When was the Babylonian kingdom formed? History of the Babylonian Kingdom. Ancient Babylonia - the kingdom of the south of Mesopotamia What is the name of the country where the city of Babylon is located now

The Rise and Fall of Ancient Babylon

The situation changes under the sixth king of Babylon, Hammurabi, one of the greatest politicians of antiquity. He ruled Babylon from 1792 to 1750 BC. e. Having ascended the throne of a small kingdom located in the middle reaches of the Euphrates, Hammurabi ended his days as the ruler of a huge state by the standards of that time, which included the main part of Mesopotamia.

A well-thought-out system of political alliances helped him defeat his opponents, and often with the wrong hands. In the conditions of endless internecine wars, Hammurabi more than once concluded and easily dissolved military alliances, which he needed to implement his far-reaching plans.

During the first years of his reign, Hammurabi was engaged in the construction of temples and, as subsequent events showed, he was actively preparing for military action.

In the seventh year of his reign, with the support of Rimsin, the strong Elamite ruler in Lars, Hammurabi subjugated the southern cities of Uruk and Issin. To strengthen his influence in the occupied lands, the far-sighted politician builds a canal in two years, the significance of which is indicated by its name - “Hammurabi Abundance”.

Hammurabi's next far-sighted step was to conclude an alliance with his northwestern neighbor - the state of Mari. Both allied states, Babylon and Mari, now acted in concert. Zimrilim and Hammurabi conducted active diplomatic correspondence, from which it is clear that the ruler of Mari gave the king of Babylon freedom of action in Central Mesopotamia.

Thus, having subjugated the southern regions and having a strong ally in the north, Babylon by the 15-16th year of Hammurabi’s reign had become one of the most influential states in Mesopotamia.

By the 30th year of Hammurabi's reign, he managed to defeat the kingdom of Eshnunna and his ally, the troops of Elam. A year later, the king of Babylon defeated Rimsin, the ruler of Larsa. Zimrilim, the ruler of Mari, was well aware of the activities of his ally thanks to the presence of an established diplomatic service in the state of Hammurabi. Already during the campaign against Larsa, sensing changes in the policy of Babylon, Zimrilim abandoned joint military operations and recalled his troops. Now it was the turn of the kingdom of Mari, on which Hammurabi made two devastating raids. Despite the fact that Hammurabi captured the lands of his recent ally in the 33rd year of his reign, Zimrilim did not give up. Two years later, Hammurabi launched another campaign against Mari, even destroying the walls of the capital. The magnificent royal palace, a symbol of the former power of Marie, known far beyond the borders of the kingdom, was also turned into ruins.

So gradually more and more territories came under the rule of Babylon. Hammurabi also conquered the territory of Assyria with its capital Ashur. It seems that the Elamite castles also became a sphere of Babylonian influence, as evidenced by reports of prisoners of war from Elam.

For forty years, the talented and successful politician Hammurabi managed to unite under his rule the main part of the Tigris and Euphrates valleys and create a powerful centralized state, the first in the full sense of the word in Western Asia - the Old Babylonian kingdom. Babylon is firmly becoming the new center of Mesopotamia.

Thus, at the turn of the 19th-18th centuries BC. e. as a result of the fierce struggle in Mesopotamia, Babylon began to stand out, eventually turning into one of the greatest cities in the world.

After the unification of the country, Hammurabi had to solve very difficult problems. To prevent his possessions from falling apart again into separate regions, the king’s power must be strong. On the other hand, Hammurabi could not take away land from the peasants, again create large royal farms, or gather artisans into royal workshops. Such actions would lead to the rapid decline of the country - people had time to get used to independence, relative freedom, and income from market trade. The wise Hammurabi found techniques that allowed the king to control the activities of his subjects.

Hammurabi did not create royal estates, taking land from the peasants. He took advantage of the plots that the communities allocated to him as king. Hammurabi sent his people to these lands - warriors and the so-called “muskenum”.

Mushkenum were considered close to the king and received from him the land, livestock and grain necessary for farming. The theft of property from a muskenum was punished more severely than theft from a simple peasant. So the king could influence the life of rural communities through people loyal to him and dependent on him. The tsar also had to deal with peasant debts. Previously, peasants paid taxes mainly in grain, oil, and wool. Hammurabi began collecting taxes in silver. However, not all peasants sold food in markets. Many had to borrow silver from the tamkars for an additional fee. Those who were unable to pay off their debts had to give one of their relatives into slavery. Hammurabi canceled the debts accumulated in the country several times and limited debt slavery to three years, but he never managed to cope with the problem of debts. No wonder, because among the tamkars there were not only traders, but also tax collectors and guardians of the royal treasury.

In 1901, French archaeologists discovered during excavations in Susa (now Shush) - the capital of ancient Elam, a large stone pillar with the image of King Hammurabi and the text of his 247 laws, written in cuneiform. From these laws, it mainly became known about the life of Babylonia and how Hammurabi ruled the country.

In the introduction to the laws, Hammurabi says: “Marduk directed me to justly lead the people and give happiness to the country, then I put truth and justice into the mouth of the country and improved the condition of the people.” Let us remember that Marduk was the most revered god of Babylon. The king, thus, tries to reconcile the interests of different people - tamkars, mushkenum, warriors, ordinary community members, relying on the will of the supreme deity. Marduk, according to Hammurabi, does not just reward the obedient and punish the disobedient - God gives people a set of rules that establish justice in their relationships with each other. But - through the king!..

However, Hammurabi never managed to create a strong state. Already under the reign of his son Samsuiluna, Babylonia suffered a number of heavy defeats from its neighbors, and its possessions were reduced. A streak of bad luck began. In 1595 BC. e. The Old Babylonian kingdom was destroyed by the invading Hittites and Kassites, who then ruled Mesopotamia for about 400 years.

But Hammurabi still achieved more than his predecessors or the kings of neighboring countries. He was the first of the ancient rulers to balance the power of the law with the power of the king and recognized the right of his subjects to take care of their own lives. True, some scholars consider the text on the pillar in Susa not a set of laws, but a report from the sovereign to the gods.

Beginning with the reign of Hammurabi, Babylon was the cultural and scientific center of Western Asia for about 1200 years. From the 19th to the 6th centuries BC. e. it was the capital of Babylonia. The exceptional importance of this economic and cultural center is evidenced by the fact that all of Mesopotamia was often called Babylonia. Many achievements of the ancient Babylonians entered modern life: following the Babylonian priests, they began to divide the year into twelve months, the hour into minutes and seconds, and the circle into three hundred and sixty degrees.

In 689 BC. e. After a long siege, the Assyrians captured Babylon. By order of Sennacherib, a statue of the main god of Babylon, Marduk, was taken to Assyria. Many residents were executed, and those who survived were taken prisoner. After this, Sennacherib ordered the city to be flooded with the waters of the Euphrates.

In 605 BC. e. The Babylonian army under the command of Nabopolassar's son Nebuchadnezzar attacked the city of Karchemish on the Euphrates, which was defended by an Egyptian garrison consisting of Greek mercenaries. During a fierce battle, all the defenders of the city were killed, and Karchemish itself was turned into a pile of flaming ruins. Now the road to the Mediterranean was open, and all of Syria and Palestine submitted to Babylon.

In 604 BC. e, Nabopolassar died, and Nebuchadnezzar II became king of the vast Neo-Babylonian Empire.

Immediately after coming to power, Nebuchadnezzar launched campaigns against Egypt and the Arabs in Northern Arabia. In 598 BC. e. the Jewish king Jehoiakim, who had previously recognized the power of Babylon, refused to submit to Nebucho-nezzar and entered into an alliance with Pharaoh Necho. Soon the Babylonian army was already standing under the walls of Jerusalem. Joachim did not receive the promised help from the Egyptians, and on March 16, 597 BC. e. Nebuchadnezzar entered the city. Joachim, together with 3 thousand noble Jews, went to Babylon as hostages, and Zedekiah became king of Judah. King Zedekiah reigned for exactly 10 years. Like his predecessor, he entered into an alliance with Egypt, which cost him his kingdom. Pharaoh Apries captured Gaza, Tire and Sidon. However, the troops of Nebuchadnezzar II pushed the Egyptians back and besieged Jerusalem. In 587 BC. e. the city was taken, destroyed, and its inhabitants taken captive. The Babylonians then besieged Tire, which was captured only 13 years later, in 574 BC. e.

The reign of Nebuchadnezzar II became the heyday of the Neo-Babylonian power. Babylon became the largest city in the Ancient East, its population exceeded 200 thousand people.

However, the Neo-Babylonian state created by Nabopolassar and Nebuchadnezzar did not last long. In the 5 years that passed after the death of Nebuchadnezzar II, Babylon had three kings. In the end, the king in 556 BC. e. became Nabonidus, the leader of one of the Aramaic tribes. Arameans back in the 8th century BC. e. came to Mesopotamia and gradually pushed back the Chaldeans. King Nabonidus began to oppose the priesthood, which traditionally supported the kings of Babylon, trying to plant the cult of the Aramaic god of the Moon in the state. This led to a serious conflict with the priesthood, which recognized the primordial Babylonian god Marduk as the supreme deity.

King Nabonidus sought to unite all the numerous Aramaic tribes around himself. He rather short-sightedly helped young Persia deal with Media, capturing Harran, which belonged to the Medes. Since by this time the coast of the Persian Gulf was covered with sand, and the edge of the sea had retreated far from the old ports, which made maritime trade in the area impossible. Therefore, Nabonidus captured the oasis of Taima in Central Arabia, which allowed him to control trade routes to Egypt and South Arabia. The king even moved his capital to this area, transferring control of Babylon to his son and heir Belshur-utsur (Belshazzar).

The policy of Nabonidus, who neglected the interests of the influential priesthood of the god Marduk, caused strong discontent in Babylon. That is why the Persians, who proclaimed religious tolerance, freedom and equality of any religion, occupied Babylonia with such ease. Belshazzar was killed by his own servants, and Babylon opened the gates to the Persian king Cyrus, who in October 539 BC. e. triumphantly entered the capital. In accordance with his custom, Cyrus spared the lives of Nabonidus and his family, providing them with honors corresponding to their former high position. However, Babylonia turned into a province (satrapy) of the Persian state and forever lost its independence.

The significance of Babylon in world history is evidenced by many references in the books of the prophets: the book of the prophet Isaiah, the book of the prophet Jeremiah, one of the most mysterious books of the Bible, the book of the prophet Daniel, which has captivated the attention of people for 2500 years. Sinister apocalyptic beasts, fiery furnace , the lion's den, mathematical calculations are combined in it with a description of the faith of fearless Jewish youths, internal contradictions and mental torment of the ancient ruler, a palace feast on the eve of the death of the kingdom. Some see in this book an interesting literary work of the East, others - the irrepressible strange fantasy of an ancient author, others - a Divine revelation, lifting the veil of human history for 2500 years, with a description of the ups and downs of future states and peoples.

