A History of Babylon, 2200 BC-AD 75

Blackwell History of the Ancient World

by Paul-Alain Beaulieu

Provides a new narrative history of the ancient world, from the beginnings of civilization in the ancient Near East and Egypt to the fall of Constantinople

Written by an expert in the field, this book presents a narrative history of Babylon from the time of its First Dynasty (1880-1595) until the last centuries of the city's existence during the Hellenistic and Parthian periods (ca. 331-75 AD). Unlike other texts on Ancient Near Eastern and Mesopotamian history, it offers a unique focus on Babylon and Babylonia, while still providing readers with an awareness of the interaction with other states and peoples. Organized chronologically, it places the various socio-economic and cultural developments and institutions in their historical context. The book also gives religious and intellectual developments more respectable coverage than books that have come before it.

A History of Babylon, 2200 BC - AD 75 teaches readers about the most important phase in the development of Mesopotamian culture. The book offers in-depth chapter coverage on the Sumero-Addadian Background, the rise of Babylon, the decline of the first dynasty, Kassite ascendancy, the second dynasty of Isin, Arameans and Chaldeans, the Assyrian century, the imperial heyday, and Babylon under foreign rule.


Focuses on Babylon and Babylonia
Written by a highly regarded Assyriologist
Part of the very successful Histories of the Ancient World series
An excellent resource for students, instructors, and scholars
A History of Babylon, 2200 BC - AD 75 is a profound text that will be ideal for upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses on Ancient Near Eastern and Mesopotamian history and scholars of the subject.

Genres: History, Ancient History, Nonfiction, Ancient, Archaeology, Middle East

309 pages, Paperback

Published February 5, 2018

About the author

Paul-Alain Beaulieu is a Canadian Assyriologist, a Professor of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations at the University of Toronto.
Beaulieu earned a masters degree from the Université de Montréal in 1980 under the supervision of Marcel Leibovici, and a Ph.D. from Yale University in 1985. He was an assistant and subsequently associate professor at Harvard University before joining the faculty at Toronto.

Reviews

[Philip of Macedon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starting from cuneiform inscribed into kudurrus — ancient stone shaped into monuments and documents — and through countless archives and King Lists and genealogies and chronicles of a similar nature, Paul-Alain Beaulieu shares the enormous accomplishment of archaeologists and historians reconstructing the history of Babylon. After his discussion of Assyriology’s methods and purpose, and the technical challenges of the ancient sources I just mentioned, the book is structured chronologically. It starts with the Sumero-Akkadian background that predates Babylon, with the Sumerian developments of language and writing, its geography, its principle periods and dynasties, before exploring the rise of Babylon.

It’s a history covering two millennia. The amount of detail with which it has been reconstructed is frankly incredible. I guess I’m easily impressed by history, or historiology, but especially by the historiology of distant and ancient civilizations. Beaulieu does not attempt a full narrative history, since such a thing seems impossible given the scarcity or simplicity of many of the records. But he succeeds in tying together the dynasties, eras, rulers, myths, wars, rebellions, and cultures that defined this region and this period into a coherent picture that feels as close to a narrative history as possible.

Although many of the key people over these two millennia cannot be characterized beyond their long and obscure names, or their titles, or loose ties to cults or battles or policies, we start to understand distinctions between kings. Certain activities or policies characterize a ruler or a dynasty, or periods are marked by rebellions, invasions, wars with neighboring civilizations. Old records exist that give us insight into certain rulers’ dispositions and character, although these sometimes contradict one another, or other archives cast doubt on the veracity of writings that may be little more than myth or hagiography.

Babylon’s rise starts with the First Dynasty of Isin, spurred by the administrative collapse of Shulgi under the onslaught of the Amorites, Elamites, and the Shimashkians. It becomes the political capital of Sumer and Akkad, dominating ancient Iraq. This period continues through the rule of Hammu-rabi, whose reign is well documented thanks to the thousands of letters from the state archives of Mari. Hammu-rabi’s death marks the end of the first dynasty, or the later stages of the Old Babylonian period. His sons rise to power and rebellions, wars, and feuds erupt. Kassites invade, multifaceted wars carry on, and land is lost while other lands are gained. Literature undergoes an evolution as literary heritage is seen as a cornerstone of the Babylonian culture.

