Civilizations Before Iran - ‌Babylon

The Growth of Babylon

Many scholars, on the basis of views more commonly held today, believe that the origin of the Semitic languages was probably in the Levant and northern Mesopotamia, and that some branches over time spread into Arabia. Nevertheless, there is still no certainty regarding the precise origin of the Semitic-speaking peoples, and various viewpoints have been proposed in this regard.

In this process, groups of Semitic peoples were able to find their way into the land of Sumer and Akkad and the surrounding regions. These people gradually entered the sphere of the Sumerian and Akkadian civilizations and, within these structures, established royal dynasties. Among them, dynasties also took shape in Babylon. They expanded a city whose foundation went back to the time of the Sumerians and created a state whose importance and influence, in later periods, were felt across a large part of the ancient world.

The religion of the people of Babylon in this period, like that of the Sumerians, was based on polytheism and idol worship and continued many earlier religious beliefs. Nevertheless, Marduk, who was regarded as the son and successor of Enki—the god of waters, wisdom, and creation— attained a special status, and Nabu was considered his son.

In the final periods of Babylonian civilization, in addition to Marduk, who was identified with the planet Jupiter, Ishtar, the daughter of the sky god who was associated with the planet Venus, gained greater prominence among the people of Babylon, although the worship of other gods did not disappear entirely.

Royal Dynasties of Babylon

The First Dynasty

According to the commonly accepted historical–scholarly reconstructions, the kings of this dynasty numbered fifteen. Its greatest king is considered to be Hammurabi, the sixth king of the dynasty. According to the Middle Chronology, he ruled from 1792 to 1750 BCE. An inscription discovered in the excavations at Susa and now preserved in the Louvre Museum in Paris contains the text of the Laws of Hammurabi. This collection is recognized as one of the oldest and most complete known codified laws in the history of humankind.

Note: Seated on the right is the god of the sun and justice, Shamash. He is the symbol of law and justice and holds the rod and ring of kingship in his hand. Standing on the left is Hammurabi, king of Babylon, who symbolically receives the laws from Shamash. This scene shows that the legitimacy of the laws is granted to the king by the god of justice.

Note: On the stele of Hammurabi, the staff and the ring are legal symbols. The staff is a symbol of justice, legitimate rulership, and the enforcement of law; it is an instrument of measurement and judgment. The ring is a symbol of covenant, codified law, divine order, and the king’s commitment to the law.

The foundations of Hammurabi’s laws rested upon older legal traditions whose roots go back to the time of the Sumerians. Nevertheless, from those earlier laws no integrated and complete eveidence has survived.

The importance of Hammurabi’s laws is not limited solely to their antiquity; rather, they are significant above all because they present a clear picture of the high level of Babylonian civilization about four thousand years ago. The content of this inscription demonstrates the degree of advancement of Babylonian society more effectively than lengthy historical reports. Babylon at that time was regarded as one of the principal centers of civilization in Western Asia. In the following sections, a summary of these laws is presented.

In addition to codifying laws, Hammurabi also played a role in the expansion of Babylon’s political power. In the course of his wars, he defeated Rim-Sin, the ruler of Larsa, and extended Babylon’s influence in southern Mesopotamia. This event shows that Babylon was pursuing the consolidation of cities and the expansion of its territory.

Regarding the situation of Elam, Babylon’s neighbor, during the period of the First Dynasty of Babylon, precise information is not available. It can only be said that Elam preserved its independence. Eventually, the First Babylonian Dynasty came to an end as a result of internal collapse, economic crisis, and pressures arising from several fronts such as the incursions of peoples from the north, who are known in historical sources as the Hittites. The First Dynasty of Babylon ruled Babylon from approximately 1900 to 1600.

The Code of Hammurabi

This inscription was originally located in the city of Sippar—north of Babylon. One of the Elamite conquerors—whom we shall discuss later—carried it off to Susa, either as a war trophy or as a symbol of victory. In Susa there was also a similar stele, but only parts of it have been recovered.

This collection comprises 282 legal provisions. All of these articles are written in the same structure: “If someone does such and such, then such and such shall be done to him.” In this law code no general principle or overarching rule is to be found. Its articles are arranged on the basis of civil and criminal claims that were brought before the courts of Babylon. In view of the importance of this law, we shall address some of its provisions.

