ASHURBANIPAL
(ash uhr bahn' i pahl) ASSYRIAN: ASSURBANIAPLI
"(the god) Ashur creates an heir"
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The son of Esarhaddon, Ashurbanipal ruled Assyria at its height, from 668 to 627 B.C., but the empire quickly began to decline after his death and fell to the Medes in 612 B.C. Ashurbanipal is not mentioned by his Assyrian name in the Bible, although he is apparently "the great and noble Osnappar" (Ezra 4:10) cited for deporting and resettling conquered peoples. During his reign Judah, the only remaining Hebrew kingdom, was a vassal state. Ashurbanipal may have been the overlord when Manasseh was captured and taken in "fetters of bronze" (2 Chr. 33:11) to Babylon since the Assyrian ruler listed Manasseh as one of 22 kings from whom he received tribute.
Although most Assyrian kings were probably literate, Ashurbanipal was a learned man. He established an extensive library of cuneiform writings at Nineveh, a part of which has survived and is a major source for our knowledge of Assyrian culture.
{E2 Dictionary of Biblical People}