swap_horiz Nineveh Alternatives

1

Hallstatt

Hallstatt in Austria is an ancient salt mining village dating back to 800 BC that gave its name to the widespread Hallst...

Austria Celtic Iron Age Funerary

8.3 Great

2

Uruk

Ancient Sumerian city in southern Iraq dating to c. 4000 BCE, widely considered one of the world's first cities and the...

Mesopotamia Iraq Sumerian 4000BCE

8.0 Great

3

Sukhothai

Capital of the first Sukhothai Kingdom in Thailand, founded in the 13th century CE and considered the cradle of Thai civ...

Capital Thailand Thai 13TH Century

8.0 Great

4

Yin Ruins (Anyang)

Last capital of China's Shang Dynasty in Henan, occupied c. 1300–1046 BCE and the site where oracle bone inscriptions—th...

China Capital Bronze Age Shang Dynasty

8.0 Great

5

Gyeongju Historic Areas

Former capital of the Silla Kingdom in South Korea, ruling from 57 BCE to 935 CE, containing royal tumuli, Buddhist temp...

Medieval Capital South Korea Silla

8.0 Great

6

Anuradhapura

Ancient capital of Sri Lanka from c. 4th century BCE to 11th century CE, home to the sacred Sri Maha Bodhi tree and mass...

Capital Sri Lanka Buddhist Stupa

8.0 Great

7

Polonnaruwa

Medieval Sri Lankan capital (10th–13th centuries CE) with well-preserved Buddhist temples, colossal rock-cut statues, an...

Medieval Capital Sri Lanka Buddhist

8.0 Great

8

Amarna

Amarna in Middle Egypt was the short-lived capital city founded by Pharaoh Akhenaten around 1346 BCE to promote the mono...

Capital Egyptian New Kingdom Akhenaten

7.8 Good

9

Nimrud

Ancient Assyrian capital Kalhu in northern Iraq, developed by Ashurnasirpal II in the 9th century BCE, renowned for colo...

Capital Iraq Assyrian 9TH Century Bce

7.8 Good

10

Hatra

Parthian-era fortified city in northern Iraq (1st–3rd centuries CE) blending Hellenistic and Eastern architectural style...

Desert Caravan Iraq 1ST Century

7.8 Good

11

Plain of Jars

A megalithic landscape in Xieng Khouang province, Laos, containing thousands of stone jars dating from about 500 BCE to...

Iron Age Laos Funerary Jar Megaliths

7.8 Good

12

Meroe

Meroe, along the Nile in modern Sudan, served as the capital of the Kushite kingdom from around 300 BCE to 350 CE and is...

Pyramid Iron Age Nubian Sudan

7.5 Good

13

Assur

Oldest capital of the Assyrian Empire on the Tigris River in Iraq, continuously occupied from c. 2600 BCE, and designate...

Mesopotamia Capital Iraq Assyrian

7.5 Good

14

Eridu

Ancient Sumerian city in southern Iraq considered one of the earliest urban settlements in Mesopotamia, with occupation...

Mesopotamia Iraq Sumerian Earliest City

7.5 Good

15

Maiden Castle

Maiden Castle is an extensive Iron Age hill fort located in Dorset, England, originally constructed around 600 BC and kn...

England Iron Age Dorset 6TH Century Bce

7.5 Good

16

Merv

Merv is an ancient Silk Road oasis city in Turkmenistan, occupied from the 3rd millennium BC, which became a major intel...

Oasis Capital Silk Road Turkmenistan

7.5 Good

17

Mapungubwe

Iron Age hilltop site in Limpopo, South Africa (c. 900–1300 CE), center of the region's first known kingdom, noted for g...

South Africa Medieval Gold Iron Age

7.3 Good

18

Nippur

Ancient Mesopotamian religious center in Iraq, seat of the god Enlil, occupied for millennia and yielding tens of thousa...

Mesopotamia Religious Iraq Sumerian

7.2 Good

19

Khami

A UNESCO World Heritage Site near Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, that served as the 15th-century capital of the Torwa state after t...

Medieval Zimbabwe Iron Age Stone Walled

6.9 Fair

20

Navan Fort (Emain Macha)

An Iron Age ceremonial site near Armagh, Northern Ireland, linked in mythology to the ancient Ulster kingdom, where exca...

Ireland Ceremonial Iron Age 4TH Century Bce

6.6 Fair