The once great city of Babylon, where the Jews were held captive for 70 years, became a symbol

of power, materialism, and cruelty. The Word "Babylon" Babylon is Akkadian "babilani" which means "the Gate of God(s)" and it became the capital of the land of Babylonia. The etymology of the name Babel in the Bible means "confused" (Gen 11:9) and throughout the Bible, Babylon was a symbol of the confusion caused by godlessness. The name Babylon is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Babel. The city of Babylon was the capital of the ancient land of Babylonia in southern Mesopotamia. It was situated on the Euphrates River about 50 miles south of modern Baghdad, just north of what is now the modern Iraqi town of al-Hillah. The tremendous wealth and power of this city, along with its monumental size and appearance, were certainly considered a Biblical myth, that is, until its foundations were unearthed and its riches substantiated during the 19th century. Archaeologists stood in awe as their discoveries revealed that certain stories in the Bible were an actual situation that had happened in time. Babylon is Akkadian "babilani" which means "the Gate of God(s)" and it became the capital of the land of Babylonia. The etymology of the name Babel in the Bible means "confused" (Gen 11:9) and throughout the Bible, Babylon was a symbol of the confusion caused by godlessness. The name Babylon is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Babel. The Tower of Babel The Bible reveals that all false systems of religion began in the land of Babylon and will have their consummation from the spirit of Babylon in the last days. It is interesting to note that every organized system of religion in the world today has traces of ancient Babylon. The Bible records in Genesis 10:10, that, after the great flood, all men spoke one common language and a man named Nimrod built a city and established a common religion. Nimrod was a descendant of Noahs son, Ham. Genesis 11:1-9 describes the building of the city and its famous tower "whose top may reach unto heaven." It also records how God came down and punished the peoples arrogance by creating a confusion of different languages and possibly their racial distinctions. This way man would be forced to obey Gods original command to "be fruitful and fill the whole earth." It is interesting that the materials used to build the Tower of Babel were the same as those employed for the construction of the great ziggurat of Babylon and similar ziggurats, according to ancient building inscriptions.

Babylonia (pronounced babilahnia) was an ancient empire that existed in the Near East in southern Mesopotamia between the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers. Throughout much of their history their main rival for supremacy were their neighbors, the Assyrians. It was the Babylonians, under King Nebuchadnezzar II, who destroyed Jerusalem, the capital of the Kingdom of Judah, and carried Gods covenant people into captivity in 587 BC The earliest known inhabitants of Mesopotamia were the Sumerians, whom the Bible refers to as the people of the "land of Shinar" (Gen 10:10). Sargon, from one of the Sumerian cities, united the people of Babylonia under his rule about 2300 B.C. Many scholars believe that Sargon might have been the same person as Nimrod (Gen 10:8). Around 2000 BC Hammurapi emerged as the ruler of Babylonia. He expanded the borders of the Empire and organized its laws into a written system, also known as the Code of Hammurapi. About this time Abraham left Ur, an ancient city located in lower Babylon, and moved to Haran, a city in the north. Later, Abraham left Haran and migrated into the land of Canaan under God's promise that he would become the father of a great nation (Gen 12). Alongside of Babylonia there must also be a mention of Assyria, which bordered Babylonia on the north. Assyria's development was often intertwined with the course of Babylonian history. About 1270 BC, the Assyrians overpowered Babylonia. For the next 700 years, Babylonia was a lesser power as the Assyrians dominated the ancient world. Around 626 BC, Babylonian independence was finally won from Assyria by a leader named Nabopolassar. Under his leadership, Babylonia again became the dominant imperial power in the Near East and thus entered into her "golden age." In 605 BC, Nebuchadnezzar II, the son of Nabopolassar, became ruler and reigned for 44 years. Under him the Babylonian Empire reached its greatest strength. Using the treasures which he took from other nations, Nebuchadnezzar built Babylon, the capital city of Babylonia, into one of the leading cities of the world. The famous hanging gardens of Babylon were known to the Greeks as one of the seven wonders of the world.

As previously mentioned, in 587 BC, the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and carried the leading citizens of the Kingdom of Judah as prisoners to Babylon. The Hebrew prophet Jeremiah had foretold that the Jews would be free to return home to Jerusalem after 70 years. The Lord had encouraged His people through Ezekiel and Daniel who were also captives in Babylon. During this 70 year period of captivity, the Persians conquered Babylonia, and the Babylonians passed from the scene as a world power. Throughout the long period of Babylonia history, the Babylonians achieved a high level of civilization that made an impact on the whole known world.

Sumerian culture was its basis, which later Babylonians regarded as traditional. In the area of religion, the Sumerians already had a system of gods, each with a main temple in each city. The chief gods were Anu, god of heaven; Enlil, god of the air; and Enki or Ea, god of the sea. Others were Shamash, the sungod; Sin, the moon-god; Ishtar, goddess of love and war; and Adad, the storm-god. The Amorites promoted the god Marduk at the city of Babylon, so that he became the chief god of the Babylonian religion, starting around 1100 BC. Babylonian religion was temple-centered, with elaborate festivals and many different types of priests, especially the exorcist and the diviner, who mainly were trained to drive away evil spirits. Babylonian literature was mainly dominated by mythology and legends. Among these was a creation myth written to glorify their god Marduk. According to this myth, Marduk created heaven and earth from the corpse of the goddess Tiamat. Another work was the Gilgamesh Epic, a flood story written about 2000 BC. Scientific literature of the Babylonians included treatises on astronomy, mathematics, medicine, chemistry, botany, and nature. One of the main aspects of Babylonian culture was a codified system of law. Hammurapis famous code was the successor of earlier collections of laws going back to about 2050 BC. The Babylonians used art for the national celebration of great events and glorification of the gods. It was marked by stylized and symbolic representations, but it expressed realism and spontaneity in the depiction of animals. The Old Testament contains many references to Babylonia. Gen 10:10 mentions four Babylonian cities, Babel (Babylon), Erech (Uruk), Accad (Agade) and Calneh. These, along with Assyria, were ruled by Nimrod. Traditionally the history of Babylonia has been broken down into three major periods: The The Old Middle Babylonian Babylonian Period Period ( 2000-1595 (1595-1000 BC) BC)

The Neo-Babylonian Period (1000-539 BC) THE OLD BABYLONIAN PERIOD AMORITES Most scholars date the beginning of Babylonia to the fall of the third dynasty of Ur, around 2000 BC because many Amorites apparently migrated from the desert into Mesopotamia.

The Amorites were a group of Semitic speaking nomads, who captured the local city-states where they established new dynasties and adapted to the culture of the surrounding area. The Amorites had helped destroy the Sumerian civilization and dominated Mesopotamia for about 300 years (1900-1600 BC). They ruled the land out of the city of Babylon. But soon the Amorite immigrants and the previous locals began fighting for power, in this caused considerable confusion during this early period.

