The ancient
city of Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire at the height of
its power (c. 705-612 BC) can be seen on this SPOT Panchromatic image
acquired on 22 Feb 91. Located opposite the modern city of Mosul in
Northern Iraq (36.35N 43.15E), the city is marked by two large
mounds, Kuyunjik and Nebi Yunus, and the remains of the city walls.
The latter can be clearly seen in relief because of the low sun angle
at the time of image acquisition.
Situated at the
confluence of the rivers Tigris and Khosr, Nineveh marked the
junction of several commercial routes crossing the Tigris. First
settled in Neolithic times before 6,000 BC, Nineveh was inhabited
almost without a break until after 1500 AD.
Reference
Acknowledgement
Original
image distributed by SPOT IMAGE on a demonstration CD-ROM. Image
© CNES 1991. |
