Babylon
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This term has other meanings, see Babylon (meanings).
The ancient city of Babylon
akkad.
Bābili(m)[1]; noise.
KÁ.
DINGIR.
RAKI[1]
other Heb .לל (Babel) [1]; others Greek.
ΒαβυλνΝ (BabylōN)
an Arab.
بابل‎‎ (Babil)
The ruins of Babylon.
Photo 1975 The country of Mesopotamia Mesopotamia
The first mention is the III millennium BC.
Other names are Kadingirra[2], Tintir[2], Eridu[2], Shuanna[2] , etc. (including cult names)
Destroyed I millennium
The reasons for the destruction are gradual desolation due to the proximity to the capital cities: Seleucia and Ctesiphon
The name of the settlement of El Hill
Population composition Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, Amorites, Kassites, Chaldeans, Arabs, Greeks, ancient Assyrians, Jews, Persians and other peoples
Ethnohoronym Babylonian, Babylonian, Babylonians[3][4]
The population is about 150,000 people[5].
Modern location Iraq
Coordinates 32°32'30" s.
w.
44°25'24" v. d. / 32.54167° s.
w.
44.42333° v. d. / 32.54167; 44.42333 (G) (O) Coordinates: 32°32 '30" s.
w.
44°25'24" v. d. / 32.54167° s.
w.
44.42333° v. d. / 32.54167; 44.42333 (G) (O)
Babylon on Wikimedia Commons
Babylon (other Greek: ΒαβυλνΝ, from Akkad. bāb ilāni "gate of the gods") is one of the cities of ancient Mesopotamia, located in the historical region of Akkad.
Earlier epochs turned out to be less documented, so assumptions about the location of certain objects for those times often have a preliminary character.
Apparently, Babylon acquired its classic, rectangular plan in the Kassite period; at about the same time, the city was divided into ten districts/quarters.
During its heyday, Babylon was surrounded by a triple ring of walls, with a perimeter of about 8015 m, a moat filled with water, as well as an external wall covering part of the suburbs.
The area of the city was about 4 km2, and taking into account the territory of the "Greater Babylon" covered by the outer wall, it reached about 10 km2.
Fortifications covered the main, northern entrance to Babylon, from the side of the Ishtar gate; in addition, in the north of the suburbs there was the summer palace of Nebuchadnezzar II, built in the form of a fortress, and on the Euphrates a special massive structure protected the corner of the city walls from the influence of the current.
The city was connected to the outside world by 8 gates, which opened roads to the most important cities of the district.
The streets intersected at right angles, some of them were paved with tiles made of imported materials.
Babylon had a well equipped, paved embankment, many channels that supplied city blocks with water, bridges connecting various parts of the city, palaces, a huge number of temples, as well as grandiose structures — the ziggurat of Etemenanki (the Tower of Babel) and the Second wonder of the World — Hanging Gardens.
Many buildings were faced with glazed bricks, bas reliefs, friezes; the tiers of the ziggurat were painted in different colors.
Herodotus, who visited there in the V century BC, called Babylon the most beautiful of all the cities that he knew[28].
Districts and quarters of the city[edit / edit wiki text]
The main part of Babylon was divided by the Arachtu River/The Euphrates is divided into the Western City and the Eastern City (in outdated publications the New City and the Old City), and is surrounded by suburbs, including within the outer wall of Nebuchadnezzar II.
Presumably, since the Kassite time, the main part of the city was divided into ten districts or quarters (Akkad. erșetu, sometimes alu).
The names of the quarters often went back to the cult names of Babylon itself ("Eridu", "Kadingirra", "Shuanna", [2]) or repeated the names of the cities of Sumer and Akkad (Kullab, Kumar (i.e. Kuara), Tuba)[2].
The blocks are as follows.
Excavation plan of the central part of the Eastern City
Eridu (Akkad. Eri du10ki) is the oldest part of the Eastern city and its religious center.
It was located in the very center of the Eastern City within the boundaries of Tell Amran ibn Ali and the Sahn region.
The borders of the Eridu district in the north were the Great Gate and the Kadingirra district, in the south — the Market Gate and the Shuanna District, in the west the Euphrates bank, in the east Eridu was adjacent to the Kullab quarter.
In Eridu there were the most important religious buildings of the city, a total of 14 temples: the central sanctuary of Esagila, the ziggurat of Etemenanki (the Tower of Babel), the temples of Ekarzaginn (in honor of Ea), Erabriri (in honor of Madanu), Egalmach (in honor of Gula), Enamtaggaduha (in honor of the Amorite deity Amurru), Ealtila (in honor of Adad), Eturkalamma (in honor of Belet Babili/Ishtar of Babylon), Enitenna/Enitendu (in honor of Sin), Esagdilannahidrutuku (in honor of Papsukkal), Ezidagishnugal (in honor of Dumuzi), Egishlaanki (in honor of Nabu), Eguzalamah(in honor of Ningishzida) and Esaggasharra (in honor of the goddess Anunit).
Shuanna (Akkad.
Šu an naki) is a district in the south of the Eastern City, mainly in the area of the Ishan el Aswad hill/Ishin Aswad.
The borders of Shuanna in the north were the Eridu district and the Market Gate, in the south — the city walls and the Urash Gate, in the west — the Arachtu River/The Euphrates, in the east — the TE.Eki quarter.
In Shuanna there were the temples of Ehursagtilla (in honor of Ninurta) and a sanctuary called by archaeologists "Temple Z" and often identified with the temple of Eshasurra in honor of the goddess Ishhara, known from topographical texts.
Kadingirra (Akkad. KÁ.DIGIR.RAKI) is a district in the northwestern corner of the Eastern City; it covered part of Tellei Qasr and Merkes.
