The Lost Library of Babylon
The BC period was marked by a strong interest among scholars in the sciences of the East, where large and ancient libraries flourished, such as the Library of Alexandria and the libraries of Granada and Medina Az-Zahra in al-Andalus. Most notable was the Library of Ashurbanipal (often called the Library of Babylon). Unfortunately, the Mongol attack destroyed it, and the library became known as the Lost Library of Babylon.
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- The BC era witnessed a flourishing of scientific interest in the East, marked by the existence of major ancient libraries like those in Alexandria, Granada, Zahra, and especially Babylon.
- The Library of Ashurbanipal, also known as the lost Library of Babylon, was destroyed after the fall of Nineveh in 611 BC, when it was buried beneath rubble and debris during a brutal conquest.
- Despite the destruction, the clay tablets survived due to their durable material, though many were shattered or scattered under the ruins.
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- Archaeological excavations in ancient Nineveh, particularly by British archaeologist Austin Henry Layard in 1849, led to the rediscovery of many of these lost tablets.
- The library’s contents were vast and diverse, including historical chronicles, religious texts, legal documents, scientific writings, and significant literary works like epics and myths.
- Ashurbanipal actively gathered and restored ancient texts from across Mesopotamia, translating and preserving them in a highly organized and categorized system.
- The partial survival of the Library of Ashurbanipal stands as a testament to the resilience of knowledge and the importance of libraries in preserving human history and culture.
Pre-Mongol Library of Ashurbanipal:
After the fall of the Assyrian Empire and the occupation and burning of its capital, Nineveh, in 611 BC, the library of Ashurbanipal disappeared beneath a hail of stones and rubble that blocked its doors. The invaders left it buried under these mounds, and people abandoned the site. Fire had damaged some of its tablets, causing parts to crumble and break, but they did not melt because they were made of fired clay.
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What's more?
Fortunately, because the library was buried under stones and earth, the invaders did not bother to remove the debris to erase its traces. When archaeology emerged, excavations began at sites associated with the Assyrians and their civilization. On the mound of Kuyunjik (ancient Nineveh), excavations uncovered tablets in several places, most of them scattered and shattered. The British archaeologist Austen Henry Layard first uncovered the largest group of them in the Palace of Sennacherib in 1849. The library consisted of clay tablets inscribed on a range of subjects, including:
1. History of literature.
2. The king's library.
3. Temple libraries.
4. Official royal correspondence.
5. Contracts, charters, and miscellaneous texts.
Tablet content:
The content of the lost tablets from the Library of Ashurbanipal was varied. Annals of the Assyrian kings dating from as early as 1300 BC were found; these can be considered among the first illustrated historical records in human history. The collection also included legislation, foreign correspondence, contracts, aristocratic declarations, and financial records. Other texts contained literary and religious works and hymns to various gods, while some covered medicine, astronomy, and literature. The library also held expressive literary works such as epics and myths, along with lexical texts and sign lists.
History of the Library:
When Ashurbanipal decided to establish his library, he sent his court scribes throughout Mesopotamia to collect clay tablets from royal palaces and the homes of rulers. They gathered tablets written in Sumerian and Akkadian, copied those that were damaged, and translated Sumerian texts into Akkadian, the language the Assyrians used. Thousands of tablets representing Mesopotamias heritage across all branches of knowledge were thus preserved. They were catalogued, classified by subject, and placed on uniform shelves.
The Library of Ashurbanipal consisted of two sections. The first was in the Palace of Sennacherib, Ashurbanipal's grandfather, and held most of the tablets prepared for preservation. The second was in Ashurbanipal's own palace, where he assembled different tablets from the first collection; he used the two palaces as libraries throughout the year. Ashurbanipal was not only one of the greatest emperors of the ancient world but also among its most cultured and civilized rulers.
The Assyriologist Leo Oppenheim echoes what Ashurbanipal said about himself: I kept all the initial knowledge starting with the Sumerians, studied the wisdom of Nabu and acquired the art of writing and the knowledge of most of the sages, and learned archery, horsemanship and chariots. Thus I was able to read the mysterious Sumerian texts and the complex Akkadian and researched the cuneiform writing on the stone by the flood.
Libraries are the most important sources of science and knowledge throughout the ages, and acts of vandalism against them are an attempt to erase history and cultural memory. This strategy has been used in various eras, and the Library of Ashurbanipal was not spared its consequences. However, because much of its content was made of fired clay, a significant portion survived buried under the earth, allowing the rest of the world to learn from it—a preservation that fulfilled Ashurbanipals purpose for the library.