ISIN AND LARSA Around the middle of the 18th century BC two cities, Isin and Larsa ultimately dominated the scene so that the era has been called the Isin-Larsa period. The city-state of Larsa was soon captured by an Amorite ruler named Kudurmabug, who appointed his two sons Warad-Sin and Rim-Sin, to rule over Larsa while he was away on military campaigns. Rim-Sin (1822-1763 BC) continued to build upon his father's small Empire and eventually conquered their ancient rival, Isin, in his 30th year. Larsa's period of glory lasted for little while longer, approximately 30 years (1763 BC), when Hammurapi of Babylon came to conquer, thus ushering in a new era.

HAMMURAPI OF BABYLON The remainder of the Old Babylonian Period (1763-1595 BC) was characterized by a shift of power in the north with Hammurapi of Babylon (1792-1750 BC) as the main figure. Hammurapi was the sixth king of the first dynasty of Babylon. During his reign he dealt with his enemies through diplomacy or military force. His main rivals consisted of Larsa, Eshunna, Mari and Shamshi-Adad I of Assyria (1813-1781 BC). Hammurapi was so successful that at his death the first dynasty at Babylon claimed suzerainty over the whole Babylonian plain even to the regions in the north as far as Mari and Ashur. Archaeologists have discovered a vast archive of cuneiform tablets. Most of these tablets were letters and business documents, revealing interesting details about the maneuvers of Hammurapi and his enemies.

Some revealed that, Hammurapi's ambassadors resided in Mari while Mari's ambassadors resided in Hammurapi's court, both spying on activities and bringing back reports to their respective kings. For the most part Mari and Babylon had a friendly relationship but, when Hammurapi had finally conquered Rim-Sin of Larsa, he turned on his old ally at Mari and conquered the city-state to expand his empire.

CODE OF HAMMURAPI Hammurapi realized that he could not rule by sword alone and therefore gathered laws into a unified codeand then had them administered by judges closely supervised by his own advisors. This code had aprofound effect upon the whole near-Orient world.

THE CLASSICAL PERIOD The Old Babylonian period and mainly the Hammurapi Age are generally referred to as the classical period in Babylonian civilization. This is when the "Babylonian" culture really began to develop. The culture was the product of a conglomeration of various ethnic strains, mainly the earlier Sumero-Akkadian civilization that had flourished in the Babylonian plain during the third millennium BC.

THE LANGUAGE The Babylonian language was a dialect of Akkadian, a Semitic language, written in cuneiform script. Politically and economically Babylonia remained a number of small autonomous city-states ruled by local dynasties and later emerging into an imperial structure.

RELIGION, LAW, SCIENCE AND ART Religion, law, science and the arts altered very little. The three main gods, An, Enlil and Enki (Ea in Akkadian) headed the pantheon of gods, but when Babylon rose as a dynasty the chief God of that city was Marduk. Marduk rose in status almost to that of Enki, who was said to be his father. Legal practice was basically the same, with a few new laws such as "an eye for eye, a tooth for a tooth" (lex talionis), which came from the Amorites. Legal formulas were phrase in the Sumerian language although legal contracts and the "law codes" now written in Akkadian.

The literature of the Sumerians was studied extensively during the Isin-Larsa period and soon an Akkadian literature began to appear in the north. Although the Sumerian language had died as a spoken language, it continued to be used for a Babylonian civilization for liturgical and scholarly purposes. Some distinctive features that occurred in the Babylonian civilization are worth mentioning. There was a serious power shift to the north because in the south the salt table of the subsoil had risen because of over-irrigation and poor drainage, to such a point that the crop yields began to diminish and could no longer support the population. Another distinctive feature was the rise of the Babylonian dialect of Akkadian, which later replaced the Sumerian language and Old Akkadian dialect of the third millennium, both in spoken in written communication.

BABYLON The city-state of Babylon, especially under the leadership of Hammurapi, made an impressive mark upon history and Babylon was regarded as a natural capital, even when it was not the actual capital. After Hammurapi's death, the imperial structure, which he founded, was being continually challenged. Foreign peoples and powers were placing an unbearable strain upon Hammurapi's successors. One of these forces were the horse-riding Kassites who descended on Babylon and put an end to the Amorites as well as civilized progress for the next 400 years. THE KASSITES Just exactly who The Kassites were, and anything about their origins and history, is very obscure. Before entering Mesopotamia they were illiterate mountain people speaking a language that is not known today. According to history, what we do know is that they first appeared as a military force in the time of Samsuiluna (1749-1712 BC), Hammurapi's successor, but that is all we know about them until the time that they established a dynasty in Babylonia, around 1595 BC.

THE PEOPLE OF THE SEALAND A second group of people who proved to be a formidable force was the people of the Sealand, a kingdom to the extreme south of Babylonia along the Persian Gulf. Little is known about these people as well, a list of the names of their Kings is all that has been discovered, but no native sources.

We do know that it was a powerful nationthat continually challenged Hammurapi's successors, and for a period of time controlled Nippur in the center of the plain. Because of their location in the south they were strongly Sumerian in character. The Kassites eventually conquered the people of the Sealand

HITTITE KINGDOM The Babylonian civilization, for the most part, had its origins in the Sumerian culture of the third millennium BC. This is also true of Babylonia literature, which first emerged in the Old Babylonian Period. Babylonian scribes were often busy translating Sumerian literature into their own tongue. Therefore some portions of Babylonian literature consist of Sumerian writings in the Akkadian language, and other portions are in the Babylonian language. Much of it depends upon the period, Old, Middle, and Neo-Babylonian periods. SCHOOL OF SCRIBES There were schools of scribes who had their leaders for writing and editing purposes. They would copy older compositions and number the tablets for each composition and then number the lines to each tablet. They would compile their catalogs and then signed its work with the name of the head of the scribal school. To train their scribes, secretaries, archivists, and other administrative personnel, they adopted the Sumerian system of formal education, under which schools served as the cultural centers of the land. The curriculum consisted primarily of copying and memorizing both textbooks and Sumero-Babylonian dictionaries containing long lists of words and phrases, including the names of trees, animals, birds, insects, countries, cities, villages, and minerals, as well as a large and diverse assortment of mathematical tables and problems. In the study of literature, the pupils copied and imitated various types of myths, epics, hymns, lamentations, proverbs, and essays in both the Sumerian and the Babylonian languages.

NUMBERING TABLETS The Gilgamesh Epic was worked into a 12-tablet version, the number of each tablet and the number of the lines has been recorded in a colophon, and the editors name is Sin-liqiunninni. No doubt many oral traditions of tales and legends existed simultaneously with the literary traditions of the Babylonians.