In the north, its borders were the city walls and the Ishtar Gate, in the south — the Eridu district and the Great Gate, in the west — the river bank, in the east the New City quarter.
The central administrative and fortification complex of the city was located in Kadingirra; here was the palace ensemble of Babylon, bounded by the city walls from the north, the river from the west, the Processional Street from the east, and the Libil Hengalla canal from the south.
In addition, there were four important temples in Kadingirei: Emah (in honor of Belet or / Ninmah), Emashdari (in honor of Belet Akkade/Ishtar of Akkad), Eniggidarkalammashumma in honor of dNabu ša ḫarê and Ehilikalamma (in honor of Ashratum).
The most studied quarter from an archaeological point of view.
The new City (Akkad. alu GIBILki, alu eššuki) is a district in the northeast of the Kullab quarter, partially coinciding with the Tell of Homer.
In the south it was adjacent to the Kullab quarter (near the Ekitushgirzal temple); in the west it was adjacent to Kadingirra, in the north and east the city walls were the boundaries of the quarter.
Even at the end of the Old Babylonian period, there was a zone of commercial activity here.
It is known about three sanctuaries in the New City: Eurunanam (a sacred pedestal in honor of Nabu), Ekitushgirsal (in honor of Belet Eanna/Ishtar) and Eandasaa (in honor of Ishtar).
During the Persian period, the quarter was destroyed due to changes in the course of the Euphrates.
In Hellenistic times, ancient cultural structures were built in the New City, including a theater and a palaestra.
Kullab (Akkad. Kul aba4ki) is a district to the east of the Eridu quarter, bordered on the north by the New City (up to the Ekitushgirzal temple), on the south by the TE quarter.
Eki; in the east, the boundaries of the district were the city walls and the gates of Marduk.
Part of Kullab, along with the Eridu and Kumar quarters, makes up the oldest core of the city, which existed during the I dynasty.
There were four temples located here: Egishnugal (in honor of Sin), Emekiliburur (in honor of the goddess Sharrat Larsa), Ergubba (in honor of Pisangunuk) and Esag (in honor of Lugalbanda).
Also in Kullab there was a building of the Bit resh Akitu, associated with the celebration of the New Year.
The district whose name was transmitted by the logogram TE.
Eki, but the reading is unclear (possibly Kasiri: akkad. Kasīri or Te: Akkad. Tê).
It was located east of the Shuanna District and south of Kullab, that is, in the southeastern corner of the Eastern City.
In the north, it bordered the New City, in the west with Shuanna (the border object here was the sacred pedestal in honor of Marduk); in the south, the border of the district was the city wall, in the east — the city wall and the gate of Zababa.
There were three shrines here: Ekagula (the sacred pedestal of the Anunnaki), Edurkuga (the sacred pedestal of the Igigs) and the temple of Emeurur (in honor of Nanaya).
Babylon around 600 BC: a schematic drawing of the central part.
View from the Western city.
Kumar (shum .AA.
A, Akkad.
Kumar is the oldest part of the Western City and its religious center.
It stretched from the Akut Gate in the west to the bank of the Euphrates in the south.
There were seven temples located here: Enamtila (in honor of Bel Matati/Ellila), Eeshmah (in honor of Ea), Ekadimma (in honor of Belili), Emesikilla (in honor of Amurru), Edikukalamma (in honor of Shamash), Eesirkalamma (in honor of Pisangunuk) and Enamhe (in honor of Adad).
Tuba (Akkad. Tu ba) - a district in the southern part of the Western city.
Three shrines in this quarter are known from topographical texts: Ekitushgarza (in honor of Belet Eanna/Ishtar), Esabad (in honor of Gula) and Eshiddukisharra (in honor of Nabu).
The district whose name is damaged in the texts.
It was located in the western part of the Western City, extending from the city walls and the Adad Gate to the Kumar quarter and the Akut Gate.
Like other quarters of the Western City, it was not excavated by archaeologists; written sources do not contain any significant information about it, do not mention any temples or other significant buildings on its territory.
Bab Lugalirra (Akkad. Bāb dLugal ir9 ra, that is, "The Gate of Lugalirra") is a district in the north of the Western city.
Its northern border was the city wall and the Enlil Gate, in the west — the Euphrates River, the eastern border was near the Egishkhurankia temple.
There were three temples in this quarter: Eninmakh (in honor of the deity Nuska), Egishkhurankia (in honor of the goddess Belet Ninua) and Ebursasa (in honor of Shara).
Unlike the main part of the city, the suburbs of Babylon are less well studied.
There were fortifications, temples, palaces, villas of the rich, simple houses, agricultural plots, etc.
Under Nebuchadnezzar II, part of the suburbs of the Eastern City was surrounded by an External wall; at the same time, a Summer or Northern Palace was built there.
The famous Processional Street ran through the suburbs; in the same part of the city there were two massive fortresses or castles that covered the main entrance to Babylon through the Ishtar Gate.
From cuneiform sources, it is known about various parts of the suburbs; among them are Labbanata, as well as Bit shar Babili — an elite district in the area of the Summer Palace of Nebuchadnezzar.
Archaeologists have excavated the Bit Akitu the Temple of the New Year, located near one of the castles, along Processions Street.
Fortification[edit / edit wiki text]
The rise of Babylon at the beginning of the II millennium BC took place in the conditions of a fierce struggle with other city states and numerous semi nomadic tribes.
For this reason, the kings of the First Babylonian dynasty already paid great attention to the construction of fortifications.
In the heyday, during the X dynasty, Babylon was a powerful, almost impregnable fortress; in the subsequent Persian period (V IV centuries BC), the capture of the city was carried out either by means of a deliberate trick, or after a long siege, starvation, with numerous victims.
