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Babylonia

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Ancient History,
Classical History and Mythology

     Ancient Mesopotamia
   Euphrates – Tigris
   Assyriology
       Cities / Empires
   Sumer: Uruk – Ur – Eridu
   Kish – Lagash – Nippur
   Akkadian Empire: Akkad
   Babylon – Isin – Susa
   Assyria: Assur – Nineveh
   Dur-Sharrukin – Nimrud
   Babylonia – Chaldea
   Elam – Amorites
   Hurrians – Mitanni
   Kassites – Urartu
          Chronology
   Kings of Sumer
   Kings of Assyria
   Kings of Babylon
           Language
   Cuneiform script
   Sumerian – Akkadian
   Elamite – Hurrian
          Mythology
   Enûma Elish
   Gilgamesh – Marduk

   Babylonia, named for its capital city, Babylon, was an ancient state in
   the south part of Mesopotamia (in modern Iraq), combining the
   territories of Sumer and Akkad. The earliest mention of Babylon can be
   found in a tablet of the reign of Sargon of Akkad, dating back to the
   23rd century BC.

History

   Historically, two ethnic groups, the Sumerians and Akkadians, had
   dominated the region. An area rich in natural resources, and
   strategically located for trade routes and commerce, it was often under
   threat from outsiders throughout the region's history.

Old Babylonian period

   At around 1900 BC, following the Sumerian revival under Ur-III, Semitic
   Amorites from west of the Euphrates gained control over most of
   Mesopotamia. During the first centuries of their rule, Mesopotamia was
   not unified, and the most powerful city state was Isin. Some Amorites
   eventually formed a monarchical government in the city-state of
   Babylon, which would ultimately take over the Amorite kingdoms and form
   the first Babylonian empire. The three centuries of their rule is known
   as the Old Babylonian Period.

   The Babylonians engaged in regular trade and influence with Western
   city-states; with Babylonian officials and troops passing to Syria and
   Canaan. Further, "Amorite" colonists were established in Babylonia for
   the purposes of trade.

   The city of Babylon was given hegemony over Mesopotamia by their sixth
   ruler, Hammurabi ( 1780– 1750 BC; dates highly uncertain). He was a
   very efficient ruler, writing an influential law code and giving the
   region stability after turbulent times, thereby transforming it into
   the central power of Mesopotamia.

   Babylonian beliefs held the king as an agent of Marduk, and the city of
   Babylon as a "holy city" where any legitimate ruler of Mesopotamia had
   to be crowned. A natural development was the establishment of a
   bureaucracy, with taxation and centralized government, to allow the
   king to exert his control.

   A great literary revival followed the recovery of Babylonian
   independence. One of the most important works of this " First Dynasty
   of Babylon", as it was called by the native historians, was the
   compilation of a code of laws. This was made by order of Hammurabi
   after the expulsion of the Elamites and the settlement of his kingdom.
   In 1901, a copy of the Code of Hammurabi was discovered by J. De Morgan
   and V. Scheil at Susa, where it had been taken as plunder. That copy is
   now in the Louvre.

   Ammiditana, the great-grandson of Hammurabi, still titled himself "king
   of the land of the Amorites", and his father and son bore the Canaanite
   names of Abieshuh and Ammisaduqa. One of these Amorites, Abi-ramu or
   Abram by name, is the father of a witness to a deed dated in the reign
   of Hammurabi's grandfather.

   The armies of Babylonia were well-disciplined, and they conquered the
   city-states of Isin, Elam, and Uruk, and the strong Kingdom of Mari.
   The rule of Babylon was even obeyed as far as the shores of the
   Mediterranean. But Mesopotamia had no clear boundaries, making it
   vulnerable to attack. Trade and culture thrived for 150 years, until
   the fall of Babylon in 1595 BC.

Kassite period

   The 14th king of the dynasty was Samsu-Ditana, son of Ammisaduqa. He
   was overthrown following the sack of Babylon in 1595 BC by the Hittite
   king Mursili I, and Babylonia was turned over to the Kassites
   (Kossaeans) from the mountains of Iran, with whom Samsu-Iluna had
   already come into conflict in his 6th year. The Kassite dynasty was
   founded by Kandis or Gandash of Mari. The Kassites renamed Babylon
   "Kar-Duniash", and their rule lasted for 576 years. With this foreign
   dominion — that offers a striking analogy to the contemporary rule of
   the Hyksos in ancient Egypt — Babylonia lost its empire over western
   Asia. The high-priests of Ashur made themselves kings of Assyria. Most
   divine attributes ascribed to the Semitic kings of Babylonia
   disappeared at this time; the title of "god" was never given to a
   Kassite sovereign. However, Babylon continued to be the capital of the
   kingdom and the 'holy' city of western Asia, where the priests were
   all-powerful, and the only place where the right to inheritance of the
   old Babylonian empire could be conferred.

