Babylon: Difference between revisions

[[File:Hammurabi's Babylonia 1.svg|thumb|right|250px|Map showing the Babylonian territory upon Hammurabi's ascension in 1792 BCBCE and upon his death in 1750 BCBCE]]

During the reign of [[Sennacherib]] of [[Assyria]], Babylonia was in a constant state of revolt, and It was suppressed only pacified by the complete destruction of the city of Babylon. In 689 BCBCE, its walls, temples and palaces were razed, and the rubble was thrown into the Arakhtu, the seariver borderingon the earliersouth Babylonside onof the southcity. This act shocked the religious conscience of Mesopotamia. After the [[murder]] of Sennacherib by two of his sons, his successor Esarhaddon hastenedhurried to rebuild the old city. He was crowned there, and made it hiswas residencewhere he lived for part of the year.

Babylon threw off the Assyrian rule in 612 BCBCE and became the capital of the Neo-Babylonian [[Chaldea]]n Empire.<ref>Bradford, Alfred S. 2001. ''With arrow, sword, and spear: a history of warfare in the ancient world'', 47–48. Greenwood Publishing Group. {{ISBN |0275952592}}.</ref><ref>Curtis, Adrian; Herbert Gordon May 2007. ''Oxford Bible Atlas'' Oxford University Press {{ISBN |978-0191001581}} p 122 [httphttps://books.google.co.ukcom/books?id=E7aXDYZ8SxkC&pg=PA122&dq=Babylon+"chaldean+empire"&num=100 Google Books Search]</ref><ref>von Soden, Wilfred; Donald G. Schley 1996. William B. Eerdmanns {{ISBN |978-0802801425}} p 60 [httphttps://books.google.co.ukcom/books?id=XE-AnPOmma4C&pg=PA59&dq=Babylon+"chaldean+empire"&num=100#PPA60,M1 Google Books Search]</ref>

With the recovery of Babylonian independence, a new era of building followed, and [[Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon|Nebuchadnezzar II]] (604–561 BCBCE) made Babylon into one of the wonders of the ancient world.<ref>Saggs H.W.F. 2000. ''Babylonians'', p 165. University of California Press. {{ISBN |0520202228}}.</ref> Nebuchadnezzar ordered the complete reconstruction of the imperial grounds, including rebuilding the [[Etemenanki]] [[ziggurat]] and the construction of the [[Ishtar [[Gate]] — the most spectacular of eight gates that ringed the perimeter of Babylon. All that was ever found of the Original Ishtar gate was the foundation and scattered bricks.

In 539 BCBCE, the Neo-Babylonian Empire fell to [[Cyrus the Great]], the king of [[Persia]], in the famous [[Battle of Opis]]. The walls of Babylon were impenetrable,very high and thevery thick. The only way into the city was through one of its many gates. or through theThe Euphrates, whichflowed ebbednext beneathto itsthe thick walls. and Cyrus devised a plandecided to use the Euphratesriver asto theget mode of entry tointo the city. He ordered large camps of troops at each point and instructed them to wait for the signal. Awaiting an evening of a national feast among Babylonians, Cyrus' troops diverted the Euphrates river. upstream,This causingcaused the Euphrates to drop to about 'mid thigh level onof athe man' orriver to drydrop up altogether. Theallowing soldiers marchedto underenter the walls through thigh-level water or as dry as mudcity.

The Babylonians had held a celebration that evening. The Persian Army conqueredtook theover outlying areasmost of the city's interiorbefore while mostthe Babylonians athad thebecome cityaware centerthat werethe obliviousPersians tohad gotten into the breachcity. The account was elaborated uponreported by [[Herodotus]],<ref>Herodotus, Book 1, Section 191</ref> and is also mentioned by passages in the [[Hebrew Bible]].<ref>Isaiah 44:27</ref><ref>Jeremiah 50–51</ref> Cyrus claimed the city by walking through the gates of Babylon with little or no resistance from the drunken Babylonians.

Cyrus later issued [[CyrusBritish cylinderMuseum#The_Collection|a decree]] permitting captiveallowing people, including the [[Jews]], to return to their own land. (asThis explainedis mentioned in the [[Old Testament),]]. toIt allowallowed theirJews' temple to be rebuilt back in [[Jerusalem]].

Under Cyrus and the subsequent Persian king [[Darius the Great]], Babylon became the capital city of the 9th Satrapy (Babylonia in the south and Athura in the north),. asIt well aswas a centre of learning and scientific advancement. In [[Achaemenid]] Persia, the ancient Babylonian arts of [[astronomy]] and [[mathematics]] were revitalised and flourished, and. Babylonian scholars completedmade maps of constellations. The city was the administrative capital of the [[Persian Empire]],. This empire was the preeminentmost powerpowerful of the then known world, and it played a vital part in the history of that region for over two centuries. Many important archaeological discoveries have been made that canimprove provide a betterour understanding of that era.<ref>[http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/forgottenempire/legacy/cylinder.html Forgotten Empire: The World of Ancient Persia] ''The British Museum''. Accessed April 19, 2008.</ref><ref>[http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/MESO/PERSIANS.HTM Mesopotamia: The Persians], [[Washington State University]]</ref>

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