Ashurbanipal definition of ashurbanipal by the free. Ashurbanipal, great king, mighty king, king of the world, king of assyria, king of the four quarters of the world, king of kings, prince who has no rival, who by the command of the gods, his helpers, rules from the upper sea to the lower sea and has subjugated all rulers. Ashurbanipals collection of babylonian proverbs ancient. Ashurbanipal synonyms, ashurbanipal pronunciation, ashurbanipal translation, english dictionary definition of ashurbanipal. Ashurbanipal article about ashurbanipal by the free. Sumerian texts from the early period and from the library of ashurbanipal, for the most part transliterated and translated, with introduction and index by langdon, stephen, 18761937. According to assyrian reliefs, his love of reading and writing was so strong that he even had a stylus to write with tucked safely away in his belt while he was engaged in fierce battles and shooting a bow from his horse. Pdf the british museums ashurbanipal library project. This is not to be just the administrative records of the empire, as kept in any rulers archive. The carvings come from late in the period of some 250 years over which assyrian palace reliefs were made, and show the style at its most developed and finest,6 before decline set in. Basreliefs show kings and queens banqueting in lush gardens, attended by servants, and entertained by musicians. The royal library of ashurbanipal had over 30,000 clay.
His name means the god ashur is creator of an heir and he was the son of king esarhaddon of the neoassyrian empire. Ashurbanipal, the king of assyria, triumphantly claimed that in order to purge the land and cleanse the kingdom of creatures, he carried away the bones of the elamite people toward the land of ashur, disinterred their tombs and exposed them to the bleaching rays of the sun and even sowed the land with salt and quicklime so that for centuries both the animate and the inanimate would be left. Assurbaniapli, meaning ashur has given a sonheir, was the king of the neoassyrian empire from the death of his father esarhaddon in 668 bc to his own death in 631 bc. Ashurbanipal and his library new acropolis library. Ashurbanipal is generally believed to be the great and noble osnappar ezr 4. This page was last edited on 5 january 2020, at 23. Ashurbanipal 668627 bce, also known as assurbanipal was the last of the great kings of assyria. History of assurbanipal, translated from the cuneiform.
His father, esarhaddon, the youngest son of sennacherib, had become heir when the crown prince, ashurnadinshumi, was deposed by rebels from his position as vassal for babylon. In the annals of ashurbanipal there is a list of twenty tributary kings in which manasseh written minse of the land of judah is mentioned. At the time of ashurbanipals reign, the neoassyrian empire was the largest empire that the world had seen and its. The life of this vigorous ruler of an empire ranging initially from the persian gulf to cilicia, syria. Prayer to shamash for ashurbanipal 14 mesopotamian. In a relief from khorsabad, the nobles sat at tables of four. British museum prepares for magnificent exhibition of king. Due to its fine carving and the fact that it includes a depiction of the queen, the relief is assumed to be from their private apartments in the north palace. A section of the library, comprising of 23 tablets, ended with the statement, 23 rd tablet. Many of the tablets claim to be copies of olden texts. He established started the first organized library in the ancient middle east, the library of ashurbanipal, which survives in part today at nineveh.
British museum archaeologists discovered more than 30,000 cuneiform tablets and fragments at his capital, nineveh modern kuyunjik. Among its holdings was the famous epic of gilgamesh ashurbanipal s library gives modern historians information regarding people of the ancient near east. Ashurbanipal is generally believed to be the great and noble osnappar. The royal library of ashurbanipal, named after ashurbanipal, the last great king of the assyrian empire, is a collection of thousands of clay tablets and fragments containing texts of all kinds from the 7th century bce. Ashurbanipal ruled for most of his reign from the palace without rival, which was built to be an object of wonder for all the people. In 1894, a british archaeologist named sir austen henry layard stumbled upon the ruins of ashurbanipals library at nineveh. During his reign he embarked on a vast program of expansion, first conquering the peoples to the north in asia minor as far as nairi and exacting tribute from phrygia, then invading aram modern syria conquering the aramaeans and neohittites between the khabur and the euphrates rivers. Ashurbanipal in the bible encyclopedia isbe bible history.
All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license. The events of the reign of ashurbanipal are imperfectly known, and the course of his campaigns cannot be. Esarhaddon publicly designated ashurbanipal to be the crownprince and future ruler of assyria and his twin brother shamashshumukin to the. Sumerian texts from the early period and from the library of ashurbanipal, for the most part transliterated. The texts, which include both literary and administrative records, were collected, for the most part. An intellectual and avid reader and writer, king ashurbanipal made sure that his sister and wife were also able to read and write themselves. It is the first library in the near east with a systematical organization of its material.
