Вавилония

Babylonia - according to Heb. Babel or Eretz Babel, in Greek. Βαβυλωνία or simply Βαβυλών - this is what ancient writers called the southern part of Mesopotamia, that is, the region extending from the place where the Tigris and Euphrates most closely converge (33° N) to the Persian Gulf. Subsequently, this name, with the expansion of the political power of the Babylonian monarchy, captured a much larger area, far beyond the borders of Mesopotamia; but, in fact, the grain of V. developed and ripened within the indicated limits. This essentially small country, which in ancient times was no more than 400 miles long and 200 miles wide (at its widest point), was of enormous importance in the history of mankind. Already the ancient consciousness of humanity, as it was expressed in biblical legends, saw here as the most ancient center of cultural and political life, which is increasingly being confirmed in scientific research and discoveries of modern times. Historical science has long been engaged in resolving the question: where to actually look for the primitive cradle of the cultural and historical life of mankind. Until very recently, this cradle was seen primarily on the banks of the Nile, where explorers were confronted by monuments that amazed with their immemorial antiquity, apparently eliminating any thought of competition with them. But the latest scientific and historical research, which has the opportunity to rely on the richest archaeological material increasingly produced by excavations, almost certainly makes it clear that it is in V. that we see the original cradle of world culture. In fact, it is now almost indisputably recognized by everyone that the most ancient beginnings of mathematics and astronomy had their root precisely in Egypt, in the famous schools of the Chaldeans; our division of time, with its seven-day week, with hours and minutes as divisions of the day, is of Babylonian origin. Even the magic and astrology of the Middle Ages bears all the signs of Babylonian origin. Our alphabet, the invention of which until recently was attributed to the Phoenicians, who allegedly compiled it on the basis of Egyptian hieroglyphic writing, actually has its source in the primitive forms of ancient Babylonian cuneiform writing. This is the opinion of such an authoritative recent researcher as Hommel. Land and people. In terms of its geographical position, Egypt was a continuous low-lying plain along which the Tigris and Euphrates, having with difficulty made their way through the Assyrian cliffs and rocks, roll their waters towards the Persian Gulf. This character of the country is explained by the fact that this entire low-lying plain is a layer of silt, which is deposited annually by both rivers during their spring flood (from April to June). If Egypt, according to Herodotus, is the gift of the Nile, then Egypt is the same gift of the Tigris and Euphrates. The process of this layering continues to this day, and with such speed that the country is very noticeably expanding into the Persian Gulf. The city of Ur (the newest Mugair), judging by the inscriptions preserved in it, was a coastal city that conducted extensive maritime trade, and yet this point is currently more than 70 centuries away from the shore of the bay. At the same time, it is known that in ancient times the Tigris and Euphrates flowed into the bay in separate channels, but now they enter it through one common channel, artificially formed on the soft silty soil of layering. The process of layering proceeds at the rate of about one English mile (about 1 1/2 century) in 66 years, and in ancient times it, by all indications, occurred faster. On such rich silty soil, rich vegetation developed, which in ancient times made V. synonymous with amazing fertility. Herodotus, describing this country, considers it necessary to make a reservation that he refrains from a detailed depiction of its fertility for fear of arousing mistrust in the reader. The date palm provided an inexhaustible supply of food for the people. Cereals themselves yielded 200, and sometimes 300, and millet and sesame reached extraordinary heights. The reeds that covered the river banks in thick thickets reached more than two fathoms in height, providing almost construction material for the population. Rich nature, however, required certain measures on the part of man to ensure his well-being. Both rivers, after the spring flood, left vast swamps that spread a miasma that was deadly to health; on the other hand, the surrounding desert, in alliance with the sultry climate, wages an eternal struggle with the fertile oasis of Mesopotamia. Hence the need for excavation work in order to drain the swamps and improve the health of the country, as well as the construction of ditches or canals for the purpose of irrigating desert-dry areas. And in this regard, the Babylonians, already in ancient times, were distinguished by high art, which in the flourishing times of the Babylonian monarchy reached an amazing degree of perfection. The absence of timber and stone and, on the contrary, the abundance of clay and earthen resin (bitumen) early taught man to exploit this natural gift material; Magnificent bricks were made from it, from which houses and churches were mainly built. That is why Vladimir was already famous in ancient times for its clay production. The question of the primitive population of V. remained very obscure until recently. Judging by the first impression, which was confirmed by a superficial acquaintance with the newly discovered wedge-shaped inscriptions, some thought that the population of Europe, as well as Assyria, was originally Semitic; but quite a lot cast doubt on the Semitism of the primitive population of V., especially since such ancient wedge-shaped inscriptions were found that were obviously not written in a Semitic language. Inscriptions of this kind were first noticed by Oppert in 1854, and he conjectured that they belonged to the Turanian tribe, which, therefore, was the original creator of the Babylonian culture, which was inherited by the new, later Semitic settlers. The theory of Turanism found ardent defenders in the person of such famous scientists as Fr. Lenormand and other Orientalists of this trend, and it can be said to have dominated over the past decades. But recently, doubts have begun to be expressed about the infallibility of this theory, since it is far from consistent with the character of the Turanian tribe known in history. It remained, therefore, to return to the old view, already stated in the Bible, that the original settlers of Egypt and the creators of its culture were the Kushites, i.e., a branch of that Hamitic tribe, to which, by the way, the Egyptians also belonged. And this view finds confirmation in the analogy presented by the main elements of Babylonian culture with the main elements of Egyptian culture. This view has recently found a solid champion in the person of such an Assyriologist as Babelon, a student and continuator of the course “History of the Ancient East” by Fr. Lenormand (1st illustrated edition, 1885, vol. IV, p. 56 et seq.). This view is confirmed by the fact that the most ancient beginnings of Egyptian culture represent a clear reproduction of Babylonian culture; for example, it is especially noticeable in the architectural type of ledge-shaped pyramids, which find their prototype in the ledge-shaped churches of B. The Babylonian Kushites are known in the Bible under the name Kasdim, in native inscriptions - Kaldai, from where the name Chaldea, Chaldeans (see). They split into two tribes - the Sumirs and the Akkadians, of which the former occupied the southern part of the country, and the latter the northern. The Chaldeans were the original creators of Babylonian culture, and “Chaldean wisdom” - in the form of a wedge-shaped script and the mental treasures contained in it - retained its significance throughout the entire historical existence of Egypt and Assyria as independent states, although, in fact, the creators of these states were new, later settled Semitic tribes. The new settlers took full advantage of the ready-made Chaldean culture, merged with the aborigines in everything except language, and from this merger developed that powerful Semitic-Cushitic type, which created the famous monarchies of Babylonia and Assyria. Assyria, undoubtedly, was a colony of Europe; culturally it was constantly dependent on the latter and never developed an independent culture. Britain, thanks to the predominance of the Cushitic element in it, has never ceased to be a country of material culture par excellence. Conquering aspirations never played a leading role in it, and even under Nebuchadnezzar Britain used its conquests primarily for cultural purposes. History of Babylonia. The beginning of V.'s history is lost in the fog of mythological legends. They attribute it directly to the time following the flood, about which the Babylonians had a tradition, similar even in its details to the biblical tradition. This legend was preserved in the famous epic, opened in the Nineveh library of Assurbanipal and read by the famous English Assyriologist George Smith. The main character of the epic is Izdubar or Gilgames (as this name is usually read in a wedge-shaped formula that has not yet been analyzed). In character, he is quite reminiscent of the biblical Nimrod, who is credited with the founding of Babylon, and with it three more cities - Erech, Akkad and Chalne. They form the fundamental basis of the political organization of the quadruple city, which retained its significance until later times and was immortalized in the title of the Babylonian kings, who called themselves “kings of the four cities” or countries. Nimrod, called in the Bible “a strong hunter” (Gen. 