Nineveh

For other uses, see Nineveh (disambiguation).

"Ninevites" redirects here. For the South African resistance movement, see Umkosi Wezintaba.

Nineveh

ܢܝ݂ܢܘܹܐ
The reconstructed Mashki Gate of Nineveh
Shown within Iraq
Location	Mosul, Nineveh Governorate, Iraq
Region	Mesopotamia
Coordinates	36°21′34″N 43°09′10″E / 36.35944°N 43.15278°E / 36.35944; 43.15278Coordinates: 36°21′34″N 43°09′10″E / 36.35944°N 43.15278°E / 36.35944; 43.15278
Type	Settlement
Area	7.5 km2 (2.9 sq mi)
History
Abandoned	612 BC
Events	Battle of Nineveh (612 BC)

Nineveh (/ˈnɪnɪvə/; Akkadian: 𒌷𒉌𒉡𒀀 ^URUNI.NU.A Ninua; Syriac: ܢܝܼܢܘܹܐ‎) was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia, located on the outskirts of Mosul in modern-day northern Iraq. It is located on the eastern bank of the Tigris River, and was the capital of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Today it is a common name for the half of Mosul which lies on the eastern bank of the Tigris.

It was the largest city in the world for some fifty years^[1] until the year 612 BC when, after a bitter period of civil war in Assyria, it was sacked by a coalition of its former subject peoples, the Babylonians, Medes, Chaldeans, Persians, Scythians and Cimmerians. Its ruins are across the river from the modern-day major city of Mosul, in the Ninawa Governorate of Iraq. The two main tells, or mound-ruins, within the walls are Kouyunjik (Kuyuncuk), the Northern Palace, and Tell Nabī Yūnus.

Large amounts of Assyrian sculpture and other artifacts have been excavated and are now located in museums around the world. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) occupied the site during the mid-2010s, during which time they bulldozed several of the monuments there and caused considerable damage to the others. Iraqi forces recaptured the area in January 2017.

Nineveh – Mashki Gate

Contents

• 
  1 Name
  


• 
  2 Geography
  


• 
  3 Early history
  
  
  
  • 
    3.1 Ninevite 5 period
    
  
  
  • 
    3.2 Old Assyrian period
    
  
  
  • 
    3.3 Neo-Assyrians
    
    
    
    • 
      3.3.1 Sennacherib's development of Nineveh
      
    
    
    • 
      3.3.2 After Ashurbanipal
      
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  4 Biblical Nineveh
  


• 
  5 Classical history
  


• 
  6 Archaeology
  
  
  
  • 
    6.1 Excavation history
    
  
  
  • 
    6.2 Archaeological remains
    
  
  
  • 
    6.3 City wall and gates
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  7 Threats to the site
  


• 
  8 Rogation of the Ninevites (Nineveh's Wish)
  


• 
  9 Popular culture
  


• 
  10 See also
  


• 
  11 Notes
  


• 
  12 References
  


• 
  13 External links
  

Name

The English placename Nineveh comes from Latin Ninive and Septuagint Greek Nineuḗ (Νινευή) under influence of the Biblical Hebrew Nīnewēh (נִינְוֶה),^[2] from the Akkadian Ninua (var. Ninâ)^[3] or Old Babylonian Ninuwā.^[2] The original meaning of the name is unclear but may have referred to a patron goddess. The cuneiform for Ninâ (𒀏) is a fish within a house (cf. Aramaic nuna, "fish"). This may have simply intended "Place of Fish" or may have indicated a goddess associated with fish or the Tigris, possibly originally of Hurrian origin.^[3] The city was later said to be devoted to "the goddess Ishtar of Nineveh" and Nina was one of the Sumerian and Assyrian names of that goddess.^[3]

The city was also known as Ninii^[4] or Ni^[5] in Ancient Egyptian; Ninuwa in Mari;^[3]Ninawa in Aramaic;^[3]ܢܸܢܘܵܐ^{[clarification needed]} in Syriac;^{[citation needed]} and Nainavā (نینوا) in Persian.

Nabī Yūnus is the Arabic for "Prophet Jonah". Kouyunjik was, according to Layard, a Turkish name, and it was known as Armousheeah by the Arabs,^[6] and is thought to have some connection with the Kara Koyunlu dynasty.^[7]

Geography

The remains of ancient Nineveh, the mound-ruins of Kouyunjik and Nabī Yūnus, are located on a level part of the plain near the junction of the Tigris and the Khosr Rivers within an area of 750 hectares (1,900 acres)^[8] circumscribed by a 12-kilometre (7.5 mi) brick rampart. This whole extensive space is now one immense area of ruins overlaid in parts by new suburbs of the city of Mosul.^[9]

Nineveh was an important junction for commercial routes crossing the Tigris on the great highway between the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean, thus uniting the East and the West, it received wealth from many sources, so that it became one of the greatest of all the region's ancient cities,^[10] and the capital of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.

Early history

Nineveh was one of the oldest and greatest cities in antiquity. The area was settled as early as 6000 BC during the late Neolithic. The deep sounding at Nineveh uncovered layers now dated to early Hassuna culture period.^[11]

By 3000 BC, the area had become an important religious center for the Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar. The early city (and subsequent buildings) was constructed on a fault line and, consequently, suffered damage from a number of earthquakes. One such event destroyed the first temple of Ishtar, which was rebuilt in 2260 BC by the Akkadian king Manishtushu.

Texts from the Hellenistic period later offered an eponymous Ninus as the founder of Nineveh, although there is no historical basis for this.

Ninevite 5 period

The regional influence of Nineveh became particularly pronounced during the archaeological period known as Ninevite 5, or Ninevite V (2900–2600 BC). This period is defined primarily by the characteristic pottery that is found widely throughout northern Mesopotamia.^[12] Also, for the northern Mesopotamian region, the Early Jezirah chronology has been developed by archaeologists. According to this regional chronology, 'Ninevite 5' is equivalent to the Early Jezirah I–II period.^[13]

Ninevite 5 was preceded by the Late Uruk period. Ninevite 5 pottery is roughly contemporary to the Early Transcaucasian culture ware, and the Jemdet Nasr ware.^[12] Iraqi Scarlet Ware culture also belongs to this period; this colourful painted pottery is somewhat similar to Jemdet Nasr ware. Scarlet Ware was first documented in the Diyala River basin in Iraq. Later, it was also found in the nearby Hamrin Basin, and in Luristan.

Old Assyrian period

The historic Nineveh is mentioned in the Old Assyrian Empire during reign of Shamshi-Adad I in about 1800 BC as a centre of worship of Ishtar, whose cult was responsible for the city's early importance. The goddess's statue was sent to Pharaoh Amenhotep III of Egypt in the 14th century BC, by orders of the king of Mitanni. The Assyrian city of Nineveh became one of Mitanni's vassals for half a century until the early 14th century BC, when the Assyrian king Ashur-uballit I reclaimed it in 1365 BC while overthrowing the Mitanni Empire and creating the Middle Assyrian Empire (1365–1050 BC).^[14]

There is a large body of evidence to show that Assyrian monarchs built extensively in Nineveh during the late 3rd and 2nd millenniums BC; it appears to have been originally an "Assyrian provincial town". Later monarchs whose inscriptions have appeared on the high city include the Middle Assyrian Empire kings Shalmaneser I (1274–1245 BC) and Tiglath-Pileser I (1114–1076 BC), both of whom were active builders in Assur (Ashur).

