{{short description|Ancient Amorite-Akkadian state in Mesopotamia}}
{{about|the ancient (pre-539 BC) empires|the region called Babylonia by Jewish sources in the later, Talmudic period|Talmudic academies in Babylonia|other uses|Babylonia (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox former country
| name =
| native_name = {{native name|akk|𒆳𒌵𒆠}}
{{Transliteration|akk|māt Akkadī}}
{{native name|akk|𒆳𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠}}
{{Transliteration|akk|māt Bābilim}}
| conventional_long_name = Babylonia
| common_name = Babylonian Kingdom
| year_start = 1894 BC
| year_end = 539 BC
| event_end = [[Fall of Babylon|Disestablished]]
| p1 = Sumer
| p2 = Akkadian Empire
| s1 = Achaemenid Empire
| s2 =
| image_map = Hammurabi's Babylonia 1.svg
| image_map_alt =
| image_map_caption = The extent of the Babylonian Empire at the start and end of [[Hammurabi]]'s reign, in modern-day Iraq.
| capital = [[Babylon]]
| official_languages = {{plainlist|
* [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]]
* [[Sumerian language|Sumerian]]
* [[Aramaic]]}}
| religion = [[Babylonian religion]]
| currency =
| title_leader =
| today = {{plainlist|
*[[Iraq]]
}}
}}
{{History of Iraq}}
{{ancient history}}
'''Babylonia''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|b|æ|b|ɪ|ˈ|l|oʊ|n|i|ə}}; {{langx|akk|𒆳𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠}}, {{Transliteration|akk|māt Akkadī}}) was an [[Ancient history|ancient]] [[Akkadian language|Akkadian-speaking]] state and [[cultural area]] based on the city of [[Babylon]] in central-southern [[Mesopotamia]] (present-day [[Iraq]] and parts of [[Syria]]). It emerged as an Akkadian-populated but [[Amorites|Amorite]]-ruled state {{Circa|1894 BC}}. During the reign of [[Hammurabi]] and afterwards, Babylonia was retrospectively called "the country of Akkad" ({{Transliteration|akk|māt Akkadī}} in Akkadian), a deliberate archaism in reference to the previous glory of the [[Akkadian Empire]].[{{Cite web |url=http://www.aliraqi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=69813 |title=Aliraqi – Babylonian Empire |access-date=2015-02-21 |archive-date=2015-02-21 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20150221193358/http://www.aliraqi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=69813 |url-status=usurped }}][{{cite web| url = https://www.livius.org/articles/place/babylonian-empire/| title = Babylonian Empire – Livius}}] It was often involved in rivalry with the culturally and linguistically-related state of [[Assyria]] in [[Upper Mesopotamia]], which was also an Akkadian-populated and derived civilisation, and with [[Elam]] to the east. Babylonia briefly became the major power in the region after Hammurabi ([[floruit|fl.]] {{Circa|1792}}–1752 BC middle chronology, or {{Circa|1696}}–1654 BC, [[short chronology timeline|short chronology]]) created a short-lived empire, succeeding the earlier Akkadian Empire, [[Third Dynasty of Ur]], and [[Old Assyrian Empire]]. The Babylonian Empire rapidly fell apart after the death of Hammurabi, and reverted to a small kingdom centered around the city of Babylon.
Like [[Assyria]], the Babylonian state retained the written [[Akkadian language]] for official use, despite its [[Northwest Semitic]]-speaking Amorite founders and [[Kassites|Kassite]] successors, who spoke a [[language isolate]]. The state retained the [[Sumerian language]] in [[Sacred language|sacred texts]] for the [[Babylonian religion]], but already by the time Babylon was founded, this was no longer a spoken language, having been replaced by Akkadian. The earlier Akkadian and [[Sumerian religion|Sumerian traditions]] played a major role in the descendant Babylonian and Assyrian culture, and the region would remain an important cultural centre, even under its protracted periods of outside rule.
==History==
===Pre-Babylonian Sumero-Akkadian period===
Mesopotamia had already enjoyed a long history before the emergence of Babylon, with [[Sumer]]ian civilization emerging in the region {{Circa|5400 BC}}, and the Akkadian-speakers who would go on to form Akkad, Assyria, and Babylonia appearing somewhere between the 35th and 30th century BC.[{{Cite web|title=Babylonia|url=https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-middle-east/babylonia|access-date=2021-10-08|website=HISTORY|language=en}}]
During the 3rd millennium BC, an intimate cultural symbiosis occurred between Sumerian and Akkadian-speakers, which included widespread [[wikt:bilingualism|bilingualism]].[{{Cite book|title=Syntactic Change in Akkadian: The Evolution of Sentential Complementation|author=Deutscher, Guy|author-link=Guy Deutscher (linguist)|publisher=[[Oxford University Press|Oxford University Press US]]|year=2007|isbn=978-0-19-953222-3|pages=20–21|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XFwUxmCdG94C}}] The influence of Sumerian on Akkadian and vice versa is evident in all areas, from lexical borrowing on a massive scale, to syntactic, morphological, and phonological convergence.[Woods C. 2006 "Bilingualism, Scribal Learning, and the Death of Sumerian". In S.L. Sanders (ed) ''Margins of Writing, Origins of Culture'': 91–120 Chicago [http://oi.uchicago.edu/pdf/OIS2.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130429121058/http://oi.uchicago.edu/pdf/OIS2.pdf|date=2013-04-29}}] From {{Circa|5400 BC}} until the rise of the Akkadian Empire in the 24th century BC, Mesopotamia had been dominated by largely [[Sumer]]ian cities and city states, such as [[Ur]], [[Lagash]], [[Uruk]], [[Kish (Sumer)|Kish]], [[Isin]], [[Larsa]], [[Adab (city)|Adab]], [[Eridu]], [[Nuzi|Gasur]], [[Assur]], [[Hamazi]], [[Akshak]], [[Erbil|Arbela]] and [[Umma]], although Semitic Akkadian names began to appear on the king lists of some of these states (such as [[Eshnunna]] and [[Assyria]]) between the 29th and 25th centuries BC. Traditionally, the major religious center of all Mesopotamia was the city of [[Nippur]] where the god [[Enlil]] was supreme, and it would remain so until replaced by [[Babylon]] during the reign of Hammurabi in the mid-18th century BC.{{citation needed|date=July 2018}} The [[Akkadian Empire]] (2334–2154 BC) saw the Akkadian Semites and Sumerians of Mesopotamia unite under one rule, and the Akkadians fully attain ascendancy over the Sumerians and indeed come to dominate much of the ancient [[Near East]]. The empire eventually disintegrated due to economic decline, climate change, and civil war, followed by attacks by the language isolate speaking [[Gutians]] from the [[Zagros Mountains]] to the northeast. Sumer rose up again with the Third Dynasty of Ur ([[Neo-Sumerian Empire]]) in the late 22nd century BC, and ejected the Gutians from southern Mesopotamia in 2161 BC as suggested by surviving tablets and astronomy simulations.[{{citation|arxiv=2007.07141|title=The Double Eclipse at the Downfall of Old Babylon|year=2020|last1=Khalisi|first1=Emil}}] They also seem to have gained ascendancy over much of the territory of the Akkadian speaking kings of Assyria in northern Mesopotamia for a time.
Followed by the collapse of the Sumerian "Ur-III" dynasty at the hands of the [[Elam]]ites in 2002 BC, the [[Amorites]], a foreign [[Northwest Semitic languages|Northwest Semitic-speaking]] people, began to migrate into southern Mesopotamia from the northern [[Levant]], gradually gaining control over most of southern Mesopotamia, where they formed a series of small kingdoms, while the Assyrians reasserted their independence in the north. The states of the south were unable to stem the Amorite advance, and for a time may have relied on their fellow Akkadians in Assyria for protection.{{citation needed|date=July 2018}}
King [[Ilu-shuma]] ({{Circa|2008}}–1975 BC) of the Old Assyrian period (2025–1750 BC) in a known inscription describes his exploits to the south as follows:
{{blockquote|The freedom[Freedom = Akk. ''addurāru''.] of the Akkadians and their children I established. I purified their copper. I established their freedom from the border of the marshes and Ur and Nippur, [[Awal]], and Kish, [[Der (Sumer)|Der]] of the goddess [[Ishtar]], as far as the City of ([[Ashur (god)|Ashur]]).[{{ cite book | title = Assyrian Royal Inscriptions, Volume 1 | author = A. K. Grayson | publisher = Otto Harrassowitz | year = 1972 | pages = 7–8 }}]}} Past scholars originally extrapolated from this text that it means he defeated the invading Amorites to the south and Elamites to the east, but there is no explicit record of that, and some scholars believe the Assyrian kings were merely giving preferential trade agreements to the south.