10:9) and depicted on one Babylonian monument in the form of a giant holding a powerlessly fighting lion under his left armpit (a colossal statue in the Louvre Museum), is credited with the idea of ​​​​founding the first world monarchy, which was supposed to unite various tribes under one strong authority. Nimrod's power apparently extended throughout Mesopotamia to the slopes of the mountains of Armenia. This period is known as the first Chaldean Confederation. It consisted of a union of several major cities, each of which at a certain period had hegemony over the others, as a result of which its king received, in a sense, the significance of the king of all Babylonia. The most ancient representative of this confederal power is the famous king of the city of Akkad (or Agade) Sargon I (Sarrukinu). His reign dates back to 3800 years BC. He was one of the most popular kings of Mesopotamia, and his name remained in the people's memory until the fall of Babylon. In the wedge-shaped inscriptions Sargon I is depicted as the patron of science and literature; At his command, a collection of texts related to magic and the science of sacred predictions on celestial phenomena and other methods of fortune-telling was made. From the inscriptions it is clear that Sargon was able to concentrate a large military force in his hands and made long campaigns to the east - against the Elamites, to the west - against the Syrians, and even reached the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Sargon handed over the throne to his successor, his son Naram-Sin. Of the other centers of the Chaldean Confederation of that time, the ancient city of Ur played a very significant role in the formation and development of Babylonian culture, on the ruins of which the village of Mugair now stands. It was located on the right bank of the Euphrates, in the Sumir region. The hegemony of this city over Babylonia dates back to a relatively late time, about 2500 BC. Its kings ruled the entire confederation almost autocratically. Of these, King Lik-Bag is especially famous, who was officially titled as follows: “Lik-Bag, powerful man, king of Ur, king of the countries of Sumir and Akkad.” He was, together with his son Dungi, a passionate builder, and it was he who built a majestic church in Ur, dedicated to Samas, the “mighty luminary of the sky, the eldest son of the lord of the abyss” (the sun), and Sin, the “luminary of the night” (the moon). The establishment of Semitism in Europe dates back to the time of the hegemony of Ur. From linguistic data it is clear that when the Semites first came into contact with the Chaldeans, they were still simple nomads. But, possessing great sensitivity, they quickly became accustomed to the elements of Chaldean culture and, as enterprising traders, soon became indispensable to the Chaldeans devoted to agriculture. They were a strong trading aristocracy, possessing significant wealth (as can be seen, among other things, from the history of the patriarch Abraham, this Semitic native of the city of Ur, Gen. 11:31). Chaldea at this time was already at a significant height of cultural development. The kings of Ur, who for a time managed to concentrate power over all of Chaldea in their hands, were not able to completely suppress the tendency towards decentralization. Soon after Dunga, the country apparently again split into separate regions, weakened by mutual rivalry. Meanwhile, to the east of East, on the plains of Elam, a strong state was formed, the stern kings of which looked enviously at the wealth and luxury of their Chaldean neighbors. Taking advantage of the weakening of Chaldea, the Elamites attacked this rich country, conquered it without much difficulty and seized power into their own hands. The Elamite invasion constitutes a new page in the history of Babylonia. But some ambiguities are associated with these periods, which are still awaiting answers from unread monuments and inscriptions. Of the Elamite kings who formed a special dynasty in Chaldea, three are known from inscriptions, namely: Simti-Sitargal, his son Kudur-Mapuk and grandson Eri-Aku, who all had their capital in the Chaldean city of Larsa. The conquerors, obviously, were suppressed by the higher culture that they encountered in Chaldea, and as a result, they soon adopted it to the point that they differed little from the native Chaldean kings, adopted the Chaldean language and even built churches to the Chaldean deities. The power of Kudur-Mapuk apparently extended over the whole of Chaldea and neighboring countries. The name of his son, Ern-Aku, is of particular interest, since this name, in the form Arioch, is mentioned in a famous biblical place (namely, Chapter 14 of the book. Genesis), which until recently represented a historical mystery, but, thanks to the latest discoveries, turned out to be interesting evidence of the ancient history of Britain from this particular period. Here is told the story of the invasion of Palestine by five allied Mesopotamian kings, among whom are mentioned Chedorlaomer of Elam and Arioch of Ellasar, who is obviously Eri or Ari-Aku, king of Larsa. The raid of the Mesopotamian kings on Palestine, as is known from the biblical testimony, ended in disaster: their allied army was completely defeated by Abraham, who became the head of the Palestinian princes, and their defeat found a quick echo in Chaldea. The native princes did not fail to take advantage of such a favorable circumstance for them and overthrew the Elamite rule, after which the second Chaldean Confederation was formed, which in all respects reproduced the political system of the first, and the centers of power moved from one city to another. But little by little, Babylon, which had previously been overshadowed by others, began to especially emerge between the cities. This city (Bab Ilu - “Gate of God”) was located in the northern part of the country, in the Akkad region (while the previous centers of power were mainly in the southern region of Sumir), and lay on the left bank of the Euphrates, subsequently spreading on both sides. From wedge-shaped inscriptions we know the names of eleven kings of Babylon, who ruled the country for three hundred years (from 1800 to 1500 BC). Among them, Hammurabi, the true creator of the greatness of Babylon, is especially famous. He reigned for 55 years (1700 - 1645), and from him many inscriptions have come down to us, partly in Semitic and partly in Chaldean (Sumiro-Akkadian) language. Under him, V.'s power extended over the whole of Chaldea, and he supported it, relying on a number of fortresses. Gammurabi left a good memory among the people with his concerns about their material well-being. He undertook extensive work to drain and irrigate the country, several new canals were dug, and one huge embankment was made on the river. Tiger, to prevent a flood like the one that destroyed the entire city of Mullias and destroyed the harvest. After Hammurabi there followed a number of insignificant kings who were unable to maintain the former power of V. The country fell into a state of political disorder, as a result of which it easily became the prey of a new conqueror - the predatory Kosei, or in Assyrian, Ksashi, who occupied the mountainous terrain to the NE. from Mesopotamia, beyond the Tigris River. The Cossians easily conquered Babylonia. But the same thing happened to them that happened to the Elamites: Babylonian culture subjugated these victors as well. Some of the kings of the Kossian dynasty, which had nine generations, left behind a good memory. The rule of the Cossians, which lasted about six centuries (1747 - 1170), was not particularly difficult for the Babylonians, and the moment dates back to this time when active relations between Babylonia and Egypt began, which, in the person of its warrior-pharaohs of the 18th dynasty - Thothmes III and Amenophis II, carried its victorious weapons to the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates, conquering Palestine and Syria. The newly discovered slabs at Tell El-Amarna, which represent an entire archive of correspondence between Egyptian and Babylonian sovereigns, throw Babylonian as the diplomatic language, a sign of the level of culture Babylonia stood at that time. But soon difficult times came for V., and she had to meet a new powerful enemy, with whom a terrible struggle began, full of bloodshed, which lasted for many centuries. This new enemy was Assyria, related to Babylonia (see this next). For the first time, Assyria declared itself as a political force during the Cossian rule over Babylonia and precisely towards the end of it. Feeling the weakness of this foreign dynasty, the Assyrian kings began to boldly advance on East, and, a little later, the brave warriors of Assyria appeared under the walls of Babylon itself, and in 1170, the Assyrian king Tiglath-Adar took Babylon and overthrew the Cossian dynasty. The power of Assyria, however, did not immediately strengthen over Europe; Before this, a significant period of time had passed during which relations between the two countries were in a very uncertain state. There were two parties in Britain: one consisting of adherents of Assyria, the other of adherents of the old Kossian dynasty. A fierce struggle ensued between them, which brought terrible turmoil to the country. But this turmoil, which had a heavy impact on V., contributed to the strengthening and prosperity of Assyria. A mass of peaceful Babylonians, unable to bear the painful situation and thinking of finding a more secure position for themselves in Assyria, moved there, carrying with them the treasures of Babylonian writing and culture. Under Tiglath-pal-Assar I, mutual relations between Assyria and Egypt had already fully assumed the character with which they had been