Difference between revisions of "Calah"

<p> ''''' kā´la ''''' ( כּלח , <i> ''''' kālaḥ ''''' </i> ; Χάλαχ , <i> ''''' Chálach ''''' </i> , also <i> ''''' Chálak ''''' </i> or <i> ''''' Kálach ''''' </i> ; in Assyrian <i> ''''' Kalh̬u ''''' </i> , <i> ''''' Kalh̬a ''''' </i> , <i> ''''' Kalh̬i ''''' </i> , <i> ''''' Kalah̬ ''''' </i> ): The name of one of the great cities of [[Nimrod]] (&nbsp;Genesis 10:11 ), or rather, Asshur (text), which formed, with Nineveh, Resen between Calah and Nineveh, and [[Rehoboth-Ir]] (probably lying more to the North), Asshur's great fourfold capital. The meaning of the name is unknown, but if a Sumerian etymology be accepted, some such signification as "Holy Gate" ( <i> ''''' Ka ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' lah̬ ''''' </i> ) or the like - a parallel to <i> ''''' Ka ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' dingira ''''' </i> = <i> ''''' Bâb ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' ı̂li ''''' </i> , "Gate of God" (see [[Babel]]; [[Babylon]] ) - might be regarded as possible. </p> 1. Date of the City's [[Foundation]] <p> As Nineveh is mentioned by ''''' H̬ammurabi ''''' , who reigned about 2000 bc, it is clear that that city was already, in his time, an important place; and the passage in &nbsp;Genesis 10:11 implies, though it does not actually prove, that Calah was of about the same period. </p> 2. Early References to the City <p> The Assyrian king <i> ''''' Aššur ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' naṣir ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' âpli ''''' </i> (circa 885 bc) states that Calah was made (probably = founded) by Shalmaneser (I) circa 1300 bc, but this is possibly simply an indication that he rebuilt it. Later on, the site seems to have become neglected, for <i> ''''' Aššur ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' naṣir ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' âpli ''''' </i> states that, the city having fallen into ruin, he rebuilt it, and it thereafter became practically the capital of the country, for he not only reërected or restored its shrines and temples - the temple of Ninip, with the god's image; the temple of "the Lady of the Land," and the temples of Sin, Gula, and Enlil - but he also received tribute there. Among his other works may be mentioned the water-channel <i> ''''' Pati ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' ḥengala ''''' </i> , and the plantations, whose fruits, apparently, he offered to the god [[Assur]] (Asshur), and the temples of the city. It also became a favorite place of residence for the later kings of Assyria,' who built palaces, and restored the city's temples from time to time. </p> 3. Its Position <p> Calah occupied the roughly triangular tract formed by the junction of the [[Greater]] Zab with the Tigris, which latter stream in ancient times flowed rather closer to the western wall than it does now, and would seem to have separated the small town represented by Selamiyeh from the extensive ruins of Calah, which now bear the name of <i> ''''' Nimroud ''''' </i> . The main ruins are situated on a large, rectangular platform on the bank of the old bed of the Tigris. </p> 4. The Temple-Tower <p> The most prominent edifice was the great Temple-tower at the Northwest corner - a step-pyramid ( <i> ''''' ziq ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' qurat ''''' </i> ) like the Bah towers, constructed of brick faced with stone, and rising, in stages, to a height of circa 126 ft., probably with a sanctuary at the top (see [[Babel]] , Tower Of ). A long vault occupies the basement-stage of this structure, and caused Sir A. H. Layard, its discoverer, to regard it as the probable traditional tomb of Ninus, under whose shadow the tragedy of Pyramis and [[Thisbe]] took place. [[Ovid]] ( <i> Metam </i> . iv.98) describes the tomb of [[Ninus]] as having been situated "at the entrance of Nineveh," and, if this be correct, Calah must have been regarded as the southern portion of that great city, which, on a preaching journey, may well have taken three days (&nbsp;Jonah 3:3 ) to traverse, provided Khorsabad was in reality its northern extremity. </p> 5. The [[Temples]] and Palaces <p> The platform upon which the temple-tower of Calah was situated measures circa 700 x 400 yds., and the portion not occupied by that erection afforded space for temples and palaces. In the center of the East side of this platform lie the remains of the palace of <i> ''''' Aššur ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' naṣir ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' âpli ''''' </i> , the chambers and halls of which were paneled with sculptured and inscribed slabs, the principal doorways being flanked with finely carved winged and human-headed lions and bulls. In the Southeast corner are the remains of the palace of Esarhaddon, built, at least in part, with material taken from the palace of Tiglath-pileser IV, which was situated in the South portion of the platform. The remains of this last are, as a result of this spoliation, exceedingly meager. The Southwest corner of the platform contains the remains of the last palace built on the site - a very inferior erection constructed for <i> ''''' Aššur ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' êtil ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' ı̂lāni ''''' </i> (circa 626 bc). </p> 6. The [[Temple]] of Ninip <p> One of the temples on this platform was that dedicated to Ninip, situated at the Southwest