Bibliography

To prepare this work, materials were used from the site http://www.ancientvavilon.narod.ru

The rise of Babylon during the era of the Old Babylonian Kingdom (XIX-XVI centuries BC)

The crisis of the economic system based on large royal farms, the fall of the III dynasty of Ur,

destruction of many Sumerian-Akkadian centers by Amorite pastoralists and their spread throughout the territory

Mesopotamia led to the temporary decline of the centralized state and the revival of political

fragmentation of the country.

In the south, a kingdom with a center in the city of Lars was isolated; to the north, an independent state arose with

center in Issin. In the north of Mesopotamia, states played a large role: Mari on the Euphrates and Ashur on

Tigre, in the area of ​​the Diyala River - the state of Eshnunna. They were ruled by Amorite dynasties, based on

armed detachments of their warlike tribesmen.

In the X X - X I X centuries. BC e. these states waged exhausting internecine wars. Gradually during this

struggle gains independence and the city of Babylon rises (Bab-or - “Gate of God”), where I reigned

Babylonian, or Amorite, dynasty, whose reign is called the Old Babylonian period

(1894-1595 BC).

During the wars, the main rival states weakened each other; Larsa, for example, became

easy prey for the Elamites, firmly entrenched in the South

Mesopotamia. The Elamite ruler Rim-Sin (1822-1763 BC) built canals, gold and

copper statues, built temples in Lars, Ur and other cities in honor of the Sumerian and Elamite gods. Under him

Many cities of Mesopotamia fell into power, including Uruk, Nippur and Issin, and the city of Larsa, the capital

state, soon became one of the largest cities in Mesopotamia.

The society of Southern Mesopotamia, having survived a severe socio-economic and political crisis,

was gaining strength again. There has been a new rise in irrigation agriculture, trade and urban

life. These trends were hampered by political fragmentation and internecine wars. On the agenda

day the question of creating a single centralized state arose again.

Under these conditions, the role and importance of the new center - Babylon - gradually increases.

Its location in the central part of the valley, where the Tigris meets the Euphrates, was

strategically convenient for both attack and defense; it already naturally nominated this city for the role

political center of the country. Here the main links of the irrigation network converged - the foundations of life for all

Southern Mesopotamia, passed the most important land and river routes throughout Western Asia.

The heyday of Babylon occurred during the reign of the sixth king of the First Babylonian Dynasty - Hammurabi

(1792-1750 BC), who was an outstanding statesman, perspicacious and cunning

diplomat, great strategist, wise legislator, prudent and skillful organizer.

Hammurabi masterfully used the policy of creating military alliances, which he, after achieving

the desired goal was easily terminated. Initially, Hammurabi entered into a treaty of mutual assistance with Larsa and,

Having secured himself in this way, he began to capture the cities of the south, subjugating Uruk, and then Issin. Further it

attention was switched to the state of Mari, which had just been liberated from the rule of Assyria, where on the throne

a representative of the local Zimrilim dynasty established himself, with whom the most friendly relations were established

relationship. Based on this alliance with Mari, Hammurabi defeated Eshnunna, who tried unsuccessfully

help Assyria. Zimrilim did not lay claim to the fruits of this victory and wrote to his ally: “Rule yourself or

set what pleases you.” The next allied blow fell on Larsa. Rim-Sin was defeated and fled to

Elam, his kingdom also went to Hammurabi.

Now there are two large states left on the territory of Mesopotamia: Babylon, which united under its

power over the entire southern and middle part of the country, and his ally Mari, whose ruler considered himself “the ruler

Upper Country."

Mari was a strong and dangerous rival for Babylon, for this is a state

located on the middle reaches of the Euphrates, united around itself a number of Euphrates cities (the most

large - Terka), subjugated some nomadic tribes of the Syrian-Mesopotamian steppe (Didans, Hanaeans),

traded and had diplomatic relations with the Eastern Mediterranean states: Byblos,

Ugarit, Karkemish, Yamhad, the islands of Cyprus and Crete. Egyptian scarabs and

Hittite seal. During the reign of Zimrilim, a magnificent palace was built in the city of Mari, occupying

an area of ​​4 hectares and had more than 300 premises for residential, commercial and religious purposes. It contained

a luxurious throne room painted with multicolor frescoes, many statues, terracotta baths,

sewerage, premises for foreign ambassadors and messengers, storage facilities for economic and diplomatic

archives, etc. This palace was a real “wonder of the world” for its time, and people came to see it

admire from Ugarit, Yamhad, Babylon.

It cannot be said that Zimrilim was a short-sighted and weak ruler who yielded to such

statesman like Hammurabi. His diplomats and intelligence officers were constantly in Babylon,

who, even in the best times of the relationship between Babylon and Marie, closely followed all the actions

ally, as evidenced by their letters preserved in the archives of the Zimrilim palace. All the nuances of the relationship between Babylon, Larsa, Eshnunna, and Assyria were known in detail to King Mari. He

the first to sense a change in the situation, recalled his troops, who were fighting together with the Babylonians

fighting at Larsa. But this tactical step could not cover a major strategic miscalculation:

Babylon turned out to be much stronger than Marie. In 1759 BC. e. Hammurabi, having a completely plausible pretext - Zimrilim breaking the alliance - appeared under the walls of Mari, captured the city and subjugated this large North Mesopotamian state. Soon

Zimrilim's rebellion forced him to retake the rebellious city, destroy its walls and burn the palace

ruler After this defeat, the state of Mari ceased to exist, although the city of Mari itself was quite

eked out a modest existence for a long time (until the 3rd century BC).

In the north, a weakened Assyria remained deprived of allies, the largest cities of which (Ashur,

Nineveh and others) recognized the power of Babylon.

35 years of Hammurabi's reign went into creating a vast Babylonian power, spread throughout

territory of Mesopotamia. Over the years, Babylon from a small city has turned not only into the capital of a new

a huge state, but also the largest economic, political and cultural center of Western Asia.

Despite the initial successes, the Babylonian power, created from many conquered areas and

once independent states, turned out to be fragile.

Exacerbation of internal contradictions, especially related to the ruin of community members, soldiers,

taxpayers and defenders of the state, and foreign policy difficulties are already affecting

reign of Hammurabi's son Samsuiluna (1749-1712 BC). This king is still trying to support

its prestige, builds ziggurats and decorates temples, erecting golden thrones in them in honor of the gods, conducts

new channels, assures that he has “overthrown rebellious countries.” However, in the south the Babylonians are being pressed by the Elamites,

capturing Sumerian cities one after another; Sippar rises, whose walls and temples with bitterness

destroyed during the suppression of the rebellion; Isshin soon disappears. Samsuiluna himself speaks of victory in the inscription

over 26 usurpers, which indicates constant internal struggle and turmoil.

The foreign policy situation is also becoming increasingly unfavorable for Babylon. More and more active

warlike Kassite tribes penetrate its territory. In the north-west of Mesopotamia they settle

Hurrians, who cut off Babylonia from the main trade routes leading to Asia Minor and to

Eastern Mediterranean coast. Finally, the Hittite invasion of Babylonia in 1595 BC. e.,

which ended with the capture and ruin of Babylon itself, the removal of a precious statue of its patron god

Marduk, puts an end to the reign of the First Babylonian Dynasty and ends the three-hundred-year Old Babylonian

2. Laws of Hammurabi. Socio-economic and political system

Babylonia

Economy, social and political system of the Babylonian state during the reign of Hammurabi

known for

the surviving code of laws of this king, his correspondence with governors and officials and private law

documents.

The publication of laws was a serious political undertaking by Hammurabi, aimed at

consolidation of his vast power. The code of laws is divided into three parts: the introduction, the text of the laws themselves and

conclusion. It is the most important source on many aspects of the life of Babylonian society of the first

half of the 18th century BC e.

The economy of the Babylonian state of Hammurabi's time was based on further development

irrigation farming, gardening, cattle breeding, various crafts, external and internal

trade.

During the time of Hammurabi, there was an expansion of sown areas (development of fallow and virgin lands

land), the flourishing of such an intensive sector of the economy as horticulture (date palm cultivation),

obtaining large yields of cereals (barley) and oilseeds (sesame). To a large extent this

was achieved through the expansion of the irrigation network throughout the country. Special officials were obliged

strictly monitor the condition of large and small channels. From the documents of Marie's archive it is clear that

the entire population capable of working was involved in the fulfillment of irrigation duties - from free to

slaves, and for evading it the perpetrators were punished up to the death penalty. Hammurabi's laws have four

the articles specifically provide for various cases of negligence or inattention of the communal farmer to

irrigation structures on your site. In the event of their breakthrough and flooding of the neighbors' fields, he was obliged

compensate for the damage, otherwise his property and himself were sold to compensate for the damage caused

damage to neighbors. The Babylonian king considered his important act to be the construction of a grand canal called

"The River Hammurabi", which was said to be "the wealth of the people" bringing "abundance of water to Sumer and

Cattle breeding also developed on a large scale. Laws repeatedly mention herds of large and

small cattle, donkeys, for which shepherds are hired to herd. Livestock are often hired out for work

on the field, threshing floor, transporting heavy loads.

The craft is represented by a wide variety of professions: house builder, ship builder, carpenter, carpenter,

stone cutter, tailor, weaver, blacksmith, tanner. Craft professions at that time also included

doctors, veterinarians, barbers, innkeepers. To pay artisans, the laws of Hammurabi established

firm as well as severe responsibility for the work done. “If a builder has built a man’s house

and he did his work fragilely, and the house that he built collapsed and killed the homeowner, this builder

must be executed,” says Article 229. The doctor’s remuneration depended on the patient’s affiliation with that

or another class of society and increased or decreased accordingly. For an unsuccessful operation performed

a free man, a doctor, had his hand cut off (Article 218).

The development of trade was facilitated by the unification within the framework of a single Babylonian state of all

territory of Mesopotamia and the concentration of all internal and external trade routes passing through the valley

Tigris and Euphrates, in the same hands.

Exports from Babylonia included grain, dates, sesame oil, wool, and handicrafts.

Imports consisted of metals, building stone and wood, slaves, and luxury goods.

Trade was a subject of special concern to the state, and it was dealt with by special trading agents -

tamkars, who conducted large-scale state and private trade, and often carried it out

through smaller intermediary traders. They may have set monopoly prices. No wonder

a Mesopotamian proverb says: “Tamkar left the city, and prices became free.” For your service

tamkars received land and garden plots, houses. They acted both as tenants of the royal land and

land plots of community members, and were also often large moneylenders. The most important trade

the centers were Babylon, Nippur, Sippar, Larsa, Ur.