These policies, whether military, economic or both, were continued by his successors [[Erishum I]] and [[Ikunum]].
However, when [[Sargon I]] (1920–1881 BC) succeeded as king in Assyria in 1920 BC, he eventually withdrew Assyria from the region, preferring to concentrate on continuing the vigorous expansion of Assyrian colonies in [[Anatolia]] at the expense of the [[Hurrians]] and [[Hattians]] and the [[Amorite]] inhabited [[Levant]], and eventually southern Mesopotamia fell to the Amorites. During the first centuries of what is called the "Amorite period", the most powerful [[city-state]]s in the south were [[Isin]], [[Eshnunna]] and [[Larsa]], together with Assyria in the north.
===First Babylonian dynasty – Amorite dynasty, 1894–1595 BC===
{{Main|First Babylonian dynasty}}
[[File:F0182 Louvre Code Hammourabi Bas-relief Sb8 rwk.jpg|thumb|Hammurabi (standing), depicted as receiving his royal insignia from [[Shamash]] (or possibly [[Marduk]]). Hammurabi holds his hands over his mouth as a sign of prayer[{{citation |title=Ancient Iraq |first=Georges |last=Roux |author-link=Georges Roux |chapter=The Time of Confusion |date=27 August 1992 |page=266 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=klZX8B_RzzYC&pg=PA266 |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |isbn=9780141938257}}] (relief on the upper part of the stele of [[code of Hammurabi|Hammurabi's code of laws]]).]]
Around 1894 BC, an Amorite chieftain named [[Sumu-abum]] appropriated a tract of land which included the then relatively small city of Babylon from the neighbouring minor city-state of [[Kazallu]], of which it had initially been a territory, turning his newly acquired lands into a state in its own right. His reign was concerned with establishing statehood amongst a sea of other minor city-states and kingdoms in the region. However, Sumu-abum appears never to have bothered to give himself the title of ''King of Babylon'', suggesting that Babylon itself was still only a minor town or city, and not worthy of kingship.[Robert William Rogers, A History of Babylonia and Assyria, Volume I, Eaton and Mains, 1900.]
He was followed by [[Sumu-la-El]], [[Sabium]], and [[Apil-Sin]], each of whom ruled in the same vague manner as Sumu-abum, with no reference to kingship of Babylon itself being made in any written records of the time.[{{Cite book |last=Beaulieu |first=Paul-Alain |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yMhQDwAAQBAJ |title=A History of Babylon, 2200 BC – AD 75 |date=2018-02-05 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-4051-8898-2 |pages=69 |language=en}}] [[Sin-Muballit]] was the first of these Amorite rulers to be regarded officially as a ''king of Babylon'', and then on only one single clay tablet. Under these kings, Babylonia remained a small nation which controlled very little territory, and was overshadowed by neighbouring kingdoms that were both older, larger, and more powerful, such as Isin, Larsa, Assyria to the north and Elam to the east in ancient Iran.[{{Cite book |last=Bryce |first=Trevor |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UAfnDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA8 |title=Babylonia: A Very Short Introduction |date=2016 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-872647-0 |pages=8–10 |language=en}}] The Elamites occupied huge swathes of southern Mesopotamia, and the early Amorite rulers were largely held in vassalage to Elam.
====Empire of Hammurabi====
Babylon remained a minor town in a small state until the reign of its sixth Amorite ruler, [[Hammurabi]], during 1792–1750 BC (or {{Circa|1728}}–1686 BC in the [[short chronology timeline|short chronology]]).[{{Cite book |last=Publishing |first=Britannica Educational |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lc6cAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA71 |title=Mesopotamia: The World's Earliest Civilization |date=2010-04-01 |publisher=Britannica Educational Publishing |isbn=978-1-61530-208-6 |pages=71 |language=en}}] His conquests gave the region stability after turbulent times, and coalesced the patchwork of small states into a single nation; it is only from the time of Hammurabi that southern Mesopotamia acquired the name ''Babylonia''.[{{Cite book |last=Liverani |first=Mario |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0d1JAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA242 |title=The Ancient Near East: History, Society and Economy |date=2013-12-04 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-75084-9 |pages=242 |language=en}}]
Hammurabi turned his disciplined armies eastwards and invaded the region which a thousand years later became [[Iran]], conquering [[Elam]], [[Gutium]], [[Lullubi]], [[Turukku]] and [[Kassites]]. To the west, he conquered the Amorite states of the Levant (modern [[Syria]] and [[Jordan]]) including the powerful kingdoms of [[Mari, Syria|Mari]] and [[Yamhad]].
Hammurabi then entered into a protracted war with the [[Old Assyrian Empire]] for control of Mesopotamia and dominance of the Near East. Assyria had extended control over much of the [[Hurrians|Hurrian]] and [[Hattians|Hattian]] parts of southeast Anatolia from the 21st century BC, and from the latter part of the 20th century BC had asserted itself over the northeast Levant and central Mesopotamia. After a protracted struggle over decades with the powerful [[Kingdom of Upper Mesopotamia]] kings [[Shamshi-Adad I]] and [[Ishme-Dagan I]], Hammurabi forced their successor [[Mut-Ashkur]] to pay tribute to Babylon {{Circa|1751 BC}}, giving Babylonia control over Assyria's centuries-old Hattian and Hurrian colonies in Anatolia.[Oppenheim Ancient Mesopotamia]
One of Hammurabi's most important and lasting works was the compilation of the [[Babylonian law|Babylonian law code]], which improved the much earlier codes of [[Sumer]], [[Akkad (city)|Akkad]] and Assyria. This was made by order of Hammurabi after the expulsion of the Elamites and the settlement of his kingdom. In 1901, a copy of the [[Code of Hammurabi]] was discovered on a [[stele]] by [[Jacques de Morgan]] and [[Jean-Vincent Scheil]] at [[Susa]] in Elam, where it had later been taken as plunder.[{{Cite book |last=Geographic |first=National |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BJ5OEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT144 |title=Lost Cities, Ancient Tombs: A History of the World in 100 Discoveries |date=2021-11-30 |publisher=Disney Electronic Content |isbn=978-1-4262-2199-6 |pages=144–145 |language=en}}] That copy is now in the [[Louvre]].[{{Cite book |last=Barmash |first=Pamela |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NZr9DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA2 |title=The Laws of Hammurabi: At the Confluence of Royal and Scribal Traditions |date=2020-09-24 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-752542-5 |pages=2 |language=en}}]
From before 3000 BC until the reign of Hammurabi, the major cultural and religious center of southern Mesopotamia had been the ancient city of Nippur, where the god Enlil was supreme. Hammurabi transferred this dominance to Babylon, making [[Marduk]] supreme in the pantheon of southern Mesopotamia (with the god [[Ashur (god)|Ashur]], and to some degree [[Ishtar]], remaining the long-dominant deity in northern Mesopotamian Assyria). The city of Babylon became known as a "holy city" where any legitimate ruler of southern Mesopotamia had to be crowned, and the city was also revered by Assyria for these religious reasons. Hammurabi turned what had previously been a minor administrative town into a large, powerful and influential city, extended its rule over the entirety of southern Mesopotamia, and erected a number of buildings.
The Amorite-ruled Babylonians, like their predecessor states, engaged in regular trade with the Amorite and Canaanite city-states to the west, with Babylonian officials or troops sometimes passing to the Levant and Canaan, and Amorite merchants operating freely throughout Mesopotamia. The Babylonian monarchy's western connections remained strong for quite some time. [[Ammi-Ditana]], great-grandson of Hammurabi, still titled himself "king of the land of the Amorites". Ammi-Ditana's father and son also bore Amorite names: [[Abi-Eshuh]] and [[Ammi-Saduqa]].
