Nineveh is an ancient Assyrian city on the eastern bank of the Tigris River, and capital of the Neo Assyrian Empire.

Its ruins are across the river from the modern-day major city of Mosul, in the Ninawa Governorate of Iraq.The historic Nineveh is mentioned about 1800 BCE as a center of worship of Ishtar, whose cult is responsible for the city's early importance.

The goddess's statue is sent to Pharaoh Amenhotep III of Egypt in the 14th century BCE, by orders of the king of Mitanni.

The Assyrian city of Nineveh becomes one of Mitanni's vassals for nearly a century until the mid 14th century BCE, when the Assyrian king Ashur-uballit I reclaims it in 1365 BCE while overthrowing the Mitanni Empire.