The “great and illustrious Ashurbanipal” is mentioned in the Bible, in Ezra 4:10 – and there was good reason for him calling himself “king of the world”. From his splendid palace at Nineveh, his rule over Assyria from 669 to c. 631 BC was the highest point of the Assyrian empire, which stretched from the eastern edge of the Mediterranean as far as Iran, and from present-day Turkey to Kuwait. It included the kingdom of Israel, whose inhabitants had been exiled half a century before Ashurbanipal came to the throne, around 720 BC – leading to the myth of the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel. (The more famous Babylonian captivity of Judaea happened half a century after his death.)
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The biblical ruler who wanted to be 'king of the world'
the “great and illustrious ashurbanipal” is mentioned in the bible, in ezra 4:10 – and there was good reason for him calling himself “king o...
David V Barrett
3 min read
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