The earliest source to mention Babylon may be a dated tablet of the reign of
Sargon of Akkad (ca. 24th century BC
short chronology). The so-called "Weidner Chronicle" states that it was Sargon himself who built Babylon "in front of
Akkad" (ABC 19:51). Another chronicle likewise states that Sargon "dug up the dirt of the pit of Babylon, and made a counterpart of Babylon next to Agade". (ABC 20:18-19). More recently, some researchers have stated that those sources may refer to
Sargon II of the
Neo-Assyrian Empire rather than Sargon of Akkad.
[4]
Some scholars, including linguist
I.J. Gelb, have suggested that the name
Babil is an echo of an earlier city name. Herzfeld wrote about
Bawer in Iran, which was allegedly founded by Jamshid; the name
Babil could be an echo of Bawer.
David Rohl holds that the original Babylon is to be identified with
Eridu. The Bible in
Genesis 10 indicates that
Nimrod was the original founder of Babel (Babylon). Joan Oates claims in her book
Babylon that the rendering "Gateway of the gods" is no longer accepted by modern scholars.
By around the 19th century BC, much of Mesopotamia was occupied by
Amorites, nomadic tribes from the west who were
Semitic speakers like the Akkadians of Babylonia and
Assyria, but at first did not practice agriculture like them, preferring to herd sheep. Over time, Amorite grain merchants rose to prominence and established their own independent dynasties in several Mesopotamian city-states, most notably
Isin,
Larsa and
Babylon.
Map showing the Babylonian territory upon Hammurabi's ascension in 1792 BC and upon his death in 1750 BC
Old Babylonian period
The
Amorite First Babylonian Dynasty was established by
Sumu-abum, who declared independence from the neighboring city-state of
Kazallu, but Babylon controlled little surrounding territory until it became the capital of
Hammurabi's empire a century later (r. 1728–1686 BC
short chronology). Hammurabi is famous for codifying the laws of Babylonia into the
Code of Hammurabi that has had a lasting influence on legal thought. Subsequently, the city of Babylon continued to be the capital of the region known as Babylonia.
Following the sack of Babylon by the
Hittites, and during the almost 400 years of domination by the
Kassites, the city was renamed
Karanduniash.
[citation needed] However, it eventually became subject to the rule of
Elam and
Assyria, both nations often interfering in or controlling Babylon during the Kassite period.
It has been estimated that Babylon was the largest city in the world from ca. 1770 to 1670 BC, and again between ca. 612 and 320 BC. It was perhaps the first city to reach a population above 200,000.
[5]
Assyrian period
Throughout the duration of the
Neo Assyrian Empire (911 BC to 608 BC) Babylonia spent long periods under Assyrian domination. During the reign of
Sennacherib of Assyria, Babylonia was in a constant state of revolt, led by
Mushezib-Marduk, and suppressed only by the complete destruction of the city of Babylon. In 689 BC, its walls, temples and palaces were razed, and the rubble was thrown into the
Arakhtu, the sea bordering the earlier Babylon on the south. This act shocked the religious conscience of Mesopotamia; the subsequent murder of Sennacherib by two of his sons was held to be in expiation of it, and his successor
Esarhaddon hastened to rebuild the old city, to receive there his crown, and make it his residence during part of the year. On his death, Babylonia was left to be governed by his elder son the Assyrian prince
Shamash-shum-ukin, who eventually headed a revolt in 652 BC against his own brother
Ashurbanipal in Nineveh,
Assurbanipal.
Once again, Babylon was besieged by the Assyrians and starved into surrender. Assurbanipal purified the city and celebrated a "service of reconciliation", but did not venture to "take the hands" of Bel. In the subsequent overthrow of the Assyrian Empire, the Babylonians saw another example of divine vengeance. (
Albert Houtum-Schindler, "Babylon,"
Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th ed.)
Neo-Babylonian Chaldean Empire
Under
Nabopolassar, Babylon threw off Assyrian rule in 612 BC and became the capital of the Neo-Babylonian (sometimes and possibly erroneously called
Chaldean) Empire.
[6][7][8]
With the recovery of Babylonian independence, a new era of architectural activity ensued, and his son
Nebuchadnezzar II (604–561 BC) made Babylon into one of the wonders of the ancient world.
[9] Nebuchadnezzar ordered the complete reconstruction of the imperial grounds, including rebuilding the
Etemenanki ziggurat and the construction of the
Ishtar Gate — the most spectacular of eight gates that ringed the perimeter of Babylon. A reconstruction of The Ishtar Gate is located in the
Pergamon Museum in
Berlin. All that was ever found of the Original Ishtar gate was the foundation and scattered bricks.
