The library of the Assyrian King Ashurbanipal (668-627 B.C) in Nineveh 'Archiving, indexing and copying System'

Abstract

Libraries are one of the most prominent features of Civilization in the history of Mesopotamia and the ancient Near-East in general. Since man knew writing, the first features of libraries began to form through the preservation of writing tablets in the form of archives in temples and Palaces. Thus the preservation and cataloging systems in those libraries began to develop to the point that they became similar-in many of their main lines-to the systems of preservations and cataloging in the modern-day libraries. That was in parallel with the development in the field of transcription and translation. The library of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal (668-627 B.C) in Nineveh, located in his northern palace, is the best example of the development of these systems. Through it the cultural heritage of Mesopotamia. which reached us-through the contents of this library, which numbered about twenty-five thousand of clay tablets and a fragment, at least- was preserved. It included the different branches of science and knowledge at the time, as well as, what was related to the political, administrative and military life of the Assyrian Empire in that time.