The defensive structures of Babylon are walls with towers and gates, separate fortresses and bastions, moats.
Over the centuries, they have been constantly improved — rebuilt, changed the plan and size.
Citadel of Babylon[edit / edit wiki text]
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Walls and towers[edit / edit wiki text]
The walls of Babylon after reconstruction
The early walls of Babylon are known only from the time of the I dynasty and only from cuneiform sources; the exact location of these structures is unclear.
The early fortifications of Babylon include the Great Wall and the New Great Wall.
The" Big Wall " of Babylon (shum. BÀD.GAL. KÁ. DIGIR. RAki).
The dating formulas of the first king of the I dynasty, Sumuabum, mention the construction of a "Big" / "Great" (shum. GAL) wall around Babylon already in the first year of his reign (circa 1894 BC according to the middle chronology).
18 years later, the same wall was completed or rebuilt by Sumulael.
According to the researchers, the "Big Wall"should have covered the oldest core of the city the Eridu, Kumar and part of Kullaba quarters[29]; the plan of this structure could approach the oval[30].
The" New Great Wall " of Babylon (shum. BÀD.MAḪ. GIBIL.KÁ. DIGIR.RAki) or the wall of Apil Sin (in the scientific literature).
Based on the dating formulas, it was erected in the second year of the reign of King Apil Sin (that is, about 1830 BC — according to the average chronology).
According to one version, this is an updated "Big Wall", according to another — a completely new structure.
The main gate of its eastern part is quite long (about forty years) they could remain unfinished[29].
The position and plan of the Apil Sin wall are unclear: the structure could repeat the outlines of the early "Big Wall" or cover large territories[29].
Later, this structure was replaced by the Imgur Enlil wall, apparently fell into disrepair and was dismantled[29].
The wall of Imgur Enlil (Akkad.
BÀD im gur dEN. LÍL: "Enlil deigned") is the main rectangular wall of Babylon, known from written sources and attested archaeologically (the remains of the wall have survived to this day).
The date of construction is unknown, but it is assumed that the structure definitely existed by the end of the Kassite period, since it was at that time that the rectangular, symmetrical layout of Mesopotamian cities appeared (examples of Dur Kurigalzu and Borsippa)[31].
The length of the Imgur Enlil wall around the Western City was about 3580 m (1100 m — north side, 1460 m west and 1020 m — south side).
The length of the Imgur Enlil wall around the Eastern City was about 4435 m (1400+1650+1385 m).
The total perimeter of the fortifications is estimated at 8015 m.
On each side of this rectangle there were two massive gates; approximately every 20 m, small longitudinal and large transverse towers alternated in the wall.
Under Nebuchadnezzar II, the thickness of Imgur Enlil was increased to 5.5 m.
The height of the wall is not known for certain; there were battlements in the upper part of the wall, towers and gates.
The Wall of Nemeth Enlil (Akkad.
BÀD ni mit dEN. LÍL "The abode of Enlil"), often referred to as "the shaft" (Akkad. šalḫu).
It encircled the outer perimeter of Imgur Enlil, duplicating the latter.
During the Chaldean dynasty, the thickness of the" shaft " reached 3.75 m, but in general, the Nemetal Enlil was thinner and, apparently, lower than the main wall, had fewer towers.
The gate to Imgur Enlil continued to Nemet Enlil, that is, it was common to both lines of fortifications.
The moat wall is the third line of fortifications of the main part of the city.
It ran along the outer perimeter of the Nemet Enlil wall and was surrounded by a defensive moat.
The thinnest and lowest wall.
It was built in the era of the X dynasty.
The outer wall of Nebuchadnezzar II is a large scale line of fortifications on the eastern bank of the Euphrates, erected by a famous king.
It began north of Babylon on the bank of the river, skirted the Summer Palace of the fortress, circled part of the suburbs and ended on the bank of the Euphrates to the south of the main part of the city.
The outer wall had 110 towers, five gates, as well as a defensive moat with water along the outer perimeter.
The embankment wall protected the Eastern City from the Euphrates.
It was built during the Chaldean dynasty (finally completed by Nabonidus).
In fact, it closed the Outer Wall of Nebuchadnezzar.
There were towers and gates; through the latter one could access the bridges leading to the Western City.
City gates[edit / edit wiki text]
The gates of the early fortifications[edit / edit wiki text]
These structures are known only from cuneiform sources, archaeologists have not yet discovered their remains.
Since the relevance of these buildings disappeared with the appearance of the Imgur Ellil wall, the gates of the early fortifications could have disappeared quite a long time ago.
On the other hand, the memory of these structures was preserved for a long time, since the boundary lines between the blocks passed through them, which was reflected in the topographic texts.
It is assumed that the " Great "and/or" New Great Wall of Babylon " communicated with the outside world through the following gates.
The Great Gate (shum. KÁ. GAL. MaḪ, Akkad. abulmāḫi) is located in the north of the Eastern City.
They opened by the road to Sippar.
The Market Gate (shum. KÁ. GAL. GANBA, Akkad. abul maīīri) is located in the south of the Eastern City.
The Akut Gate (Akkad. abulli A ku si tum) opened on the road to Dilbat - in the south west of the Western City; it was named after the city of Akut.
The Gate of Lugalirra (Akkad. bāb dLugal ir9 ra) — in the north west of the Western city.
The name is in honor of the deity Lugalirra (Lugal Irra, possibly the hypostasis of the plague god Erra).
The memory of this gate is preserved in the name of the Bab Lugalirra quarter.
In addition to these, there could be other gates, for example, in the east of the Eastern city.
The gates of the main part of the city[edit / edit wiki text]
Eight gates through the walls of the main part of the city bore the names of the most important Mesopotamian deities.
