Babylon is the largest city ancient Mesopotamia, capital of the Babylonian kingdom in the 19th-6th centuries. BC.,
The most important trade and cultural center of Western Asia. Babylon comes from the Akkadian words “Bab-ilu” - “Gate of God”. Ancient Babylon arose on the site of the more ancient Sumerian city of Kadingir, called
which was subsequently transferred to Babylon. The first mention of Babylon is contained in
inscriptions of the Akkadian king Sharkalisharri (23rd century BC). In the 22nd century Babylon was conquered and plundered by Shulgi,
king of Ur, the Sumerian state that subjugated all of Mesopotamia. In the 19th century originating from
Amorites (Semitic people who came from the southwest) first king of the first Babylonian dynasty
Sumuabum conquered Babylon and made it the capital of the Babylonian kingdom. At the end of the 8th century. Babylon was conquered
van by the Assyrians and, as punishment for the rebellion in 689, was completely destroyed by the Assyrian king Sennacherib. Che-
After 9 years, the Assyrians began to restore Babylon. Babylon reached its greatest peak during the period
New Babylonian Kingdom (626-538 BC). Nebuchadnezzar II (604-561 BC) decorated Babylon with luxury
large buildings and powerful defensive structures. In 538, Babylon was taken by troops
Persian king Cyrus, in 331 Alexander the Great took possession of it, in 312 Babylon was captured by one of
commanders of Alexander the Great Seleucom, who resettled most of its inhabitants in the main
the city of Seleucia, which he founded nearby. By 2nd century AD in place of Babylon only ruins remained.
From 1899 to 1914, systematic excavations were carried out at the site of Babylon by a German archaeologist
Koldevey, who discovered many monuments of the New Babylonian Kingdom. Judging by the data of these
until then, Babylon, located on two sides of the Euphrates and cut off by canals, occupied
a rectangular territory, the total length of the sides reaching 8150 meters. On the east bank
Euphrates was main part city with the temple of the god Marduk, the patron saint of Babylon, which was called
the building of “E-sagila” (House of Raising the Head), and a large seven-story tower called “E-temenanki”
(House of the foundation of heaven and earth). To the north there was a canal separated from the city royal palace with “hanging-
chimi gardens” on artificial terraces, built by Nebuchadnezzar II. The entire city was surrounded by three
walls, of which one was 7 m thick, the other was 7.8 m, and the third was 3.3 m. One of these walls was
and fortified with towers. A complex system hydraulic structures allowed to flood the surroundings of Va-
vilona. A “sacred road” for religious processions ran through the entire city past the palace, leading to the Temple of Marduk. The road is paved with huge stone slabs and bordered by fortress walls.
us, decorated with images of lions, was led through the monumental fortress gates, which bore the name
goddess Ishtar.
Babylonia
Babylonia – a primitive slave-owning (early slave-owning) state Ancient East,
located along the middle and lower reaches of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. It got its name from the city
Babylon, which was the largest political and cultural center state that has achieved its
flourished twice - in the 18th and 7th centuries BC. Babylonia proper occupied only the middle part
Mesopotamia, from the mouth of the lower Zab (tributary of the Tigris) in the north to the city of Nippur in the south, that is, the country of Akkad,
which in ancient inscriptions was often contrasted with the country of Sumer, located in southern Mesopo-
Tamiya. To the east of Babylonia stretched mountainous regions inhabited by Elamites and other tribes.
us, and to the west stretched a vast desert steppe, in which they roamed in the 3rd-2nd millennia BC
Shei era Amorite tribes.
Starting from the fourth millennium BC, the Sumerians lived in southern Mesopotamia, whose language
belongs to the oldest group of languages of the peoples of Western Asia. The tribes that inhabited the middle part of the Two-
speeches, they spoke the Akkadian language, which belongs to the Semitic group.
The oldest settlements discovered in Babylonia proper near modern Jemdet Nasr and
ancient city Kish, date back to the end of the 4th and beginning of the 3rd millennium BC. Population here
was mainly engaged in fishing, cattle breeding and agriculture. Crafts developed. Kamen-
These tools were gradually replaced by copper and bronze ones. The need to drain swamps and create
irrigation network led to the use of slave labor in ancient times. Growth of productive
forces led to further property and social stratification. Deepening class pro-
contradictions contributed to the development of exchanges with neighboring countries, in particular with Elam, from where they brought
whether stone, wood or ore.
The intensification of the class struggle led to the formation of ancient slave states, co-
which arose in Akkad, as well as in Sumer, in the third millennium BC. In the 24th century BC, King Sargon I (2369-2314 BC) united Sumer and Akkad under his rule and created the early slave
a commercial power, the capital of which was the city of Akkad (Agade-Sippar).
Surviving documents indicate the development of an agricultural economy based entirely on
artificial irrigation. New canals were built, the irrigation system was combined into a public
gift scale. The entire economy as a whole was based on the widespread exploitation of the labor of slaves and freemen.
hungry community members. Slave owners viewed slaves as cattle, imposing a stigma of ownership on them. All lands were considered to belong to the king. A significant part of them was in the use of rural communities and was processed by free community workers. The kings alienated part of the communal lands and transferred
nobles, officials and military leaders. This is how private land ownership arose in its primary form.
Subsistence farming still largely prevailed. Valuation of various goods is sometimes carried out
was made using silver or grain. With the increase in the number of products, barter trade developed.
la. Was introduced one system measures and weights. Some cities acquired wider trade recognition
reading. Military policy was connected with the development of slavery and trade. The kings of Akkad undertook
campaigns with the aim of capturing booty, slaves, and expanding trade relations with neighboring countries. So,
Sargon I went to war to the “silver mountains” (Taurus in Asia Minor) and to the “cedar forest” (Lebanon). Development
The growth of trade accelerated the process of class stratification.
The slave-owning despotism that arose as a result of an acute class struggle, created by Sargon I and
his successors, defended the interests of the ruling class of slave owners who sought to suppress the class
great protest of the working masses of the poor and slaves. The apparatus served this purpose state power. There was an or-
a small core of permanent troops was organized, which was joined by militia during the war.
Religious ideology was used to strengthen royal power. The gods were considered the patrons of the kingdom
rya, royal power and state, kings were called gods.