The structure of Babylonian society in the era of Hammurabi testifies to an increasingly clearly manifested and

its developing slave-owning character. In laws

a sharply perceptible boundary is drawn between free citizens and slaves.

A free, full-fledged citizen was called “avilum” - “man”. But free citizens, among them

which included large landowners, tamkars, priesthood, communal peasants, artisans,

did not constitute one class, but were divided into a class of slave owners and a class of small producers. Code of Law

Hammurabi in only one of his articles distinguishes between “a person of higher status” and “a person of lower status”

and determines the varying degrees of their responsibility for committing an offense. In all articles of laws

The private property of propertied citizens and the interests of slave owners are protected.

Since the bulk of the population of Babylonian society were small producers and small

owners who provided significant tax revenues to the treasury and provided military power

states, their rights are reflected in their laws. For example, some articles protect them from arbitrariness

moneylenders: the latter were forbidden to take the harvest themselves to pay off the debt; size was regulated

interest on the amount of debt (20% for borrowed silver, 33% for grain loans); severely, to the point of

the death penalty, punishable by ill-treatment of a hostage; debt bondage was limited to three years.

However, it was impossible to stop the process of stratification of small producers: this class gradually

disintegrated, replenishing, on the one hand, the class of slave owners, on the other, slaves. Old Babylonian business

documents have preserved a number of transactions where the names of large moneylenders appear, for example Balmunamhe from

Larsa, who often made exchanges and purchases of garden plots, apparently rounding up his holdings,

acquired virgin lands, bought up slaves, bought their children from needy mothers. Often also

deals were made to hire the children and younger brothers of impoverished fellow citizens.

In addition to the free, Babylonian society had such a category as muskenums. The term "muskenum"

translated as “bowing down.” Mushkenums worked in the royal household. Having lost contact with the community,

they did not have land or property, but received it for the royal service in

conditional ownership, and also had limited civil rights. Self-harm in

in relation to the muskenum, compensation was, as a rule, a fine, while in relation to free

The principle of “talion” (“an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”) was applied. The payment for the treatment of muskenum was two times less,

than a free person, etc. But from the laws it is clear that the muskenums owned property and slaves, their

rights as owners were strictly protected, while their property was considered along with

the property of the palace in whose service they were.

The lowest class of Babylonian society were slaves (“vardum”). The sources of slavery were war,

property stratification leading to debt bondage, unequal status of family members,

who were under the patriarchal authority of the father, which gave him the right to pledge them or sell them into slavery,

self-sale into slavery, enslavement for certain crimes (for example, refusal of an adopted child to

adoptive parents, wife's wastefulness, community member's negligence regarding irrigation

weapons), finally, the natural reproduction of slaves. There were different types of privately owned slaves,

state (or palace) slaves, muskenum slaves, temple slaves. An average-income family had from 2 to 5

slaves Sometimes in rich families their number reached several dozen. Slaves were property, a thing

owner: in case of their murder or self-mutilation, the owner was compensated for the damage or a slave was given for a slave.

Slaves were sold, bought, hired out, given as gifts, kidnapped. They had a number of differences: they could be

plaques on the chest, a special hairstyle, a brand, pierced ears, a common punishment for a slave was

cutting off his ear. Slaves often ran away from their owners or tried to challenge their slave status, but for this they were

were severely punished. Those free citizens who helped fugitive slaves hide slave signs or concealed them

in his house, a severe punishment awaited: from cutting off his hand to the death penalty. For the capture of a runaway slave, the penalty was

reward. But at the same time, slavery in Babylonia had a number of peculiar features: slaves could have a small

property, which was ultimately disposed of by the owner, could marry free women

by us, while retaining our civil and property rights, children from such marriages were considered

free. A slave owner who had children from a slave could include them among the legal heirs of his

property. The Babylonian family was patriarchal and was under the authority of the householder - father and husband. Marriages

were concluded on the basis of contracts and were accompanied by the bringing of a marriage gift on the part of the groom, and with

the bride's side - dowry. The wife retained the rights to her dowry, to the gifts of her husband, after his death

disposed of family property until the children came of age. Laws protected honor, dignity and

woman’s health, but they were cruelly punished for bad attitude towards her husband and wastefulness by enslavement, and

for violation of marital fidelity - death. Divorce or remarriage of the widow was for

difficult. All children of both had the right to inherit parental property “from straw to gold.”

gender, but some preference was given to sons. The Babylonian state acquired certain features of ancient Eastern despotism. At the head of the state was the king, who had legislative, executive, judicial and religious powers. The stock of royal lands was extensive: in Lars, for example, it accounted for 30-50% of the cultivated area. But the structure of the state economy has fundamentally changed compared to the era of the III dynasty of Ur. For the last one

was characterized by the creation of a gigantic royal-temple economy on a national scale, a function

the rationing of which was ensured by free people (administrative personnel, artisans, warriors) and in

mainly slaves and forced laborers who received in-kind allowances from the treasury. For

During the Old Babylonian period, other trends turned out to be economically promising:

encouraging the communal-private property sector and distributing royal lands, workshops, and pastures for rent

or in conditional retention for service to officials, soldiers, muskenums, etc.

A judicial department was formed. The royal court occupied a prominent place in it, concentrating in its

basic hands

judicial functions and noticeably supplanted the temple court, community court, and neighborhood court in the city, however

They still retained some rights to resolve family and criminal cases committed on their territory.

The judges were united in collegiums, and the heralds, messengers, and scribes who made up the judicial body were also subordinate to them.

staff.

The financial and tax department was responsible for collecting taxes, which were levied in silver and in kind from

crops, livestock, handicraft products.

The tsarist power relied on an army formed from detachments of heavily and lightly armed warriors -

redum and bairum. Their rights and responsibilities were defined in 16 articles of the laws of Hammurabi. The warriors received

from the state for service inalienable land plots, sometimes with a garden, house, livestock. Laws protected

soldiers from the arbitrariness of their commanders, provided for their ransom from captivity and provision for the warrior’s family. He was a warrior

obliged to regularly perform service, for evasion of which he could be executed.

A huge bureaucratic apparatus, whose activities were strictly controlled by the tsar, carried out everything

his orders. At the same time, representatives of the tsarist administration had close contact with representatives

local authorities: community councils and community elders. They fought harshly in the administrative apparatus

with bribery, bribery, indiscipline, laziness.

The creation of a centralized Babylonian state and the rise of Babylon later found their

reflected in the religious cult: the local god, the patron of the city, was placed at the head of the pantheon

Babylon Marduk, who was once one of the minor gods. Myths attributed functions to this god

demiurge - creator of the Universe and people, king of the gods.

Related information.

§ 1. The rise of Babylon during the era of the Old Babylonian Kingdom (XIX-XVI centuries BC)

The crisis of the economic system based on large royal farms, the fall of the III dynasty of Ur, the destruction of many Sumerian-Akkadian centers by Amorite pastoralists and their spread throughout the territory of Mesopotamia led to a temporary decline of the centralized state and the revival of the political fragmentation of the country.

In the south, a kingdom was isolated with its center in the city of Lars; to the north, an independent state arose with its center in Issin. In the north of Mesopotamia, the states played a major role: Mari on the Euphrates and Ashur on the Tigris, in the area of ​​the Diyala River - the state of Eshnuna. They were ruled by Amorite dynasties, relying on armed detachments of their warlike tribesmen.

In the XX-XIX centuries. BC e. These states were waging debilitating internecine wars. Gradually, in the course of this struggle, the city of Babylon (Bab-or - “Gate of God”), where the First Babylonian, or Amorite, 1 dynasty reigned, reigned, the reign of which is called the Old Babylonian period (1894-1595 BC). .

During the wars, the main rival states weakened each other; Larsa, for example, became easy prey for the Elamites, who were firmly entrenched in southern Mesopotamia. The Elamite ruler Rim-Sin (1822-1763 BC) built canals, built gold and copper statues, and built temples in Lars, Ur and other cities in honor of the Sumerian and Elamite gods. Many cities of Mesopotamia fell under his rule, including Uruk, Nippur and Issin, and the city of Larsa, the capital of the state, soon became one of the largest cities in Mesopotamia.

The society of the Southern Mesopotamia, “having survived a severe socio-economic and political crisis, was again gaining strength. There was a new rise in irrigated agriculture, trade and urban life revived. These trends were hampered by political fragmentation and internecine wars. The issue of creating a single centralized state was again on the agenda .

Under these conditions, the role and importance of the new center - Babylon - gradually increases.

Its location in the central part of the valley, where the Tigris meets the Euphrates, was strategically convenient for both attack and defense; it already naturally promoted this city to the role of the political center of the country. Here the main links of the irrigation network converged - the basis of life throughout Southern Mesopotamia, and the most important land and river routes throughout Western Asia passed through.

The heyday of Babylon occurred during the reign of the sixth king of the First Babylonian Dynasty, Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC), who was an outstanding statesman, a shrewd and cunning diplomat, a major strategist, a wise legislator, a prudent and skillful organizer.

Hammurabi masterfully used the policy of creating military alliances, which he easily dissolved after achieving the desired goal. Initially, Hammurabi entered into an agreement of mutual assistance with Larsa and, having thus secured himself, began to capture the cities of the south, subjugating Uruk and then Issin. Next, his attention was switched to the state of Mari, which had just been liberated from the rule of Assyria, where a representative of the local Zimrilim dynasty was established on the throne, with whom the most friendly relations were established. Based on this alliance with Mari, Hammurabi defeated Eshnuna, whom Assyria unsuccessfully tried to help. Zimrilim did not lay claim to the fruits of this victory and wrote to his ally: “Rule yourself or appoint someone you like.” The next allied blow fell on Larsa. Rim-Sin was defeated and fled to Elam, his kingdom also went to Hammurabi. Now two large states remained on the territory of Mesopotamia: Babylon, which united under its rule the entire southern and middle part of the country, and its ally Mari, whose ruler considered himself “the ruler of the Upper Country.”

Mari was a strong and dangerous rival for Babylon, for this state, located on the middle reaches of the Euphrates, united a number of Euphrates cities around itself, subjugated some nomadic tribes of the Syrian-Mesopotamian steppe, traded and had diplomatic relations with the Eastern Mediterranean states: Byblom, Ugari-tom, Karkemish, Yamhad, the islands of Cyprus and Crete. During the reign of Zimrilim, a magnificent palace was built in the city of Mari, which occupied an area of ​​4 hectares and had more than 300 premises for residential, commercial and religious purposes. It had a luxurious throne room, painted with multi-colored frescoes, many statues, terracotta baths, sewers, rooms for foreign ambassadors and messengers, storage facilities for economic and diplomatic archives, etc. This palace was a real “wonder of the world” for its time, and people came to see it admire from Ugarit, Yamhad, Babylon.

