Kazalla or Kazallu (Ka-zal-lu) is the name given in Akkadian sources to a city in the ancient Near East whose locations is unknown. Its god is Numushda with his consort Namrat. There are indications that the god Lugal-awak also lived in Kazallu.
115-459: Under its king Kashtubila, Kazalla warred against Sargon of Akkad in the 24th or 23rd century BC. Sargon laid the city of Kazalla to waste so effectively that "the birds could not find a place to perch away from the ground." This particular story was written a millennium or more after the fact and is considered a literary composition. The second ruler of the Akkadian Empire , Rimush , suppressed
230-495: A lacuna , indicating his uncertainty about its meaning. The claim that Sargon was the original founder of Akkad has been called into question with the discovery of an inscription mentioning the place and dated to the first year of Enshakushanna , who almost certainly preceded him. The Weidner Chronicle ( ABC 19:51) states that it was Sargon who "built Babylon in front of Akkad". The Chronicle of Early Kings (ABC 20:18–19) likewise states that late in his reign, Sargon "dug up
345-695: A better understanding of that era. The early Persian kings had attempted to maintain the religious ceremonies of Marduk , who was the most important god, but by the reign of Darius III , over-taxation and the strain of numerous wars led to a deterioration of Babylon's main shrines and canals, and the destabilization of the surrounding region. There were numerous attempts at rebellion and in 522 BC ( Nebuchadnezzar III ), 521 BC ( Nebuchadnezzar IV ) and 482 BC (Bel-shimani and Shamash-eriba) native Babylonian kings briefly regained independence. However, these revolts were quickly repressed and Babylon remained under Persian rule for two centuries, until Alexander
460-487: A chieftain named Sumu-abum , who declared independence from the neighboring city-state of Kazallu . Sumu-la-El , whose dates may be concurrent with those of Sumu-abum, is usually given as the progenitor of the First Babylonian dynasty . Both are credited with building the walls of Babylon. In any case, the records describe Sumu-la-El's military successes establishing a regional sphere of influence for Babylon. Babylon
575-467: A city-state in its own right before falling to Babylon. The 13th year name of Babylonian ruler Sumu-abum lists the destruction of Kazallu. After the fall of the First Babylonian Empire the city of Kazallu is no longer recorded in history. According to a tablet from the reign of Gudea of Lagash , Kazallu was located somewhere to the west of Mesopotamia , in the land of Martu . According to
690-464: A court or standing army of 5,400 men who "ate bread daily before him". A group of four Babylonian texts, summarized as "Sargon Epos" or Res Gestae Sargonis , shows Sargon as a military commander asking the advice of many subordinates before going on campaigns. The narrative of Sargon, the Conquering Hero, is set at Sargon's court, in a situation of crisis. Sargon addresses his warriors, praising
805-583: A large city, subject to the Akkadian Empire. After the collapse of the Akkadian Empire, the south Mesopotamian region was dominated by the Gutian Dynasty for a few decades, before the rise of the Third Dynasty of Ur , which encompassed the whole of Mesopotamia, including the town of Babylon. The town became part of a small independent city-state with the rise of the first Babylonian Empire, now known as
920-534: A large quantity of cuneiform tablets and other finds. The zealous excavation methods, common at the time, caused significant damage to the archaeological context. Many tablets had appeared on the market in 1876 before Rassam's excavation began. A team from the German Oriental Society led by Robert Koldewey conducted the first scientific archaeological excavations at Babylon. The work was conducted daily from 1899 until 1917. A major problem for Koldewey
1035-535: A letter to Ibbi-Sîn the Martu were hindering travel between Ur and Kazallu. Some scholars today believe it was only about 15 km from the city of Babylon , and just west of the Euphrates. In texts from Drehem the city is said to be to the east of the unlocated city of Girtab. Old Babylonian records have it as being in the area of Marad (modern Tell as-Sadoum). Another researcher has suggested that Kazallu can be found "in
1150-469: A map of Babylon which includes the location of several villages. William Loftus visited there in 1849. Austen Henry Layard made some soundings during a brief visit in 1850 before abandoning the site. Fulgence Fresnel , Julius Oppert and Felix Thomas heavily excavated Babylon from 1852 to 1854. Much of their work was lost in the Qurnah Disaster , when a transport ship and four rafts sank on
1265-489: A message on a clay tablet asking him to slay Sargon. The legend breaks off at this point; presumably, the missing sections described how Sargon becomes king. The part of the interpretation of the king's dream has parallels to the biblical story of Joseph , the part about the letter with the carrier's death sentence has similarities to the Greek story of Bellerophon and the biblical story of Uriah . A Neo-Assyrian text from
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#17330844607751380-416: A period of co-regency. There is a letter from Ibbi-Sin , the last ruler of Ur III, and Puzur-Numušda 1 who he had made governor of Kazallu, complaining that he (Girbubu, governor of Girkal, a city associated with Kazaalu in a geographic list) was not doing enough to oppose Ishbi-Erra , ruler of Isin. A notable letter sent to Ibbi-Sin reads: "To Ibbi-Suen, my king, speak what Ishbl-Erra, your servant, says: I
1495-483: A reference to Homer . Following the pronouncement of Archibald Henry Sayce in 1883, Herodotus' account of Babylon has largely been considered to represent Greek folklore rather than an authentic voyage to Babylon. However, recently, Dalley and others have suggested taking Herodotus' account seriously. According to 2 Chronicles 36 of the Hebrew Bible , Cyrus later issued a decree permitting captive people, including
1610-580: A result, Kassite Babylon began paying tribute to the Pharaoh of Egypt , Thutmose III , following his eighth campaign against Mitanni. Kassite Babylon eventually became subject to the Middle Assyrian Empire (1365–1053 BC) to the north, and Elam to the east, with both powers vying for control of the city. By 1155 BC, after continued attacks and annexing of territory by the Assyrians and Elamites,