There is a period of Kassite rule over Babylon, taking advantage of the raiding Hittites withdrawing from Babylon and leaving it in disarray. This will be followed by the Second Dynasty of Isin, in which cultural and institutional continuity are said to have allowed Kassites to maintain some level of administration for a time. This dynasty marks a period of theological shifts that put Marduk and Nabu at a position of supremacy in the Babylonian pantheon, apparently supplanting the long held position of Enlil as the most powerful or important god. Marduk becomes the favored god of the literate and of the court, and both he and Nabu appear in many royal names during this and following eras. Some of the most notable being Nebuchadnezzar I, and centuries later Nebuchadnezzar II. Statues of these gods are stolen during invasions, and it becomes the glorious accomplishment of a few different rulers to bring these statues home from the foreign lands which took them.

Between the decline of the second dynasty and the Assyrian invasion of Babylon, four dynasties come into and fade out of existence. The chronology has many gaps due to the incompleteness of the surviving King List of this period. Kassite influence has decreased, and Arameans and Chaldeans settle in the region, affecting the culture of Babylon. Nabu-nasir, better known as Nabonassar, one of Babylon’s best known rulers, ascends to power. He is the first native Babylonian to hold power after a long period of Chaldean rule. The circumstances that brought him to power are not known, but the death of the prior ruler, Nabu-shuma-ishkun marked the last of the long sequence of Chaldean kings. Nabonassar’s rule has been described as a turning point in Babylonian science and scholarship. It was speculated that he destroyed all the records of the kings before him so that he could be seen as the first king of this new dynasty.

Assyrian supremacy over Babylon was a long and brutal period, and it is well documented. Despite being relatively stable in terms of power and control and the prosperity of certain citizens, it is also stamped with various uprisings and rebellions. More Elamite invasions disturb the later years of this era that are otherwise relatively calm. The collapse of the Assyrian dynasty after a civil war between brothers Shamash-shumu-ukin and Ashurbanipal eventually give way to a new Babylon.

Nabopolassar rises to power, ushering in a period of change and cultural shifts. Aramaic emerges from the Neo-Babylonian vernacular dialect of Akkadian. The establishment of a strong monarchy allows Babylon to improve its economy, restore temples and buildings, exert administrative control, and to “reassert homogeneity in the face of ethnic and linguistic diversity.” The restoration of the Gates of Ishtar occurs during this time, as do many other revivals and restorations, affirming Babylon’s glory and its visual power to visitors.

Babylon in its final centuries is ruled by numerous foreign powers, including the Achaemenid Persians, Greco-Macedonian dynasties, the Seleucids, and then the Parthians. As Beaulieu explains, Babylon loses its independent political history. Cyrus conquers Babylon under Nabonidus, seen as the divine will of the gods. These centuries of moving seats of power and foreign rule are documented by many sources external to Babylon, even appearing in the works of ancient historians such as Herodotus. Theological changes occur, with worship of the ancient Uruk deity Anu seeing a resurgence, reducing Ishtar to a lesser position. Eventually Babylon as a distinct political and cultural entity disappears from the planet.

The amount of information in this book is phenomenal, and so is the organization of its contents. The analyses of the existent sources, and discussions of contemporary interpretations or controversies reminds us of the challenges in piecing together a coherent picture of such an ancient civilization. More than two thousand years are covered in under 300 pages, from the vantage point of a patient academic with a lot to say. I’m still struggling to make sense of everything I’ve read, and to understanding this history in context of the world around it. After writing this review I find I have a slightly better grasp of some of the big picture topics, but the lower level chaos and details still confound my understanding. This is a subject worth returning to. As always with a book like this, I want to acknowledge the grand selection of images and maps that make this history more material and understandable. Babylonian art and sculpture is a treasure.

[Rochu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Como compilación de la información existente que tenemos respecto a Babilonia (en un sentido amplio, es decir como región; el libro empieza bastante antes de que Babilonia tomase importancia como ciudad) es muy útil. Ofrece los hechos básicos y, sobre todo, lista las fuentes y los lugares donde encontrarlas.
Dicho esto me resultó excesivo su énfasis en los aspectos más nominales de la política. Más que una Historia de Babilonia, es una cronología real de Babilonia. Los nombres de reyes y usurpadores se suceden junto con batallas que no parecen haber tenido mayores consecuencias. En cambio, las tendencias más amplias o estructurales son a menudo dejadas de lado.

