Babylon

Definition

Babylon is an ancient city on the left bank of the Euphrates river, about 112km south of modern Baghdad. "Babylon" is the Greek form of Babel of Babili, which means "the gate of the god" in Semitic, which again is the translation of the original Sumerian name Ka-dimirra. The god was probably Marduk, the divine patron of the city. Like the other great Sanctuaries of Babylonia, the temple of Marduk had been founded in pre-Semitic times and the future Babylon grew around it. As Marduk was the son of Ea, the patron god of Eridu, it is possible that Babylon was a colony of Eridu.

The earliest mention of Babylon is in a dated tablet of the reign of Sargon of Akkad (3800 BC), who is stated to have built sanctuaries there. Babylon remained a provincial town until it became the capital of the first dynasty of Babylon and then Hammurabi's empire, around 2250 BC. From this time onward it continued to be the capital of Babylonia and the holy city of western Asia. The claim to supremacy in Mesopotamia was not fulfilled de jure until the claimant had "taken the hands" of Marduk at Babylon. It was this which made Tiglath-pileser III (ruled 745-727 BC) and other Assyrian kings so anxious to possess themselves of Babylon and to thus legitimize their power.

Only Sennacherib of Assyria (reigned 704-681 BC) failed to secure the support of the Babylonian priesthood, and subsequently razed the city in 689 BC. This act shocked the religious conscience of western Asia, and Sennacherib was subsequently assassinated. His successor hastened to rebuild the city.

With the recovery of Babylonian independence under Nabopolassar (reigned the Neo-Babylonian Empire 625-605 BC) a new era of architectural activity set in, and his son Nebuchadrezzar II (reigned 605-562 BC) made Babylon one of the wonders of the Ancient World. It surrendered without a struggle to Cyrus I of Persia (reigned c. 600-580 BC), but the monotheistic rule of Persia allowed the temples to fall into decay. Indeed part of the temple of E-Saggila, which like other ancient temples served as a fortress, was intentionally pulled down and the holy statue of Marduk was destroyed by Xerxes I after his capture of the city (484 BC).

Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) was murdered in the palace of Nebuchadrezzar, which must therefore have been still standing, and cuneiform texts show that even under the Seleucids, E-Saggila was not wholly a ruin. With the death of Alexander the history of Babylon comes practically to an end, as the newly founded city of Ctesiphon became the most prominent city in Mesopotamia.

Written by Jan van der Crabben, published 28 April 2011.

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Illustrations

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Babylon Books

• A History of the Ancient Near East ca. 3000 - 323 BC Marc Van De Mieroop Wiley-Blackwell (16 October 2006) Price: $32.61

• Atlas of Empire Peter Davidson New Holland Publishers Ltd (22 February 2011) Currently unavailable

• The Seven Great Monarchies Of The Ancient Eastern World, Vol 1: Chaldaea... George Rawlinson (24 March 2011) Currently unavailable

• The Seven Great Monarchies Of The Ancient Eastern World, Vol 2: Assyria... George Rawlinson (24 March 2011) Currently unavailable

• The Seven Great Monarchies Of The Ancient Eastern World, Vol 5: Persia... George Rawlinson (24 March 2011) Currently unavailable