Nebuchadnezzar is also credited with the construction of the
Hanging Gardens of Babylon (one of the
seven wonders of the ancient world), said to have been built for his homesick wife
Amyitis. Whether the gardens did exist is a matter of dispute. Although excavations by German archaeologist
Robert Koldewey are thought to reveal its foundations, many historians disagree about the location, and some believe it may have been confused with gardens in the Assyrian capital,
Nineveh.
Chaldean rule did not last long and it is not clear if
Neriglissar and
Labashi-Marduk were Chaldeans or native Babylonians, and the last ruler
Nabonidus and his son and regent
Belshazzar were
Assyrians from
Harran.
Persia captures Babylon
In 539 BC, the Neo-Babylonian Empire fell to
Cyrus the Great, king of
Persia, with an unprecedented military engagement known as the
Battle of Opis. The famed walls of Babylon were indeed impenetrable, with the only way into the city through one of its many gates or through the Euphrates, which ebbed beneath its thick walls. Metal gates at the river's in-flow and out-flow prevented underwater intruders, if one could hold one's breath to reach them. Cyrus (or his generals) devised a plan to use the Euphrates as the mode of entry to the city, ordering large camps of troops at each point and instructed them to wait for the signal. Awaiting an evening of a national feast among Babylonians (generally thought to refer to the feast of Belshazzar mentioned in Daniel V), Cyrus' troops diverted the Euphrates river upstream, causing the Euphrates to drop to about 'mid thigh level on a man' or to dry up altogether. The soldiers marched under the walls through the lowered water. The Persian Army conquered the outlying areas of the city's interior while a majority of Babylonians at the city center were oblivious to the breach. The account was elaborated upon by Herodotus,
[10] and is also mentioned by passages in the Hebrew Bible.
[11][12]
Cyrus later issued
a decree permitting captive people, including the
Jews, to return to their own land (as explained in the Old Testament), to allow their temple to be rebuilt back in
Jerusalem.
Under Cyrus and the subsequent Persian king
Darius the Great, Babylon became the capital city of the 9th Satrapy (Babylonia in the south and Athura in the north), as well as a centre of learning and scientific advancement. In
Achaemenid Persia, the ancient Babylonian arts of
astronomy and
mathematics were revitalised and flourished, and Babylonian scholars completed maps of constellations. The city was the administrative capital of the
Persian Empire, the preeminent power of the then known world, and it played a vital part in the history of that region for over two centuries. Many important archaeological discoveries have been made that can provide a better understanding of that era.
[13][14]
The early Persian kings had attempted to maintain the religious ceremonies of
Marduk, but by the reign of
Darius III, over-taxation and the strains of numerous wars led to a deterioration of Babylon's main shrines and canals, and the disintegration of the surrounding region. There were numerous attempts at rebellion and in 522 BC (
Nebuchadrezzar III), 521 BC (
Nebuchadrezzar IV) and 482 (
Bel-shimani and
Shamash-eriba) BC native Babylonian kings briefly regained independence. However these revolts were relatively swiftly repressed and the land and city of Babylon remained solidly under Persian rule for two centuries, until
Alexander the Great's entry in 331 BC.
Hellenistic period
In 331 BC, Darius III was defeated by the forces of the
Ancient Macedonian ruler
Alexander the Great at the
Battle of Gaugamela, and in October, Babylon fell to the young conqueror. A native account of this invasion notes a ruling by Alexander not to enter the homes of its inhabitants.
[15]
Under Alexander, Babylon again flourished as a centre of learning and commerce. But following Alexander's death in 323 BC in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar, his empire was divided amongst his generals, and decades of fighting soon began, with Babylon once again caught in the middle.
The constant turmoil virtually emptied the city of Babylon. A tablet dated 275 BC states that the inhabitants of Babylon were transported to
Seleucia, where a palace was built, as well as a temple given the ancient name of
Esagila. With this deportation, the history of Babylon comes practically to an end, though more than a century later, it was found that sacrifices were still performed in its old sanctuary.
[16] By 141 BC, when the
Parthian Empire took over the region, Babylon was in complete desolation and obscurity.