distinguished throughout the entire period of Assyria's rule - namely, the nature of gloomy discontent on the part of Europe, which took every opportunity to get out of a humiliating situation for its pride, and the character of unyielding persistence on the part of Assyria. The founder of the so-called second Assyrian monarchy, Tiglath-pal-assar II (called in cuneiform by the name Pulu, Ful in the Bible), in order to weaken Egypt, formally annexed its northern part to Assyria, securing it from attack and uprising with a whole chain of fortresses, and then, taking advantage of the new uprising of Egypt, moved into its very heart, defeated the Babylonian king Ukin-Zira, and took the most Babylon (731 BC) X.) and accepted the ancient title of the Babylonian kings - namely, he proclaimed himself “king of Sumir and Akkad.” One of his successors, Sargon of Assyria, in order to strengthen his dominance over Egypt, and also in order to flatter Babylon as the most ancient capital, and thereby morally connect it with Assyria, was solemnly crowned there. These measures, however, not only did not achieve their goal, but further wounded the pride of Babylon, and in subsequent times we again see a whole series of uprisings, and the Babylonian kings even resorted to an alliance with their historical enemies: the Elamites and Egyptians. Wanting to put an end to the constant rebellions that were draining the strength of the monarchy, Senvahirim, with purely Assyrian callousness, decided to make them impossible by destroying the very center of their origin - namely, to destroy Babylon with fire and sword so that not a trace of it remained. The inhabitants who fell into the hands of the winner were sold into slavery en masse. Sennacherib's son, Esar-Gadd, found it necessary to correct his father's work and, as far as possible, restored the city and its shrines, making, at the same time, Babylon the second capital of the monarchy. This measure turned out to be more political and temporarily calmed the country, so that the next Assyrian king, Assurbanipal, could calmly indulge in literary and artistic pursuits with which his name is associated. Assyria's days were numbered, however. Taking advantage of the weakening of her military power, many of the peoples subordinate to her rebelled against her, and Vladimir did not fail to take advantage of this uprising. Taught by bitter historical experience, she now set to work with great caution and, to ensure success, established relations with Egypt and Media. The uprising was led by the Assyrian governor of Babylon, commander Nabopalassar, who set himself the ambitious idea of ​​becoming an independent king. The allies moved into Assyria and forced the last Assyrian king, Assur-Edil-Ilan, to shut himself up in the strongholds of his capital. For two years he repelled the attacks of the enemies with desperate courage; finally, not seeing any possibility of holding out any longer, especially when the Tigris flood destroyed and carried away a significant part of the fortifications, so as not to fall alive into the hands of the victors, he locked himself with his wives and treasures in his palace and set it on fire. But this infuriated the triumphant enemies even more, and the Babylonians decided to pour out all their thirst for revenge, accumulated over centuries, on Nineveh. The Assyrian capital was destroyed to the ground (606 BC). As if repeating Sennacherib's cruel determination towards Babylon, the Babylonians directed the flow of the Tigris into the streets of the destroyed city so as to wash away the very ashes and cover them with a layer of alluvial sand. On the ruins of the Assyrian monarchy, a new monarchy, so called, was founded. New Babylonian, which blossomed magnificently, but only for a short time. The founder of this monarchy was the destroyer of Assyria Nabopolassar, not only a brave warrior, but also a far-sighted politician. He sealed the alliance with Egypt by marrying the Egyptian princess, famous for her intelligence and energy, Nitocris (Net-Aker - Victorious Night), and brought Media closer to him through the marriage of his son Nebuchadnezzar to the daughter of the Median king Cyaxares. Having achieved his main goal, Nabopolassar set about giving Babylon a splendor worthy of the capital of a vast monarchy. To this end, he undertook extensive work to strengthen and improve Babylon. Feeling the approach of old age and weakening of his strength, Nabopalassar brought his son Nebuchadnezzar into the government of the country, who was his co-ruler until his death, providing important military services to the state, especially in the war against the former allies who had quarreled over the division of Assyria. The highest flowering of Babylon and the entire New Babylonian monarchy is associated with his name. Nebuchadnezzar or, in Babylonian pronunciation, Nabu-Kudur-Utsur (604-561 BC) concentrated in himself all the political and cultural splendor of his era. He ascended the throne as a sovereign monarch, after the death of his father, while still a very young man, no more than twenty-five years old, but he already had great fame as the conqueror of the warlike Egyptian pharaoh Necho II. The Jewish king Joachim entered into an alliance with Pharaoh in order, with his assistance, to ensure the independence of his kingdom against Egypt. Having consolidated his throne, Nebuchazzar then besieged and took Jerusalem (602), plundered the church and treasures of the Jewish capital, sent the Jewish king Jehoiachin in chains to Babylon and elevated his uncle Zedekiah to the throne as his tributary The latter soon began secret relations with the Egyptian pharaohs, despite the ardent protests of the prophet Jeremiah, who clearly saw that an alliance with Egypt would only accelerate the death of Judea. Meanwhile, the pharaoh managed to raise and unite not only Palestine, but also all of Syria, as well as Tire and Sidon, into one anti-Babylonian coalition. The Babylonian army, sent by Nebuchadnezzar against Judea, without much difficulty took several fortified cities and besieged Jerusalem itself, which desperately resisted for a year and a half. Famine finally made further defense impossible. The Babylonians made a breach in the wall and burst into the city. Zedekiah was captured and taken to the headquarters of Nebuchadnezzar himself, who poured out his rage on him with all the vindictiveness of an eastern conqueror: he ordered in the presence of Zedekiah himself to kill his two sons, and personally gouged out his own eyes and, having chained them, sent him to Babylon. After this, Jerusalem was subjected to merciless destruction; many of its inhabitants were taken into captivity and settled in a special quarter of Babylon and in other cities of Mesopotamia (588 BC). Having finished with Judea, Nebuchadnezzar directed his efforts to Tire, which had long been tempting the greed of the Mesopotamian kings with its countless riches. Tire at this time was at the height of its trading power and had great means of self-defense. As a result, the siege of Tire dragged on for fifteen years, and Nebuchadnezzar would hardly have been able to put an end to it if his king Itobaal had not considered it best, in the interests of Phoenician trade, to yield to the Babylonian king and recognize himself as his vassal (574). In honor of this event, Nebuchadnezzar ordered a statue of himself to be erected at the mouth of Nar-el-Kelb and an inscription to be carved on the rock dominating the river expressing gratitude to the gods for the victories won. Not satisfying his greed with the riches of Tire, he decided to take possession of Arabia, which, having long served as a station on the route of trade caravans between India and Egypt, was the subject of fantastic tales about its riches - gold and precious stones. Having taken possession of Arabia, Nebuchadnezzar would have actually taken over the entire Indo-Egyptian trade, and at the same time he would have captured Ophir, fabulous in its wealth, from where Solomon carried gold and various jewelry in whole ships. But this expedition ended in complete failure and, after terrible hardships in the deserts, returned home, leaving behind only various legends, composed by the ardent imagination of the Arabs and passed from mouth to mouth for many centuries. It remained to humble Egypt, which was the most powerful rival of Assyro-Babylonia. For centuries he waged an offensive war against Mesopotamia, with the aim of weakening its political power and bringing into the sphere of his political and commercial influence the intermediate countries, which were extensive storage points for all the rich trade that was conducted between India and Mesopotamia on the one hand, and Phenicia and Egypt on the other. Feeling the danger of his position and realizing the impossibility of resisting a formidable enemy on land, the pharaoh carried out a strong sabotage from the sea, where he even won a significant victory. But Nebuchadnezzar fully rewarded himself on land: he invaded the very valley of the Nile, overthrew Pharaoh Uabra and erected Ames in his place, hoping to make him a faithful and devoted vassal. In this, however, he was mistaken. Ames, at the first favorable opportunity, was indignant, and then Nebuchadnezzar again invaded Egypt, subjected it to merciless plunder (567) and returned to Babylon with enormous booty. Having defeated Egypt, Nebuchadnezzar became the master of all western Asia. At his disposal were not only treasures captured during campaigns as indemnities and military booty, but also all the sources of wealth that lived in the cultural countries of the then world. Having such enormous funds, he devoted the last years of his reign entirely to internal improvement and mainly to the decoration and exaltation of his