BABLONIA GLOSSARY ARMAIC AND GREEK

Literary works were probably read or recited to the illiterate public for entertainment or learning. Babylonian literature continued to be copied, studied and created long after the fall

POETRY Babylonian literature contains both prose and poetry. The unique characteristic of the poetry is parallelism, which is a rendition of an idea in two different ways side-by-side. One interesting example is the passage from the Atra-hasis Epic in which the god Enlil complains: "The clamor of mankind oppresses me, by their tumult I am deprived of sleep." Poetic lines are usually grouped in couplets as in this example, although singlets and triplets do exist. The line ends in a trochee and usually divides into two stichoi, each having two beats. Rhyme was unknown at the time and it is uncertain whether or not metre was present. Traditionally literary compositions were entitled by the first few words of the text and so it was common to find such titles as "When Above" (Enuma Elish), and "He Who Saw the Abyss" (Gilgamesh Epic). Dividing literature according to genres was not really recognized by the ancient Babylonians, although modern scholars can divide the literature into a number of categories. These are epics and myths, prayersand hymns, wisdom literature and historiography. Certain stories that were popular among the ancient Babylonians were repeated in more than one composition. So, for example, the story of the Flood is known in the Gilgamesh Epic and from one in the Atra-hasis Epic. The most famous epics and myths were Gilgamesh, Atra-hasis, Adapa, Nergal and Ereshkigal, When Above, Descent of Ishtar into Hades, Anzu, Etana and Era. A sub-genre is the historical epic of the king of battle and Tukulti-Ninurta I

MYTHS The Babylonians told many legends and stories of many types. Some of these myths had morals. A myth of this type was the epic of Gilgamesh. It is a tale of a king's quest to gain immortality and his frustration when he realizes it is beyond his grasp.

Other myths were purely stories. An example of this would be the Tale of Adapa. Adapa quarrels with the south wind and is sent for judgment by the gods but because of the misdirection by his patron, Ea, he misses out on gaining immortality. Some Babylonian myths concerned the gods. These were numerous and told of not only the quarrels of the gods with other sprits but were also used to explain various aspects of life. For instance, there is a myth of creation, which tells how they believed the world was made.

MYTH OF THE FLOOD A recurring myth though out the whole of the Middle East is that is that of a great flood or deluge. Indeed the theme is discovered as far as Western Europe and India. According to the Babylonian version the flood is caused by the great storm god Enlil to punish mankind. In a city called Shuruppak on the river Euphrates there lived a man called Uta-Napishtim. He was the favourite of Ea, the god of wisdom and was warned by the god. Uta-Napishtim built himself a great boat 120 cubits high and the same wide. He took inside it his family, many craftsmen and a great stock of food. The pilot was called Puzur-Bel. For six days and six nights it rained. The sun was blocked out. Even the gods were frightened and all men except Uta-Napishtim were destroyed. The gods were distraught at man's destruction. The boat of Uta-Napishtim came to rest on Mount Nisir. On the seventh day of their resting on Mount Nisir he sent out a dove, which finding no place to land, returned and then he sent out a raven which did not return so he knew it was safe. When he went out of his boat he made a sacrifice to the gods. The goddess Ishtar came and created a rainbow: her necklace. When Enlil discovered that Uta-Napishtim had escaped him he was furious and would have killed him. Ea persuaded Enlil that complete destruction of mankind was wrong. He said that only the men who had done wrong should be killed and not all mankind. Enlil was persuaded but stillturned Uta-Napishtim into a god so that no man had escaped him. The Mesopotamian stories contain many similarities to the biblical account. The flood marks a turning point in primeval history. It is brought on by divine decision as a punishment for man's sins against the gods. One man, the favorite of a god, is singled out for salvation. To save his family and representatives of all living creatures, he is to build a vessel caulked inside and out with pitch. The flood results with a rainstorm. After the devastation of the flood, the vessel comes to rest on a mountain peak. Birds are dispatched

to discover whether dry land has appeared. When the hero leaves the boat he offers a sacrifice. The gods express their sorrow over what has happened. There are many other similarities that seem to resemble one another in certain general details but there are clear and unmistakable differences throughout. BIBLICAL DIFFERENCES Various theological concepts between Babylonian mythology and the biblical account are quite obvious: Hebrew: One true God (monotheism) Babylonian: Many gods (polytheism) Hebrew: A Holy God Babylonian: The gods quarrel and disagree crouching in fear "like swarms of flies" Hebrew: God saw that all of mankind had become corrupt and evil in all their ways. Babylonian: There is confusion as to why the flood came. Hebrew: The Creator and sustainer of all executed His judgment upon His creation. Babylonian: Adad brought thunder, Ninurta brought winds, Annunaki brought lightning. Explanation It is nearly impossible to give an explanation without some sort of bias or presupposition. The likely explanation is that though the Babylonian account is older than Moses and the Biblical account, both the accounts go back to a common source of fact, which originated in an actual occurrence. The flood occurred long before the time of Abraham or Hammurapi. The memory of this awesome event passed on through tradition and somehow it was or became corrupted through various cultures. It is my view that the Bible records it as it actually happened, and as it was spoken by God, through the Holy Spirit to meet special needs in the history of redemption.

Ancient Babylonia - Prayers and Hymns Prayers and hymns were a common part of cultic rituals, some of which were great pieces of literature. For example the Hymn to Shamash, the sun god, a 200-line composition with quotes like: "The far mountains are capped by thy brilliance, Thy glow fills the entirety of lands, Thou dost ascend the highlands to view the earth, The perimeter of lands in the heavens thou dost weigh. All the peoples of the lands thou dost supervise, What divine Ea, king of counselors, created thou dost control entirely." Ancient Babylonia - Wisdom Literature

In Babylonian literature there is "wisdom literature"that are similar in composition to the biblical books of Job and Proverbs. Among the more important pieces are: I Will Praise the Lord of Wisdom, The Theodicy, The Dialogue of Pessimism, fables and debates, and various collections of proverbs. Many of these deal with the problem of the evil and suffering, as well as stories concerningdevout and pious observers who fell upon evil times, as a lesson on morality. Cynicism is apparent in one text, The Dialogue of Pessimism, wherein, through an amusing sequence of discussions between master and slave, it is illustrated how any activity can lead to success or failure, according to the chance of fortune, and the conclusion is thatdeath is the only dependable thing in life. Ancient Babylonia - Prophecy The Babylonians were steeped in their own history and wrote many literary compositions, which reflect this interest. One of the interesting types of historiographical works was the prophecy. This was a literary text, which described past events in prophetic termsas though the author had predicted these before they happened. Having thereby established his credibility, he proceeded to make real prophecies, which had a variety of forms according to the particular purpose he wished to achieve. The Babylonian prophecy was a forerunner of many occult religions and mystical books. Ancient Babylonia - Cuneiform The script of the Sumerians and all the other inhabitants of Mesopotamia employed to write their language, up to the first century BC was cuneiform. The name cuneiform comes from the Latin word "cuneus", meaning wedge. According to Babylonian beliefs Nabu, the god of scribal arts,who was also the city god of Borsippa, gave cuneiform to them. When the Akkadians, Semite invaders from the desert, adopted the Sumerian civilization and part of the Sumerian Territory they also adopted cuneiform. They adapted the script to fit their own. The next wave of Semite invaders, theAmorites, did likewise, but they continued to speak the Akkadian tongue. Thus we find Hammurapi (1792-1760 BC) who was an Amorite, speaking Akkadian and writing cuneiform. Since the time of Hammurapi, successive Mesopotamian empires controlled huge empires in the Near East. Because of this cuneiform, Akkadian became the lingua franca of the Near East, as Latin was of Medieval Europe. This of course ended when Mesopotamian civilization declined so that cuneiform was no longer being used by about the first century BC. When the Sumerians first brought cuneiform into being it was nothing like the script that it was to become. It was anideogramatical script (a symbol represented by a word).For example a picture of sheep would mean sheep. When the Sumerians came into contact with the Akkadians they needed to adapt their script to fit. This was necessary even to write Akkadian

