The two river basins are one of the earliest cradles of human civilization. The "two rivers" are the Euphrates and Tigris rivers flowing through Iraq.
1849, British archaeologists unearthed many clay tablets on the site of Nineveh in the two river basins. The words carved on the clay tablet are thick at the beginning and thin at the end, like wedges, so they are called cuneiform characters. Narrative poems, prayers, business records, tribute lists, administrative orders, astronomical materials, etc. Carved on a clay tablet. At the same time, it is also engraved with the owner's mark, and some indicate the source or source. There are more than 25,000 such books on the blackboard, of which more than 2,000 are now in the British Museum. According to textual research, this is the remains of the Palace Library built in the 7th century BC, indicating that the earliest library in the world existed more than 2,700 years ago.
The earliest standardized library was in Mesopotamia, which is now Iraq.
There are important historical sites all over Iraq. In the archaeological history, Iraq's civilization is unique. Few places have experienced such a long and complicated history as Iraq. For thousands of years, human civilization has been fully displayed here, from scientific and technological inventions, art and literature to religious and social structures. According to the excavation results of archaeologists, we know that the earliest library in the world is also in Mesopotamia. The world-famous library is Ashgabat. This is the best preserved, largest and most complete library of ancient civilization sites excavated today. It was 400 years earlier than the famous Alexandria Library in Egypt, and because of the particularity of mud-printed books, it was not destroyed by the war like Alexandria Library, and most of them were preserved.
Ashgabat Library was named after Ashgabat, king of Assyria, who was the last king of Assyria and ruled from 668 BC to 627 BC. He calls himself "the great and wise king of the world". When he was in office, he not only reached the limit of Assyrian empire, but also was a king who respected culture, learned a lot and was obsessed with books. On a clay tablet in the ruins of the library, Azubani said, "I, Asubani, inspired by the wisdom god of Naboo, feel it necessary to read widely." I can learn the skills of shooting, conquering and governing the country from it. ..... Reading can not only expand knowledge and skills, but also cultivate noble bearing. "Therefore, during his reign, the famous Ashgabat Library was built in Nineveh, the ancient capital.
It is worth mentioning that the reappearance of Ashgabat Library is attributed to British amateur archaeologist Laird. It can be said that Laird made it public with his shovel. 1849, when he was excavating the site of Assyrian palace in Nineveh, he found two rooms that seemed to be added as libraries in the palace of Assyrian king Sinatra Hrib (reigned from 704 BC to 68 BC1). It has a large area and a large collection of books. Even by modern standards, the name "library" is not excessive. Laird found nearly 30,000 "volumes" of books there, which is a real clay-block library!
According to the later research and research of archaeologists, people basically understand the general situation of Ashgabat Library.
Most of the books in the library are copied from all over the country, and the other part is obtained from private sources. In the ruins of Nineveh Library, the instructions given by Asubani Bart to some civil servants were found, instructing them to collect mud books from various provinces. One of them wrote: "On the day I receive this letter, I will take Ma Shu, his brother Bel Aytur, Yapra and some artists from Bohba you know to collect as many clay tablets as possible from people's homes and the temple of Ezida." In addition, Azubani has hired many scholars and scribes who specialize in copying clay tablets and valuable inscriptions from all over the world.
The library has a complete collection of books, including philosophy, mathematics, linguistics, medicine, literature and astrology, covering almost all the knowledge at that time. Among them, the hereditary tables, historical notes, imperial edicts, fairy tales, ballads and hymns of dynasties provide the keys for future generations to understand the Assyrian empire and even the entire Assyrian-Babylonian civilization. What is particularly precious is that on the clay tablet of literature, there is the first great heroic epic "The Forgotten" in the history of the world, which is one of the most important works created by Mesopotamian civilization.
Judging from the collection of books in the library, Assyrians have learned to classify and catalogue all kinds of books. For all kinds of books, they are usually placed in different positions to show the difference. Assyrian scribes also put a title label on each clay tablet, indicating the contents recorded on the clay tablet.
This library is Ashgabat's private library. Most of the books here are engraved with the king's name, some of which are marked by the king himself, and some are marked by his collection. The words "King of the Universe, King of Assyria" are often carved on clay tablets. On a piece of clay, engraved with such a poem:
I am Azubani, the great king, the extraordinary king, the king of the universe, the king of Assyria and the king of the surrounding world.
King of kings, commander-in-chief of Assyria, invincible monarch, dominated the sea from high to low.
All the princes fell at my feet.