1725-587: A review of the stratigraphical position of the main monuments and reconsideration of ancient water levels, by the Turin Centre for Archaeological Research and Excavations in the Middle East and Asia, and the Iraqi-Italian Institute of Archaeological Sciences. The focus was on clearing up issues raised by re-examination of the old German data. Additional work in 1987–1989 concentrated on the area surrounding
1840-473: A revolt by Kazallu reporting: "Rimus, king of the world — the god Enlil did indeed grant kingship to him. ... Thereupon, on his return, Kazallu revolted. He conquered it and [wi]thin Kazallu (itself) struck down 12,052 men. He took 5,862 captives. Further, he captured Ašarēd, governor of Kazallu and destroyed its (Kazallu's) wall. ... " A number of land grant inscriptions, the predecessors of Kudurrus , from
1955-468: A series of campaigns to subjugate the entire Fertile Crescent . According to the Chronicle of Early Kings , a later Babylonian historiographical text: [Sargon] had neither rival nor equal. His splendor, over the lands it diffused. He crossed the sea in the east. In the eleventh year he conquered the western land to its farthest point. He brought it under one authority. He set up his statues there and ferried
2070-506: A short period after the Assyrian sack of Babylon. From the accounts of modern travellers, I had expected to have found on the site of Babylon more, and less, than I actually did. Less, because I could have formed no conception of the prodigious extent of the whole ruins, or of the size, solidity, and perfect state, of some of the parts of them; and more, because I thought that I should have distinguished some traces, however imperfect, of many of
2185-689: A similar claim. His rule also heralds the history of Semitic empires in the Ancient Near East, which, following the Neo-Sumerian interruption (21st/20th centuries BC), lasted for close to fifteen centuries until the Achaemenid conquest following the 539 BC Battle of Opis . Sargon was regarded as a model by Mesopotamian kings for some two millennia after his death. The Assyrian and Babylonian kings who based their empires in Mesopotamia saw themselves as
2300-427: A vast succession of mounds of rubbish of such indeterminate figures, variety and extent, as to involve the person who should have formed any theory in inextricable confusion. The site covers an area of about 1,000 hectares (3¾ sq. mi.), with about 450 hectares (1¾ sq. mi.) within the several kilometer (mile) long city walls, containing a number of mounds, the most prominent of which are Kasr, Merkes (13 meters; 43' above
2415-415: Is "the king has established (stability)" or "he [the god] has established the king". Such a name would however be unusual; other names in -ukīn always include both a subject and an object, as in Šamaš-šuma-ukīn " Shamash has established an heir". There is some debate over whether the name was an adopted regnal name or a birth name. The reading Šarru-kēn has been interpreted adjectivally, as "the king
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#17330844607752530-455: Is a Middle Hittite (15th century BC) record of a Hurro-Hittite song, which calls upon Sargon and his immediate successors as "deified kings" ( šarrena ). Sargon shared his name with two later Mesopotamian kings. Sargon I was a king of the Old Assyrian period presumably named after Sargon of Akkad. Sargon II was a Neo-Assyrian king named after Sargon of Akkad; it is this king whose name
2645-606: Is established; legitimate", expanded as a phrase šarrum ki(e)num . The terms "Pre-Sargonic" and "Post-Sargonic" were used in Assyriology based on the chronologies of Nabonidus before the historical existence of Sargon of Akkad was confirmed. The form Šarru-ukīn was known from the Assyrian Sargon Legend discovered in 1867 in Library of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh. A contemporary reference to Sargon thought to have been found on
2760-644: Is some uncertainty whether his name should be rendered Šarru-ukīn or as Šarru-kēn(u) . Primary sources pertaining to Sargon are sparse; the main near-contemporary reference is that in the various versions of the Sumerian King List . Here, Sargon is mentioned as the son of a gardener, former cup-bearer of Ur-Zababa of Kish . He usurped the kingship from Lugal-zage-si of Uruk and took it to his own city of Akkad . The later (early 2nd millennium BC) Weidner chronicle has Sargon ruling directly after Ur-Zababa and does not mention Lugal-zage-si. Various copies of
2875-500: Is the Latin representation of Greek Babylṓn ( Βαβυλών ), derived from the native ( Babylonian ) Bābilim , meaning "gate of the god(s) ". The cuneiform spelling was 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 ( KÁ.DIG̃IR.RA ). This would correspond to the Sumerian phrase Kan dig̃irak . The sign 𒆍 ( KÁ ) is the logogram for "gate", 𒀭 ( DIG̃IR ) means "god", and 𒊏 ( RA ) represents
2990-484: Is the film's main villain, portrayed by Randy Couture . The twentieth episode of the second season of Star Trek: The Original Series , " Return to Tomorrow ", features an ancient, telepathic alien named Sargon who once ruled a mighty empire. Babylon Babylon was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia , within modern-day Hillah , Iraq , about 85 kilometres (55 miles) south of modern day Baghdad . Babylon functioned as
3105-515: Is thought to have included most of Mesopotamia and parts of the Levant , Hurrian and Elamite territory. Sargon appears as a legendary figure in Neo-Assyrian literature of the 8th to 7th centuries BC. Tablets with fragments of a Sargon Birth Legend were found in the Library of Ashurbanipal . The Akkadian name is normalized as either Šarru-ukīn or Šarru-kēn . The name's cuneiform spelling
3220-455: Is variously LUGAL - ú-kin , šar-ru-gen 6 , šar-ru-ki-in , šar-ru-um-ki-in . In Old Babylonian tablets relating the legends of Sargon, his name is transcribed as 𒊬𒊒𒌝𒄀𒅔 ( Šar-ru-um-ki-in ). In Late Assyrian references, the name is mostly spelled as LUGAL-GI.NA or LUGAL-GIN, i.e. identical to the name of the Neo-Assyrian king Sargon II . The spelling Sargon is derived from
3335-453: The Code of Hammurabi . He conquered all of the cities and city states of southern Mesopotamia, including Isin , Larsa , Ur , Uruk , Nippur , Lagash , Eridu , Kish , Adab , Eshnunna , Akshak , Shuruppak , Bad-tibira , Sippar , and Girsu , coalescing them into one kingdom, ruled from Babylon. Hammurabi also invaded and conquered Elam to the east, and the kingdoms of Mari and Ebla to
