Keep the Tale

Ruler · Iron Age · Iraq

Ashurbanipal

r. 668–c. 627 BC

King of Assyria from 668 to about 627 BC, the last great king of the Neo Assyrian Empire. He built a library at Nineveh that gathered thousands of clay tablets, preserving works like the Epic of Gilgamesh. The palace reliefs of his lion hunts are among the finest sculptures of the ancient Near East.

Facts

Reign
668 to about 627 BC.
Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Ashurbanipal
Realm
The Neo Assyrian Empire, at its greatest extent.
Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Ashurbanipal
Known for
The library at Nineveh and the lion hunt palace reliefs, now in the British Museum.
Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Ashurbanipal

Images

Ashurbanipal hunting lions, palace relief from Nineveh (British Museum, photograph via Wikimedia Commons)
Ashurbanipal hunting lions, palace relief from Nineveh (British Museum, photograph via Wikimedia Commons)

Comments

Loading comments…

2000 characters left

Comments are read before they appear. Please keep them civil and on the subject.