It cannot be said that Zimrilim was a short-sighted and weak ruler, inferior to such a statesman as Hammurabi. His diplomats and intelligence officers were constantly in Babylon, who, even in the best times of the relationship between Babylon and Mari, closely monitored all the actions of the ally, as evidenced by their letters preserved in the archives of the Zimrilim palace. All the nuances of the relationship between Babylon, Larsa, Eshnuna, and Assyria were known in detail to King Mari. He was the first to sense a change in the situation and recalled his troops, who were fighting together with the Babylonians near Larsa. But this tactical step could not cover a major strategic miscalculation: Babylon turned out to be much stronger than Mari.

In 1759 BC. e. Hammurabi, having a completely plausible pretext - Zimrilim breaking the alliance - appeared under the walls of Mari, captured the city and subjugated this large Hesopotamian state in the north. Zimrilim's rebellion soon forced him to retake the rebellious city, destroy its walls and burn down the ruler's palace. After this defeat. the state of Mari ceased to exist, although the city of Mari itself eked out a modest existence for quite a long time (until the 3rd century BC).

In the north, a weakened Assyria remained deprived of allies, the largest cities of which (Ashur, Nineveh, etc.) recognized the power of Babylon.

35 years of Hammurabi's reign were spent creating a vast Babylonian power, spread across the entire territory of Mesopotamia. Over these years, Babylon from a small city has turned not only into the capital of a new huge state, but also into the largest economic, political and cultural center of Western Asia.

Despite the initial successes, the Babylonian power, created from many conquered regions and once independent states, turned out to be fragile.

The aggravation of internal contradictions, especially related to the ruin of community members, soldiers, taxpayers and defenders of the state, and foreign policy difficulties already affected the reign of Hammurabi’s son, Samsuiluna (1749-1712 BC). This king is still trying to maintain his prestige, builds ziggurats and decorates temples, erecting golden thrones in them in honor of the gods, builds new channels, and assures that he has “overthrown rebellious countries.” However, in the south the Babylonians are being pressed by the Elamites, who are capturing Sumerian cities one after another; Sippar rises, the walls and temples of which are brutally destroyed during the suppression of the rebellion; Isshin soon disappears. Samsuiluna himself speaks in the inscription about the victory over 26 usurpers, which indicates constant internal struggle and turmoil.

The foreign policy situation is also becoming increasingly unfavorable for Babylon. The warlike Kassi tribes are increasingly penetrating its territory. In the north-west of Mesopotamia, a new state is formed - Mitanni, which cuts off Babylonia from the main trade routes leading to Asia Minor and the East Mediterranean coast. Finally, the Hittite invasion of Babylonia in 1595 BC. BC, which ended with the capture and ruin of Babylon itself, puts an end to the reign of the First Babylonian Dynasty and ends the three-hundred-year Old Babylonian period.

§ 2. Laws of Hammurabi.

Socio-economic and political system of Babylonia

The economy, social and political system of the Babylonian state during the reign of Hammurabi are known thanks to the surviving code of laws of this king, his correspondence with governors and officials and private law documents.

The publication of laws was a serious political undertaking by Hammurabi, aimed at consolidating his vast power. The code of laws is divided into three parts: introduction, text of the laws themselves and conclusion. It is the most important source on many aspects of the life of Babylonian society in the first half of the 18th century. BC e.

The economy of the Babylonian state" of the time of Hammurabi was based on the further development of irrigation agriculture, horticulture, cattle breeding, various crafts, foreign and domestic trade.

During the time of Hammurabi, there was an expansion of sown areas (development of fallow and virgin lands), the flourishing of such an intensive branch of the economy as horticulture (date palm cultivation), and large harvests of cereals (barley) and oilseeds (sesame). This was largely achieved through the expansion of the irrigation network throughout the country. Special officials were required to strictly monitor the condition of large and small canals. From the documents of Marie’s archive it is clear that the entire population capable of working was involved in the irrigation duty - from freemen to slaves, and for evading it, those guilty were punished up to the death penalty. In the laws of Hammurabi, four articles specifically provide for various cases of negligence or inattention of a communal farmer to irrigation structures on his plot. If they broke through and flooded the neighbors' fields, he was obliged to compensate for the damage, otherwise his property and himself were sold to compensate for the damage caused to the neighbors. The Babylonian king considered his important act to be the construction of a grandiose canal called the “River of Hammurabi,” which was said to be “the wealth of the people,” bringing “an abundance of water to Sumer and Akkad.”

Cattle breeding also developed on a large scale. Laws repeatedly mention herds of large and small cattle and donkeys, for which shepherds are hired to graze. Livestock are often hired out to work in the fields, threshing floors, and transport heavy loads.

The craft is represented by a wide variety of professions: house builder, ship builder, carpenter, carpenter, stone cutter, tailor, weaver, blacksmith, tanner. The craft professions at that time also included doctors, veterinarians, barbers, and innkeepers. To pay artisans, the laws of Hammurabi established a fixed fee, as well as severe liability for the work done. “If a builder built a house for a man and did his work poorly, and the house that he built collapsed and killed the homeowner, this builder must be executed,” says Article 229. The doctor’s remuneration depended on the patient’s belonging to a particular class of society and increased or decreased accordingly. For an unsuccessful operation performed on a free person, the doctor's hand was cut off (Article 218).

The development of trade was facilitated by the unification within the framework of a single Babylonian state of the entire territory of Mesopotamia and the concentration of all internal and external trade routes passing through the Tigris and Euphrates valleys in one hand.

Exports from Babylonia included grain, dates, sesame oil, wool, and handicrafts. Imports consisted of metals, building stone and wood, slaves, and luxury goods.

Trade was a subject of special concern to the state, and it was dealt with by special trading agents - tamkars, who conducted large-scale state and private trade, and often carried it out through smaller intermediary traders. For their service, tamkars received land and garden plots, houses. They acted as tenants of the royal land and land plots of the community members, and were also often large moneylenders. The most important trading centers were Babylon, Nippur, Sippar, Larsa, Ur.

The structure of Babylonian society in the era of Hammurabi testifies to its increasingly clearly manifested and developing slave-owning character. The laws draw a sharply tangible line between free citizens and slaves.

A free, full-fledged citizen was called “avilum” - “man”. But free citizens, which included large landowners, tamkars, priests, communal peasants, and artisans, did not constitute one class, but were divided into a class of slave owners and a class of small producers. The Code of Law of Hammurabi, in only one of the articles, distinguishes between “a person of higher status” and “lower status” and determines the different degrees of their responsibility for committing an offense. All articles of the law protect the private property of propertied citizens and the interests of slave owners.

Since the bulk of the population of Zavilonian society were small producers and small owners, who contributed significant tax revenues to the treasury and ensured the military power of the state, their rights were also reflected in the laws. For example, some articles protect them from the arbitrariness of moneylenders: the latter were prohibited from taking the harvest themselves to pay off the debt; the amount of interest on the amount of debt was regulated (20% for borrowed silver, 33% for a grain loan); ill-treatment of a hostage was punished severely, even to the death penalty; debt bondage was limited to three years. However, it was impossible to stop the process of stratification of small producers: this class gradually disintegrated, replenishing, on the one hand, the class of slave owners, and on the other, slaves. Old Babylonian business documents have preserved a number of transactions in which the names of large moneylenders appear, for example Balmunamhe from Larsa, who often made exchanges and purchases of garden plots, apparently rounding up his holdings, acquired virgin lands, bought up slaves, and bought their children from needy mothers. Deals were also often made to employ the children and younger brothers of impoverished fellow citizens.

In addition to the free, Babylonian society had such a category as mush-kenums. The term "muskenum" is translated as "prostrate." Mushkenums worked in the royal household. Having lost contact with the community, they did not have land and property, but received it as conditional possession for the royal service, and also had limited civil rights. Self-mutilation in relation to the muskenum was usually compensated by a fine, while in relation to free people the principle of “talion” (“an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”) was applied. Payment for the treatment of a muskenum was half that of a free person, etc. But it is clear from the laws that the muskenums owned property and slaves, their rights as owners were strictly protected, and their property was considered along with the property of the palace in whose service they consisted.

The lowest class of Babylonian society were slaves (“vardum”). The sources of slavery were war, property stratification, which led to debt bondage, the unequal position of family members who were under the patriarchal authority of the father, which gave him the right to pledge them or sell them into slavery, self-sale into slavery, enslavement for certain crimes (for example, the adoption's abandonment of its adoptive parents, the wife's wastefulness, the community member's negligence regarding the irrigation facility), and finally, the natural reproduction of slaves. There were private slaves, state (or palace) slaves, muskenum slaves, and temple slaves. An average-income family had from 2 to 5 slaves. Sometimes in rich families their number reached several dozen. Slaves were property, a thing of the owner: in case of their murder or self-mutilation, the owner was compensated for the damage or a slave was given for a slave.

Slaves were sold, bought, hired out, given as gifts, kidnapped. They had a number of differences: these could be signs on the chest, a special hairstyle, a brand, pierced ears. A common punishment for a slave was to cut off his ear. Slaves often ran away from their owners or tried to challenge their slave status, but for this they were severely punished. Those free citizens who helped runaway slaves hide slave signs or hid them in their homes faced severe punishment: from cutting off a hand to the death penalty. There was a reward for the capture of a runaway slave.

But at the same time, slavery in Babylonia had a number of peculiar features: slaves could have small property, which was ultimately disposed of by the owner, they could marry free women, who at the same time retained their civil and property rights, children from such marriages were considered free. A slave owner who had children from a slave could include them among the legal heirs of his property.

The Babylonian family was patriarchal and was under the authority of the householder - father and husband. Marriages were concluded on the basis of contracts and were accompanied by the bringing of a marriage gift on the part of the groom, and a dowry on the part of the bride. The wife retained the rights to her dowry, to the gifts of her husband, and after his death she disposed of the family property until the children came of age. The laws protected the honor, dignity and health of a woman, but cruelly punished bad attitude towards her husband and wastefulness with slavery, and for violation of marital fidelity with death. Divorce or remarriage for a widow was difficult. All children of both sexes had the right to inherit parental property “from straw to gold,” but some advantage was given to sons.

The Babylonian state acquired certain features of ancient Eastern despotism. At the head of the state was the king, who had legislative, executive, judicial and religious powers. The stock of royal lands was extensive: in Lars, for example, it accounted for 30-50% of the cultivated area. But the structure of the state economy has fundamentally changed compared to the era of the III dynasty of Ur. The latter was characterized by the creation of a gigantic royal-temple economy on a nationwide scale, the functioning of which was ensured by free people (administrative personnel, artisans, warriors) and mainly by slaves and forced laborers, who received in-kind allowances from the treasury. For the Old Babylonian period, other trends turned out to be economically promising: encouraging the communal-private sector of property and distributing royal lands, workshops, pastures for rent or conditional retention for service to officials, soldiers, muskenums, etc.

