[Edit this paragraph] I. Definition of the word Babylon
Babylon means "the way of God". The narrow sense of ancient Babylon refers to the kingdom of ancient Babylon and the broad sense of ancient Babylon civilization. The ancient Babylonian civilization is an important part of the civilization in the two river basins, which is divided into the ancient Babylonian kingdom and the new Babylonian kingdom in history. This entry introduces Babylon in a broad sense, including ancient and new Babylonian kingdoms. The kingdom of Babylon is a slave city-state in southern Mesopotamia, which is roughly in the territory of today's Republic of Iraq, with Babylon as the center. In the 0/9th century BC, the Amorites destroyed the Ur Third Dynasty of Sumerians and established the Babylonian Kingdom with Babylon as its capital. The new kingdom of Babylon was founded by the Chaldeans belonging to the Semitic people. Nabopolassar, the leader of the Chaldeans, destroyed the Assyrian empire that ruled the two river basins and established a new Babylonian kingdom.
[Edit this paragraph] 2. Brief introduction of ancient Babylonian civilization
The ancient Babylonian civilization is an important part of the civilization in the two river basins, including Sumerian civilization, Akkadian civilization, Assyrian civilization and other important parts. Babylon is one of the oldest known ancient oriental countries. Babylon, the kingdom of Babylon, was originally an unknown town on the Euphrates River. Around 2200 BC, the Amorites, a branch of the Semu people from the Syrian grassland, captured this small town and established a country. Taking this as the center, the brave Amorites made expeditions to the north and fought everywhere, and finally established a powerful Babylonian kingdom, which was called "Babylonian Kingdom" in history. The Amorites are also called Babylonians. Babylonians inherited the civilization achievements of Sumerians and Akkadians, and carried them forward, and developed Mesopotamian civilization to its peak. People like to use the word "Babylon" to summarize the ancient civilizations in the two river basins, which is enough to show the world the brilliant achievements and charm created by Babylonian civilization. In order to safeguard the interests of slave owners, Hammurabi made a code called code of hammurabi. It is the first relatively complete ancient written code in the world. In the early period of 1000 BC, another Babylonian Semitic tribe came to settle in the south of the two river basins. In 630 BC, Nabopolassar, the leader of the Chaldeans, took advantage of the civil strife in New Assyria, which ruled the two river basins at that time, and gradually gained control of Babylon. In 626 BC, he became king of Babylon. After forming an alliance with Mitis, Nineveh fell and the Assyrian Empire perished in 6 12 BC. After the demise of the Assyrian Empire, its heritage was divided between the new Babylonian Kingdom and the Medes Kingdom, in which the new Babylonian Kingdom seized the western half of the Assyrian Empire, namely the southern part of the two river basins, Syria, Palestine and Phoenicia, and rebuilt the new Babylonian Kingdom (626-538 BC), also known as the Babylonian Kingdom.
[Edit this paragraph] III. The two river basins before Babylon
1. The earliest creators of the civilization in the two river basins in the early Sumerian dynasty (Sumerian city-state era) were Sumerians from the eastern mountainous areas about 4,000 years ago. 3000 years ago, Sumerians established many city-states in the two river basins. According to the historical data obtained from archaeological discoveries, Sumerian city-states began to enter the era of "hegemony of all nations" in 2900 BC. The larger cities are Elidu, Kish, lagache, uruk, Ur and Nipur. 2. Akkadians are a Semitic people in Akkadian kingdom, who entered the two river basins around 2500 BC. When Akkadians entered the two river basins, Sumerian city-state civilization had come to an end, and the struggle between city-states was extremely fierce. King sargon of Akkad unified the Sumerian region and established a centralized monarchy, thus ending the Sumerian city-state era. The Sumerian-Akkadian era began. About 2 19 1 years ago, the Guti people destroyed Akkad, ruled southern Mesopotamia and established the Guti regime. The Sumerian-Akkadian era in southern Mesopotamia is over. 3. During the Sumerian Renaissance and the later period of the Akkadian kingdom of the third Ur dynasty, centralization had tended to collapse, and the barbarian Kuti invaded and destroyed the Akkadian kingdom, but the rule of the Kuti people was not stable, which enabled the Sumerian city-state to revive briefly. Among them, King Utu-Hrga of uruk drove out the Kuti. Wutu Hrga asked Ullner to guard city of ur. However, Ullner established its capital in Ur about 2 1 13 years ago, unified Mesopotamia, established the Third Ur Dynasty (211~ 2003 BC), and ruled the southern city of Mesopotamia during its reign. In about 2006, Elam, Couty, Amauri and Subari jointly defeated Ur. 4. The Prosperity of the Kingdom of Babylon In the 9th century BC/KLOC-0, the Amorites destroyed the Ur Third Dynasty of Sumerians and established the Kingdom of Babylon with the city of Babylon as its capital.
