We continue with our study guide on Babylon that we already started in an earlier article.We continue to know its main rulers, such as the territorial expansion of the Empire and its subsequent decline.Then, in Overhistory, Babylon: economy and political organization .If you like the knowledge of ancient civilizations and dynasties, this is your blog, because we will inform you of all the steps of the past, until today.
The Babylonian Empire was one of the most powerful of its time, and had its epicenter in the famous city of Babylon.This empire had two phases well differentiated.A first phase of splendor approximately between the years 1800 and 1600 BC .and another phase called Neobabilonian that extended through the 6th and 7th centuries BC .The end of Babylonian Empire finally came with the invasion of the Persian king, Cyrus II "the great one."
Babylon was a very important cultural center , which collected many traditions, cultures and Akadian knowledge and s umerios.But in this case we are not going to talk about the Sumerian culture, but about its economy and its political organization .
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Location of Babylon
The Babylonian Empire was located between the desert of Syria and the plateau of what is now Iran .With two rivers such as the Euphrates and the Tigris crossing the plain in parallel and flooding the surface to leave a fertile land of alluvium.Both the Tigris river and the Euphrates have their origin in the mountains of Armenia, cross the country from north to south to finish your tour in the Persian Gulf .
These rivers had, at the time of the Babylonian Empire different mouths not as it currently happens, this is because the coast was 200 km inland from the current situation.
With a warm climate free of cold winters, fertile ground, access to water sources and without borders or natural defenses, it has traditionally been a desired place and often invaded.
Organization Babylonian politics
The Babylonians were an advanced civilization capable of creating grand it is temples and a city that must have been a true paradise. Babylon is the first written law, a special place from which the entire Empire was organized.
The King
The city of Babylon was considered property of the god Marduk and it was this god who designated, according to the Babylonians, his representative on earth that is, the king .This would be in charge of administering and managing the entire empire even though he did not consider himself divine as in Egypt.
The king was an intermediary between the god Marduk and the population but did not govern alone since he lived surrounded by collaborators or what we could call noble classes, who helped and advised him in his administration.
Slaves and free men
The Babylonian population was divided in different levels where we could find free men and slaves. Slaves could achieve freedom if they possessed enough goods to buy their freedom.
Free men , the privileged and the Muskhenum were also divided into two types.Within the privileged free men we have the social class of the priests and officials , while the Muskhenum belonged to the commercial and productive sector, a sector that encompassed merchants, peasants and artisans.
Religious Estate and Beliefs
As far as their religious cults, the Babylonian society was not monotheistic but on the contrary they had many deities and divinities, being much more important than others.
The Babylonian gods t enian almost human qualities with its defects, passions and full of feelings.Among the main gods we can find:
- Marduk , the most important of all, owner and owner of the city of Babylon
- Anu , was the god of heaven
- Enlil, god of air
- Ea , god of the waters
- Sin , god of the moon
- Sahmash son without and god of the sun
- Ishtar goddess of the planet Venus, protector of love and war.
Within religious beliefs, the Babylonians were buried in simple tombs, away from the great ornaments of the Egyptian tombs.Under the belief that when a Moriaeste man descended to the hells where he would live feeding on the living.But if there was a social class that could achieve eternal rest that was the warriors fallen in battle.
The priests had a very important function within society and politics Babylon since he was in charge of interpreting the wishes of the gods, with the added power of also guessing the future, being able to handle the policy to its interest through catastrophic predictions, generating terror and increasing its power.
How the power was distributed
The Babylonian Empire was ruled by a King, who was the absolute authority in the territory.In the history of Babylon the most prominent of them was the Hammurabi which kingdom between 1790 BC and approximately 1750 BC In addition to its importance as a conqueror, this king wrote the Hammurabi code , which is the first code of laws written in the history .Emphasize that this code already granted women the same rights as men and also already It contemplated the possibility of divorce.
This king was an absolute monarch.This means that he was in charge of exercising the legislative, judicial and executive power .He himself was in charge of dictating the rules, his style and enforcing them.Under his position, there was another inferior It was made up of governors and some administrators.Not all of them could be.It was a very select group and they were elected by the same king .After them, were the mayors and councils of elders , that due to their experience, they were in charge of the administration of the locality .