By the end of the 23rd century. BC. weakened by the class struggle and long wars, the Akkadian slaveholding
The Chinese despotism began to decline. The final blow to the Akkadian kingdom was dealt by the mountain tribes
Gutiev, who inhabited the Zagra region. The Gutians invaded Mesopotamia, devastated the country and subjugated it.
of his power. Cuneiform texts describe the devastation of the country by the conquerors, who sacked rich and ancient cities, destroyed temples and carried away statues of gods as trophies. Gutiyam, however, was not successful
wanted to capture all of Mesopotamia. The southern part of Sumer retained some independence. As a result
Due to the economic decline of Akkad, devastated by the Gutians, there was a movement of trade and political
ical centers to the south, as well as the expansion of trade of southern Sumerian cities, in particular Lagash, in
which at that time was ruled by Gudea. The development of trade led to the further strengthening of Sumer. Utu-
Haegal, king of Uruk, led the fight against the Gutians. The Gutians were expelled from Mesopotamia, which
led to the formation of a large Sumerian-Akkadian kingdom with its capital in Ur.
Numerous business documents of this time, from the archives of Lagash, Umma and other cities indicate a significant development of the economy of large slave owners, in particular the slave economy
temples. The state is becoming increasingly centralized. Previously independent
city rulers (patesi) become royal governors. Further development slaveholding
economy and foreign trade led to the strengthening of the aggressive policy of the kings of the 3rd dynasty of Ur
(2118-2007 BC), who united almost all of Mesopotamia under their rule. Shulgi, king of Ur, conquered the country of Subartu in Northern Mesopotamia and made campaigns in Elam, Syria and even in eastern
part of Asia Minor.
However, Sumer's final heyday was short-lived. In the 21st century BC. Mesopotamia was flooded by the tribes of Elam, who captured Sumer and formed a new kingdom there with its center in Lars. From the west to
The line of the Euphrates was invaded by the nomadic tribes of the Amorites, who settled in Akkad, making Isin their capital.
During this era, the Babylonian kingdom rose, founded by kings from the Amorite dynasty (1st Babylonian
dynasty). Its center was the city of Babylon, advantageously located at the crossroads of trade routes.
The ancient Babylonian state reached its peak during the reign of Hammurabi (1792-50 BC).
Babylonian troops conquered Sumer, won a number of victories over northern states, including
over the state of Mari, located west of the Euphrates. The main monument of this period is
The Code of Hammurabi is in existence. The state, as the largest land owner, was interested in
the latest development of irrigation agriculture. Measures were taken to clear old canals, construct
Babylon- one of the greatest cities of the Ancient world, the center of the influential Mesopotamian civilization, the capital of the Babylonian kingdom and the power of Alexander the Great. Also a famous cultural symbol, including the city, which occupies an important place in Christian eschatology. Currently abandoned; The ruins of Babylon - a group of hills - are located in Iraq near the city of Al-Hilla, about 90 km south of Baghdad.
History of Babylon
The history of Babylon, the most famous city of the ancient Near East, goes back almost 2 thousand years. The city arose in the second half of 3 thousand BC. in Central Mesopotamia on the banks of the Euphrates. For the first time in cuneiform texts it is mentioned during the reign of the kings of the Akkadian dynasty (24-23 centuries BC).
At the beginning of 2 thousand BC. Babylon, like most other cities of Mesopotamia, came under the control of the Amorites, one of whose leaders founded his dynasty here. On the board of its sixth representative, Hammurabi, who managed to unite the entire territory of Mesopotamia into single state, Babylon first became political center country and remained so for more than 1000 years. The city was proclaimed "the eternal abode of royalty", and its patron god Marduk occupied one of central places in the general Mesopotamian pantheon.
In the second half of 2 thousand BC. with the accession of new ruling dynasties. Babylon remained the capital of southern Mesopotamia. The city grew rich, crafts and trade successfully developed in it, and the population grew rapidly. The economic growth reflected on appearance cities: was developed and implemented new plan urban development, the construction of new walls and city gates was undertaken, wide streets to the city center for temple processions. In the 14th century BC. Babylon was granted the right of self-government, its inhabitants were freed from government duties and military conscription.
The Babylonian school, e-dubba (“house of tablets”), occupied a leading place in the system of education and the preservation of scribal traditions. The new cult epic created here about the creation of the world cemented the idea of the main god of the city of Babylon, Marduk, as initially the main world deity, and of the city of Babylon as the cosmological and theological center of the world. The very name of the city - the word Babylon meant “Gate of the Gods” - reflected its role as the center of the world, the place where the earthly and heavenly connected. This concept was reflected in the so-called Babylonian world map. It depicts the Earth as a round disk floating in the ocean. In the center is the city of Babylon, depicted as a rectangle. The Euphrates River, crossing the circle from top to bottom, divides the city into two parts.
Throughout its long history, Babylon experienced many difficult trials. The most tragic events for the city occurred in 689 BC, when the Assyrian king Sennacherib, angry at the disobedience of the Babylonians, ordered the city to be destroyed and wiped off the face of the earth. That Babylon that became famous in the 20th century. after archaeological excavations R. Koldewey, this is absolutely new town, which arose during a long process of construction and reconstruction that began after the death of Sennacherib and reached its culmination during the reign of the Babylonian king Nabushadnezzar 2, the biblical Nebuchadnezzar. His reign (604-562 BC) was a time of greatest economic and cultural growth for the country. The military successes of Babylonia, whose borders at that time extended from Egypt to Iran, provided it with political stability and contributed to the constant influx of huge material wealth. This made it possible to implement a grandiose program for the reconstruction of the city of Babylon, which turned 
during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar to the largest and richest city in the Middle East.
The city was a regular rectangle in plan, spread out on two banks of the Euphrates. On the left bank there was the so-called Old city, built up by wealthy private and public buildings. In the New City, on the right bank of the river, ordinary townspeople apparently lived. The right bank communicated with the left bank through a huge stone bridge, supported on seven stilts made of baked bricks, fastened with asphalt. Long straight streets stretched across the entire city and divided it into rectangular blocks.
In the center of the Old City, in the main city quarter, there were 14 temples, including the main temple of Babylon, the Temple of Marduk, and a seven-step cult tower, which is associated with the biblical legend of the Tower of Babel and the legend of the “Hanging Gardens of Babylon” as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. A garden was planted on the top platform of the ziggurat, which travelers approaching the city could see from afar, towering high above the city walls. Nebuchadnezzar's main residence, the so-called Southern Palace, was located in the northwestern part of the Old City. It was a gigantic complex of five huge courtyards surrounded by enfilades of rooms and separate buildings. The city was surrounded by a deep ditch and a double ring of powerful walls with fortified gates. One of these gates, through which the road to the temple of Marduk passed, was called the gate of the goddess Ishtar. They are famous for their magnificent reliefs of lions and dragons made of colored glazed bricks. Babylon was a huge city, with a population of about 200,000 people. Here, together with the Babylonians, people of different languages and cultures lived peacefully. Many of them came here or were brought by force as captives from all over the vast Babylonian Empire and even from beyond its borders (Medians, Elamites, Egyptians, Jews). They continued to speak their native languages and wore traditional clothing.
