1.15. An Early Library

In the iron age, the Assyrians of the north created an empire, at its height between 720 and 610 BCE, that stretched as far west as Egypt. The state economy was now a predatory one, extracting labour and tribute in the form of food, animals, metal and craft items from a vast subject population.

The Assyrian Empire emerged during the Iron Age between 720 and 610 BCE and was expansive, reaching regions like Egypt. This empire operated on a predatory economy, meaning it extracted resources and labor from its conquered people. Unlike a trade-based or mutually beneficial economy, the Assyrians took what they needed from those they governed.

Think of it as a large company taking over smaller businesses. The large company then demands a portion of all the profits and resources from these smaller businesses instead of allowing them to operate freely. The smaller businesses must comply, or they would face consequences.

The great Assyrian kings, who had been immigrants, acknowledged the southern region, Babylonia, as the centre of high culture and the last of them, Assurbanipal (668-627 BCE), collected a library at his capital, Nineveh in the north. He made great efforts to gather tablets on history, epics, omen literature, astrology, hymns and poems.

Assurbanipal, one of the key figures of the Assyrian Empire, recognized Babylonia as a cultural hub. He actively sought to create a library in Nineveh that collected various forms of literature, including history, poetry, and astrology. This effort indicates the Assyrians valued not just military strength but also the preservation and study of their cultural heritage.

Imagine a modern-day leader who understands that the history and culture of their people is important for future generations. They might build a national library to gather books, documents, and artifacts, ensuring these stories and knowledge are preserved and passed on, much like Assurbanipal did with his library.

He sent his scribes south to find old tablets. Because scribes in the south were trained to read and write in schools where they all had to copy tablets by the dozen, there were towns in Babylonia where huge collections of tablets were created and acquired fame.

Assurbanipal dispatched scribes to collect ancient tablets from the south, where trained individuals worked in schools to copy texts. This systematic copying helped to preserve a vast amount of knowledge, demonstrating the crucial role that scribes played in maintaining cultural continuity within the empire.

Think of scribes as modern-day archivists or librarians who meticulously copy and organize historical documents. Just as archivists ensure that important records are preserved for future generations, scribes in Mesopotamia guaranteed that critical pieces of knowledge reached later eras.

And although Sumerian ceased to be spoken after about 1800 BCE, it continued to be taught in schools, through vocabulary texts, sign lists, bilingual (Sumerian and Akkadian) tablets, etc.

Even after the Sumerian language fell out of everyday use around 1800 BCE, it remained relevant in education. Schools taught Sumerian using various aids such as vocabulary lists and bilingual tablets. This effort ensured that Sumerian literary works and culture remained accessible to those who could read them.

Consider how Latin, once a commonly spoken language, is now primarily used in specific fields such as law and medicine. It is still taught in schools and universities, ensuring that those fields continue to have access to essential texts written in Latin, much like how Sumerian was taught.

More important, there was cataloguing: a basket of tablets would have a clay label that read: ‘n number of tablets about exorcism, written by X’. Assurbanipal’s library had a total of some 1,000 texts, amounting to about 30,000 tablets, grouped according to subject.

The library created by Assurbanipal featured an organized system of cataloguing, where tablets were labeled according to their content. This meticulous organization helped in the efficient retrieval and study of documents. The library housed around 30,000 tablets covering various subjects, displaying an impressive dedication to knowledge preservation.

Imagine a well-organized modern library where each book has a specific label indicating its subject. This allows visitors to easily locate what they are interested in studying, just as Assurbanipal's library allowed scholars to find information on specific topics by referring to the labels on their tablet baskets.

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