Calah: One of the most ancient cities of Assyria. "Out of that land he [i.e.,
Nimrod] went forth into Assyria, and built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, and
Calah, and Resen"
(Genesis 10:11) R.V. Its site is now marked probably by
the Nimrud ruins on the left bank of the Tigris. These cover an area
of about 1,000 acres, and are second only in size and importance to
the mass of ruins opposite Mosul. This city was at one time the
capital of the empire, and was the residence of Sardanapalus and his
successors down to the time of Sargon, who built a new capital, the
modern Khorsabad. It has been conjectured that these four cities
mentioned in
(Genesis 10:11) were afterwards all united into one and called
Nineveh (q.v.).