Neo-Babylonian Empire (Chaldean Era)

   Through the centuries of Assyrian domination, Babylonia enjoyed a
   prominent status, or revolting at the slightest indication that it did
   not. However, the Assyrians always managed to restore Babylonian
   loyalty, whether through granting of increased privileges, or
   militarily. That finally changed in 627 BC with the death of the last
   strong Assyrian ruler, Ashurbanipal, and Babylonia rebelled under
   Nabopolassar the Chaldean the following year. With help from the Medes,
   Nineveh was sacked in 612, and the seat of empire was again transferred
   to Babylonia.

   Nabopolassar was followed by his son Nebuchadnezzar II, whose reign of
   43 years made Babylon once more the mistress of the civilized world.
   Only a small fragment of his annals has been discovered, relating to
   his invasion of Egypt in 567 BC, and referring to "Phut of the
   Ionians".

   Of the reign of the last Babylonian king, Nabonidus (Nabu-na'id), and
   the conquest of Babylonia by Cyrus, there is a fair amount of
   information available. This is chiefly derived from a chronological
   tablet containing the annals of Nabonidus, supplemented by another
   inscription of Nabonidus where he recounts his restoration of the
   temple of the Moon-god at Harran; as well as by a proclamation of Cyrus
   issued shortly after his formal recognition as king of Babylonia. It
   was in the sixth year of Nabonidus ( 549 BC) that Cyrus, the Achaemenid
   Persian "king of Anshan" in Elam, revolted against his suzerain
   Astyages, "king of the Manda" or Medes, at Ecbatana. Astyages' army
   betrayed him to his enemy, and Cyrus established himself at Ecbatana,
   thus putting an end to the empire of the Medes. Three years later Cyrus
   had become king of all Persia, and was engaged in a campaign in the
   north of Mesopotamia. Meanwhile, Nabonidus had established a camp in
   the desert, near the southern frontier of his kingdom, leaving his son
   Belshazzar (Belsharutsur) in command of the army.

   In 539 BC Cyrus invaded Babylonia. A battle was fought at Opis in the
   month of June, where the Babylonians were defeated; and immediately
   afterwards Sippara surrendered to the invader. Nabonidus fled to
   Babylon, where he was pursued by Gobryas, and on the 16th of Tammuz,
   two days after the capture of Sippara, "the soldiers of Cyrus entered
   Babylon without fighting." Nabonidus was dragged from his hiding-place,
   where the services continued without interruption. Cyrus did not arrive
   until the 3rd of Marchesvan (October), Gobryas having acted for him in
   his absence. Gobryas was now made governor of the province of Babylon,
   and a few days afterwards the son of Nabonidus died. A public mourning
   followed, lasting six days, and Cambyses accompanied the corpse to the
   tomb.

   Cyrus now claimed to be the legitimate successor of the ancient
   Babylonian kings and the avenger of Bel-Marduk, who was assumed to be
   wrathful at the impiety of Nabonidus in removing the images of the
   local gods from their ancestral shrines, to his capital Babylon.
   Nabonidus, in fact, had excited a strong feeling against himself by
   attempting to centralize the religion of Babylonia in the temple of
   Merodach (Marduk) at Babylon, and while he had thus alienated the local
   priesthoods, the military party despised him on account of his
   antiquarian tastes. He seems to have left the defense of his kingdom to
   others, occupying himself with the more congenial work of excavating
   the foundation records of the temples and determining the dates of
   their builders.

   The invasion of Babylonia by Cyrus was doubtless facilitated by the
   existence of a disaffected party in the state, as well as by the
   presence of foreign exiles like the Jews, who had been planted in the
   midst of the country. One of the first acts of Cyrus accordingly was to
   allow these exiles to return to their own homes, carrying with them the
   images of their gods and their sacred vessels. The permission to do so
   was embodied in a proclamation, whereby the conqueror endeavored to
   justify his claim to the Babylonian throne. The feeling was still
   strong that none had a right to rule over western Asia until he had
   been consecrated to the office by Bel and his priests; and accordingly,
   Cyrus henceforth assumed the imperial title of "King of Babylon."

   A year before Cyrus' death, in 529 BC, he elevated his son Cambyses II
   in the government, making him king of Babylon, while he reserved for
   himself the fuller title of "king of the (other) provinces" of the
   empire. It was only when Darius Hystaspis acquired the Persian throne
   and ruled it as a representative of the Zoroastrian religion, that the
   old tradition was broken and the claim of Babylon to confer legitimacy
   on the rulers of western Asia ceased to be acknowledged. Darius, in
   fact, entered Babylon as a conqueror.

   After the murder of Darius, it briefly recovered its independence under
   Nidinta-Bel, who took the name of Nebuchadnezzar III, and reigned from
   October 521 BC to August 520 BC, when the Persians took it by storm. A
   few years later, probably 514 BC, Babylon again revolted under Arakha;
   on this occasion, after its capture by the Persians, the walls were
   partly destroyed. E-Saggila, the great temple of Bel, however, still
   continued to be kept in repair and to be a centre of Babylonian
   patriotism, until at last the foundation of Seleucia diverted the
   population to the new capital of Babylonia and the ruins of the old
   city became a quarry for the builders of the new seat of government.

