Babylonian civilization

We explore the Babylonian civilization, and explain its characteristics and time periods. In addition, we discuss its politics, religion, art, and culture.

What was the Babylonian civilization?

The Babylonian civilization, also known as Babylonia, was an ancient culture of the Near East that existed between 2100 and 538 BC. The Babylonians brought neighboring peoples under their rule and, twice in their history, managed to build an empire that controlled the entire region. The major city, Babylon, was located on the banks of the Euphrates River in Lower Mesopotamia, Asia.

Babylonia was best known for the grandeur of its architecture and its terraced palaces. Over the centuries, legends spread about the beauty of its Hanging Gardens.

The Babylonians were the first to write down their law system. Hammurabi, king of the Old Babylonian Empire, codified 282 civil and criminal laws that regulated the politics, economy, and society of his empire.

• See also: Sumerians

Characteristics of the Babylonian civilization

The main characteristics of the Babylonians were:

• They inhabited Mesopotamia between 2100 and 538 BC, and founded the city of Babylon on the banks of the Euphrates River.
• They established the Old Babylonian Empire (1792–1750 BC) and the Neo-Babylonian Empire (635–538 BC) as centralized theocratic states.
• Society was structured by law into categories of nobles, free men, and slaves.
• Two prominent emperors who influenced the region’s political history: Hammurabi (1792–1750 BC) and Nebuchadnezzar II (604–562 BC).
• Economy was based on agriculture, trade, and the exaction of tributes.
• They advanced knowledge in astronomy and mathematics, which was later used by subsequent cultures.

Geographic location of Babylonia

The Babylonians settled in southern Mesopotamia, and founded their principal city, Babylon, on the banks of the Euphrates River. Throughout their history, the Babylonians came to occupy the territories of the Sumerian cities, the Akkadian kingdom, and Phoenicia.

The region relied on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers for the development of agriculture, as rainfall was scarce and uneven. It was surrounded by the Arabian Desert, the Zagros Mountains, and the Persian Gulf.

Origin and history of Babylonia

The Babylonians were a Semitic people from the Arabian Desert. Scholars usually identify the following time periods in Babylonian history:

• Origins (2100–1792 BC). Around 2100 BC, a Semitic people settled in the Mesopotamian region, founding Babylon as a commercial colony within the Sumerian city-states network. Over time, Babylon gained importance as a religious and trading center. In 1894 BC, the first independent dynasty of Babylon was established under the Amorite prince Sumuabum. The early kings set out to expand the city, constructing religious buildings and walls, and developing an agricultural canal network. Sumulailu fortified the city, and Sabum built the Esagila Temple dedicated to the god Marduk. This enabled them to have a leading role in the region’s political arena, characterized by pacts and alliances. Toward the end of this period, Babylon controlled cities such as Kish, Dilbbat, Sippar, Borsippa, and Gudua.
• Old Babylonian Empire (1792–1750 BC). In 1792 BC, Hammurabi ascended as the sixth king of Babylon’s dynasty. Through conquest of Assyrian cities and reunification of Sumerian cities under his rule, he established what today is known as the Old Babylonian Empire. During his reign, Hammurabi issued a body of written laws known as the “Code of Hammurabi”, established the cult of Marduk as the chief deity, and made Akkadian the empire’s official language.
• Middle Babylonian Period (1750–635 BC). Following Hammurabi's reign, Assyria gained independence. Indo-European Kassites raids began, which eventually weakened the empire’s political power. Around 1595 BC, the Hittites (a people from Anatolia) invaded the region, defeating the last Babylonian king. The Kassites seized control of Babylon, and established a dynasty of Babylonian princes. They named their kingdom Karduniash. Kassite rulers embraced Babylonian culture, adopted the Akkadian language, adhered to local priestly ceremonies, and maintained the government system. They cultivated diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of Egypt, which gave them a certain degree of political stability. Toward 1360 BC, the Assyrians brought all the region under their rule, annexing Babylon to their empire.
• Neo-Babylonian Empire (635–538 BC). Following the death of the last Assyrian emperor, Babylon regained independence. Nabopolassar became the first king of the new Babylonian dynasty, allying with the Medes to destroy the Assyrian capital and thus expand Babylonian influence. His son, Nebuchadnezzar II, managed to conquer all of Mesopotamia, Phoenicia, and Palestine, and secured peace agreements with the Medes and Egyptians. During this period, Babylon became the most prominent city in the Near East, as well as its cultural hub. In 538 BC, the Persians invaded Babylon, which became a province of their empire.

Babylonian social structure

Babylonian society was divided into three major groups established by law: nobles, free men, and slaves.