3450-502: The 12th century BC ). The Sumerian-language Sargon legend contains a legendary account of Sargon's rise to power. It is an older version of the previously known Assyrian legend, discovered in 1974 in Nippur and first edited in 1983. Subsequent scholoarship questioned if the two fragments were actually a join, or were even from two different texts. The initial translation has also been questioned. The extant versions are incomplete, but
3565-542: The Bible , descriptions in other classical writing, especially by Herodotus , and second-hand descriptions citing the work of Ctesias and Berossus —present an incomplete and sometimes contradictory picture of the ancient city, even at its peak in the sixth century BC. Babylon was described, perhaps even visited, by a number of classical historians including Ctesias , Herodotus , Quintus Curtius Rufus , Strabo , and Cleitarchus . These reports are of variable accuracy and some of
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3680-794: The Ishtar Gate and hundreds of recovered tablets, were sent back to Germany, where Koldewey's colleague Walter Andrae reconstructed them into displays at the Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin . The Koldewey expedition recovered artifacts from the Old Babylonian period . These included 967 clay tablets, with 564 tablets from the Middle Babylonian period , stored in private houses, with Sumerian literature and lexical documents. The German archaeologists fled before oncoming British troops in 1917, and again, many objects went missing in
3795-516: The Jews , to return to their own lands. The text found on the Cyrus Cylinder has traditionally been seen by biblical scholars as corroborative evidence of this policy, although the interpretation is disputed because the text identifies only Mesopotamian sanctuaries but makes no mention of Jews, Jerusalem, or Judea. Under Cyrus and the subsequent Persian king Darius I , Babylon became the capital city of
3910-534: The Old Babylonian Empire , in the 17th century BC. The Amorite king Hammurabi founded the short-lived Old Babylonian Empire in the 16th century BC. He built Babylon into a major city and declared himself its king. Southern Mesopotamia became known as Babylonia , and Babylon eclipsed Nippur as the region's holy city. The empire waned under Hammurabi's son Samsu-iluna , and Babylon spent long periods under Assyrian , Kassite and Elamite domination. After
4025-686: The Tigris river in May 1855. They had been carrying over 200 crates of artifacts from various excavation missions, when they were attacked by Tigris river pirates near Al-Qurnah . Recovery efforts, assisted by the Ottoman authorities and British Residence in Baghdad, loaded the equivalent of 80 crates on a ship for Le Havre in May 1856. Few antiquities from the Fresnel mission made it to France. Subsequent efforts to recover
4140-462: The ancient Near East , until its decline during the Hellenistic period . Nearby ancient sites are Kish , Borsippa , Dilbat , and Kutha . The earliest known mention of Babylon as a small town appears on a clay tablet from the reign of Shar-Kali-Sharri (2217–2193 BC), of the Akkadian Empire . Babylon was merely a religious and cultural centre at this point and neither an independent state nor
4255-561: The coda of the word dig̃ir (-r) followed by the genitive suffix -ak . The final 𒆠 ( ) is a determinative indicating that the previous signs are to be understood as a place name. Archibald Sayce , writing in the 1870s, postulated that the Semitic name was a loan-translation of the original Sumerian name. However, the "gate of god" interpretation is increasingly viewed as a Semitic folk etymology to explain an unknown original non-Semitic placename. I. J. Gelb in 1955 argued that
4370-660: The short chronology , had built Babylon "in front of Akkad" (ABC 19:51). A later chronicle states that Sargon "dug up the dirt of the pit of Babylon, and made a counterpart of Babylon next to Akkad". (ABC 20:18–19). Van de Mieroop has suggested that those sources may refer to the much later Assyrian king Sargon II of the Neo-Assyrian Empire , rather than Sargon of Akkad. Ctesias , quoted by Diodorus Siculus and in George Syncellus 's Chronographia , claimed to have access to manuscripts from Babylonian archives, which date
4485-408: The "Sargonic Dynasty" and their rule as the "Sargonic Period" of Mesopotamian history. Foster (1982) argued that the reading of 55 years as the duration of Sargon's reign was, in fact, a corruption of an original interpretation of 37 years. An older version of the king list gives Sargon's reign as lasting for 40 years. Thorkild Jacobsen marked the clause about Sargon's father being a gardener as
4600-504: The 24th to 23rd centuries BC. He is sometimes identified as the first person in recorded history to rule over an empire . He was the founder of the "Sargonic" or "Old Akkadian" dynasty, which ruled for about a century after his death until the Gutian conquest of Sumer . The Sumerian King List makes him the cup-bearer to King Ur-Zababa of Kish . His empire, which he ruled from his archaeologically as yet unidentified capital, Akkad ,
4715-438: The 7th century BC purporting to be Sargon's autobiography asserts that the great king was the illegitimate son of a priestess. Only the beginning of the text (the first two columns) is known, from the fragments of three manuscripts. The first fragments were discovered as early as 1850. Sargon's birth and his early childhood are described thus: My mother was a high priestess, my father I knew not. The brothers of my father loved
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4830-532: The 9th Satrapy (Babylonia in the south and Athura in the north), as well as a center of learning and scientific advancement. In Achaemenid Persia, the ancient Babylonian arts of astronomy and mathematics were revitalized, and Babylonian scholars completed maps of constellations. The city became the administrative capital of the Persian Empire and remained prominent for over two centuries. Many important archaeological discoveries have been made that can provide
4945-510: The Anatolian city of Purushanda in order to protect his merchants. Versions of this narrative in both Hittite and Akkadian have been found. The Hittite version is extant in six fragments, the Akkadian version is known from several manuscripts found at Amarna, Assur, and Nineveh. The narrative is anachronistic, portraying Sargon in a 19th-century milieu. The same text mentions that Sargon crossed
