have already yielded to us, we are able to piece
together so varied a picture that we can readily imagine Assur-bani-pal
to have been a learned and studious monarch, a patron of literature and
antiquarian knowledge. Very possibly he either read himself, or had read
to him, many of the authors whose works found a place in his library:
the kings of Nineveh, like the Pharaohs, desired now and then to be
amused by tales of the marvellous, and they were doubtless keenly alive
to the delightful rhythm and beautiful language employed by the poets of
the past in singing the praises of their divine or heroic ancestors.
But the mere fact that his palace contained the most important literary
collection which the ancient East has so far bequeathed to us, in no
way proves that Assur-bani-pal displayed a more pronounced taste for
literature than his predecessors; it indicates merely the zeal and
activity of his librarians, their intelligence, and their respect and
admiration for the great works of the past. Once he had issued his edict
ordering new editions of the old masters to be prepared, Assur-bani-pal
may have dismissed the matter from his mind, and the work would go on
automatically without need for any further interference on his part.
The scribes enriched his library for him, in much the same way as the
generals won his battles, or the architects built his monuments: they
were nothing more than nameless agents, whose individuality was eclipsed
by that of their master, their skill and talent being all placed to his
credit. Babylonia shared equally with Assyria in the benefits of his
government. He associated himself with his brother Shamash-shumukin in
the task of completing the temple of E-Sagilla; afterwards, when sole
monarch, he continued the work of restoration, not only in Babylon, but
in the lesser cities as well, especially those which had suffered most
during the war, such as Uru, Uruk, Borsippa, and Cutha.*

He refers to the works at Borsippa and Kuta towards the end
of the account of his campaign against Shamash-shumukin, and
to those at Uruk in describing the war against Khumban-
khaldash.

He remodelled the temple of Bel at Nippur, the walls built there by him
being even now distinguishable from the rest by the size of the bricks
and the careful dressing of the masonry. From the shores of the Persian
Gulf to the mountains of Armenia, Assyria and Karduniash were covered
with building-yards jus