Calah

Calah (kā`lə) or Kalakh (kä`läkh), ancient city of Assyria, S of Nineveh and therefore S of present Mosul, Iraq. Known as Calah in the Bible, it is the same as the ancient Nimrud, named after a legendary Assyrian hunting hero. Calah emerged as a famous city when Ashurnasirpal II chose (c.880 B.C.) the site for his capital. Excavations carried on since the mid-19th cent. have revealed remarkable bas-reliefs, ivories, and sculptures. Also discovered were the palaces of Ashurnasirpal II, Shalmaneser III, and Tiglathpileser III. Calah continued to be a royal residence even after Nineveh became the political capital. The famous black obelisk of Shalmaneser III was discovered in Calah by A. H. Layard in 1846.

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Calah

 modern Nimrud

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.