A Brief History of Babylonia

At the end of the 9th century BC. e. the Assyrians often invade Babylonia and gradually capture the north of the country. The Assyrian state at this time becomes a powerful kingdom. In 744 BC. e. Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III invaded Babylonia and defeated the Chaldean tribes. In 729 BC. e. he completely captured Babylonia. However, Babylonia had the status of a separate kingdom within Assyria. During the reign of Sargon II, the Assyrians were unable to hold power over Babylonia. The Chaldean leader Marduk-apla-iddin took possession of Babylonia and declared himself king of the country. In alliance with the Elamites, he started the war. At the beginning, in 720-710. BC e. the allies were successful. But soon Sargon II defeated Elam and ousted Marduk-apla-iddin from Babylonia. He was crowned in Babylon. In 705-703. Marduk-apla-iddin again began military operations against Assyria, but again unsuccessfully. In 692 BC. e. The Babylonians rebelled against Assyria and made an alliance with Elam and the Arameans. In the battle near Halule on the Tigris, both sides suffered heavy losses, but neither side had a decisive success. But in 690 BC. e. the Assyrian king Sinankhherib laid siege to Babylon and in 689 the city fell. A brutal reprisal was carried out. Many residents were killed, some were driven into slavery. The city itself was completely destroyed, and its territory was flooded.

The new Assyrian king Esarhaddon at the beginning of his reign ordered the restoration of Babylon and the return of its surviving inhabitants. Shamash-shum-ukin began to rule Babylonia as a vassal king. In 652 BC. e. he, having entered into a secret alliance with Egypt, the Syrian governments, Elam, as well as with the tribes of the Chaldeans, Aramaeans and Arabs, raised a revolt against Assyria. In the battle near the fortress of Der, neither side won a victory, but soon the Assyrians managed to withdraw Elam from the union by means of a palace coup. Could not help Babylonia and other allies. The Assyrians laid siege to Babylon and other cities. After a long siege in the summer of 648 BC. e . Babylon has fallen. The surviving inhabitants were awaited by a brutal reprisal.

The defeat of Assyria and the creation of the New Babylonian state
The desire for independence did not weaken in Babylonia, one of the most developed regions of Western Asia. At the beginning of 626 BC. e. an uprising broke out against Assyrian rule, led by the Chaldean leader Nabopolassar (Naboo-apla-utzur). Having established his power in the north of the country and made an alliance with Elam, he led a number of successful campaigns against Assyria. In October 626 BC. e. Babylon went over to the side of Nabopolassar, and on November 25, 626, he was solemnly crowned in this city and founded the Chaldean (or Neo-Babylonian) dynasty here. However, only in 616 BC. e. The Babylonians managed to capture one of the largest cities of Babylonia - Uruk. In the same year, the Babylonians besieged the Assyrian city of Ashur, but were not successful. Unexpected help came from the east. In 614 BC. e. The Medes captured the Assyrian province of Arraphu, and then took the city of Ashur, exterminating its inhabitants. Soon the Medes and the Babylonians entered into an alliance. In the spring of 612 BC. e. Allies supported by the Scythians laid siege to the capital of Assyria - Nineveh. In August of the same year, the city fell and was destroyed, and its inhabitants were slaughtered. It was a cruel revenge on the state, which for a long time plundered and devastated the countries of Western Asia. Part of the Assyrian army managed to break through to the west, to the city of Harran, and continued to resist there, but in 609 BC. e. Nabopolassar with a large army inflicted a final defeat. As a result of the collapse of the Assyrian state, the Medes captured the indigenous territory of Assyria, as well as the city of Harran, while the Babylonians got Mesopotamia. The Babylonians began to prepare for the capture of all areas west of the Euphrates, which previously belonged to the Assyrians. But Egypt also claimed these territories and sought to capture Syria and Palestine. Therefore, in 607 BC. e. Nabopolassar with a huge army attacked Carchemish on the Euphrates, where there was an Egyptian garrison, which included Greek mercenaries. In 605 BC. e. the city was taken and the garrison destroyed. After that, the Babylonians captured Syria and Palestine.

