Want detailed information about ancient Babylon

The ancient Babylonian civilization is located in today's Iraq, and ancient Babylon, ancient China, ancient Egypt and ancient India are also called "four ancient civilizations". archaic

Babylon means "the way of God".

The narrow sense of ancient Babylon refers to the kingdom of ancient Babylon and the broad sense of ancient Babylon civilization. The ancient Babylonian civilization is an important part of the civilization in the two river basins, which is divided into the ancient Babylonian kingdom and the new Babylonian kingdom in history. This entry introduces Babylon in a broad sense, including ancient and new Babylonian kingdoms. The ancient Babylonian kingdom was a slave city-state in southern Mesopotamia, roughly in today's Iraq, with Babylon as the center. In the 0/9th century BC, the Amorites destroyed the Ur Third Dynasty of Sumerians and established the Babylonian Kingdom with Babylon as its capital. The new kingdom of Babylon was founded by the Chaldeans belonging to the Semitic people. Nabopolassar, the leader of the Chaldeans, destroyed the Assyrian empire that ruled the two river basins and established a new Babylonian kingdom.

Brief introduction of ancient Babylonian civilization

The ancient Babylonian civilization is an important part of the civilization in the two river basins, including Sumerian civilization, Akkadian civilization, Assyrian civilization and other important parts. Babylon is one of the oldest known ancient oriental countries.

Babylon, the kingdom of Babylon, was originally an unknown town on the Euphrates River. Around 2200 BC, the Amorites, a branch of the Semu people from the Syrian grassland, captured this small town and established a country. Taking this as the center, the brave Amorites made expeditions to the north and fought everywhere, and finally established a powerful Babylonian kingdom, which was called "Babylonian Kingdom" in history. The Amorites are also called Babylonians. Babylonians inherited the civilization achievements of Sumerians and Akkadians, and carried them forward, and developed Mesopotamian civilization to its peak. People like to use the word "Babylon" to summarize the ancient civilizations in the two river basins, which is enough to show the world the brilliant achievements and charm created by Babylonian civilization. In order to safeguard the interests of slave owners, Hammurabi made a code called code of hammurabi. It is the first relatively complete ancient written code in the world.

A brief history of ancient Babylonian civilization

1. Kingdom of Babylon

The ancient Babylonian kingdom was a slave city-state in southern Mesopotamia, roughly in today's Iraq, with Babylon as the center. In the 0/9th century BC, the Amorites destroyed the Ur Third Dynasty of Sumerians and established the Babylonian Kingdom with Babylon as its capital. In BC 1792, the sixth king Hammurabi (about BC 1792 ~ BC 1750) ascended the throne, conquered the Sumerians and Akkadians, unified the Mesopotamian plain, established a powerful centralized country, and became a typical slave country in ancient West Asia. History is called the Kingdom of Babylon (about BC 1894 ~ BC 1595). Code of hammurabi is the first relatively complete code in ancient West Asia. This is the first relatively complete written code in the world, but it is not the earliest. The earliest one was called Ullner Mumma. Economy and culture are highly developed, especially mathematics and astronomy. After Hammurabi died, the empire collapsed. The kingdom was invaded by Hittites and Gassett, and was finally annexed by Assyrian Empire in 729 BC.

Achievements of ancient Babylonian civilization

1. The city of Babylon and its architectural achievements

The magnificent walls and palaces of Babylon fully show the architectural level of the ancient two river basins. Nebuchadnezzar II built a large model for Babylon, making it the most prosperous city in the world at that time and the most important industrial and commercial city in the Middle East. The city of Babylon is surrounded by two walls. Outside the outer wall is a ditch filled with water and an earth embankment. The center of the main road in the city is paved with white and rose stone slabs. Another city has eight gates, the north gate of which is the famous Isdal Gate. The surface is decorated with blue glazed tiles, on which there are many bulls and mythical monsters. The city of Babylon was built very magnificently. It was not until 100 years later that Herodotus, a Greek historian known as the "father of history", came to Babylon and still called it the most magnificent city in the world.