names. Obviously it was far more important for the Akkadians because they needed to write their language in it. Cuneiform then underwent a transformation. It became a syllogramatical script where each symbol represented a sound. Therefore the symbol for a word such as 'dig', if we took an English equivalent would be correctly used in the second syllable of 'indignant'. This transformation enabled cuneiform to be used with other languages. As cuneiform changed from an ideogramatical to asyllogramatical script its symbols were simplified. The original pictograms were complicated and hard to write on clay tablets. The symbols developed, losing many of their lines and the remaining lines were wedge shaped and straight. Cuneiform was originally written with a reed or stick stylus but this was quickly developed into a precision tool. We have derived virtually all our knowledge of the Babylonians from texts written in cuneiform on clay tablets. From these tablets we have been able to learn their law, business, administration, religion and all other aspects of Babylonian civilization. Without these texts we would know little about the Babylonians. Ancient Babylonia - Babylonian Gods The problem was further compounded by the fact that each god had his own particular sphere of activity. The sun god Shamash was in charge of justice while the goddess Ishtar embraced both love and war. But inevitably there was considerable overlapping among the pantheons of the many cities. T he theologians made gargantuan efforts to systematize the hierarchy and functions of the gods. They drew up long lists of the numerous god names and, in a parallel column, equated the numerous lesser gods with one of the greater and better-known deities. These syncretic lists became a literary tradition and were passed on from century to century with revisions and additions. Ancient Babylonia - Marduk and his son Nabu The state religion of Babylonia involved large cults with big temples and numerous personnel while the religion of the private individual was involved with magic andsorcery. The state religion revolved around the greatgods of the cities who were ranked in an order corresponding more or less to the political status of their cities. Thus by the first millennium BC, Marduk, god of Babylon, was king of the gods and his son, Nabu of Borsippa, was right next to him. The multitude of cities and pantheons in Babylonia and the waxing and waning of the political fortunes of the various cities throughout Babylonian history resulted in a great deal of conflict and confusion among the numerous cults. Bel (Baal) Marduk, meaning Lord Marduk, was chief of the Babylonian gods. Because he was the city god he had not only a temple but also a huge ziggurat to him. The ziggurat grew in later times to be seven steps or platforms high. According to Babylonian legend the gods had built the ziggurat and temple. The temple was called the temple of Esgalia. Marduk was the son of Ea who was the god of wisdom. Marduk himself was the god of the rising sun. Legend says that Tiamat attacked the gods and Marduk conquered her thus becoming Lord of the gods. This ascension

probably arose from the pre-eminence of Babylon among the cities of that area. He had a wife called Sarpanitu and a son called Nabu. His sacred number was ten and his planet was Jupiter. Later on when Marduk had gained in importance as a god and had become king he was believed to be instrumental not only in the making of men but the fashioning of the world itself. In Babylon there was a statue of Marduk and it was made of pure gold. Many other statues of Marduk were built and were often richly adorned. One representation of Marduk would be carried through the city for the festival of the New Year. Ancient Babylonia - Temples and Rituals The care and feeding of the gods in the great temples was a matter of daily concern. Elaborate rituals requiring the participation and support of numbers of temple personnel evolved around the daily presentation of offerings, the cleaning of the divine statues' garments, and the purification of the temples. Offerings were provided from the temple's land holdings, endowments by royal and wealthy people, and from occasional gifts such as war booty. The temple personnel consumed the offerings. Special festivals were celebrated by every cult, the chief being theAkitu or New Year's Festival of the god Marduk at Babylon. This stretched over a number of days and included a statelyprocession of neighboring gods, such as Nabu to Babylon, and a formal parade of Marduk escorted by the king from his temple to the New Year's house outside the city wall. Failure to celebrate the festival because of political turmoil or other causes was a grave matter and, whenever this happened, it was recorded with great concern in the native histories. Ancient Babylonia - Priests Believing that foretelling is forestalling, Babylonian poured large amounts of wealth into temple sacrifices,divination by priests and the like, for the priests, the worshippers felt, could read the future in winds, storms, drops of oil on water, sheep's livers, and the stars. Priests also did made a large sum in trade in the sale of charms and magical formulae for driving off evil spirits that caused disease. Ancient Babylonia - Divination The practice of divination is one of the most distinctive features of Babylonian civilization and must be fully studied by any who would gain an appreciation of Babylonian thought. The Babylonian believed that the gods communicated their intentions to mankind by means ofsigns in natural phenomena and worldly events and that it was possible to learn to read these signs through prolonged observation and deep study. The absence of determinism here should be noted; the gods could change their minds at any time and often did so, but they would notify mankind of this. The vehicle of communication could be anything in earth or heaven and omens could be seen in the way smoke rose from a fire, abnormal

births among humans or animals, the sudden appearance of a lion in a city street, an eclipse of the moon, or an unusual dream. The Babylonian was surrounded by ominous happenings. Ancient Babylonia - Astrology The ancient Babylonians by the time of Hammurapi (1792-1760 BC) knew a great deal about astrology. This was, however, mainly because they believed that by looking at the planets and stars they could tell what the gods were doing. Due to this belief the Babylonians carefully observed the movements of the planets and their relation to other planets and stars. A millennium later the Babylonians were doing systematic recordings of the planets, which lasted several centuries. According to some sources the ancient Babylonians understood how an eclipse was to do with the earths and moon's shadow but the Babylonians thought the gods had caused it. As in other areas the Babylonians have left their mark. The Sumerians, the former inhabitants of Mesopotamia, named three of the signs of the zodiac and the Babylonians named the others, which are still in use today. There is also a belief among the Hebrews that the signs and their constellation, in their purest form, foretold of the coming of the Messiah, and later became corrupted within pagan cultures.

