The Babylonians
Ranked #4,496 in Culture & Society, #95,753 overall | Donates to Save the Children
The Babylonians
Babylon was a magnificent city, a great trading and religious center, with splendid palaces and temples.
Some of the great kings who ruled Babylon included King Hammurabi and King Nebuchadnezzar II.
The people of Babylon were responsible for the following great cultural, scientific and technological innovations: the earliest writing system, the earliest system of weights and measures, the earliest legal code (the code of Hammurabi), a system for measuring time ("60 minutes per hour" comes from Babylon), early systems of accounting, domesticated crops, irrigation, and early studies in astrology and astronomy.
In 586 BC Babylon was conquered by Cyrus the Great of Persia and in 331 BC by Alexander the Great of Macedon. Babylon was later incorporated into the Roman Empire.
The Assyrians and The Babylonians: History and Treasures of an Ancient Civilization
The Assyrians and The Babylonians: History and Treasures of an Ancient Civilization (History & Treasures)
Amazon Price: $40.00 (as of 05/28/2012)
This meticulously researched and handsomely illustrated volume explores the chronology, historic events, key public figures, and cultural legacy of the Assyro-Babylonian civilization. Tracing the roots of this ancient society to 3000-2001 BC, historian Alfredo Rizza reveals the impact of various earlier civilizations on the development of Mesopotamia in the second and first millennium BC (ca. 2000-500 BC). Offering fresh insight into the pivotal historical events and the complex political and cultural configuration of the Assyrians and Babylonians, this book delves into the convergence in Mesopotamia of various ethnic and cultural groups. The authoritative text describes the role played by each group in trade, diplomatic relations, cultural heritage, and military action. Specially commissioned photographs depict the topography, archaeology, and antiquities of this ancient civilization, including stone reliefs discovered in royal palaces depicting battle scenes, kings with different deities conducting religious ceremonies, ziggurats, ornate gates guarding the cities, and much more, all of which reveal details of this intriguing epoch.
Achievements of the Babylonians
- In art and architecture, the Babylonians produced mud-brick architecture, decorated with brilliant tiles, zinc, gold, frescoes and bas-reliefs
- In astronomy, eclipses of the sun and moon could be foretold, detailed records were kept, and the stars were numbered and named.
- In mathematics, we derive the modern day usage of 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, and 360 (60 x 6) degrees in a circle.
- In medicine, the Babylonians introduced the concepts of diagnosis, prognosis, physical examination, and prescriptions. They used therapies involving bandages, creams and pills.
- The Babylonians invented an early form of writing called cuneiform, which was wedge-shaped characters written on clay tablets. Many of these clay tablets have survived until today.
- In technology, the Babylonians invented metalworking, copper-working, glassmaking, lamp making, textile weaving, flood control, and water storage, as well as irrigation.
Latest News on Babylonia and the Babylonians
Babylonians were the first in a long line
"[Sir Isaac] Newton was not the first of the age of reason. He was the last of the magicians, the last of the Babylonians and Sumerians, the last great mind that looked out on the visible and intellectual world with the same eyes as those who began to build our intellectual inheritance rather less than 10 000 years ago."
-- John Maynard Keynes
Babylonians (article)
The earliest mention of the city of Babylon can be found in a tablet from the reign of Sargon of Akkad, dating back to the 23rd century BC.
Following the collapse of the last Sumerian "Ur-III" dynasty at the hands of the Elamites (2002 BC traditional, 1940 BC short), the Amorites gained control over most of Mesopotamia, where they formed a series of small kingdoms. During the first centuries of what is called the "Amorite period", the most powerful city states were Isin and Larsa, although Shamshi-Adad I came close to uniting the more northern regions around Assur and Mari. One of these Amorite dynasties was established in the city-state of Babylon, which would ultimately take over the others and form the first Babylonian empire, during what is also called the Old Babylonian Period.
Source: Wapedia
How about a thumbs up?
This module only appears with actual data when viewed on a live lens. The favorite and lensroll options will appear on a live lens if the viewer is a member of Squidoo and logged in.
Have something to say about this lens or about the Babylonians?
Do it here!
-
-
JoshK47
Feb 2, 2012 @ 10:36 am | delete
- Awesome read! Thanks for sharing! :)
-
Explore related pages
- The Star People The Star People
- Zecharia Sitchin Author Of The Earth Chronicles Zecharia Sitchin Author Of The Earth Chronicles
- Our Solar System ~ Featuring the Earth, Sun, Moon, Stars, & Aurora Borealis Our Solar System ~ Featuring the Earth, Sun, Moon, Stars, & Aurora Borealis
- Ophiuchus Zodiac Sign Ophiuchus Zodiac Sign
- The Anunnaki The Anunnaki
- Egyptian zodiac Egyptian zodiac
