. At the same time, northern Mesopotamia experienced its own burgeoning development processes, largely starting under the Hassuna culture.

These processes took longer here than they did in the south, in what is now northern Iraq, the western edge of Iran, the south-eastern corner of Turkey, and the eastern wedge of Syria. An urban lifestyle only really appeared in the third millennium BC, thanks in part to such influences being imposed during Sumerian empire-building periods. Archaeology has uncovered a wealth of detail about settlements in this region, but many more sites remain to be examined.

The Assyrians were descended in part from Semitic-speakers who migrated into the northern regions of Mesopotamia from at least 3000 BC. They met the indigenous Neolithic population in the region, which probably included similarly newly-arrived Hurrians, and either blended with them or replaced them to form the later Assyrian identity.

Their adopted home at Nineveh is at least nine thousand years old, while the other two great Assyrian cities, Ashur and Arbel, were founded soon after the arrival of Semitic-speakers - in the mid-third millennium BC. All three were located on the limestone plateau of northern Mesopotamia, near a mountainous region which extends along the Tigris as far as the high Gordiaean or Carduchian mountain range of Armenia, which is sometimes known as the 'Mountains of Ashur'.

Ashur and Nineveh were sacred sites, with the former being the seat of the eponymous god Ashur (a name borne by a large number of Assyrian kings) and the latter being dedicated to Ishtar, the goddess of love and war. Archaeological evidence has revealed the complexities of Nineveh's architectural sequences, while tablet collections tell about early Assyrian trading connections and the careers of kings, and much about religious practices and rituals in the temples.

Nineveh was the oldest and most populous city of ancient Assyria, situated on the eastern bank of the Tigris, opposite modern Mosul which has largely engulfed it. Dual carriageways pass just outside the old ramparts and modern dwellings cover a large part of the old city site. City walls and gates have been partially restored in places, but much has been lost or looted.

Excavations were carried out between 1845-1851 which revealed palaces, a library, city walls, and many gates and buildings. The methods, though, were crude and records of finds were inexact. At this time Nineveh's external dimensions could still be seen, being not quite rectangular and enclosed by a massive wall which was around twelve kilometres in length. The largest mound - along the western side of the wall - was known by its Turkish name of Kuyunjik and has been dated to the sixth millennium BC.

A smaller mound was occupied by a mosque which had been built within the remains of an earlier Christian monastery, known as Tell Nebi Yunus, the 'Mound of the Prophet Jonah', who was believed to have been buried there. This was also inhabited by a small number of villagers and remains so today. The city lies on a geological fault, which means that several serious earthquakes during the Assyrian period served to damage various areas which then needed to be repaired.

Following the destruction of the Assyrian empire, Nineveh was largely abandoned. Then the Parthians established a presence at 'Assor' (Ashur), complete with palace and buildings in the Hellenistic style. After their replacement by the Sassanids, the area was largely abandoned.

(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information by Wayne McCleese (regarding the list of Abraham's ancestors), from Mesopotamia: The Invention of the City, Gwendolyn Leick (Penguin Books, 2001), from Encyclopaedia Britannica (Eleventh Edition, Cambridge (England), 1910), from Political Change and Cultural Continuity in Eshnunna from the Ur III to the Old Babylonian Period, Clemens Reichel (Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago, 11 June 1996), from Historical Atlas of the Ancient World, 4,000,000 to 500 BC, John Heywood (Barnes & Noble, 2000), from The Ancient Near East, c.3000-330 BC, Amélie Kuhrt (Routledge, 2000, Vol I & II), from Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East, Michael Road (Facts on File, 2000), from Mesopotamia: Assyrians, Sumerians, Babylonians, Enrico Ascalone (Dictionaries of Civilizations 1, University of California Press, 2007), from Early Mesopotamia: Society and Economy at the Dawn of History, J N Postgate (Routledge, 1994), from The First Empires, J N Postgate (Oxford 1977), from History of the Ancient Near East c.3000-323 BC, Marc van der Mieroop (Blackwell Publishing, 2004, 2007), from Mesopotamia, Chris Scarre (Ed, Past Worlds - The Times Atlas of Archaeology, Guild Publishing, London 1989), from The Age of the God-Kings, Kit van Tulleken (Ed, Time Life Books, Amsterdam 1987), and from External Links: Ancient Worlds, and Ancient History, Anthony Michael Love (Sarissa.org).)

c.4000 - 3000 BC

Archaeological examinations of Nineveh, while relatively limited due to the presence of a mosque on the Nebi Yunus mound, demonstrate continuous occupation between the fifth millennium BC and about 3000 BC.

The earliest levels are represented by Chalcolithic painted pottery which appears at the end of the Pottery Neolithic period. The earliest use of the site probably dates to the regional Hassuna culture, while development into a permanent settlement would have continued throughout the recent Halaf culture.

The Uruk IV period which lasts between about 3900-3100 BC sees many early cities flourish across Mesopotamia (some now almost unknown, such as Shakhi Kora), while at the heart of this frenzy of progress is the city of Uruk, the only real urban centre in Sumer. Building works there reach a frenzy of succession and experimentation, and other, smaller centres such as Nineveh also progress quickly into full city status.

c.3000 - 2800 BC

The end of the Uruk IV period seemingly results in a couple of centuries of apparent quiet on the main Nineveh mound. The Uruk trading network retracts and the subsequent Jemdet Nasr period (3100-2900 BC) introduces a fresh perspective on progress.