The subject matter of these articles covers a wide range: from slander, false oath, judicial bribery, and the injustice of judges, to crimes against property, relations between master and subject, commercial law, family law, and offenses against persons. The wages of physicians and architects, shipbuilding, the leasing of ships, the hiring of animals, and the damages arising from such matters are also included in the law. The rights and duties of the master toward male and female slaves, as well as their obligations toward the master, are clearly defined.

In the laws of Hammurabi, all free persons of equal status are equal before the law, and there is no national privilege; that is, no distinction is observed between a citizen of Babylon and individuals from other nations. Society is composed of three groups:

• Free persons

• Freed persons (who were formerly slaves)

• Slave persons

From the occupational and social point of view, four classes are observed:

• Priests

• State officials

• Soldiers

• Merchants and artisans

If a free person injures another free person of equal rank, retaliation is applied; but if he injures a free person of lower rank, a monetary fine is imposed. The army was based on land tenure, and military service was organized according to specific regulations. In land tenure service, land or an economic privilege was granted to an individual by the state. In return, the individual was obliged to perform military service or administrative and public duties. Failure to perform service led to the loss of land or to punishment.

Slaves may own property and are under the protection of the law. Killing a slave without trial is forbidden, although their purchase and sale are considered permissible. The landowner cultivates the land himself or entrusts this task to slaves. Trade and transportation are free.

Exchange was conducted either by barter or through money. Money took the form of silver rings of a fixed weight. The weight of silver served as the standard for measuring the value of goods and rates.

The Code of Hammurabi compiled and systematized earlier laws and also introduced changes and improvements in certain areas. In this law, the status of women and children was defined more precisely. A man had only one official wife, but if that wife was barren, he could take another woman outside the primary bond. Marriage without a contract was not recognized by law. The marital union was valid only when concluded on the basis of a contract. If a free man married a slave woman, that woman’s status changed in relation to her former condition, although her full freedom was not always guaranteed.

The dowry was considered the property of the woman or of her father’s family. Nevertheless, the husband could make use of it. The wife and husband bore no responsibility for the debts of the spouse that had arisen before marriage. If a man divorced his wife and she had borne him children, he had to return the dowry and also give her a share of his property equal to the share of one son. If the woman was barren, only the dowry was returned to her.

In the law, severe punishments such as death or enslavement were prescribed for a woman’s adultery. A man’s adultery, however, was not considered a crime unless he had committed adultery with a free married woman, in which case it could result in the death of both. If a man was taken captive, the woman was permitted to choose another husband. But if the first husband returned, the woman had to return to his house.

In cases of discord between husband and wife, the Code of Hammurabi generally prescribed harsher punishments for the woman. This inequality was part of the patriarchal legal outlook of that period regarding the family and the role of women.

If a woman was accused of adultery and, in exceptional and limited cases, the accusation was not proven by evidence such as witnesses, judgment was entrusted to the river. If the woman perished in the water, she was deemed guilty; if she returned alive, her innocence was established.

Note: the river was regarded as a sacred and living being that revealed the will of the gods.

In matters of inheritance as well, a man did not inherit from his wife. A woman’s property belonged to her children. Nevertheless, a woman could, in addition to her dowry, receive a share of her deceased husband’s property as a gift.

A woman could manage her own property. She had the right to lease her possessions, reclaim her dowry, and bestow her property as a gift. A woman could engage in trade, choose a profession, and even enter the ranks of the clergy.

Widows and unmarried girls appeared in court in person. Married women, however, were usually represented legally by their husbands. The reason is that under the Code of Hammurabi, the family was regarded as a legal unit, and the husband, as the head of the family, was the spokesman and the person responsible for this unit. In comparison with some other ancient legal systems, the Code of Hammurabi granted women more clearly defined rights in certain respects, although this was not full equality.

After the death of her husband, a woman could remarry. If the children objected, the court intervened and granted permission. If the children from the first husband were minors, the court appointed a guardian and entrusted the property, in an orderly manner, to the second husband, without granting him the right to sell it.

Children, regardless of which mother they were born to, in principle had equal rights of inheritance. Nevertheless, the father could stipulate by will that the estates should pass to his favored son. The mother’s dowry was divided equally among the children, but the mother could bestow upon one of her children a gift she had received from her husband.