In 605, the son of Nabopolassar, Nebuchadnezzar II, became king. He continued military campaigns, and in 605 BC. e. he captured the Phoenician city of Ascalon, and in 598 subjugated Northern Arabia. At the same time, Judea rebelled against Babylonia. In 597 BC. e. Nebuchadnezzar besieged and took Jerusalem, taking about 3,000 of its inhabitants captive. After 8 years, the Egyptians captured some of the Phoenician cities and prompted Judea to a new uprising. After a two-year siege, the Babylonians took Jerusalem. The Kingdom of Judah was liquidated, and many Jews were resettled in various parts of Mesopotamia, including Babylon. Then the Babylonians laid siege to the Phoenician city of Tire, which they were able to take only in 574 BC.

The reign of Nebuchadnezzar II was a time of economic prosperity and cultural revival of Babylonia. Babylon became the largest city in the Ancient East with a population of about 200,000 people. At one end of the city was a huge royal palace, and at the other - the main sanctuary of the Babylonians - Esagila. It was a square building, each side of which was 400 meters long. A single unit with Esagila was located to the south of the seven-story ziggurat (step pyramid) 91 meters high, which was called Etemenanki (temple of the cornerstone of heaven and earth). Called in the Bible "Tower of Babel", it was considered in ancient times one of the wonders of the world. At the top of the tower, where the outer staircase led, was the sanctuary of the supreme god Marduk. Hanging gardens were also considered one of the wonders of the world, which rested on high stone walls that held soil and exotic trees. These gardens were intended for the wife of Nebuchadnezzar Amitida, who missed her native places of mountain Media.

Under Nebuchadnezzar II, Babylon turned into a powerful fortress. It was surrounded by a double wall, the height of which reached 14 meters. The city was surrounded by a deep and wide ditch with water. After the death of Nebuchadnezzar II, after a long internecine struggle, Nabonidus (556-539 BC), who came from the family of an Aramaic leader, came to power. He captured in 553 BC. e. city ​​of Harran. Nabonidus actively promoted the cult of the supreme god Sin, which caused discontent among the priesthood. Nabonidus moved his residence to the city of Teimu, and left his son Bel-shar-utsuru (biblical Belshazzar) to rule in Babylon.

Soon, a new enemy appeared at the eastern borders of Babylonia - the Persians, who captured Media, Lydia and many other states. In the spring of 639, the Persians began to advance on Babylonia. In August of the same year, near the city of Opis, they defeated the Babylonian army, commanded by Prince Bel-shar-utzur. Having no support among the nobility and priesthood, Nabonidus surrendered, and in October 639 the Persian king Cyrus II entered Babylon. At first, the policy of the Persians was pacifying. All religions were allowed. The peoples resettled during the reign of the Neo-Babylonian dynasty were allowed to return to their homeland. But soon the Persian oppression began to intensify, and in 522-521. BC e, in 484-482. BC e. several uprisings broke out against the Persians. Babylonia became one of the satrapies of the Persian state.

Introduction

Conclusion

Literature

Introduction

At the beginning of the II 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 Asia Minor. The word "Babylon" ("Babili") is translated as "Gate of God".

The Babylonian civilization was, in essence, the last phase of the Sumerian civilization and culture.

It was, in essence, a small country, no more than 500 kilometers long and up to 200 wide, whose borders, with the increase in the political power of the Babylonian monarchy, moved far to the side.

Along with the prosperity of agriculture, the growth of cities and the most extensive trade, science developed in the country, and the network of libraries expanded, consisting of numerous clay cuneiform tiles.

The oldest beginnings of astronomy and mathematics had their roots in Babylonia, where the duodecimal system dominated, the main large unit in which was the number 60, which was made up of multiplying 12 (months) by 5 (fingers of the hand). In general, the modern division of time, with its seven-day week, with hours, minutes, is of ancient Babylonian origin.