These were the only figures that really did the "political" tasks The rest of the population was divided between free men and slaves. slaves could get to buy their property On the other hand, among the free men there were low class (peasants, small merchants), and high class (usually priests or merchants who achieved great wealth).
Hamurabi, was a most illustrious sovereign, because Apart from leading the administration of the town in an efficient manner, he maintained the respect of civilization for the rights he granted them.He fortified his capital, walled it and extended his empire from the Elam, which was in the east, to Sirius, who was in the west.But the conquests and the constructions, although they were good, always stood out for how he got his subjects to live in peace and justice.
During his reign, he became the main center of commerce with all the regions of western Asia .When he died, the empire did not stop, but its splendor continued to grow for two more centuries.Its code, despite his death, The code of Amuraba, continued to function, since the basis of this code was based on three indestructible bases.
- Promulgate justice
- Tidy up the land
- Seek the good of the people
With this code, the protective character it had was reflected Hamurabi towards his people and was always the first to enforce the law, according to the established norms .Here, an example of what was promulgated in his norms.
- If someone steals something from the temple or palace, he will die.
- If a wine seller has a short stocking, the tavern will be thrown into the river.
- If a man makes a hole in a house, to enter to steal, he will be killed and He will be buried in front of the hole.
- If a man accuses another of a capital crime and cannot prove it, it will be cas tigado de muerte.
Yes, a lot of death here, but the rules worked and a civilization was seen, with a plausible political organization and bearer that bore fruit to a just and living community in peace.
Territorial expansion of Babylon
The great territorial expansion of the First Babylonian Empire was carried out by Hammurabi .This king advanced on the Sumerian cities of Lower Mesopotamia and later came to dominate the High Mesopotamia , to the Assyrian city of Mari .Thanks to these conquests the empire of Hammurabi went beyond Mesopotamia , covering from mar Mediterranean to Susa (in the area from Elam ) and from the Kurdistan to the Persian Gulf in the south.As we said, it became one of the most flourishing empires of the time.
Economic Activities of Babylon
The economic activities that took place during the First Babylonian Empire are well known thanks to the laws of the Hammurabi Code , which is a very important historical source and that helps historians to know what the economy was like during the Babylonian Empire
Thanks to him we know that the base of the economy was agriculture , which like the other towns we have already studied ( Akadians and Sumerians ) depended on the construction of pa channels For irrigation, there was also an important development of livestock.Taxes or taxes to the Empire were paid in kind, that is, the different products in which each region were delivered I worked.
Trade and the development of technology and infrastructure were also very positively affected by cultural development and, in particular, the development of mathematics and engineering.On the one hand, advanced engineering knowledge was needed to be able to make the drawings of all the dams, dams and other large-scale works that were carried out at the time, collected mainly from the previous knowledge of the Sumerians.
Reason for decline of Babylon
The problems in the Empire begin shortly after the death of King Hammurabi (second half of the 18th century BC ), when various peoples submitted by the Babylonians begin to to rebel.The final fall of the Empire will arrive in the 16th century when the people of the Hittites invade the city and destroy it.Later, there comes a new period of splendor of the Babylonian Empire, but this finally ends with the invasion by the Persian Empire, in 539 BC
More than 1200 years after the reign of Hamurabi , everything that was created there began to change in a scandalous way.social structure, architecture, art, science and literature, were retouched.The social organization was affected.Luckily, they were only small details, since the essence was tried to preserve.
Thanks to this information, we approach you to the kingdom of Babylon, a kingdom that although it was something hard, I create laws , I respect and impart justice so that your people live In harmony , although today, history considers it as the norms of an ancient world, many lovers of lost civilizations found these organizations fascinating.
Documentary about Babylon
In this complete documentary you can find much more information about the Babylonian Empire, one of the most powerful of its time.
It may interest you:In Overhistory we have many more articles that you You will like it a lot if you are attracted to the culture and ancient history:
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