BABYLONBABYLON

The Babylonian Empires

The Babylonian Empires

In Babylon 575 BCE

Ishtar Gate

ISHTAR GATE

• Turquoise bricks that were GLAZED

• Glazed bricks were painted and fired

• The top is an example of CRENELATION or topped with notches

• Gold-colored bricks show lions, the symbol of the goddess Ishtar

A Babylonian relief sculpture of a bull made of brightly glazed tiles on the restored Ishtar Gate. The original sculpture dates from around 575 BC and stood on the gate of the Temple of Bel, the biblical Tower of Babel in Babylon.

Hammurabi’s Code [r. 1792-1750 B. C. E.]

Hammurabi’s Code [r. 1792-1750 B. C. E.]

Hammurabi’s Code

• 282 laws.• Harsh punishment for crimes.• Based on equal retaliation.– “ If a man bring an accusation against a man and charge

him with a capital crime, but cannot prove it, the accuser, shall be put to death”

– “If the slave of a freed man strike the body of a freed man, his ear shall be cut off”

• Laws were varied for the wealthy and powerful.

Code of Hammurabi• Concerned with social justice and

rights of the poor and powerless• Applied unequally according to

social class; punishment was more severe for the poor

• Women had legal and property rights– inherit property– run businesses– become priests– still patriarchal: a man could sell

his wife to pay his debts!

Legal Concepts of the Code

• Legal Protection for All– Law codes gave legal protection to nobles and

commoners alike

• The State is the Authority responsible for law enforcement– Hammurabi’s code asserted the principle that

it was the state itself, not the aggrieved party, that was responsible for law enforcement

• Social Justice should be guaranteed– Justice for all in society was enshrined in the

codes

• The Punishment should fit the crime– Code featured “eye for an eye” justice

Persia, The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, sixth century BCE. Accounts indicate that the garden was built by King Nebuchadnezzar II, who ruled the city for 43 years starting in 605 BCE, and that he built them to cheer up his homesick wife, Amyitis. Medes, the land she came from was green, rugged and mountainous, and she found the flat, sun-baked terrain of Mesopotamia depressing, so the king decided to recreate her homeland by building an artificial mountain with rooftop gardens. The Hanging Gardens weren't actually "hanging", but instead were "overhanging" as in the case of a terrace or balcony.

Babylonian food

• Meat – Beef, mutton, fowl, fish, turtle• Grain – Wheat, barley, emmer• Dairy – Milk, cheese, butter, ghee• Oil – Palm oil, olive oil• Vegetables – Chickpeas, onion, pea, leek• Fruits – dates, figs, apples, pear, peach, grapes• Flavorings – garlic, saffron, cumin• Beverages – Wine (Geshtinanna), Beer (Ninkash)

Cultural innovations

• Writing• Metal working– Bronze– Iron– Precious metal

• Architecture (mud brick)• Science• Commerce

Babylonian Calendar

• Natural units of time – day, month, year• Day ends at sundown• Year ends with harvest• 12 lunar months of 29 or 30 days each– Month length was new moon to new moon– Extra harvest month determined by

• Observation of crops (to 1700)• According to crude astronomical observations (1700 – 700)• According to Metonic Cycle – 7 extra months in 19 years (700-100

BCE)

Babylonian MathBabylonian Math

Babylonian NumbersBabylonian Numbers

Mathematics

• Place system notation• Placeholder for zero• Solved all quadratic equations• Areas of plane figures• Pythagorean theorem• Discovered value of Pi• Solved square roots

Astronomy

• Named constellations.• Discovered zodiac.• Divided zodiac into houses.• Discovered planetary periods.• Worked out lunar theory.• Several theories for each planet.• Predicted lunar eclipses.

Commerce• Used temples as banks.• Family businesses.• Money given at interest• “Paper” loans common.• Trade by ship and caravan.• Wholesale and retail manufacturing.• Ideal trader amassed gold and silver.• Cities taxed exports and imports.• Smuggling to avoid taxes very common.

Important trade goods

• Textiles• Craftwork– Jewelry and gems– Statues– Furniture– Wood

• Weapons