corner of the temple-tower. The left-hand entrance was flanked by man-headed lions, while the sides of the right-hand entrance were decorated with slabs showing the expulsion of the evil spirit from the temple - a spirited sculpture now in the Nimroud [[Gallery]] of the British Museum. On the right-hand side of the entrance was an arch-headed slab with a representation of King <i> ''''' Aššur ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' naṣir ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' âpli ''''' </i> in low relief, standing in the usual conventional attitude. Before it stood a stone tripod altar, implying that [[Divine]] honors were paid to this king. (Both these are now in the British Museum.) The remains of another temple were found to the East of this, and there are traces of further buildings at other points of the platform. </p> <p> 7. The Sculptures of ''''' Aššur ''''' - ''''' naṣir ''''' - ''''' âpli ''''' </p> <p> The slabs from <i> ''''' Aššur ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' naṣir ''''' </i> - <i> ''''' âpli ''''' </i> ' <i> ''''' s ''''' </i> palace show this king's warlike expeditions, but as descriptive lettering is wanting, the campaigns cannot be identified. [[Notwithstanding]] this disadvantage, however, they are of considerable importance, showing, as they do, incidents of his various campaigns - the crossing of rivers, the march of his armies, the besieging of cities, the reception of tribute, the life of the camp and hunting the lion and the wild bull. The reliefs from the temples, which are much larger and finer, show the king engaged in various religious ceremonies and ritual acts, and are among the most striking examples of Assyrian of sculpture. When looking at these works of art, the student's thoughts go back with thankfulness to those [[Assyrians]] who, through the generations, cared for and preserved these monuments, though the vandalism of Esarhaddon in dressing off the slabs of Tiglath-pileser [[Iv]] to carve his own bas-reliefs thereon will ever be regretted. </p> 8. The City [[Walls]] <p> The site is described as being 14 miles South of Kouyunjik (Nineveh) and consists of an enclosure formed of narrow mounds still having the appearance of walls. Traces of no less than 108 towers, the city's ancient defenses, are said to be visible even now on the North and East, where the walls were further protected by moats. The area which the walls enclose - about 2, 331 x 2,095 yards - would contain about 1,000 acres. </p> <p> Layard, <i> Nineveh and Its Remains </i> , and <i> Nineveh and Babylon </i> , still remain the standard works upon the subject, and his <i> [[Monuments]] of Nineveh </i> gives the most complete collection of the sculptures found. See also [[George]] Smith, <i> Assyrian Discoveries </i> , and Rassam, <i> Asshur and the Land of Nimrod </i> . </p>

<p> (Heb. Ke'lach, '''''כֶּלִח''''' '', Vigrorous'' old age, as in &nbsp;Job 5:26; in pause ''Ka'Lach, '''''כּ''''' '' '''''לִח''''' ; Sept. '''''Χαλάχ''''' , Vulg. ''Chale),'' one of the most ancient cities of Assyria, whose foundation is ascribed either to Asshur or Nimrod (&nbsp;Genesis 10:11). The place has been thought identical with the ''Challach'' ( '''''חֲלִח''''' , Sept. '''''Ἀλαέ''''' ) named elsewhere, (See [[Halah]]), (&nbsp;2 Kings 17:6; &nbsp;2 Kings 18:11; &nbsp;1 Chronicles 5:26); but, on monumental evidence,the Rawlinsons (Herod. 1:368) regard the site of Calah as marked by the Nimruid ruins, which have furnished so large a proportion of the Assyrian antiquities. The [[Talmud]] (Yoma, x) locates it on the Euphrates, near Borsippa ( '''''בּוֹרְסַי''''' ). If at Nimrud, Calah must be considered to have been at one time (about B.C. 930-720) the capital of the empire. It was the residence of the warlike Sardanapalus and his successors down to the time of Sargon, who built a new capital, which he called by his own name, on the site occupied by the modern ''Khorsabad.'' This place still continued under the later kings to be a town of importance, and was especiallyfavored by Esarhaddon, who built there one of the grandest of the Assyrian palaces. In later times Calah gave name to one of the chief districts of the country, which appears as Calacioe ( '''''Καλακινή''''' , Ptolem. 6:1, 2), or ''Calachek'' ( '''''Καλαχηνή''''' , '''''‘''''' Strabo, xvi, p. 530, 736), in the geographers. Layard ''(Nineveh And Its Remaiss, 2:'' 55) suggests that it may possibly be extant in the very extensive ruins called ''Kaleh'' Shergat, on the west side of the Tigris, above its junction with the [[Lesser]] Zab. But (See Resen). Less probable is the identification with ''Chanlan,'' the former summer residenceof the caliphs in [[Arabia]] or [[Babylonian]] Irak, according to Abulfeda, five days' journey north of [[Bagdad]] (in Anville, 63 '''''°''''' long., 34 '''''°''''' lat.), which, according to [[Assemani]] (Bibl. Or. III, 2:418 sq., 753), is also called Chalcha (comp. Michaelis, Suppl. p. 767; Rosenm '''''Ü''''' ller, Alterth. I, 2:98). Ephraem Syrus (in loc. Gen.) understands the old Mesopotamian Chetro on the [[Tigris]] (Rosenm '''''Ü''''' ller, ib. p. 120; but see Michaelis, Spicileg. 1:245 sq.). As it would seem to have been at some distance from Nineveh, the city of Resen lying between them, most earlier writers concur in placing it on the Great Zab (the ancient Lycus), not far from its junction with the Tigris, and Resen is placed higher up on the same river, so as to be between it and Nineveh (Bochart, Phaleg, 4:22). (See Assyria). </p>