ANCIENT CIVILIZATION
NOVEMBER 4, 2022
A Wonderful Tale Of Babylon
When the name Babylon is mentioned, a wonderful tale of Babylon is the natural reaction of this advanced civilization thousand years ago.
OVERVIEW
Babylon (Greek: Βαβυλωνία, Babylon), full Babylonian Empire or Babylonian State, was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural region located in central southern Mesopotamia (now Iraq and Syria). In 1894 B.C.E., the Amorites established a small sovereign state that also included the administrative city of Babylon.
One of the Amorites established a small kingdom called Kazalu. The city of Babylon around 1894 BC was still a small city and included the territory of the Kazalu Kingdom. This small city eventually managed to dominate other cities and form the short-lived Old Babylonian Empire.
HISTORY
The oldest written record mentioning the existence of the city of Babylon is a clay tablet from the reign of King Sargon the Great (2334–2279 BC) around the 23rd century BC. At that time Babylon was only a city of religion and culture, not yet a big city, let alone an independent city-state.
The Old Babylonian Empire only experienced success during the reign of King Hammurabi, who ruled from 1792 to 1750 BC.
THE HAMMURABI REIGN
During the reign of Hammurabi, Babylonia was enlarged and made the capital. Throughout and after the reign of Hammurabi, Babylonia was called the “State of Akkadia” (Akkadian language: Māt Akkadī) to commemorate the glory of the Akkadian Kingdom that had passed.
Hammurabi liberated Babylon from Elamite rule, and even expelled the Elamites from southern Mesopotamia. The area then he conquered systematically. The cities he conquered included Isin, Larsa, Esynuna, Kis, Lagasy, Nipur, Borsipa, Ur, Uruk, Uma, Adab, Sipar, Rapiqum, and Eridu.
In addition to controlling Mesopotamia, Hammurabi also reformed the Old Babylonian system of government by overhauling the system of taxation and government.
One of the phenomenal policies carried out by Hammurabi was the drafting of Babylonian laws. This law compiled by King Hammurabi is then known as the Hammurabi Codex, which was compiled and written on a 2.25 meter inscription and written in Akkadian.
Hammurabi turned the city of Babylon into a new cultural and religious center and made Marduk the supreme deity in southern Mesopotamia, while the Assyrian God, and to some extent also the Goddess Ishtar, remained the main worship of the Assyrians in northern Mesopotamia.
After Hammurabi died in 1750 BC, Old Babylonia was ruled by his son, Samsuilun. During the reign of Samsuilun, Old Babylonia is not known much. However, it only states that small tribes began to rule over Babylonia in succession until it was conquered by the Assyrians.
SCIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE
Of all the sciences, it was astronomy and astrology that were given priority to the people of Babylon. Astronomy is a science that has long been practiced in Babylon. Zodiac is one of the inventions of the Babylonians in ancient times, even Babylonian scientists were able to predict the times of solar eclipses and lunar eclipses.
Therefore, the science of astronomy during the New Babylonian Empire can be considered as the direct ancestor of the Greek mathematics and astronomy, which became the basis of the scientific revolution in the Western World.
The origins of Babylonian philosophy can be traced back to Mesopotamian wisdom literature, which abstracted certain philosophies of life, especially ethics, in the form of dialectics, dialogues, epics, folklore, hymns, song lyrics, prose and proverbs. Babylonian reasoning and rationality developed beyond empirical observation.
LEGACY
In 1901, a stele containing a copy of the Acts of Hammurabi was discovered by Jacques de Morgan and Jean-Vincent Scheil in Susa, a former Elamite territory. Probably brought from Babylon to Elam as war booty. This inscription is now stored in the Louvre museum.
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