Questions tagged [ancient-babylon]
Babylon was a Mesopotamian realm that existed between the 18th and 6th centuries BCE going through several periods of emergence and decay, including the Old period, the Middle period, the Assyrian perod, and the Neo-Babylonian period.
44
questions
0
votes
1
answer
35
views
When did Nebuchadnezzar II ascend to sovereignty?
I was reading the Babylonian chronicle and it stated that Nebuchadnezzar had an accession year and ascended to sovereignty on Ululu 1, and that the king of Judah was taken captive in the seventh year ...
- 105
-3
votes
0
answers
77
views
What one-word academic term captures the meaning of Babylonian King Subsitution?
This might be too domain-specific for the English Language SE community, so we can try to resolve this on History SE.
History of religion scholars have developed a parlance for rituals taking place in ...
- 295
3
votes
1
answer
1k
views
How much did food cost in Babylon?
I read recently some limited information about Babylon, and it doesn't sound right to me, so I thought I'd ask.
I saw from one source that the wages for one year of unskilled labor may have been about ...
1
vote
1
answer
158
views
What is the difference between OBV & SBV, in Babylonian texts translated to English?
What is the difference between OBV (Old Babylonian Version) and SBV (Standard Babylonian Version), in Babylonian texts translated to English ?
Is SVB a standardized translation or standardized form of ...
- 121
1
vote
1
answer
199
views
Did Nebuchadnezzar And The Medes Ever Go To War After Their Alliance Against Assyria?
I know this is not a biblical group but there is history in the bible so I was curious about something. I was reading Jeremiah 25 which, to summarize, says that the nations will serve the king of ...
- 117
5
votes
0
answers
144
views
How reliable is Herodotus' report on Babylonian sacred harlotry?
I'm looking for confirmation regarding Herodotus' report on sacred harlotry in Babylon:
The foulest Babylonian custom is that which compels every woman of the
land to sit in the temple of Aphrodite ...
- 181
4
votes
1
answer
791
views
When did the Babylonian king Amel-Marduk reign?
According to Wikipedia, the reign of the Babylonian king Amel-Marduk (also known as Awil-Marduk and Evil-Merodach) was started in October 562 B.C.E. and was ended in August 560 B.C.E. So, it lasted ...
- 43
2
votes
1
answer
253
views
When did this shipment of Babylonian painted tiles for the Louvre sink?
In her 1887 textbook "History of Art for Beginners and Students" Clara Erskine Clement wrote:
A whole cargo of fragments of Babylonish tile-paintings was once
collected for the gallery of ...
- 123
6
votes
2
answers
459
views
Why wasn't Akkadian translated into other more common languages?
From what I have gathered I believe there are currently no examples of Akkadian literature, written on cuneiform tablets, being translated into other languages onto papyri outside the Mesopotamian ...
- 217
0
votes
1
answer
194
views
What Evidence Do We Have For Samaritans Living In Babylon in the 6th or 5th Century BC?
Does anybody have any sources to show a Samaritan population in Babylon during the 6th or 5th Century BCE? 2 Kings 17 records the deporting of five different nations into the cities of Samaria
And ...
- 117
10
votes
1
answer
731
views
What murals and decor might have been present in the earliest Sumerian temples?
So, for the sake of a production I'm working on a lot of digital artwork meant to represent a slightly-fantastic, but based in fact, representation of ancient Sumeria. Think 5000 years+ ago; dawn-of-...
- 431
9
votes
3
answers
959
views
What was the point of the Babylonian captivity?
What was the point of the Babylonian captivity?
I could understand if a few royalty or nobility were taken hostage, but why tens of thousands? I see no suggestion that they were taken into slavery. ...
- 396
5
votes
2
answers
351
views
What materials would have been used in the ancient Mesopotamian crown?
To provide context, I'm working on a project involving artwork for the Enuma Elish, and I've gotten to a sort of crown initially on my portrayal of Absu. I know that gold was available to the ancient ...
- 431
3
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Did the Babylonian priesthood flee to Pergamum?
I'm reading Brent Winters' The Excellence of the Common Law right now, which relies heavily on the idea that the priesthood of Babylon fled to Pergamum when Babylon was conquered in 539 BC. The ...
