Ashurbanipal

Ashurbanipal (Akkadian: Aššur-bāni-apli; Aramaic: "ܐܵܫܘܿܪ ܒܵܢܝܼ ܐܵܦܠܝܼ"‎; 'Ashur is the creator of an heir'; 668 BC – c. 627 BC), also spelled Assurbanipal or Ashshurbanipal, was an Assyrian king, the son of Esarhaddon and the last strong king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire (934–609 BC). He is famed for amassing a significant collection of cuneiform documents for his royal palace at Nineveh. This collection, known as the Library of Ashurbanipal, is now housed at the British Museum.

In the Bible he is called Asenappar (Ezra 4:10). Roman historian Justinus identified him as Sardanapalus.

Early life

Ashurbanipal was born toward the end of a 1500-year period of Assyrian ascendancy.

His father, Esarhaddon, the youngest son of Sennacherib, had become heir when the crown prince, Ashur-nadin-shumi, was deposed by rebels from his position as vassal for Babylon. Esarhaddon was the son not of Sennacherib's queen, Tashmetum-sharrat, but of the West Semitic "palace woman" Zakutu, "the pure" (cf. Modern Standard Arabic زكاة [zakāt], "that which purifies"), known by her native name, Naqi'a. The only queen known for Esarhaddon was Ashur-hamat, who died in 672 BC.

Ashurbanipal (sculpture)

Ashurbanipal, also known as the Ashurbanipal Monument or the Statue of Ashurbanipal, is a bronze sculpture by Fred Parhad, an artist of Assyrian descent. It is located in the Civic Center of San Francisco, California, in the United States. The 15-foot (4.6 m) statue depicting the Assyrian king of the same name was commissioned by the Assyrian Foundation for the Arts and presented to the City of San Francisco in 1988 as a gift from the Assyrian people. The sculpture reportedly cost $100,000 and was the first "sizable" bronze statue of Ashurbanipal. It is administered by the City and County of San Francisco and the San Francisco Arts Commission.

Parhad's work was met with some criticism by local Assyrians, who argued it was inaccurate to portray Ashurbanipal holding a book and a lion, or wearing a skirt. The critics thought the statue looked more like the Sumerian king Gilgamesh; Renee Kovacs, a "scholar and self-stated Assyriologist", believed the sculpture depicted neither figure, but rather a Mesopotamian "protective figure". Parhad defended the accuracy of his work, while also admitting that he took artistic liberties.

List of minor planets: 7001–8000