Ninua

Ninua, known in English as Nineveh, is the ancient Mesopotamian city whose Akkadian name is Ninua. It was the principal city and at times the capital of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, located on the eastern bank of the Tigris River opposite the modern city of Mosul in Iraq. The site rose from a provincial town to a major political, economic, and religious center that administered a vast empire from roughly the 9th to the 7th century BCE.

Historically, Nineveh played a central role in Assyria’s imperial administration and culture. Under kings such as Sennacherib, Esarhaddon, and Ashurbanipal, the city expanded with monumental architecture, extensive walls, royal palaces, temples, and administrative complexes at Kuyunjik. It was a hub of international trade and military power, as well as a focal point for religious and ceremonial activity. The royal library of Ashurbanipal, discovered in the 19th century, preserved thousands of cuneiform tablets and made Nineveh a key source for Mesopotamian literature, including tablets related to the Epic of Gilgamesh.

In 612 BCE, a coalition of Medes and Babylonians captured and destroyed Nineveh, contributing to the collapse of the Assyrian Empire. The ruins continued to be studied by archaeologists from the 19th century onward and yielded important reliefs and inscriptions. The site lies at Kuyunjik and nearby Nabi Yunus, near Mosul, and has suffered damage during modern conflicts, prompting preservation and rescue efforts to safeguard remaining traces of the ancient city.