The Euphrates River runs through the city from north to south. The main buildings in the city, the temples of Esajina and Etmelenkita, are 965,438+0 meters high. Each side of the base is 965,438+0.4m long, and there are 7 floors on it. Each floor is made of glazed tiles of different colors. At the top of the tower, there is a glazed tile temple dedicated to the golden statue of Mark. It is said that this is the language used by the Lord to confuse people in the Bible, so that people failed to create the Tower of Babel. Goddess Gate, one of the essences of urban ancient buildings, is12m high and nearly 20m wide. The doors and walls are inlaid with vivid glazed animal patterns, as well as the "Hanging Garden" known as the Seven Wonders of the World, and the striking stone carvings of people fighting lions.

Babylon's "Hanging Garden", which is listed as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, is also called "Hanging Garden". It is located beside the Euphrates River. King Nebuchadnezzar II (604-562 BC) of the new kingdom of Babylon is famous for building magnificent cities and palaces. He presided over the construction of this famous garden when he was in office. According to legend, he married Semiramis, a Persian princess. The princess misses her lush homeland day and night and is unhappy. In order to please his beloved princess, the king ordered a 25-meter-high garden to be built in the capital Babylon. The garden adopts the way of three-dimensional overlapping gardens. On a high platform, layers are stacked, exotic flowers and grasses are everywhere, and irrigation water sources and water pipes are buried. The garden is surrounded by high walls inlaid with many colorful lions. The princess is very happy to see her. Seen from a distance, this garden is also called "Hanging Garden".

In order to develop tourism, during the period of 1978, the Iraqi government formulated and implemented a plan to build Babylonian ruins. Some walls and buildings were copied on the ruins, and a museum was built in the city to display the unearthed Babylonian cultural relics. Among them, a replica of a black and green stone tablet more than 2 meters high is the most precious. The upper part of the stone tablet is a beautiful relief engraved with the scene where the sun god conferred the title of Hammurabi, and the lower part is a cuneiform record. The original stone tablet of the world's first code was made under the leadership of King Hammurabi of Babylon (about BC 1792 ~ BC 1750) and is now kept in the Louvre Museum. In addition, the Iraqi government rebuilt the Nimmak Temple and the Hanging Garden on the ruins of Babylon and Baghdad, and restored the pale blue wall of a new ancient city with a height of several tens of meters, thus recreating the charm of the old city.

2. The famous hanging garden

Location: Located on the east bank of the Euphrates River, about 50 kilometers south of Baghdad, the capital of Iraq.

History of Hanging Gardens: The kingdom of Babylon was once prosperous under the rule of the famous king Hammurabi (1792~ 1750 BC). But it was not until the new Babylonian dynasty that Mesopotamian civilization reached its peak. It is believed that the legendary Hanging Garden was built by Nebuchadnezzar II (604-562 BC). It is said that Nebuchadnezzar built the hanging garden to please his queen or concubine who grew up in Medea and had deep feelings for mountain scenery. Although the most detailed description of this garden was written by Greek historians Bellows and Diodor Rus West Gullers, the historical records of Babylon do not mention it. Although descriptions of his palace, the city of Babylon and the walls of Babylon were found on various writing boards left over from the period of Nebuchadnezzar, there was no mention of the hanging garden on these writing boards. Even historians who have described the hanging gardens in detail have never witnessed them. Modern historians believe that when Alexander's soldiers arrived in rich Mesopotamia and saw Babylon, they were deeply shocked. When they later returned to their rugged hometown, they brought back the amazing gardens and coconut trees in Mesopotamia ... the palace of Nebuchadnezzar ... and all kinds of stories about Babel and Golden Pagoda. It is the imagination of poets and ancient historians that combines all these elements and creates one of the wonders of the world.