====Decline====
[[File:Cylinder seal,ca. 18th–17th century B.C. Babylonian.jpg|thumb|left|Cylinder seal, c. 18th–17th century BC. Babylonia.]]
Southern Mesopotamia had no natural, defensible boundaries, making it vulnerable to attack. After the death of Hammurabi, his empire began to disintegrate rapidly. Under his successor [[Samsu-iluna]] (1749–1712 BC) the far south of Mesopotamia was lost to a native Akkadian-speaking king [[Ilum-ma-ili]] who ejected the Amorite-ruled Babylonians. The south became the native [[Sealand Dynasty]], remaining free of Babylon for the next 272 years.[Georges Roux, ''Ancient Iraq'']
Both the Babylonians and their Amorite rulers were driven from Assyria to the north by an Assyrian-Akkadian governor named [[Puzur-Sin]] {{Circa|1740 BC}}, who regarded king Mut-Ashkur as both a foreign Amorite and a former lackey of Babylon. After six years of civil war in Assyria, a native king named [[Adasi]] seized power {{Circa|1735 BC}}, and went on to appropriate former Babylonian and Amorite territory in central Mesopotamia, as did his successor [[Bel-bani]].
Amorite rule survived in a much reduced Babylon, Samshu-iluna's successor [[Abi-Eshuh]] made a vain attempt to recapture the Sealand Dynasty for Babylon, but met defeat at the hands of king [[Damqi-ilishu II]]. By the end of his reign Babylonia had shrunk to the small and relatively weak nation it had been upon its foundation, although the city itself was far larger and opulent than the small town it had been prior to the rise of Hammurabi.
He was followed by [[Ammi-Ditana]] and then [[Ammi-Saduqa]], both of whom were in too weak a position to make any attempt to regain the many territories lost after the death of Hammurabi, contenting themselves with peaceful building projects in Babylon itself.
[[Samsu-Ditana]] was to be the last Amorite ruler of Babylon. Early in his reign he came under pressure from the [[Kassites]], a people speaking an apparent [[language isolate]] originating in the mountains of what is today northwest Iran. Babylon was then attacked by the [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European-speaking]], Anatolia-based [[Hittites]] in 1595 BC. Shamshu-Ditana was overthrown following the "sack of Babylon" by the Hittite king [[Mursili I]]. The Hittites did not remain for long, but the destruction wrought by them finally enabled their Kassite allies to gain control.
====Sack of Babylon and ancient Near East chronology====
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Sack of Babylon
| part_of = [[Mursili I|Campaigns of Mursili I]]
| date = {{circa}} 1595 BC
| location = Babylonia, modern-day [[Iraq]]
| result = Hittite victory
| combatant1 = [[Hittite Empire]]
| combatant2 = [[Babylon]]
| commander1 = [[Mursili I]]
| commander2 = [[Samsu-Ditana]]
| casualties1 = Unknown
| casualties2 = Unknown
}}
The date of the sack of Babylon by the Hittites under king [[Mursili I]] is considered crucial to the various calculations of the early [[chronology of the ancient Near East]], as it is taken as a fixed point in the discussion. Suggestions for its precise date vary by as much as 230 years, corresponding to the uncertainty regarding the length of the "Dark Age" of the much later [[Late Bronze Age collapse]], resulting in the shift of the entire Bronze Age chronology of Mesopotamia with regard to the [[Egyptian chronology]]. Possible dates for the sack of Babylon are:
* ultra-short chronology: 1499 BC
* short chronology: 1531 BC
* low middle chronology: 1587 BC
* middle chronology: 1595 BC (probably the most commonly used, and often seen as having the most support)[[[Marc Van de Mieroop|van de Mieroop, M.]] (2007). ''A History of the Ancient Near East, ca. 3000–323 BC''. Malden: Blackwell. {{ISBN|978-0-631-22552-2}}.][[[Mario Liverani|Liverani, Mario]] (2013). ''The Ancient Near East: History, Society and Economy''. Routledge. p. 13, Table 1.1 "Chronology of the Ancient Near East". {{ISBN|9781134750917}}.][Akkermans, Peter M. M. G.; Schwartz, Glenn M. (2003). ''The Archaeology of Syria. From Complex Hunter-Gatherers to Early Urban Societies (ca. 16,000–300 BC)''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|0-521-79666-0}}.][Sagona, A.; Zimansky, P. (2009). ''Ancient Turkey''. London: Routledge. {{ISBN|978-0-415-28916-0}}.][{{cite journal | last1 = Manning | first1 = S. W. | last2 = Kromer | first2 = B. | last3 = Kuniholm | first3 = P. I. | last4 = Newton | first4 = M. W. | year = 2001 | title = Anatolian Tree Rings and a New Chronology for the East Mediterranean Bronze-Iron Ages | url = | journal = Science | volume = 294 | issue = 5551| pages = 2532–2535 | doi = 10.1126/science.1066112 | pmid = 11743159 | bibcode = 2001Sci...294.2532M }}][Sturt W. Manning et al., "Integrated Tree-Ring-Radiocarbon High-Resolution Timeframe to Resolve Earlier Second Millennium BCE Mesopotamian Chronology", ''PlosONE'', July 13, 2016]
* long chronology: 1651 BC (favored by some astronomical events reconstruction)[
* ultra-long chronology: 1736 BC][Eder, Christian, {{lang|de|italic=unset|"Assyrische Distanzangaben und die absolute Chronologie Vorderasiens", ''Altorientalische Forschungen''}} 31, 191–236, 2004.]
[[Mursili I]], the Hittite king, first conquered [[Aleppo]], capital of [[Yamhad]] kingdom, to avenge the death of his father, but his main geopolitical target was Babylon.[Bryce, Trevor (2005). [https://www.academia.edu/5018455/Bryce_The_Kingdom_Of_The_Hittites ''The Kingdom of the Hittites''] (new ed.), Oxford University Press, pp. 97, 98.] The Mesopotamian [[Chronicle of Early Kings|Chronicle 40]], written after 1500 BC, mentions briefly the sack of Babylon as: "During the time of [[Samsu-Ditana]], the Hittites marched on Akkad." More details can be found in another source, the [[Telepinu Proclamation]], a Hittite text from around 1520 BC, which states:[Beaulieu, Paul-Alain (2018). [https://archive.org/stream/BlackwellHistoryOfTheAncientWorldBeaulieuPaulAlainAHistoryOfBabylon2200BCAD75JohnWileySonsLtd2018/%28Blackwell%20history%20of%20the%20ancient%20world%29%20Beaulieu%2C%20Paul-Alain-A%20history%20of%20Babylon%2C%202200%20BC-AD%2075-John%20Wiley%20%26%20Sons%20Ltd%20%282018%29_djvu.txt ''A History of Babylon, 2200 BC – AD 75'']. Wiley Blackwell. pp. 118, 119.]
{{blockquote|And then he [Mursili I] marched to Aleppo, and he destroyed Aleppo and brought captives and possessions of Aleppo to Ḫattuša. Then, however, he marched to Babylon, and he destroyed Babylon, and he defeated the Hurrian troops, and he brought captives and possessions of Babylon to [[Hattusa|Ḫattuša]].}}
The movement of Mursili's troops was around 800 km from the conquered Aleppo to reach the Euphrates, located to the east, skirting around Assyria, and then to the south along the course of the river to reach finally Babylon. His conquest of Babylon brought to an end the dynasty of Hammurabi, and although the Hittite text, Telipinu Proclamation, does not mention Samsu-ditana, and the Babylonian [[Chronicle of Early Kings|Chronicle 20]] does not mention a specific Hittite king either, [[Trevor Bryce]] concludes that there is no doubt that both sources refer to Mursili I and [[Samsu-Ditana|Samsu-ditana]].[Bryce, Trevor (2005). [https://www.academia.edu/5018455/Bryce_The_Kingdom_Of_The_Hittites ''The Kingdom of the Hittites''] (new ed.), Oxford University Press, p. 99.]
