Contents
Ashurbanipal
Assembling the great library at Nineveh while ruling the Neo-Assyrian Empire.
Library at Nineveh · Palace reliefs
- Born
- Unknown
- Birthplace
- Assyria
- Died
- 631 BCE
More people
Ashurbanipal
Ashurbanipal was an Assyrian king whose reign combined military conquest with the collection of written knowledge. Thousands of clay tablets associated with his library preserve Mesopotamian literature and scholarship.
Early life
Royal family
Was a son of Esarhaddon, king of Assyria.
Training for rule
Received scribal and royal training before being selected as heir.
Career
- c. 673 BCE
Chosen as heir
Esarhaddon designated him to succeed to the Assyrian throne.
- 669 BCE
Accession
Became king after his father’s death.
- 652–648 BCE
Civil war
Defeated a rebellion led by his brother, the king of Babylon.
- 647–646 BCE
Elam campaign
Assyrian forces devastated Elam, including its capital Susa.
Legacy
Library at Nineveh
Collected tablets covering literature, ritual, medicine and divination.
Palace reliefs
Commissioned detailed scenes of royal hunts and campaigns.
Royal inscriptions
Recorded victories and claims of authority in cuneiform.
Beyond rule
Literary interests
Presented himself as a king able to read difficult scholarly texts.
Violence and preservation
The surviving art records brutal imperial warfare as well as the achievements of Mesopotamian culture.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗Further source: britishmuseum.org ↗Photo: KeyolTranslater. CC BY-SA 4.0 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