5060-638: The Assyrians destroyed and then rebuilt it, Babylon became the capital of the short-lived Neo-Babylonian Empire , from 626 to 539 BC. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were ranked as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World , allegedly existing between approximately 600 BC and AD 1. However, there are questions about whether the Hanging Gardens of Babylon even existed, as there is no mention within any extant Babylonian texts of its existence. After
5175-796: The Assyrians, in which ethnic groups in conquered areas were deported en masse to the capital. According to the Hebrew Bible, he destroyed Solomon's Temple and exiled the Jews to Babylon. The defeat was also recorded in the Babylonian Chronicles . In 539 BC, the Neo-Babylonian Empire fell to Cyrus the Great , king of Persia , with a military engagement known as the Battle of Opis . Babylon's walls were considered impenetrable. The only way into
5290-611: The Babylonians and the Neo-Assyrian birth legend. Yigal Levin (2002) suggested that Nimrod was a recollection of Sargon and his grandson Naram-Sin, with the name "Nimrod" derived from the latter. The name of Sargon's main wife, Queen Tashlultum , and those of a number of his children are known to us. His daughter Enheduanna was a high priestess of the moon God in Ur who composed ritual hymns. Many of her works, including her Exaltation of Inanna , were in use for centuries thereafter. Sargon
5405-549: The Great 's entry in 331 BC. In October of 331 BC, Darius III , the last Achaemenid king of the Persian Empire, was defeated by the forces of the Ancient Macedonian ruler Alexander the Great at the Battle of Gaugamela , occupying Babylon. Under Alexander, Babylon again flourished as a center of learning and commerce. However, following Alexander's death in 323 BC in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar , his empire
5520-488: The Iraqi State Organization for Antiquities and Heritage conducted extensive research, excavation and clearing, but wider publication of these archaeological activities has been limited. Most of the known tablets from all modern excavations remain unpublished. The main sources of information about Babylon—excavation of the site itself, references in cuneiform texts found elsewhere in Mesopotamia, references in
5635-668: The Ishara and Ninurta temples in the Shu-Anna city-quarter of Babylon. A number of Iraqi excavations have occurred at Babylon, the earliest in 1938. From 1979–1981 excavation and restoration work was conducted at the Ninmah Temple, Istar Temple, and the Southern Palace. Occasional excavations and restorations continued in the 1970s and 1980s. During the restoration efforts in Babylon,
5750-725: The Kassites were deposed in Babylon. An Akkadian south Mesopotamian dynasty then ruled for the first time. However, Babylon remained weak and subject to domination by Assyria. Its ineffectual native kings were unable to prevent new waves of foreign West Semitic settlers from the deserts of the Levant, including the Arameans and Suteans in the 11th century BC, and finally the Chaldeans in the 9th century BC, entering and appropriating areas of Babylonia for themselves. The Arameans briefly ruled in Babylon during
5865-557: The Late 2nd Millennium BC and was in widespread usage in the 1st Millennium BC. The spelling E.KI also appears in the 1st Millennium BC. In the Hebrew Bible , the name appears as Babel ( Hebrew : בָּבֶל Bavel , Tib. בָּבֶל Bāḇel ; Classical Syriac : ܒܒܠ Bāwēl , Imperial Aramaic : בבל Bāḇel; in Arabic : بَابِل Bābil ), interpreted in the Book of Genesis to mean " confusion ", from
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#17330844607755980-593: The Sea of the West ( Mediterranean Sea ) and ended up in Kuppara, which some authors have interpreted as the Akkadian word for Keftiu , an ancient locale usually associated with Crete or Cyprus . Famine and war threatened Sargon's empire during the latter years of his reign. The Chronicle of Early Kings reports that revolts broke out throughout the area under the last years of his overlordship: Afterward in his [Sargon's] old age all
6095-542: The Semitic name into Sumerian would have taken place at the time of the "Neo-Sumerian" Third Dynasty of Ur . ( Bab- Il ). A fragmentary inscription dating to the Early Dynastic Period , likely in the Akkadian language, refers to an unknown lord who was the governor (ENSI) of BAR.KI.BAR and constructed the temple for Marduk , indicating that the city could very well be Babylon. During the ED III period, sign placement
6210-810: The Upper Land: Mari, Iarmuti, and Ebla , as far as the Cedar Forest and the Silver Mountains Sargon also claims in his inscriptions that he is "Sargon, king of the world, conqueror of Elam and Parahshum ", the two major polities to the east of Sumer. He also names various rulers of the east whom he vanquished, such as " Luh-uh-ish-an , son of Hishibrasini, king of Elam, king of Elam" or "Sidga'u, general of Parahshum", who later also appears in an inscription by Rimush . Sargon triumphed over 34 cities in total. Ships from Meluhha , Magan and Dilmun , rode at anchor in his capital of Akkad. He entertained
6325-641: The [Low]er (Sea). Submitting himself to the (Levantine god) Dagan , Sargon conquered territories of Upper Mesopotamia and the Levant , including Mari , Yarmuti ( Jarmuth ?) and Ibla "up to the Cedar Forest (the Amanus ) and up to the Silver Mountain ( Aladagh ?)", ruling from the "upper sea" (Mediterranean) to the "lower sea" (Persian Gulf). Sargon the King bowed down to Dagan in Tuttul . He (Dagan) gave to him (Sargon)
6440-587: The allied Medo-Babylonian armies destroyed the Assyrian Empire between 626 BC and 609 BC. Babylon thus became the capital of the Neo-Babylonian (sometimes called the Chaldean) Empire. With the recovery of Babylonian independence, a new era of architectural activity ensued, particularly during the reign of his son Nebuchadnezzar II (604–561 BC). Nebuchadnezzar ordered the complete reconstruction of
6555-412: The area east or southeast of Dilbat". And yet another "likely modern Azragiya on the Euphrates located 4 kms northwest of Fallujah". Sargon of Akkad Sargon of Akkad ( / ˈ s ɑːr ɡ ɒ n / ; Akkadian : 𒊬𒊒𒄀 , romanized: Šarrugi ), also known as Sargon the Great , was the first ruler of the Akkadian Empire , known for his conquests of the Sumerian city-states in
