Nineveh
Tell Kuyunjik
Source: Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia & the Ancient Near East
The citadel mound of Nineveh, now known as Tell Kuyunjik, was occupied since the Hassuna period (seventh millennium BC) and three-quarters of the mound is made up of prehistoric remains. During the Uruk period (c. 4000 3000 BC) Nineveh was closely related to the developments in southern Mesopotamia. In the second millennium Nineveh, though not the capital of Assyria, was an important city with a prestigious temple of the goddess Ishtar. Sennacherib (704-681 BC) chose it as his capital at the end of the 8th century BC and built the Southwest Palace there, which he called the Palace Without a Rival, decorating it with carved stone reliefs. As at Kalhu and Dur-Sharrukin, an arsenal was also built, which was situated at Tell Nebi Yunus and which later legend claimed as the tomb of the prophet Jonah.
Sennacherib's grandson Ashurbanipal (669-c. 627 BC) built a second palace on Tell Kuyunjik, the North Palace, which contained the famous lion hunt reliefs. In the summer of 612 BC Nineveh fell to the Medes and Babylonians, who looted and destroyed the Assyrian palaces and temples. The city of Nineveh, however, survived for 1,000 years, before it was eclipsed by the city of Mosul, on the other side of the Tigris.
Site Plan above: Sennacherib constructed the walls of Nineveh and named the 15 gates of the city, which can be identified with mounds on the city wall. Much of the area within the walls was also occupied by buildings, but the city's most important buildings were on Tell Kuyunjik and Tell Nebi Yunus. The earthworks on the east are the spoil banks of a canal, not, as was once believed, a further fortification or siege wall built by the Medes and Babylonians.
Source: Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia & the Ancient Near East