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Assurbanipal, the last great king of the Assyrian empire, assembled an enormous library, the bulk of which were incantation and divination texts.  The king boasts of having learned the art of divination by the gods of magic and wisdom:   The god Marduk, the sage among gods, offered me as a present vast understanding and profound intelligence.  The god Nabu, scribe of the universe, gave me as a gift the precepts of wisdom… I studied the art of the sage Adapa, the hidden knowledge of the entire art of the scribe.  I know the ominous signs of heaven and earth.  I can discuss them in the assembly of scholars.  I am able to debate the series “If the liver is the reflection of heaven” with the expert diviners. Marduk’s role as a god of wisdom and magic is already discernable in the Enuma Elish, where he is depicted not only as the creator god but also as a powerful magician.  When Marduk battles Tiamat, he goes into battle with a magic plant clamped between his teeth.  For Tiamat was herself a powerful sorceress.   The general idea behind magic is that all of us, gods and humans alike, are connected sympathetically to an underlying reality that is the source of life and power.  This underlying reality may be tapped into by special individuals who have natural ability combined with secret knowledge, be they gods or men.

 

Assurbanipal was the last powerful king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. After his death, the empire collapsed and ‘Assyria’ as a distinct cultural entity disappeared. He was the only Assyrian king to claim to read and write cuneiform.

[ahtimeline-event-heading]
Assurbanipal, the last great king of the Assyrian empire, assembled an enormous library, the bulk of which were incantation and divination texts.  The king boasts of having learned the art of divination by the gods of magic and wisdom:   The god Marduk, the sage among gods, offered me as a present vast understanding and profound intelligence.  The god Nabu, scribe of the universe, gave me as a gift the precepts of wisdom… I studied the art of the sage Adapa, the hidden knowledge of the entire art of the scribe.  I know the ominous signs of heaven and earth.  I can discuss them in the assembly of scholars.  I am able to debate the series “If the liver is the reflection of heaven” with the expert diviners. Marduk’s role as a god of wisdom and magic is already discernable in the Enuma Elish, where he is depicted not only as the creator god but also as a powerful magician.  When Marduk battles Tiamat, he goes into battle with a magic plant clamped between his teeth.  For Tiamat was herself a powerful sorceress.   The general idea behind magic is that all of us, gods and humans alike, are connected sympathetically to an underlying reality that is the source of life and power.  This underlying reality may be tapped into by special individuals who have natural ability combined with secret knowledge, be they gods or men.

 

Assurbanipal was the last powerful king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. After his death, the empire collapsed and ‘Assyria’ as a distinct cultural entity disappeared. He was the only Assyrian king to claim to read and write cuneiform.