Ashurbanipal
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Ashurbanipal
In both Byzantium and the Frankish West, it was the fusion of secular with religious influences that created societies cohesive enough to withstand the aftershocks of imperial breakdown, barbarian invasion and Islamic expansion.
John Darwin • After Tamerlane: The Rise and Fall of Global Empires, 1400-2000
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."
Library of Ashurbanipal
Emperor of Rome: Ruling the Ancient Roman World
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 e
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