6670-549: The city of Babylon can be found in Akkadian and Sumerian literature from the late third millennium BC. One of the earliest is a tablet describing the Akkadian king Šar-kali-šarri laying the foundations in Babylon of new temples for Annūnı̄tum and Ilaba . Babylon also appears in the administrative records of the Third Dynasty of Ur , which collected in-kind tax payments and appointed an ensi as local governor. The so-called Weidner Chronicle (also known as ABC 19 ) states that Sargon of Akkad , c. 23rd century BC in
6785-440: The city was through one of its many gates, or through the Euphrates River. Metal grates were installed underwater, allowing the river to flow through the city walls while preventing intrusion. The Persians devised a plan to enter the city via the river. During a Babylonian national feast, Cyrus' troops upstream diverted the Euphrates River, allowing Cyrus' soldiers to enter the city through the lowered water. The Persian army conquered
6900-419: The content was politically motivated, but these still provide useful information. Historical knowledge of early Babylon must be pieced together from epigraphic remains found elsewhere, such as at Uruk , Nippur , Sippar , Mari , and Haradum . The earliest known mention of Babylon as a small town appears on a clay tablet from the reign of Shar-Kali-Sharri (2217–2193 BC) of the Akkadian Empire. References to
7015-404: The cylinder seal of Ibni-sharru, a high-ranking official serving under Sargon. Joachim Menant published a description of this seal in 1877, reading the king's name as Shegani-shar-lukh , and did not yet identify it with "Sargon the Elder" (who was identified with the Old Assyrian king Sargon I ). In 1883, the British Museum acquired the "mace-head of Shar-Gani-sharri", a votive gift deposited at
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#17330844607757130-463: The fall of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, the city came under the rule of the Achaemenid , Seleucid , Parthian , Roman , Sassanid , and Muslim empires. The last known habitation of the town dates from the 11th century, when it was referred to as the "small village of Babel". It has been estimated that Babylon was the largest city in the world c. 1770 – c. 1670 BC , and again c. 612 – c. 320 BC . It
7245-440: The favor of the goddess Inanna and the drowning of Ur-Zababa by the goddess in a river of blood. Deeply frightened, Ur-Zababa orders Sargon murdered by the hands of Beliš-tikal, the chief smith, but Inanna prevents it, demanding that Sargon stop at the gates because of his being "polluted with blood". When Sargon returns to Ur-Zababa, the king becomes frightened again and decides to send Sargon to king Lugal-zage-si of Uruk with
7360-421: The folk etymology was already widely known in the Sargonic period . However, the original form of the name (Babbar/Babbir) was not forgotten, as seen from the phonetic spelling ba-ab-bí-lum in the Ur III period , and the spellings Pambalu and Babalu in the Kassite period . Another attested spelling for the city of Babylon is TIN.TIR.KI, attested sparsely in the Old Babylonian period but grew in popularity in
7475-427: The following years. Further work by the German Archaeological Institute was conducted by Heinrich J. Lenzen in 1956 and Hansjörg Schmid in 1962, working the Hellenistic, Parthian, Sasanian, and Arabic levels of the site. Lenzen's work dealt primarily with the Hellenistic theatre, and Schmid focused on the temple ziggurat Etemenanki . A topographical survey at the site was conducted in 1974, followed in 1977 by
7590-426: The founding of Babylon to 2286 BC, under the reign of its first king, Belus . A similar figure is found in the writings of Berossus , who, according to Pliny, stated that astronomical observations commenced at Babylon 490 years before the Greek era of Phoroneus , indicating 2243 BC. Stephanus of Byzantium wrote that Babylon was built 1002 years before the date given by Hellanicus of Lesbos for
7705-463: The gardens actually existed is a matter of dispute. German archaeologist Robert Koldewey speculated that he had discovered its foundations, but many historians disagree about the location. Stephanie Dalley has argued that the hanging gardens were actually located near the Assyrian capital, Nineveh . Nebuchadnezzar is also notoriously associated with the Babylonian exile of the Jews, the result of an imperial technique of pacification, used also by
7820-410: The heirs of Sargon's empire. Sargon may indeed have introduced the notion of "empire" as understood in the later Assyrian period; the Neo-Assyrian Sargon Text , written in the first person, has Sargon challenging later rulers to "govern the black-headed people" (i.e. the indigenous population of Mesopotamia) as he did. An important source for "Sargonic heroes" in oral tradition in the later Bronze Age
7935-450: The hills. My city is Azupiranu , which is situated on the banks of the Euphrates. My high priestess mother conceived me, in secret she bore me. She set me in a basket of rushes, with bitumen she sealed my lid. She cast me into the river which rose over me. The river bore me up and carried me to Akki, the drawer of water. Akki, the drawer of water, took me as his son and reared me. Akki, the drawer of water, appointed me as his gardener. While I
8050-444: The imperial grounds, including the Etemenanki ziggurat , and the construction of the Ishtar Gate —the most prominent of eight gates around Babylon. A reconstruction of the Ishtar Gate is located in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin . Nebuchadnezzar is also credited with the construction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon , one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World , said to have been built for his homesick wife, Amytis . Whether
8165-412: The infant birth exposure motif found in Eurasian folktales. He discusses a possible archetype form, giving particular attention to the Sargon legend and the account of the birth of Moses . Joseph Campbell has also made such comparisons. Sargon is also one of the many suggestions for the identity or inspiration for the biblical Nimrod . Ewing William (1910) suggested Sargon based on his unification of
8280-414: The inscription, Sargon styles himself "Sargon, king of Akkad, overseer ( mashkim ) of Inanna, king of Kish, anointed ( guda ) of Anu, king of the land [Mesopotamia], governor ( ensi ) of Enlil". It celebrates the conquest of Uruk and the defeat of Lugalzagesi , whom Sargon brought "in a collar to the gate of Enlil": Sargon, king of Akkad , overseer of Inanna , king of Kish , anointed of Anu, king of
