Calah

Calah
/kay"leuh/, n.
Biblical name of Kalakh.

* * *

modern Nimrūd

Ancient city, Assyria.

Lying south of modern Mosul, Iraq, it was founded in the 13th century BC by Shalmaneser I. It remained unimportant until the 9th century BC, when Ashurnasirpal II made it the capital of Assyria. It was the site of a religious building founded in 798 BC by Queen Sammu-remat (Semiramis of Greek legend). Excavations there have yielded thousands of carved ivories from the 9th–8th centuries BC.

* * *

▪ ancient city, Iraq
also spelled  Kalhu , or  Kalakh , modern  Nimrūd 

      ancient Assyrian city situated south of Mosul in northern Iraq. The city was first excavated by A.H. Layard during 1845–51 and afterward principally by M.E.L. (later Sir Max) Mallowan (1949–58).

      Founded in the 13th century BC by Shalmaneser I, Calah remained unimportant until King Ashurnasirpal II (reigned 883–859 BC) chose it as his royal seat and the military capital of Assyria. His extensive work on the Acropolis—which covered about 65 acres (26 hectares)—and the outer walled town was completed by his son Shalmaneser III and other monarchs. The most important religious building, founded in 798 by Queen Sammu-ramat (Semiramis of Greek legend), was Ezida, which included the temple of Nabu (Nebo), god of writing, and his consort Tashmetum (Tashmit). The temple library and an annex contained many religious and magical texts and several “treaties,” including the last will and testament of Esarhaddon (reigned 680–669). In the outer town the most important building is Ft. Shalmaneser, an arsenal that occupied at least 12 acres. This and other buildings have yielded thousands of carved ivories, mostly made in the 9th and 8th centuries BC, now one of the richest collections of ivory in the world.

      In the 7th century BC, Calah declined in importance because the Sargonids tended to use Nineveh as their residence; nonetheless it continued to be extensively occupied until the fall of Nineveh in 612 BC.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Calah —    One of the most ancient cities of Assyria. Out of that land he [i.e., Nimrod] went forth into Assyria, and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, and Calah, and Resen (Gen. 10:11, R.V.). Its site is now marked probably by the Nimrud ruins on the left… …   Easton's Bible Dictionary

  • Calah — geographical name ancient city capital of Assyria on the Tigris 20 miles (32 kilometers) SE of modern Mosul, Iraq; site now called Nimrud …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Calah — /kay leuh/, n. Biblical name of Kalakh …   Useful english dictionary

  • Assyria — • Includes geographical and historical information Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Assyria     Assyria     † …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Mesopotamia, history of — ▪ historical region, Asia Introduction  history of the region in southwestern Asia where the world s earliest civilization developed. The name comes from a Greek word meaning “between rivers,” referring to the land between the Tigris and… …   Universalium

  • RESEN — (Heb. רֶסֶן), according to Genesis 10:12, one of the cities (?) which Nimrod built between Nineveh and Calah, the latter is the great(er) city. The verse describes the situation of the cities in the Assyrian triangle (inner Assyria) in the latter …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Resen (Genesis) — Resen was, according to Genesis 10, a city founded by Nimrod.Resen is stated, according to Genesis 10:12, to have been located between Nineveh and Calah. It was stated to be the greatest of Nimrod s cities. Its exact location is today unclear.… …   Wikipedia

  • EXILE, ASSYRIAN — The mass deportation of population groups from conquered nations, as a measure to prevent these nations from rebelling, was introduced as a general policy by Tiglath Pileser III in the second half of the eighth century B.C.E. Although deportation …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • MESOPOTAMIA — The original article in the first edition of the Encyclopaedia Judaica traced Mesopotamian history to its earliest beginnings and provided a detailed survey of Mesopotamian literature and institutions. With the availability of such tools as J.… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • WRITING — (Scripts, Materials, and Inscriptions). SCRIPTS AND MATERIALS General Survey From the end of the third millennium B.C.E., the art of writing was practiced in the ancient Near East (see alphabet ). Here, the pictographic, cuneiform, and… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”