After the conquest of Babylon by the Persians in 539, the city retained its status as a capital for a long time. Only in 479, after the suppression of another Babylonian uprising against the Persians, the Persian king Xerxes deprived the city of independence. From that time on, Babylon completely lost its significance as an important cult center, although economic life in the city continued. Between 470 and 460 BC. Babylon was visited by Herodotus, who left a detailed description of its attractions, calling it “not only very large, but also the most beautiful” of all the cities known to him. At the end of the 4th century. BC. most of the inhabitants of Babylon were relocated to new capital, Seleucia-on-the-Tigris. On the spot huge city a small poor settlement remained. After the conquest of the country by the Arabs in 624, it also disappeared. Soon the very place where ancient Babylon was located was forgotten. 
Architecture of Ancient Babylon
Excavations from 1899 to 1917, evidence from ancient Greek authors, and other sources revealed the appearance of ancient Europe (in the 6th century BC). Divided into 2 parts by the Euphrates, the city was a rectangle in plan, surrounded by 3 rows of brick walls with massive crenellated towers and 8 gates. The main gate of Ishtar was lined with blue glazed bricks with stylized relief images of yellow-red and white-yellow bulls and dragons. A paved processional road led to the centrally located temple complex Esagila with the 7-tiered ziggurat of Etemenanki, the tiers of which were painted in different colors. In the North was the fortress-palace of Nebuchadnezzar II with hanging gardens, a number of courtyards and a throne room, which was faced with blue glazed brick with an ornamental frieze and an image of yellow columns. In the east are the remains of a Greek theater from the 4th century. BC e. In the 6th century BC. e. Babylon became the most beautiful city ancient world. Its pearls were the Ishtar Gate and the Etemenanki Ziggurat. The Ishtar Gate was one of the eight gates that surrounded Babylon. The gate was lined with blue tiles with alternating rows of sirrush and bulls. Through the gate passed the Processional Way, the walls of which were decorated with tiles with images of lions. Every year, during the New Year celebrations, statues of gods were carried along the Processional Road. 
Tower of Babel
The mystery of history, to which modern scientists still cannot find an answer, is associated with the death biblical Babylon and famous Tower of Babel in Borsippa. This tower, half burned and melted to a glassy state by a monstrous temperature, has survived to this day as a symbol of God's wrath. It is a clear confirmation of the veracity of biblical texts about the terrible fury of heavenly fire that struck the Earth in the middle of the second millennium BC.
According to biblical legend, Babylon was built by Nimrod, who is usually identified with the giant hunter Orion. This is a very important circumstance in the astral legend, defining one of the five places of previous appearances of the “retribution comet” in the night sky, which will be discussed in the appropriate place. Nimrod was the son of Cush and a descendant of Ham, one of the three sons of the legendary Noah. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; That is why it is said: a strong hunter is like Nimrod before the Lord.
Babylon, Erech, Akkad and Halne were the heirs of the disappeared land of Senaar, the metropolis of which was previously located in the Canary Islands.
The biblical myth tells that after Noah's flood, people attempted to build the city of Babylon and the Tower of Babel “as high as the heavens.” Angered by the unheard-of human insolence, God “confused their languages” and scattered the builders of the Tower of Babel throughout the earth, as a result of which people ceased to understand each other: “ And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men were building. And the Lord said: Behold, there is one people, and they all have one language; and this is what they began to do, and they will not deviate from what they planned to do. Let us go down and confuse their language there, so that one does not understand the speech of the other. And the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth; and they stopped building the city.Therefore the name was given to it: Babylon; for there the Lord confused the language of all the earth, and from there the Lord scattered them throughout all the earth». 
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
The Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II, in order to fight against the main enemy - Assyria, whose troops twice destroyed the capital of the state of Babylon, entered into a military alliance with Cyaxares, the king of Media. Having won, they divided the territory of Assyria among themselves. Their military alliance was confirmed by the marriage of Nebuchadnezzar II to the daughter of the Median king Amytis. Dusty and noisy Babylon, located on a bare sandy plain, did not please the queen, who grew up in mountainous and green Media. To console her, Nebuchadnezzar ordered the construction of the Hanging Gardens. Architecturally, the “hanging gardens” were a pyramid consisting of four tiers-platforms. They were supported by columns up to 25 meters high. The lower tier had the shape of an irregular quadrangle, largest side which was 42 m, the smallest was 34 m. To prevent the seepage of irrigation water, the surface of each platform was first covered with a layer of reed mixed with asphalt, then with two layers of brick held together with gypsum mortar, and lead slabs were laid on top of everything. lay on them like a thick carpet fertile land, where the seeds of various herbs, flowers, shrubs, and trees were planted. The pyramid resembled forever 
blooming green hill. Pipes were placed in the cavity of one of the columns, through which water from the Euphrates was constantly supplied by pumps to the upper tier of the gardens, from where it, flowing in streams and small waterfalls, irrigated the plants of the lower tiers.
There is a version that the gardens were not named at all in honor of the very girl-lover of Nebuchadnezzar, who actually had a different name. They say that Semiramis was just an Assyrian ruler, and was at enmity with the Babylonians.
Babylon as a symbol
Babylon- the capital of the Babylonian monarchy - with its power and originality of culture, it influenced the Jews after the Babylonian captivity indelible impression that his name has become synonymous with every large, rich and, moreover, immoral city. The story of the Tower of Babel was recorded during the Assyrian kingdom. Later writers, namely Christian ones, often use the name “Babylon” in a sense that is still a subject of debate for interpreters and researchers. Thus, a lot of speculation was 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, argue that under this name the ap. Peter means Rome, on which even the well-known claims of the Roman popes as successors of the Apostle Peter are based. In the first centuries of Christianity, Rome was called New Babylon due to the huge number of peoples living in the empire, as well as the position occupied by the city in the world of that time.
A notable example of the use of the name Babylon is found in the Apocalypse, or Revelation of St. John (from the end of the XVI chapter to the XVIII). There, under the name Babylon, a “great city” is depicted, playing a huge role in the life of nations. Such an image no longer corresponds at all to Mesopotamian Babylon, which had long ago lost its global significance, and therefore, not without reason, researchers understand by this name great capital The Roman Empire, Rome, occupied the same position in the history of Western peoples as the capital of Nebuchadnezzar occupied earlier in the history of the East. In Rastafarianism, Babylon symbolizes the pragmatic Western civilization built by white men.
