We explain what the Babylonian civilization was, the stages into which it was divided and its characteristics. Also, politics, religion, art and culture.
The Babylonian civilization was one of the most important in ancient Asian Mesopotamia.
What was the Babylonian civilization?
The Babylonian civilization was a ancient Near Eastern culture that existed between 2100 and 538 BC. The Babylonians conquered neighboring peoples and, twice in their history, managed to build an empire and control the entire region. Its main city, Babylon, was located on the banks of the Euphrates River, in Asian Lower Mesopotamia.
It was renowned for the grandeur of its architecture and the construction of palaces with terraces. Over the centuries, legends spread about the beauty of its hanging gardens.
In addition, the Babylonian civilization was the first to establish its laws in writing. Hammurabi, king of the Paleo-Babylonian Empire, codified the 282 civil and criminal laws that governed the political, economic and social order of his empire.
See also: Mesopotamian civilization
Characteristics of the Babylonian civilization
The main characteristics of the Babylonian civilization are the following:
- They inhabited Asian Mesopotamia between 2100 and 538 BC. C., and founded the city of Babylon on the banks of the Euphrates River.
- They created the Paleo-Babylonian Empire (1792-1750 BC) and the Neo-Babylonian Empire (635-538 BC) as centralized theocratic states.
- They legally organized their society into categories of nobles, free men and slaves.
- They had two important emperors who influenced the political history of the entire region: Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC) and Nebuchadnezzar II (604-562 BC).
- They based their economy on agriculture, trade and the imposition of taxes.
- They developed knowledge of astronomy and mathematics, which was used by later cultures.
Geographical location of the Babylonian civilization
The Babylonian civilization settled in the southern region of Asian Mesopotamia and founded his main city, Babylon, on the banks of the Euphrates River. Throughout their history, the Babylonians came to occupy the territories of the Sumerian cities, the kingdom of Akkad and Phoenicia.
The region depended on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers for the development of agriculture, since rains were scarce and irregular. It was surrounded by the Arabian Desert, the Zagros Mountains and the Persian Gulf.
Origin and history of the Babylonian civilization
The Babylonians built two empires throughout their history.
The Babylonians were a Semitic people from the Arabian desert. Historians recognize the following stages in its history:
- Origen (2100-1792 BC). Around 2100 BC, the Semitic people arrived in the Mesopotamian region and founded the city of Babylon as a commercial colony within the network of Sumerian city-states. Over time, the city began to have importance as a religious and commercial center. In 1894 BC, the first independent dynasty of the city of Babylon was established, with the Amorite prince Sumuabum. The first kings of this dynasty dedicated themselves to making their city grow, building religious buildings and walls, and developing the network of canals for agriculture. Sumulailu protected the city with walls and Sabum built the Esagila Temple dedicated to the god Marduk. This allowed them to play a more important role in the game of pacts and alliances that characterized the politics of the entire region. Towards the end of the period, the kingdom of Babylon controlled the cities of Kish, Dilbbat, Sippar, Borsippa and Gudua.
- Paleo-Babylonian Empire (1792-1750 BC). In 1792 AD. C., Hammurabi assumed office as the sixth king of the Babylonian dynasty. By conquering the Assyrian cities and reunifying the Sumerian cities under his tutelage, he formed an empire that is currently called the Paleo-Babylonian Empire. During his reign, Hammurabi established a body of written laws known as the “Code of Hammurabi,” imposed the cult of Marduk (divinity of the city of Babylon) as the main god of the Mesopotamian pantheon, and established Akkadian as the official language within the Empire. .
- Meso-Babylonian Period (1750-635 BC). During the reign of Hammurabi’s descendants, Assyria became independent and raids by the Kassites (an Indo-European people) began, which, over time, undermined the political power of the empire. Around 1595 BC. C., the Hittites (a people from Anatolia) invaded the region and defeated the last Babylonian king. The Kassites took over the city, founded a dynasty of Babylonian princes and called their kingdom Karduniash. The Kassite rulers adapted to Babylonian culture, took the Akkadian language as their own, followed the ceremonies established by local priestly groups, and maintained the previous system of government. The Kassites developed diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of Egypt, which allowed them to enjoy some political stability. Around 1360 BC. C., the Assyrians conquered the entire region and Babylon remained within their Empire.
