The Library of Ashurbanipal, which once stood in what is now modern-day Iraq, may very well have been the first library (or, at least, no earlier example of such has yet presented itself). This library was named after it’s creator—for it was built on the decree of Ashurbanipal—the king of what would soon become the capital of the neo-Assyrian empire; Nineveh. This was done with the intention of it being his royal library, and its construction occurred sometime in the 700’s BCE. (Ashurbanipal Creates the…, 2014)
Being that this is one of—if not the first library—it is fitting that its most significant technological advancement was to contain numerous works in what may also be the first writing system (Ashurbanipal Creates the…, 2014). That is the cuneiform tablet, and the library contained more than thirty-thousand examples of such (Taylor, 2018). Being that is already a collection of firsts, it should be noted that this included what just might be the very first written story, The Epic of Gilgamesh (Ashurbanipal Creates the…, 2014).
These were all written on clay tablets using the cuneiform method, which refers to a form of written language constructed with wedge shapes. That is where the name comes from, as each word was pressed into wet clay using a reed pen, leaving a wedge-shaped impression (cuneiform means wedge-shaped). The majority of these tablets encompassed an odd variety of themes and subjects that make perfect sense when considered that this library was built for a head of state, some of these being court transcripts, intelligence reports, rituals, hymns, prayers and medical handbooks. Many of these items were stamped with the personal ownership of Ashurbanipal’s royal palace (Taylor, 2018).
Interestingly, it seems that many of these tablets were inscribed with curses on them to prevent theft (Jeremy, 2014). Considering the authenticity of these curses; it must be noted that when a legion of invading Babylonians put a torch to the library nearly a century after the library’s inception, their ravaging flames actually baked the tablets and helped preserve them for future generations. Records kept on other, more flammable materials than clay were lost, yet an astounding amount and variety survived this—all because someone tried to destroy them. (Ashurbanipal Creates the…, 2014)
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References:
Ashurbanipal Creates the World’s First Library: 600 bce. (2014). In J. Stock (Ed.), Global Events: Milestone Events Throughout History (Vol. 5). Farmington Hills, MI: Gale. Retrieved from http://link.galegroup.com.libresources2.sait.ab.ca/apps/doc/TYAUUE041045114/WHIC?u=calg67223&sid=WHIC&xid=ff7f4897
Jeremy, N. (2014, December 27). Knowledge as Power: King Ashurbanipal Forms the Earliest Systematically Collected Library as Distinct from an Archive668 BCE - 627 BCE. Retrieved from http://www.historyofinformation.com/detail.php?id=8
Taylor, J. (2018, November 07). A library fit for a king. Retrieved from https://blog.britishmuseum.org/a-library-fit-for-a-king/
That was a very interesting read as I had no idea this library even existed. The most amusing thing to me about this however is the curses that were inscribed on the teblets. What an interesting technological advancement for libraries. We went from using curses to prevent theft, to using electronic tags to do the same job. Honestly I would be more afraid of a curse than an alarm going off as I tried to steal a book. Do you think libraries should re-adopt this system? Put curses on the back of their books to scare their patrons? I'm joking of course but still that's a really cool piece of history.
ReplyDeleteI agree that curses may be an unexplored avenue in today's libraries--perhaps they could also be used to enforce due dates? Instead of a fine; a frog or scorpion or snake will physically manifest at random inside your house for every day the book is not returned.
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