Ashurbanipal s earliest account of his campaign against the arabs was created in 649 bc and describes how the king yauta, son of hazael, king of the qedarites who had been a tributary of ashurbanipal s father revolted against ashurbanipal, together with another arabic king called ammuladdin, and plundered the western lands of the assyrian empire. Though not nearly as well known as the sayings collected and preserved in the biblical book of proverbs, the babylonian proverbs preserved by ashurbanipal are most likely older works and, possibly, a source of inspiration for the biblical work as the first proverbs in the bible. It would not be not surprising if you have never heard of his name, as neither the king nor the assyrian culture is familiar to most of us in the. Be among its holding was the famous epic of gilgamesh. Lions of ashurbanipal is about queen assursharrat begging her husband ashurbanipal to end his continual wars against the elamites, wars that were largely in revenge for them seducing his brother shamashshumukin into open rebellion. At the time of ashurbanipal s reign, the neoassyrian empire was the. Ashurbanipal quotes from texts, sitchin books, etc. Visitors entered the palace through massive gateways flanked by colossal humanheaded winged bulls known as lamassu that protected the king from dangerous supernatural forces. Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. Dec 09, 2015 the oldest surviving royal library in the world is that of ashurbanipal, king of assyria 668around 630 bc. The library was created for the royal family, and it contained the kings personal collection, but it was also opened. Ashurbanipals royal pedigree is one that consists of assyrias greatest kings he happens to be the great grandson of sargon ii if the sargon portrayed in the the mesopotamians video is indeed sargon ii, then ashurbanipal is in a band with his greatgrandfather. He established started the first organized library in the ancient middle east, the library of ashurbanipal, which survives in part today at nineveh in the bible he is called asenappar.
Sumerian texts from the early period and from the library of ashurbanipal, for the most part transliterated and translated, with. Finkel in this article, 10 fragments of neoassyrian administrative records are published giving important, previously unrecognized information on the history of the famous palace libraries of assurbanipal in nineveh. King of assyria who was a noted patron of literature and the arts. They are widely regarded as the supreme masterpieces of assyrian art. The king was finally convinced after seeing the suffering of a lion he killed in a hunt. Ashurbanipal s library gives modern historians information regarding. The meaning of ashurbanipal in the bible from international standard bible encyclopedia ashoorbanepal ashurbaniapal, ashur creates a son. Esarhaddon was the son not of sennacheribs queen, tashmetumsharrat, but of the west semitic palace woman zakutu, the. Jul 23, 2018 the library of ashurbanipal also spelled assurbanipal is a set of at least 30,000 cuneiform documents written in the akkadian and sumerian languages, which was found in the ruins of the assyrian city of nineveh, the ruins of which are called tell kouyunjik located in mosul, presentday iraq. Among its holdings was the famous epic of gilgamesh. Assyrian king ashurbanipals great library with thousands of.
History of assurbanipal classic reprint ashurbanipal, king of assyria on. He compiled a huge library of 25,000 tablets in nineveh. The royal library of ashurbanipal named after ashurbanipal, the last great king of the neoassyrian empire is a collection of thousands of clay tablets and fragments containing text of kinds form the 7 th century. Ashurnasirpal ii, flourished 9th century bce, king of assyria 883859 bce, whose major accomplishment was the consolidation of the conquests of his father, tukultininurta ii, leading to the establishment of the new assyrian empire. Betrayal part 1 of 4 the real game of thrones timeline duration. Ashurbanipal, also spelled assurbanipal, asshurbanipal and asurbanipal akkadian. The royal lion hunt of ashurbanipal is shown on a famous group of assyrian palace reliefs from the north palace of nineveh that are now displayed in room 10a of the british museum. Although, by his own testimony, he was a brilliant general and administrator, he is perhaps best known for the brutal frankness with which he described the.
The first universal library, the source of our first story, and a lost wonder of the ancient world. Ashurbanipal definition and meaning bible dictionary. The royal library of ashurbanipal had more than 30,000 clay tablets and fragments containing different texts from the 7th century, bc. The oldest surviving royal library in the world is that of ashurbanipal, king of assyria 668around 630 bc. Ashurbanipal, relieved of pressure in the n by his alliance with gyges of lydia, now turned to punish arvad and tyre and left a reinforced garrison at gezer.