How to decide on a vacation spot is a problem for many, but also a very exciting activity. This is what happened to us - my husband and I didn’t know where to go, and so we decided to cast lots. And what came out of this, I will tell you later.
Where is the ancient city of Babylon located?
It so happened that I pulled Babylon out of the hat. And it was wonderful, because I had long wanted to see such a legendary place. We began to look for where Babylon was.
We started our search on the Internet. The remains of the ancient city of Babylon are located in Iraq south of Baghdad near the city of Al-Hill. We got there from the airport quite quickly.
We learned a lot from the guide in the very first hours of our stay there. useful information:
- history of Babylon;
- what Babylon became famous for;
- history of the Tower of Babel.
The city of Babylon, which means “gate of God,” was founded on the banks of the Euphrates River and was the capital of Babylonia, which existed for 1,500 years in the south of Mesopotamia in modern-day Iraq.
What is Babylon famous for?
In Babylon, the basis of architecture was ziggurats - these are the so-called secular buildings and palaces. These are unique at that time architectural achievements humanity. Also according to biblical scriptures There is a legend about the Tower of Babel, which reached the heavens in height. It was built by people who spoke the same language to make a name for themselves. But according to legend, the construction of the tower was interrupted by God, who gave people different languages, and this led to a halt in the construction of the tower and the city as a whole. This greatest city was razed to the ground three times by invaders, but was also rebuilt.
Discovery of the Tower of Babel
Scientific history The search for the tower began with several pieces of painted bricks, which were found by the German architect and archaeologist Robert Koldewey. Thanks to this, more fragments of the tower were found, and excavations began. As a result of these excavations, it became clear that in Ancient Babylon a tower was definitely built, which was the crown of architecture at that time.
This story with the Tower of Babel, architectural monuments and stories about the Hanging Gardens made my husband and I think about continuing our romantic vacation. And I hope we will visit this wonderful place again!
Introduction
Conclusion
Literature
Introduction
At the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. in the south of Mesopotamia, on the lands of modern Iraq, the Babylonian state appeared, which existed until 538 BC. The capital of this powerful state was the city of Babylon - the largest political, commercial and cultural center of Western Asia. The word "Babylon" ("Babil") is translated as "Gate of God."
The Babylonian civilization was, in essence, the last phase Sumerian civilization and culture.
It was essentially a small country, no more than 500 kilometers in length and up to 200 in width, the borders of which, with the increase in the political power of the Babylonian monarchy, moved far to the sides.
Along with the prosperity of agriculture, the growth of cities and extensive trade in the country, science developed, and the network of libraries, consisting of numerous clay cuneiform tiles, expanded.
The most ancient undertakings of astronomy and mathematics had their roots in Babylonia, where the duodecimal system dominated, the main large unit of which was the number 60, made up of multiplying 12 (months) by 5 (fingers). In general, the modern division of time, with its seven-day week, with hours and minutes, is of ancient Babylonian origin.
The countries neighboring this state were long influenced by the culture of Babylonia, whose language, even 1500 years before the Christian era, like modern French, was the language of diplomats in almost all of Western Asia and Egypt.
In general, Babylonia is the foundation of the most ancient Western Asian culture, on the foundations of which most of the current Western European education is based.
1. Ancient Babylon and the interweaving of cultures
In Mesopotamia, in the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates, one state formation was replaced more than once by another, various peoples fought among themselves, and the victors usually destroyed the temples, fortresses and cities of the vanquished to the ground. Babylonia, not protected from the outside, like Egypt, by impassable sands, was often subject to enemy invasions that devastated the countries. Thus, many great works of art perished, and a great culture was consigned to oblivion.
Peoples of different origins, who were at war with each other in Mesopotamia, created several cultures, and yet their art in its entirety is marked by common features that deeply distinguish it from Egyptian.
The art of the ancient peoples of southern Mesopotamia is usually designated as Babylonian art; this name extends to the name not only of Babylon itself (beginning of the 2nd millennium BC), but also of the once independent Sumerian-Akkadian states (IV-III millennium BC), then united by Babylon. For Babylonian culture can be considered the direct heir of the Sumerian-Akkadian culture.
Like the culture of Egypt and probably at about the same time, this culture arose in Mesopotamia at the end of the Neolithic, again in connection with the rationalization of agriculture. If Egypt, in the words of the historian Herodotus, is a gift of the Nile, then Babylon should also be recognized as a gift of the Tigris and Euphrates, since the spring floods of these rivers leave layers of silt around that are beneficial for the soil.
And here the primitive communal system was gradually replaced by a slave system. However, in Mesopotamia for a long time there was no single state ruled by a single despotic power. Such power was established in separate city-states, which were constantly at war with each other over watering the fields, over slaves and livestock. At first, this power was entirely in the hands of the priesthood.
In Babylonian art one cannot find images of funeral scenes. All the thoughts, all the aspirations of the Babylonian are in the reality that life reveals to him. But life is not sunny, not blooming, but a life full of mysteries, based on struggle, a life dependent on the will of higher powers, good spirits and evil demons, also waging a merciless struggle among themselves.
The cult of water and the cult of heavenly bodies played a huge role in the beliefs of the ancient inhabitants of Mesopotamia. The cult of water - on the one hand, as a good force, a source of fertility, and on the other - as an evil, merciless force, which apparently devastated these lands more than once (as in ancient Jewish legends, the formidable legend of the flood is given with a striking coincidence of details in the legends Sumerians).
The cult of heavenly bodies is a manifestation of the divine will.
Answer questions, teach how to live without meeting evil spirits, announce the divine will - only a priest could do all this. And indeed, the priests knew a lot - this is evidenced by Babylonian science, born in a priestly environment. Remarkable successes have been achieved in the mathematics necessary to revive the trade of the cities of Mesopotamia, for the construction of dams and the redistribution of fields. The Babylonian sexagesimal number system is still alive today in our minutes and seconds.
Significantly ahead of the Egyptians, Babylonian astronomers succeeded in observing the celestial bodies: “goats,” i.e. planets, and “calmly grazing sheep”, i.e. fixed stars; they calculated the laws of revolution of the Sun, Moon and the frequency of eclipses. But all of them scientific knowledge and the search was associated with magic and fortune telling. The stars, constellations, as well as the entrails of sacrificed animals were supposed to provide clues to the future. Spells, conspiracies and magic formulas were known only to priests and astrologers. And therefore their wisdom was considered magical, as if supernatural.