The neighboring countries of this state were under the long influence of 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 winners usually destroyed the temples, fortresses and cities of the vanquished to the ground. Babylonia, not protected from the outside, like Egypt, by impenetrable sands, was often subjected to enemy invasions that ravaged the countries. Thus, many great works of art perished, and a great culture was consigned to oblivion.

Peoples of different origins, who were at enmity with each other in Mesopotamia, created several cultures, and yet their art in its totality 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 Sumero-Akkadian states (4th-3rd millennium BC), then united by Babylon. For the Babylonian culture can be considered the direct successor of the Sumero-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 the gift of the Nile, then Babylon should also be recognized as the gift of the Tigris and Euphrates, since the spring floods of these rivers leave layers of silt that are fertile for the soil.

And here the primitive communal system was gradually replaced by a slave-owning one. 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, constantly at enmity among themselves because of the irrigation of fields, because of slaves and cattle. Initially, this power was entirely in the hands of the priesthood.

Funeral scenes cannot be found in Babylonian art. All thoughts, all aspirations of a Babylonian are in the reality that life reveals to him. But life is not sunny, not flourishing, but a life full of mysteries, based on struggle, a life that depends on the will of higher powers, good spirits and evil demons, who also wage a merciless struggle among themselves.

A huge role in the beliefs of the ancient inhabitants of Mesopotamia was played by the cult of water and the cult of heavenly bodies. 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, obviously devastating these lands more than once (as in ancient Jewish legends, the formidable legend of the flood is given with an amazing coincidence of details in the legends Sumerians).

The cult of heavenly bodies - as a manifestation of the divine will.

To answer questions, to teach how to live without meeting with evil spirits, to announce the divine will - all this could only be done by a priest. And indeed, the priests knew a lot - the Babylonian science, born in the priestly environment, is evidence of this. Remarkable progress has been achieved in the mathematics needed to revive the trade of the cities of Mesopotamia, to build dams and redistribute fields. The Babylonian sexagesimal number system is alive to this day in our minutes and seconds.

Significantly ahead of the Egyptians, the Babylonian astronomers succeeded in observing the heavenly 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 their scientific knowledge and searches were connected with magic and divination. The stars, the constellations, as well as the entrails of the sacrificed animals, were supposed to give clues to the future. Spells, incantations and magical formulas were known only to priests and astrologers. And therefore their wisdom was revered as magical, as if supernatural.

The Hermitage has a Sumerian tablet - the oldest written monument in the world (about 3300 BC). The Hermitage's rich collection of such tables gives a clear idea of ​​the life of the Sumerian-Akkadian cities and of Babylon itself.

The text of one of the tables of a later period (II 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 - stealing a slave, knowing what he was supposed to do for it the death penalty, while the murder of a slave is punishable only by a fine, hastened to strangle the disenfranchised victim of his self-interest.

Sumerian cuneiform along with the main elements of Sumerian culture was borrowed by the Babylonians, and then, thanks to the widespread development of Babylonian trade and culture, spread throughout Asia Minor. In the middle of the II millennium BC. cuneiform became the international diplomatic writing system.

Many Sumerian sayings testify to the tendency of this people, who seemed to fully perceive the priestly "wisdom" with its indisputable provisions, to criticism, to doubt, to considering many issues from the most opposite points of view, while with a smile reflecting subtle, healthy humor.

How, for example, to dispose of their property?

We'll die anyway - let's waste everything!

And to live for a long time - let's save.

Wars did not stop in Babylonia. However, as the following proverb makes clear, the Sumerians clearly understood their ultimate meaninglessness:

You are going to conquer the lands of the enemy.

The enemy is coming, conquering your land.

Among almost two thousand Babylonian cuneiform tablets kept 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 conceived children be listed among the leaders,

May all your daughters marry

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 house.

