An elaborate historical treatise on the fall of Nineveh and the writings of the prophet Nahum, this work is divided into three chapters. The first contains a translation of Nahum’s oracle against Nineveh with both historical and Assyriological commentaries. The second chapter is a history and description of the city of Nineveh from earliest times to its downfall. The authors object to the opinion that Nineveh’s destruction here is based on the fall of Thebes, a popular view at the time. They suggest that the Scythians may be mentioned in the oracle. A brief but interesting discussion of the origin and development of the Medes as a people closes the second chapter. They also object to the idea that Nabopolassar participated directly in the siege of Nineveh. The final chapter is an archaeological and scientific military description of ancient Assyrian fortifications and a treatise on their use in the warfare of the period. This joint article should be consulted by everyone interested in the book of Nahum as well as later Assyrian history.

Alfred Karl Gabriel Jeremias and Adolf Billerbeck often collaborated on publication projects. Jeremias was a prominent academic Assyriologist and Billerbeck was a retired colonel of the German army.