capital, Babylon. In this regard, he already had many predecessors, the closest of whom was his mother Nitocris; but he surpassed them all, and under him it was Babylon that took on those grandiose dimensions and received that splendor that Herodotus, who saw this capital of the East a hundred years after Nebuchadnezzar, so enthusiastically talks about. Babylon was given the shape of a regular square, each side of which was equal to one hundred and twenty stadia, which is 21 versts, and, therefore, the entire circumference was equal to 84 versts. This entire huge space, divided in the middle by the deep stream of the Euphrates, was surrounded by two concentric walls with many loopholes and a hundred bronze gates. What a mass of labor was required to erect such walls is now difficult to imagine; but for Nebuchadnezzar this work was made easier by the fact that he could use the free or cheap labor of those captives whom he resettled in almost entire nations to Babylonia and whose hard labor can be judged by the images on the bas-reliefs from Kuyundzhik. According to Rawlinson's calculations, one outer wall, which was up to 200 feet high and 50 feet. width (so that chariots drawn by four horses could move around freely), required 18,765,000,000 bricks of the largest size. In addition, on each side of the river there were also special walls with huge gates at the end of each of the wide, straight streets leading to the river, along which excellent paved embankments stretched. From each gate, ferries moved across the river, and a huge drawbridge, removed at night, and a tunnel two fathoms wide provided an even more convenient way of intercourse. Inside this huge space there were houses of residents, 3 and even 4 floors high. But they were completely intimidated by the so-called “royal city,” where the royal palace stood, which was like a whole special city eleven miles in circumference. The palace consisted of three or four huge buildings, which represented a whole labyrinth of courtyards, large halls, galleries and other rooms, shining with all kinds of colors or decorated with images of scenes of war and hunting. The countless fragments of bricks found at this place are still covered with a thick layer of enamel, through which bright blue, red, and yellow colors shine through. The palace was adjacent to luxurious gardens, which were considered one of the wonders of the world. Married to a Median princess, and thinking that she was yearning for her native mountains among the Babylonian plains, Nebuchadnezzar decided to create artificial mountains covered with rich vegetation. For this purpose, monstrous arches were erected on pyramids up to 150 feet high. heights, and on these arches there were hilly gardens, among which cool rooms were located at various heights. To make the illusion even more complete, streams were laid along the terraces, supplied with water through special hydraulic machines. But in Babylonia, in contrast to Assyria, the highest luxury of construction was manifested not in palaces, but in churches, and the most striking building of this kind was the famous church of Bel-Merodach. Judging by the remains, no less than 40,000,000 bricks were used to build it, and all these bricks, with rare exceptions, bear a wedge-shaped inscription that reads: “I, Nebuchazzar, king of Babylon, builder of churches, eldest son of Naboiolassar.” And in general, 9/10 of the bricks brought from Mesopotamia and stored in various museums in Europe bear his name. Nebuchadnezzar did more for Babylon than Augustus did for Rome. Nebuchadnezzar's energy was not limited to the capital. He dug and restored the famous “Royal Canal” - Nagarmalka, which connected the Euphrates with the Tigris. Near Sippara, north of Babylon, he dug a huge reservoir lake, which had up to 210 ver. in circumference and up to 180 ft. depth for the purpose of irrigating the country. At the mouths of both rivers, by his order, embankments and breakwaters were built for the convenience of merchant ships, and on the shores of the Persian Gulf the fortified city of Teredon was founded, which had the task of protecting merchants from attacks by predatory Arabs. At the end of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar fell ill with a serious illness, known in medicine as lycanthropy and consisting in the fact that a person imagines himself to be some kind of animal. Perhaps it was a painful reaction in him against that boundless arrogance and conceit that finally led him to self-adoration. The illness lasted seven months; but even after his recovery, his former self-confidence no longer returned, but on the contrary, gloomy forebodings began about the fragility of earthly greatness and power, which was so eloquently reflected in his famous dreams. He died at the age of 70, having reigned for 43 years (604–561 BC). Nebuchadnezzar's premonitions were well founded. The monarchy he exalted did not have the makings of strength and vitality. This colossus with a golden head had clay feet, which was immediately revealed after the death of Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar's direct successor, his son Evil-Merodach (Abil-Marduk), had none of the talents of his great father and, having reigned ingloriously for only two years (561-559), was overthrown by his sister's husband Nergal-sar-ussur. This family turmoil ended with the latter’s son being overthrown by the court party of the Chaldeans, who elevated to the throne a member of their party, the scholar Nabonidus (Naboo-Nagid). The latter, being a man of science, and on the throne (555–538) primarily devoted himself to archaeological research, for which he carried out numerous excavations on the site of ancient churches and rendered a great service to the latest historical science with his inscriptions, which often serve as the only material for familiarization with the ancient destinies of V. and especially for establishing ancient chronology. But the monarchy needed a king who could protect it against the impending storm. A new conqueror appeared in the East, Cyrus, who, having taken possession of the kingdom of his father-in-law, the Median king Astyages, quickly began to conquer the surrounding peoples and turned his weapons against V. Nabonidus did not take any serious measures of self-defense and, based on mysterious dreams, made some kind of shuffle in the gods, transferring them from Babylon to other cities and back. Cyrus, meanwhile, even occupied Sippara, a city located only twenty miles from Babylon, and only then the confused Nabonidus decided to move against the enemy. The battle was lost by the Babylonians, and Nabodid was captured. Historical science does not yet have sufficient data to form a clear idea of ​​the circumstances of the fall of Babylon. On the one hand, there is the well-known story of Herodotus about how Cyrus, having approached the walls of Babylon, diverted the waters of the Euphrates into the Sippar reservoir and entered the city along the shallow bed (the biblical story about the feast of Belshazzar is in agreement with this, see this next); on the other, a newly discovered inscription in the name of Cyrus himself, where the matter is presented in a completely different form. This inscription (on a cylinder kept in the British Museum) says that Cyrus, having been chosen by the Babylonian god Merodach to replace the wicked Nabonidus, unhinderedly approached the city and, “crushing all the people of Tintier (Babylon), and all the people of Akkad and Sumir, nobles and priests, so that they came and kissed his feet,” he entered the city, joyfully greeted by its inhabitants, who (according to an excerpt from the Babylonian Chronicle) poured out into the streets to watch his solemn entry into the capital. Both of these documents do not even talk about the siege of Babylon, but on the contrary, the whole tone of the story is such that Cyrus, as the favorite of the gods, was received with joy by the Babylonians as a liberator. Be that as it may, Babylon fell (538), and with it the Babylonian monarchy, a representative of the Cushitic-Semitic culture, and the Persian monarchy took its place. Spared by Cyrus, Babylon and after its political the fall still continued to retain commercial and, in general, cultural significance; but subsequent uprisings completed his death. Darius destroyed its walls and all fortifications (488), and Xerxes a few years later subjected it to complete plunder. Alexander the Great, struck by the beauty and advantageous position of Babylon, decided to restore it from ruins again in order to make it the capital of the world; but after the death of Alexander, this idea remained unfulfilled, and the fate of Babylon was forever decided. It began to fall more and more into decline and become empty, and by the first century of the Christian era it was no longer an important city. In the fourth century, the area surrounding it was turned into a park in which the Persian kings loved to hunt, and then this life dried up in it too. Babylon turned into a heap of ruins and was in complete oblivion for a whole millennium; only the poor Arabs of the desert used the ruins of his proud churches and palaces for their miserable hovels. The exact location of its location was forgotten, and only in the middle of this century did excavations begin, which make it possible to get an idea of ​​its former greatness. Religion, cult and priests. The main driving principle of Babylonian life was undoubtedly the religious principle. In this regard, Britain represented the most striking type of ancient worldview, according to which religion was not just a necessary fact of inner life, satisfying one specific need, but rather a general principle, the influence of which affected all aspects of national life. The significance