The Great Library of Nineveh with Irving Finkel
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- Опубликовано: 8 янв 2025
- Join Irving Finkel as he raises the curtain on the ancient library of Assyria, pride and joy of Ashurbanipal, king of the world in the 7th century BC.
Glossing over the complexities and intricacies of cuneiform writing, Irving will inspect some of the calligraphic masterpieces in the Museum collection that were once housed in that library.
He'll survey the range of documents that reveal court life and what people got up to, and consider the significance of the whole, in terms of the libraries of the world, at home or exiled.
Part of a series of events inspired by Edmund de Waal's 'library of exile' at the British Museum, supported by the AKO Foundation. More details here: www.britishmus...
I propose DR. Irving Finkel be declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The British Museum has reclaimed its charm. Irving Finkel is a national treasure.
What would the scribe have thought if they had known that nearly 3000 years later we are still using the ditto mark???
Dr. Finkel is marvelously engaging which makes him a fantastic teacher and an irreplaceable treasure.
Dr Finkel reading Ashurbanipal's boyhood letter to this father in a boy's voice is everything! These videos are priceless not only for their academic content but also Dr Finkel's palpable love of this subject.
I'm a big Irving Finkel fan...
I was born in Kirkuk, Iraq..
Just down from the Great city of Nineveh....
so whats your take on the Ninevans?
Irving Finkel is a living legend, may Nabu grant him 110 years
I am absolutely appalled at the amount of time it took the Almighty Algorithm to recommend this to me! Dr. Finkel is a goddamn treasure, and I would gladly watch a video in which he talks for approximately 42 eternities. 💖
4️⃣2️⃣♾
I prefer “Golden Treasure.”
Agreed Ashlee🪐
Ashlee Jones... the world needs more cool ass beautiful Mesopotamian loving women like yourself 🙏🌎 📖 💚 Come to Lake Tahoe and join our study group
I have seen a few videos with him before, but we need an Irvin Finkel playlist that collects them all :-)
Dr. Finkel is the GOAT! The man began to study cuneiform when he was 17 years old, at 17 I was playing video games and watching movies.
I think Asherbanipal would be so happy that Dr Finkle was researching his collection after all these years. It was Asherbanipal's library long before we knew it as Ninevahs.
resilient time-resistant data stratum: Clay
Holy are the scribes.
HOORRRAAAY for Dr Finkel.
Let's face it, he's the reason you subscribed :)
Exactly
all day
Irving Finkle is a most delightful creature.
It's a shame, it has to happen this way currently.
I know, but HEY!
😂
Title should be. "The Great Library of Nineveh described by the Great Irving Finkel" - on a scale of 1 to 10 Finkel consistently pegs a 12
I thought this was an ASMR video, then I realized it wasn’t.
But then I realized it was.
Love the great Irving Finkel. Perhaps the only man alive whose vim and vocabulary can interest me academically in cuneiform texts from 700bc
Yes
Beautiful put and so true.
The eleven scale is more generally accepted, and louder.
Dear gods, this man is such a treasure! He can impart serious knowledge one minute, and have you in stiches the next! His ability to take us right into the very heart of daily life of those periods, to make the characters relatable, to feel what they felt and did, is a very rare talent indeed. The British Museum owes this man a legacy- and should honor him in the highest possible way.
@Janitor Queen We have war and political problems, because all knowledge is temperd by personality and government. EVERY SINGLE GENERATION mutates to replicate what one thinks is necesssary; not important, because it is always a personal choice of the time. Could Twain assume his words would be scorned 150 years later as racist. As did DW Griffith's film. Did the woerld think the Internet would evolve to 30% pornongraphy.
@@josephbohme7917 31 now with me. 😂😂😂👌❤️
@@josephbohme7917 Who exactly researched the internet to determine its 30%? Or is that just a guess on someone's part? Not doubting you, I'm just genuinely curious as to the source on that.
W☆RD!!!!!!!!!!!
W☆RD!!!!!!!!!!
Irving Finkel is an international treasure. 🌍
The man is a shining intellect who speaks with great humour and incredible enthusiasm and knowledge of his subject
Gandalf's protègè.
This man is not only a treasure but the epitome of the history. He has not only shown us the past true fully but has the ability to explain it in a very interesting matter.