A judicial department was formed. The royal court occupied a prominent place in it, concentrating in its hands the main judicial functions and noticeably displacing the temple court, the community court, and the city quarter court, but they still retained some rights to decide family and criminal cases committed on their territory. The judges were united in collegiums, and the heralds, messengers, and scribes who made up the judicial staff were also subordinate to them.

The financial and tax department was responsible for collecting taxes, which were levied in silver and in kind on crops, livestock, and handicraft products.

The tsarist power relied on an army formed from detachments of heavy and lightly armed warriors - redum and bairum. Their rights and responsibilities were defined in 16 articles of the laws of Hammurabi. Warriors received from the state for their service inalienable land plots, sometimes with a garden, house, and livestock. The laws protected soldiers from the arbitrariness of commanders, provided for their ransom from captivity, and provision for the soldier’s family. The warrior was obliged to perform service regularly, for evasion of which he could be executed.

A huge bureaucratic apparatus, whose activities were strictly controlled by the tsar, carried out all his orders. At the same time, representatives of the tsarist administration had close contact with local authorities: community councils and community elders. They fought harshly in the administrative apparatus against bribery, bribery, indiscipline, and laziness.

The creation of a centralized Babylonian state and the rise of Babylon were later reflected in the religious cult: the local god, the patron of the city of Babylon, Marduk, who had once been one of the younger gods, was placed at the head of the pantheon. Myths attributed to this god the functions of a demiurge - the creator of the Universe and people, the king of the gods.

§ 3. The Kingdom of Babylon under the Kassite dynasty

The Kassites, one of the Zagros mountain tribes, appeared on the borders of Mesopotamia shortly after the death of Hammurabi. Around 1742 BC e. The Kassite leader Gandash invaded Babylonia and assumed the pompous title of “king of the four countries of the world, king of Sumer and Akkad, king of Babylon,” but the real conquest of the country had not yet occurred. And only the defeat caused by the Hittites contributed to the final establishment of the Kassite kings on the Babylonian throne.

From 1595 BC e. begins the reign of the Kassite dynasty and the so-called Middle Babylonian period, which ends around 1155 BC. e.

During the Kassite period, there was a regular use of horses and mules in military affairs and transport, the use of a combined plow-seeder in agriculture, the creation of a network of roads, and the intensification of foreign trade. But in general, due to the decrease in the marketability of the economy and the reduction in the influx of slaves, a certain stagnation is felt in the economy.

The importance of such archaic forms of social structures as clan associations and large families, designated by the term “bitu” (“house”) and headed by “bel biti” (lord of the house), is somewhat increasing. The Kassite clans controlled a certain territory, monitored the collection of taxes, and the fulfillment of public duties. During the Kassite era, rural communities became stronger. At the same time, the process of enriching the Kassite clan nobility and creating large private landholdings, separated from communal ones, is intensively underway, which is secured by royal decrees certifying the ownership of a particular aristocrat to the granted land and exemption from duties and taxes. These decrees are carved on special boundary stones - “kudurru”.

The Kassites adopted the high Babylonian culture, identified the Kassite gods with the Babylonian ones, and patronized the traditional cults of the Mesopotamian religion. Thus, Agum II in the 16th century. BC e. returned to their homeland the sacred Babylonian statues of Marduk and his wife Tsarpanit, captured during the Hittite campaign, and did a lot to restore and decorate their temples. By the 15th century BC e. The construction of a temple in Uruk dates back to the 14th century, and the restoration of ziggurats and temples in Ur dates back to the 14th century.

Centralization under the Kassites weakened somewhat, since the heads of the Kassite clans, who ruled certain regions of Babylonia, enjoyed a certain independence. Large cities (Babylon, Nippur, Sippar) occupied an independent position, not only exempt from all taxes and duties, but even having their own military contingents. The Kassite nobility, equipped with immunity letters, eventually merged with the local Babylonian one, and the largest Babylonian temples, of which a special place belonged to the Nippur temple of Enlil, also had a certain political influence.

The foreign policy of the Kassite kings was not very ambitious. Although they traditionally called themselves “kings of the four countries of the world,” they owned only Babylonia, the “country of Kashshu” - the actual Kassite territory in the Zagros Mountains - and, possibly, the country of Gutium (the region of the Gutians) in Iran.

Powerful military powers - Egypt, Mitanni, the Hittite kingdom - waged a fierce struggle for hegemony, and Kassite Babylon was only one of the minor figures in the military-political arena. The inscriptions of the Egyptian pharaohs report that Babylonia recognized the power of the Egyptian power, expressed respect and brought gifts to her kings.

In the second half of the 15th century. BC e. Stable peaceful relations were established between Egypt and Babylonia, ambassadors were constantly traveling, and trade caravans were traveling. The Kassite kings usually sent teams of horses and chariots, bronze vessels, valuable types of oil, products made of lapis lazuli, etc. as gifts to the Egyptian pharaohs. As reciprocal gifts, they received gold, magnificent furniture made of valuable types of wood, decorated with gold and ivory, and jewelry .

To strengthen relations, the Kassite kings married their daughters to Egyptian pharaohs, but a similar request was refused on the grounds that Egyptian princesses were not married outside the country. According to letters from the Tell Amarna archive, it can be assumed that agreements on “friendship” and “brotherhood” were concluded and renewed between Egypt and Babylonia, which included clauses on mutual assistance.

With the temporary weakening of Egypt, the Babylonian government becomes more demanding. There is dissatisfaction in the tone of the letters. Burna-Buriash II (mid-14th century BC) is outraged by the inattention of the Egyptian pharaoh to his illness, the small retinue sent for the Babylonian princess going to his harem, and the lack of gifts, especially gold. “If you cannot be as generous as your father,” he writes to Akhenaten, “then send at least half.” Babylon was especially dissatisfied with the reception of the Assyrian embassy in Egypt, for it considered Assyria a dependent state on itself. After the break with Egypt, the Kassite kings focused on the hostile Mitanni and the Hittite kingdom. Babylon supports Mitanni's claims to the lands of the Eastern Mediterranean coast; I am marrying the daughter of Bur-ka-5uriash II to the Hittite king.

However, the relatively weak Kassite Babylon does not enjoy influence among powerful powers. “You write to us not as a brother, but command us as your slaves,” they write with bitterness from Babylon to the Hittite king Hattusili III. Assyria is growing stronger in the 13th century. BC e. she inflicts a number of tangible blows on Kassite Babylon. The Hittites, waging fierce wars with their strong rival Egypt, provide virtually no support to their younger ally.

The fight against Assyria, Elam and local rulers ended in the middle of the 12th century. BC e. the existence of the Kassite dynasty. The Kassites by this time had completely assimilated with the Babylonians.

§ 4. State of Mitanni: rise and fall

The state of Mitanni arose in the northwestern part of Mesopotamia on the site of small ancient Hurrian kingdoms, which it absorbed around the 16th century. BC e., which was a reflection of the trend towards the creation of larger political associations. Its capital was the city of Vashshukanni, which had not yet been discovered by archaeologists. The bulk of the population here were Hurrians, mixed with Semitic-speaking Amorites. The possible presence of some Indo-European ethnic elements is evidenced by the names of some Mitannian kings and gods, and terms associated with horse breeding.

Mitanni was conveniently located at the crossroads of numerous overland trade routes, which led to the active participation of this state in the Western Asian trade.

Natural conditions favored the development of rain-fed (i.e., based on rain-fed) agriculture and cattle breeding. Horse breeding became widespread; even the “Treatise on Horse Breeding” by the Mitannian Kik-kuli, who was the senior stablemaster at the court of the Hittite kings, has been preserved. The presence of metals (copper, silver, lead), stone and wood in the north of Mesopotamia contributed to the development of metalworking and construction.

There is little information about social relations in the Mitanian kingdom. They are provided by written archives found during excavations of ancient fortresses and settlements of the peripheral Hurrian kingdom of Arrapha, at one time dependent on Mitanni. From the archives one can judge the presence of palace and temple households. The royal economy was significant; stables, hundreds of heads of cattle and small ruminants, pigs, arable land and gardens, forests belonging to members of the royal family are mentioned. Work in the royal household was performed by palace slaves and free shepherds, artisans, and farmers, who were brought in as conscription.

Communities played a major role in the social structure of the Mitana kingdom - territorial rural (“alu”) and large-family house communities “dimtu” (translated as “tower”, according to the nature of the community’s dwelling). Land was considered the property of large family communities, and its alienation could only be carried out in the form of “adoption” of the buyer by a member of the community. Such communities often specialized in hereditary professions; there were “dimtu” merchants, weavers, and farmers.

Property inequality and social stratification contributed to the disintegration of communities while outwardly maintaining their structure. Usury and debt bondage ruined not only the poor, but also the middle class of Hurrian society. Moneylenders, under the guise of “adopted” people, penetrated communities, separated the purchased land from the massif of communal lands, and exploited the labor of members of the house community that “adopted” them. Representatives of the royal house were engaged in such usurious transactions on a large scale: one of them was “adopted,” for example, more than 100 times.

Slaves were recruited mainly from among captives (Lullubei highlanders, etc.). Debt slavery is also developing. Thus, loans secured by the identity of the head of the family or its members were common, in which the hostage had to pay the creditor interest on the amount of the debt until his return. There were cases of sale and self-sale into indefinite and long-term slavery (for example, for 50 years). Slaves enjoyed certain rights: they could marry not only slaves, but also free women, they could adopt free women in order to transfer their property to them, and act as witnesses in transactions. Their labor was used both in production (slaves - gardeners, shepherds, fullers, weavers, potters, carpenters) and in the service sector (slaves - brewers, bakers, porters, etc.). Among the palace slaves, there were persons close to the royal family, who could receive rich gifts from their patrons and occupy the positions of scribes. Slaves were hired out, sold and bought (the price of a slave is known - 30 shekels); such cruel punishments as gouging out the eyes of runaway slaves could be applied to them; children of slaves in documents were designated by a different term than the offspring of free people.

The king was at the head of the state. Local administration was carried out by “settlement chiefs.”

The basis of the power of the Mitannian kingdom was the army, consisting of lightly and heavily armed infantry militias and privileged detachments of aristocratic charioteers. The Mitannians were famous for the art of driving chariots, and the Hittites and Assyrians willingly borrowed it from them.

