Ancient Calah (Nimrud)

Nimrud was the capital of ancient Assyria It was a famous city in the ancient world that sat on the banks of the Tigris River. It first became populated in about 2500 BC. Around 1250 BC Shalmaneser I, king of Assyria, mentions himself as the founder of Nimrud. Assurnasirpal II built great walls and ruled in Nimrud from 884-859 BC. The later Assyrian kings also ruled in Nimrud until the latter part of the 8th century BC when the capital was moved to Khorsabad and then to Nineveh. Nimrud was mainly abandoned after Assyria's destruction in 612 BC. The city was about 1 1/4 square miles. There were temples, palaces, a great ziggurat (140 feet high), and many monuments in the ruins of ancient Nimrud, many of which were removed and brought to the British Museum in the 1800's. One relic records a feast in the palace numbering 63,000 people. Near the great Nabu Temple a gate was discovered which led to the mighty imperial arsenal of king Shalmaneser III. Nimrud and some of its kings were mentioned in the Bible, the famous city mentioned in the Book of Genesis which was located about 20 miles south of ancient Mosul.