Ancient Babylonia - Extispicy Certain types of divination were more common than others and the two most popular were the observation of the stars and planets, astrology and the observation of the entrails of sacrificial animals, extispicy. In the latter type of divination the focus of concern were the liver and lungs and the diviners drew up long lists of possible malformations and discolorations in every minute part. They even went so far as to make models of the livers in clay and mark the various parts with appropriate cuneiform inscriptions. The variations and possible combinations of formations were almost endless. But each had an interpretation. For example: 'If there is a "weapon-mark" on the sibtu (liver part) and it rises from right to left: the army will enjoy the spoil of the enemy army." The interpretation, which is often expressed in historical terms as here, was not taken literally but simply as 'good' or 'bad'. In this case the enemy army suffers and so the meaning is good. A number of observations could be gleaned from any given animal and the interpretations, good, bad or confused, tabulated to determine the response.

The Babylonians did use their knowledge of astrology for another purpose than observing the doings of the gods. This was for their calendar. Their months were based on the lunar cycles. This calendar was essential for agriculture because the farmers needed to know when, for example, to water their crops. Ancient Babylonia - The New Year's Festival The Babylonians had many festivals and feasts. Probably the most important of these was the New Year's Festival. The festival happened in the first eleven days of the month Nisan which meant that the festival coincided with the spring equinox. This is because the equinox marks the beginning of another cycle when the days get longer and then shorter again until the winter equinox. The days shorter, and then longer, and then the year ends when day and night are the same length, the spring equinox. On the first five days of the New Year's Festival there were many ceremonies of purification. These culminated when on the fifth day the King was taken, by the High Priest, to Marduk in the Temple of Esagila. The King had his insignia removed and he was then accused of crimes against the city of Babylon. The King was hit and then was forced to kneel and plead his innocence. The King then had his insignia restored. On the sixth day the statue of Nabu was taken from his temple in Borsippa, about ten miles from Babylon, and brought to his father's, Marduk's temple in Babylon. The tenth day was the great climax to the celebration. Marduk, Nabu and many other gods assembled and went, by river and road, to a place called the Akitu house. Here a ceremonial battle took place showing Marduk overcoming the forces of evil. The gods then returned to the temple of Esagila. Ancient Babylonia - Morality There was a moral aspect to Babylonian religion for it was generally believed that good behavior, which included worship of and offerings to the gods, would win divine favor although some, as noted above in the discussion of wisdom literature, questioned this idea. Many of the gods did not behave in a very upright or sober manner, however, and there is the intriguing case of the goddess Ishtar who tried to seduce Gilgamesh. The hero rejected her erotic advances, denouncing her for the evil fate that she had inflicted upon all her previous lovers.

Ancient Babylonia - Civil Law Out of extensive trading grew business practices that were to have a tremendous impact upon future civilizations. Legal partnerships, business letters, agreements, lawsuits, the lending of money at interest, precious metals as a standard of weight and measure, personal and real property rights represented in deeds, wills, leases, contracts and promissory notes, flood insurance and the like.

Law and justice were key concepts in the Babylonian way of life. Justice was administered by the courts, each of which consisted of from one to four judges. Often the elders of a town constituted a tribunal. The judges could not reverse their decisions for any reason, but appeals from their verdicts could be made to the king. Evidence consisted either of statements from witnesses or of written documents. Oaths, which played a considerable role also in the administration of justice, could be either promissory, declaratory, or exculpatory. The courts inflicted penalties ranging from capital punishment and mutilation to flogging, reduction to slavery, and banishment. Awards for damages were from 3 to 30 times the value of the object to be restored.

Ancient Babylonia - Law Codes A number of documents from Babylonia called Law Codes have been recovered and the fact that these contain parallels with biblical and modern law has evoked considerable interest in modern scholarship. The documents in question are: Laws of Urukagina (Sumerian, 2350 BC), Laws of Ur-Namrnu (Sumerian, 2112-2095 BC), Laws of Lipit-Ishtar (Sumerian 1934-1924 BC), Laws of Eshnunna (Babylonian, 1900 BC), and Code of Hammurapi (Babylonian, 1792-1750 BC).

The The The The The

Although three of the texts are in Sumerian there is a clear relationship and frequently verbal agreement among all of them, reflecting a continuous literary tradition. With the exception of the Laws of Eshnunna, they are all written in the form of a royal inscription. This fact indicates that they arenot legal codes at all and this observation is corroborated by other features, namely the lack of consistency and the fact that the documents are neither comprehensive nor are they ever referred to in the abundant records of actual legal proceedings of the time. Rather, they are collections, within the framework of royal inscriptions, of independent legaldecrees issued by various kings to meet specific problems. Collections of these, of which the Laws of Eshnunna is one example, were continuously copied, added to, and elaborated upon. From time to time these were put into royal inscriptions as a boast by the king that he had fulfilled his divine missionto administer his people justly and fairly. Ancient Babylonia - The Code of Hammurapi Hammurapi realized that he could not rule by sword alone and therefore gathered laws into a unified codeand then had them administered by judges closely supervised by his own advisors. This code had a profound effect upon the whole near-Orient world. Ancient Babylonia - Legal Disputes In actual legal practice, precedent and custom were the guiding rules and there was no codified statement of the law of the land to which reference

could be made in a legal dispute. Disputes between two or more parties were commonly settled privately, either directly or through the mediation of a neutral outsider. On occasion a settlement could not be reached in this way and then the disputants would go to court. The court consisted of an assembly of people, which included judges and elders. Each side would present its case and usually take an oath by the god or gods that he or she was speaking the truth. Witnesses would present their testimony and similarly swear to the veracity of their words. When all testimony had been heard, the assembly would deliberate and the judges pronounce their decision. The case was recorded on a clay tablet, which contained the names of the judges and witnesses and the private seals of the participants impressed in the clay. Hammurapi's Code regulated ownership and the leasing of land, it authorized legal partnerships, it severely punished dishonest practices, it permitted loans of grain and silver but limited the interest to one-third the value of the grain and one-fifth the value of the silver. It protected farmers against crops destroyed by flood and against eviction before the termination of the contract. It specifically permitted women to own property, to manage shops, and to engage in trade. It also fixed prices. Ancient Babylonia - Labor Apprenticeship rules were drawn up, wages were fixed, and fines and other punishments were decreed for bad workmanship. Ancient Babylonia - Criminal Law The lex talionis (an eye for an eye) and punishment according to social rank were the two fixed principles in the criminal law. For purposes of law, people were graded as nobles, commoners and slaves. In the matter of the loss, through criminal assault, of an eye, for example: if a man destroyed a nobleman's eye, his was plucked out in retaliation. If he destroyed a commoner's eye, he paid one mina of silver (about a pound). If he destroyed the eye of a slave, he paid the price of the slave to the owner. Retaliation often became unduly severe, for example, if a house collapsed and killed the owner, the builder was put to death, and if the owners son was killed in the collapse, then the builders son was executed. Ancient Babylonia - Prisons, Slaves and Women Disputes were private affairs and the state did not act as a prosecuting body. While prisons existed, they seem to have been used largely for political purposes. Debtors who could not pay their creditors became debt slaves. I n some instances ordeals were used to determine the guilt or innocence of an accused person. Thus a man accused of sorcery was forced to jump into the river; if he drowned he was guilty but if he survived he was innocent and, in the latter eventuality, his accuser was put to death. Women had equal rights with men before the law and even debt slaves had legal rights. Ancient Babylonia - Legal Documents

There were a variety of legal transactions, which were carefully recorded on clay tablets, and a vast multitude of these have been recovered from the Old and NeoBabylonian periods. These documents are concerned with marriage, adoption, inheritance, sale, exchange, hire, lease, loans and receipts, as well as with court proceedingsas already mentioned. Closely related to the legal documents were the administrative accounts of palace, temple and private business, and large numbers of these have also been found. Records of this kind were stored in large clay jars with a seal on top and a brief statement as to the contents of the jar. Before the records were placed in the jar, a catalogue of its contents was prepared so that a particular document could be located when it was required in a dispute.