===Kassite dynasty, 1595–1155 BC===
{{Main|Kassites}}
[[File:Kassite Babylonia EN.svg|thumb|The extent of the Babylonian Empire during the Kassite dynasty.]]
The Kassite dynasty was founded by [[Gandash]] of Mari. The Kassites, like the Amorite rulers who had preceded them, were not originally native to Mesopotamia. Rather, they had first appeared in the [[Zagros Mountains]] of what is today northwestern Iran.
The ethnic affiliation of the Kassites is unclear. Still, their language was not [[Semitic languages|Semitic]] or [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]], and is thought to have been either a language isolate or possibly related to the [[Hurro-Urartian languages|Hurro-Urartian language family]] of Anatolia,[{{cite journal|last=Schneider|first=Thomas|title=Kassitisch und Hurro-Urartäisch. Ein Diskussionsbeitrag zu möglichen lexikalischen Isoglossen|trans-title=Kassite and Hurro-Urartian: A contribution to discussion on possible lexical isoglosses |journal=Altorientalische Forschungen|year=2003|issue=30|pages=372–381|language=de}}] although the evidence for its genetic affiliation is meager due to the scarcity of extant texts. That said, several Kassite leaders may have borne [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European names]], and they may have had an [[Proto-Indo-Europeans|Indo-European]] elite similar to the [[Mitanni]] elite that later ruled over the Hurrians of central and eastern Anatolia, while others had Semitic names.[{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/285248/India/46842/Early-Vedic-period |title=India: Early Vedic period |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica Online]] |publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]] |access-date=8 September 2012}}][{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/293553/Iranian-art-and-architecture/37848/Median-period |title=Iranian art and architecture |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica Online]] |publisher=[[Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]] |access-date=8 September 2012}}]
The Kassites renamed Babylon [[Karduniaš]] and their rule lasted for 576 years, the longest dynasty in Babylonian history.
This new foreign dominion offers a striking analogy to the roughly contemporary rule of the Semitic [[Hyksos]] in [[ancient Egypt]]. Most divine attributes ascribed to the Amorite kings of Babylonia disappeared at this time; the title "god" was never given to a Kassite sovereign. Babylon continued to be the capital of the kingdom and one of the ''holy cities'' of western Asia, where the priests of the [[ancient Mesopotamian religion]] were all-powerful, and the only place where the right to inheritance of the short lived old Babylonian empire could be conferred.{{sfn|Sayce|1911|p=104}}
Babylonia experienced short periods of relative power, but in general proved to be relatively weak under the long rule of the Kassites, and spent long periods under [[Assyria]]n and [[Elamite]] domination and interference.
It is not clear precisely when Kassite rule of Babylon began, but the Indo-European Hittites from Anatolia did not remain in Babylonia for long after the sacking of the city, and it is likely the Kassites moved in soon afterwards. [[Agum II]] took the throne for the Kassites in 1595 BC, and ruled a state that extended from Iran to the middle Euphrates; The new king retained peaceful relations with [[Erishum III]], the native Mesopotamian king of Assyria, but successfully went to war with the [[Hittite Empire]], and twenty-four years after, the Hittites took the sacred [[statue of Marduk]], he recovered it and declared the god equal to the [[Kassite deities|Kassite deity]] [[Shuqamuna]].
[[File:Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia c. 1450 BC.png|thumb|Map of Mesopotamia {{Circa|1450 BC}}]]
[[Burnaburiash I]] succeeded him and drew up a peace treaty with the Assyrian king [[Puzur-Ashur III]], and had a largely uneventful reign, as did his successor [[Kashtiliash III]].
The [[Sealand Dynasty]] of southern Mesopotamia remained independent of Babylonia and like Assyria was in native Akkadian-speaking hands. [[Ulamburiash]] managed to attack it and conquered parts of the land from ''Ea-gamil'', a king with a distinctly Sumerian name, around 1450 BC, whereupon [[Ea-Gamil]] fled to his allies in Elam. The Sealand Dynasty region still remained independent, and the Kassite king seems to have been unable to finally conquer it. Ulamburiash began making treaties with [[ancient Egypt]], which then was ruling southern [[Canaan]], and Assyria to the north. [[Agum III]] also campaigned against the Sealand Dynasty, finally wholly conquering the far south of Mesopotamia for Babylon, destroying its capital Dur-Enlil in the process. From there Agum III extended farther south still, invading what was many centuries later to be called the [[Arabian Peninsula]] or [[Arabia]], and conquering the ''pre-Arab'' state of [[Dilmun]] (in modern [[Bahrain]]).
[[Karaindash]] built a bas-relief temple in Uruk and [[Kurigalzu I]] (1415–1390 BC) built a new capital [[Dur-Kurigalzu]] named after himself, transferring administrative rule from Babylon. Both of these kings continued to struggle unsuccessfully against the Sealand Dynasty. [[Karaindash]] also strengthened diplomatic ties with the Assyrian king [[Ashur-bel-nisheshu]] and the Egyptian Pharaoh [[Thutmose III]] and protected Babylonian borders with Elam.
[[Kadashman-Harbe I]] succeeded Karaindash, and briefly invaded Elam before being eventually defeated and ejected by its king Tepti Ahar. He then had to contend with the [[Suteans]], [[ancient Semitic-speaking peoples]] from the southeastern Levant who invaded Babylonia and sacked Uruk. He describes having "annihilated their extensive forces", then constructed fortresses in a mountain region called [[Ḫiḫi]], in the desert to the west (modern [[Syria]]) as security outposts, and "he dug wells and settled people on fertile lands, to strengthen the guard".[{{cite book |title=Babylonians |author=H. W. F. Saggs |publisher=British Museum Press |year=2000 |page=117}}]
[[Kurigalzu I]] succeeded the throne, and soon came into conflict with Elam, to the east. When [[Ḫur-batila]], the successor of [[Tepti Ahar]] took the throne of Elam, he began raiding Babylonia, taunting Kurigalzu to do battle with him at [[Dūr-Šulgi]]. Kurigalzu launched a campaign which resulted in the abject defeat and capture of Ḫur-batila, who appears in no other inscriptions. He went on to conquer the eastern lands of Elam. This took his army to the Elamite capital, the city of Susa, which was sacked. After this a puppet ruler was placed on the Elamite throne, subject to Babylonia. Kurigalzu I maintained friendly relations with Assyria, [[Egypt]] and the Hittites throughout his reign. [[Kadashman-Enlil I]] (1374–1360 BC) succeeded him, and continued his diplomatic policies.
[[Burna-Buriash II]] ascended to the throne in 1359 BC, he retained friendly relations with Egypt, but the resurgent [[Middle Assyrian Empire]] (1365–1050 BC) to the north was now encroaching into northern Babylonia, and as a symbol of peace, the Babylonian king took the daughter of the powerful Assyrian king [[Ashur-uballit I]] in marriage. He also maintained friendly relations with [[Suppiluliuma I]], ruler of the [[Hittite Empire]].
He was succeeded by [[Kara-hardash|Kara-ḫardaš]] (who was half Assyrian, and the grandson of the Assyrian king) in 1333 BC, a usurper named [[Nazi-Bugash|Nazi-Bugaš]] deposed him, enraging [[Ashur-uballit I]], who invaded and sacked Babylon, slew Nazi-Bugaš, annexed Babylonian territory for the Middle Assyrian Empire, and installed [[Kurigalzu II]] (1345–1324 BC) as his vassal ruler of Babylonia.
[[File:East-Hem 1300bc.jpg|thumb|Map of Eurasia around 1300 BC showing the Babylonian Empire under the Kassite dynasty.]]
Soon after [[Arik-den-ili]] succeeded the throne of Assyria in 1327 BC, Kurigalzu II attacked Assyria in an attempt to reassert Babylonian power. After some impressive initial successes he was ultimately defeated, and lost yet more territory to Assyria. Between 1307 BC and 1232 BC his successors, such as [[Nazi-Maruttash]], [[Kadashman-Turgu]], [[Kadashman-Enlil II]], [[Kudur-Enlil]] and [[Shagarakti-Shuriash]], allied with the empires of the Hittites and the [[Mitanni]] (who were both also losing swathes of territory to the resurgent Assyrians), in a failed attempt to stop Assyrian expansion. This expansion, nevertheless, continued unchecked.