Neo-Assyrians

During the Neo-Assyrian Empire, particularly from the time of Ashurnasirpal II (ruled 883–859 BC) onward, there was considerable architectural expansion. Successive monarchs such as Tiglath-pileser III, Sargon II, Sennacherib, Esarhaddon, and Ashurbanipal kept in repair and founded new palaces, as well as temples to Sîn, Ashur, Nergal, Shamash, Ninurta, Ishtar, Tammuz, Nisroch and Nabiu.

Refined low-relief section of a bull-hunt frieze from Nineveh, alabaster, c. 695 BC (Pergamon Museum), Berlin.

Relief of the king hunting a Mesopotamian lion,^[15] from the Northern Palace in Nineveh, as seen at the British Museum.

Sennacherib's development of Nineveh

It was Sennacherib who made Nineveh a truly magnificent city (c. 700 BC). He laid out new streets and squares and built within it the South West Palace, or "palace without a rival", the plan of which has been mostly recovered and has overall dimensions of about 503 by 242 metres (1,650 ft × 794 ft). It comprised at least 80 rooms, many of which were lined with sculpture. A large number of cuneiform tablets were found in the palace. The solid foundation was made out of limestone blocks and mud bricks; it was 22 metres (72 ft) tall. In total, the foundation is made of roughly 2,680,000 cubic metres (3,505,308 cu yd) of brick (approximately 160 million bricks). The walls on top, made out of mud brick, were an additional 20 metres (66 ft) tall.

Some of the principal doorways were flanked by colossal stone lamassu door figures weighing up to 30,000 kilograms (30 t); these were winged Mesopotamian lions^[15] or bulls, with human heads. These were transported 50 kilometres (31 mi) from quarries at Balatai, and they had to be lifted up 20 metres (66 ft) once they arrived at the site, presumably by a ramp. There are also 3,000 metres (9,843 ft) of stone Assyrian palace reliefs, that include pictorial records documenting every construction step including carving the statues and transporting them on a barge. One picture shows 44 men towing a colossal statue. The carving shows three men directing the operation while standing on the Colossus. Once the statues arrived at their destination, the final carving was done. Most of the statues weigh between 9,000 and 27,000 kilograms (19,842 and 59,525 lb).^[16]

The stone carvings in the walls include many battle scenes, impalings and scenes showing Sennacherib's men parading the spoils of war before him. The inscriptions boasted of his conquests: he wrote of Babylon: "Its inhabitants, young and old, I did not spare, and with their corpses I filled the streets of the city." A full and characteristic set shows the campaign leading up to the siege of Lachish in 701; it is the "finest" from the reign of Sennacherib, and now in the British Museum.^[17] He later wrote about a battle in Lachish: "And Hezekiah of Judah who had not submitted to my yoke...him I shut up in Jerusalem his royal city like a caged bird. Earthworks I threw up against him, and anyone coming out of his city gate I made pay for his crime. His cities which I had plundered I had cut off from his land."^[18]

At this time, the total area of Nineveh comprised about 7 square kilometres (1,730 acres), and fifteen great gates penetrated its walls. An elaborate system of eighteen canals brought water from the hills to Nineveh, and several sections of a magnificently constructed aqueduct erected by Sennacherib were discovered at Jerwan, about 65 kilometres (40 mi) distant.^[19] The enclosed area had more than 100,000 inhabitants (maybe closer to 150,000), about twice as many as Babylon at the time, placing it among the largest settlements worldwide.

Some scholars believe that the garden which Sennacherib built next to his palace, with its associated irrigation works, comprised the original Hanging Gardens of Babylon.^[20]

After Ashurbanipal

Nineveh's greatness was short-lived. In around 627 BC, after the death of its last great king Ashurbanipal, the Neo-Assyrian empire began to unravel through a series of bitter civil wars between rival claimants for the throne, and in 616 BC Assyria was attacked by its own former vassals, the Babylonians, Chaldeans, Medes, Persians, Scythians and Cimmerians. In about 616 BC Kalhu was sacked, the allied forces eventually reached Nineveh, besieging and sacking the city in 612 BC, following bitter house-to-house fighting, after which it was razed. Most of the people in the city who could not escape to the last Assyrian strongholds in the north and west were either massacred or deported out of the city and into the countryside where they founded new settlements. Many unburied skeletons were found by the archaeologists at the site. The Assyrian empire then came to an end by 605 BC, the Medes and Babylonians dividing its colonies between themselves.

Assyria, including the Nineveh region, continued to exist as a geo-political entity (Achaemenid Assyria, Athura, Assuristan etc.) under the rule of various empires until its dissolution in the mid-7th century AD.

Following the defeat in 612 BC, the site remained largely unoccupied for centuries and the ruins remained largely intact during Achaemenid rule, though the library of Ashurbanipal may still have been in use until around the time of Alexander the Great. The city is mentioned again in the Battle of Nineveh in 627 AD, which was fought between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Sassanian Empire of Persia near the ancient city. From the Arab Islamic Conquest in 637 AD until the modern period, the city of Mosul on the opposite bank of the Tigris became the successor of ancient Nineveh.

Biblical Nineveh

In the Hebrew Bible, Nineveh is first mentioned in Genesis 10:11: "Ashur left that land, and built Nineveh". Some modern English translations interpret "Ashur" in the Hebrew of this verse as the country "Assyria" rather than a person, thus making Nimrod, rather than Ashur, the founder of Nineveh. Sir Walter Raleigh's notion that Nimrod built Nineveh, and the cities in Genesis 10:11-12, has also been refuted by scholars.^[21] The discovery of the fifteen Jubilees texts found amongst the Dead Sea Scrolls, has since shown that, according to the Jewish sects of Qumran, Genesis 10:11 affirms the apportionment of Nineveh to Ashur.^[22][23] The attribution of Nineveh to Ashur is also supported by the Greek Septuagint, King James Bible, Geneva Bible, and by Historian Flavius Josephus in his Antiquites of the Jews (Antiquities, i, vi, 4).^{[24][25][26][27][non-primary source needed]}

The Prophet Jonah before the Walls of Nineveh, drawing by Rembrandt, c. 1655

Nineveh was the flourishing capital of the Assyrian Empire^[28] and was the home of King Sennacherib, King of Assyria, during the Biblical reign of King Hezekiah (יְחִזְקִיָּהוּ) and the lifetime of Judean prophet Isaiah (ישעיה). As recorded in Hebrew scripture, Nineveh was also the place where Sennacherib died at the hands of his two sons, who then fled to the vassal land of `rrt Urartu.^[29] The book of the prophet Nahum is almost exclusively taken up with prophetic denunciations against Nineveh. Its ruin and utter desolation are foretold.^[30][31] Its end was strange, sudden, and tragic.^[32] According to the Bible, it was God's doing, His judgment on Assyria's pride (Isaiah 10:5–19). In fulfillment of prophecy, God made "an utter end of the place". It became a "desolation". The prophet Zephaniah also^[33] predicts its destruction along with the fall of the empire of which it was the capital. Nineveh is also the setting of the Book of Tobit.

