The Fall and Rise of Jerusalem: Judah Under Babylonian Rule "the Medes left Arrapha, attacked Kalhu (Nimrud) and Ninuwa (Nineveh), and continued rapidly northward to capture the nearby city of Tarbisu. Afterward, they went back down the Tigris and laid siege to the city of Assur. The Babylonian army came to the aid of the Medes only after the Medes had begun the decisive offensive against the city, capturing it, killing many of its residents, and taking many others captive."