The portals of the Eastern City have been studied archaeologically; their location is precisely established.
The portals of the Western City are identified only by cuneiform texts, their approximate location is known.
In the topographic texts (Tintir), the gates of the main part of the city are mentioned in the following order.
Reconstruction of the Ishtar Gate in the Pergamon Museum
The Gate of Urash (Akkad. abul dUraš) is the southern portal of the Eastern city; the earliest mention is in the inscriptions of Nabopalasar and Nebuchadnezzar II.
The gate opened by a road to the south, which ran along the Euphrates towards the city of Dilbat, where the center of worship of Urash (the hypostasis of the god Ninurta) was located.
The Gate of Zababa (Akkad. abul dZa ba4 ba4) is the southernmost of the two (the second is the gate of Marduk) eastern gates of the Eastern City.
They are first mentioned in the annals of Sinakherib and New Babylonian commercial documents.
They opened the road to the ancient city of Kish, the center of worship of the warrior god Zababa.
In the" History " of Herodotus, these gates are called "Kissi" (from the distorted name of the city of Kish, Akkad. Kiški).
The Gate of Marduk (Akkad. abul dMarduk) is the second eastern gate of the Eastern City; it was located north of the gate of Zababa.
In Herodotus, they are called "Belsky" (from Akkad. dBēl — "Lord", the title of the supreme god Marduk).
The Ishtar Gate (Akkad. abul dIštar) is the northern portal of the Eastern City, the most famous gate of Babylon.
From them began the famous Processional Street (Ayiburshabu Avenue), which continued outside the city on the road to Sippar.
They are named after Ishtar, the goddess of war, fertility and carnal love.
The gate was excavated by a German expedition, transported to the Pergamon Museum and reconstructed.
The Gate of Enlil (Akkad. abul dEN.LÍL) - the portal of the Western city; presumably on the northern side of the wall.
They are named after the ancient supreme god of the Sumerian pantheon, the lord of the wind Enlil (Akkad. Ellil).
The Royal Gate (Akkad. abul sharri) is the portal of the Western City; presumably — on the western side of the wall, but north of the gate of Adad.
The Gate of Adad (Akkad. abul dAdad) is the portal of the Western City; presumably — on the western side of the wall, but south of the Royal Gate.
They are named after the storm god Adad.
The Shamash Gate (Akkad. abul dŠamaš) is the portal of the Western City; presumably on the southern side of the wall.
They are named after the sun god Shamash
In addition, a well known expert on the topography of Babylon, E. Unger, suggested the existence of the gate of Sin, which he placed in the Eastern City; however, modern researchers consider this assumption erroneous.
The gate of the outer wall[edit / edit wiki text]
The gate of the Shukhi Canal (Akkad. abulli ša ídšūḫi) is the northernmost.
The road from the Ishtar Gate, a continuation of the street of Processions, passed through this gate and went further to Sippar.
The Madanu Canal Gate (Akkad. abulli ša nār dMadānu) is located on the northeastern side of the outer wall, south of the Shukhi Canal Gate.
Madanu is the patron god of judges.
From the main part of the city, a road led to them from the gate of Marduk; outside the city, it continued towards the city of Kuta.
The Gishshu Gate (Akkad. abul giššu) is the southernmost of the three gates on the northeastern side of the outer wall.
The road from the Zababa gate probably forked and one of the directions passed through the Gishshu gate, from where it continued towards the city of Kish.
The Gate of the Sun of the Gods (Akkad. abul dšamaš ilimeš) is a portal on the south eastern side of the wall, in its central part.
The road from the Zababa gate probably forked and turned south in one direction, where it passed through the specified portal.
Outside the city, the road to St. Petersburg continued the sacred city of Nippur for the Sumerians.
The Seashore Gate (Akkad. abul šapat tam tum) is the southernmost portal, on the western edge of the southeastern section of the outer wall, near the Euphrates coast.
The road to Dilbat, which began at the gates of Urash, passed through this portal.
Fortresses, castles, bastions[edit / edit wiki text]
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Defensive ditches[edit / edit wiki text]
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Streets and roads[edit / edit wiki text]
The road of processions before entering the main part of Babylon (reconstruction).
In front — the gates of Ishtar, on the sides the walls of castles.
View from the north.
The Pergamon Museum.
The main streets of the city intersected at right angles, had paving, sometimes made of expensive (imported) materials.
The most important streets of Babylon mentioned in topographic texts are as follows.
The Street of Processions or the road of Processions [Marduk] (Ayiburshabu, Akkad.
Ay ibūr šabû) — the main street of Babylon (the Eastern City); in the northern part it was called Ishtar Gate Street (Ishtar Lamassi ummanisha, Akkad.
Ištar lamassi ummānīša).
From the specified gate, it led through the Kadingirra quarter, past the temples in honor of Ninmah and Nabu to the Eridu quarter, where it could enter through the Great Gate (possibly a relic of the old wall).
In Eridu, the processions in honor of Marduk turned into the main gate of the sacred site of Esagila; the street probably ended there.
Nabu Street or Nabu Processional Road (Nabu dayyan nishishu, Akkad.
Nabû dayyān nišīšu: "Nabu is the judge of his people") - in the southern part of the Eastern city.
It led from Esagila to the Urash Gate, crossing the Shuanna quarter from north to south.
Marduk Street or Marduk Gate Street (Marduk re'i matishu, Akkad.
Marduk rē'i mātīšu: "Marduk is the shepherd of his country") - started from the specified gate and led to the center of the Eastern City, passing through the southern and eastern districts of the Kullab quarter and the TE.
Eki quarter.
The prospect of Nergal the Joyful, known from the late cuneiform texts, is probably associated with it.
Zababa Street or Zababa Gate Street (Zababa muhallik garishu, Akkad.