XVI-XV centuries BC e. are the period of the heyday of the Mitannian state and the creation of a strong power that extended its power to a significant part of Assyria, including Ashur and Nineveh, to the Arrapha region, which conquered the mountain tribes of the Kutians and Lullubis. Collisions with the Hittites were successful for Mitanni, and Mitanni influence began to penetrate Asia Minor and Syria. Phenicia and even Palestine.

The entry of Mktania into the political arena in Western Asia in the 16th century B. B. C. E. led to a clash with Egypt, which was vigorously advancing to the region of the East Mediterranean coast. A fierce struggle for hegemony in Western Asia is unfolding between them. Thutmose I had already reached the Euphrates and erected a memorial victory stele on the Mitannian border.

The grandiose campaign of Thutmose III (beginning of the 15th century BC) was directed directly against Mitanni. Having crossed the Euphrates, the Egyptians invaded Mitanni, put the king and army to flight and erected a victory stele. However, the Egyptian victory was not final. Thutmose III had to make several more campaigns in this area, pacifying the rebellious areas that relied on the support of Mitanni.

Only under Thutmose III's successor, Amenhotep II, was complete victory achieved: Mitanni is now mentioned in common with other Asian states that recognized the power of Egypt and brought tribute to it, and yet the victory over it is spoken of as “a remarkable event that had never happened before.” heard since the time of the gods.”

Having achieved their goal, the Egyptian pharaohs strive to transform the weakened enemy into an ally, especially since both powers feared the strengthening of the Hittite kingdom and Assyria. Diplomatic correspondence was established between the rulers of both countries, as evidenced by the Tell Amarna archive, and there was a constant exchange of embassies and delegations. The union of Egypt and Mitanni is sealed by dynastic marriages: the pharaohs Tut-mos IV and Amenhotep III marry the daughters of the Mitanni kings. Mitannian and Egyptian rulers exchanged valuable gifts. Products made of bronze, gold, silver, even iron, which was a rare metal at that time, were brought to Egypt. The Egyptian pharaohs willingly and repeatedly accepted such gifts as chariots and teams of horses from Mitanni, vessels with fragrant oil, and jewelry made of lapis lazuli. Several dozen female captives captured in battles with the Hittites were also sent to Egypt. In turn, the Mitannian kings received gifts from the Egyptian pharaohs, mainly in the form of gold, which they said was “more abundant than sand” in Egypt.

At the end of the 15th century. BC e., taking advantage of the weakening of Egypt, Mitanni is trying to regain the regions of Northern Syria, capture Byblos, advance to Palestine, supports anti-Egyptian coalitions of local rulers, and enters into an alliance with Babylon. Egypt is strengthening ties with Assyria, which outrages the king of Mitanni. who considered the Assyrians his subjects.

As a result, two hostile coalitions emerge: Mitanni and Babylon against Egypt and Assyria. The strengthened Hittite state took advantage of this situation. Obsessed with a thirst to take revenge on Mitanni for previous defeats, the Hittites inflicted a crushing defeat on the Mitanni king Tushratta. At the Mitanni court, a fierce struggle broke out between political groups of different orientations. As a result of the conspiracy, Tushratta was killed, a fierce struggle for the throne began, and the Assyrians did not fail to take advantage of this. In alliance with the North Mesopotamian principality of Alzi (Alshi), they inflicted a heavy defeat on Mitanni and practically divided its territory among themselves. This, however, caused strong discontent among the Hittites, who placed Tushratta’s son, Shattivasa, on the throne and married the Hittite princess to him.

In the second half of the 14th century. BC e. Mitanni fell under the rule of the Hittites, and Assyria was freed from Mitannian rule. At the end of the XIV - beginning of the XIII century. BC e. The Mitannian kings, with the active support of the Hittites, made several attempts to recapture Assyria, which ended, however, in the defeat of their army, the capture of the royal family, and the capture of the Mitannian capital Vashshukanni.

XIII century BC e. turned out to be catastrophic for Mitanni. In the 70s, relying on the support of the Hittites, Mitanni opposed Assyria, but suffered complete defeat. The Assyrians cover the entire territory of the country with fire and sword and capture about 15,000 soldiers. Mitanni breaks up into a number of small principalities, fragments of the former strong power, which later, “one after another, come under the rule of Assyria (Guzan and others).

§ 5. Assyria in the Old Assyrian period (first half of the 2nd millennium BC)

In the Old Assyrian period, the state occupied a small territory, the center of which was Ashur. The population was engaged in agriculture: they grew barley and emmer, raised grapes, using natural irrigation (rain and snow), wells and, in a small volume - with the help of irrigation structures - Tigris water. In the eastern regions of the country, in the valleys of the Upper and Lower Zab, in the foothills of the Zagros, yailage cattle breeding using mountain meadows for summer grazing was of great importance. But trade played a major role in the life of early Assyrian society.

The most important trade routes passed through Assyria: from the East Mediterranean coast, from Asia Minor and Transcaucasia along the Tigris to the region of Central and Southern Mesopotamia and further to Elam.

Ashur sought to create his own trading colonies in order to gain a foothold on these main routes. Already at the turn of the III-II millennium BC. e. he subjugates the former Sumerian-Akkadian colony of Gasur (east of the Tigris).

The eastern part of Asia Minor was subjected to especially active colonization, from where raw materials important for Mesopotamia were exported: metals (copper, lead, silver), livestock, wool, leather, wood - and where grain, tin, fabrics, ready-made clothing and handicrafts were imported. Traders from Ashur in the 20th - 18th centuries. BC e. settled in the area of ​​the Kul-tepe hill (20 km from modern Kayseri), founding, together with merchants from the Syrian and Euphrates regions, as well as with local traders, an international trade association called Kanish in Akkadian, Nesa in Hittite . Along with intermediary trade, the residents of Kanish, possessing reserves of goods and money, were also engaged in usurious transactions. As a rule, the local population, who was at a lower level of social development, became victims of debt bondage.

Old Assyrian society was slave-owning, but retained strong vestiges of the tribal system.

There were royal (or palace) and temple farms, the land of which was cultivated by community members and slaves. The bulk of the land was the property of communities. Land plots were owned by more family communities, which included several generations of immediate relatives. The land was subject to regular redistribution. In the fairly homogeneous mass of community members, a process of social stratification was underway. Early on, a trading and usurious elite emerged, which became rich in international trade, possessing large amounts of money and dozens of slaves.

The main source of slavery was social stratification among the free, the sale into slavery of poor family members, and debt bondage. There were also foreign slaves whom the Assyrians bought from neighboring tribes or captured during successful military campaigns. The degree of development of slavery is evidenced by the fact that even ordinary families of community members usually had 1-2 slaves.

Assyrian state until the 16th century. BC e. was called "alum Ashur", i.e. city, or community, Ashur. The system of political administration retained many features characteristic of the era of military democracy. True, the national assembly of “small and great” had already lost its significance, and the highest authority was the “House of the City” - the council of elders, consisting of representatives of noble families. From among the members of the council, a special official was allocated for a period of one year - “limmu”, who occupied the most honorable position, in charge of the city’s treasury; the current year was named after him.

The Council of Elders appointed the "ukullu-ma" - an official in charge of the judicial and administrative affairs of the city-state.

There was also a hereditary position of ruler - “ishshiakkuma”, who had religious functions, supervised temple construction and other public works, and during the war became a military leader.

At the beginning of the 20th century. BC e. The international situation for Assyria was unfavorable: the rise of the state of Mari in the Euphrates region became a serious obstacle to the western trade of Ashur, and the formation of the Hittite kingdom soon brought to naught the activities of Assyrian merchants in Asia Minor. The advance of the Amorite tribes into Mesopotamia created a generally unstable situation, which dealt a severe blow to all Assyrian trade. Apparently, in order to restore it, Ashur undertakes the first campaigns to the west, to the Euphrates, and to the south, along the Tigris.

A particularly active foreign policy, in which the western direction predominates, is conducted under Shamshi-Adad I (1813-1781 BC), an Amorite leader who settled in Ashur. His troops conquer the northern Mesopotamian cities located in the Balikh and Khabur basins, subjugate Mari, part of the Trans-Semitic tribes living along the middle reaches of the Euphrates, enter into an alliance with Karkemish and take possession of the Syrian city of Qatna. Intermediary trade with the West passes to Ashur, and the influx of metals necessary for the development of the Mesopotamian economy is resumed. Assyria maintains peaceful relations with the kingdoms of Mesopotamia located to the south - Babylonia, Eshnuna - but in the east, where the important centers of Arrapha and Kuzu were located, it had to fight the Hurrians. Thus, at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 18th centuries. BC e. Assyria turned into a large Central Asian state and Shamshi-Adad I appropriated the title “king of multitudes”.

There was a need for a new management organization. The tsar headed an extensive administrative apparatus, was the supreme military leader and judge, and supervised the royal household. The entire territory of the Assyrian state was divided into districts, or provinces, headed by governors who came from the royal family, from local dynasties, or from among the highest royal officials. They were subordinate to a large bureaucracy, which was involved in collecting taxes, organizing public works, and recruiting troops.

The main administrative and economic unit was the territorial community (“alum”) for the settled population and the so-called nomadic camp for nomadic tribes, which had local self-government: sheikhs, councils of elders, and popular assemblies. Large-family, house communities were also preserved. The entire population of the state paid taxes to the treasury and performed various labor duties (construction, transport, irrigation, etc.). The army consisted of professional warriors and a general militia.

Under the successors of Shamshi-Adad I, Assyria failed to consolidate the achieved foreign policy successes. The main danger came from the south, where under Hammura-pi the Babylonian state grew stronger, and at first even recognized its dependence on Assyria. In alliance with Mari, Hammurabi begins wars with Assyria, and then, having defeated his former ally, he reaps the fruits of victory - the subjugation of Assyria to Babylon.

After the fall of the First Babylonian Dynasty at the end of the 16th century. BC e. Assyria becomes the prey of the young state of Mi-tanni. Its trade is completely in decline, for the Hittite kingdom drove out the Assyrian merchants from Asia Minor, Egypt - from Syria, and Mitanni generally closed the routes to the west for them.

§ 6. Assyria in the Middle Assyrian period (second half of the 2nd millennium BC)

In the 15th century BC e. The Assyrians are trying to restore the previous position of their state largely through diplomacy. They opposed their enemies - the Babylonian, Mitannian and Hittite kingdoms - to an alliance with Egypt, which began to play in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. e. leading role in the Middle East. Already after the first campaign of Thutmose III on the East Mediterranean coast, Assyria sent him valuable gifts. Friendly relations between the two states strengthened under the Egyptian pharaohs Amenhotep III and Akhenaten (late 15th-14th centuries BC). They exchange ambassadors and rich gifts, the Egyptians conduct important negotiations with the Assyrian embassy, ​​despite the fierce protests of Babylonia and Mitanni, who saw in Assyria a state subject to them.

