Summary
Nineveh was one of the great cities of ancient Mesopotamia. Situated on the eastern bank of the River Tigris, it rivalled cities like Babylon and Persepolis as the capital of the great Assyrian Empire and the seat of power for towering figures like Sennacherib and Ashurbanipal. But what were its origins, how did it become such a great city and how did it fall?
In today’s episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr. Paul Collins to tell the story of Nineveh’s history from start to end. Beginning with its Stone Age origins, they discuss its conquest by the Akkadians, its golden age as Mesopotamia’s foremost city, and its obliteration at the hands of the Medes and Babylonians.
This episode was produced by Joseph Knight and edited by Aidan Lonergan
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | It's one of those great ancient cities of Mesopotamia that at its height rival the likes of Babylon and Perseppolis. It was the capital of the Assyrian Empire when it was at its height. |
| 0:16.2 | It's mentioned in the Bible and was situated on the eastern bank of the Tigris River right next to |
| 0:22.4 | the modern city of Mosul in Iraq. |
| 0:25.0 | I am of course talking about Nineveh. |
| 0:28.0 | A great wealth of archaeology has survived from Nineveh, which has allowed archaeologists and a seriologists to learn lots about the city and its ancient history. |
| 0:37.0 | Today we're going to be exploring Nineveh's story from start to end, from its Neolithic Stone Age origins, to the Acadians and rulers like Saginovacad, to the golden age of Nineveh |
| 0:46.8 | when it became the seat of power for famous Assyrian rulers such as Sennachrib and Ashubana Par. |
| 0:52.0 | And of course, we'll also be covering the great such as anachrib and asjubana par. |
| 0:52.6 | And of course, we'll also be covering the great monuments that dominated Nineveh at its height. |
| 0:57.2 | Think for example, the great library. |
| 1:00.2 | Our guest today is Dr Paul Collins, keeper of Middle East at the British Museum. |
| 1:04.4 | I've known Paul for a few years now and in the past he's been our guest for episodes on both |
| 1:08.8 | the Sumerians and on a rook and the first cities. |
| 1:11.6 | So it's great to get him back on the show to talk all of things |
| 1:14.5 | Ninniver. I really do hope you enjoy and he is Paul. |
| 1:22.1 | Paul, it is a pleasure to have you back on the podcast today. |
| 1:25.1 | Thank you very much, delighted to be here. |
| 1:27.8 | And to talk all about what was it one stage one of, if not the biggest city, at least in the Middle East some 3,000 years ago. |
| 1:35.0 | Yes, I mean you could probably argue at a certain point in time it may have been the largest |
| 1:39.1 | city on the planet. |
| 1:40.1 | Wow, this was one of the crown jewels of the Assyrian Empire and set the scene, whereabouts are we talking in the world with Ninnervi? |
| 1:48.0 | So we're talking about Northern Iraq and the capital city of the Assyrian Empire was located on the opposite side of the river Tigris from the modern city of Mosul, |
... |
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