8395-428: The king list give the duration of his reign as either 40 or 54–56 years. Only a few contemporary inscriptions relating to Sargon exist, though there are a number of Old Babylonian period texts that purport to be copies of earlier inscriptions of Sargon. In absolute years, his reign would correspond to c. 2334–2279 BC in the middle chronology . His successors until the Gutian conquest of Sumer are also known as
8510-403: The land, governor of Enlil : he defeated the city of Uruk and tore down its walls, in the battle of Uruk he won, took Lugalzagesi king of Uruk in the course of the battle, and led him in a collar to the gate of Enlil . Sargon then conquered Ur and E-Ninmar and "laid waste" the territory from Lagash to the sea, and from there went on to conquer and destroy Umma : Sargon, king of Agade,
8625-515: The lands revolted against him, and they besieged him in Akkad; and Sargon went onward to battle and defeated them; he accomplished their overthrow, and their widespreading host he destroyed. Afterward he attacked the land of Subartu in his might, and they submitted to his arms, and Sargon settled that revolt, and defeated them; he accomplished their overthrow, and their widespreading host he destroyed, and he brought their possessions into Akkad. The soil from
8740-515: The late 11th century BC. During the rule of the Neo-Assyrian Empire (911–609 BC), Babylonia was under constant Assyrian domination or direct control. During the reign of Sennacherib of Assyria, Babylonia was in a constant state of revolt, led by a chieftain named Merodach-Baladan , in alliance with the Elamites , and suppressed only by the complete destruction of the city of Babylon. In 689 BC, its walls, temples and palaces were razed, and
8855-545: The lost antiquities from the Tigris, including a Japanese expedition in 1971–72, have been largely unsuccessful. Henry Rawlinson and George Smith worked there briefly in 1854. The next excavation was conducted by Hormuzd Rassam on behalf of the British Museum . Work began in 1879, continuing until 1882, and was prompted by widespread looting of the site. Using industrial scale digging in search of artifacts, Rassam recovered
8970-517: The main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-speaking region of Babylonia . Its rulers established two important empires in antiquity, the 19th–16th century BC Old Babylonian Empire , and the 7th–6th century BC Neo-Babylonian Empire . Babylon was also used as a regional capital of other empires, such as the Achaemenid Empire . Babylon was one of the most important urban centres of
9085-460: The most important sources for Sargon's reign is a tablet, in two fragments, of the Old Babylonian period recovered at Nippur in the University of Pennsylvania expedition in the 1890s. The tablet is a copy of the inscriptions on the pedestal of a statue erected by Sargon in the temple of Enlil . Fragment one (CBS 13972) was edited by Arno Poebel and fragment two (Ni 3200) by Leon Legrain. In
9200-519: The native Sealand Dynasty , and the Elamites appropriated territory in eastern Mesopotamia. The Amorite dynasty remained in power in Babylon, which again became a small city state. After the destruction of the city the Kassites rose to control the region. Texts from Old Babylon often include references to Shamash , the sun-god of Sippar, treated as a supreme deity, and Marduk , considered as his son. Marduk
9315-449: The northwest. After a conflict with the Old Assyrian period king Ishme-Dagan , he forced his successor to pay tribute late in his reign. After the reign of Hammurabi, the whole of southern Mesopotamia came to be known as Babylonia . From this time, Babylon supplanted Nippur and Eridu as the major religious centers of southern Mesopotamia. Hammurabi's empire destabilized after his death. The far south of Mesopotamia broke away, forming
9430-476: The original name was Babilla , of unknown meaning and origin, as there were other similarly named places in Sumer , and there are no other examples of Sumerian place-names being replaced with Akkadian translations. He deduced that it later transformed into Akkadian Bāb-ili(m) , and that the Sumerian name Kan-dig̃irak was a loan translation of the Semitic folk etymology, and not the original name. The re-translation of
9545-583: The outlying areas of the city while the majority of Babylonians at the city center were unaware of the breach. The account was elaborated upon by Herodotus and is mentioned in parts of the Hebrew Bible. Herodotus also described a moat, an enormously tall and broad wall, cemented with bitumen and with buildings on top, and a hundred gates to the city. He writes that the Babylonians wear turbans and perfume and bury their dead in honey, that they practice ritual prostitution, and that three tribes among them eat nothing but fish . The hundred gates can be considered
9660-508: The plain), Homera, Ishin-Aswad, Sahn, Amran, and Babil. It is roughly bisected by the Shatt Al-Hillah, a branch of the Euphrates river , which has shifted slightly since ancient times. The local water table has risen, making excavation of lower levels difficult. Prior to the heavy use of baked bricks in the reign of Neo-Babylonian ruler Nebuchadnezzar II (605–562 BC), construction at Babylon
9775-429: The principal structures of Babylon. I imagined, I should have said: "Here were the walls, and such must have been the extent of the area. There stood the palace, and this most assuredly was the tower of Belus." – I was completely deceived: instead of a few insulated mounds, I found the whole face of the country covered with vestiges of building, in some places consisting of brick walls surprisingly fresh, in others merely of
9890-431: The region, Kazallu is often mentioned in the conflicts of that time. In the early 2nd millennium BC the city had a number of conflicts with Larsa . A year name of Sin-Iqisham records "Year (Sin-iqiszam) made (statues) of / for Numuszda, Namrat and Lugal-apiak and brought them into the city of Kazallu". The 2nd year name of Warad-Sin reads "Year the city wall of Kazallu was destroyed and the army of Mutibal occupying Larsa
