The library of ancient wisdom : how Mesopotamia made history

Wisnom, Laura Selena, 1986-2025

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Summary

When a team of Victorian archaeologists began to dig into a grassy hill in Iraq, they chanced upon one of the oldest stores of knowledge ever seen: a library. As they excavated, and deciphered the library's forgotten languages, they discovered that it had belonged to Ashurbanipal, a scholar king and conqueror who had ruled the kingdom of Assyria over 2000 years before. After Ashurbanipal's death, vengeful rivals burned his carefully curated library to the ground, and eventually the grass grew over it. Yet the library's knowledge survived, carved on clay tablets which were accidentally, miraculously preserved, baked into longevity by the flames. Assyriologist Selena Wisnom has spent years studying the tablets and is our expert, lively guide through the library stacks. Beyond the scholars, the library also allows us to discover the everyday lives of the Assyrians in extraordinary detail.