Nimrud

Assyrian capital of Kalhu (Calah), founded in 883 BC by Ashurnasirpal II (883-859 BC) over the ruins of an earlier city built by Shalmaneser I (1274-1245 BC) in 13th century BC. It is located by Tigris River, south of modern Mosul (Iraq) in Mesopotamia. It was the third capital city, with Assur and Nineveh, of Assyria. The statues and inscriptions found by Sir Austen Henry Layard was one of the first archaeological discoveries to stir the public imagination. Its wall was some 8 km in circuit, enclosing at one corner a citadel which contained a ziggurat, temples, and palaces. The palaces have yielded the richest finds, enormous stone winged bulls, reliefs, and exquisite carved ivories which once adorned the royal furniture. Another rich collection of ivories was found in the arsenal of Shalmaneser III in the outer town. Some of the ivories show traces of the fire which accompanied the overthrow of the city by the Medes in 612 BC. Unlike many of the cities of Mesopotamia, Nimrud was not a long-lived site occupied from the prehistoric period. Its heyday continued until c 710 BC when the capital was transferred first to Khorsabad and subsequently to Nineveh. Many of the sculptures were brought back to England by Layard and are now in the British Museum.

[ancient Kalhu; biblical Calah]. One of the great cities of Assyria, situated on the Tigris River, south of Mosul; in the last century it was wrongly identified by Layard as the site of Nineveh and his book Nineveh and its Remains refers in fact to this site. Unlike many of the cities of Mesopotamia, Nimrud was not a long-lived site occupied from the prehistoric period, but was a new foundation by Shalmaneser I of Assyria in the mid-13th century bc. Its heyday was in the time of Assurnasirpal II (884-859 bc), who made it the capital of Assyria; it remained the capital till c710 bc when the capital was transferred first to Khorsabad and subsequently to Nineveh. The walls enclosed c200 hectares and a citadel in the southwest comer housed a ziggurat, a temple dedicated to Ninurta (patron deity of the city), another dedicated to Nabu (god of writing) and a series of palaces. The largest and most important is the Northwest Palace, built by Assumasirpal II, originally decorated with massive reliefs and with doorways flanked by winged lions and bulls. Many of these sculptures were brought back to England by Layard and are now in the British Museum. In the southeast comer of the city was the arsenal, built by Shalmaneser III (859824 bc) and yet another royal palace. Perhaps the most famous finds from Nimrud are the delicately carved ivory plaques found in large numbers in the palaces of both the citadel and the arsenal. They may originally have been mounted on wooden fiimiture.