The library of ancient wisdom

The library of ancient wisdom Mesopotamia and the making of the modern world

Laura Selena Wisnom, 1986-

Book - 2025

"The library of Ashurbanipal, Assyria's last great king, held an astonishing collection at the forefront of knowledge in its day, from ancient traditions in religion and literature to the latest developments in magic and medicine. When the Assyrian empire fell, the library burned to the ground, and its contents, clay tablets inscribed with cuneiform writing, lay buried for thousands of years until a team of Victorian archaeologists discovered the remnants in modern-day Iraq. The clay had baked and hardened; the very fire that consumed the library had helped its texts to survive for millennia. In THE LIBRARY OF ANCIENT WISDOM, scholar Selena Wisnom, one of only a few hundred experts able to read cuneiform script today, guides us in...side this important collection and, through its contents, brings ancient Mesopotamia and its people to life."-- Jacket flap

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2nd Floor New Shelf 935/Wisnom (NEW SHELF) Due Oct 23, 2025
Subjects
Ashurbanipal, > King of Assyria, > active 668 B.C.-627 B.C. > Library.
Ashurbanipal, > King of Assyria, > active 668 B.C.-627 B.C.
Libraries > Iraq > Nineveh (Extinct city)
Civilization, Assyro-Babylonian.
Cuneiform writing.
cuneiform.
Assyria > Civilization.
Iraq > Civilization > To 634.
Informational works.
Genres
Informational works
Published
Chicago, IL : The University of Chicago Press 2025.
Language
English
Main Author
Laura Selena Wisnom, 1986- (author)
Physical Description
xliii, 397 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : colour illustrations, maps ; 24 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN
9780226822556
  • General Timeline of Mesopotamian History
  • Timeline of Events in This Book
  • Dramatis personae
  • Maps
  • List of Illustrations
  • Preface
  • Introduction: A World Rediscovered
  • 1. The Scribal Art
  • 2. The Power of the Gods
  • 3. Magic and Witchcraft
  • 4. The Treatment of Disease
  • 5. Reading the Signs
  • 6. Messages in the Stars
  • 7. Literature
  • 8. The Waging of War
  • 9. Lamentation
  • 10. A Day in the Life of Ashurbanipal
  • Epilogue: The Afterlife of Cuneiform Culture
  • Bibliographical Essay
  • A Guide to the Primary Sources
  • Bibliography
  • Notes
  • Acknowledgements
  • Index
Review by Library Journal Review

Wisnom (Middle East history, Univ. of Leicester; Weapons of Words) writes a fascinating book about the contents of the library of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal. Now held in the British Museum, the collection contains over 30,000 clay tablets and fragments in cuneiform, a type of writing used in ancient Assyria. Ironically, the tablets were saved thanks to the devastating fire that destroyed Nineveh (the ancient capital of Assyria, located in present-day Mosul, Iraq). They contain achievements in mathematics, astrology, agriculture, the creation of cities, banking systems, and more about life in seventh-century BCE, and Wisnom rightfully challenges modern smugness about how much humans know today compared with the extraordinary achievements of the people of antiquity. Eckart Frahm's Assyria is a more political consideration of the region and era, but there is room for both books. The heartening recent news of the UNESCO-led restoration of several key Assyrian monuments in Mosul that were damaged by ISIS will add to readers' appetite for the information in Wisnom's book. VERDICT An excellent bibliographical essay, useful time lines, maps, and illustrations, and a helpful list of the historical figures who people this story enhance Wisnom's tour of an astounding collection.--Ellen Gilbert

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