Ashurbanipal’s library reveals ancient roots of data, medicine, and power

New study of Ashurbanipal’s library uncovers how knowledge shaped power in ancient Assyria.

The renowned Library of Ashurbanipal inside the royal palace at Nineveh, circa 627 BC. Photo by Universal History/Getty Images

By Anna Fadiah and Hayu Andini

More than two millennia after his death, Ashurbanipal’s library is once again commanding attention. This time, it is through a new study by Selena Wisnom, which brings to light the intellectual sophistication and political strategy encoded in the thousands of clay tablets stored in the British Museum. The Assyrian king, who ruled in the 7th century BCE, has recently gained cultural prominence—from being the subject of a 2018 London exhibition to playing a background role in Elif Shafak’s novel There Are Rivers in the Sky. But it is Wisnom’s focused scholarly work that reopens the dusty corridors of Ashurbanipal’s library and unpacks the ideologies embedded in its contents.

A long journey from Nineveh to London

Discovered in the ruins of Nineveh—near modern-day Mosul, Iraq—the contents of Ashurbanipal’s library have fascinated archaeologists and linguists for almost two centuries. Excavations began in the mid-19th century under Austen Henry Layard, but much of the actual unearthing was done by his colleague Hormuzd Rassam, whose name is often overlooked in popular accounts. The result of their work was over 30,000 fragments and tablets, most written in Akkadian using cuneiform script. These materials now form one of the most comprehensive records of ancient Mesopotamian thought.

It took decades of meticulous linguistic analysis to decode these texts. Cuneiform, an intricate wedge-shaped script, and the Akkadian language posed formidable challenges. Yet thanks to early philologists and ongoing academic dedication, we now understand not only the subject matter but the mental framework of Ashurbanipal’s court.

The architecture of a royal library

Selena Wisnom’s study dives into the operational and philosophical dimensions of Ashurbanipal’s library. What sets this archive apart is not just its sheer volume or age, but the level of detail preserved about its management. Letters discovered alongside the tablets provide insight into how texts were acquired, copied, stored, and even labeled. The library was not only a repository but an active intellectual hub.

It drew from the collections of earlier Assyrian monarchs such as Sargon II, Sennacherib, and Esarhaddon, yet Ashurbanipal’s own passion for knowledge marked a turning point. Unlike his forebears, he took a hands-on approach. He sought out rare texts, commissioned new copies, and even authored works himself. This was more than scholarly curiosity—it was strategic governance.

Knowledge as imperial weaponry

Ashurbanipal’s library functioned as much as an arsenal as it did a library. It was part of the king’s strategy to centralize authority by controlling information. Seizing texts from conquered cities, especially Babylon, was a deliberate act of weakening rivals while enriching his own court’s knowledge. This transference of intellectual capital was both literal and symbolic: the mind of the enemy would now serve the Assyrian throne.

The tablets were stored primarily in temple libraries, especially those dedicated to Nabu, the Mesopotamian god of scribes. However, access was highly restricted. The king and his male advisors were the primary beneficiaries, while women were excluded. This male-dominated structure reflects both the patriarchy and the centralized, authoritarian nature of the Assyrian regime.

Science, divination, and predictive analytics

One of the most fascinating aspects of Ashurbanipal’s library is its focus on prediction and control. A significant portion of the collection deals with astrology, medicine, and divination. The Mesopotamians meticulously recorded celestial phenomena for over six centuries, hoping to interpret divine signs and foresee the future. This extensive data collection helped astrologers advise the king, functioning much like modern predictive analytics.

In medicine, the Nineveh Medical Compendium—a vast collection of diagnostic and therapeutic texts—is among the library’s most important legacies. Now digitized by the British Museum, it reveals how health and fate were intertwined in the Mesopotamian worldview. Diseases were seen as both physical ailments and omens, requiring both medical and spiritual treatment.

This ancient integration of personal health and future prediction mirrors modern trends. Today, wearable technology tracks biometrics to anticipate health outcomes, echoing the very principle that once guided Mesopotamian court physicians.

Literature and lamentation in ancient Assyria

Ashurbanipal’s collection was not limited to scientific and strategic texts. It also included large sections on literature and ritual lamentation. Among its most celebrated holdings is the Epic of Gilgamesh, considered the earliest surviving great work of literature. While fragments of the story were found elsewhere, the most complete and well-preserved versions came from Ashurbanipal’s library.

Lamentations were another key component, used to navigate personal and collective trauma. These texts offered structured ways to process grief related to war, death, or natural disasters. In a society where divine favor was everything, these laments helped maintain cosmic order and royal legitimacy.

A modern reflection of ancient power dynamics

Selena Wisnom’s approach is not to recreate the precise architecture of the ancient library but to explore its thematic depth. She offers a metaphorical walk through the shelves, revealing a society where power, religion, science, and literature were tightly interwoven. Every tablet tells a story—not just about its subject, but about why it was chosen, preserved, and accessed.

Ashurbanipal’s library stands as a profound reminder of the enduring connection between knowledge and authority. In ancient Assyria, controlling information was a cornerstone of imperial strategy. Today, the mediums have changed—from clay to code—but the stakes remain familiar. Governments monitor, censor, and control digital content to maintain power, echoing the Assyrian model.

The ancient library built by Ashurbanipal was not just a cultural achievement; it was a deliberate political tool. By consolidating texts from across his empire, he made himself the intellectual center of the world he ruled. The knowledge hoarded in Nineveh reinforced the ideological supremacy of the throne and offered a model of authoritarian governance that is still relevant in discussions about access, censorship, and the weaponization of information.