Riddles and fears, superstition, witchcraft and humility, but a sober thought and a sober calculation; ingenuity, the skills of precise calculations, born in the hard work of hydrating the soil; constant awareness of danger from the elements and enemies, along with the desire to fully enjoy life; closeness to nature and a thirst to know its secrets - all this left a 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 high tower surrounded by projecting terraces and giving the impression of several towers decreasing in volume ledge by ledge. A ledge painted in black light was followed by another, a natural brick color, and then a whitewashed one.

Ziggurats were built in three or four ledges, or even more, up to seven. Together with the coloring, the landscaping of the terraces gave 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 towered 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 XXII-XXI 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. People were not allowed there, and there was nothing there but a bed and sometimes a gilded table. The sanctuary was the "dwelling" of the god, who rested in it at night, served by a chaste woman. But the 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 terms of agricultural work.

The religion and history of Babylon is more dynamic than the religion and history of Egypt. More dynamic and Babylonian art.

Arch... Vault... Some researchers attribute to Babylonian architects the invention of these architectural forms, which formed the basis of all the building art of ancient Rome and medieval Europe. Indeed, a covering of wedge-shaped bricks, applied one to another 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 found in Mesopotamia.

The legacy of prehistoric times, the magical image of the Beast, dominates in many works of Babylonian fine art. Most often it is a lion or a bull. Indeed, in the prayer hymns of Mesopotamia, the fury of the gods was compared with a lion's, and their power - with the mad strength of a wild bull. In search of a sparkling, colorful effect, the Babylonian sculptor liked to depict a mighty beast with eyes and a protruding tongue from brightly colored stones.

Copper relief that once towered over the entrance of the Sumerian temple at Al-Obeida (2600 BC). An eagle with a lion's head, gloomy and unshakable, like fate itself, with widely spread wings, claws holds two symmetrically standing deer with decoratively intricately branched horns. The eagle, victoriously perched above the deer, is calm, and the deer captured by him are also calm. Extremely clear and extremely impressive with its harmony and inner strength, a typical heraldic composition.

Of exceptional interest in terms of craftsmanship and remarkable decorativeness, combined with the most bizarre fantasy, is a plate with mother-of-pearl inlay on black enamel, which adorned a harp found in the royal tombs of Ur (2600 BC), foreshadowing (again on millennia) fables of Aesop, Lafontaine and our Krylov, the transformation of the animal kingdom: animals are endowed with human features 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 behind the belt, a mysterious, somewhat reminiscent of a priest, black-bearded "scorpion man", 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 unites all areas of Sumer and Akkad under its leadership. The glory of Babylon and its king resounds throughout the 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 god of the sun Shamash, sitting on a throne-temple, hands over the symbols of power - a rod and a magic ring - to King Hammurabi standing 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 column is covered with cuneiform text containing 247 articles of the Code of Laws. Five columns containing 35 articles were scraped out, apparently by the Elamite conqueror, who took this monument as a trophy to Susa.

With all its undoubted artistic merit, this celebrated relief already shows some signs of the coming decline of Babylonian art. The figures are purely static, the composition does not feel the inner nerve, the former inspired temperament.

2. Culture of the New Babylonian Kingdom

Babylon reached its greatest dawn during the period of the New Babylonian kingdom (626-538 BC). Nebuchadnezzar II (604-561 BC) adorned Babylon with luxurious buildings and powerful defensive structures.

The last flowering of Babylon under Nabopolassar and Nebuchadnezzar II found its outward expression in the great building activity of these kings. Especially large and luxurious buildings were erected by Nebuchadnezzar, who rebuilt Babylon, which became the largest city in Asia Minor. Palaces, bridges and fortifications were built in it, which surprised contemporaries.

Nebuchadnezzar II built a large palace, luxuriously decorated the religious procession road and the “Gate of the Goddess Ishtar”, built a “dacha 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 adobe 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 placed 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 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 surrounded Babylon with waters as powerful as the waves of the sea, and it was as difficult to overcome them as the real sea, in order to prevent a breakthrough from this side, I erected a rampart on the shore and lined it fired bricks.

