Event
Exhibition «I Am Ashurbanipal, King of the World, King of Assyria»
An exhibition dedicated to the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal, who reigned in the 7th century BC and left behind one of the earliest known libraries, has opened in Madrid.
About this event
CaixaForum is hosting an exhibition dedicated to a ruler whose name is rarely heard outside textbooks, but who once determined the fate of an entire empire: Ashurbanipal. The project, organised in collaboration with the British Museum, will remain open until early October.
The exhibition unfolds as a calm and attentive approach to an era in which power was combined with severity and curiosity for knowledge. Before the visitor, the image of a ruler gradually takes shape: one who not only fought wars, but also collected texts, creating one of the most important libraries of his time.
More than 150 objects have been brought together in the galleries, from stone reliefs to delicate ivory carvings. Through them, it is possible to follow what everyday life at court was like, which symbols were used to assert power and how the memory of events was formed.
The different sections make it possible to approach the world of cuneiform tablets: an attempt to preserve and order knowledge long before the emergence of libraries as we know them today.