Ancient Babylonia - Shamash the Sun God Shamash, the Babylonian sun god, was their god of law and justice and as that he was said by the Babylonians to have given mankind their laws. In ancient Babylon including the time of Hammurapi (1792-1760 BC), there were many and varied punishments for crimes. For most serious crimes the punishment was death. This was done in many ways with two of the most common being by drowning or burning. Also used were mutilations. Typically a part of the body, such as hands or ears were cut off. Most minor crimes, however, tended to be punished by a fine. Three of the most famous law codes of the time were that of Hammurapi: King of Babylon (1792-1760 BC), Ur-Nammu King of Ur (2113-2093 BC) and Moses (1200) BC: leader of the Israelites. The first two sets of law, which are Mesopotamian, differ considerably from that of Moses
Ancient Babylonia - The Code of Hammurapi and Retaliation

Out of an attempt to regularize these and other practices came Hammurapi's code (1780 BC). The so-called Law Codes provide a wealth of information not only about legal practice in Babylonia but also about political, social, economic and religious institutions and customs. One of the more interesting facts learned there is in the matter of punishment for bodily injury. In the early codes, if a man injured someone physically he was required to pay a fine, the amount varying according to the gravity of the injury. But in the Code of Hammurapi provision is made for retaliation in kind. Thus, if a man broke another man's arm, his arm would be broken. This principle of "lex talionis" (an eye for an eye) appears simultaneously with the ascendance of the Amorites in Babylonia and has its origin with these people.

Hammurapi's Code was more in the nature of a codification of existing law rather than an original formulation of law. It was his effort to unify his expanding empire. It consisted of about 250 laws regulating property ownership, business practices, flood and agricultural controls, labor and family relations. It codified the criminal law and the law of equity or fair dealing. Ancient Babylonia - Monarchy The Babylonian political structure was a monarchy. The king ruled through a number of officials who were directly under and responsible to him but he could intervene personally at any level of government and administration. Thus Hammurapi (1792-1750 BC) took a direct hand in dealing with property claims in Larsa after he had captured that city-state. The monarchy was hereditary and male primogeniture seems to have been the guiding principle. Babylonian historians designated a continuous line of kings a"dynasty". The king was an absolute monarch and in the very early period there were a few checks to his authority in that he had to respect custom and tradition, private property, the sensibilities of the nobles, religion and divination. The king was the ultimate authority in all areas except religion where he was subject to the dictates of the chief god as represented by his chief priest. Thus in the New Year's festival the king's role included being slapped in the face by the chief priest and pulled by the ears as a sign of his subservience to the god.

ancient Babylonia - The Kings Palace and Harem The king resided in a palace, the size and magnificence of which would depend upon the fortunes of the time, the palace of Nebuchadnezzar II (604-562 BC) probably having been the most splendid. The monarch was surrounded by his court, a body which embraced his highest officials, with the exception of provincial governors who resided in their capitals. The harem was the focus of the king's family life and a guard of eunuchs rigidly maintained privacy. Ancient Babylonia - Communication, Roads and Scribes Efficient administration of the country depended upon good communications through a system of roads and relay stations for messengers. Written communications passed back and forth in great number and required a large body of trained scribes. Most people,

including the king and his officials, were illiterate so that they were heavily dependent upon the scribes both to write and interpret their commands and reports in an appropriate manner. Many of these letters have been discovered in modern times and they provide a fascinating glimpse of the real events and human relationships of the day, in contrast to the official versions found in royal inscriptions. Ancient Babylonia - Nebuchadnezzar II Nebuchadnezzar II marched back to Babylon and was crowned king, which inaugurated one of the most powerful periods in Babylonian history. Nebuchadnezzar continued his brilliant campaigns focusing his military maneuvers on the west, which he effectively brought under his control. It was the kingdom of Judah who had called upon Egypt to assist them against the Babylonians. King Nebuchadnezzar continued his attacks and on his second conquest the conquered Jerusalem in 586 BC taking the survivors as prisoners back to Babylon. This was known in Jewish history has "the Babylonian captivity" and "the exile".After he destroyed Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar focused his attacks upon Egypt and he conquered it in 568 BC though there has been no detailed account of this invasion ever discovered, it remains a tremendous success for the king of Babylon and the first time any Chaldean king had ever conquered Egypt. After Nebuchadnezzar's death his successors remained obscure until Nabonidus (555-539 BC), the last of the dynasty, ascended the throne. According to history Nabonidus, for some reason, lived throughout 10 of the 17 years that he ruled, at an Arab desert oasis called Tema, which was a vast distance from Babylon. In Babylon he left his son Belshazzar, to rule on his behalf. Nabonidus and his mother were from Harran and claimed to have been a loyal subject to the last of the Assyrian kings. Both he and his mother were zealous worshipers of the moon-god Sin, the tutelary deity of Harran, but when Nabonidus tried to promote this cult in Babylonia, the native priests, especially those who followed Marduk, became enraged. This religious controversy split Babylonia in two. Some of this literary propaganda of the time has been recovered. Babylonian culture flourished during the pax Assyriaca of the 7th century BC and again under the Chaldean dynasty of the sixth century BC. Their god Nabu, son of Marduk and god of writing and learning became very popular throughout that period. The practice of astrology permeated the Babylonian society to the point that there were nightly watches by the astrologers throughout the kingdom. Archeologists have recently recovered massive detailed records of the movements of heavenly bodies. Literature was copied and studied and many

