Nineveh, << NIHN uh vuh, >> became the last capital of the ancient Assyrian Empire in 704 B.C. It stood near present-day Mosul, Iraq. The site had a sizeable settlement from as early as the 6000’s B.C., but it is best known for the palaces built there in the 700’s and 600’s B.C. A coalition of Babylonians, Medes, and Scythians destroyed the city in 612 B.C. Archaeologists have recovered much of the royal library of King Ashurbanipal, who reigned from 668 to 627 B.C. It includes some 5,000 administrative, literary, religious, and scientific texts. See also Assyria