Irving Finkel.. Ashurbanipal is proud of you and the whole of Mesopotamia too.. thanks for the knowledge and hard work you do.. God bless.
Isn't Ashurbanipal dead as are the Mesopotamians of antiquity?
@@christopherskipp1525 Nope, I know a few, but they keep to themselves, have sour attitudes, and speak with such thick accents that seem to sing, thereby making up for their sourness. But you're right about Ashurbanipal, he's long gone..
@@ScottAJacob I beg to differ. Ashurbanipal shares a flat with Hammurabi, Ur-Nammu, and Esh-Nunna. I'd tell you where but all four have been under the witness protection program since their codes of law were used against organised crime.
I think you've identified the original "Rat Pack" of antiquity!
@@christopherskipp1525 i speak on behalf of grandad Ashurbanipal if you don't mind.
Irving Finkel is probably one of the most delightfully interesting people one could ever meet. He is scholarly, brilliant and hysterically cheeky in his impish approach to history. It just comes alive until you are smiling, clapping your hands and giggling along with him. Few can claim this ability to alchemically blend knowledge and humor at this level. Thank you Irving, you're a true treasure.
Eloquently said, plaudits seem to shower upon this Giant of Education, rightly so.
Person, not people. Anyway I totally agree, so I did like the comment, don't be fooled. I just think it does help to point people mistakes, here there is just one minor one and I agree with the meaning. Everyone makes mistakes. That's how we learn.
@@jojolafrite90 What better advice to follow, than your own? Please reread your comment and I'm certain you'll discover yet another typo / grammatical error, amidst your wording. That's how we learn.
Just the best description of this golden man.
Dr Irving Finkel is a national treasure !
✨⭐🙏⭐✨
I'm almost in the mind to argue that Dr. Irving Finkel is a World Treasure, as he has that great of an impact on those who see him, and hear / watch his lectures.
I Thank thank the Gods of Assyria, Babylon and Sumer for allowing me to find, ( after 3 years)this marvelous talk by the great and enormously entertaining Professor Irving Finkel. My sincere thanks to the British Museum.
I just enjoyed standing in a 2 and a half hour line for covid vaccine while listening to Dr. Finkel. He saved me from losing my mind. Everyone else in line thought i was batty as i aaahhhed, chuckled and slapped my thigh. What a wonderful lecture!
Prof Finkel has an exceptionally good style of presenting his subject, with an abundance of facts sprinkled with humorous and humanizing details. He's one of our great lecturers. And i love his beard.
OMGOSH, I really like this guy. This is easily worth multiple watches/listens.
Just fabulous- I first came across cuneiform at school in the ‘60s, and patiently it makes more sense, scholarship is so captivating, thank you Dr Finkel.
How very interesting. Dr. Finkel has the rare ability to illuminate history. I was enthralled.
*"If you have Irving Finkel, THEY WILL COME"*
The viewers know Dr Irving Finkel is a Star. He represents whatever value one gives to: "Holding abundant numbers of Viewers", i.e. *"if you have Irving Finkel THEY WILL COME"*
Why? He has "special value" something to do with "Brilliant intelligence, ethics, High Vibiing Frequency, and a Stellar Sense of Witt"*
Us chicks just love this!
The man is a freaking Stud
I just want to run my hands through his beard.
@@d.m.collins1501 will mine suffice for now?
@@prairiestategenetixseeds9726 does it have tiny pottery shards and bits of papyrus clinging to it, and smells of bitumen?
He is a great mind and it must be that all the female sapposexuals drool at his words, as you do
So grateful to Irvine Finkle for, over the past few years, sharing his knowledge and his enthusiasm for his subject and the humanity of it all, on RUclips! Been listening to every single one he's put out.. please don't stop Mr Finkle!
So proud to be an Assyrian. I was able to go to the British Museum and see all of the artifacts made by my forefathers. Such an amazing experience and one day I hope to see the land that my ancestors lived in for thousands of years🇮🇶🙏🏼
oh shut up.
@@paddymcdoogle6753 Piss off, mate. Gabinator is as allowed to be proud of their heritage as you are yours.
@@joshuapray Wow, calm down nerd incels.
Well... Don't really see what pride has to do with it, but pity that nowadays "Assyrians" are more busy rampaging archaeological sites than preserving their ancestors' heritage right now...
