Panchronia

Library of Ashurbanipal

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c. 650 BC · Nineveh · Middle East · Culture

Tens of thousands of tablets preserve the Epic of Gilgamesh

Library of Ashurbanipal
Austen Henry Layard 1817-1894 · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

The Assyrian king Ashurbanipal gathered tens of thousands of cuneiform tablets at Nineveh on religion, medicine, omens and literature. They preserved the Epic of Gilgamesh, the oldest great work of literature.

State: Assyrian Egypt, Neo-Assyrian Empire

Wikipedia (Russian) · Wikipedia (English) · 7th century BC

Did you know

The fire that destroyed Nineveh in 612 BC baked the clay tablets of Ashurbanipal's library — helping them survive to the present day.

Alive at the time