Ashurbanipal's intense interest in collecting divination texts was one of his driving motivations in collecting works for his library. His original motive may have been to "gain possession of rituals and incantations that were vital to maintain his royal power."

Sargon’s reign, over four thousand years ago, set the archetype of ‘king as father.’ He had himself portrayed as paternalism embodied, the Great Man, an ideal leader who stood above his people and knew what was best for them. In order to do so, Sargon also invented patronage as a business model for the arts, recognising the capacity of culture to

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