Daughters who had received a dowry were excluded from inheritance. Daughters without a dowry were equal to sons in inheritance. Brothers were considered the heirs of their sisters. The father could, during his lifetime, give a portion of his property to a daughter, but the daughter could only retain or transfer that property in the manner specified by the father in his will. In this case, the brothers had no claim to the sisters’ property. Sons born of concubines who were later acknowledged as sons were equal to the other children in inheritance. Sons who were not acknowledged were only granted freedom. A daughter born of a concubine, in case of the absence of the father, received her dowry from her brothers.

From the laws relating to ownership, it becomes evident that the people of Babylon clearly understood that owning is different from possessing; lease is one of the clearest examples of possession without the right of ownership. Various kinds of transactions were in circulation, and even conditional purchases and sales were carried out. Scholars infer from these indications that the Code of Hammurabi was founded upon traditions that had taken shape over the passage of time and across thousands of years.

Note: The concept of separating ownership from usufruct, that is, lease, existed even before Babylon. Evidence of it is seen in Sumerian documents from the third millennium BCE. What distinguishes Babylon is not the original invention of this concept, but the precise and codified legal formulation of lease in the Code of Hammurabi.

If a debtor could not pay his debt, the creditor could compel the debtor to temporary forced labor, but did not have the right to imprison him indefinitely or to subject him to deadly mistreatment. This rule differed from Roman law, for there debtors were treated more harshly.

Payment of debt could be made with money or with wheat and barley. There were large trading houses and financial institutions that sent agents to distant regions, and people entrusted their capital to them for commerce and profit. The giving of collateral (guarantee), bills of exchange, and promissory notes was common, and the taking of interest was also widespread. Interest was usually twenty percent, but sometimes reached thirty or forty percent. Group borrowing and conditional transactions were likewise known. Previously, adjudication was largely in the hands of temple priests, but in the time of Hammurabi, judgment was entrusted to the royal administration.

Note: Collateral
A Babylonian farmer takes silver from a trading house in order to buy seed and cultivate his land. As security for this loan, he designates his small plot of land as collateral. If he pays the debt on time after the harvest, the land remains his. But if the debt is not paid, the creditor may, in accordance with the law, confiscate that land. Here, the collateral ensured that the loan was not unsecured.

Note: Bill of exchange
A merchant in the city of Babylon possesses silver and intends to undertake a trading journey to a distant city. He deposits the silver with a trading house and in return receives a written document. With this document, he can, without physically carrying the money and facing the danger of theft, receive the same amount in the destination city from a representative of the same trading house. In this transaction, the money itself does not move; only the right to receive it is transferred from one place to another. The trading house charged a fee for issuing the bill of exchange.

Note: Promissory note
A Babylonian merchant wishes to buy goods but does not have cash on hand. He gives the seller a tablet issued by a trading house. Written on the tablet is: “This amount will be paid by the Babylon trading house one month from now.” The seller delivers the goods to the merchant and receives his money at the due date. In practice, the merchant used this credit to purchase the goods, sold them in another market, and from the profit repaid the principal of the debt together with the fee for the promissory note to the trading house. Here, the promissory note is a formal promise to pay money in the future.

The Court of Babylon held a high status, and the final verdict lay within the king’s authority. Priests in the temples accepted testimonies under oath. City governors also rendered judgments, but in the presence of well-known individuals and elders. Scholars have noted that the laws of Hammurabi relied less on religious teachings than on the harm inflicted upon individuals and society. The basis of many punishments rested on the principle of retaliation.

The rule of “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” was applied in the Code of Hammurabi, though at times a monetary fine replaced bodily punishment. Among the bodily punishments were the cutting off of the ear of a disobedient slave, likewise the cutting out of the tongue of an insolent son, the breast of a guilty wet nurse, and the hand of an unskilled surgeon. In the same code, the punishment for theft from the palace or temples was death. Nevertheless, one important point existed: personal vengeance was forbidden, and the injured person or his family had to seek redress through the court.

This rule shows that the Babylonian state itself had assumed the execution of justice. The king possessed the right of pardon, but his power was not unlimited. In some cities such as Babylon, Sippar, and Nippur, owing to the privileges these major cities enjoyed, the king’s authority was restricted.

Through careful study of these laws, scholars have concluded that the Code of Hammurabi was the product of the social life of a people that had developed over centuries and gradually become organized. Some sections of this code are even compatible with the perspectives of modern societies and are not considered obsolete.

