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Primary sourceDocument643 BCE

Rassam Prism of Ashurbanipal

643 BCE

A ten-sided clay prism inscribed with Ashurbanipal's own account of his reign, campaigns and wars.

This is Ashurbanipal's own annalistic inscription, narrating his reign, education and wars in his own voice.

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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.
Rassam Prism of Ashurbanipal, 643 BCE. British Museum, London.

About this source

What it is

This is a ten-sided clay prism from Nineveh, dated to 643 BCE, inscribed with cuneiform writing. It records Ashurbanipal's longest surviving inscription and is now kept in the British Museum.

Why it matters

The prism tells, in the king's own voice, about his education, his campaigns in Egypt, his war against his brother Shamash-shum-ukin, and the destruction of Elam. It is a rare case of a ruler's own narrative of his rule surviving directly from his time, showing how Assyrian kings used writing to shape how they would be remembered.

Look closer

  • Why might a king choose to record his own victories and achievements rather than let others write about him?
  • What does the choice to inscribe this text onto a durable clay prism suggest about its intended audience?
  • What might be missing from a king's own version of events like a civil war against his brother?

This document 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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