Supported by Egypt, Assyria is developing its foreign policy successes. Ash-shur-Uballit I (XIV century BC) establishes family relations with the Babylonian royal house and energetically ensures that Assyrian proteges sit on the Babylonian throne. In the 13th century. BC e. The Assyrian state achieves its highest rise and greatest foreign policy successes. Assyria achieves especially tangible results in the western direction, where the once powerful state of Mitanni is finally subordinated to it. The Assyrian king Tukulti-Ninurta I (second half of the 13th century BC) makes a successful campaign in Syria and captures about 30,000 prisoners there.

The successes of Assyria in the west could not but worry the Hittite kingdom, which entered into alliances with Egypt and Babylonia directed against it.

In this regard, the southern, Babylonian direction begins to play an important role in the foreign policy of Assyria in the 13th century. BC e. Tukulti-Ninu rta I manages to build on the successes of his predecessors, who won a number of victories over the Babylonians. He invades Babylon, takes captive the Babylonian king, large trophies, including a statue of the god Marduk, the patron saint of the city.

In the Middle Assyrian period, the northern direction of Assyria's foreign policy began to acquire a certain significance. The region of Transcaucasia attracts her with its wealth of metals, location on the most important trade routes and the seeming ease of conquest from scattered tribes. The Assyrians called this region the country of Pairi or Uruatri (later Urartu), where they successfully fought with a number of tribes. Tukultk-Ninurta I even managed to defeat the coalition of 43 princes of Nairi. In the 12th century. BC e. Assyria, having undermined its strength by almost continuous wars, is experiencing decline.

But during the reign of Tiglath-pileser 1 (1115-1077 BC), its former power returned again, which was due to a change in the international situation: the Hittite kingdom fell, Egypt entered a period of political fragmentation. Assyria actually had no rivals. This new balance of forces determined the directions of foreign policy under Tiglath-pileser I. The main blow was aimed at the west, where about 30 campaigns were carried out, as a result of which Northern Syria and Northern Phenicia were captured, and the south-eastern part of Asia Minor was invaded. As a sign of his triumph in the west, Tiglath-pileser I made a demonstrative sail on Phoenician ships into the Mediterranean Sea. The success of Assyria was crowned with the ceremonial sending of gifts to the winner from Egypt. In the north, new victories were won in Nairi. And relations with the strengthened Babylon were of a variable nature: the successful campaigns of Tiglath-palasar I, accompanied by the capture of Babylon and Sippar, gave way to failures, and the Babylonians’ retaliatory campaign to Assyria even led to their capture and removal of statues of Assyrian gods.

The heyday of Assyria ended unexpectedly. At the turn of the XII-XI centuries. BC e. From Arabia, nomadic tribes of Semitic-speaking Arameans poured into the vast expanses of Western Asia. The areas of the Eastern Mediterranean coast received part of the Aramaic flow of settlers. They also became a springboard for their further advance into the Mesopotamian region. Assyria lay in their path and had to bear the brunt of the attack. The Arameans settled throughout its territory and mixed with the Assyrian population itself. For almost a century and a half, Assyria experienced decline, the dark times of foreign rule. Its history during this period is almost unknown. The economy, social relations and political system of Assyria underwent significant changes in the Middle Assyrian period." The reduction in trade volume caused by the decline in the political power of Assyria in the 17th-15th centuries led to an increase in the role of agriculture, which began to develop at a rapid pace and achieved great success thanks to development of the irrigation network, expansion of agricultural territory due to new lands captured during the wars.

The establishment of control over certain areas in Transcaucasia led to the expansion of Assyria's metallurgical base. Construction is developing in the country. The city of Kalhu is being rebuilt, a new Assyrian capital, the “Fortress of Tukulti-Ninurta,” is being erected, and prisoners are working on the construction: Kassites, Hurrians, Urartians. brought by the Assyrians from conquered countries.

The growth of the political power of Assyria in the XIV - XIII centuries. BC e. contributed to a new revival of Assyrian trade: not only internal - along the Tigris, but also external - with the Eastern Mediterranean. Assyrian merchants founded their trading districts in Mari, Ugarit, and Egypt.

The income of the Assyrian state is based on the receipt of gifts, tribute, sacrifices and taxes from the population of the territories under its control.

The deterioration of the country's economic situation began in the 11th century. BC e., during the Aramaic invasion, when the established agricultural system was undermined, the territory was devastated, crop failures and famine began.

The social structure of Central Assyrian society can be judged on the basis of the Code of Laws of the 16th-14th centuries. BC e. from the city of Ashur and a number of public and private documents.

The top of Assyrian society was the slave-owning class, which was represented by large landowners, merchants, the priesthood, the serving nobility, who had extensive private hereditary land holdings, non-hereditary plots for service, who received gifts and rewards from the king, exemption from duties, who owned slaves. It was the rights of the “greats” that were strictly protected by Central Syrian laws.

The bulk of the population - the class of small producers - consisted primarily of free communal farmers. The rural community had the right of ownership of the land, controlled the irrigation system and had self-government: it was headed by the headman and the council of the “great” of the settlement. All community members performed duties: work for the “house of the king,” paid taxes to the treasury, and performed military service. The community's lands were surrounded by a “great boundary”, violation of which was punishable by severe punishment. Within the rural community, the land was divided “by lot”, subject to redistribution between larger families and houses, and violation of this “small boundary” was also punished. Within the “big family” there were “small families” who received their share.

In the second half of the 2nd millennium BC. e. Private property is also developing. A frequent occurrence is the purchase and sale of land, not only land plots (fields, gardens, threshing floors, etc.), but also the entire complex of economic and residential buildings, i.e., estates. However, when completing the act of purchase and sale of land, the interests of the community were taken into account, and the buyer assumed the corresponding community duties.

The development of private property, usury, and land concentration led to the ruin of the community members, who fell into debt dependence, lost their land and personal freedom. The Middle Assyrian period was characterized by the emergence of various forms of dependence that arose as a result of the so-called acts of “revival” (providing food in a famine year), “adoption”, loans with a high interest rate with the security of the identity of the debtor or members of his family, and self-sale. All of them ultimately led to the development of slavery and were one of its sources within Assyrian society.

During this period, the enslavement of prisoners of war became of great importance. Such slaves, especially skilled artisans, whom the Assyrians willingly took captive, were most often used in the royal household. But some of the prisoners were subjected to mutilation, for example they were blinded, and could only be partially used in production. The position of slaves in society was degraded: slaves, for example, did not have the right to wear a veil - a sign of a free woman; for such a violation their ears were cut off. Even in relation to Assyrian slaves and slaves who became such due to non-payment of debt, self-mutilation was allowed: the owners could “hit them, pinch their hair, hit them on the ears and drill them.”

The Assyrian family had a pronounced patriarchal character. The power of the father and husband, the householder, extended to all family members. The custom of primogeniture placed all property privileges (the right to receive two shares of the inheritance, to be the first to choose a share, power over “undivided” brothers) into the hands of the eldest son. The position of women in the family was especially degraded. They were under the authority of first the father, then the father-in-law, husband, sons; the marriage was in the nature of a purchase; Polygamy was common; women had almost no right to dispose of property and could not leave their husband’s home and family even in the event of his death or ill-treatment. Severe physical punishment was imposed on the wife for any misconduct; the husband’s arbitrariness was encouraged by a number of articles of law.

The system of government during the Middle Assyrian period underwent major changes.

The functions of the “ukullum” are also concentrated in the hands of the “ishshiakkum”. In connection with the development of irrigation agriculture and military policy, the role of the ruler as the supreme military leader and organizer of public works in the state is increasingly increasing. Ashogur-Uballit I occasionally begins to use a new title - “sharru” (king), and later an expanded title appears: “king of multitudes, mighty king, king of Assyria.” A large administrative apparatus is subordinate to the king: from the chiefs to the elders and councils of the “great” of each community.

The role of the Ashur Council of Elders - the body of the Assyrian nobility - is gradually decreasing. The position of limmu is usually filled by members of the royal house. The kings begin to limit the rights of the council. Tu-kulti-Ninurta I, for example, deprived the council of Ashur of national significance by moving the capital to a new city, which he named after himself. But this step cost him his life: the dissatisfied “greats” kill the king. However, the role of the council is still significant. In the XV-XIV centuries. BC e. they issued the so-called Middle Assyrian laws, on the basis of which the elders administered justice at the gates of the city of Ashur. At the end of the period, Ashur receives “immunity” - exemption from all kinds of taxes and duties, which was a clear concession of the kings to the Ashurian nobility, and these rights are jealously preserved by them throughout the subsequent history of Assyria.

The Assyrians thoughtfully began to create a special system for managing the conquered regions, which received full development in the next, Neo-Assyrian period. This is the resettlement of their inhabitants to Assyria or other areas subordinate to it, the inclusion of the defeated states in Assyria as provinces, the imposition of Assyrian military and civil administration in them, the development of a taxation system, etc.

After the fall of the III dynasty of Ur in Mesopotamia, for more than two centuries, there has been an increase in centrifugal forces, political fragmentation and internecine wars.

The Amorite conquerors founded several states, of which two turned out to be stronger, and their rulers called themselves kings of Sumer and Akkad, i.e. claimed power over the entire country. These states were Isin and Larsa. However, weakening each other, they were unable to realize their claims. Larsa was also under the strong influence of neighboring Elam, whose kings placed their proteges on the throne of this city-state. The Amorite kingdoms outside their own Mesopotamia played an independent role. In addition, the Semitic city state of Ashur (on the middle Tigris, the core of the future Assyrian power) is trying to interfere in the affairs of Mesopotamia. Finally, a city rises, which was destined to become for many centuries the main center in the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates and outshine the more ancient cities with its splendor. It was Babylon (more precisely, Babili - “gate of God”). Around 1895 BC e. The newly invading Amorite tribes managed to capture the northern part of the kingdom of Isin and create an independent state here, the capital of which was the city of Babylon. The new state did not play a major role for about a century. But by the beginning of the 18th century. BC e. Isin, weakened by the fall of Babylon, lost its former importance, and Larsa was conquered by the Elamites shortly before (in 1834 BC). In the north, a period of temporary strengthening began for Assyria, which made some regions of Akkad dependent on itself, in particular, the regions of the cities of Mari and Eshnunna.