Ashurbanipal definition of ashurbanipal by the free dictionary. What survived of it after 2,000 years painted a picture of a very sophisticated library system, where subjects were separated into individual rooms, with each of those rooms holding a tablet. Before archaeological discoveries were made in the 19th century, ashurbanipal was known through later writers as sardanapalus and was romanticised as the last king of assyria. Ashurbanipal article about ashurbanipal by the free dictionary. The life of this vigorous ruler of an empire ranging initially from the persian gulf to cilicia, syria, and egypt can be largely reconstructed. Britains bloodiest dynasty s1 e1 britains bloodiest dynasty. A thread on the great library of king ashurbanipal, discovered in the ruins of nineveh. Ashurbanipal simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Ashurbanipal was the last great assyrian king, and after his reign ended the neoassyrian empire, the land descended into a period of poorlyrecorded civil war. In later operations he plundered the arabs of kedar, moab, edom, and n arabia, thus effectively isolating the small hill state of judah from whom, according to one list, he exacted ten. Alongside historical inscriptions, letters, administrative and legal texts, were found thousands of divinatory, magical, medical, literary and. Ashurbanipal international standard bible encyclopedia.
Ashurnasirpal ii succeeded his father, tukultininurta ii, in 883 bc. Assyrian library records simo parpola, university of chicago to irving l. In the hebrew tanakh the christian old testament he is called asenappar or osnapper ezra 4. Assyrian king ashurbanipals great library with thousands. Assyrian king ashurbanipal on his horse thrusting a spear onto a lions head. He was grandson of the famous sennacherib and son of esarhaddon. Ashurbanipal, also spelled assurbanipal, orasurbanipal, flourished 7th century bc, last of the great kings of assyria reigned 668 to 627 bc, who assembled in nineveh the first systematically organized library in the ancient middle east early life. History of assurbanipal classic reprint paperback june 25, 2012.
The fourth king of the sargonid dynasty, ashurbanipal is remembered as the last great king of assyria. Ashurbanipal succeeded esarhaddon in 668 bce and ordered a great coronation festival for his brothers ascension to the throne of babylon. Jun 19, 2018 ashurbanipals life is well documented but his death remains a mystery. He was an able soldier and administrator, a scholar, and a patron of art and learning.
Ashurbanipal was born toward the end of a 1500year period of assyrian ascendancy. The library of ninevehs king ashurbanipal was a monumentally historic find. King ashurbanipal collected over 30,000 clay tablets at nineveh to establish easily the greatest library of his age. Ashurbanipal and his library article by pinar akhan.
The last of the great kings of assyria, he drove taharka out of egypt and firmly established necho in power there only to have nechos son. Ashurbanipal encyclopedia of the bible bible gateway. The assyrian king, ashurbanipal, organizes a library in keeping with the dignity and splendour of his new palace at nineveh. It contained important works, all on baked clay tablets, such as the epic of gilgamesh and the law code of hammurabi, the former included a nonbiblical account of a great flood like the one in the book of genesis. The library of ashurbanipal also spelled assurbanipal is a set of at least 30,000 cuneiform documents written in the akkadian and sumerian languages, which was found in the ruins of the assyrian city of nineveh, the ruins of which are called tell kouyunjik located in mosul, presentday iraq. Pronunciation of ashurbanipal with 2 audio pronunciations, 4 synonyms, 1 meaning, 9 translations and more for ashurbanipal. Roman historian justinus identified him as sardanapalus, and describes him as effeminate. If this identification should not prove correct, the king is not mentioned by name in the old testament. Ashurbanipal, or, as he was known to the greeks, sardanapalus, reigned from 668 to 626 b. The events of the reign of ashurbanipal are imperfectly known, and the course of his campaigns cannot be chronologically described. Jan 18, 2012 though not nearly as well known as the sayings collected and preserved in the biblical book of proverbs, the babylonian proverbs preserved by ashurbanipal are most likely older works and, possibly, a source of inspiration for the biblical work as the first proverbs in the bible are thought to have been written circa 600 bce while the. The first, herewith presented, contains the text, in transliteration and translation, of editions e, bi5, d, and k of the historical prism inscriptions, as far as it is available at present.
Ashurbanipal spelled assurbanipal and asurbanipal, was the king of the neoassyrian empire from the death of his father esarhaddon in 668 bc to his own death in c. The fourth king of the sargonid dynasty, ashurbanipal is generally remembered as the last great king of assyria. Alongside historical inscriptions, letters, administrative and legal texts, were found thousands of divinatory, magical, medical, literary and lexical texts. Before setting out on his last campaign to egypt, esarhaddon king of assyria doubtless having had some premonition that his days were numbered, caused his son ashurbanipal to be acknowledged the crown prince of assyria 668 bc. In his inscriptions, he writes how shamashshumukin was welcomed to babylon amidst rejoicing as the statue of the great god marduk taken from babylon in 689 bce by sennacherib, who sacked the city was returned to the people.
821 358 34 358 143 981 205 401 367 1429 573 851 62 1107 518 1156 1380 1411 268 592 1454 377 409 657 1126 444 862 478 265 1397 575 1287 1396 554