• The nobility. They called themselves mar bani, meaning "people of good standing". This group comprised governors, judges, officials, priests, and military officers. State functions were concentrated in the hands of this land-owning class.
• Free men. This class encompassed merchants, farmers, and artisans. They had to pay taxes and participate in the construction of public works when decreed by the emperor. Farmers could be small landowners, tenants (renting land for cultivation), or laborers (working other people’s lands for wages). Artisans included professionals from various trades such as carpenters, metalworkers, goldsmiths, weavers, potters, and brewers. Merchants organized cooperative investments and received state support to establish trade with other kingdoms and cities.
• Slaves. These were individuals who had lost their freedom either as prisoners of war, or as punishment for severe crimes or unpaid debts. Other slaves were bought by traders in other regions and were sold locally. Despite their status, slaves could own property, engage in trade, and have a family (they could even marry free people). However, they were subject to being bought, sold, traded, rented, or inherited by their masters.

Throughout Babylonian history, priests were a privileged group within society. Temples played both a religious and economic role. They owned vast tracts of land, which they rented or was worked by tenant farmers and slaves.

Babylonian political organization

Babylonia’s political organization evolved throughout its history. During the Paleo-Babylonian Empire (1792–1750 BC) and the Neo-Babylonian Empire (635–538 BC), Babylonia established dominance over neighboring peoples, with Babylon as the capital of a centralized state.

Hammurabi, king of the Paleo-Babylonian Empire, sought to unify the territories under his rule. He established Akkadian as the official language, unified laws into a common code of law, and organized the state religion around the cult of the god Marduk. The king, as head of state, controlled all economic activities and collected taxes. He also employed artisans in workshops located within the royal palace. Hammurabi distributed land among the State, temples, and a number of prominent families.

A millennium later, Nabopolassar, king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, sought to restore the ancient traditions of Hammurabi, adhering to the old code of laws. However, he intervened less in the economy, and allocated land to private administrators.

Both empires were theocratic. The Babylonians believed the king was a representative of the god Marduk, and considered it the king's destiny to maintain divine order in their territories and expand the cult of Marduk throughout the region.

Babylonian economy

During the imperial period, Babylonian economy centered around agriculture, trade, and the exaction of tributes.

Agriculture and livestock farming were made possible thanks to the development of canals and irrigation systems that utilized water from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The Babylonian state divided land into three categories: land dedicated to cereal production, land for palm groves (resistant to soil salinization), and land for grazing.

Merchants conducted trade between Mesopotamian cities, and during the Neo-Babylonian Empire (635–538 BC), they established a commercial network with the Mediterranean peoples.

Babylonian culture

Some of the main cultural traits of the Babylonian civilization were:

• Language. The empire imposed Akkadian (a Semitic language) as the official language while Sumerian was used for religious purposes.
• Writing. The Babylonians adopted the cuneiform writing system of the Sumerian culture. They wrote on clay tablets, but also engraved the walls of temples and palaces, inscribed stelae or monoliths, and carved everyday objects.
• Architecture. Babylonian architects designed their structures using straight lines, and decorated temples and palaces with vitrified bricks. Stepped towers or pyramids (called ziggurats), typically serving as temples, were characteristic of the Mesopotamian peoples. Babylonians were best known for their palaces, epitomized in the Ishtar Gate, and their Hanging Gardens, which were made up of plants and trees and are considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
• Astronomy. The Babylonians were pioneers in astronomical charts, and made extensive observations of the planets and stars. They knew the distance between the Earth and the Sun, and identified solstices and equinoxes. They divided the year into 12 months and the week into 7 days—a calendar we still use today. They also discovered the elliptical orbit of the Earth.
• Laws. The Babylonians created the first written legal code, called the Code of Hammurabi, consisting of 282 laws. This code proved to be extremely influential for subsequent civilizations, and contained laws based on lex talionis ("an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth"). It was created by King Hammurabi in 1750 BC, and consisted of laws that had been dictated by Shamash, god of justice. The Code of Hammurabi is evidence of the social and economic structure of the Babylonian civilization.
• The City of Babylon. Famous for its architecture and art, Babylon was a cultural, political, and religious center that influenced the entire region. Its defining features were its temples, canals, and the Hanging Gardens. Some treasures and ruins from Babylon, such as the Ishtar Gate, have been moved and are now displayed in museums around the world, including the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.
• Tradition. Babylon holds a significant place in biblical tradition, frequently referenced in various books, especially the story of the Tower of Babel in Genesis. It is also notable in Jewish tradition as the site of the "Babylonian Exile and Captivity" following the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem.

Babylonian religion

Babylonian religion was polytheistic. During the imperial period, the Babylonians established a unique cult across the empire, in which Marduk (the patron deity of Babylon) was above other gods. His cult was also adopted in the cities under Babylonian rule.

Other deities represented elements of nature, including the sun, the moon, water, and the earth. There were also benevolent spirits with human faces and malevolent ones with monstrous features.

Explore next:

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