The reason for this sudden change is unknown, but in Nineveh it could mean a switch to the smaller mound of Nebi Yunus - perhaps as a form of starting anew - which cannot be examined. Pottery samples from the general area, though, show that a common northern Mesopotamian style remains in use here.

c.2600 - c.2200 BC

By this date, Sumerian civilisation in the south is at its height. Although their creation is later than those of Sumer, the early Akkaddian or Amorite city states of the north are less well attested, and many of them are only known from later writings (and see feature link).

Those which can be identified by name include Apum, Ashnakkum (modern Tell Chagar Bazar), Nawar, and Urkesh in the Khabur region of what is now north-eastern Syria, Harran, Mari and Terqa along the Euphrates, Kunara of the Lullubi in modern Kurdistan, and Arbel, Ashur, and Nineveh in the east (the early Assyrians). These states are in contact with each other through diplomatic and commercial means.

Some of these centres in northern, or upper, Mesopotamia - Mari, and Nawar - seem to be able to impose their will on surrounding states, but many of the details of their military actions are unknown.

c.2350 BC

It is Sargon of Agade who allegedly founds that city and then creates the Akkadian empire. He quickly subdues Mesopotamia (Sumer and Agade, plus a wide swathe of northern Mesopotamia which includes Ashur, Arbel, and Nineveh), although Enshakushanna of Uruk has already achieved a similar area of conquest in the mid-twenty-fifth century BC.

c.2269 BC

Manishtushu of the Akkadian empire renovates the temple of Ishtar, although later records by Shamshi-Adad I of the kingdom of 'Upper Mesopotamia' state that it is Manishtushu who actually founds the temple. Its construction certainly takes place in this millennium, cutting into Nineveh's fourth millennium BC occupation levels.

c.2004 BC

The waning Sumerian civilisation which has at its centre the city of Ur collapses entirely when the Elamite ruler, Kindattu, together with Simashki and the people of Susa, sacks the city and captures Ibbi-Sin. Various regional cities soon establish themselves as petty states - including Ashur - and a good deal of regional chaos takes place over the next century or so.

c.1809 - 1776 BC

The 'Early Dynasty' of Assyria is overthrown by Shamshi-Adad's kingdom of 'Upper Mesopotamia'. Ashur is rebuilt and expanded, although little archaeological data is available for this period. After his death, his son is unable to hold onto most of the conquests, but Ashur is retained by him, controlled from Ekallatum.

1076 BC

Recent Aramaean migrations into Mesopotamia increase to the point where Assyria is seriously weakened. It begins a decline and a century of total obscurity, reduced to its heartland until the reign of Ashur-Dan II from 935 BC.

However, at the same time the current ruler, Ashur-bel-kala, is dedicating a very beautiful life-size limestone statue in Nineveh and is also apparently establishing a summer residence in the city which remains in use by most subsequent Assyrian kings.

c.880s BC

First in Ctesias' unreliable list of nine kings of the Medes, Arbaces is said to destroy the Assyrian city of Nineveh at this time. The Assyrians are becoming a dominant force in their region, so this attack may be an attempt to subjugate then and halt their expansion.

If it works at all (and if it really happens at all), the Median success is brief. Perhaps it can be better viewed as an opportunistic raid by the newly-arriving Medians as a test of local strength.

705 - 612 BC

With the death of Sargon II, many of the former subject states rebel, especially Chaldaeans and neighbouring groups. With the recapture of Babylon a priority, it takes the Assyrians until 701 BC to get around to quelling similar rebellions in Judah and the Phoenician states, but from the beginning of his reign Sennacherib makes Nineveh his capital.

616 - 612 BC

Assyria is invaded by the Babylonians in 616 BC and, two years later, Ashur falls to the Medes. The Egyptians also begin a two year battle to free themselves from Assyrian rule.

In 612 BC the empire collapses with the fall of Kalakh and Nineveh to Media and Babylonia, supported by Egypt and groups such as the Scythians, who divide the spoils between them.

King Sin-shar-ishkun dies in his burning palace in Babylon, where Ashurbanipal's great library crashes into the room below, with many of the baked clay tablets surviving to be discovered by later archaeologists.

609 - 539 BC

The remnants of Assyria surrender. The former empire's heartland loses its urban characteristics and the population reside in small settlements on top of massive mounds. The king of Babylonia is acknowledged as the new master.

However, the mid-sixth century King Nabonidus angers the Babylonians by trying to reintroduce Assyrian culture, including placing the moon god Sin above Babylon's Marduk in terms of importance. Perhaps because of that, resistance to Cyrus 'the Great' of Persia, when he enters Babylonia from the east, is limited to just one major battle, near the confluence of the Diyala and Tigris rivers.

On 12/13 October (sources vary), Babylon is occupied by Cyrus, which also gains him the remainder of Elam's territory plus 'Athura' (Ashur, heartland of the former Assyrian empire).