A noteworthy point is that women’s rights over their own property in the Code of Hammurabi were, in certain respects, broader than the rights later granted to women in some European countries. For example, under the French civil laws of the nineteenth century, a married woman could not legally transact with her property without her husband’s permission.

The Dynasty of the Sea Lands

After the death of Hammurabi, during the reign of his son, the authority of the central Babylonian state declined as a result of incursions by Hittite peoples from the north, and Babylon lost its control over southern Mesopotamia. At this time, Ilum-ma-ili established a local and independent rule in the southern and marshy regions of Mesopotamia. The rule of Ilum-ma-ili and his successors was based primarily in the southern part of the land of Babylon and along the shores of the Persian Gulf. For this reason, this dynasty is known in history as the “Dynasty of the Sea Lands.” This dynasty ruled from approximately 1740 to 1460 BCE.

The Kassite Dynasty

The Hittite invasion led to the weakening of the First Dynasty and ultimately to its extinction; nevertheless, Hittite rule in Babylon did not endure. Shortly thereafter, around 1600 BCE, a people known as the Kassites, who lived in the western regions of the Iranian Plateau, attacked Babylon. They expelled the Hittites and founded a new dynasty, which is known in history as the Kassite dynasty.

Note: The Sealand Dynasty and the Kassite Dynasty overlapped chronologically for about 140 years. During this period, the Kassites ruled the central parts of Mesopotamia—including the city of Babylon—while the Sealand Dynasty governed its southern regions. Eventually, the Kassites expanded their sphere of influence and, by conquering the southern areas, gained control over the entirety of the Babylonian lands.

The Kassites were a people who probably lived in the Zagros region. Some sources mention the mountains of Kurdistan and Zagros, while at times their homeland is considered to have been near present-day Kermanshah or in areas adjacent to Elam. However, there is no certainty regarding their precise original location.

These people took control of Babylon and established the Kassite dynasty in the land of Babylon. During this period, the Kassites were influenced by Babylonian administrative and cultural structures and made use of its traditions in governance.

During the time of this dynasty, Assyria rose to power in the north, and repeated conflicts occurred between the two sides. In 1225 BCE, the Assyrians overcame Babylon. This domination, however, did not last, and the Kassites later regained control. In this same period, Babylon maintained relations with Egypt.

At the end of this period, Elam increased its pressure on Babylon. At this time, Shutruk-Nahhunte, the renowned king of Elam, carried valuable monuments and objects to Susa during his campaigns. Examples of these objects have been found at Susa. The Kassite dynasty ultimately came to an end in 1155 BCE with the conquest of Babylon by Shutruk-Nahhunte. In this attack, Babylon fell, and symbols of legitimacy—including the Code of Hammurabi—were transferred to Susa.

The Post-Kassite Transitional Period

After a long period of turmoil and political weakness in Babylon, marked by repeated Elamite incursions and the disintegration of central authority, rulers from the city of Isin were able to reestablish political order in Babylon. The emergence of this dynasty was, in effect, an attempt to restore Babylonian authority after years of political and religious humiliation, especially after the Elamites had carried off Babylonian sacred symbols. The rise of this dynasty can be regarded as a direct response to earlier crises and to Babylonian society’s need for stability.

Note: In this writing, the term “Post-Kassite period” refers to the period from the fall of the Kassites to the final Assyrian domination of Babylon.

The most famous king of this era was Nebuchadnezzar I, a ruler whose name is associated above all with the return of the statue of Marduk. This statue, which was considered the most important religious symbol of Babylon, had previously been taken as spoils of war during the Elamite attack. Nebuchadnezzar I, through a campaign against Elam, succeeded in bringing it back to Babylon and thereby reinforced the city’s religious and political standing once again. Although there is no complete certainty regarding the exact extent of his conquests, reliable sources indicate that during his reign, Babylon once more became an important center in Mesopotamia, and a degree of political stability and confidence returned to society.