Persian Empire period
Under the
Parthian, and later,
Sassanid Persians, Babylon (like Assyria) remained a province of the
Persian Empire for nine centuries, until after 650 AD. It continued to have its own culture and people, who spoke varieties of
Aramaic, and who continued to refer to their homeland as Babylon. Some examples of their cultural products are often found in the
Babylonian Talmud, the
Gnostic Mandaean religion,
Eastern Rite Christianity and the religion of the prophet
Mani. Christianity came to Mesopotamia in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, and Babylon was the seat of a Bishop of the
Church of the East until well after the Arab/Islamic conquest.
Arab Conquest
In the mid 7th century AD
Mesopotamia was invaded and settled by the
Arabs who brought with them
Islam. A period of
Arabisation and
Islamification followed. Babylon was dissolved as a province and
Aramaic and
Church of the East Christianity eventually became marginalised, although both still exist today (more so however among the
Assyrians of northern Iraq) as does
Mandeanism. A Babylonian/Mesopotamian/Assyrian identity is still espoused by members of the
Chaldean Catholic Church to this day.
Archaeology
The site at Babylon consists of a number of mounds covering an oblong area roughly 2 kilometers by 1 kilometer, oriented north to south.
[citation needed] The site is bounded by the
Euphrates River on the west, and by the remains of the ancient city walls otherwise. Originally, the Euphrates roughly bisected the city, as is common in the region, but the river has since shifted its course so that much of the remains on the former western part of the city are now inundated. Some portions of the city wall to the west of the river also remain. Several of the sites mounds are more prominent.
These include:
- Amran Ibn Ali – to the south and the highest of the mounds at 25 meters. It is the site of Esagila, a temple of Marduk which also contained shrines to Ea and Nabu.
- Homera – a reddish colored mound on the west side. Most of the Hellenistic remains are here.
- Babil – in the northern end of the site, about 22 meters in height. It has been extensively subject to brick robbing (or brick recycling depending on your point of view) since ancient times. It held a palace built by Nebuchadnezzar.
Occupation at the site dates back to the late 3rd millennium, finally achieving prominence in the early 2nd millennium under the
First Babylonian Dynasty and again later in the millennium under the
Kassite dynasty of Babylon. Unfortunately, almost nothing from that period has been recovered at the site of Babylon. First, the water table in the region has risen greatly over the centuries and artifacts from the time before the
Neo-Babylonian Empire are unavailable to current standard archaeological methods. Secondly, the Neo-Babylonians conducted massive rebuilding projects in the city which destroyed or obscured much of the earlier record. Third, much of the western half of the city is now under the Euphrates River. Fourth, Babylon has been sacked a number of times, most notably by the
Hittites and
Elamites in the 2nd millennium, then by the
Neo-Assyrian Empire and the
Achaemenid Empire in the 1st millennium, after the Babylonians had revolted against their rule. Lastly, the site has been long mined for building materials on a commercial scale.
While knowledge of early Babylon must be pieced together from epigraphic remains found elsewhere, such as at
Uruk,
Nippur, and
Haradum, information on the Neo-Babylonian city is available from archaeological excavations and from classical sources. Babylon was described, perhaps even visited, by a number of classical historians including
Ctesias,
Herodotus,
Quintus Curtius Rufus,
Strabo, and
Cleitarchus. These reports are of variable accuracy and some political spin is involved but still provide useful data.
The first reported archaeological excavation of Babylon was conducted by
Claudius James Rich in 1811-12 and again in 1817.
[17][18] Robert Mignan excavated at the site briefly in 1827.
[19] William Loftus visited there in 1849.
[20]
Austen Henry Layard made some soundings during a brief visit in 1850 before abandoning the site.
[21] Fulgence Fresnel and
Julius Oppert heavily excavated Babylon from 1852 to 1854. Unfortunately, much of the result of their work was lost when a raft containing over forty crates of artifacts sank into the Tigris river.
[22][23]
Henry Creswicke Rawlinson and
George Smith worked there briefly in 1854. The next excavation, a major one, was conducted by
Hormuzd Rassam on behalf of the
British Museum. Work began in 1879, continuing until 1882, and was prompted by widespread looting occurring at the site. Using industrial scale digging in search of artifacts, Rassam recovered a large quantity of cuneiform tablets and other finds. The zealous excavation methods, common in those days, caused much damage to the archaeological context.
[24][25]
A team from the
German Oriental Society led by
Robert Koldewey conducted the first scientific archaeological excavations at Babylon. The work was conducted every year between 1899 and 1917 until World War I intruded. Primary efforts of the dig involved the temple of
Marduk and the processional way leading up to it, as well as the city wall. Hundreds of recovered tablets, as well as the noted
Ishtar Gate were sent back to Germany.
