The Tower Of Babel: The Assyrians In Ancient Rome

The Babylonians specialized in architecture and astronomy. The Babylonian astronomers believed that the position of the stars and planets reflected the mood of the gods and affected life on earth. Hammarabi wrote his code of laws around this time as well. Hammurabi united most of

this area during his time as ruler. Other Babylonian rulers constructed temples, roads, and an extensive canal system. The rule of the Babylonian kings contrasted favorably with the rule of the Assyrian kings who destroyed the first Babylonian Empire. The Babylonians created a stronger second great empire. The Tower of Babel was a ziggurat, a pyramid-shaped temple built for a local god. The construction of the Tower of Babel started around 1100 BCE, and after the king’s son, Nebuchadnezzer finished it, the tower reached a height of 91 meters. According to a tablet left by the king, the tower was made of “baked brick enameled in brilliant blue.” Another important building that Nebuchadnezzar established was the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. He built this for his wife who missed her lush homeland. He wanted to please her in a way that was far from ordinary. “Hanging” is a term that refers to the garden’s terraces

which overhung one another. Babylon received a very little amount of rain, and the stone slabs needed to hold terraces in place were almost nonexistent in the region. Babylonian engineers created a chain pump that brought water from the nearby Euphrates River to irrigate the gardens. This made it easier to care for the different vegetation with a smaller amount of work. The result was a green oasis that today’s scholars believe rose between 80 and 300 feet into the air. If these gardens were higher in elevation, than the vegetation would have better access to the sun and not blocked with shade from other, taller plants. The gardens were a lush mountain of foliage in the middle of a flat, dry desert. This helped to make this gift stand out and look even better for his wife. Unfortunately,
the Hanging Gardens of Babylon disappeared, the Tower of Babel and the Babylonian Empire were destroyed by the Persians around 478 BCE. The Persians wanted to eliminate as much evidence of the Babylonian existence as they could (Babylonia).
The Assyrian civilization began in about 2,500 BC.

The Assyrians built huge structures, some of which were the largest and most important buildings in all of Mesopotamia. These places were built to demonstrate the power of the kings. The Assyrian people worshipped their god Ashur at a shrine on the Tigris known by his name. The city of Ashur has had periods of influence, trading and conquering westwards into Turkey, but the Assyrians have also often been subject to more powerful groups from those regions such as Hittites. Ashurnasirpal established the Assyrian empire as the greatest yet seen in the Middle East. The Assyrians did this by having regular military campaigns to control and extend territories, using an army famed for ruthless efficiency. The Assyrians (HISTORY OF

ASSYRIA).