Editing Nineveh (section)

=== Early history ===
[[File:Bronze head of an Akkadian ruler, discovered in Nineveh in 1931, presumably depicting either Sargon or Sargon's grandson Naram-Sin (Rijksmuseum van Oudheden).jpg|thumb|Bronze head of an [[Akkadian Empire|Akkadian]] ruler, discovered in Nineveh in 1931, presumably depicting [[Sargon of Akkad]]'s son [[Manishtushu]], {{Circa|2270 BC}}, Iraq Museum. [[Rijksmuseum van Oudheden]]<ref>M. E. L. Mallowan, "The Bronze Head of the Akkadian Period from Nineveh", ''Iraq'' Vol. 3, No. 1 (1936), 104&ndash;110. {{JSTOR|4241589}}</ref>]]
Nineveh was one of the oldest and greatest cities in antiquity. Texts from the [[Hellenistic]] period later offered an [[eponym]]ous [[Ninus]] as the founder of Νίνου πόλις (Ninopolis), although there is no historical basis for this. [[Book of Genesis]] 10:11 says that [[Nimrod]] or [[Ashur (god)|Ashur]], depending on the translation, built Nineveh. The context of Nineveh was as one of many centers within the regional development of [[Upper Mesopotamia]]. This area is defined as the plains which can support rain-fed agriculture. It exists as a narrow band from the [[Geography of Syria|Syrian coast]] to the [[Zagros Mountains|Zagros mountains]]. It is bordered by deserts to the south and mountains to the north. The cultural practices, technology, and economy in this region were shared and they followed a similar trajectory out of the neolithic.

====Neolithic====
Caves in the Zagros Mountains adjacent to the north side of the Nineveh Plains were used as [[PPNA]] settlements, most famously [[Shanidar Cave]]. Nineveh itself was founded as early as 6000&nbsp;BC during the late [[Neolithic]] period. [[Vertical electrical sounding|Deep sounding]] at Nineveh uncovered soil layers that have been dated to early in the era of the [[Hassuna culture|Hassuna]] [[archaeological culture]].<ref>[https://www.cemml.colostate.edu/cultural/09476/iraq05-044.html Kuyunjiq / Tell Nebi Yunis (ancient: Nineveh)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201105010507/https://www.cemml.colostate.edu/cultural/09476/iraq05-044.html |date=2020-11-05 }} colostate.edu</ref> The development and culture of Nineveh paralleled [[Tepe Gawra]] and [[Tell Arpachiyah]] a few kilometers to the northeast. Nineveh was a typical farming village in the [[Halaf culture|Halaf Period]].

====Chalcolithic====
In 5000 BC, Nineveh transitioned from a [[Halaf culture|Halaf]] village to an [[Ubaid period|Ubaid]] village. During the Late Chalcolithic period Nineveh was part one of the few Ubaid villages in Upper Mesopotamia which became a proto-city. Others include [[Ugarit]], [[Tell Brak|Brak]], [[Hamoukar]], [[Erbil|Arbela]], [[Aleppo|Alep]], and regionally [[Susa]], [[Eridu]], [[Nippur]]. During the period between 4500 and 4000 BC it grew to 40 hectares in size.

The greater Nineveh area is notable in the diffusion of metal technology across the near east as the first location outside of [[Anatolia]] to smelt copper. Tell Arpachiyah has the oldest copper smelting remains, and Tepe Gawra has the oldest metal work. The copper came from the mines at [[Ergani]].

Nineveh IV became a trade colony of [[Uruk]] during the [[Uruk period|Uruk Expansion]] because of its location as the highest navigable point on the Tigris. It was contemporary and had a similar function to [[Habuba Kabira]] on the Euphrates.