New Babylonians: A History of Jews in Modern Iraq

Product Information

Simbar-shipak Ea-mukin-zeri Kashshu-nadin-ahi Eulmash-shakin-shumi Ninurta-kudurri-usur I Shirikti-shuqamuna Mar-biti-apla-usur Nabû-mukin-apli Wunsch, Cornelia (2013). "Glimpses on the Lives of Deportees in Rural Babylonia". Arameans, Chaldeans, and Arabs in Babylonia and Palestine in the First Millennium B.C. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag. pp.247–260. Main article: Nebuchadnezzar II The so-called " Tower of Babel stele", depicting Nebuchadnezzar II in the top-right and featuring a depiction of Babylon's great ziggurat (the Etemenanki) to his left. Nabopolassar was followed by his son Nebuchadnezzar II (605–562 BC), whose reign of 43 years made Babylon once more the ruler of much of the civilized world, taking over portions of the former Assyrian Empire, with the eastern and northeastern portion being taken by the Medes and the far north by the Scythians. [33] Cyrus now claimed to be the legitimate successor of the ancient Babylonian kings and the avenger of Bel-Marduk, who was assumed to be wrathful at the impiety of Naboni

It was in the sixth year of Nabonidus (549 BC) that Cyrus the Great, the Achaemenid Persian "king of Anshan" in Elam, revolted against his suzerain Astyages, "king of the Manda" or Medes, at Ecbatana. Astyages' army betrayed him to his enemy, and Cyrus established himself at Ecbatana, thus putting an end to the empire of the Medes and making the Persian faction dominant among the Iranic peoples. [35] Three years later Cyrus had become king of all Persia, and was engaged in a campaign to put down a revolt among the Assyrians. Meanwhile, Nabonidus had established a camp in the desert of his colony of Arabia, near the southern frontier of his kingdom, leaving his son Belshazzar ( Belsharutsur) in command of the army.Na’aman, Nadav (1991). "Chronology and History in the Late Assyrian Empire (631–619 B.C.)". Zeitschrift für Assyriologie. 81 (1–2): 243–267. doi: 10.1515/zava.1991.81.1-2.243. S2CID 159785150. However, when Sargon I (1920–1881 BC) succeeded as king in Assyria in 1920 BC, he eventually withdrew Assyria from the region, preferring to concentrate on continuing the vigorous expansion of Assyrian colonies in Anatolia at the expense of the Hurrians and Hattians and the Amorite inhabited Levant, and eventually southern Mesopotamia fell to the Amorites. During the first centuries of what is called the "Amorite period", the most powerful city-states in the south were Isin, Eshnunna and Larsa, together with Assyria in the north.

Holland, Tom (2007). Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West. Random House Digital, Inc. ISBN 978-0-307-38698-4. Seleucid Empire: Seleucus I Antiochus I Antiochus II Seleucus II Seleucus III Antiochus III Seleucus IV Antiochus IV Antiochus V Demetrius I Alexander III Demetrius II Antiochus VI Dionysus Diodotus Tryphon Antiochus VII Sidetes Babylon remained a minor town in a small state until the reign of its sixth Amorite ruler, Hammurabi, during 1792–1750 BC (or c. 1728–1686 BC in the short chronology). [11] He conducted major building work in Babylon, expanding it from a small town into a great city worthy of kingship. A very efficient ruler, he established a bureaucracy, with taxation and centralized government. Hammurabi freed Babylon from Elamite dominance, and indeed drove the Elamites from southern Mesopotamia entirely, invading Elam itself. He then systematically conquered southern Mesopotamia, including the cities of Isin, Larsa, Eshnunna, Kish, Lagash, Nippur, Borsippa, Ur, Uruk, Umma, Adab, Sippar, Rapiqum, and Eridu. [12] His conquests gave the region stability after turbulent times, and coalesced the patchwork of small states into a single nation; it is only from the time of Hammurabi that southern Mesopotamia acquired the name Babylonia. [13] Hotepsekhemwy Nebra/Raneb Nynetjer Ba Nubnefer Horus Sa Weneg-Nebty Wadjenes Senedj Seth-Peribsen Sekhemib-Perenmaat Neferkara I Neferkasokar Hudjefa I Khasekhemwy Although some scholars have suggested that the Assyrian provincial system collapsed with the fall of the Neo-Assyrian Empire and that the Neo-Babylonian Empire was simply a zone of dominance from which Babylon's kings exacted tribute, it is likely that the Neo-Babylonian Empire retained the provincial system in some capacity. The former Assyrian heartland was probably divided between the Babylonians and the Medes, with the Babylonians incorporating the south into their empire and the Medes gaining the north. It is probable that the actual control Babylon held over these territories was variable. After Assyria's collapse, many of the coastal cities and states in the Levant regained independence, but were placed under Babylonian rule as vassal kingdoms (rather than incorporated provinces). [78] Military [ edit ] Babylonian soldier as represented on the tomb of the Achaemenid king Xerxes I, c. 480 BC.Bel-bani Libaya Sharma-Adad I Iptar-Sin Bazaya Lullaya Shu-Ninua Sharma-Adad II Erishum III Shamshi-Adad II Ishme-Dagan II Shamshi-Adad III Ashur-nirari I Puzur-Ashur III Enlil-nasir I Nur-ili Ashur-shaduni Ashur-rabi I Ashur-nadin-ahhe I Enlil-Nasir II Ashur-nirari II Ashur-bel-nisheshu Ashur-rim-nisheshu Ashur-nadin-ahhe II Shamshi-Adad I Ishme-Dagan I Mut-Ashkur Rimush Asinum Ashur-dugul Ashur-apla-idi Nasir-Sin Sin-namir Ipqi-Ishtar Adad-salulu Adasi The surviving sources suggest that the justice system of the Neo-Babylonian Empire had changed little from the one which functioned during the Old Babylonian Empire a thousand years prior. Throughout Babylonia, there were local assemblies (called puhru) of elders and other notables from society which among other local roles served as local courts of justice (though there were also higher "royal" and "temple courts" with greater legal prerogatives). In these courts, judges would be assisted by scribes and several of the local courts would be headed by royal representatives, usually titled sartennu or šukallu. [54] [55]