Zababa muallalliq gārîšu) - started from the specified gate and led to the center of the Eastern city, crossing the TE.Eki quarter.
Shamash Street or Shamash Gate Street — in the Western city.
Adada Street or Adada Gate Street is in the Western City.
Enlil Street or Enlil's Processional Road is in the Western City.
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Hydraulic structures[edit / edit wiki text]
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Places of worship[edit / edit wiki text]
Babylonian Street.
Ishtar Gate, Hanging Gardens of Semiramis( one of the 7 Wonders of the World),
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Palaces[edit / edit wiki text]
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Gardens and pavilions[edit / edit wiki text]
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Hellenistic buildings[edit / edit wiki text]
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Residential development[edit / edit wiki text]
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Other[edit / edit wiki text]
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Research history[edit / edit wiki text]
Main article: Assyriology
Early mentions and testimonies of travelers[edit / edit wiki text]
Babylon has never disappeared from the field of view of researchers, its location has always been known with more or less accuracy.
Information about this city is still available from ancient authors, in particular from Herodotus[32], Ctesias[33], Xenophon[34], Diodorus Siculus[35], Pompey Trogus[36], Josephus [37] and others.
However, all of them have not found the Babylonian kingdom, and therefore the historical information they provide is replete with errors and retellings of frankly legendary plots.
At the same time, the Babylonian Beros, who was a priest of the god Marduk, compiled a history of the city and the surrounding country[38], but this work survived only fragmentally in the lists of Diodorus, Eusebius and some other authors.
The hill of Birs Nimrud, which was taken by early researchers for the ruins of the Tower of Babel
After the Hellenistic ruler Antiochus I Soter moved some of the inhabitants of the city to Seleucia on the Tigris, Babylon gradually disappeared from the historical scene, turning into an insignificant settlement.
But the spread of Christianity breathed new life into the image of this city, largely due to its role in the Old Testament history, as well as its special place in Christian eschatology.
Arab authors have also preserved the memory of Babylon, but their information is very scarce and is often limited only to mentioning the name of the city.
In the X century, Ibn Haukal supposedly visited Babylon and described it as a small village[39].
For a long time, knowledge about Babylon was drawn from the sacred books of Judaism and Christianity, as well as the works of ancient authors.
It was from there that the famous legends about the Tower of Babel, the mixing of languages, Hanging Gardens, the legendary queens Semiramis and Nitokris, as well as real — life personalities Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, etc. appeared.
Soon these legends began to be supplemented with information from travelers who visited the Middle Eastern lands; the search for the famous Tower of Babel was of particular interest.
The first European to travel to Babylon was Rabbi Benjamin of Tudela, who visited it twice between 1160 and 1173, mentioning the ruins of Nebuchadnezzar's palace and the remains of the legendary tower[40], for which he took the ruins at Birs Nimrud (historical Borsippa).
Between 1573 and 1576 Babylon was visited by the German scientist Leonard Rauwolf, who left a description of these places[41]; when he saw the majestic ruins of the ziggurat in Akar Kufa, he took them for the remains of the Tower of Babel, but, as it turned out later, they were the ruins of the city of Dur Kurigalzu.
A similar view of the ziggurat in Akar Kufa was held by the English merchant John Eldred (English)Russian, who was here at the end of the XVI century[42].
At the turn of the XV — XVI centuries, Hans Schiltberger, a squire of the knight Linhart Rechartinger, visited Babylon[43][44]
In 1616, the Italian traveler Pietro della Valle visited Babylon[45], who connected the Tower with the hill (tell) Babil, made measurements, made descriptions and brought to Europe several bricks with cuneiform inscriptions, collected both in Babylon and in Tell el Mukayyar.
In 1765, Carsten Niebuhr visited there[46].
Like his predecessors, who were interested in the location of the famous Tower of Babel, Niebuhr connected this object with the tell Birs Nimrud[47].
In 1780 and 1790 years the ruins of the great city was visited by the French Abbot Joseph de Beauchamp (FR.)
Russian., described the looting of Babylon locals and trade mined from the ruins of bricks; he gave instructions Arabs of the findings of the walls with images, lined with glazed bricks and massive statues[47].
De Beauchamp collected some coins, which he correlated with the Parthian period and referred to the large cylinders with inscriptions, but to the last he has failed[48][49].
During a brief visit to Babylon, a resident of the East India Company, Hartford Jones Bridge, managed to purchase several bricks and a massive stone slab with the inscription of Nebuchadnezzar II[47][50].
In the period from the XII to the XVIII century, other travelers visited Babylon[51][52][53][54], including the Venetian jeweler Gasparo Balbi (English)Russian. (1579-1580)
, the Carmelite priest Vincenzo Maria di Santa Caterina di Siena (1657) [55], the French scientist Jean Otter (1734)[56], and the Dominican priest Emmanuel de San Albert (1750) [57].
The first systematic studies[edit / edit wiki text]
Paul Emile Botta
The systematic study of Babylon began in the XIX century.
Since 1811, the resident of the British East India Company, Claudius James Rich, conducted a survey of the visible ruins of the city.
He gave the names of the hills in accordance with those that were accepted by the locals and conducted excavations on Tell Babil[58].
In 1818, the English artist Robert Ker Porter visited Babylon, who collected several artifacts.
He described his impressions in the book, providing it with romantic illustrations, which helped to increase interest in Babylon in Europe.
The remains of the columns on Qasr Hill were taken by the British journalist and traveler James Silk Buckingham for fragments of the famous Hanging Gardens.
A representative of the East India Company, officer Robert Mignan, also conducted small excavations on the territory of the city[59].
