And in the midst of her, droves will certainly lie stretched out.”​—Zeph. 2:13, 14.

Less than 20 years later, around 632 B.C.E., the Babylonians and the Medes besieged Nineveh. The city felt secure behind its 100-foot (30-m) walls capped with 1,500 20-story towers. However, Bible prophecy indicated an unusual event that sent Nineveh to her grave. It said of the city: “The very gates of the rivers will certainly be opened, and the palace itself will actually be dissolved.”​—Nah. 2:6.

Historian Diodorus says that because of heavy rains the river by the city overflowed and “both inundated a portion of the city and broke down the walls for a distance.” It was now quickly taken and the conquerors “turned the city into a mound and a ruin.” The desolation was so complete that the location of the city was lost for centuries. Modern excavations have found its amazing ruins in a huge mound, buried some 40 feet (12 m) deep, under an estimated 14 million tons of dirt. Near the top of this desolate “grave” shepherds, to this day, graze sheep.

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The Prophecy

During the height of Nineveh’s power the Bible foretold that God would make it “a desolate waste . . . and in the midst of her, droves will certainly lie stretched out.”​—Zeph. 2:13, 14.

Its Fulfillment

Visitors today see only a mound to mark the desolate site of ancient Nineveh. And, as foretold, flocks of sheep graze there.