- 141
6
votes
1
answer
713
views
Is there a historical basis for the "day of the false King" described in The Egyptian?
In Book 6 of Mika Waltari's historical novel The Egyptian, Kaptah, Sinuhe's slave and companion, ascends to the throne of Babylon for a day:
I was by now familiar with many customs in Babylon, yet I ...
- 14.9k
2
votes
0
answers
152
views
What is the oldest example of complaints against wealth being due to closeness to the ruler?
Consider the sentence “The king is the one at whose side wealth walks”. It is taken from the Babylonian Theodicy, a poem which was written somewhere between 1500 B.C. and 1100 B.C. and which is ...
- 4,580
2
votes
0
answers
888
views
Why did Babylonians/Persians use the ascension year method?
[12] Then Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his servants, his princes, and his officers went out to the king of Babylon; and the king of Babylon, in the eighth year of his reign, took him prisoner....
- 83
8
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Was the Persian conquest of Tyre particularly easy, uneventful, or do we lack sources?
I'm reading the history of Tyre on Wikipedia, and noticing how some sieges were very difficult and get great details, giving the impression that Tyre was a really difficult to conquer city, whereas ...
- 191
2
votes
0
answers
305
views
When did Cyrus II release the captives of Babylon?
The text below are bits I want to discuss that are taken from the Cyrus Cylinder — dated 539–530 BCE.
"I am Cyrus, king of the universe, the great king, the powerful king, king of Babylon, king ...
- 83
-2
votes
1
answer
238
views
Was there a biblical prophet whos position was validated by the fall of Egypt? [closed]
I thought that there was a prophet who was particularly opposed to allying with Egypt. Egypt subsequently fell and his position became validated. The Judeans lasted a little longer and then came under ...
- 3,338
44
votes
2
answers
13k
views
Why was "leaping into the river" a valid trial outcome to prove one's innocence?
The second law of the Code of Hammurabi states:
2 If any one bring an accusation against a man, and the accused go to the river and leap into the river, if he sink in the river his accuser shall ...
3
votes
1
answer
3k
views
What were the types of currency used in ancient Mesopotamia?
I noticed there were several types of currency mentioned in the Code of Hammurabi. Shekel, Gur, Gerah, Ka, Mina.
When you take into account that some of them could be weight measurements and could be ...
23
votes
1
answer
4k
views
Was touching your nose a greeting in second millenium Mesopotamia?
I ran across a curious sentence today, in a Mesopotamian prayer to a personal god (the grammar looked better in verse format):
"Daily worship your god with offerings, prayers and appropriate
...
- 687
4
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Did the Babylonians know the Pythagorean Theorem before Pythagoras formulated it?
Came across a clip on TV from an (unidentified) BBC documentary showcasing the Plimpton 322 tablet, written in cuneiform c.1800 BC (1200 years before Pythagoras).
The narrator says the tablet was ...
- 2,174
-1
votes
2
answers
267
views
Are there any Egyptian, Babylonian, Assyrian, or any foreign account of the demise of the Hittites?
The Hittite Empire collapsed due to a civil war inside the capital (ignoring the territorial losses that occurred earlier).
Are there any foreign accounts of that era (non-Hittite) that describe ...
- 2,174
34
votes
1
answer
3k
views
How do I find the sources which determined the year of the fall of Babylon?
I'm really asking a general question about the study of history. Allegedly, the Babylonian Empire fell to the Persians under Cyrus the Great in 539 BCE. All articles regarding this event simply take ...
- 443
4
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Babylonian handbags - meaning?
What is the meaning of “handbags” that Babylonian gods are often depicted carrying ?
![god with handbag]
- 143
1
vote
1
answer
410
views
When was Sura in the Roman Empire?
I am curious about this statement:
Sura was under Roman control in the time of Pliny the Elder (23-79 CE) and Ptolemy (c. 100-170 CE) but was conquered by the Sasanian king Shapur I in 253 CE.
...
- 3,338
5
votes
1
answer
398
views
Did Marduk-balassu-iqbi help Assur-Danin-Pal?
This is a question about Assur-Danin-Pal and his relationship to the Babylonian kings. First I need to introduce the characters:
Shalmaneser III: King of Assyria (859-824)
Assur-Danin-Pal: His son, ...