In 1849, the English geologist William Kenneth Loftus visited Babylon; disappointed in the possibility of connecting the Babylonian hills with the buildings mentioned by Herodotus, he considered further exploration of the city unpromising.
Jules (Julius) Oppert
At the beginning — middle of the XIX century, a special direction in the study of the history of the ancient East — assyriology was formed.
Incomprehensible signs on clay tablets collected by travelers of previous years were subjected to a thorough analysis, during which it was established that this is a special type of writing, the so called cuneiform.
In the first half of the XIX century , G. F. Grotefend and G. K. Rawlinson were able to decipher the simplest type of cuneiform — Ancient Persian (or Class I; in total, three classes were allocated on the basis of the Behistun inscription).
In the 50s of the XIX century.
Edward Hinks was able to decipher another class of cuneiform, as it turned out, used in the Akkadian (Babylonian Assyrian) language; another class, as it was later established, belonged to the Elamite script.
From now on, the texts in the language of the inhabitants of ancient Mesopotamia, the Babylonians and Assyrians themselves were at the disposal of scientists.
Excavations of ancient cities in this territory have increased the number of sources every year, including those concerning Babylon.
Ormuzd Rassam.
Photo taken in Mosul around 1854
In 1850, Paul Emile Botta and Austin Henry Layard arrived in Babylon, known for their excavations of Mesopotamian cities, primarily Nineveh; from this moment, a genuine archaeological study of Babylon begins.
Botta and Layard conducted excavations at the Babil, Qasr and Amran ibn Ali sites, but they failed to create any clear picture of the location of the buildings of the upper layer.
The reasons for this were both the huge area of the monument, and large scale damage to the integrity of the cultural layer caused by the activities of local residents to extract bricks from the ruins of the city.
Layard described the finds of glazed bricks, a basalt statue of a lion, clay bowls with Aramaic inscriptions and some other objects.
Numerous burials were discovered on the top of Babil Hill, probably dating back to a late time.
Due to the small number of finds, the excavations were soon stopped.
In 1852, an expedition led by the French orientalist Fulgens Fresnel and the French German assyriologist Jules (Julius) Oppert began working in Babylon.
A considerable territory was surveyed, excavations were carried out in the area of the pier on the Euphrates River (known from the inscriptions of Nabonidus), many artifacts were collected.
On the basis of trigonometric measurements and indications from written sources, the first detailed plan of Babylon was created, published by Oppert in 1853.
However, the most famous sights of the city could not be found then, and scientists had to limit themselves to assumptions on this score.
In particular, it was suggested that the remains of the famous Hanging Gardens rest under the tell of Amran ibn Ali; the ruins of the Tower of Babel of Zh.
Oppert searched in the area of Tell Homer, but did not find anything similar there.
Unfortunately for archaeologists, during the unsuccessful crossing of the Euphrates, a significant part of the finds was lost.
In 1854, a brief season of excavations in Babylon was conducted by Henry Creswick Rawlinson and his assistant George Smith.
In 1876, the exploration of the ancient city was resumed by an expedition led by the British vice consul in Mosul, Ormuzd Rassam, an Assyrian by origin.
Rassam agreed with the locals that he would pay them for every significant find.
During these studies, many artifacts were discovered, including the famous inscription of King Cyrus on a clay cylinder (also known as the" cylinder of Rassam"), clay tablets with cuneiform texts, including business documents of the Babylonian trading house Egibi and much more.
In parallel with the research of scientists, there was a looting of the monument by local residents.
The Arabs dug up not only bricks, but also stone statues, which they burned to produce alabaster.
To prevent looting, the British Museum sent E. A. Wallis Budge to Mesopotamia, who agreed with local businessmen that all clay tablets, seals and especially valuable artifacts would be redeemed by the museum.
However, the extraction of bricks could not be stopped; as a result, the remains of many important buildings (including those known from written sources) were so damaged that it was impossible to establish even the plans of their foundations during further research.
The study of Babylon in the late XIX XX centuries[edit / edit wiki text]
The moment of the excavations by the expedition of the German Oriental Society
Robert Coldeway in the vault against the background of artifacts from Babylon.
A photo taken by Gertrude Bell before 1917.
The true discovery of Babylon for science is often associated with the name of Robert Koldewey; he led the Neme expedition the Central Committee of the Oriental Society, which carried out the excavations of the city from 1899 to 1917.
In addition to Koldewey, other researchers participated in the expedition, including: Walter Andre, Friedrich Wetzel, Oskar Reuter, Georg Buddensig.
The excavations were carried out at a high professional level, a significant number of local residents were involved in their implementation; as a result, impressive results were obtained.
Koldewey and his colleagues discovered the material of the New Babylonian, Achaemenid, Seleucid and Parthian times, as well as earlier epochs, but in a much smaller volume (the study of the early layers of Babylon is hindered by the high level of groundwater).
The most documented was the New Babylonian period when the city reached its heyday as the capital of a large empire (during the reign of the X Babylonian or Chaldean dynasty).
It is precisely this time that is described in the Old Testament in the most detail, since the beginning of the "Babylonian captivity"refers to the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II.
The power and splendor of the city of that era served as the basis for the formation of the image of the apocalyptic Babylon; thus, the results of the excavations of German archaeologists aroused the interest of the European public.
The expedition of R. Koldewey managed to establish that in the heyday of Babylon was a large, well maintained city with a powerful fortification, developed architecture and a high level of culture in general.
It was surrounded by a triple ring of walls and a moat, as well as an additional external wall covering part of the suburbs.
In the plan, the city was an almost regular rectangle with a perimeter of 8150 m and an area of about 4 km2, and taking into account the territory of the "Greater Babylon" covered by the outer wall, the area reached about 10 km2[60].
