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Primary sourceArtifact7th century BCE

Baked Brick Naming King Ashurbanipal

7th century BCE

A fragment of a baked clay brick bearing a cuneiform inscription that names the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal.

This brick is physically stamped with Ashurbanipal's name, making it a direct trace of his building activity.

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A pale yellowish-beige baked brick fragment lies on a white background, with a scale bar and label reading B 1968/12.1 beside it. The brick's surface shows faint, worn markings.
Baked brick fragment with cuneiform inscription naming Ashurbanipal, 7th century BCE. National Museum of Antiquities, Netherlands.

About this source

What it is

This is a fragment of a baked brick stamped with a cuneiform inscription naming the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal, who ruled in the 7th century BCE. It is held today by the National Museum of Antiquities in the Netherlands.

Bricks like this were used in royal building projects, often stamped with the ruler's name as a mark of ownership or dedication.

Why it matters

Royal inscriptions on bricks were one of the most common ways Assyrian kings left their mark on buildings across their empire. This small, worn object is a genuine survival from Ashurbanipal's reign, showing how even everyday building materials were used to record a king's name for the future.

Look closer

  • What can you tell about the brick's age and condition just by looking at it?
  • Why might a king want his name stamped onto something as ordinary as a brick?
  • What does this object tell us that a text on paper could not?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Ashurbanipal on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Lion Hunt of Ashurbanipal

Assyrian royal sculptors · c. 645–635 BCE

A tall, multi-sided clay prism covered in rows of cuneiform script, lit from the left against a dark background, standing on a grey display base. Its faces show fine wedge-shaped writing.Document

Primary source

Rassam Prism of Ashurbanipal

643 BCE

Pen and brown ink sketch on a cream sketchbook page, numbered 7 in the top right corner. Two bearded figures with long curled hair stand in profile, one playing a large round-bodied harp or lyre with a curved frame, the other playing a stringed instrument. A third figure in a long fringed robe stands at the far right. Pencil construction lines are visible. Handwritten note at bottom.Painting

Secondary source

Relief with Musicians from the Palace of Ashurbanipal in Nineveh

A cuneiform clay tablet, tan and brown with a broken edge, resting on a blue display surface. Rows of wedge-shaped script cover its face. The tablet is tilted toward the viewer in a museum case, with a thin metal support visible.Document

Primary source

Flood Tablet

Scribes of Ashurbanipal's library · 7th century BCE

Pen and grey wash drawing in a sketchbook of a relief scene: a wheel of a chariot or cart dominates the center, two seated figures face each other at right, a standing figure with a headband carries a long pole at far right, a basket sits near them, and a horse-like animal appears at left, with a few wavy lines of a ground or stream at bottom. Page number 6 is at top right.Painting

Secondary source

Relief with a Bivouac Scene on a Campaign of King Ashurbanipal

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