The Hermitage houses a Sumerian table - the oldest written monument in the world (about 3300 BC). The rich Hermitage collection of such tables gives visual representation about the life of Sumerian-Akkadian cities and Babylon itself.
The text of one of the tables of a later period (2nd millennium BC) shows the spirit in which the Babylonian laws were drawn up and what they sometimes led to: a certain Babylonian, convicted of a serious crime - theft of a slave, knowing what he was entitled to for this the death penalty, while the murder of a slave is punishable only by a fine, he hastened to strangle the powerless victim of his self-interest.
Sumerian cuneiform, together with the main elements of Sumerian culture, was borrowed by the Babylonians, and then, thanks to the widespread development of Babylonian trade and culture, it spread throughout Western Asia. In the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. Cuneiform became the international diplomatic writing system.
Many Sumerian sayings testify to the tendency of this people, who seemed to fully accept the priestly “wisdom” with its indisputable provisions, to criticize, to doubt, to consider many issues from the most opposite points of view, with a smile reflecting subtle, healthy humor.
How, for example, should you dispose of your property?
We'll die anyway - let's waste it all!
And we still have a long time to live - let's save up.
Wars did not stop in Babylonia. However, as is clear from the following saying, the Sumerians clearly understood their ultimate meaninglessness:
You are going to conquer the enemy's lands.
The enemy comes and conquers your land.
Among the almost two thousand Babylonian cuneiform tablets stored in the Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow, the American scientist Professor S. Carter recently discovered the text of two elegies. This, in his opinion, is one of the first attempts to convey in poetic form the experiences caused by the death of a loved one.
For example, here's what it says:
May your children conceived be included among the leaders,
May all your daughters get married,
May your wife be healthy, may your family multiply,
May prosperity and health accompany them every day,
May beer, wine and other things never run out in your home.
Riddles and fears, superstition, witchcraft and humility, but sober thought and sober calculation; ingenuity, accurate calculation skills, born in hard work to hydrate the soil; constant awareness of danger from the elements and enemies, together with the desire to fully enjoy life; closeness to nature and a thirst to know its secrets - all this left its mark on Babylonian art.
Like the Egyptian pyramids, the Babylonian ziggurats served as a monumental crown to the entire surrounding architectural ensemble and landscape.
A ziggurat is a tall tower surrounded by protruding terraces and giving the impression of several towers, decreasing in volume ledge by ledge. The ledge, painted black, was followed by another, natural brick color, and behind it - whitewashed.
Ziggurats were built in three or four ledges, or even more, up to seven. Together with the coloring, the landscaping of the terraces added brightness and picturesqueness to the entire structure. The upper tower, to which a wide staircase led, was sometimes crowned with a gilded dome sparkling in the sun.
Each large city had its own ziggurat, lined with solid brickwork. The ziggurat usually rose near the temple of the main local deity. The city was considered the property of this deity, called upon to protect his interests in the host of other gods. The best preserved ziggurat (21 meters high) in the city of Ur, built in the 22nd -21st centuries. BC..
In the upper tower of the ziggurat, the outer walls of which were sometimes covered with blue glazed brick, there was a sanctuary. No people were allowed there, and there was nothing there except a bed and sometimes a gilded table. The sanctuary was the “dwelling” of God, who rested in it at night, served by a chaste woman. But this same sanctuary was used by the priests for more specific needs: they went up there every night for astronomical observations, often associated with the calendar dates of agricultural work.
The religion and history of Babylon are more dynamic than the religion and history of Egypt. Babylonian art is also more dynamic.
Arch... Vault... Some researchers attribute to the Babylonian architects the invention of these architectural forms, which formed the basis of all the building art of ancient Rome and medieval Europe. In fact, a covering of wedge-shaped bricks, placed one against the other in a curved line and thus held in balance, was widely used in Babylonia, as can be seen from the remains of palaces, canals and bridges discovered in Mesopotamia.
The legacy of prehistoric times, the magical image of the Beast, dominates many works of Babylonian fine art. Most often it is a lion or a bull. After all, in the prayer hymns of Mesopotamia the fury of the gods was compared to that of a lion, and their power to the furious strength of a wild bull. In search of a sparkling, colorful effect, the Babylonian sculptor loved to depict a mighty beast with eyes and a protruding tongue made of brightly colored stones.
Copper relief that once dominated the entrance of the Sumerian temple at Al Obeid (2600 BC). An eagle with a lion's head, gloomy and unshakable, like fate itself, with widely spread wings and claws, holds two symmetrically standing deer with decoratively intricate branched antlers. The eagle sitting victoriously over the deer is at peace, and the deer he captured is also at peace. Extremely clear and extremely impressive in its slenderness and inner strength, a typically heraldic composition.
Of exceptional interest in the craftsmanship and remarkable decorativeness, combined with the most bizarre fantasy, is a plate with mother-of-pearl inlay on black enamel that adorned a harp found in the royal tombs of Ur (2600 BC), foreshadowing (again on millennium) fables of Aesop, La Fontaine and our Krylov’s transformation of the animal kingdom: human traits endowed with animals that act and, apparently, reason like people: a donkey playing a harp, a dancing bear, a lion on its hind legs, majestically carrying a vase, a dog with a dagger in his belt, a mysterious black-bearded “scorpion man” somewhat reminiscent of a priest ", followed by a mischievous goat...
Magnificent is the mighty head of a bull made of gold and lapis lazuli with eyes and a white shell, which also adorned the harp, which in its reconstructed form is a true miracle of applied art.
Under King Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC), the city of Babylon united all the regions of Sumer and Akkad under its leadership. The glory of Babylon and its king resounds throughout the surrounding world.
Hammurabi publishes the famous code of laws, known to us from the cuneiform text on an almost two-meter stone pillar, decorated with a very high relief. Unlike the Naram-Sin stele, which resembles a pictorial composition, the relief figures stand out monumentally, like round sculptures vertically cut in half. The bearded and majestic sun god Shamash, sitting on a throne-temple, hands over the symbols of power - a rod and a magic ring - to King Hammurabi, who stands in front of him in a pose filled with humility and reverence. Both look intently into each other's eyes, and this enhances the unity of the composition. The rest of the pillar is covered with cuneiform text containing 247 articles of the code of law. Five columns containing 35 articles were apparently scraped out by the Elamite conqueror, who took this monument as a trophy to Susa.