It was not until the twentieth century that some secrets around the hanging garden were uncovered. Archaeologists are still trying to collect enough evidence to draw a final conclusion about the geographical location, irrigation system and real appearance of the garden. Like the colossus of Rhodes, archaeologists have not found the remains of the hanging garden so far. In fact, many ancient people mentioned hanging gardens in their works, but they only heard of them from others and never really saw them. Is the hanging garden purely a legend?

Of course, the hanging gardens in Babylon have never hung in the air. The origin of this name is purely due to people's misinterpretation of the Greek word "kremastos" and the Latin word "pensilis", which originally meant "hanging" and "protruding". It is generally believed that the Hanging Garden was built by King Nebuchadnezzar (604- 562 BC) to comfort the homesick princess Amyitis (also translated as Amish), and it was modeled after the old image of the princess on the mountain. This hanging garden was built in 600 BC. It is a pyramid with four corners. The building made of asphalt and bricks is supported by arched columns. Green trees are planted on the steps all year round. The river looks like a hill from a distance under the artificial river next to the hanging garden. The most magical part of the hanging garden is the water supply system. Because there is not much rain in Babylon, and the ruins of the hanging garden are thought to be far away from the Euphrates River, the researchers believe that there should be many water conveyance facilities in the hanging garden, as shown in the figure. The slaves kept pushing the handle with gears to transport the groundwater to the storage tank on the top floor and then return to the ground through the artificial river. Another problem is maintenance, because it is impossible for ordinary buildings to resist the erosion of the river for many years without falling down. Because there are not many stones in Mesopotamia, researchers think that the bricks used in hanging gardens are different. They added reeds, asphalt and tiles, and there are even documents that the stone was covered with lead to prevent the river from infiltrating into the foundation.

3. code of hammurabi

Code of hammurabi was promulgated by the sixth Babylonian king Hammurabi (BC 1792- 1750 when code of hammurabi ruled the Louvre). It is considered to be the earliest system code in the world, which was produced 3800 years ago. The full text of the code is engraved in cuneiform, with 282 articles except preface and conclusion. Including litigation procedures, damages, tenancy relationship, creditor's rights and debts, property inheritance, slave disposal, etc. 190 1 was discovered in Iran. It is a black basalt cylinder and is now in the Louvre Museum in Paris, France. At the upper end of the column is a relief, in which Hammurabi took the scepter from Chamakh, the sun god.

Code of hammurabi divided people into three grades:

1. Freemen with civil rights 2. Freemen without citizenship 3. Slaves: Royal slaves, slaves belonging to freemen and private slaves of citizens.

Politics and Society of the Kingdom of Babylon

65438+

The political system of the city-state in the Babylonian era was different from that in the Sumerian Akkadian era and the third Ur dynasty. After the reunification of Hammurabi, a centralized autocratic system was established. The king monopolizes political, military, diplomatic, judicial and religious powers and directly appoints central and local officials. Set up a governor in a large administrative region, appoint an official named "Shakanaku" in a larger city, and appoint an official named "Labia Num" in a small city for governance. Some cities (such as Xipal, etc. ) obtained a certain degree of autonomy, and the city commercial supervisor was elected from wealthy families for a term of 1 year, responsible for taxation, canal excavation, wall construction, management of public warehouses and docks, etc. Hammurabi's domestic policy is basically a continuation of Isis's city-state policy. In the process of unification, the basic policy of Hammurabi's foreign policy is to make far-reaching friends and attack near, and the flexible alliance serves the overall goal of unifying the two river basins.

2. Class relations

Ancient Babylonian society was divided into three levels: 1. Avilu is a free man with complete power. The upper class is the ruling class, and the lower class is mostly yeomen and soldiers who pay taxes, perform military service and corvee. 2.Mushchinu, a free man attached to the royal land, had other dependent classes similar to Mushchinu in Babylonian times. 3. Waldo (male slave) and Amtu (female slave) are slaves.

