1. By Robert, Jake, Julius, and Adrian
Babylon
By Robert, Jake, Julius, and Adrian

2. Babylonia’s Significant Historic Figures
King Hammurabi
Created the first large uniform collection of laws (an eye for an aye, a tooth for a tooth).
King Hammurabi pushed Babylon’s boundaries north to Mari and south to Ur during his reign
King Nebuchadnezzar
Built the Hanging gardens of Babylon
Captured Jerusalem and caused the Babylonian exile

3. The Government and Laws of Babylon
Used the uniform code of Hammurabi which touched on every crime imaginable
The code had equal punishment for each crime (an eye for en eye, a tooth for tooth) however, the code’s punishment changed based upon the class of the criminal and the affected by the crime committed
The code had 282 laws in total
The code of Hammurabi was written on a large black pillar with a picture at the top of Shamash the sun god handing king Hammurabi the law code
Government
Government was lead by strong kings
It was a strong central government that was fair to all citizens and easily controlled
The economy was completely controlled by the government, thus there were no private businesses
Priests were placed in charge by Hammurabi to help control the economy

4. Existing Jobs in Babylonia
Brick maker
bricklayer
brick-stamper
basket-maker
potter
smith goldsmith/silversmith
Jeweler
Baker
Gardener
wine-maker
Cook
Wheelwright
furniture-maker
boatman
Boat builder
carpenter
horse-trainer
Architect
engineer
exorcist
charioteer
cavalryman
Musician
servant
Priest
bitumen-carter
rope-maker
farmer
scribe
tax collector
overseer
herder
weaver
merchant.

5. Human Expression Writing and Language
Wrote on cuneiform on clay tablets which was associated with the Acadian language
They were Semitic speaking
Used Cuneiform for writing but, it was not well known, so they began to use the Aramaic language for writing. With this was introduced the first alphabetical script. Aramaic was a Lingua Franca.
Wrote on clay tablets
Art

6. The Architecture of Babylon
used mud-brick construction
had walls articulated by pilasters and recesses, sometimes faced with burnt and glazed brick
had narrow rooms, mostly covered with flat timber and mud roofs
used extensive use of bitumen in drain and pavement construction and as mortar.
Dyed clay bricks.
City Planning
The palace was located near one of the main entrance/gate (Ishtar Gate) to the city and it was next to the processional way.
The processional way was very wide and it was paved with large stone slabs on bitumen. It was also a walled road.
The houses were not freestanding, and were built together.
It had eight gates

7. Religion The Gods of Babylon Beliefs Marduk - the city god
Shamash - the sun god
Nabu - the god of writing
Ishara - the goddess of love
Gula - the goddess of healing
Ea – the god of water and wisdom
Ishtar – the fertility goddess
Sin – the moon god
Beliefs
The Babylonians believed that the king/monarch was a god, or that he had a divine origin
They believed that the gods revealed the future in the entrails of sacrificed animals
The Babylonians didn’t believe in an afterlife that held any promise or threat

8. The Babylon’s Accomplishments
The Babylonians created the hanging gardens of Babylon under King Nebuchadnezzar
The Babylonians created the first large collection of laws under King Hammurabi
Developed sundried clay bricks which they dyed different colors, and the clay could be found in different colors
Under King Hammurabi, a very effective workforce was created due to his code.

9. Map of the Babylonian Empire at the Heights of its Power
Babylonia under Hammurabi
The Neo Babylonian Empire
Map of the Babylonian empire under the reign of king Hammurabi (from about 1792 BC – 1750 BC)

10. The Questions
1.Why was this civilizations significant in ancient Mesopotamia?
The Babylonians reunited Mesopotamia, and if they hadn’t done this, many empires wouldn’t have been founded
The Babylonians rebelled and burned Nineveh (the capital city of the Assyrians) to the ground, ending the Assyrian empire
2.Why is this civilization important in the modern
world?
This civilization is important to the modern world because of what it was. Babylon showed that great numbers of people could work together. If they hadn’t done that many of the very populated cities wouldn’t be here because people wouldn’t know how to keep hundreds of thousands of people under control.
3.Should this civilization be included in the curriculum about ancient Mesopotamia? Why?
Yes. It should. At its height, Babylon was one of the largest, most important cities of the ancient world. It was located in central Mesopotamia, near the point where the Tigris and Euphrates flow closest to one another. This same region has been home to many capital cities over the centuries: Kish, Agade, Seleucia, and Baghdad among them.

11. The End