The ancient historian Herodotus reports that two chariots drawn by four horses could freely drive along the walls. Excavations have confirmed his testimony. New Babylon had two boulevards, twenty-four large avenues, fifty-three temples, and six hundred chapels.

All this was in vain, because the priests, who occupied an exceptionally high position in the Neo-Babylonian kingdom, under one of the successors of Nebuchadnezzar, simply transferred the country and the 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 drunk with the wine of the wrath of their 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 reached a significant development. Babylon became the largest trading center in the country, where they sold and bought agricultural products, handicrafts, real estate and slaves. The development of trade led to the concentration of great wealth in the hands of large trading houses "Sons of Egibi" in Babylon and "Sons of Egibi" in Nippur, the archives of which have survived to this day.

Nabopolassar and his son and successor Nebuchadnezzar II (604 - 561 BC) were active in 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 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar II, after the siege, occupied and destroyed the capital of Judea, Jerusalem, resettling a large number of Jews into the “Babylonian captivity”. Tire withstood the siege of the 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 Asia Minor.

From this New Babylon only a memory remains, for after its capture by the 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 captivated the Jews, surrounded himself with unparalleled luxury 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 in the Bible "Tower of Babel", which was a grandiose seven-tiered ziggurat (built by the Assyrian architect Aradahdeshu), ninety meters high, with a sanctuary sparkling from 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, the symbol of this god. According to Herodotus, the solid gold statue of the god Marduk 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 building with cool chambers on ledges, planted with flowers, bushes and trees, irrigated with a huge water-lifting wheel, which was turned by slaves. During excavations on the site of these "gardens" only a hill with a whole system of wells was discovered.

The memory of the "Gate of Ishtar" - the goddess of love ... However, from this gate, through which the main processional road ran, something more concrete has been preserved. On the slabs with which it was paved, there was such an 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 faced with blue glazed brick 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 survived, at least in part, 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 monuments of art of the Neo-Babylonian kingdom that have come down to us. The figures of animals themselves are somewhat monotonous and inexpressive, and their totality, in general, is nothing more than a decorative composition, while devoid of dynamism. The art of New Babylon created little originality, it repeated only with greater and sometimes excessive splendor the models created by ancient Babylonia and Assyria. It was an art that we would now call academic: a form taken as a canon, without the freshness, immediacy and inner justification that once inspired it.

With the establishment of Persian domination (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 of our era, only miserable Arab huts huddled on the site of this city. The excavations made it possible to restore the plan of the huge city, but not its former grandeur.

Babylonian civilization, whose culture represents the last phase of the Sumerian culture, marks the birth of a new socio-psychic cosmos - moral and ethical, the forerunner of the Christian - around the new sun, suffering man.

Conclusion

At the turn of the XIX - XVIII centuries. BC e. during a fierce struggle in the Mesopotamia of 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 took shape a millennium later. The exceptional significance of this economic and cultural center is already evidenced by the fact that the whole 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, the southern part of it reached a high degree of economic development and political influence. Babylon, an insignificant town under the first Amorite kings, during the Babylonian dynasty turned into a major commercial, political and cultural center.

At the end of the 8th c. 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 from 626 BC, when the Chaldean king Nabopolassar reigned there. The kingdom founded by him existed for 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 commanders of Alexander the Great, Seleucus, who resettled most of it. inhabitants to the city of Seleucia, founded by him nearby. By 2nd c. AD only ruins remained on the site of Babylon.

Thanks to archaeological excavations that have been conducted since 1899, city fortifications, the 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 oldest class societies and the first centers of slave-owning civilization. part I. Mesopotamia / ed. I. M. Dyakonova - M., 1983.

Culturology: Lecture Notes. (Ed.-comp. Oganesyan A.A.). - M.: Prior, 2001.-p.23-24.

