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What kinds of texts were kept in Ashurbanipal’s library at Nineveh?
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An account of barley distribution, probably from Uruk, Mesopotamia, c. 3100–2900 bce; in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.
Ashurbanipal’s library at Nineveh, the first systematically organized library in the ancient Middle East, contained a vast collection of ancient texts covering a wide range of subjects. At the king's command, scribes collected and copied works from temple libraries across the country to preserve the ancient lore of Mesopotamia.12
The library's collection included the following types of texts:
- Literary and Epic Works: The library preserved traditional Mesopotamian epics, including the stories of Gilgamesh, Creation, Etana, Anzu, and Irra.2
- Religious and Divinatory Texts: These included numerous incantations, prayers, rituals, and omen texts based on the observation of celestial bodies (Sun, Moon, planets, and stars), as well as the behavior of plants, animals, and humans.2
- Scientific and Scholarly Works: The collection featured handbooks and texts on subjects such as mathematics, botany, chemistry, and lexicology, including dictionary-style lists of Sumerian and Akkadian words.12
- Administrative and Correspondence: A significant portion of the library consisted of administrative documents and a great many letters.1
- Other Genres: The library also housed fables, proverbs, and various "canonical" and "extracanonical" texts.2
Many of these tablets bear the royal mark of ownership, reflecting Ashurbanipal's personal interest in these diverse fields of knowledge.32