Babylon had a carefully thought out plan: its walls were oriented to the cardinal directions (in accordance with local ideas), the streets intersected at right angles, surrounding the central temple complex, which was a single ensemble.
The Euphrates/Arachtu River divided the capital into two parts — the Western City and the Eastern City; a system of canals connected with the Euphrates, which supplied the quarters with water.
The streets were paved, including with multicolored bricks.
The bulk of the buildings were houses of several floors with blank external walls (windows and doors usually opened into courtyards) and flat roofs.
Both parts of Babylon were connected by two bridges — a stationary one and a pontoon one.
The city communicated with the outside world through eight gates; the latter were decorated with glazed bricks and bas — reliefs of lions, bulls and dragon like creatures sirrush.
Bas reliefs were also discovered on the external walls of the houses.
Babylon had many temples dedicated to various deities Ishtar, Nanna, Adad, Ninurta, but the patron saint of the city and the head of the pantheon of the kingdom, Bel Marduk, was most revered.
In his honor, in the very center of the capital, a large scale Esagila complex was erected with a seven stage ziggurat of Etemenanki — the Tower of Babel with a height of 91 m; R.
Koldewey managed to excavate only part of the Esagila.
To the north, on the site of the Qasr Hill, there were fortifications adjacent to the Southern Palace of Nebuchadnezzar II; vaulted structures were also discovered there, as it was then assumed — the remains of the famous Hanging Gardens.
Massive fortifications covered the main entrance to Babylon, the path to which passed from the Northern Palace (Tell Babil) along the Processional Road through the Ishtar Gate.
The Summer or Northern Palace was built in the form of a fortress, guarding the suburbs at the beginning of the Processional Road.
The richly decorated Ishtar Gate was completely excavated, most of it was transported to Berlin, installed in the Pergamon Museum and reconstructed.
With the beginning of the First World War, excavations were conducted less intensively; in 1917, the approach of the Entente troops forced the German expedition to stop work.[61]
The discovery of a large number of cuneiform texts, their deciphering, coupled with the archaeological study of other Mesopotamian cities, opened up to scientists the world of a highly developed culture, the achievements of which, as it turned out, had a significant impact on the development of many societies of the ancient East, and through them — on European culture.
Already by that time, an extreme vision of the place of Mesopotamian culture in the history of the ancient East, known as the theory of pan Babylonism, was probably formed.
Its representatives are Hugo Winkler, Leopold Messerschmidt, Friedrich Delich, etc. — it was believed that Babylonia became the center of civilization for most of the peoples of the world.
The ruins of Babylon in 1932
During the interwar period, German researchers were not allowed to visit the ancient city.
Urgently leaving the monument, the expedition of R. Koldewey was forced to leave many artifacts in Babylon, placing them in a vault; later this vault was used as a rest home for British officers, as a result of which many finds were stolen or found on the black market.
The Iraqi Museum, established in 1923, conducted an audit of the remaining finds and in 1926 they were divided between the museums of Baghdad and Berlin[61].
The resumption of the archaeological study of Babylon is associated with the post war period.
In 1956, an expedition of the German Archaeological Institute, led by Heinrich Lenzen, worked there; the main attention was then focused on the ruins of the Hellenistic theater.
In 1958, representatives of a young school of Iraqi scientists began to excavate.
Since 1962, an expedition of the German Archaeological Institute led by Hansjorg Schmidt has been studying the ruins of the Etemenanki ziggurat[62].
Further research was conducted by German scientists in the period from 1967 to 1973; attention was then paid, among other things, to the search for the temple of the New Year (Akkad. bīt akītu).
In 1978, the Iraqi expedition began to implement a grandiose project for the reconstruction of Babylon; at the same time, the excavations begun by the Iraqis in 1958 continued.
Since 1974, an Italian expedition led by G. Bergamini has been studying the ruins; the Italian mission worked in Babylon until 1989.
The war in the Persian Gulf suspended excavations; in the subsequent time, the ancient city remained an instrument of Saddam Hussein's ideological policy.
Considering himself the successor of the great kings of antiquity, the Iraqi president authorizes the construction of his own residence in Babylon; in addition, he continues the "reconstruction" of the city, when, without taking into account stratigraphy, new buildings were erected on top of the old ruins, ancient structures were "completed", etc.
With the beginning of the Iraq War in 2003, all work on the ruins was curtailed.
In the first days of the occupation, American servicemen set up a military base Camp Alpha right on the excavations of Babylon.
As the curator of the Babylon Museum, Muhsin Mohammed, recalled, huge helicopters took off and landed on the territory of the museum, and soldiers dug out stones with the seal of Nebuchadnezzar as free souvenirs.
The base was withdrawn only in December 2004; by this time, the activities of the military and the looters ' brigade had caused irreparable damage to the ancient city.
Not only small objects were stolen, but also stone statues weighing several tons (heavy machinery was used to load and transport the latter).
Military equipment crushed the 2600 year old brick paved pavements, the Ishtar Gate was also damaged; sand from excavations mixed with archaeological fragments was used to fill sandbags[63][64].
In 2010, the World Monuments Fund (en:World Monuments Fund) has started implementing a project to restore Babylon[61].
Babylon in the Abrahamic religions[edit / edit wiki text]
This section is not completed.
You will help the project by correcting and supplementing it.
"The Tower of Babel"
Babylon (apocalyptic) - the capital of the Babylonian monarchy with its power and originality of culture made such an indelible impression on the Jews after the Babylonian captivity that its name became synonymous with every large, rich and, moreover, immoral city.
The prophet Isaiah predicted the destruction of Babylon, comparing it with Sodom and Gomorrah (Isaiah 13: 19).
The story of the Tower of Babel was recorded during the Assyrian kingdom.
Among later writers, namely Christian ones, the name "Babylon"is often used in a sense that is still a subject of dispute for interpreters and researchers.