[Edit this paragraph] 4. A brief history of ancient Babylonian civilization
1. Kingdom of Babylon
The kingdom of Babylon is a slave city-state in southern Mesopotamia, which is roughly in the territory of today's Republic of Iraq, with Babylon as the center. In the 0/9th century BC, the Amorites destroyed the Ur Third Dynasty of Sumerians and established the Babylonian Kingdom with Babylon as its capital. In BC 1792, the sixth king Hammurabi (about BC 1792 ~ BC 1750) ascended the throne, conquered the Sumerians and Akkadians, unified the Mesopotamian plain, established a powerful centralized country, and became a typical slave country in ancient West Asia. History is called the Kingdom of Babylon (about BC 1894 ~ BC 1595). Code of hammurabi is the first relatively complete code in ancient West Asia. This is the first relatively complete written code in the world, but it is not the earliest. The earliest one was called Ullner Mumma. Economy and culture are highly developed, especially mathematics and astronomy. After Hammurabi died, the empire collapsed. The kingdom was invaded by Hittites and Gassett, and was finally annexed by Assyrian Empire in 729 BC.
2. The New Kingdom of Babylon (the Kingdom of Chaldea)
See a detailed historical entry: the new Babylonian kingdom was founded by the Chaldeans, who were a branch of the Semitic people. They came to settle in the south of the two river basins in early BC 1000, and the Assyrian empire conquered the kingdom of Babylon and ruled the south of the two river basins. The Chaldeans rebelled against Assyrian rule many times. In 626 BC, the Assyrians sent Babylonian leader Popara Shaershan to Babylon. After he arrived in Babylon, he launched an uprising against Assyrian rule, established a new kingdom of Babylon, and joined forces with the kingdom of Medea on the Iranian plateau to fight against Assyria. In 6 12 BC, the Assyrian empire perished, and its heritage was divided between the new Babylonian kingdom and the Medes kingdom. Among them, the new kingdom of Babylon seized the western half of the Assyrian empire, namely Syria, Palestine and Phoenicia in the south of the two river basins, and rebuilt the new kingdom of Babylon (626-538 BC), also known as the Kingdom of Babylon. In the second half of the sixth century BC, during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II, the national strength reached its peak and it was extremely strong. King Nebuchadnezzar II launched many foreign wars to expand. In 604 BC, when Nebuchadnezzar II ascended the throne, Syria immediately surrendered to the new kingdom of Babylon, but the attitudes of Phoenicia and Palestine were unclear. Egypt has always coveted this region and wooed Phoenicia, Sidon and other regions to form an alliance with Egypt. In this regard, Nebuchadnezzar II continued to form an alliance with the kingdom of Medea, and married Princess Armitis of Medea to consolidate his rear. In 597 BC, he sent troops to Palestine, captured Jerusalem, and fostered Zidezia, a Jew, as a puppet to rule the Jews. In 590 BC, Egyptian Pharaoh Psamtik sent troops to Palestine, and King Tyre took refuge in Egypt. Sidon was occupied, and Jews Sidchia, Palestine, Jordan and other places fell to Egypt. At the same time, the relationship between the kingdom of Medea and the new kingdom of Babylon became tense, so the new kingdom of Babylon built a new Great Wall to stop the Medes. But the Medes could not fight the new kingdom of Babylon because they had to fight Uratu and Sisyphus, so Nebuchadnezzar II went to Palestine for the second time in 587 BC. He surrounded Jerusalem, the holy city of Jews. Sidchia failed to break through and fell into the hands of the army of the new kingdom of Babylon. His eyes were gouged out and sent to Babylonia. In 586 BC, Jerusalem was besieged 18 months later, the city fell, the Jewish kingdom perished, and the residents were taken into exile in Babylon, known as "Babylonian prisoners" in history. Nebuchadnezzar II besieged Tyre in Phoenicia again, but failed. In 574 BC, the two sides made peace, and King Itoba III of Tyre recognized Nebuchadnezzar II as the honorable person, thus maintaining Tyre's autonomous status. Other nearby small kingdoms all surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar II. In 569 BC, there was a battle for the throne in Egypt, and Nebuchadnezzar II took this opportunity to invade Egypt in 567 BC. The result is unknown, but it forced Egypt to give up its ambition to invade Palestine. Shortly after the death of Nebuchadnezzar II, domestic class contradictions and ethnic contradictions intensified. When the last king Napoleon ruled, the contradiction between the king and Marduk Temple intensified, and he tried to establish a new god. Napoleon left the capital and took his son Belshazzar as the regent. In 539 BC, the Persians rose, Cyrus II led an army to invade the new kingdom of Babylon, and the priests opened the door to let the Persian army enter the city. Belshazzar was killed, Napoli was captured, and the new Babylonian kingdom died without fighting.