For all its undoubted artistic merits, this famous relief already shows some signs of the coming decline of Babylonian art. The figures are purely static; there is no sense of the internal nerve or the former inspired temperament in the composition.
2. Culture of the New Babylonian Kingdom
Babylon reached its greatest peak during the period of the New Babylonian Kingdom (626-538 BC). Nebuchadnezzar II (604-561 BC) decorated Babylon with luxurious buildings and powerful defensive structures.
The last flourishing of Babylon under Nabopolassar and Nebuchadnezzar II found its outward expression in the great construction activity of these kings. Particularly large and luxurious structures were erected by Nebuchadnezzar, who rebuilt Babylon, which became the largest city in Western Asia. Palaces, bridges and fortifications were built in it, causing the surprise of contemporaries.
Nebuchadnezzar II built a large palace, luxuriously decorated the religious processional road and the “Gate of the Goddess Ishtar,” and built a “country palace” with the famous “hanging gardens.”
Under Nebuchadnezzar II, Babylon turned into an impregnable military fortress. The city was surrounded by a double wall of mud and baked bricks, fastened with asphalt mortar and reeds. The outer wall was almost 8 m high, 3.7 m wide, and its circumference was 8.3 km. The inner wall, located at a distance of 12 m from the outer one, was 11-14 m high and 6.5 m wide. The city had 8 gates guarded by royal soldiers. In addition, fortified towers were located at a distance of 20 m from each other, from which it was possible to fire at the enemy. In front of the outer wall, at a distance of 20 m from it, there was a deep and wide ditch filled with water.
Here is the note left by this king:
“I surrounded Babylon from the east with a powerful wall, I dug a ditch and strengthened its slopes with asphalt and baked bricks. At the base of the ditch I erected a high and strong wall. I made a wide gate of cedar wood and lined it with copper plates. So that the enemies , who were planning evil, could not penetrate the borders of Babylon from the flanks, I surrounded it with powerful waters like sea waves. Overcoming them was as difficult as a real sea. To prevent a breakthrough from this side, I erected a rampart on the shore and lined it baked bricks. I carefully fortified the bastions and turned the city of Babylon into a fortress."
The ancient historian Herodotus reports that two chariots drawn by four horses could freely pass along the walls. Excavations confirmed his testimony. New Babylon had two boulevards, twenty-four great avenues, fifty-three temples and six hundred chapels.
All this was in vain, for the priests, who occupied exclusively high position in the Neo-Babylonian kingdom, under one of Nebuchadnezzar’s successors, they simply handed over the country and capital to the Persian king... in the hope of increasing their income.
Babylon! “A great city... a strong city,” as the Bible says, which “made all nations drink of the wrathful wine of its fornication.”
This is not about the Babylon of the wise king Hammurabi, but about the Neo-Babylonian kingdom, founded by newcomers to Babylonia, the Chaldeans, after the defeat of Assyria.
Slavery in Babylon reached its greatest development during this period. Trade has achieved significant development. Babylon became the largest shopping center countries where agricultural products, handicrafts, real estate and slaves were bought and sold. The development of trade led to the concentration of great wealth in the hands of the large trading houses of the Filial Egibi in Babylon and the Filial Egibi in Nippur, the archives of which have survived to this day.
Nabopolassar and his son and successor Nebuchadnezzar II (604 - 561 BC) pursued an active foreign policy. Nebuchadnezzar II made campaigns in Syria, Phenicia and Palestine, where at that time the Egyptian pharaohs of the 26th dynasty were trying to establish themselves. In 605 BC, at the Battle of Carchemish, Babylonian troops defeated the Egyptian army of Pharaoh Necho, who was supported by Assyrian troops. As a result of the victory, Nebuchadnezzar II captured all of Syria and advanced to the borders of Egypt. However, the kingdom of Judah and the Phoenician city of Tire, with the support of Egypt, stubbornly resisted Nebuchadnezzar II. In 586 BC. After the siege, Nebuchadnezzar II occupied and destroyed the capital of Judea, Jerusalem, resettling a large number of Jews into “Babylonian captivity.” Tire withstood the siege of Babylonian troops for 13 years and was not taken, but subsequently submitted to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar II managed to defeat the Egyptians and drive them out of Western Asia.
All that remained of this New Babylon was a memory, for after its capture Persian king Cyrus II in 538 BC Babylon gradually fell into complete decline.
The memory of King Nebuchadnezzar, who defeated the Egyptians, destroyed Jerusalem and captured the Jews, surrounded himself with luxury unparalleled even in those days and turned the capital he built into an impregnable stronghold, where the slave-owning nobility indulged in the most riotous life, the most unbridled pleasures...
The memory of the famous "Tower of Babel" in the Bible, which was a grandiose seven-tiered ziggurat (built by the Assyrian architect Aradakhdeshu), ninety meters high, with a sanctuary sparkling on the outside with bluish-purple glazed bricks.
This sanctuary, dedicated to the main Babylonian god Marduk and his wife, the goddess of the dawn, was crowned with gilded horns, a symbol of this god. According to Herodotus, the statue of the god Marduk made of pure gold that stood in the ziggurat weighed almost two and a half tons.
The memory of the famous “Hanging Gardens” of the semi-mythical queen Semiramis, revered by the Greeks as one of the seven wonders of the world. It was a multi-tiered structure with cool chambers on ledges, planted with flowers, bushes and trees, irrigated by a huge water-lifting wheel, which was rotated by slaves. During excavations at the site of these “gardens”, only a hill with the whole system wells.
The memory of the “Gate of Ishtar” - the goddess of love... However, something more concrete has also been preserved from this gate, through which the main processional road ran. On the slabs with which it was paved, there was the following inscription: “I, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, son of Nabopolassar, king of Babylon, paved the Babylonian street for the procession of the great lord Marduk with stone slabs from Shadu. Marduk, lord, grant us eternal life.”
The walls of the road in front of the Ishtar Gate were lined with blue glazed bricks and decorated with a relief frieze depicting a procession of lions - white with a yellow mane and yellow with a red mane. These walls, together with the gates, are the most remarkable thing that has been preserved, at least partially, from the grandiose buildings of Nebuchadnezzar (Berlin, Museum).
In terms of the selection of tones, this brilliant colored glaze is perhaps the most interesting in the art monuments of the Neo-Babylonian kingdom that have come down to us. The figures of the animals themselves are somewhat monotonous and inexpressive, and their totality, in general, is nothing more than a decorative composition, at the same time devoid of dynamism. The art of New Babylon created little original; it repeated only with greater and sometimes excessive pomp the examples created by ancient Babylonia and Assyria. It was art that we would now call academic: a form perceived as a canon, without the freshness, spontaneity and inner justification that once inspired it.
