(Grace Notes March 2003)

Iraq has figured very prominently in our news bulletins for months now. As with the first Gulf War in 1991, we will be taking a very close interest in the geography (and topography) of the country if and when hostilities begin. Modern-day Iraq is of course the scene of the rise and fall of the Assyrian empire, whose capital, Nineveh, occupied the site where the northern Iraqi city of Mosul stands today.

Nothing is new under the sun. Weapons of mass destruction Jonah would have relished the prospect of a multi-national force to remove the threat of weapons of mass destruction held by the Assyrians. He would hope that the job will be finished this time and the brutal regime removed. A change of heart which would avert destruction 

Ashurbanipal ruled Assyria from about 669-627 BC. He succeeded his father Esarhaddon and expanded Assyria to its broadest territory including Babylonia, Persia, Egypt, and Syria. He is also known as Osnapper in some Bible versions (Ezra 4:10).

He was not only a great warrior, which was expected of an Assyrian king, he was a hunter and a high priest of the god Assur. But he was renowned also for his library at Nineveh where there were more than 20,000 clay tablets. Trained as a scribe, King Ashurbanipal copied many of the documents in his famed library which comprised not only official documents but omens, dictionaries, sacred lore, epic poems, and folk tales.  Ashurbanipal believed in the power of the written word as well as the sword.

At one point at least in the exilic and post-exilic history of the Jews archives proved to be their deliverance. When threatened in the course of rebuilding the temple at Jerusalem they appealed to the Persian emperor Darius for help. It was crucial to their case to find the decree made by Darius’ predecessor, Cyrus, that the Jews should be given every assistance to restore the temple (Ezra 5 & 6).

Librarianship an honourable calling! 

The Assyrians 

The Assyrian state was forged in the crucible of war, invasion, and conquest. The upper, land-holding classes consisted almost entirely of military commanders who grew wealthy from the spoils taken in war. The army was the largest standing army ever seen in the Middle East or Mediterranean. The exigencies of war excited technological innovation which made the Assyrians almost unbeatable: iron swords, lances, metal armour, and battering rams made them a fearsome foe in battle.

The odd paradox of Assyrian culture was the dramatic growth in science and mathematics; this can be in part explained by the Assyrian obsession with war and invasion. Among the great mathematical inventions of the Assyrians were the division of the circle into 360 degrees and were among the first to invent longitude and latitude in geographical navigation. They also developed a sophisticated medical science which greatly influenced medical science as far away as Greece 

The Library 

The military and territorial gains made by Ashurbanipal barely outlived him but the library he established has survived partially intact. A collection of 20,000 to 30,000 cuneiform tablets containing approximately 1,200 distinct texts remains for scholars to study today. Most of it is now in the possession of the British Museum or the Iraq Department of Antiquities. Iraqi archaeologists hope that the UN's cultural body, Unesco, will help fund the library project which has the personal seal of approval of Saddam Hussein. 

With the creation of the library at Nineveh, Ashurbanipal ensured not only the preservation of his culture and society but laid the foundations for a form of preservation used by following cultures. The content of his library provided the basis for many national libraries that followed. It became important to not only preserve archives and records, but also national stories and mythological works as well. 

The importance of Ashurbanipal's library cannot be overstated. Though this library was not the first of its kind, it was one of the largest and the first library modern scholars can document as having most or even all of the attributes one expects to find in a modern library. The collection was spread out into many rooms according to subject matter. Some rooms were devoted to history and government, others to religion and magic and still others to geography, science, poetry etc. Ashurbanipal's collection even held what could be called classified government materials. The findings of spies and secret affairs of state were held secure from access in deep recesses of the palace much like a modern government archive. Each group of tablets contained a brief citation to identify the contents and each room contained a tablet near the door to classify the general contents of each room. The actual cataloguing activities under Ashurbanipal's direction would not be seen in Europe for centuries. Partially through military conquests and partially through the employment of numerous scribes there was significant effort placed into what modern librarians would call ‘collection development’.

Not only do the records include details of the religious and political workings of the Assyrian empire but also folk stories and myths such as ‘The tale of Gilgamesh’. Ashurbanipal also had his scribes preserve lexicographical works on both the Sumerian and Akkadian languages. An extensive collection of omen tablets reflects the importance of omens to the governing of the kingdom. Over 300 tablets with 80 to 200 entries each acted as a vast reference collection that helped the king determine necessary and beneficial actions according to the omens that appeared. The texts were catalogued and annotated in a complex manner that allowed scribes to have quick access to information.

Although Ashurbanipal strove to conserve and catalogue many works, he also acted as the ultimate censor over what works were to be included in this collection. He had a hand in choosing each item, selecting and censoring as he saw fit. In addition there were strict punishments on those who damaged or removed his tablets. One warning in the library reads: ‘May all these gods curse anyone who breaks, defaces, or removes this tablet with a curse which cannot be relieved, terrible and merciless as long as he lives, may they let his name, his seed be carried off from the land, and may they put his flesh in a dog's mouth’. Perhaps the Evangelical Library should consider adopting a similar deterrent message!

The power of the written word

‘The pen is mightier than the sword’: more than weapons, missiles etc. it is God’s words which determine the course of history and therefore our trust is to be in them. However ‘smart’ the bombs are, their use does not Whether the UK is right to go to war against Iraq is a moot point. The consequences are unknown. Truth of God deposited for all generations. Ashurbanipal is to be commended for his order and care in preserving so much for posterity. His tablets have survived nearly 3000 years but the Word of God abides for ever. His city was destroyed, but the city of God remains