of this principle was so great that even the political principle, which, it would seem, should have been the dominant principle in such military despotic states as the states of Mesopotamia, paled before it. V.'s religious worldview was the same mixture of sublimely abstract principles and concrete superstitious views that usually distinguished ancient pagan religions. Viewed from its ordinary side, the religion of the Babylonians represented an intricate system of gods and goddesses with endless genealogies, good and evil geniuses or spirits, struggling for dominion over the world and man, who, in turn, was forced to resort to all sorts of tricks in order to please these gods and thereby ensure his well-being. In the views of the priests, representatives of the science of that time, the Babylonian religion rises to the idea of ​​a single God, although it falls into pantheism, without drawing a distinction between God and the world, the Creator and the creation. The entire surrounding world, according to these views, is an infinitely diverse manifestation of deity, the highest form of which is the heavenly bodies, with their correct, miraculously unchanging movement along the paths indicated by them. Sabeism became the dominant form of the Babylonian religion, therefore the Babylonians believed in a primary, immaterial principle - Ilu (i.e. God in the proper sense of the word, El, or in the plural form - Elohim of other Semitic peoples). The idea of ​​him was very abstract, inaccessible to the simple popular consciousness, although for him there was a visual image in the form of a royal bust on a winged circle or disk. From this initial principle, secondary principles gradually develop, representing, under the guise of a male and female being, active and passive forces that produce from themselves everything that exists - in its uncertain, chaotic state. When a created being is ripe for its final entry into concrete, ordered existence, the primary principles produce from themselves a creative triad consisting of Anu, Bel and Ea, which, with the participation of their corresponding female triad, bearing the names Anatu, Beltu and Damkina, produce an endless offspring of lower deities, representing the personification of the most diverse phenomena of the world and, above all, the heavenly bodies: the sun (Samas), moons (Sin), Venus (Istar), etc., totaling twelve in number. Higher theological thought has never lost sight of the fact that all these latter deities were only manifestations of a single supreme First Principle. But the popular consciousness could not maintain such an abstract height and over time began to see in these manifestations independent deities who, as patrons of one or another city at war with each other, themselves became involved in rivalry, or with the political elevation of one city over others received a dominant position over the rest of the gods, even if in their original position they occupied a far from primary place in the hierarchy of gods. Thus, during the period of hegemony of the city of Ur, its patron deity Sin (moon) enjoyed greater honor than would correspond to its position in the celestial hierarchy; and subsequently, with the rise of Babylon, its special god Marduk or Merodach, who occupied one of the secondary places, took a dominant position among the other gods and began to be identified with the second person of the original triad - Bel. Each of the gods had his own goddess, as a passive force of productivity, and of them, Istar, Astarte of the Semitic peoples, Aphrodite of Greek mythology, the goddess of love, the ruler of the planet Venus, was especially famous. She was the most popular goddess in Britain, magnificent churches were built for her, her images were constantly carried in solemn processions, enthusiastic hymns were dedicated to her, and she was the heroine of a large poem that has come down to us: “The Descent of Istara into Hell,” which serves as almost the only source for familiarizing ourselves with the views of the Babylonians on the afterlife. Then, in addition to these main deities, the imagination of the Babylonians filled the whole world - the sky, the earth's surface with the atmosphere and the abyss - with numerous spirits and demons, of which the first were guardians and well-wishers of people, as a result of which their images, in the form of winged gods with human heads, were placed at the entrances to palaces and churches, and the latter, for the image of which the Babylonian imagination was exhausted in inventing the ugliest and repulsive forms, were the worst enemies of people and it was necessary to report from them with all kinds of spells and conspiracies, which constituted a special science among the Babylonians. Churches were built for the gods, and each city spent entire wealth on the construction of the most magnificent dwelling possible for its patron god. The kings also competed with each other in this regard and in their titles proudly called themselves the builders of certain churches, believing this to be their main merit and glory. Babylonian churches had a very uniform shape. These were, as Herodotus describes, something like ledge-shaped pyramids, with seven towers rising one above the other on a wide base, ending in a gilded dome. A spiral staircase led to the topmost tower, in which the main sanctuary of the god was located. The enormity of the Babylonian churches can be judged by the fact that even now, thousands of years later, the ruins of the famous church of E-Zid in Borsippa rise more than 35 fathoms. over the surrounding plain. According to Strabo, this church had a stage of height, that is, about 90 fathoms, therefore, it was much higher than the great Egyptian pyramid and the highest cathedrals of Europe. As for the internal structure and type of churches, the information in this regard is very insufficient. According to Herodotus, in the uppermost sanctuary of the church there was nothing except a bed on which the god spent his nights in the presence of a chaste woman serving him. A more detailed picture of the interior of the church is presented by one slab found in the ruins of the ancient Sippar church in honor of Samas (the sun) and now located in the British Museum. The upper half of this slab depicts the interior of the church. On the right, in a special sacred compartment (altar), sits on a stool supported by lions, the god Samas himself, of the usual Babylonian-Assyrian bearded type. In his right hand he holds a disk and a scepter, and above him are the sun, moon and Venus. From the outer cornice of the altar, ropes or chains descend from the hands of two human figures, on which hangs a huge image of the symbol of the sun god, which is lowered onto a special table or altar. Three people approach this symbol of the deity on the left, of whom the first leads the second by the hand, and the third follows them with raised hands. Apparently, the first of them is a priest, and the other two are laymen approaching the altar with repentance for their sins. In the religious hymns of the Babylonians that have come down to us there are those that serve as a direct explanation of this scene. The priest, turning to the deity, intercedes for the sinner, and then the sinner himself prays for forgiveness of his sins. Thus, the sinner, turning to Istara, calls out to her: “There is no governing god above you; show me mercy and hear my groans, declare forgiveness to me, and may your anger be satisfied.” One of the most common ways to appease the gods was to offer sacrifices. Various objects were brought, but the animals were mainly gazelles, goats and lambs. A bas-relief found at Kuyundlsik depicts a number of slaves solemnly carrying to the church, as an offering to the deity from their master, fruits, a pair of hares, a pair of quails, four bunches of locusts, two bunches of onions, etc. Similar sacrifices are listed in one inscription of Nebuchadnezzar. All these items went to feed the priests. In more ancient times, human sacrifices were also performed, as monuments undoubtedly testify to. Many of the cylinders clearly depict the process of sacrifice, with the victim being blessed by the high priest and then slaughtered, apparently with the same composure as is done with a kid. Inscriptions and hymns fully confirm the fact of human sacrifice, and they especially often talk about the sacrifice of children by parents. This kind of sacrifice, however, was an exceptional phenomenon. The Babylonian cult was not so much bloodthirsty as it was debauched, designed to exploit sensuality. The cult of Istara, for example, consisted of all kinds of manifestations of love and went as far as serving sexual sensuality. At the churches of Istara there lived special people, the so-called. “sacred harlots” who devoted their entire lives to serving the goddess with their sinful flesh. Standing at the door of the church, they invited passers-by and deposited the money they obtained on the altar to the goddess. By the time of Herodotus, this cult had received a monstrous development, and, according to his testimony, all adult girls sacrificed their chastity to the goddess, giving themselves for the most insignificant payment to the first of those numerous wanderers who came from everywhere to worship the Babylonian shrines (I, 199). Although the testimony of Herodotus can hardly be accepted in its entirety, the custom itself, in one form or another, cannot be doubted and is confirmed in the Bible (Jer. 42:43). One of the most beloved forms of religious life were solemn processions held on the occasion of holidays or public disasters. During these processions, statues of gods, placed on stretchers, were solemnly carried around the city with singing and music. The Babylonian highly valued