With the establishment of Persian rule (528 BC), new customs, laws and beliefs appeared. Babylon ceased to be the capital, the palaces were empty, the ziggurats gradually turned into ruins. Babylon gradually fell into complete decline. In the Middle Ages AD, only miserable Arab huts huddled on the site of this city. Excavations made it possible to restore the layout of the huge city, but not its former grandeur.
The Babylonian civilization, whose culture represents the last phase of Sumerian culture, marks the birth of a new socio-psychic cosmos - moral and ethical, the forerunner of the Christian - around a new sun, suffering man.
Conclusion
On turn of the 19th century-- XVIII centuries BC e. During the fierce struggle in Mesopotamia between states and dynasties of various origins, Babylon began to stand out, eventually turning into one of the greatest cities in the world. It was the capital of not only the Ancient, but also the New Babylonian Kingdom, which emerged a thousand years later. The exceptional importance of this economic and cultural center is evidenced by the fact that all of Mesopotamia (Mesopotamia) - the region in the middle and lower reaches of the Tigris and Euphrates - was often defined by the term Babylonia.
The existence of the ancient Babylonian kingdom (1894-1595 BC) leaves a remarkable era in the history of Mesopotamia. During these three hundred years South part it has reached a high degree of economic development and political influence. Babylon, an insignificant town under the first Amorite kings, became a major commercial, political and cultural center during the Babylonian dynasty.
At the end of the 8th century. Babylon was conquered by the Assyrians and as punishment for the rebellion in 689. BC e. completely destroyed.
Babylonia, after three hundred years of dependence on Assyria, again became independent in 626 BC, when the Chaldean king Nabopolassar reigned there. The kingdom he founded lasted about 90 years, until 538 BC, when it was conquered by the troops of the Persian king Cyrus, in 331 Alexander the Great took possession of it, in 312 Babylon was captured by one of the generals of Alexander the Great, Seleucus, who resettled most of it inhabitants to the nearby city of Seleucia, which he founded. By 2nd century AD in place of Babylon only ruins remained.
Thanks to archaeological excavations that have been carried out since 1899, city fortifications, a royal palace, temple buildings, in particular the complex of the god Marduk, and a residential area have been discovered on the territory of Babylon.
Currently, Iraq is located on the territory of the state of Babylon; this is the only thing that unites these two states.
Literature
History of the Ancient East. The birth of the most ancient class societies and the first centers of slave-owning civilization. Part I. Mesopotamia / ed. I. M. Dyakonova - M., 1983.
Culturology: Lecture notes. (Auth.-compiled by A.A. Oganesyan). - M.: Prior, 2001.-pp.23-24.
Lyubimov L. B. The Art of the Ancient World. - M.: Education, 1971.
Polikarpov V.S. Lectures on cultural studies. - M.: “Gardarika”, “Expert Bureau”, 1997.-344 p.
Reader "Art," part 1. - M.: Education, 1987.
Shumov S.A., Andreev A.R. Iraq: history, people, culture: Documentary historical research. - M.: Monolit-Evrolints-Tradition, 2002.-232 p.
Long before heyday Ancient Greece developed powerful powers already existed. One of them is the famous Sumer. It was located on the territory of modern Iraq in the geographical and historical region of Mesopotamia. It must be said that this name was invented by the Greeks. It literally means “between the rivers.” This large region actually extended across the flat terrain between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. There were many city-states in Mesopotamia. One of them is Babylon. In what country and where is the city of the legendary Sumerians located now? Why has it not survived to this day? What eras of prosperity and decline did you experience? This is what our article is about.
Eden in Iraq
There is an assumption that Noah’s Ark lies on Mount Ararat, and the Garden of Eden rustled in the lands of Mesopotamia. Even in religious literature There are statements that Eden was located exactly there, at the confluence of two rivers. It once flourished here famous city Babylon, which translated from the local dialect meant “gates of heaven.” But the history of those places is so intertwined that not even all historians can understand them. Babylonian civilization often called differently: Sumerian-Akkadian. Where is Babylon today? This place is known to many tourists. Lovers ancient history They regret that little remains of the once great city, but everyone can look at its ruins, walk along the sacred (“divine”) land, and touch the centuries-old stones.
From Neolithic to Sumer
Before answering where Babylon is located, let's tell you a little about the time when it flourished. Traces of settlements of ancient people in Iraq can be found everywhere. During the Neolithic period, cattle breeding and agriculture were already quite well developed in the Middle East. 7 thousand years BC. e. Crafts developed there: pottery and spinning. And after about 3 thousand years, people mastered the smelting of copper and gold. At the same time, cities with unique architecture began to develop there. Arches, for example, first appeared there, and not in Ancient Rome. Writing, political and legal norms appear public life. The settlements of Ur, Uruk and Erebu are being built. These were the largest city-states of the first civilization of Mesopotamia - Sumerian. It was crushed by the Semitic tribes, united into the kingdom of Akkad. Under King Sargon, Sumer was defeated, and the territory of Mesopotamia was united for the first time. But the two states continued to coexist. Akkad controlled the north of the region, and Sumer controlled the south. Unfortunately, they had many enemies who dreamed of capturing the fertile, flowering lands. When Amorite pastoralists came from the foothills, the great state ceased to exist. The Elamites settled on the territory of Sumer.
Rise of Babylon
During all the time of civil strife, this city, which was located far from the borders, suffered less than others. The Sumerians called him Kadingirra. The city was built on the banks of the Euphrates, near the modern settlement Al-Hilla, 80 kilometers from Baghdad. The residence of the tax collector was located there. It was in this provincial town that the Amorite leader Sumuabum settled, making it not just the capital, but creating the Babylonian kingdom. Representatives of the dynasty of Amorite kings fought a lot. Therefore, they attached primary importance to the fortifications of Babylon, and therefore built a defensive wall around it. But temples were also actively rebuilt at this time, and sanctuaries were erected. Five rulers of this family changed before Babylon became dominant in Mesopotamia. In 1792 BC. e. Hammurabi took the throne. Taking advantage of the constant civil strife of his neighbors, he managed to subjugate most of the coastal lands near the Tigris and Euphrates to Babylon. Within forty years, the first centralized state of Western Asia, the Old Babylonian Kingdom, was created. Its foundation can be considered the turn of the 19th-18th centuries BC.