The Book of Jonah, set in the days of the Assyrian empire, describes it^[34][35] as an "exceedingly great city of three days' journey in breadth", whose population at that time is given as "more than 120,000". The ruins of Kouyunjik, Nimrud, Karamles and Khorsabad form the four corners of an irregular quadrangle. The ruins of Nineveh, with the whole area included within the parallelogram they form by lines drawn from the one to the other, are generally regarded as consisting of these four sites. The Book of Jonah depicts Nineveh as a wicked city worthy of destruction. God sent Jonah to preach to the Ninevites of their coming destruction, and they fasted and repented because of this. As a result, God spared the city; when Jonah protests against this, God states He is showing mercy for the population who are ignorant of the difference between right and wrong ("who cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand"^[36]) and mercy for the animals in the city.

Nineveh's repentance and salvation from evil can be found in the Jewish Tanakh (also read by Christians) and the Muslim Koran.^[37] To this day, Syriac and Oriental Orthodox churches commemorate the three days Jonah spent inside the fish during the Fast of Nineveh. The Christians observing this holiday fast by refraining from food and drink. Churches encourage followers to refrain from meat, fish and dairy products.^[38]

Classical history

Before the great archaeological excavations in the 19th century, there was almost no historical knowledge of the great Assyrian empire and of its magnificent capital. Other cities that had perished, such as Palmyra, Persepolis, and Thebes, had left ruins to mark their sites and tell of their former greatness; but of this city, imperial Nineveh, no vestige seemed to remain, and the very place on which it had stood became only a matter of conjecture.

In the days of the Greek historians Ctesias and Herodotus, 400 BC, Nineveh had become a thing of the past; and when Xenophon (c. 430 – 354 BC) the historian passed the place in the Retreat of the Ten Thousand the very memory of its name had been lost. It was buried out of sight.^[39]

In his History of the World (written c. 1616) Sir Walter Raleigh erroneously asserted (attributing the information to Johannes Nauclerus c. 1425–1510) that Nineveh had originally had the name Campsor before Ninus supposedly rebuilt it. This was still regarded as correct information when news of Layard's discoveries (see below) reached the west.^[40]

Archaeology

The location of Ninevah was known, to some, continuously through the Middle Ages. Benjamin of Tudela visited it in 1170; Petachiah of Regensburg soon after.^[41]

Carsten Niebuhr recorded its location during the 1761–67 Danish expedition. Niebuhr wrote afterwards that "I did not learn that I was at so remarkable a spot, till near the river. Then they showed me a village on a great hill, which they call Nunia, and a mosque, in which the prophet Jonah was buried. Another hill in this district is called Kalla Nunia, or the Castle of Nineveh. On that lies a village Koindsjug."^[42]

Excavation history

In 1842, the French Consul General at Mosul, Paul-Émile Botta, began to search the vast mounds that lay along the opposite bank of the river. The locals whom he employed in these excavations, to their great surprise, came upon the ruins of a building at the mound of Khorsabad, which, on further exploration, turned out to be the royal palace of Sargon II, in which large numbers of reliefs were found and recorded, though they had been damaged by fire and were mostly too fragile to remove.

Bronze lion from Nineveh.

In 1847 the young British diplomat Austen Henry Layard explored the ruins.^{[43][44][45][46]} Layard did not use modern archaeological methods; his stated goal was "to obtain the largest possible number of well preserved objects of art at the least possible outlay of time and money."^[47] In the Kuyunjik mound, Layard rediscovered in 1849 the lost palace of Sennacherib with its 71 rooms and colossal bas-reliefs. He also unearthed the palace and famous library of Ashurbanipal with 22,000 cuneiform clay tablets. Most of Layard's material was sent to the British Museum, but two large pieces were given to Lady Charlotte Guest and eventually found their way to the Metropolitan Museum.^[48] The study of the archaeology of Nineveh reveals the wealth and glory of ancient Assyria under kings such as Esarhaddon (681–669 BC) and Ashurbanipal (669–626 BC).

The work of exploration was carried on by George Smith, Hormuzd Rassam (a modern Assyrian), and others, and a vast treasury of specimens of Assyria was incrementally exhumed for European museums. Palace after palace was discovered, with their decorations and their sculptured slabs, revealing the life and manners of this ancient people, their arts of war and peace, the forms of their religion, the style of their architecture, and the magnificence of their monarchs.^[49][50]

The mound of Kouyunjik was excavated again by the archaeologists of the British Museum, led by Leonard William King, at the beginning of the 20th century. Their efforts concentrated on the site of the Temple of Nabu, the god of writing, where another cuneiform library was supposed to exist. However, no such library was ever found: most likely, it had been destroyed by the activities of later residents.

The excavations started again in 1927, under the direction of Campbell Thompson, who had taken part in King's expeditions.^{[51][52][53][54]} Some works were carried out outside Kouyunjik, for instance on the mound of Nebi Yunus, which was the ancient arsenal of Nineveh, or along the outside walls. Here, near the northwestern corner of the walls, beyond the pavement of a later building, the archaeologists found almost 300 fragments of prisms recording the royal annals of Sennacherib, Esarhaddon, and Ashurbanipal, beside a prism of Esarhaddon which was almost perfect.

After the Second World War, several excavations were carried out by Iraqi archaeologists. From 1951 to 1958 Mohammed Ali Mustafa worked the site.^[55][56] The work was continued from 1967 through 1971 by Tariq Madhloom.^[57][58][59] Some additional excavation occurred by Manhal Jabur in 1980, and Manhal Jabur in 1987. For the most part, these digs focused on Nebi Yunus.

Most recently, British archaeologist and Assyriologist Professor David Stronach of the University of California, Berkeley conducted a series of surveys and digs at the site from 1987 to 1990, focusing his attentions on the several gates and the existent mudbrick walls, as well as the system that supplied water to the city in times of siege. The excavation reports are in progress.^[60]

Archaeological remains

Humvee down after ISIS attack

Today, Nineveh's location is marked by two large mounds, Kouyunjik and Nabī Yūnus "Prophet Jonah", and the remains of the city walls (about 12 kilometres (7 mi) in circumference). The Neo-Assyrian levels of Kouyunjik have been extensively explored. The other mound, Nabī Yūnus, has not been as extensively explored because there was an Arab Muslim shrine dedicated to that prophet on the site. On July 24, 2014, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant destroyed the shrine as part of a campaign to destroy religious sanctuaries it deems "un-Islamic."^[61]

The ruin mound of Kuyunjik rises about 20 metres (66 ft) above the surrounding plain of the ancient city. It is quite broad, measuring about 800 by 500 metres (2,625 ft × 1,640 ft). Its upper layers have been extensively excavated, and several Neo-Assyrian palaces and temples have been found there. A deep sounding by Max Mallowan revealed evidence of habitation as early as the 6th millennium BC. Today, there is little evidence of these old excavations other than weathered pits and earth piles. In 1990, the only Assyrian remains visible were those of the entry court and the first few chambers of the Palace of Sennacherib. Since that time, the palace chambers have received significant damage by looters. Portions of relief sculptures that were in the palace chambers in 1990 were seen on the antiquities market by 1996. Photographs of the chambers made in 2003 show that many of the fine relief sculptures there have been reduced to piles of rubble.