real, earthly life, with its everyday worries and joys, and in his prayers to the gods he mainly asked for the granting of prosperity and longevity in this life. He thought little about another, afterlife, and as a result, the very concepts of it were very vague. In numerous sculptural images that reproduce before us the most diverse aspects of Babylonian life, we do not find images of funeral scenes at all, so, apparently, the Babylonian avoided the very thought of death. But since it was necessary to reckon with this terrible enemy, the Babylonian tried to furnish his dead as much as possible so that in the grave they would be surrounded by the same environment that was dear to them during life. Along with the dead, all kinds of household items, weapons, and vessels were buried in the grave, so that the Babylonian graves represent for the researcher V. almost the same rich material as the famous tombs in Egypt. There were special favorite places for burial, where the dead were brought even from remote areas (for example, in Uruk, now Varka). Until recently, some researchers completely denied the Babylonians’ idea of ​​immortality. More thorough recent research has shown, however, that this idea was by no means alien to them, although it was in an underdeveloped state. According to the Babylonian idea, the soul of the deceased (ekima) goes to a mysterious underground place - the Aral, “where nothing is visible,” and it is there, behind seven walls, that it languishes in eternal darkness. The image of hell, the very inscription on its gates, because of which “no one ever returned,” the gatekeepers - all this in the Babylonian poem quite closely resembles Dante’s famous poem, showing how Babylonian ideas about the afterlife were reflected in medieval views on the same subject. The idea of ​​reward and punishment in the afterlife was very unclear; but that it existed at all is amply indicated by many hymns, in which the bliss of pious people is depicted in bright colors. This bliss, however, has a completely earthly character. Thus, for example, a warrior who has fallen on the battlefield for his fatherland is surrounded by his trophies and booty, gives magnificent feasts to his friends and drinks living water from heavenly springs. – The official representatives of religion were the priests who wrote letters, an influential class that played a primary role in the state and held in its hands all the sources of enlightenment of the people. This class, even if it did not constitute a formal caste, was still distinguished by caste exclusivity. Its ranks were replenished from certain clans, mainly those that traced their origins to the primitive Kushites of the Chaldeans, as a result of which the Babylonian priests appropriated to themselves the special name Chaldeans, which, when applied to them, was identified with the idea of ​​sages. They were exceptional experts on the intricate genealogies of the gods, interpreters of dreams and the secrets of nature, observers of the movements of the heavenly bodies in their relationship with the destinies of people, lawyers, physicians - and they kept all these treasures of wisdom in sacred books written in the ancient Sumiro-Akkadian language, which was the exclusive property of the learned class of priests. As representatives of such comprehensive wisdom, the priests were advisers to the king, who, as high priest, was considered their head. At the court there lived permanent colleges of priests, who formed something like a state council, to which the king turned to resolve all difficulties encountered. The influence of these colleges was so great that, in essence, they were the source of central government of the state, and the king himself was in their hands, although, of course, the unlimited despotism of the monarch often took terrible revenge on them for this, as is depicted in the biblical story of Nebuchadnezzar, who, for the inability of the priests to remind him and interpret a terrible dream he had forgotten, ordered them all to be put to death (Dan. 2:12,13). The Babylonian priests, judging by the monuments, differed from ordinary people in the long, special cut of their clothes, high headdresses and the importance of posture. State structure. During the period of the highest development of its political power, Britain represented a strong political organism, the center and head of which was the king. For the state, the king was everything in everything, and without him nothing could be accomplished. He actually concentrated in himself all the highest functions of state life and was the supreme judge and legislator. All other dignitaries occupied a completely subordinate position in relation to him, and he, autocratically elevating them to the highest positions, could with the same autocracy overthrow and destroy them. The king was distinguished from all the dignitaries around him by the extraordinary wealth of his clothing, luxuriously embroidered with patterned inventions of scenes from the religious or mythical world with the inevitable winged geniuses and the mysterious tree of life. On his head he wore a high crown. Numerous images on the bas-reliefs of monuments clearly depict his entire life before us. He is always surrounded by his closest retinue and, whether he sits on the throne, whether he goes majestically to the church, whether he carries on an important conversation with his supreme dignitaries, whether he rushes on a pair of dashing horses, whether he performs a sacrifice or simply rests at the dinner table, he always bears on his face the stamp of stern, despotic, unyielding majesty, making everyone around him tremble in awe. In depictions of war scenes or hunting, the king invariably appears as an almost supernatural hero, who on his chariot mercilessly crushes and defeats the panicked enemy, or personally grapples with lions and kills them, and after victory, with stern pride, accepts the captives brought to him and sometimes gouges out their eyes himself. The king's court consisted of a whole hierarchy of ranks; the most important among them were tartan, rabsaris and rabsak. The first of them occupied a position like the grand vizier in the Turkish Empire, was the first minister and the most trusted person of the sovereign. In his clothing he differed little from the king himself, and only his low headband betrayed his comparatively subordinate position. Rabsaris was the “great eunuch,” that is, the minister in charge of the royal court, especially its women’s department, and also played an important role in the state. Rabshakeh is the great butler, whose duty was to take care of the food of the king and his entire court; he is also responsible for the good quality and harmlessness of drinks served at the royal table. Under the command of these higher dignitaries there were many lower ranks. Rabsaris was not always a eunuch in the proper sense of the word; but under his authority there were many actual eunuchs, who are often depicted on monuments with typical beardless, swollen faces. Their duty was to protect the sovereign from the rays of the sun, through an umbrella, or from flies, through a special kind of mahal. The female staff lived remotely in their harems and almost never appear in images in the presence of the king. An exception is made very rarely in favor of some of the most beloved wife, who is sometimes depicted sitting in the company of the king at a table with dishes. The three supreme dignitaries, together with the permanent court colleges of Chaldean sages, constituted the highest state council, through which the royal commands or orders were distributed throughout the monarchy, and back - all the threads of government were drawn to the person of the king. The Supreme State Council, however, was in charge only of the most general political interests of the country, since in the eastern monarchies, with all the unlimited development of despotic autocracy in them, centralization did not reach the point of absorbing the entire internal life of the outskirts. On the contrary, the provinces often led an almost independent life, subordinate to the center only in such external facts as the payment of taxes, the supply of the required number of troops, military provisions, etc. This order gave full opportunity to provincial governors to take advantage of every opportunity for an uprising. Another evil of this system was that local rulers, being responsible for the regular payment of taxes from their province, no longer considered themselves responsible for the welfare of the population and, in the interests of personal enrichment, mercilessly robbed the people entrusted to their care. However, the king did not always remain indifferent to the situation of the population in the provinces: when complaints about oppression reached him, he sent special agents to investigate the actual state of affairs and, if the complaints were true, punished or replaced the ruler. Many cuneiform tablets have come down to us in which the king declares that, having heeded the complaints of such and such a province, he will replace its ruler, put another in his place, and with his justice and mercy will reward the victims for all the oppression they have endured. In one of the complaints to the king, by the way, the curious fact of theft of public property is revealed. In one province, seven talents of pure gold were collected to cast statues of the king and his mother; but this gold ended up in the pockets of a certain “privy councilor” (Tucullum) and a “palace bailiff”, who were apparently entrusted with carrying out the loyal desire of the population of the province. It is this act of the dignitaries that is reported to the king in the cuneiform tablet. The army and the people. Britain, as a monarchy composed of a