Connections between Nineveh Library and the Bible

It’s interesting to see the documentation and history as presented by the kingdoms and dynasties in Age of Empires, compared with the information and stories from the Bible. If the Bible was the only source of historical information regarding these empires from the BC era, then it would be highly questionable in its accuracy. It could much more easily be looked at as fictional or tales as opposed to reliable information on accurate events. Chapters 1-3 of Age of Empires by Francis Joannes, Joannes uses information from the Bible to actually prove events and information from these societies to back up his reasoning and sources. This leads to the observation that the Bible must actually be a reliable source of information.

The power and dominance of empires such as Nineveh and Babylon, and the history of cities such as Ur are evidence for the accuracy of the documents found at Nineveh that are enlightening us on these events. In addition though, the discovery of the texts from Nineveh are evidence for the accuracy of the history and information from the Bible as well. There is not a lot of information and documentation from this period of time, so all that is coherent and aligning is important for historical accuracy and understanding. Joannes says, “Biblical predictions had come true: the power of the great capitals of Assyria and Babylonia had been shattered; these towns, and above all knowledge of their history, had disappeared under piles of bricks and earth” (13). Historical figures such as Noah and Job were mentioned in the Nineveh library, which increases the Bible’s reliability.

Age of Empires gives us the history of Assyria in Chapter 2, highlighting the victories and failures of the empire and the changes in rulers etc. Assyria was a great empire during this time, but was cruel and harsh in its punishment and brutality. They didn’t have the same sort of stable allies that the time period before seemed to have, and murder and war was much more common and normal that it seems to have been previously. Nineveh was described as a “lions’ den” and they were thought of as “a hunting-ground for bloodthirsty wild beasts”. That’s quite a strong description, and shows the fear and intimidation that they put in the other nations. This also aligns with the story of Daniel from the Bible who was thrown into a literal lions’ den, proving the ferocity of these people.

Laney Homet