Ashurbanipal's Leadership Style

Would you want to be remembered as a ruthless king that brutalized opponents or a intellectual king that cared deeply about literature? Ashurbanipal was one of the last Assyrian kings. He was a brutal ruler, killing people left and right, but he also had an appreciation for literature, and created one of the libraries.   The Assyrians lived around 1300-600 B.C in Assyria across Southwest Asia. They created a huge empire that stretched from Persia to Egypt. Their capital was Nineveh with was beautiful with wide streets and big parks. Many of the palaces were very large and grand. Nineveh was also the location of the first library. Ashurbanipal was a brutal ruler, but he also created a library and had an interest in literature.
The Assyrians were very war like people, with an extremely strong army with lots of effective weapons.They had advanced engineering tactics and were extremely ruthless.There was mean and nasty rulers, who killed or enslaved anyone in conquered territory. A common saying between these kings was that "I destroyed, devastated, and burned with fire" regions that resisted Assyrian rule.

Ashurbanipal was an Assyrian king who lived from 685 to 627 B.C and ruled with force and terror.

He was known for his brutality against opponents. He would often enslave or kill anyone who tried to disobey him. When he rose to power, he not only inherited the throne but also the war that was going on with Egypt that his father left him. Ashurbanipal was a ruthless and brutal ruler. He would burn houses and slated fields. There are many images depicting these ruthless acts such as him putting a dog chain through a defeated Arb king and making him live in a kennel.  He was known by enemy nations for his cruel acts he

committed.
Ashurbanipal was notorious for his ruthless acts,but  he was also known for the library he created.The library is one of the first organized, that had many different rooms. The remains left modern scholars a wealth of Mesopotamian literature, administrative and religious work.  As a child, he trained as a scribe, and always had an interest in culture and writing. During his reign as king, he would collect cuneiform texts from all over Mesopotamia. He prided himself on the ability to read several languages. He collected over 25,000 clay tablets throughout the Fertile Crescent. Excavations have found many different texts such as omen texts, world lists and mythic literature such as Epic Of Gilgamesh.
Ashurbanipal was a harsh ruler, burning houses, smashing walls, and enslaving anyone who tried to disobey him. At the same time, he had an appreciation for written texts. The Assyrians were a rough group of people, with Ashurbanipal included. It was the norm to be ruthless and engaged in military activity. He should be remembered as “librarian” rather than “ruthless”. He provided thousands and thousands of works of literature that are still around today. Ashurbanipal was an advocate for culture and had a deep interest for literature. At the same time, he was a brutal ruler, killing many people without a blink of the eye.