Born c. 685 BC, Ashurbanipal succeeded his father Esarhaddon (r. 681–669). Though Ashurbanipal's … See more

In 671 Ashurbanipal's father Esarhaddon conquered Egypt, defeating the Kushite Pharaoh Taharqa, the first time Egypt had been under Assyrian rule. It was Esarhaddon's greatest triumph and brought the Assyria… See more

The end of Ashurbanipal's reign and the beginning of the reign of his son and successor, Ashur-etil-ilani, is shrouded in mystery on account of a lack of available sources. Events in Ashurbanipal's reign after 649 ar… See more

Ashurbanipal was already married to his queen Libbali-sharrat (Akkadian: 𒊩𒌷𒊮𒌷𒊬𒋥 Libbali-šarrat) at the time of his accession to the throne, perhaps marrying her around the time of his proclamatio… See more

In Assyrian royal ideology, the Assyrian king was the divinely appointed mortal representative of Ashur. The king was seen as having the moral, humane and necessary obligation to extend Assyria since land… See more

Tales of Ashurbanipal survived in the cultural memory of the Near East for centuries after the decline of Assyrian power in the region. He is almost certainly identifiable with the figure "Asnappar", mentioned … See more

In an inscription on a cylinder dated to 648, Ashurbanipal used the following titles:
I am Ashurbanipal, the great king, the mighty king, king of the universe, king of Assyria, king of the four regions of the world; offsp… See more