OLD BABYLONIAN SOCIETY

AND CULTURE
Prepared by:
AIRENE LUPIG
 BABYLONIAN
About 1792 B.C a Babylonian ruler
named Hammurabi conquered and
united Mesopotamia.

Babylonian spoke Semitic languages

They borrowed cuneiform writing, however,

and used it for their own language.
 oBABYLON
Known to be the most splendid city in the
ancient world was the capital city of
Babylonia.

Stood on the banks of the river Euphrates,

in what is now South Eastern Iraq.
 SOCIETY AND CULTURE
The society and They had no
culture of the culture of their
Babylonians own and adopted
were greatly what the
influenced by Sumerians had
the Sumerians. already
developed.
They worship many gods(polytheism).

Believed in many major gods and

goddesses and in thousands of lesser
spirits and demons.

Believe these were found every

where – in the sky, rivers ,wind , fire
and storms.
 Prayers and rituals are written on clay
tablets indicate that they greatly feared
these gods and demons.

They thought the disasters such as flood,

famines and sandstorm are cause by these
gods and demons.

To protect themselves they wear charms

and performed rituals.
 Rulers and priests consulted the gods
before making decisions.

Priests studied dreams and stars and

looked foe signs that would show what the
gods wanted.

They believed that the dead descended to a

gloomy underworld.
 In
the “EPIC OF GILGAMESH”
One of the world’s earliest literary
works, an unknown Babylonian poet
described the underworld.
Epic of Gilgamesh( in clay tablet)
 “ a huge dark cave
where they sit in
darkness , where dust
is their food and clay
their meat, they are
clothed like birds with
wings for garments;
over bolt and door lie
in dust and silence”
Written laws
 Rulers were expected to carry out god’s
wishes in making and enforcing laws.

Probably the first written laws came from Ur

Nammu, who ruled Ur about 2100 B.C.

Hammurabi , the ruler of Babylon had the

laws of the kingdom collected and organized.
 Code of Hammurabi
When Hammurabi succeeded to unite
Mesopotamia , he collected the written
laws of the Sumerians and organized them
into a code .
He then had the code recorded on a block
of stone eight feet high to make it visible
to all the people.
Copies were made on clay tablets and sent
to all the lands ruled by Babylon.
The Code of The code included
Hammurabi criminal laws and
served as the basis were treated very
for regulating seriously.
Hammurabi’s The criminal laws
empire. were based on “Lex
Hammurabi’s Staliones.” This means
laws seem harsh that if one inflicts
but they were just. injury on another, he
should be punished by
being given the same
injury.
Code of Hammurabi
“If a freeman accused another free man and
brought a charge of murder against him , but has
not proved it, (the)accuser shall be put to
death…”
“ if a man stole either ox or a sheep ..or a pig or
a goat, if it belonged to the temple or if it
belonged to the state ,he shall make thirtyfold
restitution(repayment). If it belonged to a private
citizen, he shall make a good tenfold. If the thief
does not have sufficient to make restitution, he
shall be put to death”
Hammurabi
Women has fewer legal rights than men.

They were permitted to engage in

business, were protected from abuse and
neglect, and made sure they receive some
payment if they were divorced.
Advances in Mathematics and
Astronomy
 They drew up multiplication and division
tables, and developed calculations with the
use of geometry.

The number system of the Mesopotamians

used a base of 60. From this base came the
system of dividing a circle into 360 degrees
and an hour into 60 minutes.
 The first records in astronomy were
developed by them . They did it by
observing the stars regularly and recorded
the changing positions of the planets and
the different phases of the moon.

From these records, they developed a

twelve-month calendar based on the cycles
of the moon.
Development in trade

Because they did not have all the

resources, its citizens needed at that
time such as stone, timber, and metal-
they tried to look for these materials by
engaging in trade with other cities and
regions.
The Tigris and Euphrates rivers served as
passageway to ship goods. The wheel and the
sail improved land and water transportations.

The Persian Gulf provided copper , metals

from Asia , and ivory from Africa and India.
Cedar and Cypress woods and oils were shipped
in from lands surrounding the Mediterranean
Sea. In exchange, they exported wool, grain,
hides, cloth and handicrafts.
grain hides

wool
 Hittites
The capital city of Hittites in Hattushah
developed in 2000 B.C

One group of Aryans settled in the mountains

of Western Asia Minor and mixed with the
people living there –they became known as
Hittites.
Hoping to gain control of the trade routes in
northern Mesopotamia , the Hittites invaded
this area about 1600 B.C .

They raided Babylon, Syria, and Palestine and

challenged Egypt’s power. By 1450 B.C. , the
Hittites empire included Asia Minor and
Northern Syria.
While other Near eastern people were still
using bronze, Hittite artisans discovered how
to make iron out of iron ore.

At first, the use of iron was limited to

religious objects or for swords and statues which
were presented as gifts to the kings or emperors
of ancient times.
Made of Iron
 The Hittites became famous
for their strong and durable
swords.
The wide use of iron paved the way
for the progress of the ancient world
from bronze age to iron age.

They were good at horse riding and they

were the first to use chariots.
The other aspects of their culture were
adopted from the Babylonian.

The Hittites kept the secret of ironworking

until the fall of the empire, about 1200 BC

Within the next 200 years,

knowledge of ironworking spread
throughout the region.
 LYDIANS
 The Lydians of northern Asia Minor
introduced the use of coin in trade.
 Gold, silver, or a mixture of said metals
was formed into disks of equal weight.
The value of the coin and a symbol of
government approval for its use were
stamped on the coin.
Officialcoinage by Lydian government began
about 560 BC during the reign of
Croesus(KREE-sus).

The use of coins facilitated trade. People in all

parts of the Near East recognized the value of
the coins and accepted them as payment for
goods and services offered throughout the
Mediterranean region.
Lydian coins
 Kingdom of Lydia
Today, the kingdom of Lydia, located in what
is now Turkey, emerged after the fall of the
Hittite empire in around 1180.
They spoke Indo-European language similar
to Hittites.
According to Greek source, the
original name of the Lydian
kingdom was Maionia or
Maeonia.

Maeonia were rename Lydian after

king Lydus.
The Median king has just been deposed
by Cyrus the Great. Croesus, thinking
that this could be an easy victory, sent
out to capture the territory beyond the
river.
After an indecisive battle with Cyrus, he
returned to Sardis, his capital, for
reinforcement.
In a surprise attack, Cyrus caught him
unprepared and burned the city.
 
The Lydians never recovered from the
blow, and afterwards all their territories,
including the Greek cities on the coast,
passed under the domination of Cyrus,
the Persian.
 Lydia’s religion
 “Kore” was the name of their vegetation
goddess and they had a snake and bull cult that
was related to fertility.
 They have same basic beliefs as Greeks- with
worship of the sun, moon, mountain storm-
god, a fertility goddess and mother of them all.
The Lydian’s gods would have seemed to
them like superhuman beings with very
human personalities.
Thank you for
listening