Rice. 2. Ancient Babylon

These circumstances were used by the Babylonian king Hammurabi (1792-1750). In order to free his hands in the struggle for dominance in Mesopotamia, Hammurabi, it seems, temporarily recognized his dependence on the Assyrian king Shamshiadad I. Already in the 7th year of his reign, Hammurabi conquered Uruk and Isin, using the help of Rimsin, a representative of the Elamite dynasty in Larsa, with whose kings friendly relations were maintained at that time. Having built a canal of great economic importance in the 9th year, called “Hammurabi-abundance,” he tried to reconcile the population of the conquered regions with his power. Having achieved his first significant successes, Hammurabi began to fear interference from the Assyrian king Shamshiadad I and his allies - the steppe tribes. He began to take measures to strengthen his northern borders and began to conquer the border regions.

Until XIX. BC. this city, located on the left bank of the Euphrates, did not play an independent political role and was not at all large in size. Subsequently, however, Babylon strengthened economically and politically, taking advantage of the decline and ruin of its closest neighbors - Kish and Akkad. Its advantageous location at the intersection of river and caravan routes contributed to its transformation into a large trading center. The population increased due to the influx of Amorite settlers moving from the Syrian steppe.

Long before the heyday of Ancient Greece, developed powerful powers already existed. One of them is the famous Sumer. It was located on the territory of modern Iraq in the geographical and historical region of Mesopotamia. It must be said that this name was invented by the Greeks. It literally means “between the rivers.” This large region actually extended across the flat terrain between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. There were many city-states in Mesopotamia. One of them is Babylon. In what country and where is the city of the legendary Sumerians located now? Why has it not survived to this day? What eras of prosperity and decline did you experience? This is what our article is about.

Eden in Iraq

There is an assumption that Noah’s Ark lies on Mount Ararat, and the Garden of Eden rustled in the lands of Mesopotamia. Even in religious literature there are statements that Eden was located exactly there, at the confluence of two rivers. The once famous city of Babylon also flourished here, which translated from the local dialect meant “the gates of heaven.” But the history of those places is so intertwined that not even all historians can understand them. The Babylonian civilization is often called differently: Sumerian-Akkadian. Where is Babylon today? This place is known to many tourists. Fans of ancient history regret that little remains of the once great city, but everyone can look at its ruins, walk along the sacred (“divine”) land, and touch the centuries-old stones.

From Neolithic to Sumer

Before answering where Babylon is located, let's tell you a little about the time when it flourished. Traces of settlements of ancient people in Iraq can be found everywhere. During the Neolithic period, cattle breeding and agriculture were already quite well developed in the Middle East. 7 thousand years BC. e. Crafts developed there: pottery and spinning. And after about 3 thousand years, people mastered the smelting of copper and gold. At the same time, cities with unique architecture began to develop there. Arches, for example, first appeared there, and not in Ancient Rome. Writing, political and legal norms of social life appear. The settlements of Ur, Uruk and Erebu are being built. These were the largest city-states of the first civilization of Mesopotamia - Sumerian. It was crushed by the Semitic tribes, united into the kingdom of Akkad. Under King Sargon, Sumer was defeated, and the territory of Mesopotamia was united for the first time. But the two states continued to coexist. Akkad controlled the north of the region, and Sumer controlled the south. Unfortunately, they had many enemies who dreamed of capturing the fertile, flowering lands. When Amorite pastoralists came from the foothills, the great state ceased to exist. The Elamites settled on the territory of Sumer.

Rise of Babylon

During all the time of civil strife, this city, which was located far from the borders, suffered less than others. The Sumerians called him Kadingirra. The city was built on the banks of the Euphrates, near the modern settlement of El-Hilla, 80 kilometers from Baghdad. The residence of the tax collector was located there. It was in this provincial town that the Amorite leader Sumuabum settled, making it not just the capital, but creating the Babylonian kingdom. Representatives of the dynasty of Amorite kings fought a lot. Therefore, they attached primary importance to the fortifications of Babylon, and therefore built a defensive wall around it. But temples were also actively rebuilt at this time, and sanctuaries were erected. Five rulers of this family changed before Babylon became dominant in Mesopotamia. In 1792 BC. e. Hammurabi took the throne. Taking advantage of the constant civil strife of his neighbors, he managed to subjugate most of the coastal lands near the Tigris and Euphrates to Babylon. Within forty years, the first centralized state of Western Asia, the Old Babylonian Kingdom, was created. Its foundation can be considered the turn of the 19th-18th centuries BC.

Center of the Universe

Babylon very quickly became one of the centers of the world. He had this position until 1595 (before the Nativity of Christ). His patron god was Marduk, who became one of the main Mesopotamian deities. The city grew richer, which was reflected in its appearance. New walls, gates and wide streets along which crowded temple processions could pass were built not chaotically, but according to plan. Residents of the capital were not drafted into the army and did not pay taxes; it had the right of self-government.

Decline of Babylon

Hammurabi's successors were unable to maintain Babylon's high position. Gradually its decline begins. For a century and a half, the kings of the First Babylonian Dynasty fought with other contenders for power in Mesopotamia. The Kassite mountain tribes took advantage of the weakening of the power. Thanks to the defensive structures erected in the northeast during the reign of Hammurabi, their first onslaught was stopped. At the same time, it was necessary to constantly suppress the uprisings of the southern, “Sumerian” provinces. The cities of Larsa, Ur, Catullu, and Nipur rebelled alternately or simultaneously. These areas finally left the control of Babylon in the 17th century BC. Asia Minor then almost completely belonged to the Hittite kingdom. His troops invaded Babylon, completely plundered it, and destroyed many cultural monuments. Some of the residents were executed, some were sold into slavery. Where is the city of Babylon now? You will learn about this further.

A new beginning

The Hittite invasion marked the end of the Old Babylonian Kingdom. Soon these lands were subjugated by the Kassites. The Middle Babylonian period began. The state was in decline, especially in the economic and cultural spheres. The authority of the state was also low in these centuries. The struggle for leadership was between Egypt, the Hittite kingdom and the country of Mitanni. The pharaohs, judging by the information that has reached our time, treated their neighbor, who had recently threatened them, with disdain. However, this was a long period of stability, when it was possible to establish trade ties that had been destroyed during civil strife between different regions of the state.

Another destruction of Babylon

The fall of the III Babylonian dynasty, which is called the Kassite dynasty, coincided with the strengthening of Assyria. In addition, the eastern neighbor, Elam, is rising again. At the end of the 13th century BC. e. the king of Assyria took control of Babylon, destroying the walls of the city and even transporting the most revered statue of the supreme god Marduk to Ashur (his capital). The Assyrian ruler Sennacherib became famous for the fact that in 689 BC. e. not only captured Babylon, but almost destroyed it. The restoration of the power of the glorious city began only after the weakening of Assyria. The city was then ruled by the leaders of the Chaldean tribes. One of them, Nabopolassar, led an uprising that ended in the defeat of the Assyrian army under the walls of Babylon. The Neo-Babylonian period was marked by the restoration of the former power of the legendary state.

Nebuchadnezzar

The restoration of the city began after the death of Sennacherib. Gradually the state restored its former power. The time of greatest prosperity is 605-562 BC. e., when Nabushadnetsar II reigned. This is the same Nebuchadnezzar who destroyed Jerusalem and took many thousands of Jews into captivity. During his reign, the country expanded from Iran to Egypt. Unprecedented wealth contributed to rapid construction. Thanks to cuneiform records, Herodotus and archaeological excavations, we can recreate the appearance of Babylon at that time.

What did the “Capital of the World” look like?

The Euphrates divided Babylon in half. On the plan, it occupied almost 10 square kilometers. Three rows of fortress walls were erected around, huge towers and eight gates were built. It was extremely difficult to approach them. In the center of the Old City there was a 7-tier ziggurat, which is considered a prototype of the Tower of Babel from the Bible. The main temple of the god Marduk stood there, and a market functioned nearby. The Great Palace of Nebuchadnezzar II was also located here. It was a huge complex that was built under Nabopolassar. It included the houses of officials and the throne room. The palace impressed visitors with its size and luxury. On its relief walls made of colored bricks, craftsmen depicted the “tree of life” and walking lions. The palace contained one of the seven wonders of the world - the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Thus, the “Lord of the Half-World” consoled his wife, a princess from Media, who was homesick.

House of the Babylonian

A 123-meter long bridge led to the New Town. There were residential areas there. How did the ordinary people of Babylon live? The appearance of these dwellings is known thanks to excavations. These were two-story houses. The lower part, to protect against erosion, was laid out of baked brick, and the second floor and internal walls were made of raw brick. Small windows were made only under the ceiling, so that light came in almost exclusively through the door. They washed their feet from a jug of water that stood in the entryway. Various utensils were also located there. From there you could get into the courtyard. Wealthier people had a swimming pool there, and a wooden gallery ran along the inner wall. There was always a front room, from which a passage led to a small courtyard inaccessible to outsiders, where the owners built a home altar. They also tried to bury the dead there. Back in the 3rd millennium BC. e. The Babylonians began using stools, tables and beds. But most likely there was only one bed. The owner and his wife slept on it. The rest were located on mats or simply on the floor.

City of a thousand languages

Babylon of the last period was a real metropolis for its time. About 200 thousand people of various nationalities lived in it. These were the Elamites, Egyptians, Jews, Medes. Everyone preserved their traditions, spoke their native language, and wore their national clothes. But Sumerian was considered the main language. Children received education in schools (e-oaks). Those who completed the full course of study had encyclopedic knowledge for those times. In addition to literature and writing, graduates studied mathematics, astronomy, and land surveying. In Babylon, the sexagesimal number system was adopted. We still divide an hour into 60 minutes, and a minute into 60 seconds. Preserved in cuneiform libraries, literary works of those years have reached us.

What is the name of the country where the city of Babylon is located now?

Despite military power, thriving trade, and cultural achievements, the city of Babylon again fell into decline. In the first centuries BC, Persia began to gain power in the east of Mesopotamia. In 538, Babylon was taken by King Cyrus, but even after that it retained the status of the capital. The Persian Empire included the Eastern Mediterranean and Egypt. Mesopotamia ceased to play a leading role in the region. But Babylon still remained a center of science, culture and crafts. The current situation did not suit its residents, who made attempts to regain their former power. After another uprising, Xerxes deprived the city of its status. Economic life still continued. It was then that Herodotus visited Babylon, who wrote enthusiastic words about it. The next conqueror was Alexander the Great. He wanted to make powerful Babylon the capital of his empire, but then he founded a new city nearby, which he named after himself.

Where is Babylon now? In which country? The history of the city is sad. At first a small settlement remained there, but after the conquest of Mesopotamia by the Arabs in 634, it too disappeared. Even the place where Babylon was located was forgotten for almost two thousand years. It is now located in modern Iraq (formerly Persia). The only surviving building from that time is the theater. The administrative center of the country closest to the destroyed city has half a million inhabitants. So where is Babylon now? This is several tens of kilometers from Baghdad. Modern Babylon (you already know where it is located) is the largest open-air museum in the world.