[[Kashtiliash IV]]'s (1242–1235 BC) reign ended catastrophically as the Assyrian king [[Tukulti-Ninurta I]] (1243–1207 BC) routed his armies, sacked and burned Babylon and set himself up as king, ironically becoming the first ''native'' Mesopotamian to rule the Mesopotamian populated state, its previous rulers having all been ''non-Mesopotamian'' Amorites and Kassites.[{{cite web |title=World Wide Sechool |work=History of Phoenicia – Part IV |url=http://www.worldwideschool.org/library/books/hst/ancient/HistoryofPhoenicia/chap22.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070101175722/http://www.worldwideschool.org/library/books/hst/ancient/HistoryofPhoenicia/chap22.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2007-01-01 |access-date=2007-01-09 }}]
[[File:East-Hem 600bc.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Eurasia around 600 BC, showing [[Neo-Babylonian Empire]] (Chaldean Empire) and its neighbors.]]
[[Amel-Marduk]] succeeded to the throne and reigned for only two years. Little contemporary record of his rule survives, though [[Berossus|Berosus]] later stated that he was deposed and murdered in 560 BC by his successor [[Neriglissar]] for conducting himself in an "improper manner".
[[Neriglissar]] (560–556 BC) also had a short reign. He was the son in law of Nebuchadnezzar II, and it is unclear if he was a Chaldean or native Babylonian who married into the dynasty. He campaigned in Aram and Phoenicia, successfully maintaining Babylonian rule in these regions. Neriglissar died young however, and was succeeded by his son [[Labashi-Marduk]] (556 BC), who was still a boy. He was deposed and killed during the same year in a palace conspiracy.
Of the reign of the last Babylonian king, [[Nabonidus]] (''Nabu-na'id'', 556–539 BC) who is the son of the [[Assyrian people|Assyrian]] priestess [[Addagoppe of Harran|Adda-Guppi]] and who managed to kill the last Chaldean king, Labashi-Marduk, and took the reign, there is a fair amount of information available. Nabonidus (hence his son, the regent [[Belshazzar]]) was, at least from the mother's side, neither Chaldean nor Babylonian, but ironically Assyrian, hailing from its final capital of [[Harran]] (Kharranu). His father's origins remain unknown. Information regarding Nabonidus is chiefly derived from a chronological tablet containing the annals of Nabonidus, supplemented by another inscription of Nabonidus where he recounts his restoration of the temple of the Moon-god [[Sin_(mythology)|Sin]] at Harran; as well as by a proclamation of Cyrus issued shortly after his formal recognition as king of Babylonia.{{sfn|Sayce|1911|p=105}}
A number of factors arose which would ultimately lead to the fall of Babylon. The population of Babylonia became restive and increasingly disaffected under Nabonidus. He excited a strong feeling against himself by attempting to centralize the polytheistic religion of Babylonia in the temple of Marduk at Babylon, and while he had thus alienated the local priesthoods, the military party also despised him on account of his antiquarian tastes. He seemed to have left the defense of his kingdom to his son [[Belshazzar]] (a capable soldier but poor diplomat who alienated the political elite), occupying himself with the more congenial work of excavating the foundation records of the temples and determining the dates of their builders.{{sfn|Sayce|1911|p=105}} He also spent time outside Babylonia, rebuilding temples in the Assyrian city of Harran, and also among his Arab subjects in the deserts to the south of Mesopotamia. Nabonidus and Belshazzar's Assyrian heritage is also likely to have added to this resentment. In addition, Mesopotamian military might have usually been concentrated in the martial state of Assyria. Babylonia had always been more vulnerable to conquest and invasion than its northern neighbour, and without the might of Assyria to keep foreign powers in check and Mesopotamia dominant, Babylonia was exposed.
It was in the sixth year of Nabonidus (549 BC) that [[Cyrus the Great]], the Achaemenid Persian "king of [[Anshan (Persia)|Anshan]]" in Elam, revolted against his suzerain [[Astyages]], "king of the Manda" or Medes, at [[Ecbatana]]. Astyages' army betrayed him to his enemy, and Cyrus established himself at Ecbatana, thus putting an end to the empire of the Medes and making the Persian faction dominant among the Iranic peoples.{{sfn|Sayce|1911|pp=105–106}} Three years later Cyrus had become king of all Persia, and was engaged in a campaign to put down a revolt among the Assyrians. Meanwhile, Nabonidus had established a camp in the desert of his colony of Arabia, near the southern frontier of his kingdom, leaving his son [[Belshazzar]] (''Belsharutsur'') in command of the army.
In 539 BC Cyrus invaded Babylonia. A battle was fought at [[Opis]] in the month of June, where the Babylonians were defeated; and immediately afterwards Sippar surrendered to the invader. Nabonidus fled to Babylon, where he was pursued by [[Gobryas (general)|Gobryas]], and on the 16th day of [[Tammuz (Babylonian calendar)|Tammuz]], two days after the capture of Sippar, "the soldiers of Cyrus entered Babylon without fighting". Nabonidus was dragged from his hiding place, where the services continued without interruption. Cyrus did not arrive until the 3rd of ''Marchesvan'' (October), Gobryas having acted for him in his absence. Gobryas was now made governor of the province of Babylon, and a few days afterwards Belshazzar the son of Nabonidus died in battle. A public mourning followed, lasting six days, and Cyrus' son [[Cambyses II|Cambyses]] accompanied the corpse to the tomb.{{sfn|Sayce|1911|p=106}}
One of the first acts of Cyrus accordingly was to allow the [[Babylonian captivity|Jewish exiles]] to return to their own homes, carrying with them their sacred temple vessels. The permission to do so was embodied in a proclamation, whereby the conqueror endeavored to justify his claim to the Babylonian throne.{{sfn|Sayce|1911|p=106}}
Cyrus now claimed to be the legitimate successor of the ancient Babylonian kings and the avenger of [[Bel-Marduk]], who was assumed to be wrathful at the impiety of Nabonidus in removing the images of the local gods from their ancestral shrines to his capital Babylon.{{sfn|Sayce|1911|p=106}}
The Chaldean tribe had lost control of Babylonia decades before the end of the era that sometimes bears their name, and they appear to have blended into the general populace of Babylonia even before this (for example, Nabopolassar, Nebuchadnezzar II and their successors always referred to themselves as ''Shar Akkad'' and never as ''Shar Kaldu'' on inscriptions), and during the Persian [[Achaemenid Empire]] the term ''Chaldean'' ceased to refer to a race of people, and instead specifically to a social class of priests educated in classical Babylonian literature, particularly Astronomy and Astrology. By the mid [[Seleucid Empire]] (312–150 BC) period this term too had fallen from use.
===Fall of Babylon===
{{Further|Fall of Babylon |Achaemenid Assyria}}
[[File:Xerxes I tomb Babylonian soldier circa 470 BCE.jpg|thumb|Babylonian soldier of the [[Achaemenid army]], circa 480 BC. Relief of the tomb of [[Xerxes I]].]]
Babylonia was absorbed into the [[Achaemenid Empire]] in 539 BC, becoming the [[satrapy]] of Babirush ({{langx|peo|[[:wikt:𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽|𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽]]|Bābiruš}}).