Center of the Universe
Babylon very quickly became one of the centers of the world. He had this position until 1595 (before the Nativity of Christ). His patron god was Marduk, who became one of the main Mesopotamian deities. The city grew richer, which was reflected in its appearance. New walls, gates and wide streets along which crowded temple processions could pass were built not chaotically, but according to plan. Residents of the capital were not drafted into the army and did not pay taxes; it had the right of self-government.
Decline of Babylon
Hammurabi's successors were unable to maintain Babylon's high position. Gradually its decline begins. For a century and a half, the kings of the First Babylonian Dynasty fought with other contenders for power in Mesopotamia. The Kassite mountain tribes took advantage of the weakening of the power. Thanks to the defensive structures erected in the northeast during the reign of Hammurabi, their first onslaught was stopped. At the same time, it was necessary to constantly suppress the uprisings of the southern, “Sumerian” provinces. The cities of Larsa, Ur, Catullu, and Nipur rebelled alternately or simultaneously. These areas finally left the control of Babylon in the 17th century BC. Asia Minor then almost completely belonged to the Hittite kingdom. His troops invaded Babylon, completely plundered it, destroyed many cultural monuments. Some of the residents were executed, some were sold into slavery. Where is the city of Babylon now? You will learn about this further.
A new beginning
The Hittite invasion marked the end of the Old Babylonian Kingdom. Soon these lands were subjugated by the Kassites. The Middle Babylonian period began. The state was in decline, especially in economic and cultural spheres. The authority of the state was also low in these centuries. The struggle for leadership was between Egypt, the Hittite kingdom and the country of Mitanni. The pharaohs, judging by the information that has reached our time, treated their neighbor, who had recently threatened them, with disdain. However it was a long period stability, when it was possible to restore those destroyed during civil strife trade relations between different regions of the state.
Another destruction of Babylon
The fall of the III Babylonian dynasty, which is called the Kassite dynasty, coincided with the strengthening of Assyria. Moreover, it rises again eastern neighbor, Elam. IN end of XIII century BC e. the king of Assyria took control of Babylon, destroying the walls of the city and even transporting the most revered statue to Ashur (his capital) supreme god Marduk. The Assyrian ruler Sennacherib became famous for the fact that in 689 BC. e. not only captured Babylon, but almost destroyed it. The restoration of the power of the glorious city began only after the weakening of Assyria. The city was then ruled by the leaders of the Chaldean tribes. One of them, Nabopolassar, led an uprising that ended in the defeat of the Assyrian army under the walls of Babylon. The Neo-Babylonian period was marked by the restoration of the former power of the legendary state.
Nebuchadnezzar
The restoration of the city began after the death of Sennacherib. Gradually the state restored its former power. The time of greatest prosperity is 605-562 BC. e., when Nabushadnetsar II reigned. This is the same Nebuchadnezzar who destroyed Jerusalem and took many thousands of Jews into captivity. During his reign, the country expanded from Iran to Egypt. Unprecedented wealth contributed to rapid construction. Thanks to cuneiform records, Herodotus and archaeological excavations, we can recreate the appearance of Babylon at that time.
What did the “Capital of the World” look like?
The Euphrates divided Babylon in half. On the plan it occupied almost 10 square kilometers. Three rows of fortress walls were erected around, huge towers and eight gates were built. It was extremely difficult to approach them. In the center of the Old City there was a 7-tier ziggurat, which is considered a prototype of the Tower of Babel from the Bible. The main temple of the god Marduk stood there, and a market functioned nearby. This is where I was Grand Palace Nebuchadnezzar II. It was a huge complex that was built under Nabopolassar. It included the houses of officials and the throne room. The palace impressed visitors with its size and luxury. On its relief walls made of colored bricks, craftsmen depicted the “tree of life” and walking lions. The palace contained one of the seven wonders of the world - the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Thus, the “Lord of the Half-World” consoled his wife, a princess from Media, who was homesick.
House of the Babylonian
A 123-meter long bridge led to the New Town. There were residential areas there. How they lived ordinary people Babylon? The appearance of these dwellings is known thanks to excavations. These were two-story houses. The lower part, to protect against erosion, was laid out of baked brick, and the second floor and internal walls were made of raw brick. Small windows were made only under the ceiling, so that light came in almost exclusively through the door. They washed their feet from a jug of water that stood in the entryway. Various utensils were also located there. From there you could get into the courtyard. Have more wealthy people there was a swimming pool, and a wooden gallery ran along the inner wall. There was always a front room, from which a passage led to a small courtyard inaccessible to outsiders, where the owners built a home altar. They also tried to bury the dead there. Back in the 3rd millennium BC. e. The Babylonians began using stools, tables and beds. But most likely there was only one bed. The owner and his wife slept on it. The rest were located on mats or simply on the floor.
City of a thousand languages
Babylon last period was a real metropolis for its time. About 200 thousand people lived in it different nationalities. These were the Elamites, Egyptians, Jews, Medes. Everyone kept their traditions, spoke native language, wore their national clothes. But Sumerian was considered the main language. Children received education in schools (e-oaks). Those who graduated full course training, possessed encyclopedic knowledge for those times. In addition to literature and writing, graduates studied mathematics, astronomy, and land surveying. In Babylon, the sexagesimal number system was adopted. We still divide an hour into 60 minutes, and a minute into 60 seconds. Preserved in cuneiform libraries, they have reached us literary works those years.
What is the name of the country where the city of Babylon is located now?
Despite military power, thriving trade, and cultural achievements, the city of Babylon again fell into decline. In the first centuries BC, Persia began to gain power in the east of Mesopotamia. In 538, Babylon was taken by King Cyrus, but even after that it retained the status of the capital. Persian Empire included the Eastern Mediterranean and Egypt. Mesopotamia ceased to play a leading role in the region. But Babylon still remained a center of science, culture and crafts. The current situation did not suit its residents, who made attempts to regain their former power. After another uprising, Xerxes deprived the city of its status. Economic life was still going on. It was then that Herodotus visited Babylon, who wrote enthusiastic words about it. The next conqueror was Alexander the Great. He wanted to make powerful Babylon the capital of his empire, but then he founded a new city nearby, which he named after himself.
Where is Babylon now? In which country? The history of the city is sad. At first a small settlement remained there, but after the conquest of Mesopotamia by the Arabs in 634, it too disappeared. Even the place where Babylon was located was forgotten for almost two thousand years. It is now located in modern Iraq (formerly Persia). The only surviving building from that time is the theater. Closest to the destroyed city administrative center The country has half a million inhabitants. So where is Babylon now? This is several tens of kilometers from Baghdad. Modern Babylon (you already know where it is located) is the largest open-air museum in the world.