DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.67683#0093
EARLY BABYLONIAN PERIOD
55
While the rain and the rivers were the constructive element of
the valley in that they furnished the rich soil, at the same time
they proved equally destructive. For as the buildings were made
of such perishable material, when they were subjected to rains
and annual floods they soon fell into ruins, were buried by the
sand blowing in from the desert, and today are nothing but
mounds. A few of these mounds have been excavated and have
yielded the evidence that pictures for us the civilization of this
valley. But this picture is far from being the intimate one of
everyday life in all its aspects that we saw in Egypt, not only
because the remains that have been recovered up to this time
are scanty, but also because, in contrast to the Egyptian, the
beliefs of these people in reference to the future life were so
gloomy and vague that very little attention was paid to burial
equipment. As it was a civilization centered on the present life,
interest lay in the palace, a more or less temporary structure built
for this life, rather than in a tomb the chief purpose of which was
endurance. In fact the remains of Babylonia-Assyria visualize
for us the city of the living; those of Egypt, the city of the
dead.
To the north and east of the valley lie mountainous plateaus
where lived, as far back as we can go, a mountaineer people
called the Sumerians, clean-shaven men, carrying the shield. To
the west and south stretch the great reaches of the Arabian desert
with its nomad shepherds, the Semites, bearded, and equipped
with the bow and arrow. Both wear heavy woolen garments
usually covering the whole body. The history of the valley is
the story of the struggle between the mountaineers of the north
and the nomads of the south for the possession of the fertile
portions of the land.
Long before 3000 b.c. the Sumerian mountaineers had estab-
lished walled towns in the lower half of the valley — a region
that eventually came to be known as Babylonia.1 They possessed
domesticated animals and grain, metal, a system of writing, of
measuring time, and of weights and measures. Gradually there
sifted in from the desert small groups of Semites, who mingled
freely with the Sumerians and took over their writing, govern-
ment, and art. As their numbers increased, there began the strug-
gle to determine which should be the dominating power; and
from one to the other it alternated. Out of this struggle arose
two mighty kings, both Semites — Sargon (active 2.750 b.c.)
1 For convenience, the name “Babylonian” is used for this early period, though strictly
speaking it is not applicable until Babylon became the dominating city, under Hammurapi,
about 2100 b.c.
55
While the rain and the rivers were the constructive element of
the valley in that they furnished the rich soil, at the same time
they proved equally destructive. For as the buildings were made
of such perishable material, when they were subjected to rains
and annual floods they soon fell into ruins, were buried by the
sand blowing in from the desert, and today are nothing but
mounds. A few of these mounds have been excavated and have
yielded the evidence that pictures for us the civilization of this
valley. But this picture is far from being the intimate one of
everyday life in all its aspects that we saw in Egypt, not only
because the remains that have been recovered up to this time
are scanty, but also because, in contrast to the Egyptian, the
beliefs of these people in reference to the future life were so
gloomy and vague that very little attention was paid to burial
equipment. As it was a civilization centered on the present life,
interest lay in the palace, a more or less temporary structure built
for this life, rather than in a tomb the chief purpose of which was
endurance. In fact the remains of Babylonia-Assyria visualize
for us the city of the living; those of Egypt, the city of the
dead.
To the north and east of the valley lie mountainous plateaus
where lived, as far back as we can go, a mountaineer people
called the Sumerians, clean-shaven men, carrying the shield. To
the west and south stretch the great reaches of the Arabian desert
with its nomad shepherds, the Semites, bearded, and equipped
with the bow and arrow. Both wear heavy woolen garments
usually covering the whole body. The history of the valley is
the story of the struggle between the mountaineers of the north
and the nomads of the south for the possession of the fertile
portions of the land.
Long before 3000 b.c. the Sumerian mountaineers had estab-
lished walled towns in the lower half of the valley — a region
that eventually came to be known as Babylonia.1 They possessed
domesticated animals and grain, metal, a system of writing, of
measuring time, and of weights and measures. Gradually there
sifted in from the desert small groups of Semites, who mingled
freely with the Sumerians and took over their writing, govern-
ment, and art. As their numbers increased, there began the strug-
gle to determine which should be the dominating power; and
from one to the other it alternated. Out of this struggle arose
two mighty kings, both Semites — Sargon (active 2.750 b.c.)
1 For convenience, the name “Babylonian” is used for this early period, though strictly
speaking it is not applicable until Babylon became the dominating city, under Hammurapi,
about 2100 b.c.