10005-404: The reign of Manishtushu the third king of the Akkadian Empire, mention feasts occurring in Kazallu and people from Kazallu. Kazallu also joined the "great revolt" led by Kish against the 4th Akkadian ruler Naram-Sin . Naram-Sin crushed the revolt and in an inscription mentioned defeating "Puzur-Numusda, governor of Kazallu". It is unclear how that governor relates to the one under Ur III. The city
10120-483: The rubble was thrown into the Arakhtu, the sea bordering the earlier Babylon on the south. The destruction of the religious center shocked many, and the subsequent murder of Sennacherib by two of his own sons while praying to the god Nisroch was considered an act of atonement. Consequently, his successor, Esarhaddon hastened to rebuild the old city and make it his residence for part of the year. After his death, Babylonia
10235-473: The siege of Troy (1229 BC), which would date Babylon's foundation to 2231 BC. All of these dates place Babylon's foundation in the 23rd century BC . However, cuneiform records have not been found to correspond with these classical, post-cuneiform accounts. The first attested mention of Babylon was in the late 3rd millennium BC during the Akkadian Empire reign of ruler Shar-Kali-Sharri one of whose year names mentions building two temples there. Babylon
10350-449: The single mention of the name (in reference to Sargon II ) in the Hebrew Bible , as סַרְגוֹן , in Isaiah 20 :1. The first element in the name is šarru , the Akkadian (East Semitic) for "king" (c.f. Hebrew śar שַׂר ). The second element is derived from the verb kīnum "to confirm, establish" (related to Hebrew kūn כּוּן ). A possible interpretation of the reading Šarru-ukīn
10465-673: The soil of the pit of Babylon, and made a counterpart of Babylon next to Agade". Van de Mieroop suggested that those two chronicles may refer to the much later Assyrian king, Sargon II of the Neo-Assyrian Empire , rather than to Sargon of Akkad. While various copies of the Sumerian king list and later Babylonian chronicles credit Sargon with a reign length ranging from 34 to 56 years, dated documents have been found for only four different year-names of his actual reign. The names of these four years describe his campaigns against Elam, Mari, Simurrum , and Uru'a/Arawa (in western Elam). Numerous other inscriptions related to Sargon are known. Among
10580-483: The subject of legendary narratives describing his rise to power from humble origins and his conquest of Mesopotamia in later Assyrian and Babylonian literature. Apart from these secondary, and partly legendary, accounts, there are many inscriptions due to Sargon himself, although the majority of these are known only from much later copies. The Louvre has fragments of two Sargonic victory steles recovered from Susa (where they were presumably transported from Mesopotamia in
10695-399: The surviving two fragments name Sargon's father as La'ibum. After a lacuna , the text skips to Ur-Zababa , king of Kish , who awakens after a dream, the contents of which are not revealed on the surviving portion of the tablet. For unknown reasons, Ur-Zababa appoints Sargon as his cup-bearer . Soon after this, Ur-Zababa invites Sargon to his chambers to discuss a dream of Sargon's, involving
10810-528: The temple of Shamash in Sippar . This "Shar-Gani" was identified with the Sargon of Agade of Assyrian legend. The identification of "Shar-Gani-sharri" with Sargon was recognised as mistaken in the 1910s. Shar-Gani-sharri ( Shar-Kali-Sharri ) is, in fact, Sargon's great-grandson, the successor of Naram-Sin . It is not entirely clear whether the Neo-Assyrian king Sargon II was directly named for Sargon of Akkad, as there
10925-609: The trenches of Babylon he removed, and the boundaries of Akkad he made like those of Babylon. But because of the evil which he had committed, the great lord Marduk was angry, and he destroyed his people by famine. From the rising of the sun unto the setting of the sun they opposed him and gave him no rest. A. Leo Oppenheim translates the last sentence as "From the East to the West he [i.e. Marduk] alienated (them) from him and inflicted upon (him as punishment) that he could not rest (in his grave)." Shortly after securing Sumer, Sargon embarked on
11040-455: The verb bilbél ( בלבל , "to confuse"). The modern English verb, to babble ("to speak foolish, excited, or confusing talk"), is popularly thought to derive from this name but there is no direct connection. In Pali and Sanskrit literature, the name appears as Bāveru . Ancient records in some situations use "Babylon" as a name for other cities, including cities like Borsippa within Babylon's sphere of influence, and Nineveh for
11155-453: The virtue of heroism, and a lecture by a courtier on the glory achieved by a champion of the army, a narrative relating a campaign of Sargon's into the far land of Uta-raspashtim , including an account of a "darkening of the Sun" and the conquest of the land of Simurrum , and a concluding oration by Sargon listing his conquests. The narrative of King of Battle relates Sargon's campaign against
11270-497: The west's booty across on barges. He stationed his court officials at intervals of five double hours and ruled in unity the tribes of the lands. He marched to Kazallu and turned Kazallu into a ruin heap, so that there was not even a perch for a bird left. and In the east, Sargon defeated four leaders of Elam , led by the king of Awan . Their cities were sacked; the governors, viceroys, and kings of Susa , Waraḫše , and neighboring districts became vassals of Akkad. Sargon became
11385-418: The work of Ctesias and Berossus —present an incomplete and sometimes contradictory picture of the ancient city, even at its peak in the sixth century BC. UNESCO inscribed Babylon as a World Heritage Site in 2019. The site receives thousands of visitors each year, almost all of whom are Iraqis. Construction is rapidly increasing, which has caused encroachments upon the ruins. The spelling Babylon
11500-592: Was a gardener, Ishtar granted me her love, and for four and ... years I exercised kingship. Similarities between the Sargon Birth Legend and other infant birth exposures in ancient literature, including Moses , Karna , and Oedipus , were noted by psychoanalyst Otto Rank in his 1909 book The Myth of the Birth of the Hero . The legend was also studied in detail by Brian Lewis, and compared with many different examples of
11615-420: Was besieged by the Assyrians, starved into surrender and its allies were defeated. Ashurbanipal celebrated a "service of reconciliation", but did not venture to "take the hands" of Bel . An Assyrian governor named Kandalanu was appointed as ruler of the city. Ashurbanipal did collect texts from Babylon for inclusion in his extensive library at Ninevah. Under Nabopolassar , Babylon escaped Assyrian rule, and
