“The Great City” That Became an Unusual Grave

Nineveh, “the city of blood,” instilled terror throughout the ancient Middle East for over 15 centuries. It was called “the great city,” for with its suburbs it may have covered over 200 square miles (518 km²)! Ancient historian Diodorus says that ‘a city its equal was never founded by any man after it.’ Yet during the height of its power the Bible foretold: “And [God] will make Nineveh a desolate waste, a waterless region like the wilderness. And in the midst of her, droves will certainly lie stretched out.”​—Zeph. 2:13, 14.

Less than 20 years later, around 632 B.C.E., the Babylonians and the Medes besieged Nineveh. The city felt secure behind its 100-foot (30-m) walls capped with 1,500 20-story towers. However, Bible prophecy indicated an unusual event that sent Nineveh to her grave. It said of the city: “The very gates of the rivers will certainly be opened, and the palace itself will actually be dissolved.”​—Nah. 2:6.

Historian Diodorus says that because of heavy rains the river by the city overflowed and “both inundated a portion of the city and broke down the walls for a distance.” It was now quickly taken and the conquerors “turned the city into a mound and a ruin.” The desolation was so complete that the location of the city was lost for centuries. Modern excavations have found its amazing ruins in a huge mound, buried some 40 feet (12 m) deep, under an estimated 14 million tons of dirt. Near the top of this desolate “grave” shepherds, to this day, graze sheep. How accurate the Bible proved to be, despite the seeming unlikeliness of its fulfillment!

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The Prophecy

During the height of Nineveh’s power the Bible foretold that God would make it “a desolate waste . . . and in the midst of her, droves will certainly lie stretched out.”​—Zeph. 2:13, 14.

Its Fulfillment

Visitors today see only a mound to mark the desolate site of ancient Nineveh. And, as foretold, flocks of sheep graze there.