Nimrud

36.143.333333333333Koordinaten: 36 ° 6 ' 0 " N, 43 ° 20' 0" E

Nimrud (also Assyrian. Kalhu, bibl. Calah, Kalah ) is the modern name of an ancient Middle Eastern city. The ruins are 30 km south-southeast of Mosul ( today's Iraq) on the middle Tigris, in the Ninawa Governorate. Nimrud was founded in the 13th century BC, in the 9th century under King Ashurnasirpal II capital of the Assyrian Empire. In 612 BC it was destroyed by the Medes and Chaldeans.

Name

The name Nimrud is derived from the Biblical king Nimrod. When the ruins was given this name is not known. The first written mention of Nimrud goes back to Carsten Niebuhr, who visited the city in 1766. During the Assyrian period it was known as Calah / Kalhu. In Xenophon 's name Larisa appears.

Archeology

First excavations took place mainly on the Acropolis as early as 1846 by Sir Austen Henry Layard. There were remains of a large palace and fortifications to the fore. It was found as well as numerous alabaster reliefs and ivory carvings, as well as obelisks and monumental figures. In 1955, with oaths for vassals and Assyrian power holders from the year 672 found in excavations of Max Mallowan in Nabû Temple of Nimrud cuneiform tablets BC, which are revealing of the Assyrian contract rhetoric and thus also for this imitative Israelite covenant theology.

By American troops widespread destruction were done after the third Gulf war in the city.

For individual buildings:

• Acropolis of Nimrud
• Northwest Palace ( Nimrud)