Winged Bull excavated at Nebi Yunus by Iraqi archaeologists

Nebi Yunus is located about 1 kilometre (0.6 mi) south of Kuyunjik and is the secondary ruin mound at Nineveh. On the basis of texts of Sennacherib, the site has traditionally been identified as the "armory" of Nineveh, and a gate and pavements excavated by Iraqis in 1954 have been considered to be part of the "armory" complex. Excavations in 1990 revealed a monumental entryway consisting of a number of large inscribed orthostats and "bull-man" sculptures, some apparently unfinished.

City wall and gates

Simplified plan of ancient Nineveh showing city wall and location of gateways.

The ruins of Nineveh are surrounded by the remains of a massive stone and mudbrick wall dating from about 700 BC. About 12 km in length, the wall system consisted of an ashlar stone retaining wall about 6 metres (20 ft) high surmounted by a mudbrick wall about 10 metres (33 ft) high and 15 metres (49 ft) thick. The stone retaining wall had projecting stone towers spaced about every 18 metres (59 ft). The stone wall and towers were topped by three-step merlons.

Five of the gateways have been explored to some extent by archaeologists:

• Mashki Gate

Translated "Gate of the Watering Places", it was perhaps used to take livestock to water from the Tigris which currently flows about 1.5 kilometres (0.9 mi) to the west. It has been reconstructed in fortified mudbrick to the height of the top of the vaulted passageway. The Assyrian original may have been plastered and ornamented.

• Nergal Gate

Named for the god Nergal, it may have been used for some ceremonial purpose, as it is the only known gate flanked by stone sculptures of winged bull-men (lamassu). The reconstruction is conjectural, as the gate was excavated by Layard in the mid-19th century and reconstructed in the mid-20th century.

• Adad Gate

Photograph of the restored Adad Gate, taken prior to the gate's destruction by ISIL in April 2016^[62]

Adad Gate was named for the god Adad. A reconstruction was begun in the 1960s by Iraqis but was not completed. The result was a mixture of concrete and eroding mudbrick, which nonetheless does give some idea of the original structure. The excavator left some features unexcavated, allowing a view of the original Assyrian construction. The original brickwork of the outer vaulted passageway was well exposed, as was the entrance of the vaulted stairway to the upper levels. The actions of Nineveh's last defenders could be seen in the hastily built mudbrick construction which narrowed the passageway from 4 to 2 metres (13 to 7 ft). Around April 13, 2016, ISIL demolished both the gate and the adjacent wall by flattening them with a bulldozer.^[63][62]

• Shamash Gate

Eastern city wall and Shamash Gate.

Named for the Sun god Shamash, it opens to the road to Erbil. It was excavated by Layard in the 19th century. The stone retaining wall and part of the mudbrick structure were reconstructed in the 1960s. The mudbrick reconstruction has deteriorated significantly. The stone wall projects outward about 20 metres (66 ft) from the line of main wall for a width of about 70 metres (230 ft). It is the only gate with such a significant projection. The mound of its remains towers above the surrounding terrain. Its size and design suggest it was the most important gate in Neo-Assyrian times.

• Halzi Gate

Near the south end of the eastern city wall. Exploratory excavations were undertaken here by the University of California expedition of 1989–1990. There is an outward projection of the city wall, though not as pronounced as at the Shamash Gate. The entry passage had been narrowed with mudbrick to about 2 metres (7 ft) as at the Adad Gate. Human remains from the final battle of Nineveh were found in the passageway.
^[64]

Threats to the site

The site of Nineveh is exposed to decay of its reliefs by a lack of proper protective roofing, vandalism and looting holes dug into chamber floors.^[65] Future preservation is further compromised by the site's proximity to expanding suburbs.

The ailing Mosul Dam is a persistent threat to Nineveh as well as the city of Mosul. This is in no small part due to years of disrepair (in 2006, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers cited it as the most dangerous dam in the world), the cancellation of a second dam project in the 1980s to act as flood relief in case of failure, and occupation by ISIL in 2014 resulting in fleeing workers and stolen equipment. If the dam fails, the entire site could be under as much as 45 feet (14 m) underwater.^[66]

In an October 2010 report titled Saving Our Vanishing Heritage, Global Heritage Fund named Nineveh one of 12 sites most "on the verge" of irreparable destruction and loss, citing insufficient management, development pressures and looting as primary causes.^[67]

By far, however, the greatest threat to Nineveh has been purposeful human actions by ISIL, which occupied that area in mid-2010s. In early 2015 they announced their intention to destroy the walls of Nineveh if the Iraqis try to liberate the city. They also threatened to destroy artifacts. On February 26 they destroyed several items and statues in the Mosul Museum and are believed to have plundered others to sell overseas. The items were mostly from the Assyrian exhibit, which ISIL declared blasphemous and idolatrous. There were 300 items in the museum out of a total of 1,900, with the other 1,600 being taken to the National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad for security reasons prior to the 2014 Fall of Mosul.^{[according to whom?]} Some of the artifacts sold and/or destroyed were from Nineveh.^[68][69] Just a few days after the destruction of the museum pieces, they demolished remains at major UNESCO world heritage sites Khorsabad, Nimrud, and Hatra.

Rogation of the Ninevites (Nineveh's Wish)

Assyrians of the Ancient Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Assyrian Church of the East and Saint Thomas Christians of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church observe a fast called Ba'uta d-Ninwe (ܒܥܘܬܐ ܕܢܝܢܘܐ) which means Nineveh's Prayer. Copts and Ethiopian Orthodox also maintain this fast.^[70]

Popular culture

The English Romantic poet Edwin Atherstone wrote an epic The Fall of Nineveh.^[71] The work tells of an uprising against its king Sardanapalus of all the nations that were dominated by the Assyrian empire. He is a great criminal. He has had one hundred prisoners of war executed. After a long struggle the town is conquered by Median and Babylonian troops led by prince Arbaces and priest Belesis. The king sets his own palace on fire and dies inside together with all his concubines.

John Martin, The Fall of Nineveh

Atherstone's friend, the artist John Martin, created a painting of the same name inspired by the poem. The English poet John Masefield's well-known, fanciful 1903 poem Cargoes mentions Nineveh in its first line. Nineveh is also mentioned in Rudyard Kipling's 1897 poem Recessional.

The 1962 Italian peplum movie, War Gods of Babylon, is based on the sacking and fall of Nineveh by the combined rebel armies led by the Babylonians.

