What was the Assyrian city of Kalhu better known as?

The Assyrian city of Kalhu was better known as Nimrud.

Kalhu was an ancient Assyrian city on the Tigris River in northern Mesopotamia, in modern-day Iraq. The name Nimrud became common in modern usage, while Kalhu is the ancient Assyrian name found in historical sources. The city became especially important when King Ashurnasirpal II made it the capital of Assyria in the ninth century BCE.

Ashurnasirpal II built a large palace at Kalhu and decorated it with monumental stone reliefs. These reliefs show royal ceremonies, military campaigns, hunting scenes, supernatural guardians, and tribute bearers. The city also contained colossal lamassu sculptures, although the most famous surviving examples come from several Assyrian sites.

Kalhu should not be confused with Nineveh, which later became the best-known Assyrian capital, or Dur-Sharrukin, the short-lived capital founded by Sargon II. Archaeological discoveries at Nimrud have provided major evidence about Assyrian art, administration, warfare, and royal ideology.