new compositions were created. In art and architecture the most impressive remains that have been unearthed by archeologists are in Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon. The city apparently had not changed much when the Greek historian Herodotus wrote about it less than a century later and called its Hanging Gardens one of the 7 wonders of the world. In 539 BC Cyrus the Great of Persia conquered Babylon. Ancient Babylonia - Houses and Farms Around the temple were clusters of houses made of sun-dried brick and inhabited by farmers and artisans. The populations of the Babylonian cities cannot be estimated with any reasonable degree of accuracy, because the authorities, so far as extant documents reveal, took no census. The number of inhabitants of a city probably ranged from 10,000 to 50,000. The city streets were narrow, winding, and quite irregular, with high, windowless walls of houses on both sides. The streets were unpaved and undrained. The average house was a small, onestory, mud-brick structure, consisting of several rooms grouped around a court. The house of a well-to-do Babylonian, on the other hand, was probably a twostory brick dwelling of about a dozen rooms and was plastered and whitewashed both inside and out. The ground floor consisted of a reception room, kitchen, lavatory, servants' quarters, and, sometimes, even a private chapel. Furniture consisted of low tables, high-backed chairs, and beds with wooden frames. Household vessels were made of clay, stone, copper, and bronze, and baskets and chests of reed and wood. Floors and walls were adorned with reed mats, skin rugs, and woolen hangings. Below the house was often located a mausoleum in which the family dead were buried. The Babylonians believed that the souls of the dead traveled to the nether world, and that, at least to some extent, life continued there as on earth. For this reason, pots, tools, weapons, and jewels were buried with the dead. Agriculture formed the economic base of Babylonian civilization with production of barley, wheat, fruits, vegetables, with cattle and sheep predominating. The main crop in the time of the ancient Babylonians was barley. The farmer would sow his seed with a tool known as a "seeder plough" The plough would create a furrow into which a seed would be dropped using a funnel. A man would have to walk beside the seeder plough and drop the seeds in at regular intervals.

This would mean that all the seeds would be at exactly the correct depth. It would have taken considerable skill to achieve tasks such as irrigation and the winnowing. If the farmer got the irrigation wrong he could flood the field or let it get too dry to allow the plants to grow. Similarly if the farmer did the winnowing in too strong a wind the grain would also blow away but if he did in too weak a wind there would be chaff and dirt still mixed in. The farmer would have probably followed his father in his trade and would have been taught by him. The farmer would almost certainly have been "apprenticed" by his father.

In ancient Babylon there would have been no civilization without irrigation. Without irrigation the land would have turned back into an area of swamp and desert. For only a small area by the great rivers was naturally fertile. The rest of the land had been made fertile by irrigation. The crops, which were grown in the irrigated areas, were virtually the only source of food for the Babylonians. When theirrigation systems were destroyed it had disastrous effects. All the water for irrigation was taken from the Tigris and the Euphrates, called Idiglat and Buranin in Sumerian. In early times the canals were old riverbeds when the river had moved to a new course. As civilization developed canals were being dug. The rivers of Mesopotamia are very unstable and tend even now to sometimes change course. The network of canals and flood banks helped to keep the great rivers in their original courses. If the course of a river changed, any cities nearby would be deserted for the cities relied on the river for their prosperity. Officials were appointed to supervise the canals. They were entitled to call out all the able bodied men in the area, even men from towns. The official had to make sure that the canal was clear. The canal would often fill up with silt and weeds and these would have to be cleaned out. The official was also in charge of making sure that the flood banks were at the right height so that there would be no flood damage.

Ancient Babylonia Glossary - Artisans Artisans wove tapestries and rugs, and fashion gold, silver and copper goods, they cut gems and manufactured textiles. The surplus of manufacturers and agriculture spilled over into trade. Cities were themselves trading posts, depots for goods en route

by boat or camel caravan the Mediterranean Lands.

eastward

to India or Chinaand

westward

to

Ancient Babylonia - Manufacturing Babylonian economy was based upon agriculture, animal husbandry, manufactured goods (chiefly textiles) and foreign trade. The chief economic institutions were the palace and temples, which owned large areas of land and were also involved in manufacturing and trade. There were in addition private landholders and business firms, and goods were exchanged on a barter system with silver as the standard of exchange. Payment was in kind and silver did not normally change hands. There was a standard system of weights and measure controlled by the crown and many metal and stone weights, often in the shape of ducks, can now be seen in modern museums. The king could and did decree the price of certain goods at certain times but in general the price of items was allowed, to fluctuate according to supply and demand. Ancient Babylonia - Trade Though farming was the main industry of the ancient Babylonian, trade was also an integral part of their life and of Babylonian civilization. A king could not raise taxes for some great war from poor peasants.Trade was the key to wealth. The kings knew that to preserve their own wealth they had to promote trade. They supported the merchants and would often ransom them if bandits or some hostile kingdom captured them. By promoting trade a king could tax people. For trade to flourish the trade routes had to be safe and protected from bandits. Therefore it was good for trade when there were large stable empires. This is because if there were one empire controlling the trade route there would be peace and security because there would be no wars. This would mean greater prosperity. If the trade routes were not secure and merchants were left to the mercy of bandits, trade would be discontinued and a general decline in the prosperity of the area would happen, as in 1000 BC, when throughout the Near East trade decreased. Babylon became important in the Middle Eastern trade network. Not only were traders taking exports out and bringing imports in, but also merchants were carrying goods from places such as India, Europe, Persia, Anatolia and Egypt up the rivers west and down the rivers east again. Nearly all of this

merchandise was carried on boats up and down the river. One important source of trade, which had declined by the time of Hammurapi, was the Indus valley (India). It was largely because of nations attempting to control position on the trade routes that so many wars took place. There were other lucrative centers of commerce in the ancient world. Ancient Babylonia - Social Hierarchy There were several levels in the social hierarchy with the king at the top and the slaves at the bottom. In between, in descending order, were the nobles, the free citizens and those in military and civil service. The class structure was generally rigid although some mobility from one level to another was possible. The debt slave had the possibility of paying his debts and regaining his freedom but the only hope for the foreign captive was escape or death. Thus in Babylonian society there were mainly three classes in society, the awilu, a free person of the upper class; the wardu, or slave; and the mushkenu, a free person of low estate, who ranked legally between the awilu and the wardu. Most slaves were prisoners of war, but some were recruited from the Babylonian citizenry as well. For example, free persons might be reduced to slavery as punishment for certain offenses; parents could sell their children as slaves in time of need; or a man might even turn over his entire family to creditors in payment of a debt, but for no longer than three years. Ancient Babylonia - Family and Tribe The basic units in Babylonian society were the family and tribe. That of his family determined an individual's class and station and the few Babylonian's without a family were looked upon with contempt. Widows and orphans were the responsibility of the state, specifically the king, and adoption was very common. Urban communities formed a salient characteristic of Babylonian civilization and the plain was dotted with cities, notably Babylon, Sippar, Kish, Nippur and Ur. Residents of a particular city were very conscious of being citizens of that city and jealous of any special rights and privileges which they enjoyed either by tradition or royal decree. The Babylonian social structure was shaken fairly often by the influx of new people, such as the Kassites and Aramaeans, but eventually each new group was absorbed and altered the general pattern of society only slightly. Marriages were arranged by the parents, and the betrothal was recognized legally as soon as the groom had presented a bridal gift to the father of the