Dalley, Stephanie (1997). "Statues of Marduk and the date of Enūma eliš". Altorientalische Forschungen. 24 (1): 163–171. doi: 10.1524/aofo.1997.24.1.163. S2CID 162042269. Bryce, Trevor (2005). The Kingdom of the Hittites. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-928132-9.Seleukos I Nikator Tetradrachm from Babylon Argead dynasty: Alexander I Philip Alexander II Antigonus The Statue of Marduk was the physical representation of Marduk housed in Babylon's main temple, the Esagila. [50] Although there were actually seven separate statues of Marduk in Babylon; four in the Esagila, one in the Etemenanki (the ziggurat dedicated to Marduk) and two in temples dedicated to other deities, the statue of Marduk usually refers to Marduk's primary statue, placed prominently in the Esagila and used in the city's rituals. [52]

The temples of southern Mesopotamia were important as both religious and economic centers. The temples were chiefly institutions for caring for the gods and for conducting various rituals. Because of their religious significance, temples were present in all major cities, with trade and population growth being stimulated by the presence of a temple. Workers within the temples had to be "fit" for service and were not slaves or temple dependents (unlike those who served the temples by cultivating food and other supplies). These temple workers, who created the clothes used by the deity's cult, cleaned and moved around the statues of the deities, maintained the rooms within the temple and performed the important rituals, represented the skilled and free urban elite of Babylonian society and were paid through leftovers from meals intended for the gods, barley and beer. [53] Justice [ edit ] Tablet concerning a legal dispute over barley, from Uruk and dated to the reign of Nabonidus (544 BC). Exhibited at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. In 1072 BC Marduk-shapik-zeri signed a peace treaty with Ashur-bel-kala (1075–1056 BC) of Assyria, however, his successor Kadašman-Buriaš was not so friendly to Assyria, prompting the Assyrian king to invade Babylonia and depose him, placing Adad-apla-iddina on the throne as his vassal. Assyrian domination continued until c. 1050 BC, with Marduk-ahhe-eriba and Marduk-zer-X regarded as vassals of Assyria. After 1050 BC the Middle Assyrian Empire descended into a period of civil war, followed by constant warfare with the Arameans, Phrygians, Neo-Hittite states and Hurrians, allowing Babylonia to once more largely free itself from the Assyrian yoke for a few decades. Of the reign of the last Babylonian king, Nabonidus ( Nabu-na'id, 556–539 BC) who is the son of the Assyrian priestess Adda-Guppi and who managed to kill the last Chaldean king, Labashi-Marduk, and took the reign, there is a fair amount of information available. Nabonidus (hence his son, the regent Belshazzar) was, at least from the mother's side, neither Chaldean nor Babylonian, but ironically Assyrian, hailing from its final capital of Harran (Kharranu). His father's origins remain unknown. Information regarding Nabonidus is chiefly derived from a chronological tablet containing the annals of Nabonidus, supplemented by another inscription of Nabonidus where he recounts his restoration of the temple of the Moon-god Sin at Harran; as well as by a proclamation of Cyrus issued shortly after his formal recognition as king of Babylonia. [33] The early Achaemenid rulers had great respect for Babylonia, regarding it as a separate entity or kingdom united with their own kingdom in something akin to a personal union. [34] The region was a major economical asset and provided as much as a third of the entire Achaemenid Empire's tribute. [35] Despite Achaemenid attention and the recognition of the Achaemenid rulers as kings of Babylon, Babylonia resented the Achaemenids, like the Assyrians had been resented a century earlier. At least five rebels proclaimed themselves King of Babylon and revolted during the time of Achaemenid rule in attempts at restoring native rule; Nebuchadnezzar III (522 BC), Nebuchadnezzar IV (521–520 BC), Bel-shimanni (484 BC), Shamash-eriba (482–481 BC) and Nidin-Bel (336 BC). [36] [37] [38] The revolt of Shamash-eriba against Xerxes I in particular is suggested by ancient sources to have had dire consequences for the city. Though no direct evidence exists [39], Babylon appears to have been severely punished for the revolt. Its fortifications were destroyed and its temples damaged as Xerxes ravaged the city. It is possible that the sacred statue of Marduk, which represented the physical manifestation of Babylon's patron deity, was removed by Xerxes from Babylon's main temple, the Esagila, at this time. Xerxes also divided the previously large Babylonian satrapy (composing virtually all of the Neo-Babylonian Empire's territory) into smaller sub-units. [37] Major cities of Lower Mesopotamia in the 1st century BC. However, East Semitic-speaking Babylonia soon began to suffer further repeated incursions from West Semitic nomadic peoples migrating from the Levant during the Bronze Age collapse, and during the 11th century BC large swathes of the Babylonian countryside was appropriated and occupied by these newly arrived Arameans and Suteans. Arameans settled much of the countryside in eastern and central Babylonia and the Suteans in the western deserts, with the weak Babylonian kings being unable to stem these migrations.

A Neo-Babylonian dynasty

Dugaw, Sean; Lipschits, Oded; Stiebel, Guy (2020). "A New Typology of Arrowheads from the Late Iron Age and Persian Period and its Historical Implications". Israel Exploration Journal. 70 (1): 64–89. JSTOR 27100276.