See also

• Cities of the ancient Near East


• Destruction of cultural heritage by ISIL


• Historical urban community sizes


• Isaac of Nineveh


• List of megalithic sites


• Short chronology timeline


• Tel Keppe

Notes

1. 
   ^ Matt T. Rosenberg. "Largest Cities Through History". geography.about.com. Retrieved 6 May 2013..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
   


2. 
   ^ ^ab Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd ed. "Ninevite, n. and adj." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013.
   


3. 
   ^ ^abcde "Nineveh", Encyclopaedia Judaica, Gale Group, 2008.
   


4. 
   ^ Cooper, William Ricketts (1876), "Ninii", An Archaic Dictionary: Biographical, Historical, and Mythological; from the Egyptian, Assyrian, and Etruscan Monuments and Papyri, London: Samuel Bagster & Sons, p. 382.
   


5. 
   ^ Rawlinson, George (1886), Ancient Egypt, 10th ed., Ch. XII, London: T. Fisher Unwin.
   


6. 
   ^ Layard, 1849, p.xxi, "...called Kouyunjik by the Turks, and Armousheeah by the Arabs"
   


7. 
   ^ "Koyundjik", E. J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, p. 1083.
   


8. 
   ^ Mieroop, Marc van de (1997). The Ancient Mesopotamian City. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 95. ISBN 9780191588457.
   


9. 
   ^ Geoffrey Turner, "Tell Nebi Yūnus: The ekal māšarti of Nineveh," Iraq, vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 68–85, 1970
   


10. 
    ^ "Proud Nineveh" is an emblem of earthly pride in the Old Testament prophecies: "And He will stretch out His hand against the north And destroy Assyria, And He will make Nineveh a desolation, Parched like the wilderness." (Zephaniah 2:13).
    


11. 
    ^ Kouyounjik / Nebi Yunis (ancient: Nineveh) colostate.edu
    


12. 
    ^ ^ab Ian Shaw, A Dictionary of Archaeology. John Wiley & Sons, 2002
    ISBN 0631235833 p427
    


13. 
    ^ Polish-Syrian Expedition to Tell Arbid 2015
    


14. 
    ^ Genesis 10:11 attributes the founding of Nineveh to an Asshur: "Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh".
    


15. 
    ^ ^ab Ashrafian, H. (2011). "An extinct Mesopotamian lion subspecies". Veterinary Heritage. 34 (2): 47–49.
    


16. 
    ^ "The Seventy Wonders of the Ancient World" edited by Chris Scarre 1999 (Thames and Hudson)
    


17. 
    ^ Reade, Julian, Assyrian Sculpture, pp. 56 (quoted), 65–71, 1998 (2nd edn.), The British Museum Press,
    ISBN 9780714121413
    


18. 
    ^ Time Life Lost Civilizations series: Mesopotamia: The Mighty Kings. (1995)
    


19. 
    ^ Thorkild Jacobsen and Seton Lloyd, Sennacherib's Aqueduct at Jerwan, Oriental Institute Publication 24, University of Chicago Press, 1935
    


20. 
    ^ Dalley, Stephanie, (2013) The Mystery of the Hanging Garden of Babylon: an elusive World Wonder traced, Oxford University Press.
    ISBN 978-0-19-966226-5
    


21. 
    ^ Samuel Shuckford; James Talboys Wheeler (1858), The sacred and profane history of the world connected, Vol.1, pp. 106–107
    


22. 
    ^ "Jubilees 9". www.pseudepigrapha.com. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
    


23. 
    ^ VanderKam, "Jubilees, Book of" in L. H. Schiffman and J. C. VanderKam (eds.), Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls, Oxford University Press (2000), Vol. I, p. 435.
    


24. 
    ^ Greek Septuagint.
    


25. 
    ^ Geneva Bible.
    


26. 
    ^ 1611 King James Bible.
    


27. 
    ^ New King James Version.
    


28. 
    ^ 2 Kings 19:36
    


29. 
    ^ Isa. 37:37–38
    


30. 
    ^ Nahum 1:14
    


31. 
    ^ 3:19
    


32. 
    ^ Nahum 2:6–11
    


33. 
    ^ 2:13–15
    


34. 
    ^ Jonah 3:3
    


35. 
    ^ 4:11
    


36. 
    ^ Mechon Mamre Hebrew Bible translation, Jonah 4
    


37. 
    ^ Also see these scriptural references: Gospel of Matthew (12:41) and the Gospel of Luke (11:32)
    


38. 
    ^ "Three Day Fast of Nineveh". Syrian Orthodox Church. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
    


39. 
    ^ Menko Vlaardingerbroek, The Founding of Nineveh and Babylon in Greek Historiography, Iraq, vol. 66, Nineveh. Papers of the 49th Rencontre Assriologique Internationale, Part One, pp. 233–241, 2004
    


40. 
    ^ "Dr. Layard and Nineveh", Bentley's Miscellany Vol 29 (1851), p. 102
    


41. 
    ^ Liverani 2016, p. 23. "Toward 1170 the rabbi Benjamin of Tudela, who was traveling throughout the Near East passing from one Hebrew community to another, having arrived at Mosul (which he called 'Assur the Great') had a clear idea (thanks to information given to him by his local colleagues) that across the Tigris was the famous Ninevah, in ruins but covered with villages and farms [...] Ten years later another rabbi, Petachia of Ratisbon, also arriving at Mosul (which he called the 'New Ninevah') and crossing the river, visited 'Old Ninevah', which he described as desolate and 'overthrown like Sodom' with the land black like pitch, without a blade of grass. [...] Myths apart, the localization of Ninevah remained a matter of common knowledge and beyond argument; various western travelers (such as Jean Baptiste Tavernier in 1644, and then Bourguignon d'Anville in 1779) confirmed it, and some soundings followed."
    


42. 
    ^ Pusey, Edward Bouverie (1888), The Minor Prophets, with a Commentary, Explanatory and Practical, and Introductions to the Several Books, Volume II, p.123
    


43. 
    ^ A. H. Layard, Nineveh and Its Remains, John Murray, 1849
    


44. 
    ^ A. H. Layard, Discoveries in the Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon, John Murray, 1853
    


45. 
    ^ A. H. Layard, The Monuments of Nineveh; From Drawings Made on the Spot, John Murray, 1849
    


46. 
    ^ A. H. Layard, A second series of the monuments of Nineveh, John Murray, 1853
    


47. 
    ^ Liverani 2016, pp. 32–33.
    