bride; the ceremony often was concluded with a contract inscribed on a tablet. Although marriage was thus reduced to a practical arrangement, some evidence exists to show that surreptitious premarital lovemaking was not altogether unknown. The Babylonian woman had certain important legal rights. She could hold property, engage in business, and qualify as a witness. The husband, however, could divorce her on relatively light grounds, or, if she had borne him no children, he could marry a second wife. Children were under the absolute authority of their parents, who could disinherit them or, as mentioned before, could sell them into slavery. In the normal course of events children were loved and, at the death of the parents, inherited their property. Adopted children were not uncommon and were treated with care. Ancient Babylonia - Domestic Relations As previously mentioned, marriage was defined as a legal contract, if one partner broke the contract, the other could sue for violation of contract. Husbands could divorce wives who were undutiful by returning them to their families or by reducing them to the rank of servants. Wives could similarly divorce their husbands for cause and take their dowries with them as they left. A man could sell his wife to discharge a debt. Adultery and sexual perversions were very severely punished. Ancient Babylonia - Schools For the most part the only education that a young Babylonian might have received would have been of a scribal type. Those who were sent to school to train as a scribe had to be children of wealthy or influential parents. Boys were admitted and possibly girls as well. There is no doubt that rich women often had a lot of freedom and influence. By the time of Hammurapi (1792-60) the language of Sumerian had been replaced by Akkadian as the commonly spoken language in Babylonia but Sumerian was still used for nearly all religious texts. It was therefore necessary to train students, not only in the script, cuneiform, but in the language as well. The students' education would begin when he was eight or nine years old. Each day he would get up at sunrise and go to school, which was commonly known as the tablet house. At the tablet house there would be a man like a schoolmaster. His title literally meant "the Expert." There would be a number of other teachers who would each specialize in a different aspects of Sumerian and its writing. To keep order some of the senior students would be appointed as a helper. A student's work would consist of copying tablets using a slab of wet

clay. Also he would learn various texts by heart. If he successfully passed an examination the student became a scribe. Houses made of Sun-dried Brick They Raised Cattle and Sheep The Main Crop was Barley Ancient Babylonia - Scientific Knowledge Babylonian civilization has in recent decades become renowned for its scientific achievements, as study of the cuneiform records has revealed how much had been known and passed on to Europe during the Hellenistic era and not, as believed earlier, discovered first by the Egyptians or Greeks. Recognition of Babylonian scientific knowledge has been hampered by the fact that much of it involved the practice of divination and it is not always possible to draw a line between observed fact and logical deduction on the one hand and religious belief on the other. Ancient Babylonia - Astronomy and the Calendar The observations of the astrologers, which were meticulously recorded on a nightly basis over many centuries, led to accurate predictions of various astronomical phenomena and the correct calculation of the solar and lunar year. The Babylonian calendar was based upon the lunar year but, thanks to the astrologer's knowledge, could be reconciled with the solar year by means of intercalary months. We owe much of our calendar system to the Babylonians. They were probably the first people after the Sumerians to have a calendar. This calendar was very important because without it agriculture could not be planned properly. There were twelve lunar months in the year but as the months were shorter than our months often an extra month would have to be added. This was called the second Elul. Each week was divided into seven days. The day was divided into six parts each of two hours duration and containing thirty parts. The Babylonians measured time with a water or sun clock. One can see from this that the Babylonian calendar has marked similarities with our own: for instance the twelve months in the year and seven days in a week. The year started at the vernal (spring) equinox. The Babylonians, by the time of Hammurapi had names for each month: Babyloni Hebre an w Tashritu Tishri Arahsamn Heshwa

a Kislimu Tebetu Sabatu Addaru Nisannu Aiaru Simanu Du'uzu

n Kislev Tebet Shebat Adar Nisan Iyyar Siwan Tammu z Abu Ab Alulu Elul Ancient Babylonia - Mathematics Mathematics was another sphere in which the Babylonians excelled. Theoretical mathematics intrigued them and a large number of texts involving geometry and algebra of a quite sophisticated sort has been preserved. The theorems of Euclid and Pythagoras were already known in the Old Babylonian period. As their civilization developed the Sumerians developed the need for a numerical system. They needed it for measurements and business transactions and for all the other requirements a civilized society has. From these beginnings Babylonian mathematics arose and was soon highly developed. The Sumerians and thus the Babylonians were one of the first peoples to have some fairly complex mathematics, some of which were not learned in parts of the world until recent centuries. Babylonian influence can still be clearly seen in such things as the measurement of time and degrees of angles. The Babylonian numerical system was sexagesimal i.e. base sixty. This is why there are 60 minutes in an hour and 360 degrees in a circle. Strangely the Babylonians by the time of Hammurapi also had symbols for ten, one hundred and one thousand making their system part decimal. The Babylonians were very advanced for their time. They knew about square roots and completing the square and they knew the value of p quite accurately. Ancient Babylonia - Medicine Medicine was practiced by two kinds of experts: the physician (asu), and the exorcist (dsipu), and the talents of either or both might be demanded at the sick bed. There was a whole set of diagnostic texts in which a multitude of possible symptoms was listed and the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment given.Surgery was known and even delicate operations on the eye were performed. The Babylonians had a superb knowledge of human and animal anatomy and physiology and were aware, for example, of thecirculation of the blood and the pulse.

Ancient Babylonia - Nature The Babylonians were intimate with the variety of stones, metals, trees, plants, animals, birds and fishwhich existed in their world and left for posterity a multitude of lists of their names and texts about them

We Owe Much of our Calendar System to the Babylonians The Babylonians Measured Time with a Water or Sun Clock The Babylonian Numerical System was Sexagesimal 60 Minutes in an 360 Degrees in a Circle Ancient Babylonia - The Babylonian Captivity

(Base

60) Hour

Around 605 BC Nineveh and Assyria had fallen. It was just Egypt and Babylon who were seeking world supremacy. The young brilliant new king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, went out and defeated the Egyptians at Carchemish. He marched on to Judah, during Jehoiakim's reign, and took thousands of Hebrews back to Babylon (including Daniel, who became one of the greatest prophets). Nebuchadnezzar made two more attacks when he heard of rebellion in Judah. Each time he took captives (including Ezekiel the prophet). Only a remnant of the weakest, poorest, and least threatening Jews remained. King Nebuchadnezzar set up a puppet king (Zedekiah) of David's line to sit on the throne of Judah and made him swear an oath of allegiance (2 Chr 36:10-12). Zedekiah was as faithless as the rest of the evil kings of Judah. He then rebelled and allied with other enemies. When Nebuchadnezzar heard he came back for the last time (586 BC) to reduce Jerusalem to rubble and send the Temple up in flames. Zedekiah was forced to witness the slaughter of his sons, then his eyes were put out, and he himself was carried off to Babylon. The Kingdom was over and the "times of the gentiles" had begun. 2 Kin 24:13-14 "And he carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king's house, and he cut in pieces all the articles of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had said. Also he carried into captivity all Jerusalem: all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths. None remained except the poorest people of the land."