Nimrud

Nimrud is an ancient Assyrian city, originally called Kalhu and known in the Bible as Calah, in Nineveh Governorate, Iraq, about 30 kilometres south of Mosul on the Tigris near where it meets the Great Zab. It was a major Assyrian city between roughly 1350 and 610 BC and served as the imperial capital from 879 to 706 BCE, until Sargon II moved the seat of government to Dur-Sharrukin. Ashurnasirpal II built city walls 7.5 kilometres long, palaces, temples, botanical gardens and a zoo, and by 800 BCE the city had about 75,000 people, the largest urban centre in the world at the time. Excavations began in 1845. In 2015 Islamic State announced its intention to destroy the site, and later reports confirmed that much of the excavated portion was destroyed.