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UNLOCKED: The Great Archaeological Discoveries, pt. 4 -- The Library of Ashurbanipal

Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrong

CHAPTER

The History of the Assyrian Empire

The library in the palace was ransacked. Many tablets were broken, so that's probably a major reason why so many of these tablets are in fragments. Some it seems were apparently salvaged at the last minute by scribes and brought over into safer spots like that throne room with the lion hunting freezes. So that's the basic outline then of Nineveh's life as a capital and how this library ended up in the particular condition in which it was found. Now what do the contents of the text tell us about how the Assyrian Empire worked? What kind of society was it? How did the imperial court work? And why was this library created in the first place?

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