Salgo del libro con una comprensión un poco más confiable sobre los sucesos básicos de la región y con los recursos para aprender más al respecto, pero con poca idea de la realidad de Babilonia, es decir las vidas de sus habitantes.

PD: Justicia para Šamaš-šumu-ukin.

[William Bies · Rating 4 out of 5]

The next entry in publisher John Wiley’s distinguished Blackwell series, by Paul-Alain Beaulieu A History of Babylon 2200 BC – AD 75, devotes itself to the fortunes of this city-state located in the heart of present-day Iraq, which is remembered for the prominence to which it rose during the Old Babylonian and neo-Babylonian periods in the second resp. first millennium before Christ. In comparison to Marc van de Mieroop’s A History of the Ancient Near East (just reviewed by us here), the present contribution by Beaulieu focuses solely on Babylon itself, which for much of the time was just one player among many. Thus, there is inevitably a certain amount of repetition but the wealth of the source materials is so extensive that, in the present work, Beaulieu can descend into far greater detail. Indeed, in the first chapter on introductory concerns, the author reviews the subject of Assyriology from the point of view scholarly method and enters into a close look at the nature of the extant sources. For a non-expert, it can be fascinating to catch a glimpse into typical problems with which experts deal, such as lacunae in the king lists or how to establish chronology, both relative and absolute.

Beaulieu’s historical narrative itself is very dry, recounts mainly political events, refers at times to artistic and literary productions and to the development of religion, but favors pointillistic detail over high-level description of what the events in question may mean in the larger scheme of things. He stays close to archival sources and not so much to the artifacts themselves, or what can be learned from them from an art-historical point of view.

Chapter two covers the Sumero-Akkadian background (the city of Babylon itself seems to have been a town of minor importance throughout the third millennium). Then, chapter three goes on the the rise of the first dynasty of Isin during the early second millennium (2017-1794), all the way to Hammurabi (1792-1750), whose expansive reign is uncommonly well documented. The chapter concludes with an analysis of his celebrated code of law, which Beaulieu sees not so much as comprehensive binding legislation in the modern sense as intended to glorify royal rule as the source of justice, expressed through casuistic formulae which probably functioned as a legal guidebook in the courts under state control.

Soon after Hammurabi’s death, the Babylonian empire he put together, stretching over most of Mesopatomia, went into decline. The period is notable, nevertheless, for the switch from Sumerian to Akkadian literature. The Hittites finally defeated Babylon in 1595, without incorporating the territory into their empire, whereupon a mysterious ethnic group known as the Kassites gained ascendency in the region. Again, we know a lot about the Kassite period and the ensuing rise of Assyria due to the accident of the preservation of the Amarna letters in Egypt, a trove of diplomatic correspondence among the great powers of the time. After the close of the Kassite period due to the intervention of Elam, the second Isin dynasty takes one into the first millennium. Nebuchadnezzar I (1121-1100) campaigned against Assyria and Elam. While to a modern ear this may sound like power politics as usual (as we are accustomed to from European history in recent centuries), one can enter into the spirit of the times only if one understands that what was at stake was theological doctrine, in particular, the effort to reinstate Marduk to supremacy in the pantheon over the Kassite god Enlil. Around this time the Enuma elish epic of creation was composed, which legitimates Babylon’s claim to be center of a world which it is ordained to rule on behalf of Marduk. One wishes Beaulieu’s format would allow for a more comprehensive discussion of the mythology itself, but he concentrates as usual on the political realities. After the fall of the second Isin dynasty, the situation was characterized by the arrival of two new ethnic groups, the Arameans and the Chaldeans, until the conquest of Babylon by Assyria late in the eighth century – the so-called neo-Babylonian period. Beaulieu covers the whole development, including the resurgence of Assyria, the era of Nabonassar, the Chaldean supremacy of the seventh century, Sennacherib’s destruction of Babylon in 689-681 and its restoration under Esarhaddon (681-669) and the accession of Nabopolassar in 626 after a period of civil unrest, in complete detail. The zenith of the Babylonian empire’s fortunes occurred under Nebuchadnezzar II. The subsequent fall of Babylon to Cyrus in 539 and the period of foreign rule, first under the Achaemenids and later under Alexander the Great and his Hellenistic successors, forms the topic of the relatively brief last chapter. The interest in all this complicated history lies in Beaulieu’s retelling of it from the Babylonian perspective, whereas many readers – along with this recensionist – may be more familiar either with that of the Old Testament or that of the classical Greek historians of the fifth century.

