In an elegy from this empire, a woman who dies in childbirth is “cast adrift like a boat in midstream.” The dedicatee of this empire’s Coronation Hymn may be the prince who wakes in terror in its Underworld Vision. This empire’s chancellor evades execution over forged letters from his deceitful nephew, who explodes, in the Story of Aḥiqar. This empire’s year eponyms mark the colophons of royal epics about its living “great kings,” who recorded boasts like “3,000 captives I burned with fire.” This empire is ruled by Onnes’s (“ON-eez’s”) widow, who covets Ara the Fair, marries Ninus, and invades India. In a story from Diodorus, a decadent, crossdressing king of this empire burns himself and his harem. Legendary rulers of this empire include Semiramis (“suh-MEER-uh-miss”) and Sardanapalus (“sar-duh-NAP-uh-luss”). For 10 points, what empire preserved the Epic of Gilgamesh at its library of Ashurbanipal? ■END■
ANSWER: Assyrian Empire [or Assyria or Ashur or māt Aššur; accept Neo-Assyrian Empire, Middle Assyrian Empire, Sargonid dynasty, or liblibbi Šarru-kīn; accept “Underworld Vision of an Assyrian Prince” or “Assyrian Elegy”; reject “Akkadian Empire” or “Sargon of Akkad”] (The coronation hymn is dedicated to Ashurbanipal, who likely inspired Sardanapalus. Aḥiqar serves Sennacherib. The boast is from a royal inscription of Ashurnasirpal II.)
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= Average correct buzz position