Do you flay your enemies living and spread their skins on the walls of Nineveh?
Irving Finkel is, himself, a world treasure: a charming and delightful raconteur. Absolutely enthralling story of a little known (well... little known to us hillbillies in upstate NY) ancient people. Many thanks!
We are still here, not Ancient, and still speak Assyrian/Syriac/Aramaic, and today's evolved language is still heavily laced with the Ancient Assyrian language. Our people are indigenous to northern Iraq (Nineveh), south-east Turkey (Hakkary and Tur-Abdeen), north-west Iran (Urmy), Syria (Qamishlee) and Lebanon. Since the 1915 massacre of our people by the Turks/Kurds/Persians, we are scattered all over the world. For additional info see www.aina.org.
The wonderful Irving Finkle ! I've been a fan for quite a while. Who is going to carry-on his great work?
The Prof knows so much, and is a great raconteur. ❤❤
Thank you for an immensely informative and enjoyable presentation. I can only imagine the lifetimes of work and am grateful for the miracle of today’s technology that allows the see this rich content today. Thank you again!
Bravo! Not only amazing that these jewels of antiquity exist and are preserved, cataloged, free to see; but are so eloquently interpreted by excellent scholars like Dr. Finkel.
Thanks
Assyrian here. Thank you for the lecture 🙏
This video is one example of why scholars are important. This particular scholar iirc began to teach himself cuneiform as a teenager. Such scholars are rare as is his extreme depth of knowledge.
His apparent happiness as a person I think stems from his always enjoying exactly what he is doing for a living.
What a treasure Irvin Finkel is. I love listen to him. We ned more of this! The best from Norway!
Thank you. Watching from Alaska.
In the presence of greatness.
Blessings.
More Dr. Irving Finkle, please. He is the most amusing lecturer in the bloody world and you all know it.
I see your Finkel and would like to raise a Sapolsky.
(Jokes aside, I adore them both.)
@@peccantis 💋
I love you Irving Finkel. I am deeply moved to have had the opportunity to watch this. Thank you for your lifetime of service to all of humanity! You are a national treasure and should be knighted!
i watched this yesterday and suspect again tomorrow. dr finkel is a true educator
I watch a lot of RUclips videos. I go down a lot of rabbit-holes. Music analysis, the genius of Efren Reyes, how to make authentic cochinita pibil tacos, the real meaning of fight club ( hint - it all takes place in Jack's mind ), fusion energy, quantum entanglement, French new-wave film, poker theory and analysis, how to do drag makeup, alternative fuels, fixing appliances and on and on. But I have to say, hearing Dr. Finkel speak so passionately about cuneiform writing has become a great pleasure to me. He is so knowledgeable and sincere. Plus, he makes so many dry jokes, even when he is giving a lecture to an audience they only laugh at 20% of them. I envy him a great deal, I wish I had lived a life like his. Humanity would have been greatly lessened by his absence from it. I wonder what new suggestions the great algorithm will bequeath upon me from watching so many videos of his ? I can't wait to find out. I'm tired of politics and the debunking of flat-earth nut jobs, I need more Finkle-esque content !
Thank you for a beautiful presentation- with great appreciation.
From Western Australia.
Well beyond fantastic lecture. Years back a young man worked for me that had escaped Iraq under Hussein. He was a Chaldean Christian from Nineveh whose house was joined to the Biblical prophet Nahum’s grave.
Having him with me every day for several years I felt like I was often transported into the past, right into Nineveh itself.
Hearing this lecture does much of the same for me.
Fantastic world of knowledge that we are blessed by this modern technology to participate in hearing.
Thank you from the USA
Thanks to Dr Finkel these lumps of clay speak to us through the centuries. Imagine hearing the actual words of the boy ashurbanipal speaking to us down the ages...and this gift is brought to us thanks to this man...
The only thing I dislike about this video is than it's only an hour long.
I was just about to comment that I'm always puzzled by the dislikes of videos; who would possibly dislike this video - except for it being too short
...so some forty people were dissatisfied with the shortness of it :-D
@@perlefisker I hope that's their reason. Only getting an hour with Dr Finkel certainly wasn't enough to prevent me from smashing that thumbs up.
You likey how he slipped "inoculation" in there at the beginning? 😂😆🤣poor guy is being used as tool of propaganda.... not so funny....
