Historical place profile
Nineveh/Ninos
This important Mesopotamian city flanks the eastern edge of the Tigris flood plain, opposite modern Mosul, of which it is now a suburb. From the third millennium B.C. onwards, Nineveh was the most important religious center of the goddess Ištar in the area that would become the Assyrian heartland. Starting in the Middle Assyrian period, the city came under the authority of the kings of Assyria, who often sponsored large-scale building activities there. However, it was not until 704 B.C. that Nineveh became the administrative capital of Assyria when the Neo-Assyrian king Sennacherib moved the royal family and court there and transformed the city into a thriving imperial metropolis. Nineveh remained Assyria’s capital until 612 B.C., when it was captured and destroyed by a Babylonian-Median coalition led by Nabopolassar and Cyaxares. The visible remains of the (7th-century) Assyrian city include the citadel mound Kuyunjik, the smaller mound of Nebi Yunus, and the twelve-kilometer-long city wall.
Record details
- Research ID
- catholon:place:pleiades:874621
- Catalogue ID
- pleiades:874621
- Place type
- archaeological-site, settlement
- Coordinates
- 36.360762, 43.159937
- Precision
- precise
- Locator semantics
- representative_point_not_boundary
Historical description
This important Mesopotamian city flanks the eastern edge of the Tigris flood plain, opposite modern Mosul, of which it is now a suburb. From the third millennium B.C. onwards, Nineveh was the most important religious center of the goddess Ištar in the area that would become the Assyrian heartland. Starting in the Middle Assyrian period, the city came under the authority of the kings of Assyria, who often sponsored large-scale building activities there. However, it was not until 704 B.C. that Nineveh became the administrative capital of Assyria when the Neo-Assyrian king Sennacherib moved the royal family and court there and transformed the city into a thriving imperial metropolis. Nineveh remained Assyria’s capital until 612 B.C., when it was captured and destroyed by a Babylonian-Median coalition led by Nabopolassar and Cyaxares. The visible remains of the (7th-century) Assyrian city include the citadel mound Kuyunjik, the smaller mound of Nebi Yunus, and the twelve-kilometer-long city wall.
Geographic evidence
The coordinates are a representative_point_not_boundary. They identify a research anchor and do not by themselves assert an ancient administrative boundary or the full extent of the settlement.
Provenance: Barrington Atlas: BAtlas 89 F4 Nineveh/Ninos
Source and reuse
This profile derives from the Pleiades current GIS record, licensed CC BY 3.0. Pleiades place record The profile preserves the source name, point, type, description, precision and provenance without silently adding a boundary reconstruction.
Research path
Compare this place with the chronological map at the relevant year, nearby political units, routes, institutions and the period portals. Where the source record is silent about jurisdiction, population or ecclesiastical rank, this profile makes no such claim.
Phase II — chronological and spatial research layer
Historical problem
This important Mesopotamian city flanks the eastern edge of the Tigris flood plain, opposite modern Mosul, of which it is now a suburb. From the third millennium B.C. onwards, Nineveh was the most important religious center of the goddess Ištar in the area that would become the Assyrian heartland. Starting in the Middle Assyrian period, the city came under the authority of the kings of Assyria, who often sponsored large-scale building activities there. However, it was not until 704 B.C. that Nineveh became the administrative capital of Assyria when the Neo-Assyrian king Sennacherib moved the royal family and court there and transformed the city into a thriving imperial metropolis. Nineveh remained Assyria’s capital until 612 B.C., when it was captured and destroyed by a Babylonian-Median coalition led by Nabopolassar and Cyaxares. The visible remains of the (7th-century) Assyrian city…
Spatial reading
The record classifies this location as archaeological-site, settlement with precise point precision. The coordinate is a research anchor, not a timeless urban, political or ecclesiastical boundary.
Source path
Geographic provenance: Barrington Atlas: BAtlas 89 F4 Nineveh/Ninos. The place should be compared with the active time slice, routes, neighbouring polities, institutions and dated textual witnesses.
Questions for further dossier work
- Which occupation phases are directly attested at this coordinate?
- Which ancient or medieval names refer to the same site, and which remain disputed?
- Which political and ecclesiastical jurisdictions changed over time?
- Which routes, ports or regional centres explain the place’s historical importance?