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( Ashurbanipal)
Ashurbanipal (Akkadian Aššur-bani-apli (= "Ashur created an heir" in Akkadian), (b. 685 BCE – d. 627 BCE), the son of Esarhaddon, was the last great king of ancient Assyria. He is famous as one of the few kings in antiquity who could read and write[citation needed]. Assyrian sculpture reached its apogee under his rule (Northern palace and south-western palace at Nineveh, battle of Ulai). The Greeks knew him as Sardanapalos; Latin and other medieval texts refer to him as Sardanapalus. In the Bible he is called As(e)nappar or Osnapper (Ezra 410). Roman historian Justinus identified him as Sardanapalus.[1] During his rule, Assyrian splendour was not only visible in its military power, but also its culture and art. Ashurbanipal created "the first systematically collected library" at Nineveh, where he attempted to gather all cuneiform literature available by that time. A library was distinct from an archive earlier repositories of documents had accumulated passively, in the course of administrative routine. His father, Esarhaddon, youngest son of Sennacherib, had become heir when the crown prince, Ashur-nadin-shumi, was deposed by rebels from his position as vassal for Babylon. Esarhaddon was not the son of Sennacherib's queen, Tashmetum-sharrat, but of the West Semitic "palace woman" Zakutu, known by her native name, Naqi'a. The only queen known for Esarhaddon was Ashur-hamat, who died in 672 BC Ashurbanipal grew up in the small palace called bit reduti (house of succession), built by Sennacherib when he was crown prince in the northern quadrant of Nineveh. In 694, Sennacherib had completed the "Palace Without Rival" at the southwest corner of the acropolis, obliterating most of the older structures. The "House of Succession" had become the palace of Esarhaddon, the crown prince. In this house, Ashurbanipal's grandfather was assassinated by uncles identified only from the biblical account as Adrammelek and Sharezer. From this conspiracy, Esarhaddon emerged as king in 681. He proceeded to rebuild as his residence the bit masharti (weapons house, or arsenal). The "House of Succession" was left to his mother and the younger children, including Ashurbanipal.
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