number of conquered peoples, owed its political power to its military organization, which therefore was of paramount importance in it. The army was distinguished by strict organization and discipline. It was divided into several types of weapons, and the main one was cavalry, which in turn was divided into light and heavy, that is, into detachments of lightly armed horsemen and detachments of heavily armed chariots. The chariot cavalry was especially important; the kings spared no expense in equipping it. These detachments of chariots, usually drawn by a pair, and sometimes three, of strong horses, and occupied by selected, heavily armed warriors and drivers, were a threat to the enemy. On the bas-reliefs of Assyro-Babylonian palaces one can constantly see images of chariots mercilessly crushing the panicked enemy. The infantry consisted of detachments of archers armed with bows and quivers, spearmen and slingers. Each type of weapon had its own special techniques, and on the bas-reliefs one can clearly see to what extent the technique of harmonious military evolutions was brought. During the siege of fortified cities, battering rams were used - battering machines that resembled a huge ram with an iron pig's snout, the blows of which quickly crushed the strongest wall. Such rams were used, for example, by the Babylonians during the siege of Jerusalem and created horror for the besieged, which found an echo in the speeches of modern prophets. War in ancient times was an incomparably more terrible disaster than it is today. The country, which became an arena of military action, was doomed to complete ruin; cities taken by force were subjected to plunder and often complete destruction and destruction. This naturally introduced extraordinary bitterness into the very nature of the battles, on the outcome of which the fate of the defeated army and prisoners of war depended. The latter were made objects of inhuman torture. On the bas-reliefs one often comes across such scenes as chopping off the members of prisoners, impaling them alive, ripping off their skin, gouging out their eyes, scratching their backs with iron cats, pulling out their veins and similar atrocities. The most careful accounts were kept of the severed members of the killed warriors, and entire pyramids were erected from their heads. The kings narrate all these bloodthirsty exploits with visible complacency in wedge-shaped inscriptions left for the edification of posterity. The vanquished peoples were taken into captivity in large numbers, where they were allocated for residence either desert areas that needed settlement, or special quarters in cities. These masses of captives provided the Assyro-Babylonian kings with free or at least cheap labor during the construction of grandiose buildings and structures in general. Some of the captives were reduced to complete slavery. The wedge-shaped inscriptions preserved many very interesting documents regarding the purchase and sale of slaves, for which there were special markets in the cities. Writing, science and art. Already at a very distant time, V. had knowledge of a special kind of writing, which is known as cuneiform. Its origin has not yet been sufficiently researched, but even with the current data it is possible to believe that its primitive form was ideographism or pictography, in which the recorded object was copied from nature. The oldest material for writing, apparently, was wood, since the Babylonian word lihusi, meaning this material, has the identifying sign of wood in front of it. This material was more convenient for depicting rounded figures; for example, the sun was written by drawing a circle. But later clay became the most common writing material, from which special types of slabs or cylinders were prepared. On the soft mass, with their special style or stick, written signs were extruded, which, by the very property of this material, received the character of wedges, so that the sun was no longer depicted as a regular circle, as before, but as a circular combination of several wedges, which sign was subsequently simplified even more, receiving only the conventional meaning of the sun (in the Assyrian letter). But that ideographism was the original form of this writing is clearly indicated by such images as a star, a hand (an obvious reproduction of the five fingers of the hand), etc. These signs underwent gradual simplification over time: the later Babylonian cuneiform differs significantly from the more complex cuneiform of ancient times, and the Assyrian cuneiform, in turn, differed from the Babylonian, although it should be noted that in later times in the most important In documents, especially sacred books, we encounter the most ancient complex writing system, which had a sacred meaning in the eyes of the Babylonians. Wedge-shaped signs have different positions: vertical, horizontal or oblique. Sometimes one complex wedge is made from two wedges, and then special kinds of angles were also used, which, however, can also be considered complex wedges connected at a right or obtuse angle. Using a soft mass of clay, wedges were made with great ease and convenience. By pressing the style, the scribe made the thick end of the wedge, and by removing it from the clay, he could easily draw a thin line in one direction or another. Many have achieved remarkable art in this regard. A clay slab or cylinder inscribed with such wedges was dried in the sun or burned in a fire, and the inscription was immortalized. Entire libraries were compiled from these cuneiform slabs and they existed in almost all the main cities, among which, according to Berosus, Pantibibla was especially famous - the “city of books,” probably the Greek form of Sippara, this ancient repository of the sacred books of V. The position of the librarian was considered so important that it was usually occupied by high dignitaries and even the king’s brothers. Such a broad development of librarianship presupposes at the same time the widespread development of literacy and scientific and literary education among the people. And indeed, despite the fact that the Chaldean cuneiform was a very complex system that required great effort for thorough study, literacy was widespread among the Babylonians. Judging by the numerous trade and contractual documents in which we meet with persons of all ranks and status, one can even assume that illiteracy was a rare exception among them. And this is not surprising if we take into account the high development of school affairs in ancient Vietnam. The Babylonians had a strictly developed didactic system. Simplified guidelines were available for new students entering schools. Recently, a whole list of books has been discovered that contain lessons assigned to children for memorization. They consist of poems and hymns, such as “Merodach the Lord of Glory,” etc., or fables, such as “the story of the fox,” “the story of the will and the horse,” “the story of the twins,” etc. From this it is clear that the Babylonian teachers tried to make the initial learning not only easy, but also entertaining. The fox plays no less an important role in these ancient children's manuals than in similar manuals of our time. One tile found in Assurbanipal's library contains a lesson for a young Assyrian princess in folding and reading Assyrian script. After reading and writing, grammar was carefully studied. The same library contains many teaching aids in the form of syllabaries, grammars, dictionaries and all kinds of scientific manuals. In addition to the living spoken language, an ancient, dead language was also studied in Babylonian schools - Sumiro-Akkadian, which was a liturgical and scientific language, like Latin in the Middle Ages; its study was facilitated by many translated manuals. This dead language was used in literature until later times, but its study was already a subject of higher scientific education and knowledge of it was part of what was known in Assyro-Babylonia as “Chaldean wisdom.” This wisdom was taught in the highest court or church schools, where the teachers were “Chaldean sages”, who graduated similar sages from their schools. Chaldean wisdom embraced various branches of scientific and literary knowledge, the content and character of which appears to us with sufficient completeness in the Babylonian literature, which filled the libraries. The main content of this literature was religious treatises, which set out the extremely intricate theology and cosmogony of the Babylonians. These treatises take the form of poems, which set out the adventures of gods and goddesses, as well as demigods or semi-mythological heroes. Thus, the poem about the descent of Istara into hell is especially famous, serving as the main source for familiarization with the afterlife beliefs of the Babylonians. The famous Chaldean epic about Izdubar-Gilgames, discovered in the Nineveh library and read and published by the late English Assyriologist J. Smith under the title: “The Chaldean Book of Genesis” (in accordance with the first book of the Bible), has a cosmogonic character. This epic, consisting of twelve songs, details the Babylonian tales of the origin of the world and the primitive times that ended with the global flood. These tales are in many respects very similar to the biblical ones, especially in the story of the flood, which forms the content of the 11th canto. The main character of the poem, Izdubar-Gilgames, in many respects resembles the biblical Nimrod, since, like the latter, he was a great trapper and was distinguished by many feats in the fight against lions and buffaloes. On the other hand, Izdubar-Gilgames is a prototype of the Greek Hercules, whose exploits find their counterpart in the exploits of the Babylonian hero. But Babylonian literature was