Thus, a lot of arguments were caused by one place in the first Epistle of the Apostle Peter, where he says that "he welcomes the chosen church in Babylon".
It is extremely difficult to determine what exactly is meant by Babylon here, and many, especially Latin writers, claim that under this name ap. Peter means Rome, on which even the well known claims of the popes of Rome as the successors of the Apostle Peter are based.
In the First centuries of Christianity, Rome was called the New Babylon because of the huge number of peoples living in the empire, as well as the position occupied by the city in the world of that time.
But a particularly remarkable example of the use of the name of Babylon is found in the Apocalypse, or Revelation of ap.
St. John (from the end of the XVI chapter to the XVIII).
There, under the name Babylon, the "great city" is depicted, which plays a huge role in the life of peoples.
Such an image does not at all correspond to the Mesopotamian Babylon, which had long lost its world significance by that time, and therefore researchers understand by this name, not without reason, the great capital of the Roman Empire, Rome, which occupied the same position in the history of Western peoples as the capital of Nebuchadnezzar occupied earlier in the history of the East.[65]
In Rastafarianism, Babylon symbolizes a pragmatic Western civilization built by white (descendants of Puritans) people.
This concept also has Christian biblical connotations, since Rastafarianism is an offshoot of Christianity.
Rastafarians, like Jews, consider Babylon as a metaphor of an oppressive and enslaving force and contrast it with Zion.
Babylon is mentioned only once in the Qur'an, when it comes to angels warning the Jews against practicing witchcraft[66].
Notes[edit / edit wiki text]
↑ 1 2 3 4 The Cambridge Ancient History: Prologomena & Prehistory: Vol. 1, Part 1.
Accessed 15 Dec 2010.]
↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 George, 1992, p. 19 Город Gorodetskaya I. L., Levashov E. A. Babylon / / Russian names of inhabitants: Dictionary reference.
- Moscow: AST, 2003.
- p. 62. - 363 p — - 5000 copies.
— ISBN 5-17-016914-0.
Русский Russian Spelling Dictionary of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Ed. V. V. Lopatin.
M., Azbukovnik, 2001-2007.
Мор Morris, Jan.
Social development = Social development.
- Stanford University, 2010.
- p. 109.
↑ Margueron J.-C., Babylone, la première mégapole ?
//Mégapoles méditerranéennes / Claude Nicolet.
Paris, Maisonneuve et Larose, coll.
"L'Atelier méditerranéen", 2000, p. 478.
S Saggs, H. W. F. Babylonians (VI century BC).
University of California Press, 2000.
P. 165.
ISBN 0-520-20222-8.
↑ 1 2 André Salvini, B. Les premières mentions historiques et la légende des origines.
// Babylone 2008, p. 28-29.
↑ 1 2 Lambert, W.G. Babylon: origins.
// Babylon 2011, p. 71-76.
↑ Edzard D.O. Geschichte Mesopotamiens.
Von den Sumerern bis zu Alexander dem Großen, Beck, München 2004, p. 121.
↑ Jakob Rost L., Marzahn J. Babylon, ed. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.
Vorderasiatisches Museum, (Kleine Schriften 4), 2.
Auflage, Putbus 1990, p. 2 ↑ Keel O. Die Geschichte Jerusalems und die Entstehung des Monotheismus.
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2007, ISBN 978-3-525-50177-1, S. 603 ↑ Köszeghy M. Der Streit um Babel in den Büchern Jesaja und Jeremia.
Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-17-019823-4, S.
116.
↑ Koldewey R. Das wieder erstenhende Babylon new ausgeben von B. Hrouda.
München, 1990.
↑ E. A. Wallis.
By Nile and Tigris (v. 1).
P. 299 ↑ André Salvini B. Les premières mentions historiques et la légende des origines.
pp.
28-29.
↑ 1 2 Lambert W. G. Babylon: origins.
↑ Klengel Brandt, 1997, p. 252 ↑ Gibson McG.
The City and the Area of Kish.
Coconut Grove, Miami, 1972.
P. 149.
↑ André Salvini B. Les premières mentions historiques et la légende des origines.
P.
28-29.
ИД IDV, 1983, p. 194, 238 ↑ 1 2 IDV, 1983, p. 253 ↑ Sharlach T. N. Provincial Taxation and the Ur III State.
Leiden: Brill/Styx, 2004.
P. 9 ↑ 1 2 IDV, 1983, pp.
320-324 ↑ 1 2 3 IDV, 1983, p. 324 Re Reallexikon der Assyriologie und vorderasiatischen Archaologie (Berlin 1928 ff.)
/ Encyclopedia of Assyriology and Near Eastern Archaeology (Berlin 1928 onwards) ↑ In the same place.
↑ "Herodotus.
History.
The first book.
Clio " ↑ 1 2 3 4 George, 1992, p. 18 ↑ George, 1992, fig. 3, p. 20 ↑ George, 1992, p. 15 ↑ Herodotus.
History.
The first book.
Clio ↑ Ctesias of Cnidus.
A peach.
Ксен Xenophon.
Anabasis ↑ Diodorus Siculus.
Historical Library Помп Pompeii Trog.
The story of Philip.
An epitome.
↑ Josephus.
Jewish antiquities ↑ Beros.
Babylonian History Иб Ibn Haukal Abu l Qasim.
The Book of Ways and Countries ↑ The Book of Travels of Rabbi Benjamin ↑ Rauwolff L. Itinerarium oder Raysbüchlein.
Lauingen, 1583 ↑ Hakluyt R.
The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of English Nation.
London, 1589 ↑ Ivan Schiltbercher's Journey through Europe, Asia and Africa from 1394 to 1427 Translated from German