Note: The limestone boundary stone, or Kudurru, from the reign of Nebuchadnezzar I is one of the most important surviving documents from this king’s era and clearly demonstrates how political power and religious beliefs were intertwined in Babylon. Kudurru, made of limestone, was used for the formal registration of land grants or the determination of property boundaries, and its text typically ended with curses directed against anyone who might violate the provisions of the inscription. In the time of Nebuchadnezzar I, such stones were not merely simple administrative records, but were regarded as symbols of the restoration of order, law, and legitimacy after years of turmoil. The presence of the names of the gods on the surface of the kudurru shows that law had no meaning without divine support, and that land ownership was considered not only an economic matter but also a sacred one. This monument reminds us that Nebuchadnezzar I, in addition to warfare and the recovery of the statue of Marduk, sought to reestablish the legal and administrative structures of Babylon.

After Nebuchadnezzar I, his successors were unable to preserve the power and cohesion of his reign. Internal conflicts, the gradual weakening of the kingship, and pressure from rival powers in the region, especially the Assyrians, undermined the foundations of the monarchy. Babylon once again entered a period of political instability, and ultimately, with the growing influence of Assyria, a new era of domination by external forces began in Babylon.

During this period, Elam once again seized Babylon, and one of the Elamite kings ascended the Babylonian throne, but this rule did not last more than six years. Afterward, Babylon was weakened and rendered vulnerable by incursions of groups of northern nomadic peoples and by pressure from the Elamites in the east. These attacks led to the destruction of farmlands, the plundering of cities, and damage to temples.

In such circumstances, Adad-apla-iddina, a king from Babylon, first came to power with Elamite support and then, in order to preserve his throne, was compelled to draw closer to Assyria and at times became politically dependent upon it. At the same time, the Elamites took advantage of this disorder and expanded their influence in Babylon, then placed one of their own kings—probably from the Shutrukid dynasty—on the throne and chose a Babylonian name for him.

At the same time, a new group called the Chaldeans emerged from the regions of northeastern Arabia and, by attacking Babylon, joined the ranks of the contenders for power. From this point onward, three principal forces—Assyria, Elam, and the Chaldeans—were engaged in conflict with one another for control of Babylon.

This period, which lasted from about 1150 to 729 BCE, was marked by war, turmoil, and instability. Finally, during the reign of Nabû-nasir in Babylon, these struggles ended in Assyria’s favor, and Tiglath-Pileser III, king of Assyria, placed the crown of Babylon upon his own head in 729 BCE. After this coronation, Babylon was incorporated into the Assyrian realm. Following the fall of Assyria, another dynasty was established in Babylon, known as “Babylon and Chaldea”; since its events are connected with the history of the Medes and the Persians, an account of it will be given in its proper place.

Resources
Mary Boyce, Religions of Ancient Mesopotamia

• Jeremy Black, Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia

• W. G. Lambert, Babylonian Religion and Mythology

• Mario Liverani, The Ancient Near East: History, Society and Economy

• Marc Van De Mieroop, A History of the Ancient Near East

• Georges Roux, Ancient Iraq

• William Foxwell Albright, The Archaeology of Palestine and the Bible

• Marc Van De Mieroop, King Hammurabi of Babylon

• Samuel Noah Kramer, History Begins at Sumer

• Amélie Kuhrt, The Ancient Near East

• Martha T. Roth, Law Collections from Mesopotamia and Asia Minor

• Jean Bottéro, Mesopotamia: Writing, Reasoning, and the God

• Raymond Westbrook, A History of Ancient Near Eastern Law

• Gwendolyn Leick, Mesopotamia: The Invention of the City

• Ran Zadok, KASSITES (Encyclopaedia Iranica)

• The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Middle Babylonian / Kassite Period (ca. 1595–1155 B.C.) in Mesopotamia

• Encyclopaedia Britannica, Kassite and Babylonia

• Cambridge University Press, The Kingdom of Susa and Anshan

• Mobile Monuments, The Code of Hammurabi and Susa

• Amélie Kuhrt, The Ancient Near East c. 3000–330 BC

• John Boardman et al., The Cambridge Ancient History, Vol. III

• J. A. Brinkman, A Political History of Post-Kassite Babylonia

• Oddvar Bjørklund, Haakon Holmboe, Anders Rohr, Historical Atlas of the World

• Mark W. Chavalas, Mesopotamia and the Bible

• Hammond World Atlas Corporation, Historical World Atlas

• Michael Roaf, Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East

• Marc Van De Mieroop, King Hammurabi of Babylon: A Biography

• Encyclopaedia Britannica, Babylonia – History, Map, Culture, & Facts