Lyubimov L. B. The Art of the Ancient World. -- M.: Enlightenment, 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: A Documentary Historical Study. - M.: Monolith-Eurolints-Tradition, 2002.-232p.

• The Babylonian kingdom, named after its central city, was one of the leading states of ancient times in Mesopotamia. Political, cultural and economic life was concentrated here at that time. Babylon in its heyday was the largest city of antiquity. However, when the Babylonian kingdom was formed, this place was only a small city with a developing economy. Having existed for more than one and a half thousand years, Babylon was destroyed and forgotten. Its ruins were discovered near the city of Al-Hilla in Iraq.

• The state of Babylonia reached its greatest prosperity in its history under the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar. However, in 539 BC. Babylon was taken by the army of the Persian ruler Cyrus II. It was then that the history of Babylonia as an independent state ended. Later it fell under the dominion of Alexander the Great, then passed into the hands of the Seleucid Empire, Parthia and the Roman Empire. The lack of an independent political life had a negative impact on the city itself, in the 3rd century BC. Babylon has fallen.

• Already Ancient Babylonia was a populated area. The discovered records of that time indicate that already then in Babylon there was a community, an independent ensi (ruler) and also a temple sanctuary, which was dedicated to the deity of the Sumerians - Amar-Ut, who at a later time was transformed into Marduk. All this gives reason to believe that Ancient Babylonia did exist, but before that it was only a small and insignificant state.

• In the 24-22 centuries BC. many cities of the nome type in Mesopotamia were captured by the Akkadian dynasty. It was in the Akkadian records that the first records of the city of Babylon, which at that time was called Kadingirra, were discovered. Then the city was under the dominion of the Akkadian state, and its rulers were actively building temples in it. However, the Akkadian kingdom was eventually destroyed, and the city passed to the power of the state of the Ur dynasty, under which it remained from the 22nd to the 21st centuries BC. Under his rule, Babylon remained the center of the province, and was led by the governor of the Ensi, who paid tribute to the capital (the city of Ur).

• The Babylonian kingdom experienced several major periods in its history. In the Early Babylonian period, the Amorite tribes created many independent states, but within a few hundred years, Babylon conquered them all. In 1800, the city fell under the rule of the kingdom of Larsa, and 50 years later, King Hammurabi, known for his laws, seized power throughout Mesopotamia.

• However, after the death of the reformer king, the state of Babylonia fell under the rule of the Kassites. In 1150 BC. Babylon was captured by Elam. However, they failed to achieve success, since the Babylonians did not want the rule of the Elamites. Then came a period of long wars with Assyria, which during its history captured Babylon many times, and each time lost control of it. In 689, it was almost completely destroyed after another uprising.

• In the 6th century, the Assyrian state finally weakened, and the Babylonians, with the assistance of the Medes, managed to get rid of the city of Ashur, the ancient capital of Assyria, and capture the new capital - Nineveh. In the 5th century, Babylon reached its greatest prosperity, but in 539 it was captured by Persia, putting an end to Babylonian independence.

Map of the Babylonian kingdom and the boundaries of the Babylonian kingdom

King of Babylon

Capital of Babylon

The formation of the Babylonian kingdom

The art of the Babylonian kingdom

Occupations of the inhabitants of the Babylonian kingdom

Where was the Babylonian kingdom and its geographical location

The culture of the Babylonian kingdom, the culture of Babylonia

Religion of the Babylonian Kingdom

Babylonian cities

Newest Babylonia

How to decide on a place of rest is a problem for many, but also a very exciting activity. This is what happened to us - my husband and I did not know where to go, and therefore we decided to cast lots. And what came of it, I will tell further.

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 started looking for where Babylon is.

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.

From the guide in the first hours of our stay there, we learned a lot of useful information:

• the history of Babylon;
• what made Babylon famous;
• history of the Tower of Babel.