A year before Cyrus' death, in 529 BC, he elevated his son [[Cambyses II]] in the government, making him king of Babylon. He reserved for himself the fuller title of "king of the (other) provinces" of the empire. It was only when [[Darius I]] acquired the Persian throne and ruled it as a representative of the [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrian religion]] that the old tradition was broken and the claim of Babylon to confer legitimacy on the rulers of [[West Asia]] ceased to be acknowledged.{{sfn|Sayce|1911|p=106}}
Immediately after Darius seized Persia, Babylonia briefly recovered its independence under a native ruler, Nidinta-Bel, who took the name of [[Nebuchadnezzar III]], and reigned from October 522 BC to August 520 BC, when Darius took the city by storm. During this period Assyria to the north also rebelled. A few years later, probably 514 BC, Babylon again revolted under the [[Urartians|Urartian]] king [[Nebuchadnezzar IV]]; on this occasion, after its capture by the Persians, the walls were partly destroyed. The [[Esagila]], the great temple of [[Marduk]], however, still continued to be kept in repair and to be a center of Babylonian religious feelings.{{sfn|Sayce|1911|p=106}}
[[Alexander the Great]] conquered Babylon in 333 BC for the [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedonians]], and died there in 323 BC. Babylonia and Assyria then became part of the Greek [[Seleucid Empire]].{{citation needed|date=April 2017}} It has long been maintained that the foundation of [[Seleucia]] diverted the population to the new capital of [[Lower Mesopotamia]] and that the ruins of the old city became a quarry for the builders of the new seat of government,{{sfn|Sayce|1911|p=106}} but the recent publication of the ''[[Babylonian Chronicles]]'' has shown that urban life was still very much the same well into the [[Parthian Empire]] (150 BC to 226 AD). The Parthian king [[Mithridates I of Parthia|Mithridates]] conquered the region into the Parthian Empire in 150 BC, and the region became something of a battleground between Greeks and Parthians.
There was a brief interlude of [[Roman Empire|Roman]] conquest (the provinces of [[Assyria (Roman province)|Assyria]] and [[Mesopotamia (Roman province)|Mesopotamia]]; 116–118 AD) under [[Trajan]], after which the Parthians reasserted control.
The [[satrap]]y of Babylonia was absorbed into [[Asōristān]] ([[Middle Persian]] for "the land of Assyria") in the [[Sasanian Empire]], which began in 226 AD, and by this time [[East Syriac Rite|East Syriac Rite Christianity]], which emerged in Assyria and Upper Mesopotamia the first century, had become the dominant religion among the [[Assyrian people]], who had never adopted the [[Zoroastrianism]] or [[Hellenistic religion]] or the languages of their rulers.
Apart from the small [[2nd century BC]] to [[3rd century]] AD independent Neo-Assyrian states of [[Adiabene]], [[Osroene]], [[Assur]], [[Beth Garmai]], [[Beth Nuhadra]] and [[Hatra]] in the north, Mesopotamia remained under largely Persian control until the Arab [[Muslim conquest of Persia]] in the seventh century AD. Asōristān was dissolved as a geopolitical entity in 637, and the native [[Eastern Aramaic languages|Eastern Aramaic]]-speaking and largely Christian populace of southern and central Mesopotamia (with the exception of the [[Mandeans]]) gradually underwent [[Arabization]] and [[Islamization]], in contrast to northern Mesopotamia where an [[Assyrian continuity]] endures to the present day.
==Culture==
Bronze Age to Early Iron Age Mesopotamian culture is sometimes summarized as "Assyro-Babylonian", because of the close ethnic, linguistic and cultural interdependence of the two political centers. The term "Babylonia", especially in writings from around the early 20th century, was formerly used to also include Southern Mesopotamia's earliest ''pre-Babylonian'' history, and not only in reference to the later city-state of Babylon proper. This geographic usage of the name "Babylonia" has generally been replaced by the more accurate term ''Sumer'' or ''Sumero-Akkadian'' in more recent writing, referring to the pre-Assyro-Babylonian Mesopotamian civilization.
===Babylonian culture===
[[File:Cylinder Seal, Old Babylonian, formerly in the Charterhouse Collection 09.jpg|thumb|upright=1.55|Old Babylonian [[Cylinder Seal]], [[hematite]]. The king makes an animal offering to [[Shamash]]. This seal was probably made in a workshop at Sippar.[Al-Gailani Werr, L., 1988. Studies in the chronology and regional style of Old Babylonian Cylinder Seals. Bibliotheca Mesopotamica, Volume 23.]]]
====Art and architecture====
{{Further|Architecture of Mesopotamia|Art of Mesopotamia}}
[[File:Man and woman, Old-Babylonian fired clay plaque from Southern Mesopotamia, Iraq.jpg|thumb|Man and woman, Old-Babylonian fired clay plaque from Southern Mesopotamia. [[Sulaymaniyah Museum|Sulaymaniyah museum]], [[Sulaymaniyah]]. [[Iraq]]]]
In Babylonia, an abundance of [[clay]], and lack of [[Rock (geology)|stone]], led to greater use of [[mudbrick]]; Babylonian, Sumerian and Assyrian temples were massive structures of crude brick which were supported by [[buttress]]es, the rain being carried off by drains. One such drain at [[Ur]] was made of [[lead]]. The use of brick led to the early development of the [[pilaster]] and column, and of [[fresco]]es and enameled tiles. The walls were brilliantly coloured, and sometimes plated with [[zinc]] or [[gold]], as well as with [[tile]]s. Painted [[terracotta]] cones for torches were also embedded in the plaster. In Babylonia, in place of the [[relief]], there was greater use of three-dimensional figures—the earliest examples being the [[Statues of Gudea]], that are realistic if somewhat clumsy. The paucity of stone in Babylonia made every pebble precious, and led to a high perfection in the art of gem-cutting.{{sfn|Sayce|1911|p=108}}
====Astronomy====
{{Main| Babylonian astronomy}}
Tablets dating back to the [[First Babylonian dynasty|Old Babylonian period]] document the application of mathematics to the variation in the length of daylight over a solar year. Centuries of Babylonian observations of celestial phenomena are recorded in the series of [[cuneiform script]] tablets known as the '[[Enūma Anu Enlil]]'. The oldest significant astronomical text that we possess is Tablet 63 of 'Enūma Anu Enlil', the Venus tablet of [[Ammi-Saduqa]], which lists the first and last visible risings of Venus over a period of about 21 years and is the earliest evidence that the phenomena of a planet were recognized as periodic. The oldest rectangular [[astrolabe]] dates back to Babylonia {{Circa|1100 BC}}. The [[MUL.APIN]], contains catalogues of stars and constellations as well as schemes for predicting [[heliacal rising]]s and the settings of the planets, lengths of daylight measured by a [[water clock]], [[gnomon]], shadows, and [[Intercalation (timekeeping)|intercalations]]. The Babylonian GU text arranges stars in 'strings' that lie along declination circles and thus measure right-ascensions or time-intervals, and also employs the stars of the zenith, which are also separated by given right-ascensional differences.[{{Citation | last=Pingree | first=David | author-link=David Pingree | year=1998 | contribution=Legacies in Astronomy and Celestial Omens | editor-last=Dalley | editor-first=Stephanie | editor-link= Stephanie Dalley | title=The Legacy of Mesopotamia | publisher=Oxford University Press | pages=125–137 | isbn =978-0-19-814946-0}}][{{Citation | last=Rochberg | first=Francesca | year=2004 | title=The Heavenly Writing: Divination, Horoscopy, and Astronomy in Mesopotamian Culture | publisher=Cambridge University Press}}][{{cite book|title=The History and Practice of Ancient Astronomy|first=James|last=Evans|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1998|pages=296–297|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nS51_7qbEWsC&q=babylon+greek+astronomy&pg=PA17
|access-date=2008-02-04|isbn=978-0-19-509539-5}}]
====Medicine====
[[File:Medical recipe concerning poisoning. Terracotta tablet, from Nippur, Iraq, 18th century BCE. Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul.jpg|thumb|Medical recipe concerning poisoning. Terracotta tablet, from Nippur, Iraq, 18th century BC. Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul]]
{{blockquote|We find [medical semiotics] in a whole constellation of disciplines. ... There was a real common ground among these [Babylonian] forms of knowledge ... an approach involving analysis of particular cases, constructed only through traces, symptoms, hints. ... In short, we can speak about a symptomatic or divinatory [or conjectural] paradigm which could be oriented toward past present or future, depending on the form of knowledge called upon. Toward future ... that was the medical science of symptoms, with its double character, diagnostic, explaining past and present, and prognostic, suggesting likely future. ...|sign=[[Carlo Ginzburg]][{{cite book |last=Ginzburg |first=Carlo |author-link=Carlo Ginzburg |year=1984 |chapter=Morelli, Freud, and Sherlock Holmes: Clues and Scientific Method |pages=[https://archive.org/details/signthreedupinho00sebe/page/n94 81]–118 |editor1-last=Eco |editor1-first=Umberto |editor1-link=Umberto Eco |editor2-last=Sebeok |editor2-first=Thomas |editor2-link=Thomas Sebeok |title=The Sign of Three: Dupin, Holmes, Peirce |url=https://archive.org/details/signthreedupinho00sebe |url-access=limited |location=Bloomington, IN|publisher=History Workshop, Indiana University Press |isbn=978-0-253-35235-4 |lccn=82049207 |oclc=9412985 }} Ginzburg stresses the significance of Babylonian medicine in his discussion of the conjectural paradigm as evidenced by the methods of [[Giovanni Morelli]], [[Sigmund Freud]] and [[Sherlock Holmes]] in the light of [[Charles Sanders Peirce]]'s logic of making educated guesses or [[abductive reasoning]]]}}
The oldest Babylonian (i.e., Akkadian) texts on [[medicine]] date back to the [[First Babylonian dynasty]] in the first half of the [[2nd millennium BC]][{{cite book |title=Ancient Mesopotamia: Portrait of a Dead Civilization |url=https://archive.org/details/ancientmesopotam00aleo |url-access=registration |author=Leo Oppenheim |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=1977 |page=[https://archive.org/details/ancientmesopotam00aleo/page/290 290]}}] although the earliest medical prescriptions appear in Sumerian during the Third Dynasty of Ur period.[{{cite journal |title=Medicine, Surgery, and Public Health in Ancient Mesopotamia |author=R D. Biggs |journal=Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies |volume=19 |number=1 |year=2005 |pages=7–18}}] The most extensive Babylonian medical text, however, is the ''Diagnostic Handbook'' written by the ''ummânū'', or chief scholar, [[Esagil-kin-apli]] of [[Borsippa]],[Marten Stol (1993), ''Epilepsy in Babylonia'', p. 55, [[Brill Publishers]], {{ISBN|90-72371-63-1}}.]
