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Nineveh was the capitol of Assyria and was located on the Tigris River, opposite the modern city of Mosul, in the northern part of what is now Iraq. Nimrod built Nineveh along with other cities (Genesis 10:9-12). During the time of Sargon II, it became one of the capitols of Assyria, and was the sole capitol during Sennacherib's reign.
Sennacherib was murdered there by his sons (2 Kings 19:36). The city eventually became large, populated and fortified. Jonah the prophet was sent to Nineveh by God to preach repentance to the people. It was a 3-day walk around the city and Jonah preached that the city would be overturned in 40 days.
The King of Nineveh, hearing Jonah's message, sent a message throughout the city for the people to fast and pray. And through Jonah's preaching, the city was not destroyed at that time, saving 120,000 people. However, Nahum the prophet devoted most of his Book to the destruction of Nineveh, and later the city was destroyed by the Babylonians and Medes in 612 BC. A historian writes that during the siege, a section of the city's walls fell from being undercut by the rising river, allowing the invading army to enter.
Today, the remains of Nineveh are hidden under 2 mounds. The palaces of Esarhaddon, Ashurbanipal, and Sennacherib were discovered. Assyrian records show their was an inner wall and an outer wall around the city, and the whole city was surrounded by gardens of scented plants.
Click here for more information about Jonah's prophecy about Nineveh.
Nineveh appears in 19 Bible verses: Gen 10:11, Gen 10:12, 2 Kgs 19:36, Isa 37:37, Jonah 1:2, Jonah 3:2, Jonah 3:3, Jonah 3:4, Jonah 3:5, Jonah 3:6, Jonah 3:7, Jonah 4:11, Nahum 1:1, Nahum 2:8, Nahum 3:7, Zeph 2:13, Matt 12:41, Luke 11:30 and Luke 11:32.
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Go to: List of places in the Bible