3. Land system

The land occupied by the royal family in Hammurabi period is divided into three categories: 1, "supporting (maintaining) the palace field"; Land granted on terms of service; Land granted on the condition of paying taxes (tribute). Soldiers, officials, Tamuka (commercial agent, usurer) and so on obtained land on the condition of service. Soldiers Ledu and Bayiru got royal land for military service. His land can be inherited by his adult son, but it is still conditional on military service; Whoever refuses or hires someone to perform military service on his behalf shall be sentenced to death. 2. "Neigongren"; A person who owns most of the royal land on the condition of paying taxes (tribute) is exploited and controlled by the royal family, and his land cannot be bought, sold, mortgaged or passed on to the heiress. 3. In addition to royal land, ancient Babylonian society also had temple land, urban land and private land. Documents such as code of hammurabi and archaeological contract documents prove that private land accounts for a considerable amount, and land tenancy and employment relations have become popular. The land rent is generally 1/2 or 1/3 of the harvest. The land rent for orchards and vegetable gardens is two-thirds of the harvest.

The value of land changes with the supply of irrigation water, and the rent of some gardens supplying irrigation water is as high as 3/4 of the harvest. The usury industry is very active, and both temples and hotels operate usury industry. The active usury industry promoted the development of debt slaves. Debt slaves are called kisato. In the aspect of family and marriage, it also preserves the patriarchal remnants of patriarchy and husband power. Parents can sell their wives or children as slaves, or make them debt slaves. Children must pay for other people's children killed by their parents. The development of debt slavery led to the debtor's resistance. After Hammurabi, the struggle against debt slavery broke out, which led to the king's release order. This is also one of the important reasons for the demise of ancient Babylon.

4. Monk class

The priest is the attendant of the temple, and is responsible for presiding over sacrificial activities, festival ceremonies, chanting prayers, divination and so on. They were one of the most special classes in ancient Mesopotamia. Most of the gods in Mesopotamia were enshrined in temples. Therefore, there are countless temples in Mesopotamia. According to statistics, archaeologists at Sumerian site alone have unearthed 3,500 temples! Mesopotamia paid attention to the blessing and enjoyment of the world, built temples to worship the gods and maintained good relations with them, so as to bless the good weather, the country and the people. Therefore, in a country, temples are often the best buildings after palaces. All ethnic groups are willing to spend a lot of money to build temples. The Babel described by Herodotus in his works is the most representative temple. Since there are countless temples, the number of priests who serve as temple attendants is naturally amazing. They are not only numerous, but also powerful. In Mesopotamia, the kingship of the country was restricted by three kinds: law, nobility and priest. Among them, the priest is the most powerful. The king is the spokesman of God, his power is given by God, and the representative of God is the priest. In the eyes of ordinary people, a monarch can't be justified if he doesn't get a scepter from a priest. When the priest authorizes the king on behalf of God, there is usually a solemn ceremony. Under this theocracy, priests have great privileges. In addition, priests are an important economic force of the country. They control and manage the wealth in the temple. Due to the position of religion in national life, temples in Mesopotamia have accumulated countless wealth. The king usually allocates part of the land as temple property and designates an area for paying rent and taxes. If a foreign war is won, the first place to send prisoners of war and trophies is the temple. Coupled with all kinds of offerings offered by the people, the temple is not only full of food, vegetables and fruits, but also a lot of gold and silver treasures. As managers of wealth, priests rented land, operated banks and participated in commercial activities, which increased the property of temples. Therefore, priests get wealth from God and power from wealth, and become the privileged class of society.

Priests mostly come from noble families, and their careers are hereditary, and their titles are passed down from generation to generation. They are also often a minority of people whose cultural knowledge is monopolized by the state. In schools run in temples, priests are both school administrators and teachers. Education instills religious ideas in students, so it is also a monopoly class.

Pastors are also divided into different grades. Senior priests are responsible for presiding over major sacrificial activities, while ordinary priests are responsible according to their grades. For example, Karoo and Nanu are responsible for singing hymns, Nisaku is responsible for hosting libation, Namuk is responsible for cleaning, and Banu is responsible for exorcism. In addition, there are priests who specialize in divination and interpretation of omens. They are responsible for praying for good luck to God, reading dreams and astrology.

Source internet