A city of Assyria, built by Ashur or by Nimrod, Genesis 10:11,12. It was at some distance from Nineveh, and Resen lay between them. It is thought to have been near the river Lycus, the great Zab, which empties into the Tigris.

One of the most ancient cities of Assyria. "Out of that land he [i.e., Nimrod] went forth into Assyria, and built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, and Calah, and Resen" (Genesis 10:11, RSV). Its site is now marked probably by the Nimrud ruins on the left bank of the Tigris. These cover an area of about 1,000 acres, and are second only in size and importance to the mass of ruins opposite Mosul. This city was at one time the capital of the empire, and was the residence of Sardanapalus and his successors down to the time of Sargon, who built a new capital, the modern Khorsabad. It has been conjectured that these four cities mentioned in Genesis 10:11 were afterwards all united into one and called Nineveh (q.v.).

(completion, old age ), one of the most ancient cities of Assyria. (Genesis 10:11) The site of Calah is probably market by the Nimrud ruins. If this be regarded as ascertained, Calah must be considered to have been at one time (about B.C. 930-720) the capital of the empire.