Astronomy

   Among the sciences, astronomy and astrology occupied a conspicuous
   place in Babylonian society. Astronomy was of old standing in
   Babylonia, and the standard work on the subject, written from an
   astrological point of view, later translated into Greek by Berossus,
   was believed to date from the age of Sargon of Akkad. The zodiac was a
   Babylonian invention of great antiquity; and eclipses of the sun and
   moon could be foretold. Observatories were attached to the temples, and
   reports were regularly sent by astronomers to the king. The stars had
   been numbered and named at an early date, and we possess tables of
   lunar longitudes and observations of the phases of Venus. Great
   attention was naturally paid to the calendar, and we find a week of
   seven days and another of five days in use.

   Babylonian astrology was based on the belief that the entire universe
   was created in relation to the earth. Thus the ancients saw it as no
   accident that the stars and planets were set in a certain divine order
   at the time of creation.

   In Seleucid and Parthian times, the astronomical reports were of a
   thoroughly scientific character; how much earlier their advanced
   knowledge and methods were developed is uncertain. The Babylonian
   development of methods for predicting the motions of the planets is
   considered to be a major episode in the history of astronomy.

Mathematics

   The Babylonian system of mathematics was sexagesimal, or a base 60
   numeral system (see: Babylonian numerals). From this we derive the
   modern day usage of 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, and
   360 (60 x 6) degrees in a circle. The Babylonians were able to make
   great advances in mathematics for two reasons. First, the number 60 has
   many divisors (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20, and 30), making
   calculations easier. Additionally, unlike the Egyptians and Romans, the
   Babylonians had a true place-value system, where digits written in the
   left column represented larger values (much as in our base-ten system:
   734 = 7×100 + 3×10 + 4×1). Among the Babylonians' mathematical
   accomplishments were the determination of the square root of two
   correctly to seven places ( YBC 7289 clay tablet). They also
   demonstrated knowledge of the Pythagorean theorem well before
   Pythagoras, as evidenced by this tablet translated by Dennis Ramsey and
   dating to c. 1900 BC:

     4 is the length and 5 is the diagonal. What is the breadth? Its size
     is not known. 4 times 4 is 16. 5 times 5 is 25. You take 16 from 25
     and there remains 9. What times what shall I take in order to get 9?
     3 times 3 is 9. 3 is the breadth.

   The ner of 600 and the sar of 3600 were formed from the unit of 60,
   corresponding with a degree of the equator. Tablets of squares and
   cubes, calculated from 1 to 60, have been found at Senkera, and a
   people acquainted with the sun-dial, the clepsydra, the lever and the
   pulley, must have had no mean knowledge of mechanics. A crystal lens,
   turned on the lathe, was discovered by Austen Henry Layard at Nimrud
   along with glass vases bearing the name of Sargon; this could explain
   the excessive minuteness of some of the writing on the Assyrian
   tablets, and a lens may also have been used in the observation of the
   heavens.

   The Babylonians might have been familiar with the general rules for
   measuring the areas. They measured the circumference of a circle as
   three times the diameter and the area as one-twelfth the square of the
   circumference, which would be correct if π were estimated as 3. The
   volume of a cylinder was taken as the product of the base and the
   height, however, the volume of the frustum of a cone or a square
   pyramid was incorrectly taken as the product of the height and half the
   sum of the bases. Also, there was a recent discovery in which a tablet
   used π as 3 and 1/8. The Babylonians are also known for the Babylonian
   mile, which was a measure of distance equal to about seven miles today.
   This measurement for distances eventually was converted to a time-mile
   used for measuring the travel of the Sun, therefore, representing time.
   (Eves, Chapter 2)

Literature

   There were libraries in most towns and temples; an old Sumerian proverb
   averred that "he who would excel in the school of the scribes must rise
   with the dawn." Women as well as men learned to read and write, and in
   Semitic times, this involved knowledge of the extinct Sumerian
   language, and a complicated and extensive syllabary.

   A considerable amount of Babylonian literature was translated from
   Sumerian originals, and the language of religion and law long continued
   to be the old agglutinative language of Sumer. Vocabularies, grammars,
   and interlinear translations were compiled for the use of students, as
   well as commentaries on the older texts and explanations of obscure
   words and phrases. The characters of the syllabary were all arranged
   and named, and elaborate lists of them were drawn up.

   There are many Babylonian literary works whose titles have come down to
   us. One of the most famous of these was the Epic of Gilgamesh, in
   twelve books, translated from the original Sumerian by a certain
   Sin-liqi-unninni, and arranged upon an astronomical principle. Each
   division contains the story of a single adventure in the career of
   Gilgamesh. The whole story is a composite product, and it is probable
   that some of the stories are artificially attached to the central
   figure.

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