The following aside on the last phase of Babylon’s existence caught this reviewer’s notice as it illustrates a certain element of continuity with its storied past, even as the culture assimilated to the surrounding conditions:

During the second and first centuries some Hellenized Babylonians participated fully in the wider intellectual and scientific community of the eastern Mediterranean world, even though the country was no longer ruled by Greco-Macedonian dynasts after 141. The best known case is the astronomer Seleucus of Babylon, also known as Seleucus of Seleucia and Seleucus the Chaldean. He lived in the mid-second century and became the main supporter of the heliocentric theory of the universe put forward by Aristarchus of Samos. [p. 267]

In conclusion: all but exclusively a political history, with occasional references to theological developments when they impinge on politics (the two are inseparable, as with Nebuchadnezzar and his building program intended to glorify himself as much as the god whom he serves). This emphasis on the political represents the author’s choice and is not necessarily dictated by nature of the sources, since much literature does indeed survive and reflects other aspects of the culture Beaulieu could have fastened upon, if so disposed. Indeed, one wishes he could comment on them after the fashion of the great Herder! Perhaps such a welter of scholarship has cropped up since Herder’s time that one can no longer see the forest for the trees!

Even so Beaulieu’s account makes for arresting reading – why do we so judge? For it offers a sage reflection on what fallen man is like before the coming of the scriptural revelation of the God of love. Jesus’ parable of the kings going to war in Luke 14:31-32 is very much grounded in reality. The ancient documents portray a picture of constant warfare, uprisings, imperial ambitions, dynastic rivalries, deportation of peoples, all the while with some little cultivation of literature and science through it all, and lastly the conflation of the political and the religious. Ancient kings prided themselves very much on their military prowess and the greater part of the documentary evidence consists in political annals devoted to bragging about their triumphs, real or fictitious. But, unlike what is the case with Alexander the Great or Napoleon, who presided over thoroughly secular regimes, the ancient near East was saturated with religion and the kings’ role was authorized by the participation of the royal power in the foundation myths that underpinned their society. It is only natural, one supposes, that a man thus elevated to an exalted position should identify himself with the cause of his god and, when militarily successful, attribute his victories to the god’s favor. Consider, for instance, the inscription of the well known Cyrus cylinder:

The god Marduk, the great lord, who nurtures his people, saw with pleasure his [Cyrus’] fine deeds and true heart, and ordered that he should go to Babylon. He had him take the road to Tinir [i.e., Babylon] and, like a friend and companion, he walked at his side. His vast troops whose number, like the waters of the river, could not be counted, were marching fully armed at his side. He had him enter without fighting or battle right into Shuanna [i.e., Babylon]; he saved his city Babylon from hardship. He handed over to him Nabodidus, the king who did not worship him. All the people of Tintur, of all Sumer and Akkad, nobles and governors, bowed down before him and kissed his feet, rejoicing over his kingship and their faces shone. They blessed him sweetly and praised his name (as) a lord through whose help all were rescued from death and who saved them all from distress and hardship. [pp. 247-248]

To get an adequate idea of unsurpassed worldly grandeur such as this, one really should visit the reconstructed Ishtar gate at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin. Even though it has been much reduced to fit inside its new quarters, the gate will still be most impressive when viewed in person. One has only to imagine the original on a much grander scale, the scene of all the pomp and display of the New Year’s festival when the king proceeded through the gate to celebrate his sacred marriage at the temple of Inanna! Yet how empty in its worldly vanity! Isaiah prophesies its downfall and utter destruction [Isaiah 13:19-14:23], and all that remained was a heap of rubble destined to lie undisturbed through the millennia until German archaeologists came laboriously to piece it together again early in the twentieth century:

Sicut transit gloria mundi!

[Liam Malone · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is one of the best histories I've read in ages. It is difficult keeping track of the proper names for people, tribes, individuals, gods, temples, regions, cities, canals, mountains because all the names are so foreign to me. But the level of detail is stupendous. As part of my mammoth 24+ reading project on the Ancient Near East, I now can place Babylon in its framework. The only question I have for now is when conquerors deported victims it doesn't really tell us where they went! Under Assyria many went into the Assyrian homelands. Like the Jews to Babylon.