- 3,338
1
vote
1
answer
233
views
Are there any theories of Tiglath Pileser III's origins?
Most histories gloss over the low point of Assyria from 800-745. I have become interested in the period because of Shammuramat, the Babylonian regent, and her sons, who struggled for power with an ...
- 3,338
8
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Is there any evidence that Assyrian or Babylonian kings ate their enemies?
Is there any evidence that Assyrian or Babylonian kings took their captive/conquered enemies and actually ate their bodies (dead or alive)?
EDIT I apologize for not explaining where I am coming from ...
3
votes
3
answers
509
views
Was Nebuchadnezzar made King in a year other than 605 BC?
According to a Babylonian astronomy observation text, there was a lunar eclipse in Nebuchadnezzar's 32nd year. This eclipse has been placed at 568 BC.
I'm assuming we can then affirm that ...
- 217
6
votes
1
answer
298
views
When is the first time any variation of the name Misraim is used to refer to Egypt?
I asked a question here previously related to this, and I would like to be more specific in this question. There are numerous ancient records such as the Ugaritic tablets, the Assyrian & ...
- 61
3
votes
1
answer
1k
views
How did ancient cultures identify a new moon when it can never be seen?
Some ancient cultures used a Lunar calendar and the "New Moon" is considered the first of the month.
In ancient Semitic cultures, Assyria, Persia, Akkadia, Israel, etc - how was the new moon ...
- 201
9
votes
1
answer
385
views
What was a cistern to the Babylonians?
I am working with Babylonian math and some word problems mention an object called a cistern. I looked this up and it seems it can be any tank of water. Some are cylindrical, others rectangular, and ...
- 193
3
votes
2
answers
203
views
Gold coin vs Silver coin exchange rate fluctuations in antiquity
Commodity prices fluctuate based on many factors (mostly use and availability).
How much the exchange rate between gold and silver coins may fluctuate in a month or a year?
Place: Judea & Bavel.
...
- 27k
3
votes
1
answer
148
views
Why does the Uruk King List say Antiochus I Soter ruled for 22 years?
Livius.org describes the Uruk King List, translating it and also listing what years those kings are believed to have ruled (from other sources). In the list, it says Antiochus I Soter ruled for 22 ...
- 799
5
votes
1
answer
353
views
What methods did the Old Babylonian society use for solving equations?
According to the Wikipedia article on the Abacus, Ettore Carruccio stated in Mathematics and Logic In History and In Contemporary Thought that the Old Babylonians:
may have used the abacus for the ...
- 4,062
4
votes
1
answer
342
views
Dating of Hammurabi discrepancy
I have multiple sources regarding the code of Hammurabi/Hammurapi and they have two conflicting dates of origin. Some give a date of compilation at near 1795-1750 B.C and some date it at 2250 B.C. ...
- 53
4
votes
0
answers
178
views
What was the purpose of a tally stick?
I was recently reading a translation of "The debate between Sheep and Grain" Babylonian creation myth. It mentioned the following in lines 130-142:
Every night your count is made and your tally-...
- 173
4
votes
2
answers
318
views
Were people in the Neo-Assyrian or Achaemenid Empire aware of the empires before them?
The history of ancient civilizations in Mesopotamia has been a complex one, with several empires spanning a couple of millennia. Were the people from latter empires, say Neo-Assyrian or Achaemenid ...
- 3,043
-2
votes
1
answer
313
views
Kingdom of Judah under Babylonian rule
I'm writing some work about the kingdom of Judah under the Babylonian rule (604-539 BC).
I am looking for the reasons that led to the instability of Judah under the Babylonian rule. I would ...
- 1
11
votes
2
answers
1k
views
What were the causes of decline of Babylonian numeric system?
Babylonia developed a numeric system advanced far ahead of its neighbors, and some might say even superior to our contemporary decimal. It was a 60-base system with convenient composition of factors ...
- 333
5
votes
2
answers
718
views
Why did Nebuchadnezzar keep King Jeconiah alive?
When Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem he appointed Zedekiah as his puppet-king and took King Jeconiah and his sons home with him.
For what reasons would the king of a large empire of antiquity, ...
- 3,649