@@perlefisker on rare occasions people do hit the dislike without noticing. ive done it before after going back to a couple videos seeing i left a dislike? so the true dislikes on a video like this would likely be a lot less than it seems. sure some are intentional, but that only proves to us that not all humans possess intelligence.
Thank you to Dr. Finkle!!! You are indeed a magical story-teller!
Thank you thank you thank you 🙏🏻
I am Assyrian
I want to thank you for protecting all the tablets and most importantly explaining in simple words so the world can understand our history.
Are you not upset we stole them all from you as well as treasures from all around the world.
No I’m not upset because they need to be protected and safe also the world needs to know who Assyrians are.
@@pierresdrums take a look at this bit of standup about the British museum
@@johnamans899if they were left in Iraq they would be destroyed by radical islamists. So for us, a nation in exile, having our historic artifacts in a museum protected for the whole world to see is the best option.
Sir you are an amazing, I am so delighted how you are delivering this fantastic work, greetings from France 🇫🇷 🙏🫶✍️
I have been known to linger longer at the British Museum, in hopes I could one day thank him for the rewarding time I’ve spent with his books & videos
I saw him in the Mesopotamian section (of course) of the museum once. I think he quickly looked at the rules for the Game of Ur in Room 52. I also had a short chat with him after he gave a talk about reading cuneiform to do with the Ashubanipal exhibition.
Always love Irving Finkel’s lectures!! He’s so much fun to listen to!
I only in the past year discovered Dr Finkle on youtube and his humor, way of teach and talking and all the amazing knowledge he has to share is amazing. I am only someone facinated by the Sumerian and following cultures... but Dr Finkle has been a great communicator of the amazing collection and information found in clay from so long ago.
Love Dr Finkel’s charisma. A national treasure himself.
Fascinating. And a very helpful map; I saw Finkel's wall of tablets in the BM in 2011. Magnificent! Thank goodness that these tablets are in the British Museum where there are no worries for their futures. Well done.
Dearest Dr Finkel, watching you and your enthusiastic performance restored my hope for the world currently in a sorry state of affairs. Thanks for the reminder that retaining the childlike joy in the passage of knowledge between us is one of the most important human traits.
This is wonderful! Thank you all for allowing this to be. I am very grateful.
This is as advanced and informative as any University lecture. Without going into semantics or anecdotal information. So probably superior to a University lecture
I found this lecture this evening, I have heard Dr Finkel before and I can honestly say, it is a joy to listen and learn from him. Thank you.
Amazing!!! And I can’t wait to show my husband , he is Kurdish and comes from Mosel , he will find this very interesting .. and our boys, Thankyou 🙂
When Dr.Finkel speaks and narrates with such great passion about the Niniveh Library,I could feel like I was there,close to the king Ashurbanipal inside the library. It was a time travel and a privilege!
Thanks! Love from Sweden
That was such a privilege to have heard . My gratitude.
Watching this for the second time. Invaluable.
Irving Finkel is one of the best Assyriologist. Thank you and God bless you
Fantastic lecture, Professor Finkel in top form. May he live for ever!
What would ordinarily be an interesting topic is made irresistible with Dr Finkel's narration!
This is opening a window on the past such as have never been thought of before.........anyone who can interpret literally scratchings on earthen clay tablets, so very unintelligent to the layman, has to be extremely well studied in the historical sense........truly amazing.
The heart of a child who wishes and wishes that all could have been preserved for all.
Dr Finkle is a gem! He's one of the great treasures of the British Museum....a wonderful educator
I can listen to Irving all day, it's like having Professor Yaffle deliver a lecture, he's tremendous.
I really enjoyed this scholar and I am a follower of his lectures now.
I love this stuff. I'm an ordinary guy not a scholar but I love this stuff. Have watched several videos with Irving finkel And his stories and explanations. Thank you
I could not help but think, (while watching this great lecture), that digitalizing these tablets would make it so much easier to connect pieces together. There is the obvious parameter of shape, but also thickness, line width, page style etc. I was very happy to see that someone has already completed the incredibly tedious first step. With the images having been created, the rest should be relatively easy. All except the necessary funding of course. Which is probably the most challenging part of the project.