11730-654: Was briefly under the control of Elam under Puzur-Inshushinak until Elam fell to Ur with the first Ur III ruler, Ur-Nammu writing "Then: Umma, Marda, Šubur, Kazallu, and their settlements, and whatsoever was oppressed by Anšan, verily, I established their freedom". Under the Ur III empire, the city was ruled by ensi (governors). Some of them, Ititi (appointed in 28th year of Shulgi ), Izariq (S31), Kallamu (S43), Šu-Mama (S47), and Apillaša (appointed in year 7 of Amar-Suen continuing until at least year 5 of Shu-Sin ), are known by name. It has been suggested that Su-Mama and Apillaša had
11845-548: Was charged with an expedition to Isin and Kazallu to buy grain. Grain is (now) reaching the rate of one gur (for) each (shekel) and the 20 talents of silver for buying grain have been spent. ... Now the Martus in their entirety have entered the interior of the country taking one by one all the great fortresses. ... In the Isin-Larsa period , between the fall of the Ur III empire until Hammurabi finally establishes supremacy for Babylon in
11960-596: Was governed by his elder son, the Assyrian prince Shamash-shum-ukin , who eventually started a civil war in 652 BC against his own brother, Ashurbanipal , who ruled in Nineveh . Shamash-shum-ukin enlisted the help of other peoples against Assyria, including Elam , Persia , the Chaldeans , and Suteans of southern Mesopotamia, and the Canaanites and Arabs dwelling in the deserts south of Mesopotamia . Once again, Babylon
12075-400: Was initially a minor city-state, and controlled little surrounding territory. Its first four Amorite rulers did not assume the title of king. The older and more powerful states of Elam , Isin , and Larsa overshadowed Babylon until it became the capital of Hammurabi 's short-lived empire about a century later. Hammurabi (r. 1792–1750 BC) is famous for codifying the laws of Babylonia into
12190-529: Was later elevated to a higher status and Shamash lowered, perhaps reflecting Babylon's rising political power. In 1595 BC, the city was sacked by Mursili I , ruler of the Hittite Empire . Thereafter, the Kassite dynasty took power in the city of Babylon, renaming it Karduniash, ushering in a dynasty that lasted for 435 years, until 1160 BC. Babylon was weakened during the Kassite era, and as
12305-442: Was perhaps the first city to reach a population above 200,000. Estimates for the maximum extent of its area range from 890 (3½ sq. mi.) to 900 ha (2,200 acres). The main sources of information about Babylon—excavation of the site itself, references in cuneiform texts found elsewhere in Mesopotamia, references in the Bible , descriptions in other classical writing, especially by Herodotus , and second-hand descriptions, citing
12420-585: Was primarily of unbaked brick, with the occasional use of baked bricks or bitumen. Subsequent excavation, looting, and reconstruction have reduced these original heights found by the German excavators. Claudius Rich , working for the British East India Company in Baghdad, excavated Babylon in 1811–12 and again in 1817. Captain Robert Mignan explored the site briefly in 1827. In 1829, he completed
12535-583: Was relatively fluid and so the KI sign could be seen as the determinative, with the name of the city as BAR.BAR, perhaps pronounced Babbar. Paul-Alain Beaulieu proposes that the original name could mean "shining" "glowing" or "white". It would be likely that it was later read as Babbir, and then Babbil by swapping the consonant r with l. The earliest unambiguous mention to the city Babylon came from one of Shar-Kali-Sharri's year names, spelled as KA.DINGIR.KI, indicating that
12650-459: Was rendered Sargon ( סַרְגוֹן ) in the Hebrew Bible ( Isaiah 20:1). Neo-Babylonian king Nabonidus showed great interest in the history of the Sargonid dynasty and even conducted excavations of Sargon's palaces and those of his successors. The fanciful adventure film The Scorpion King: Rise of a Warrior (2008) imagines Sargon of Akkad as a murderous army commander wielding black magic . He
12765-456: Was ruled by ensi (governors) for the empire. Some of the known governors were Abba, Arši-aḫ, Itūr-ilum, Murteli, Unabatal, and Puzur-Tutu. After that nothing is heard of the city until the time of Sumu-la-El. After around 1950 BC Amorite kingdoms will appear in Uruk and Larsa in the south. According to a Babylonian king list, Amorite rule in Babylon began ( c. 19th or 18th century BC ) with
12880-468: Was smitten by weapons". Larsa ruler Kudur-Mabuk also reports repelling the forces of Kazullu. A ruler of Isin , Erra-imitti , also claimed to have destroyed Kazullu. And Rîm-Anum , ruler of Uruk, reports in a year name "Year in which Rim-Anum the king defeated the land of Emutbal, the troops of Esznunna, Isin and Kazallu who marched together against him to make booty ... which was not counted since ancient times ... and defeated them". Kazallu briefly became
12995-490: Was succeeded by his son Rimush ; after Rimush's death another son, Manishtushu , became king. Manishtushu would be succeeded by his own son, Naram-Sin . Two other sons, Shu-Enlil (Ibarum) and Ilaba'is-takal (Abaish-Takal), are known. Sargon of Akkad is sometimes identified as the first person in recorded history to rule over an empire (in the sense of the central government of a multi-ethnic territory), although earlier Sumerian rulers such as Lugal-zage-si might have
13110-480: Was the large scale mining of baked bricks, which began in the 19th century and which were mainly sourced from the time of Nebuchadnezzar II. At the time, excavations for brick mining, for various building projects, including the Hindiya dam were under way. The primary efforts of the dig involved the temple of Marduk and the processional way leading up to it, as well as the city wall. Artifacts, including pieces of
13225-463: Was victorious over Ur in battle, conquered the city and destroyed its wall. He conquered Eninmar, destroyed its walls, and conquered its district and Lagash as far as the sea. He washed his weapons in the sea. He was victorious over Umma in battle, [conquered the city, and destroyed its walls]. [To Sargon], lo[rd] of the land the god Enlil [gave no] ri[val]. The god Enlil gave to him [the Upper Sea and]
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