Sardanapalus

thumb|right|300px|Eugène Delacroix. [[The Death of Sardanapalus. Oil on canvas. 12 ft 1 in x 16 ft 3 in. Louvre.]] thumbnail|Lantern slide given the title "Sardanapalus" by [[William Henry Goodyear. Brooklyn Museum Archives, Goodyear Archival Collection]] According to the Greek writer Ctesias, Sardanapalus ( ; ), sometimes spelled Sardanapallus (), was the last king of Assyria, although in fact Aššur-uballiṭ II (612–605 BC) holds that distinction.

Ctesias' book Persica is lost, but we know of its contents by later compilations and from the work of Diodorus (II.27). In this account, Sardanapalus, supposed to have lived in the 7th century BC, is portrayed as a decadent figure who spends his life in self-indulgence and dies in an orgy of destruction. The legendary decadence of Sardanapalus later became a theme in literature and art, especially in the Romantic era.