Most people know that there was a place called Babylon, but few know much about the early civilization known as Babylonia that formed around it. Some think that such an ancient culture must be boring or lack historical character. Not so!

While Babylonia went through many changes and serious defeats throughout the ages, it remained inhabited until approximately 1000 CE. and was an influential center for many years longer. For this reason, it has had a profound impact on the modern world, even beyond the Middle East.

So, who were the Babylonians, and what were their lasting effects on the world?

Ancient Babylonia (1894 – 539 BCE)

Babylonia was located in present-day Iraq and Syria, where remnants of its cities and monuments can still be found. The period we call “Ancient Babylonia” lasted from approximately 1894 BCE to 539 BCE and began as a small settlement next to the Euphrates River in modern-day Iraq. Though the city of Babylon was fairly insignificant for much of Mesopotamian history, it eventually grew to achieve total dominance and influence.

*Despite its extreme temperatures, the fertile crescent was perfect for growing crops.*

Rise of the Babylonians

After the fall of the Akkadian Empire, a group of people known as Amorites started pouring into Mesopotamia and gaining control over the southern territories. During this time, a collection of southern city-states started to consolidate power and established cities such as Isin, Eshnunna, Babylonia, and Larsa. Under the leadership of a man called Samu-Abum, Babylonia declared independence from other city-states.

Samu-la El, the first true Babylonian king defeated the other city-states in a series of violent conflicts. He built several impressive fortresses and united his subjects under one banner. This formed the First Babylonian Dynasty. Over the next century, the influence of the Babylonians grew rapidly as they conquered more states and coalesced them into their Empire.

Babylonia’s power seemingly reached its peak under its sixth king, Hammurabi, who conquered Elam, Larsa, Enshunna, and Mari and made the Old Assyrian Empire in the north his tributary. Hammurabi, however, is most famous for the legal code he introduced to maintain order in his empire.

Hammurabi’s Code

Most school children know that Hammurabi introduced a law template that we now call “eye-for-an-eye.” As you might expect, the code calls for various retributive acts. If a man puts out another man’s eye, it says, his eye shall be put out as well.

While this may sound brutal and uncivilized to our modern ears, it can be seen as an improvement over earlier law codes. In Sumer, for example, such an injustice as having one’s eye put out only called for a set fee, which a wealthy citizen probably would have been happy to pay.

Not every law inscribed in Hammurabi’s code, however, called for exact retribution. One law specifies that, “If a man accuses another man and charges him with homicide, but cannot bring proof against him, his accuser shall be killed.” In situations where it would have been impossible to exact retribution against an offender, the code is a little more creative. “If a slave should declare to his master, ‘You are not my master’,” one law states, “he [the master] shall bring charge and proof against him that he is indeed his slave, and his master shall cut off his ear.”

Hammurabi’s code addressed much more than personal injuries or damaged property, and it codified such disparate elements of daily life as buildings, divorce, irrigation, and trade. Perhaps unsurprisingly, adultery and divorce proceedings were largely skewed in men's favor. A few laws, however, are unexpectedly progressive. For example:

“If a woman has hated her husband and has said, "You shall not possess me, her past shall be inquired into, as to what she lacks. If she has been discreet and has no vice, and her husband has gone out, and has greatly belittled her; that woman has not blame, she shall take her marriage portion and go off to her father's house.”

The whole code is a fascinating read if you have some free time. In some ways, it tells us just how far we’ve come. In other ways, it reminds us that human nature has remained roughly the same for thousands of years.

Decline, Subjugation, and Uprising

After Hammurabi’s death, the southern Babylonian Empire disintegrated, and the brutal Assyrian Empire in the North handily defeated the Babylonians. Assyria subjugated Babylon, and the city formally became a subject. It would remain under Assyrian domination from 911 BCE to 609 BCE. In 689 BCE, the city was razed during a revolt under Merodach-Baladan and almost completely destroyed.

In time, a king named Esarhaddon re-established control and rebuilt it, but it was again besieged by the Assyrians who defeated the embittered Babylonians once more. The Babylonians and indeed many other peoples who had experienced Assyrian brutality had had enough. Luckily for these victimized nations, a number of violent internal civil wars and rebellions had destabilized Assyria, leaving it vulnerable to attack.

Conflict with Assyria Led by Nabopolassar (626 – 609 BCE)

in 626 BCE, a king named Nabopolassar ascended to prominence, and, together with the Medes, Scythians, and other smaller groups, he rose against the Assyrians. After about a decade of battle, the coalition finally succeeded in driving out the Assyrians and destroying them.

As you may know, ancient battles were often shockingly violent, and cities whose rulers resisted invading armies could usually expect to be thoroughly raped and pillaged. Most Mesopotamian kings, however, usually withheld their armies from inflicting the most shocking punishment of all: utterly destroying an opponent’s culture and monuments.

By the time they invaded the Assyrian capitals of Nineveh and Assur, the Medes — an Iranian people — had become furious over Assyrian injustice. In their rage, they decided to do away with tradition and annihilate Assyria so that it might never rise again to subjugate its neighbors. This act, though arguably justified, shocked Nabopolassar, who later recorded his astonishment. While he had fiercely opposed Assyria and supported its downfall, perhaps he felt something resembling a modern sympathy for the innocent

Later Years and Conquests

Despite declining in prominence, Babylonia remained a culture for many years. As the Medes and their Persian successors expanded rapidly in a sort of cultural supernova, they absorbed Babylonia intact. In 333 BCE Alexander the Great stayed in Babylon while campaigning aggressively against the Persians. He too left the city mostly intact, leaving the Parthians and later Muslims to inherit it.

Religion

Babylonia shared much of its religious tradition with the cultures surrounding it. Readers familiar with Assyria and Sumer will recognize many of its chief gods, such as Ishtar, Nergal, and Shamash. Babylon’s patron god, Marduk, however, was unique.

As was the case with many ancient cultures, Babylonian people would have accepted their pantheon of deities and mythical creatures as simultaneously real and representative of natural phenomena. Stone-carved depictions of these beings still exist, and many rival the famous monuments carvings of ancient Egypt in scale and detail.

Sacred Prostitution

When Alexander’s troops arrived in Babylon, they were surprised — perhaps thrilled or befuddled too — to find that the Babylonians engaged in the strange tradition of sacred prostitution. In Babylon, religious tradition dictated that, at some point in her life, every woman travel to the temple of Aphrodite and have intercourse with a stranger.

As inadvisable and medically dubious as this practice may seem to modern readers, the Babylonians insisted that the gods compelled them to behave thus. Though some would surely argue that the tradition was extremely misogynistic, the Babylonians at least attempted to present an appearance of equality by outlawing slander toward sexual priestesses and their children.

Babylonian Art and Architecture

The city of Babylon was once a pinnacle achievement in human culture. Its famed Hanging Gardens and Tower of Babel are still the subjects of conversation and speculation today. Its canals, irrigation, and intricate stonework would have utterly mystified surrounding nomads and herders who spent much of their time in desolation and poverty.

Time hasn’t been kind to much of the Middle East. Between ISIS intentionally destroying Palmyra and various troops looting bricks from Babylon and Nineveh, ancient Mesopotamia is still under assault. Fortunately, many impressive Babylonian relics have made their way to modern museums and collections. Babylon itself isn’t much of a city anymore, but its walls and gates are still as impressive to behold as they ever were.

*US soldiers posing in front of the Ishtar gate*

Will the future be kinder to Babylon than the recent past? We can only hope. For now, the most we can do is read about history and gawk at the many monuments the ancient Mesopotamians left us. We can also learn the lessons of their decline, lest we become too sure of our own position in history.

Sadly, the Babylonians and other Mesopotamian groups are criminally under-appreciated, especially in literature. If you’re hungry to spend more time with one of history’s most hardcore nations, check out Kur, a Mesopotamian epic, on Amazon today.

Who Were the Babylonians?