The largest feast in ancient history
The largest banquet in history was the one held by the Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II in 883 BC on the occasion of the opening of his royal palace in ancient Kalkho (now Nimrud).
A stone wall panel depicting King Ashurnasirpal sitting at a feast
The number of guests was 70 thousand
2,000fat bulls were slaughtered
14,000heads of sheep from the revenues of the god Ishtar
200calves from the proceeds of the god Ishtar
1000sheep
1000deer
1000ducks
1000wild geese
1000garibo birds
10,000pigeons
10,000wild pigeons
10,000little birds
10,000fish
10,000gerbils
10,000eggs
10,000loaves of bread
10,000pots of beer
10,000cases of wine
10,000containers of grains and sesame
1000boxes of vegetables
300containers of oil
300containers of soaked barley
100containers of oldmoss
100baskets of pomegranates
100baskets of grapes
100containers of pistachios
100containers of onions
100container of garlic
100containers of honey
100containers of mustard
100containers of milk
100containers of cheese
70thousand people from all over Mesopotamia and neighboring and allied countries ate, drank and presented precious gifts to the king for 7 full days.
Sources :
1- Taha Baqir’s book: An introduction to the history of ancient civilizations
2- Nicholas Postgate’s book: Iraq’s civilization and its effects
3- Amer Suleiman Series: Mosul Political Encyclopedia
4- Sami Saeed Al-Ahmad’s book: Introduction to the Ancient World