not limited to theology and semi-mythical cosmogonies; In it, a respectable place was given to the exact sciences, especially mathematics. The Babylonian's mind was distinguished by its great ability for mathematical calculations and early developed a rather convenient system of numerical signs. The famous multiplication table, the invention of which is attributed to Pythagoras, traces its origins to the Babylonians, or rather the Akkadians. In calculations among the Babylonians, the duodecimal system dominated, the main large unit in which was the number 60, made up of multiplying 12 (months) by 5 (fingers). This system was dominant during the time period. The Babylonian year was divided into 12 months of 30 days, with the addition of five additional days, a period of 60 years was sossa, a period of 600 years was faith and 3600 years was sara. Such periods in the Babylonian chronicles usually indicate chronology, to understand which it is necessary to know this system. The day was divided into 12 hours, an hour into 60 minutes and a minute into 60 seconds, so that the Babylonians' hours, minutes and seconds were twice as long as ours. Closely connected with the calculation of time was astronomy, which, under the encouraging influence of the cult itself (Sabeism) and under favorable conditions for observation - always a clear and clear sky - received a very significant development already in ancient times. The main astronomical work was “Observations of Bel” on 72 slabs, written for the library of Sargon 1 in Agad. The astronomical knowledge of the Babylonians appears in it with sufficient completeness. They already early distinguished the planets from the fixed stars and were the first to invent the circle of the zodiac, with the designation of its successive points by animal figures - ox, ram, scorpio, dragon, eagle, etc.; kept an accurate record of solar and lunar eclipses, indicating their causes and even predicting them (although not always justified); guessed about the actual distance of the sun and moon. For astronomical observations, there were observatories at the churches, which were of enormous public and state importance, since astronomy was largely of an astrological nature and various celestial phenomena were placed in close relation to events on earth. By one or another type of moon, by one or another combination of stars, Chaldean astrologers tried to predict the future - harvest, famine, war, flood, etc. further, and everyone - from the king to the last villager - listened to them with intense attention. Based on astronomical observations, the Chaldean sages compiled yearly calendars, predicting the weather for each day. Geography and history were less developed than astronomy, of which the first consisted of a simple list of cities and countries to be conquered or conquered, and the second never rose above the primitive chronicle form with a record of the outstanding exploits of the kings. Among other sciences, we can also mention medicine, in which, as in astronomy, the superstitious-healer element far prevailed over the scientific one. Much more than medicine, V. was famous for its magic, which played a huge role in the social life of the people and was considered the ability to communicate with the higher or lower world of spirits in order to attract their assistance in achieving a certain goal for the benefit or harm of people, as well as for foreknowledge of the future. Magic, divided into white and black, depending on whether it was directed towards good or evil, was practiced by a special class of people - the so-called magicians or magi (see), - different from the priests, although they were closely related to the religious cult. With various lamentations, incantations and magical formulas, these magi called upon one or another god, and with their help they thought to heal diseases, drive away infection, resolve infertility, lengthen life, or, conversely, bring down all kinds of troubles on people - illness, hunger, etc. The huge number of magical formulas that have come down to us shows how much importance was attached to this “science” in V. The glory of the Babylonian magi, under the specific name of the Chaldeans, thundered throughout Asia and penetrated far to the west. Magic, as a subject of study, was a kind of knowledge; but in its lamentations and formulas it directly passed into the realm of art, since the strength of one or another lamentation was closely dependent on its verbal expressiveness or lyrical enthusiasm. Therefore, long lamentations are a kind of poem, sometimes achieving great power. In the field of religious lyrics, hymns are produced that, in their sublimity and depth of feeling, can be compared with similar hymns or psalms of the Jews. Along with poetry, the Babylonians had a highly developed music, which was widely used in worship, as well as at public and private feasts, especially in palaces and houses of the nobility. On the bas-reliefs there are often images of musicians who, in entire orchestras, play various musical instruments - flutes, zithers, harps, cymbals, etc. Street groups of musicians walked around large cities, sometimes consisting of more than 20 people, with wives and children who sang along or clapped their hands. These street troupes consisted primarily of captives, and among them in later times the Jews were especially famous for their music, as evidenced by the deeply touching psalm: “On the rivers of Babylon - there we sat and wept when we remembered Zion; We hung our harps on the willow trees in the midst of it” (Ps. 136:1-2). Sculpture was also widely developed, although human figures are generally distinguished by the monotony of their composition. In the whole sculptural gallery of the Assyro-Babylonian kings it is difficult to notice any variation in type or expression, which invariably bears the stamp of stern, inflexible grandeur. Sculpture found particularly wide application in bas-relief images that decorated the walls of churches and palaces. The Babylonians also knew painting, which sculptors often resorted to in order to revive their works. Literature of the subject. Sources for the study of V. fall into two classes, of which the first belongs to the ancient testimonies of classical writers, and the second - wedge-shaped literature. Among classical writers, the first place belongs to Herodotus, who dedicated the first of 9 books of his history to V. Here you can find a lot of precious material for studying the everyday side of life of the Babylonians, although, at the same time, one cannot help but notice Herodotus’ usual shortcoming - the lack of proper critical verification of the information reported from hearsay. Of more significant importance is the work of the Babylonian priest Berosus, who wrote the history of Babylonia in Greek for the contemporaries of Alexander the Great and used authentic Babylonian documents in its compilation. Unfortunately, his work (Βαβυλωνικά) has reached us only in fragments and extracts from later writers (I. Flavius, Eusebius and others). From these passages it is clear that Berosus expounded in particular detail the history of primitive times. His messages are confirmed by the latest discoveries. The Bible can be attributed to this class, in which there is a lot of valuable material for studying both the external history of Britain during periods of contact with the history of the Jewish people, and, especially, the internal life of the Babylonian kings. Another class of sources includes all the cuneiform literature, rich in its diversity, which made it possible to completely restore the history of Vietnam in all the details of its political and cultural life, and extremely increased interest in it. If in the past, with the scarcity of sources, the history of Byzantium represented only a set of meager and implausible information, now it has acquired a completely scientific character, despite the fact that some periods still need additional material, which is abundantly supplied by excavations. Among the newest treatments of the history of Britain (except for those indicated under the word Assyria), the following works can be cited: G. Rawlinson, “The five great Monarchies of the Eastern world” (2nd ed. 1871, in I and [1 volume); G. Smith, "History of Babylonia" (1877); IV and V volumes F. Lenormant, “Histoire ancienne de l’Orient” (9th ill. ed., 1885–7); Thiele, "Babylonich-Assyrische Geschichte" (1886–1888); Kommel, “Geschichte Babyloniens-Assyriens” (Leipzig, 1889), Kaulen, “Babylonien u. Assyrian", 1889; Schrader, Keilinschriften und d. Alte Testament, 3rd ed. Berlin 1902. and others. The works of Lenormand and Hommel are richly illustrated with photographs from monuments. In our literature, the history of V. is almost an untouched region; There are several journal articles, but independent works, except for a small book by a professor. I. Astafieva: “Babylonian-Assyrian antiquities according to the latest discoveries” (St. Petersburg, 1882), one can only point to the dissertation of Archim. Plato: “The Ancient East in the Light of God. Revelations”, Kyiv, 1898. From the translated works one can point to Sayce’s treatise: “Assyro-Babylonian Literature” (St. Petersburg, 1879) and to the corresponding sections in Lenormand’s “History of the Ancient East”, translated by Komapin (Kiev, 1879) and “General History” by G. Weber (vol. I, trans. Andreev-Chernyshevsky, Moscow, 1885). Unfortunately, Lenormand’s translation was made from an outdated edition, and the corresponding section in Weber’s history, even in new editions (and, subsequently, in Russian), does not go further than Assyriology of the 70s, while since that time science has made great strides. Wed. our article "Babylonia" in Enz. Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron.