10 archaeological finds that shed light on life in ancient Babylon

14.10.2024/03/51 XNUMX:XNUMX    3

Babylon today is associated with evil and debauchery. The modern opinion about the ancient empire was formed thanks to biblical stories, in which they often speak very unflatteringly about this city. For example, Babylon is called "the mother of harlots and earthly abominations." At one time, Babylon was one of the most powerful cities in the world, one name of which was pronounced with awe. Much of Babylon's history has been lost to time, but archaeologists have managed to discover some finds, thanks to which today it is possible to partially imagine how one of the world's first great civilizations lived.

1. Babylonian house

In 1899, archaeologists found the ruins of ancient Babylon and it turned out that during its construction no stone was used at all - all houses and walls were made of clay bricks, painted in different colors and painted with images of gods, animals and people. The walls of the city were covered with lapis lazuli, a blue mineral valued for its weight in gold. Most of them were built on dusty dirt roads, away from the main streets.

Many houses had only one room, the exit from which led to the courtyard. Wealthy people could afford multi-room houses, decorated with decorative pots with plants and lanterns. Children played with small clay toys or terracotta boats, and grown men were fond of gambling with animal bones.

2. Babylonian medicine

When the Babylonians went to the market, they saw more than just shopkeepers. There were also sick people sitting in the market, whom it was everyone's duty to help. Regardless of who a person was, he had to take a moment to give advice to the sick (however, the elite were exempted from this). Also, sick people could go to a temple, where a sorcerer would explain to them why a person had angered the gods and how he could fix it. In addition, they could go to doctors who already at that time knew how to perform operations. But only the rich could afford such a thing, and the poor were forced to go to the market and wait for help from passers-by. The Babylonian medical tablets show that all medicines in Babylon were made from ingredients that had already been tested in the past and had proven to be effective.

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3. Erotic clay tablets




Babylon was considered extremely sexually promiscuous, even by the standards of ancient states. According to the historian Jean Botter, people made love openly, without being ashamed of anyone - sometimes on the terrace of their house, and sometimes even on the streets. Also in Babylon, there was an analogue of modern Playboy - images of sexual acts on clay tablets. From what has been preserved to our time, one could compose a whole "Kamasutra". Archaeologists have found such tablets in houses, temples and even in graves.

4. Temple of Ishtar

One of the strangest Babylonian traditions, according to the records of the Greek writer Herodotus, was associated with the Temple of Ishtar, the goddess of love and war. At least once in her life, every woman had to come there, and she was not allowed to leave until she gave herself to some man for money. The ruins of several such temples were discovered, one of which was found in the upper part of the city - on the Acropolis, where the ruler's residence was located.

5. Divination

The Babylonians believed that they could predict the future from the liver of sheep. When they needed to make an important decision, they cut out the liver of a sheep and tried to predict how and what would happen in the future. The Babylonians also left behind clay casts of the liver, on which various abnormalities could be seen, which they believed demonstrated different destinies. Different cultures viewed this practice ambiguously. The Greeks thought there was something in this and copied divination. The Israelites, on the other hand, viewed it as dark alien witchcraft and feared it.

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6. Astronomy

Babylonian astronomers climbed to the top of their great ziggurats and watched the movement of the stars in the sky. The stars were a major part of their religion, and they made incredible discoveries in astronomy millennia ago. The Babylonians discovered the Pythagorean theorem 1000 years before Pythagoras was born. They discovered Venus, followed Halley's comet and Jupiter, using mathematical methods that developed in European society only in the XNUMXth century.

Babylonian astronomy was incredibly advanced, but that doesn't mean they understood what space really was. They watched the planets only to make astrological predictions. They believed that the constellations were placed in the sky by the gods, and their movements in the sky were signs of future events.

7. Eclipse rituals

Of all the cosmic celestial "signs" the eclipse was considered the most terrible. The Babylonians believed that it portends disasters, murders and rebellions. Scientists found a tablet from which they learned about interesting rituals that were performed during the eclipse. First, they lit a fire on the altar. Then every Babylonian had to take off his headdress and lift his clothes over his head. Thus, with their tunics pulled up over their heads, they sang funeral songs, asking the gods to protect their fields from floods. In the end, they began to cry and beg the gods to save them from punishment.

8. Adoption of an abandoned child

Archaeologists have found a surviving contract between the priestess and the state, which revealed an unexpected compassionate side of the Babylonians. The priestess claimed to have found a newborn child in an abandoned well and "tore him out of a dog's mouth." This was not unusual. Abandoning children and throwing them out to die was a fairly standard practice in most countries in those days. For example, in Rome, parents were obliged by law to give up children who were born with ugliness. In Babylon, judging by everything, it was different. The priestess accepted the found child as her own, officially adopting her. The Babylonian state, as evidenced by the inscriptions on the tablet, took such an act very seriously. Not only did the authorities approve the actions of the priestess, they also assumed responsibility for the consequences of poor child care.

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9. Life of conquered peoples

When Babylon conquered a new state, its people were resettled in other parts of the empire. A similar thing happened to the Israelites, so they had many reasons to hate Babylon. However, tablets have been found that trace the lives of the Israelites in Babylon. It turned out that they had more freedom than previously thought. To a lesser extent, they did not consider them slaves and allowed them to live their lives. They concluded contracts, sold goods, paid taxes and received loans. This does not mean that the Babylonians were holy. They killed the babies of the Israelites, destroyed their cities and evicted them from their homes. But as the Babylonians gave the Israelites equal rights and eventually resentment subsided, some Israelites successfully integrated into Babylonian society and soon ceased to distinguish themselves from their conquerors.

10. Tombs of the Babylonians

Many graves of deceased local residents were found along the city walls of Babylon. When Babylonians died, their bodies were taken outside the city wall and simply buried in the ground. Sometimes, however, the deceased could be wrapped in a reed mat or walled in brickwork. Some were buried with the property accumulated during their lifetime. Sometimes the graves were filled with beads or filled with honey. Babylonians rarely hid with weapons. For their time, they were quite peaceful people.



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