48. 
    ^ John Malcolm Russell, From Nineveh to New York: The Strange Story of the Assyrian Reliefs in the Metropolitan Museum & the Hidden Masterpiece at Canford School, Yale University Press, 1997,
    ISBN 0-300-06459-4
    


49. 
    ^ George Smith, Assyrian Discoveries: An Account of Explorations and Discoveries on the Site of Nineveh, During 1873 and 1874, S. Low-Marston-Searle and Rivington, 1876
    


50. 
    ^ Hormuzd Rassam and Robert William Rogers, Asshur and the Land of Nimrod, Curts & Jennings, 1897
    


51. 
    ^ R. Campbell Thompson and R. W. Hutchinson, "The excavations on the temple of Nabu at Nineveh," Archaeologia, vol. 79, pp. 103–148, 1929
    


52. 
    ^ R. Campbell Thompson and R. W. Hutchinson, "The site of the palace of Ashurnasirpal II at Nineveh excavated in 1929–30," Liverpool Annals of Archaeology and Anthropology, vol. 18, pp. 79–112, 1931
    


53. 
    ^ R. Campbell Thompson and R. W. Hamilton, "The British Museum excavations on the temple of Ishtar at Nineveh 1930–31," Liverpool Annals of Archaeology and Anthropology, vol. 19, pp. 55–116, 1932
    


54. 
    ^ R. Campbell Thompson and M E L Mallowan, "The British Museum excavations at Nineveh 1931–32," Liverpool Annals of Archaeology and Anthropology, vol. 20, pp. 71–186, 1933
    


55. 
    ^ Mohammed Ali Mustafa, Sumer, vol. 10, pp. 110–11, 1954
    


56. 
    ^ Mohammed Ali Mustafa, Sumer, vol. 11, pp. 4, 1955
    


57. 
    ^ Tariq Madhloom, Excavations at Nineveh: A preliminary report, Sumer, vol. 23, pp. 76–79, 1967
    


58. 
    ^ Tariq Madhloom, Excavations at Nineveh: The 1967–68 Campaign, Sumer, vol 24, pp. 45–51, 1968
    


59. 
    ^ Tariq Madhloom, Excavations at Nineveh: The 1968–69 Campaign, Sumer, vol. 25, pp. 43–49, 1969
    


60. 
    ^ "Shelby White – Leon Levy Program for Archaeological Publications – Nineveh Publication Grant". Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2011-05-16.
    


61. 
    ^ "Officials: ISIS blows up Jonah's tomb in Iraq". CNN.com. 2014-07-24. Retrieved 2014-07-24.
    


62. 
    ^ ^ab Romey, Kristin (19 April 2016), "Exclusive Photos Show Destruction of Nineveh Gates by ISIS", National Geographic, The National Geographical Society
    


63. 
    ^ "Iraqi Digital Investigation Team Confirms ISIS Destruction of Gate in Nineveh". Bellingcat. August 29, 2016. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
    


64. 
    ^ Diana Pickworth, Excavations at Nineveh: The Halzi Gate, Iraq, vol. 67, no. 1, Nineveh. Papers of the 49th Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale, Part Two, pp. 295–316, 2005
    


65. 
    ^ "Cultural Assessment of Iraq: The State of Sites and Museums in Northern Iraq – Nineveh". National Geographic News. May 2003.
    


66. 
    ^ Borger, Julian. "Mosul dam engineers warn it could fail at any time, killing 1m people". The Guardian. guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
    


67. 
    ^ Globalheritagefund.org Archived 2012-08-20 at the Wayback Machine.
    


68. 
    ^ https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iraq-isis-militants-pledge-to-destroy-remaining-archaeological-treasures-in-nimrud-10076133.html
    


69. 
    ^ http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/2/26/isil-seen-in-new-video-destroying-7th-century-artifacts.html
    


70. 
    ^ Warda, W, Christians of Iraq: Ba-oota d' Ninevayee or the Fast of the Ninevites, re-accessed 11 September 2016
    


71. 
    ^ Herbert F. Tucker, Epic. Britain's Heroic Muse 1790–1910, Oxford University Press, Oxford 2008, p. 256-261.
    

References

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Easton, Matthew George (1897). "Nineveh". Easton's Bible Dictionary (New and revised ed.). T. Nelson and Sons.

.mw-parser-output .refbegin{font-size:90%;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>ul{list-style-type:none;margin-left:0}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>ul>li,.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>dl>dd{margin-left:0;padding-left:3.2em;text-indent:-3.2em;list-style:none}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-100{font-size:100%}

• 
  Russell, John Malcolm (1992), Sennacherib's "Palace without Rival" at Nineveh, University Of Chicago Press, ISBN 0-226-73175-8
  


• 
  Barnett, Richard David (1976), Sculptures from the north palace of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh (668-627 B.C.), British Museum Publications Ltd, ISBN 0-7141-1046-9
  


• 
  Campbell Thompson, R.; Hutchinson, R. W. (1929), A century of exploration at Nineveh, Luzac
  


• 
  Bezold, Carl, Catalogue of the Cuneiform Tablets in the Kouyunjik Collection of the British Museum
  
  
  
  • 
    Volume I, 1889
    
  
  
  • 
    Volume II, 1891
    
  
  
  • 
    Volume III, 1893
    
  
  
  • 
    Volume IV, 1896
    
  
  
  • 
    Volume V, 1899
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  Catalogue of the Cuneiform Tablets in the Kouyunjik Collection of the British Museum, British Museum
  
  
  
  • 
    King, W. L. (1914), Supplement I
    
  
  
  • 
    Lambert, W. G. (1968), Supplement II
    
  
  
  • 
    Lambert, W. G. (1992), Supplement III, ISBN 0-7141-1131-7
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  Liverani, Mario (2016) [2013], Immaginare Babele [Imagining Babylon: The Modern Story of an Ancient City], translated by Campbell, Alisa, De Gruyter, ISBN 978-1-61451-602-6
  


• 
  Scott, M. Louise; MacGinnis, John (1990), Notes on Nineveh, Iraq, 52, pp. 63–73
  


• 
  Trümpler, C., ed. (2001), Agatha Christie and Archaeology, The British Museum Press, ISBN 978-0714111483 - Nineveh 5, Vessel Pottery 2900 BC


• 
  Leick, Gwendolyn (2010), The A to Z of Mesopotamia, Scarecrow Press - Early worship of Ishtar, Early / Prehistoric Nineveh


• 
  Durant, Will (1954), Our oriental heritage, Simon & Schuster – Early / Prehistoric Nineveh

External links

Look up Nineveh in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nineveh.

• 
  Joanne Farchakh-Bajjaly photos of Nineveh taken in May 2003 showing damage from looters


• 
  John Malcolm Russell, "Stolen stones: the modern sack of Nineveh" in Archaeology; looting of sculptures in the 1990s


• 
  Nineveh page at the British Museum's website. Includes photographs of items from their collection.


• 
  University of California Digital Nineveh Archives A teaching and research tool presenting a comprehensive picture of Nineveh within the history of archaeology in the Near East, including a searchable data repository for meaningful analysis of currently unlinked sets of data from different areas of the site and different episodes in the 160-year history of excavations


• 
  CyArk Digital Nineveh Archives, publicly accessible, free depository of the data from the previously linked UC Berkeley Nineveh Archives project, fully linked and georeferenced in a UC Berkeley/CyArk research partnership to develop the archive for open web use. Includes creative commons-licensed media items.