Irving Finkel is amazing! We need all teachers that teach with intuition like him. we could learn 100 years overnight...We feel truth or lies..
Mr. Finkel is a BRILLIANT SCHOLAR of Mesopotamian culture. Of course, he's British, It's amazing how there are so many talented and accomplished Historical, Archaeological, and Science individuals that arise from Great Britain.
Always good to hear Irving Finkel speak.
A stunning performance. Bravo, Dr.Finkel.
Wonderful. Any opportunity to listen to Dr Finkel is greatly anticipated . I am very grateful for yet another lecture with such interesting content delivered with such good humour. Dr Finkel is an exceptional communicator. We are so privileged to be able to listen to his expertise. Thank you very much.
I love him, his knowledge and enthusiasm. What a gift he is!
Thank you Irving, all the way from Chile, mind you...😉
Always good to see Dr. Finkel making an appearance
What struck me was when he said "When you have been privileged to swim in this pool." It reminded how I swam in the pool on the banks of the Tigris. When I first entered Nimrud and rested my hand on the wall of Cuneiform I almost passed out.
Irving Finkle is my hero, keep up the good work!
Fantastic that these tablets are in such good care and also that these people will be remembered and understood. Fascinating
Thank you Irving Finkel, you are the light for my (Ashurai) people! There are many misconceptions about the Assyrian's, but with your love and inspiration we can finally understand the true nature of the Ashurai, Kahia'd (live)!
oh shut up.
Great presentation. The importance of the great library of Nineveh cannot be underestimated if we are to understand the intellectual developments that led to institutions like the Library of Alexandria, the School of Nisibis, and the House of Wisdom of Abbasid Baghdad (Bayt al Hikma) - developments which led to the Renaissance in Europe.
It can be underestimated and shouldn't be, that is the point
It is indeed miraculous than we have been able to resurrect, reconstruct, and read so many of the ancient cuneiform texts and gain a glimpse of Assyrian court life. As a boy, when I first discovered cuneiform texts in ancient histories, I wondered if we ever would. I am delighted that we can translate those that survive. But we must also acknowledge that the Assyrian writers were considerably more vain, superstitious, and petty than we might have hoped. They were human and not appreciably nobler than us for being ancient. It's rather like breaking a secret code and discovering the secret was scarcely worth the effort, except that by sharing their fragmentary thoughts we can also embrace their humanity.
Just imagine the disappointment of archeologists in 3000 years who manage to decipher internet memes.
Finally! I remembered where I have seen Dr. Irving Finkel before. It was when I was a child on a cold day he came down my chimney and brought presents. It is very satisfying to have this recollection return to me.
Are you certain that was not Karl Marx?
Bloody wonderful, thank you, Dr Irving.
Another masterpiece, Dr. Finkel! You make these ancient centuries alive again.
True teachers are few and far between. I hope you spread your knowledge far and wide, sir.
"It was a bit distracting", Bless English understatement. Just bless it with gold. This is why we love Irving Finkel.
What a wonderful lecture. Thank you.
Praise be for Irving Finkel!
I have so much respect for this Beautiful Human! Much Loved and Valued in such a cruel World
Love this man. More please
I love how excited and invested he gets when talking about all of this, I'm sure he cant even count how many times he has gone through all this! His videos are a treasure in themselves!
Irving Finkel, may you live forever!
Dr. Finkel, I love your sense of humor! You’re an excellent professor and I would definitely pay to hear you speak! I love how your lectures support the Bible and you do this scientifically. I appreciate you so much and wish I could give you a hug in person. You have enriched the world and strengthened my faith at the same time. Much love to you. Stay safe and take care and God bless you always!
Dr Finkel is an atheist , a godless Englishman
he is such a wonderful person, and absolutely, perfectly, and so highly intelligent. best of all, he is so great at conveying to those of us who just have a smidgen of his intelligent information that is so fascinating. thanks so much.
Dr. Finkel is the most fascinating lecturer I have ever heard !
listening to Irving Finkelstein is like listening to Moses 😐 There is a video here on YT where Irving teaches how to play the Royal Game of Ur. It is wonderful. It is an absolute hoot!
Very interesting lecture, and to listen to Dr. Finkel is always a treat. Thank you!
Dr. Finkel is a treasure.
Anything Mr Finkel puts out is filled with so much information. Nineveh gold!