Ninevah. Moussul on the Tigris. Nievah is laid waste.

Title

Ninevah. Moussul on the Tigris. Nievah is laid waste.

The view shows the city of Nineveh and Mosul on the Tigris in Iraq. After William Turner (1775-1851), published by John Murray, London.

c. 1835

Artist

Radcliffe

Historical Description

Nineveh was one of the oldest and most important cities of the ancient Assyrian Empire. It was located on the eastern bank of the Tigris River, opposite the modern city of Mosul in northern Iraq. In the 7th century BC, Nineveh served as the capital of the Assyrian Empire under King Sennacherib and later Ashurbanipal. The city was famous for its magnificent palaces and the great library of Ashurbanipal. In 612 BC, Nineveh was destroyed by the Babylonians and Medes, and it gradually lost its significance. The ruins are now part of the archaeological sites of Kuyunjik and Nebi Yunus near Mosul. Mosul, on the western bank of the Tigris, developed later—especially from the Islamic period onward—into an important cultural and economic center. In the Middle Ages, Mosul was a significant hub for trade and scholarship. Today, Mosul is a major city in northern Iraq, rich in history—shaped by various cultures but also marked by heavy destruction in recent decades.