asshurbanapal

Updated: May 3, 2025

We have records of observations carried on under Asshurbanapal, who sent astronomers to different parts to study celestial phenomena. Here is one: To the Director of Observations, My Lord, his humble servant Nabushum-iddin, Great Astronomer of Nineveh, writes thus: "May Nabu and Marduk be propitious to the Director of these Observations, my Lord.

George Forbes - History of Astronomy

We know, for example, that King Khammurabi, who lived about 2200 B.C., was a great law-giver, the ancient prototype of Justinian; and the epochs of such Assyrian kings as Sargon II., Asshurnazirpal, Sennacherib, and Asshurbanapal stand out with much distinctness. Yet, as a whole, the record does not enable us to trace with clearness the progress of scientific thought.

Edward Huntington Williams - A History of Science — Volume 1