- Neo-Babylonian Empire (635-538 BC). Upon the death of the last Assyrian emperor, Babylon regained its independence. Nabopolassar was the first king of the new Babylonian dynasty. He allied himself with the Medes to destroy the Assyrian capital and expand Babylonian influence throughout the region. His son, Nabuchodonosor II, managed to conquer all of Mesopotamia, Phoenicia, and Palestine, and signed peace agreements with the neighboring peoples of the Medes and the Egyptians. During this period, Babylon became the most important city in the Near East, the cultural center of the entire region. In 538 BC, the Persians invaded Babylon and made it a province of their empire.
Babylonian social organization
Babylonian law established the differences between social classes.
Babylonian society was divided into three large groups established by law: nobles, free men and slaves.
- The royaltyShe called herself sea bath, which meant “good people.” It was made up of governors, judges, officials, priests and army officers. They were landowners and monopolized the different functions of the State.
- The free men. They included the population of merchants, peasants and artisans. They had to pay taxes and work on the construction of large works when the emperor established it. The peasants could be small landowners, tenants (they rented land to work) or day laborers (they worked other people’s land in exchange for payment per day). The artisans integrated professionals from different and varied areas: carpenters, metalworkers, goldsmiths, weavers, potters, brewers, etc. The merchants were organized to invest in a coordinated manner and received help from the State to establish commercial ties with other kingdoms and cities.
- The slaves. These were people who had lost their freedom, either as prisoners of war or as punishment for committing serious crimes or failing to pay their debts. There were also slaves who had been bought by merchants elsewhere and resold locally. Slaves could own property, engage in economic exchange, and have their own families (they could even marry free people). However, they could be bought, sold, exchanged, rented, and even inherited by their masters.
Throughout Babylonian history, The priestly class was constituted as a privileged group within society. Temples played an economic role as well as a religious one. They owned large land holdings that they rented or had peasant day laborers and slaves work on.
Babylonian political organization
The lion was the symbol of royalty during the Neo-Babylonian Empire.
The political organization of Babylon changed throughout its history. During the Paleo-Babylonian (1792-1750 BC) and Neo-Babylonian (635-538 BC) empires, Babylon managed to prevail over neighboring towns and become the capital of a centralized state
Hammurabi, king of the Paleo-Babylonian Empire, sought to unify the territories under his command, established Akkadian as the official language, unified the laws into a common code and organized the state religion around the cult of the god Marduk. The king, as head of the State, controlled all economic activities and collected taxes. He had artisans at his service who worked in rooms of the royal palace intended for this purpose. In addition, he distributed lands between the State, the temples and some important families.
A millennium later, Nabopolassar, king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, wanted to restore Hammurabi’s ancient tradition and followed his old code of laws. However, he intervened less in the organisation of the economy and assigned his lands to private administrators.
Both empires were theocratic since the Babylonians They considered the king to be a representative of the god Marduk. They believed that it was their destiny to maintain divine order in their lands and expand their cult to the rest of the region.
Babylonian economic organization
The peoples conquered during the imperial periods had to pay tribute to Babylon.
During the imperial stages, Babylon organized its economy around agriculture, trade and the imposition of taxes.
Agriculture and livestock were possible thanks to the development of canals and irrigation systems that made use of water from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The Babylonian State divided its lands into three categories: lands dedicated to cereal production, palm grove lands (resistant to soil salinization conditions) and lands for grazing.
Merchants carried out exchanges between Mesopotamian citiesand during the Neo-Babylonian empire (635-538 BC) they established a commercial network with the peoples of the Mediterranean Sea.
Babylonian culture
The Babylonians used the cuneiform writing of the Sumerian culture.
Some of the main cultural features of the Babylonian civilization were:
- Language. The empire imposed Akkadian, a Semitic language, as the official language and, for religious matters, they used the Sumerian language.
- Writing. The Babylonians used cuneiform writing from the Sumerian culture. They used the clay tablet as a basis for writing, but they also engraved the walls of temples and palaces, wrote on stelae or monoliths, and marked different types of everyday objects.
- ArchitectureBabylonian architects designed their buildings based on straight lines and used exposed glazed brick to decorate temples and palaces. The tall towers or stepped pyramids, which often functioned as temples (called ziggurats), were typical of Mesopotamian peoples. The Babylonians excelled in the creation of palaces, with emblems such as the Ishtar Gate, and gardens…