Ashurbanipal -

He set down his stylus and smiled at the messenger. He would march to war at dawn, but he would win the war tonight, right here among his books. He was not just a king of men, but the first true king of information.

As a younger prince, no one expected him to take the throne. While his older brothers trained in the blistering sun with composite bows and heavy chariots, Ashurbanipal was left to the care of the high priests and scholars. He had spent his youth in the House of tablets, mastering the complex and ancient languages of Sumer and Akkad. He learned to read the omens written in the night sky and the intricate patterns of oil on water. He became the only Assyrian king who could read and write. ashurbanipal

Suddenly, a heavy curtain parted. A breathless messenger knelt on the floor, breaking the King's reverie. The messenger delivered news of another rebellion stirring in the south, in the ancient city of Babylon. He set down his stylus and smiled at the messenger