The city of Babylon, which means "gates of God", was founded on the banks of the Euphrates River and was the capital of Babylonia, which existed for 1500 years in the south of Mesopotamia in the territory of modern 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 architectural achievements of mankind at that time. Also, according to biblical writings, there is a legend about the Tower of Babel, which reached the height of heaven. 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 great city has been razed to the ground three times by invaders, but has also been rebuilt.

Discovery of the Tower of Babel

The scientific history of 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 a tower was built in Ancient Babylon, which was the crowning achievement of architecture at that time.

This story of the Tower of Babel, monuments, and tales of hanging gardens made my husband and I think about continuing our romantic getaway. And I hope we will visit this wonderful place again!

DONBAS NATIONAL ACADEMY OF CONSTRUCTION AND ARCHITECTURE

DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN AND URBAN ENVIRONMENT DESIGN

"Art of Byzantium"

Completed: Art. gr. Ar-36 B Borisova Yu. A.

Checked by: Chukova O.V.

Makeevka 2015

1. Brief history of the city of Babylon

2. Art of Babylon

3. Monuments of Fine Arts of Ancient Babylon

3.1 relief crowning the code of laws of King Hammurabi (1792 - 1750 BC)

3.2 Statuette of Ibn-il from Mari. Alabaster. Around 2500 BC e.

3.3 Kassite art

3.4 Art of the Neo-Babylonian kingdom

3.5 Ishtar Gate

3.6 "Tower of Babel"

3.7 Hanging Gardens of Babylon

4. Conclusion

1. Brief history of the city of Babylon

Babylon(ancient Greek Βαβυλών, otakkad.bāb-ilāni “gates of the gods”) is one of the cities of Ancient Mesopotamia, located in the historical region of Akkad. An important political, economic and cultural center of the ancient world, one of the largest cities in the history of mankind, the "first metropolis", a well-known symbol of Christian eschatology and modern culture. The ruins of Babylon are located on the outskirts of the modern city of Al-Hilla (Babil Governorate, Iraq).

Founded no later than the III millennium BC. e.; known in Sumerian sources as Kadingirra. In the early dynastic period, an insignificant city, the center of a small region or nome within the system of Sumerian city-states. In the XXIV-XXI centuries. BC e. - a provincial center as part of the Akkadian kingdom and the Powers of the III dynasty of Ur. BII-I millennium BC e. - the capital of the Babylonian kingdom, one of the great powers of antiquity and the most important city of the region of the same name (Babylonia). The highest rise in the economic and cultural life of Babylon in the literary tradition is associated with the era of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II (VI century BC).

In 539 B.C. occupied by the troops of Cyrus II and became part of the Achaemenid state, becoming one of its capitals; in the second half of the 4th c. BC e. - the capital of the state of Alexander the Great, later - as part of the Seleucid state, Parthia, Rome; starting from the III century. BC e.gradually fell into decay.

2. The art of Babylon

In the first half II millennium BC. e. the most significant cultural area was the southern half Mesopotamia, that is, the area Sumer and Akkad united under the rule of Babylon under the king Hammurabi(1792-1750 BC).

From the second quarter of the II millennium BC. e. perform on the historical arena of the city Syro-Phoenicia and Palestine. Their flourishing continues until the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. e. At the same time, they are of great importance state of the Hittites in the river valley Galis in Asia Minor and neighboring state Mitania upstream Euphrates.

culture Transcaucasia, the beginning of which dates back to ancient times, also reaches a high degree of development at this time and is closely connected with the cultures of the so-called mountain peoples Western Asia.

The culture of Babylon was formed on the traditions Sumerian and Akkadian cultures: at this time, the Sumerian writing system was widespread - cuneiform; different branches of Babylonian science achieved a lot - the medicine, astronomy, maths, although they were all still closely associated with magic.

From the city of Babylon, which was at one time the center of world significance, the historical events of subsequent eras left very little. Little has come down to us and monuments of fine art of this time.