Along with contemporary [[ancient Egyptian medicine]], the Babylonians introduced the concepts of [[medical diagnosis|diagnosis]], [[prognosis]], [[physical examination]], and [[medical prescription|prescriptions]]. In addition, the ''Diagnostic Handbook'' introduced the methods of [[therapy]] and [[aetiology]] and the use of [[empiricism]], [[logic]] and [[rationality]] in diagnosis, prognosis and therapy. The text contains a list of medical [[symptom]]s and often detailed empirical [[observation]]s along with logical rules used in combining observed symptoms on the body of a [[patient]] with its diagnosis and prognosis.[H. F. J. Horstmanshoff, Marten Stol, Cornelis Tilburg (2004), ''Magic and Rationality in Ancient Near Eastern and Graeco-Roman Medicine'', p. 97–98, [[Brill Publishers]], {{ISBN|90-04-13666-5}}.]
The symptoms and diseases of a patient were treated through therapeutic means such as [[bandage]]s, [[Cream (pharmaceutical)|creams]] and [[pill (pharmacy)|pills]]. If a patient could not be cured physically, the Babylonian physicians often relied on [[exorcism]] to cleanse the patient from any [[curse]]s. Esagil-kin-apli's ''Diagnostic Handbook'' was based on a logical set of [[axiom]]s and assumptions, including the modern view that through the examination and inspection of the symptoms of a patient, it is possible to determine the patient's [[disease]], its aetiology and future development, and the chances of the patient's recovery.[H. F. J. Horstmanshoff, Marten Stol, Cornelis Tilburg (2004), ''Magic and Rationality in Ancient Near Eastern and Graeco-Roman Medicine'', p. 99, [[Brill Publishers]], {{ISBN|90-04-13666-5}}.]
Esagil-kin-apli discovered a variety of illnesses and diseases and described their symptoms in his ''Diagnostic Handbook''. These include the symptoms for many varieties of [[epilepsy]] and related ailments along with their diagnosis and prognosis.[Marten Stol (1993), ''Epilepsy in Babylonia'', p. 5, [[Brill Publishers]], {{ISBN|90-72371-63-1}}.] Later Babylonian medicine resembles early [[Ancient Greek medicine|Greek medicine]] in many ways. In particular, the early treatises of the [[Hippocratic Corpus]] show the influence of late Babylonian medicine in terms of both content and form.[{{cite book|chapter=West Meets East: Early Greek and Babylonian Diagnosis|author=M. J. Geller|title=Magic and rationality in ancient Near Eastern and Graeco-Roman medicine|journal=Studies in Ancient Medicine |editor1=H. F. J. Horstmanshoff |editor2=Marten Stol |editor3=Cornelis Tilburg |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]]|year=2004|volume=27|isbn=978-90-04-13666-3|pages=11–186|pmid=17152166}}]
====Literature====
{{Main|Akkadian literature}}
There were libraries and temples in most towns; an old Sumerian proverb averred that "he who would excel in the school of the scribes must rise with the dawn". Women as well as men learned to read and write,{{sfn|Sayce|1911|p=107}}[Tatlow, Elisabeth Meier ''Women, Crime, and Punishment in Ancient Law and Society: The Ancient Near East'' Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd. (31 March 2005) {{ISBN|978-0-8264-1628-5}} p. 75 [https://books.google.com/books?id=ONkJ_Rj1SS8C&dq=women+men+literate+babylonia&pg=PA75]] and in Semitic times, this involved knowledge of the extinct Sumerian language, and a complicated and extensive [[syllabary]].{{sfn|Sayce|1911|p=107}}
A considerable amount of Babylonian literature was translated from Sumerian originals, and the language of religion and law long continued to be written in the old agglutinative language of Sumer. Vocabularies, grammars, and interlinear translations were compiled for the use of students, as well as commentaries on the older texts and explanations of obscure words and phrases. The characters of the syllabary were all arranged and named, and elaborate lists of them were drawn up.{{sfn|Sayce|1911|p=107}}
There are many Babylonian literary works whose titles have come down to us. One of the most famous of these was the [[Epic of Gilgamesh]], in twelve books, translated from the original Sumerian by a certain [[Sîn-lēqi-unninni|Sin-liqi-unninni]], and arranged upon an astronomical principle. Each division contains the story of a single adventure in the career of [[Gilgamesh]]. The whole story is a composite product, and it is probable that some of the stories are artificially attached to the central figure.{{sfn|Sayce|1911|p=107}}
===Neo-Babylonian culture===
The brief resurgence of Babylonian culture in the 7th to 6th centuries BC was accompanied by a number of important cultural developments.
====Astronomy====
{{Main|Babylonian astronomy|Chronology of the ancient Near East}}
Among the sciences, [[astronomy]] and [[astrology]] still occupied a conspicuous place in Babylonian society. Astronomy was of old standing in Babylonia. The [[zodiac]] was a Babylonian invention of great antiquity; and [[eclipse]]s of the [[sun]] and [[moon]] could be foretold.{{sfn|Sayce|1911|p=107}} There are dozens of cuneiform records of original Mesopotamian eclipse observations.
Babylonian astronomy was the basis for much of what was done in [[ancient Greek astronomy]], in classical, in Sasanian, [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] and Syrian astronomy, [[astronomy in the medieval Islamic world]], and in [[Central Asia]]n and [[Western Europe]]an astronomy.{{sfn|Sayce|1911|p=107}}[Aaboe, A. (1992). Babylonian mathematics, astrology, and astronomy. In J. Boardman, I. Edwards, E. Sollberger, & N. Hammond (Eds.), ''[[The Cambridge Ancient History]]'' (The Cambridge Ancient History, pp. 276–292). [https://www.cambridge.org/us/academic Cambridge: Cambridge University Press]. [https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/cambridge-ancient-history/firstmillennium-babylonian-literature/1725D8C46F6BD6AEA64AD9E3A5DA8FE2 doi:10.1017/CHOL9780521227179.010]]
During the 8th and 7th centuries BC, Babylonian astronomers developed a new approach to astronomy. They began studying [[philosophy]] dealing with the ideal nature of the early [[universe]] and began employing an [[consistency|internal logic]] within their predictive [[planetary system]]s. This was an important contribution to astronomy and the [[philosophy of science]] and some scholars have thus referred to this new approach as the first scientific revolution.[D. Brown (2000), ''Mesopotamian Planetary Astronomy-Astrology'', Styx Publications, {{ISBN|90-5693-036-2}}.] This new approach to astronomy was adopted and further developed in Greek and Hellenistic astronomy.
