Who was Ashurbanipal and why does he matter?

First of all who was he?

Ashurbanipal (Neo-Assyrian Akkadian: 𒀸𒋩𒆕𒀀, romanized: Aššur-bāni-apli, meaning “Ashur is the creator of the heir”)or Osnappar (Imperial Aramaic: אָסְנַפַּר, romanized: ’Āsnappar) was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 669 BC to his death in 631. He is generally remembered as the last great king of Assyria. Ashurbanipal inherited the throne as the favored heir of his father Esarhaddon; his 38-year reign was among the longest of any Assyrian king.Though sometimes regarded as the apogee of ancient Assyria, his reign also marked the last time Assyrian armies waged war throughout the ancient Near East and the beginning of the end of Assyrian dominion over the region.

He was a prominent King of Assyria which was an important ancient Kingdom that grew out of the Akkadians who to prominence after the flood after of ancient Sumer.Assyria which was farther north from Sumer and included the northern part of the Akkadian Empire.

One thing that is important is the Library of Ashurbanipal which has some important ancient textual information.The ruins of this library were first discovered in 1849 containing the famous Epic of Gilgamesh validating the Noachian flood of the Bible. The Dead Sea scrolls in an Deuterocanonical book called the Book of Giants revealing that Gilgamesh was actually one of the giants killed in the flood.So yes the pagans perverted the truth and made a demon the hero in the flood as opposed to Noah but it shows no ancient culture ever doubted the flood.

Also containing the Nimrud tablet validating the historicity of the Torah patriach Yehudah (Judah)

The Nimrud Tablet K.3751, also known as Kalhu Palace Summary Inscription 7 is an inscription on a clay tablet dated c. 733 BC from the reign of Tiglath-Pileser III (745 to 727 BC), discovered by George Smith in 1873 in Nimrud (now in Iraq). The tablet describes the first 17 years of Tiglath-Pileser III’s reign and was likely composed in or shortly after his 17th year.^[3] It contains the first known archeological reference to Judah (Yaudaya or KUR.

Proving the book of Genesis right !

Also Ashurbanipal was the grandson of Sennacherib a person from the Bible. Here is From isaiah 37.21

²¹ Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Because you have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria,

Sennacherib (Neo-Assyrian Akkadian: 𒀭𒌍𒉽𒈨𒌍𒋢, romanized: Sîn-aḥḥī-erība or Sîn-aḥḥē-erība, meaning “Sîn has replaced the brothers”) was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 705 BC until his assassination in 681 BC

This shows that he was a contemporary of Isaiah ,Yeshayahu which further validates that the book of Isaiah does date to the early 8th late 7th century bce.

Some people including in the Book of Judith a part of the Catholic Apocrypha believe that Ashurbanipal may have been the Babylonian King Nevukhadnetzar or better known as Nebuchanezzar (whose real name was  Nabû-kudurri-uṣur) .

This is not proven and Ashurbanipal died in 631 bce likely before Nabu Kudurri Usur (Nebuchadnezzar) was even been born.Evidence says Nebuchanezzar died in 562 bce so its doubtful they were the same person.

Plus Assyria is located in northeastern Iraq with the capital in Ninevah where Nebuchanezzar was said to rule the Chaldean empire which originally before conquests was farthur south in modern day Iraq.

Here also from wikipedia it shows a record of good relations with Judean King Manasheh validating the Biblical account that Manasheh reinstated paganism in ancient Judah .

Relations with Assyria

When Manasseh’s reign began, Sennacherib was king of Assyria, who reigned until 681 BC. Manasseh is mentioned in Assyrian records as a contemporary and loyal vassal of Sennacherib’s son and successor, Esarhaddon. Assyrian records list Manasseh among twenty-two kings required to provide materials for Esarhaddon’s building projects. Esarhaddon died in 669 BC and was succeeded by his son, Ashurbanipal, who also names Manasseh as one of a number of vassals who assisted his campaign against Egypt.

This would be my spin on this situation and that the rebellion at Babel that lead to the disinheriting of the nations (see Deuteronomy 32:8-9)

And from Sumer or Shinar where Babel occurred and then from that came Akkad which then came Assyria.So it was a continuation of the pagan star worshipping religion that started after the flood.Despite its pagan history it leaves bread crumbs to the truth of scripture.

I guess this was a short one and maybe not my best but still has very compelling information about how human civilization evolved post Babel.

Thank you all and God Bless !