[26][27][28][29][30][31]
Further work by the
German Archaeological Institute was conducted by Heinrich J. Lenzen in 1956 and Hansjörg Schmid 1962. The work by Lenzen dealt primarily with the
Hellenistic theatre and by Schmid with the temple ziggurat
Etemenanki.
[32]
In more recent times, the site of Babylon was excavated by G. Bergamini on behalf of the Centro Scavi di Torino per il Medio Oriente e l'Asia and the Iraqi-Italian Institute of Archaeological Sciences. This work began with a season of excavation in 1974 followed by a topographical survey in 1977.
[33] The focus was on clearing up issues raised by re-examination of the old German data. After a decade, Bergamini returned to the site in 1987-1989. The work concentrated on the area surrounding the Ishara and
Ninurta temples in the Shu-Anna city-quarter of Babylon.
[34][35]
It should be noted that during the restoration efforts in Babylon, some amount of excavation and room clearing has been done by the Iraqi State Organization for Antiquities and Heritage. Given the conditions in that country the last few decades, publication of archaeological activities has been understandably sparse at best.
[36][37]
Reconstruction
In 1983,
Saddam Hussein started rebuilding the city on top of the old ruins (because of this, artifacts and other finds may well be under the city by now), investing in both restoration and new construction. He inscribed his name on many of the bricks in imitation of Nebuchadnezzar. One frequent inscription reads: "This was built by Saddam Hussein, son of Nebuchadnezzar, to glorify Iraq". This recalls the
ziggurat at
Ur, where each individual brick was stamped with "Ur-Nammu, king of Ur, who built the temple of
Nanna". These bricks became sought after as collectors' items after the downfall of Hussein, and the ruins are no longer being restored to their original state. He also installed a huge portrait of himself and
Nebuchadnezzar at the entrance to the ruins, and shored up Processional Way, a large boulevard of ancient stones, and the
Lion of Babylon, a black rock sculpture about 2,600 years old.
When the
Gulf War ended, Saddam wanted to build a modern palace, also over some old ruins; it was made in the pyramidal style of a
Sumerian ziggurat. He named it Saddam Hill. In 2003, he was ready to begin the construction of a cable car line over Babylon when the invasion began and halted the project.
An article published in April 2006 states that UN officials and Iraqi leaders have plans for restoring Babylon, making it into a cultural center.
[38][39]
As of May 2009, the provincial government of
Babil has reopened the site to tourism.
Panoramic view over the reconstructed city of Babylon
Effects of the U.S. military
US forces under the command of General
James T. Conway of the
1st Marine Expeditionary Force were criticized for building the military base "Camp Alpha", comprising among other facilities a
helipad, on ancient Babylonian ruins following the
2003 invasion of Iraq.
US Marines in front of the rebuilt ruins of Babylon, 2003.
US forces have occupied the site for some time and have caused irreparable damage to the archaeological record. In a report of the
British Museum's Near East department, Dr. John Curtis describes how parts of the archaeological site were levelled to create a landing area for helicopters, and parking lots for heavy vehicles. Curtis wrote that the occupation forces
- "caused substantial damage to the Ishtar Gate, one of the most famous monuments from antiquity [...] US military vehicles crushed 2,600-year-old brick pavements, archaeological fragments were scattered across the site, more than 12 trenches were driven into ancient deposits and military earth-moving projects contaminated the site for future generations of scientists [...] Add to all that the damage caused to nine of the moulded brick figures of dragons in the Ishtar Gate by soldiers trying to remove the bricks from the wall."
A US Military spokesman claimed that engineering operations were discussed with the "head of the Babylon museum".
[40]
The head of the Iraqi State Board for Heritage and Antiquities, Donny George, said that the "mess will take decades to sort out".
[41] In April 2006, Colonel John Coleman, former Chief of Staff for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, offered to issue an apology for the damage done by military personnel under his command. However he claimed that the US presence had deterred far greater damage from other looters.
[42] Some antiquities were removed since creation of Camp Alpha, without doubt to be sold on the antiquities market, which is booming since the beginning of the occupation of Iraq.
[43]
Babylon in the popular culture
Due to the importance of Babylon in its time as well as the stories in the
Bible the word "Babylon" in various languages has acquired a generic meaning of a large, bustling diverse city. As such, the word "Babylon" is used for various entertainment events or buildings. For example,
sci-fi series
Babylon 5 tells a tale of a multi-racial future
space station.
Babilonas (
Lithuanian name for "Babylon") is also a name for a major real estate development in
Lithuania.
