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ܢܝܼܢܘܹܐ | |
 The reconstructed Mashki Gate of Nineveh (since destroyed by ISIS) | |
  Shown within Iraq  Nineveh (Near East) | |
| Location | Mosul, Nineveh Governorate, Iraq |
|---|---|
| Region | Mesopotamia |
| Coordinates | 36°21′34″N 43°09′10″E / 36.35944°N 43.15278°E |
| Type | Settlement |
| Area | 7.5 km2 (2.9 sq mi) |
| History | |
| Abandoned | 612 BC |
| Events | Battle of Nineveh (612 BC) |
Nineveh (/ˈnɪnɪvə/ NIN-iv-ə; Akkadian: 𒌷𒉌𒉡𒀀, URUNI.NU.A, Ninua; Biblical Hebrew: נִינְוֵה, Nīnəwē; Arabic: نَيْنَوَىٰ, Naynawā; Syriac: ܢܝܼܢܘܹܐ, Nīnwē[1]), also known in early modern times as Kouyunjik, was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia, located in the modern-day city of Mosul in northern Iraq. It is located on the eastern bank of the Tigris River and was the capital and largest city of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, as well as the largest city in the world for several decades. Today, it is a common name for the half of Mosul that lies on the eastern bank of the Tigris, and the country's Nineveh Governorate takes its name from it.
It was the largest city in the world for approximately fifty years[2] until the year 612 BC when, after a bitter period of civil war in Assyria, it was sacked by a coalition of its former subject peoples including the Babylonians, Medes, and Scythians. The city was never again a political or administrative centre, but by Late Antiquity it was the seat of a Christian bishop.[citation needed] It declined relative to Mosul during the Middle Ages and was mostly abandoned by the 13th century AD.
Its ruins lie across the river from the historical city center of Mosul. The two main tells, or mound-ruins, within the walls are Tell Kuyunjiq and Tell Nabī Yūnus, site of a shrine to Jonah. According to the Hebrew Bible and the Quran, Jonah was a prophet who preached to Nineveh.[3][4][5] Large numbers of Assyrian sculptures and other artifacts have been excavated from the ruins of Nineveh, and are now located in museums around the world.
- ^ Thomas A. Carlson et al., "Nineveh — ܢܝܢܘܐ " in The Syriac Gazetteer last modified June 30, 2014, http://syriaca.org/place/144.
- ^ Rosenberg, Matt T. "Largest Cities Through History". geography.about.com. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
- ^ Kripke, Saul A. (1980) [1972], Naming and Necessity, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, p. 67, ISBN 0-674-59846-6
- ^ Jenson, Philip Peter (2009). Obadiah, Jonah, Micah: A Theological Commentary. The Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 30. ISBN 978-0-567-44289-5. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
- ^ Chisholm, Robert B. Jr. (2009). Handbook on the Prophets. Baker Publishing Group. p. unpaginated. ISBN 978-1-58558-365-2. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
Despite the modern scholarly consensus that the book is fictional