• Photos of Nineveh, 1989–1990


• 
  ABC 3: Babylonian Chronicle Concerning the Fall of Nineveh


• Layard's Nineveh and its Remains- full text

v t e People and things in the Quran
Characters Non-humans Allāh ("The God") Names of Allah found in the Quran, such as Karīm (Generous) Beings in Paradise Ghilmān or Wildān Ḥūr Animals Related The baqarah (cow) of Israelites The dhi’b (wolf) that Jacob feared could attack Joseph The fīl (elephant) of the Abyssinians) Ḥimār (Domesticated donkey) The hud-hud (hoopoe) of Solomon The kalb (dog) of the sleepers of the cave The namlah (female ant) of Solomon The nūn (fish or whale) of Jonah The nāqat (she-camel) of Saleh Non-related Dābbat al-Arḍ (Beast of the Earth) Ḥimār (Wild ass) Qaswarah ("Lion", "beast of prey" or "hunter") Angels Angels of Hell Mālik Zabāniyah Angel of the Trumpet (Isrāfīl or Raphael) Jibrīl (Gabriel) Mīkāl (Michael) ‘Izrā’īl Malakul-Mawt (Azrael, Angel of Death) Bearers of the Throne Riḍwān Munkar and Nakir Harut and Marut Kirāman Kātibīn (Honourable Scribes) Raqib Atid Jinn ‘Ifrīt Jann Mārid ("Rebellious one") Shayāṭīn (Demons) Iblīs the (Chief) Shayṭān (Devil) Qarīn Prophets Mentioned Ādam (Adam) Al-Yasa‘ (Elisha) Ayyūb (Job) Dāwūd (David) Dhūl-Kifl (Ezekiel?) Hārūn (Aaron) Hūd (Eber?) Idrīs (Enoch?) Ilyās (Elijah) ‘Imrān (Joachim the father of Maryam) Isḥāq (Isaac) Ismā‘īl (Ishmael) Dhabih Ullah Isma'il Ṣādiq al-Wa‘d (Fulfiller of the Promise) Lūṭ (Lot) Ṣāliḥ Shu‘ayb (Jethro, Reuel or Hobab?) Sulaymān ibn Dāwūd (Solomon son of David) ‘Uzair (Ezra?) Yaḥyā ibn Zakariyyā (John the Baptist the son of Zechariah) Ya‘qūb (Jacob) Isrā’īl (Israel) Yūnus (Jonah) Dhūn-Nūn ("He of the Fish (or Whale)" or "Owner of the Fish (or Whale)") Ṣāḥib al-Ḥūt ("Companion of the Whale") Yūsuf ibn Ya‘qūb (Joseph son of Jacob) Zakariyyā (Zechariah) Ulu-l-‘Azm Muḥammad Aḥmad Other names and titles of Muhammad ʿĪsā (Jesus) Al-Masīḥ (The Messiah) Ibn Maryam (Son of Mary) Mūsā Kalīmullāh (Moses He who spoke to God) Ibrāhīm Khalīlullāh (Abraham Friend of God) Nūḥ (Noah) Debatable ones Dhūl-Qarnain (Cyrus the Great?) Luqmān Maryam (Mary) Ṭālūt (Saul or Gideon?) Implied Irmiyā (Jeremiah) Ṣamū’īl (Samuel) Yūsha‘ ibn Nūn (Joshua, companion and successor of Moses) People of Prophets Evil ones Āzar (possibly Terah) Fir‘awn (Pharaoh of Moses' time) Hāmān Jālūt (Goliath) Qārūn (Korah, cousin of Moses) As-Sāmirī Abī Lahab Slayers of Saleh's she-camel (Qaddar ibn Salif and Musda' ibn Dahr) Good ones Adam's immediate relatives Martyred son Wife Believer of Ya-Sin Family of Noah Father Lamech Mother Shamkhah bint Anush or Betenos Luqman's son People of Aaron and Moses Believer of Fir'aun Family (Hizbil/Hizqil ibn Sabura) Imra’at Fir‘awn (Āsiyá bint Muzāḥim or Pharaoh's daughter) Khidr Magicians of the Pharaoh Moses' wife Moses' sister-in-law Mother Sister People of Abraham Mother Abiona or Amtelai the daughter of Karnebo Ishmael's mother Isaac's mother People of Jesus Disciples (including Peter) Mary's mother Zechariah's wife People of Joseph Brothers (including Binyāmin (Benjamin) and Simeon) Egyptians ‘Azīz (Potiphar, Qatafir or Qittin) Malik (King Ar-Rayyān ibn Al-Walīd)) Wife of ‘Azīz (Zulaykhah) Mother People of Solomon Mother Queen of Sheba Vizier Zayd Implied or not specified Abrahah[clarification needed] Bal'am/Balaam Barsisa Caleb or Kaleb the companion of Joshua Luqman's son Nebuchadnezzar II Nimrod Rahmah the wife of Ayyub Shaddad Groups Mentioned Aṣḥāb al-Jannah People of Paradise People of the Burnt Garden Aṣḥāb as-Sabt (Companions of the Sabbath) Christian apostles Ḥawāriyyūn (Disciples of Jesus) Companions of Noah's Ark Aṣḥāb al-Kahf war-Raqīm (Companions of the Cave and Al-Raqaim? Companions of the Elephant People of al-Ukhdūd People of a township in Surah Ya-Sin People of Yathrib or Medina Qawm Lūṭ (People of Sodom and Gomorrah) Nation of Noah Tribes, ethnicities or families A‘rāb (Arabs or Bedouins) ʿĀd (people of Hud) Companions of the Rass Qawm Tubba‘ (People of Tubba) People of Saba’ or Sheba Quraysh Thamūd (people of Saleh) Aṣḥāb al-Ḥijr ("Companions of the Stoneland") ‘Ajam Ar-Rûm (literally "The Romans") Banī Isrā’īl (Children of Israel) Mu’tafikāt (The overthrown cities of Sodom and Gomorrah) People of Ibrahim People of Ilyas People of Nuh People of Shuaib Ahl Madyan People of Madyan) Aṣḥāb al-Aykah ("Companions of the Wood") Qawm Yūnus (People of Jonah) Ya'juj and Ma'juj/Gog and Magog Ahl al-Bayt ("People of the Household") Household of Abraham Brothers of Yūsuf Lot's daughters (Ritha, Za'ura, et al.) Progeny of Imran Household of Moses Household of Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Abdul-Muttalib ibn Hashim Daughters of Muhammad Muhammad's wives Household of Salih People of Fir'aun Current Ummah of Islam (Ummah of Muhammad) Aṣḥāb Muḥammad (Companions of Muhammad) Anṣār (Muslims of Medina who helped Muhammad and his Meccan followers, literally 'Helpers') Muhajirun (Emigrants from Mecca to Medina) People of Mecca Umm Jamil (wife of Abu Lahab) Children of Ayyub Dead son of Sulaiman Qabil/Cain (son of Adam) Wali'ah or Wa'ilah/Waala (wife of Nuh) Walihah or Wahilah (wife of Lut) Ya’jūj wa Ma’jūj (Gog and Magog) Yam or Kan'an (son of Nuh) Implicitly mentioned Amalek Ahl as-Suffa (People of the Verandah) Banu Nadir Banu Qaynuqa Banu Qurayza Iranian people Umayyad Dynasty Aus and Khazraj People of Quba Religious groups Ahl al-dhimmah (Dhimmi) Kāfirūn (Infidels) Zoroastrians Munafiqun (Hypocrites) Muslims People of the Book (Ahl al-Kitāb) Naṣārā (Christian(s) or People of the Injil) Ruhban (Christian monks) Qissis (Christian priest) Yahūd (Jews) Ahbār (Jewish scholars) Rabbani/Rabbi Sabians Polytheists Meccan polytheists at the time of Muhammad Mesopotamian polytheists at the time of Abraham and Lot Locations Mentioned Al-Arḍ Al-Muqaddasah ("The Holy Land") 'Blessed' Land In the Arabian Peninsula (excluding Madyan) Al-Aḥqāf ("The Sandy Plains," or "the Wind-curved Sand-hills") Iram dhāt al-‘Imād (Iram of the Pillars) Al-Madīnah (formerly Yathrib) ‘Arafāt Al-Ḥijr (Hegra) Badr Ḥunayn Makkah (Mecca) Bakkah Ḥaraman Āminan ("Sanctuary (which is) Secure") Ka‘bah (Kaaba) Maqām Ibrāhīm (Station of Abraham) Safa and Marwa Saba’ (Sheba) ‘Arim Saba’ (Dam of Sheba) Rass Al-Jannah (Paradise, literally "The Garden") Jahannam (Hell) In Mesopotamia: Al-Jūdiyy Munzalanm-Mubārakan ("Place-of-Landing Blessed") Bābil (Babylon) Qaryat Yūnus ("Township of Jonah," that is Nineveh) Door of Hittah Madyan (Midian) Majma‘ al-Baḥrayn Miṣr (Mainland Egypt) Salsabīl (A river in Paradise) Sinai Region or Tīh Desert Al-Wād Al-Muqaddas Ṭuwan (The Holy Valley of Tuwa) Al-Wādil-Ayman (The valley on the 'righthand' side of the Valley of Tuwa and Mount Sinai) Mount Sinai or Mount Tabor Religious locations Bay'a (Church) Miḥrāb Monastery Masjid (Mosque, literally "Place of Prostration") Al-Mash‘ar Al-Ḥarām ("The Sacred Grove") Al-Masjid Al-Aqṣā (Al-Aqsa Mosque, literally "The Farthest Place-of-Prostration") Al-Masjid Al-Ḥarām (The Sacred Mosque of Mecca) Masjid al-Dirar A Mosque in the area of Medina, possibly: Masjid Qubā’ (Quba Mosque) The Prophet's Mosque Salat (Synagogue) Implied Antioch Antakya Arabia Ayla Barrier of Dhul-Qarnayn Bayt al-Muqaddas & 'Ariha Bilād ar-Rāfidayn (Mesopotamia) Canaan Cave of Seven Sleepers Dār an-Nadwa Al-Ḥijāz (literally "The Barrier") Black Stone (Al-Ḥajar al-Aswad) & Al-Hijr of Isma'il Cave of Hira & Ghar al-Thawr (Cave of the Bull) Ta'if Hudaybiyyah Jordan River Nile River Palestine River Paradise of Shaddad Plant matter Baṣal (Onion) Fūm (Garlic or wheat) Shaṭ’ (Shoot) Sūq (Plant stem) Zar‘ (Seed) Fruits ‘Adas (Lentil) Baql (Herb) Ḥabb dhul-‘aṣf (Corn of the husk) Qith-thā’ (Cucumber) Rummān (Pomegranate) Tīn (Fig) Ukul khamṭ (Bitter fruit or food of Sheba) Zaytūn (Olive) In Paradise Forbidden fruit of Adam Bushes, trees or plants Plants of Sheba Athl (Tamarisk) Sidr (Lote-tree) Līnah (Tender Palm tree) Nakhl (Date palm) Rayḥān (Scented plant) Sidrat al-Muntahā Zaqqūm Islamic holy books Al-Injīl (The Gospel of Jesus) Al-Qur’ān (The Book of Muhammad) Ṣuḥuf-i Ibrāhīm (Scroll(s) of Abraham) At-Tawrāt (The Torah) Ṣuḥuf-i-Mūsā (Scroll(s) of Moses) Tablets of Stone Az-Zabūr (The Psalms of David) Umm al-Kitāb ("Mother of the Book(s)") Objects of people or beings Heavenly Food of Christian Apostles Noah's Ark Staff of Musa Tābūt as-Sakīnah (Casket of Shekhinah) Throne of Bilqis Trumpet of Israfil Mentioned idols (cult images) 'Ansāb Idols of Israelites: Baal The ‘ijl (golden calf statue) of Israelites Idols of Noah's people: Nasr Suwā‘ Wadd Yaghūth Ya‘ūq Idols of Quraysh: Al-Lāt Al-‘Uzzá Manāt Jibt and Ṭāghūt Celestial bodies Maṣābīḥ (literally 'lamps'): Al-Qamar (The Moon) Kawākib (Planets) Al-Arḍ (The Earth) Nujūm (Stars) Ash-Shams (The Sun) Liquids Mā’ (Water or fluid) Nahr (River) Yamm (River or sea) Sharāb (Drink) Events, incidents, occasions or times Incident of Ifk Laylat al-Qadr Event of Mubahala Sayl al-‘Arim (Flood of the Great Dam of Marib in Sheba) The Farewell Pilgrimage Treaty of Hudaybiyyah Battles or military expeditions Battle of al-Aḥzāb ("the Confederates") Battle of Badr Battle of Hunayn Battle of Khaybar Battle of Tabouk Battle of Uhud Conquest of Mecca Days Al-Jumu‘ah (The Friday) As-Sabt (The Sabbath or Saturday) Days of battles Days of Hajj Doomsday Months of the Islamic calendar Four holy months Ramaḍān Pilgrimages Al-Ḥajj (literally "The Pilgrimage", the Greater Pilgrimage) Al-‘Umrah (The Lesser Pilgrimage) Times for Prayer or Remembrance Times for Duʿāʾ ('Invocation'), Ṣalāh and Dhikr ('Remembrance', including Taḥmīd ('Praising'), Takbīr and Tasbīḥ): Al-‘Ashiyy (The Afternoon or the Night) Al-Ghuduww ("The Mornings") Al-Bukrah ("The Morning") Aṣ-Ṣabāḥ ("The Morning") Al-Layl ("The Night") Al-‘Ishā’ ("The Late-Night") Aẓ-Ẓuhr ("The Noon") Dulūk ash-Shams ("Decline of the Sun") Al-Masā’ ("The Evening") Qabl al-Ghurūb ("Before the Setting (of the Sun)") Al-Aṣīl ("The Afternoon") Al-Aṣr ("The Afternoon") Qabl ṭulū‘ ash-Shams ("Before the rising of the Sun") Al-Fajr ("The Dawn") Implied Event of Ghadir Khumm Laylat al-Mabit The first pilgrimage
Note: The names are sorted alphabetically. Standard form: Islamic name / Biblical name (title or relationship)

This page is only for reference, If you need detailed information, please check here