In [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid]] and Parthian times, the astronomical reports were of a thoroughly scientific character;{{sfn|Sayce|1911|p=107}} how much earlier their advanced knowledge and methods were developed is uncertain. The Babylonian development of methods for predicting the motions of the planets is considered to be a major episode in the [[Assyrian astronomy|history of astronomy]].
The only Babylonian astronomer known to have supported a [[heliocentrism|heliocentric]] model of planetary motion was [[Seleucus of Seleucia]] (b. 190 BC).[{{cite journal | last1 = Neugebauer | first1 = Otto E. | authorlink = Otto E. Neugebauer | year = 1945 | title = The History of Ancient Astronomy Problems and Methods | url = | journal = Journal of Near Eastern Studies | volume = 4 | issue = 1| pages = 1–38 | doi = 10.1086/370729 }}][{{cite journal | last1 = Sarton | first1 = George | authorlink = George Sarton | year = 1955 | title = Chaldaean Astronomy of the Last Three Centuries B.C. | url = | journal = Journal of the American Oriental Society | volume = 75 | issue = 3| pages = 166–173 [169] | doi = 10.2307/595168 | jstor = 595168 }}][William P. D. Wightman (1951, 1953), ''The Growth of Scientific Ideas'', Yale University Press p. 38.] Seleucus is known from the writings of [[Plutarch]]. He supported the heliocentric theory where the [[Earth's rotation|Earth rotated]] around its own axis which in turn revolved around the [[Sun]]. According to [[Plutarch]], Seleucus even proved the heliocentric system, but it is not known what arguments he used.
====Mathematics====
{{Main|Babylonian mathematics}}
Babylonian mathematical texts are plentiful and well edited.[{{cite journal |last1=Ossendrijver |first1=Mathieu |title=Ancient Babylonian astronomers calculated Jupiter's position from the area under a time-velocity graph |issue=6272 |url=https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.aad8085 |journal=Science |volume=351 |pages=482–484 |language=en |doi=10.1126/science.aad8085 |pmid=26823423 |date=29 January 2016|bibcode=2016Sci...351..482O |s2cid=206644971 |url-access=subscription }}]
====Philosophy====
{{Further|Babylonian literature#Philosophy}}
The origins of Babylonian philosophy can be traced back to early Mesopotamian [[wisdom literature]], which embodied certain philosophies of life, particularly [[ethics]], in the forms of [[dialectic]], [[Dialogue|dialog]]s, [[epic poetry]], [[folklore]], [[hymn]]s, [[lyrics]], [[prose]], and [[proverb]]s. Babylonian [[reasoning]] and [[rationality]] developed beyond [[Empiricism|empirical]] observation.[{{cite journal | last1 = Buccellati | first1 = Giorgio | year = 1981 | title = Wisdom and Not: The Case of Mesopotamia | url = | journal = Journal of the American Oriental Society | volume = 101 | issue = 1| pages = 35–47 | doi = 10.2307/602163 | jstor = 602163 }}]
It is possible that Babylonian philosophy had an influence on [[Greek philosophy]], particularly [[Hellenistic philosophy]]. The Babylonian text ''[[Dialogue of Pessimism]]'' contains similarities to the [[Agnostic]] thought of the [[Sophism|sophists]], the [[Heraclitus|Heraclitean]] doctrine of contrasts, and the dialogs of [[Plato]], as well as a precursor to the [[Maieutics|maieutic]] [[Socratic method]] of [[Socrates]].[{{cite journal | last1 = Buccellati | first1 = Giorgio | year = 1981 | title = Wisdom and Not: The Case of Mesopotamia | url = | journal = Journal of the American Oriental Society | volume = 101 | issue = 1| pages = 35–47 [43] | doi = 10.2307/602163 | jstor = 602163 }}] The [[Milesian school|Milesian]] philosopher [[Thales]] is also known to have studied philosophy in Mesopotamia.
According to the [[Assyriology|assyriologist]] [[Marc Van de Mieroop]], Babylonian philosophy was a highly developed system of thought with a unique approach to knowledge and a focus on writing, [[lexicography]], divination, and law.{{sfn|''Philosophy before the Greeks''|2015|pp=vii–viii, 187–188}} It was also a [[Multilingualism|bilingual]] intellectual culture, based on [[Sumerian language|Sumerian]] and [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]].{{sfn|''Philosophy before the Greeks''|2015|p=218}}
==Legacy==
{{Unreferenced section|date=January 2026}}
Babylonia, and particularly its capital city Babylon, has long held a place in the [[Abrahamic religions]] as a symbol of excess and dissolute power. Many references are made to Babylon in the [[Bible]], both literally (historical) and allegorically. The mentions in the [[Tanakh]] tend to be historical or prophetic, while [[New Testament]] apocalyptic references to the [[Whore of Babylon]] are more likely figurative, or cryptic references possibly to pagan Rome, or some other archetype. The legendary [[Hanging Gardens of Babylon]] and the [[Tower of Babel]] are seen as symbols of luxurious and arrogant power respectively.
==See also==
{{Portal|Asia}}
* [[Timeline of the Assyrian Empire]]
==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=n}}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==Bibliography==
* [[Theophilus G. Pinches]], [http://www.sacred-texts.com/ane/rbaa.htm The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria] (Many deities' names are now read differently, but this detailed 1906 work is a classic.)
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Babylonian and Assyrian Religion}}
* {{EB1911 |inline=1 |last=Sayce |first=Archibald Henry |author-link=Archibald Henry Sayce |wstitle=Babylonia and Assyria |volume=3 }}
* {{cite EB9 |last=Sayce |first=Archibald Henry |author-link=Archibald Henry Sayce |wstitle=Babylon–Babylonia |volume=3 |pages=182–194 }}
* {{CathEncy|wstitle=Babylonia}}
* The History Files [http://www.historyfiles.co.uk/MainFeaturesMesopotamia.htm Ancient Mesopotamia]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060219224606/http://fax.libs.uga.edu/BM530xK531l/1f/legends_of_babylon_and_egypt.pdf "Legends of Babylon and Egypt in Relation to Hebrew Tradition"], by Leonard W. King, 1918
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060219224558/http://fax.libs.uga.edu/BL1620xB7/1f/babylonian_legends_of_creation.pdf "The Babylonian Legends of the Creation"], as told by Assyrian Tablets from Nineveh, 1921
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060921105053/http://fax.libs.uga.edu/DS71xJ39C/1f/civilization_of_babylonia_and_assyria.pdf "The Civilization of Babylonia and Assyria"], by Morris Jastrow Jr., 1915
* {{cite book|title=Philosophy before the Greeks. The Pursuit of Truth in Ancient Babylonia|year=2015|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-0691157184|ref={{SfnRef|Philosophy before the Greeks|2015}} }}
==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [http://ancientneareast.tripod.com/Old_Kingdom_of_Babylonia.html Old Babylonian Period]
* [https://www.wisdomlib.org/mesopotamian/book/from-under-the-dust-of-ages/index.html From under the Dust of Ages] by ''William St. Chad Boscawen''
* [https://www.wisdomlib.org/mesopotamian/book/the-chaldean-account-of-genesis/index.html The Chaldean account of Genesis] by ''George Smith''
* [http://www.math.tamu.edu/~don.allen/history/babylon/babylon.html Babylonian Mathematics] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050425234108/http://www.math.tamu.edu/~don.allen/history/babylon/babylon.html |date=2005-04-25 }}
* [http://www-groups.dcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/~history/HistTopics/Babylonian_numerals.html Babylonian Numerals] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927211425/http://www-groups.dcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/~history/HistTopics/Babylonian_numerals.html |date=2007-09-27 }}
* [http://www.halloran.com/babylon1.htm Babylonian Astronomy/Astrology]
* [http://www.staff.science.uu.nl/~gent0113/babylon/babybibl.htm Bibliography of Babylonian Astronomy/Astrology]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110716114724/http://www.speechisfire.com/ Recordings of modern scholars reading Babylonian poetry in the original language]
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