Asnapper: Probably the same as Assur-bani-pal (Sardanapalos of the Greeks),
styled the "great and noble"
(Ezra 4:10) was the son and successor
(B.C. 668) of Esar-haddon (q.v.). He was "luxurious, ambitious, and
cruel, but a magnificent patron of literature." He formed at Nineveh
a library of clay tablets, numbering about 10,000 These are now
mostly in the British Museum. They throw much light on the history
and antiquities of Assyria. Assur-bani-pal was a munificent patron of
literature, and the conqueror of Elam. Towards the middle of his
reign his empire was shaken by a great rebellion headed by his
brother in Babylon. The rebellion was finally put down, but Egypt was
lost, and the military power of Assyria was so exhausted that it
could with difficulty resist the hordes of Kimmerians who poured over
Western Asia.
