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Assurbanipal (7th Century BC)
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Image above:
Ashurbanipal and
his Queen enjoying a banquet
The Garden
Party Relief from the North Palace of
Ashurbanipal, Nineveh, Iraq, about 645 BC.
The palace was
excavated by H. Rassam (from 1853)
The British
Museum |
Besides having been a great athlete,
Assurbanipal, also spelled Ashurbanipal or
Asurbanipal, was the king of Assyria
from 668 to 627 BC, or 669 to 631 BC, depending on your source.
Nineveh was the capital of his realm.
Assurbanipal's home address was what archaeologists today call the
North Palace. There also was the
Southwest Palace, built by
Assurbanipal's grandfather Sennacherib
back in the days.
Sennacherib had been Assyria's king
from 705 to 681 BC. He was the one who made Nineveh the capital in
the first place.
Back to Assurbanipal.
At his palace in Nineveh, Assurbanipal
kept a massive collection of ancient texts. This collection became
famous as Assurbanipal's Library.
One of the highlights of
Assurbanipal's library was the set of tablets that contained the
Gilgamesh Epic.
And this is the map:
The
Assyrian Empire
Assurbanipal's father was Esarhaddon.
See also
Governments of Ancient Mesopotamia.
More History
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