[Edit this paragraph] V. Achievements of ancient Babylonian civilization
1. The city of Babylon and its architectural achievements
The magnificent walls and palaces of Babylon fully show the architectural level of the ancient two river basins. Nebuchadnezzar II built a large model for Babylon, making it the most prosperous city in the world at that time and the most important industrial and commercial city in the Middle East. The city of Babylon is surrounded by two walls. Outside the outer wall is a ditch filled with water and an earth embankment. The center of the main road in the city is paved with white and rose stone slabs. Another city has eight gates, the north gate of which is the famous Isdal Gate. The surface is decorated with blue glazed tiles, on which there are many bulls and mythical monsters. The city of Babylon was built very magnificently. It was not until 100 years later that Herodotus, a Greek historian known as the "father of history", came to Babylon and still called it the most magnificent city in the world. The Euphrates River runs through the city from north to south. The main buildings in the city, the temples of Esajina and Etmelenkita, are 965,438+0 meters high. Each side of the base is 965,438+0.4m long, and there are 7 floors on it. Each floor is made of glazed tiles of different colors. At the top of the tower, there is a glazed tile temple dedicated to the golden statue of Mark. It is said that this is the language used by the Lord to confuse people in the Bible, so that people failed to create the Tower of Babel. Goddess Gate, one of the essences of urban ancient buildings, is12m high and nearly 20m wide. The doors and walls are inlaid with vivid glazed animal patterns, as well as the "Hanging Garden" known as the Seven Wonders of the World, and the striking stone carvings of people fighting lions. Babylon's "Hanging Garden", which is listed as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, is also called "Hanging Garden". It is located beside the Euphrates River. King Nebuchadnezzar II (604-562 BC) of the new kingdom of Babylon is famous for building magnificent cities and palaces. He presided over the construction of this famous garden when he was in office. According to legend, he married Semiramis, a Persian princess. The princess misses her lush homeland day and night and is unhappy. In order to please his beloved princess, the king ordered a 25-meter-high garden to be built in the capital Babylon. The garden adopts the way of three-dimensional overlapping gardens. On a high platform, layers are stacked, exotic flowers and grasses are everywhere, and irrigation water sources and water pipes are buried. The garden is surrounded by high walls inlaid with many colorful lions. The princess is very happy to see her. Seen from a distance, this garden is also called "Hanging Garden". In order to develop tourism, during the period of 1978, the Iraqi government formulated and implemented a plan to build Babylonian ruins. Some walls and buildings were copied on the ruins, and a museum was built in the city to display the unearthed Babylonian cultural relics. Among them, a replica of a black and green stone tablet more than 2 meters high is the most precious. The upper part of the stone tablet is a beautiful relief engraved with the scene where the sun god conferred the title of Hammurabi, and the lower part is a cuneiform record. The original stone tablet of the world's first code was made under the leadership of King Hammurabi of Babylon (about BC 1792 ~ BC 1750) and is now kept in the Louvre Museum. In addition, the Iraqi government rebuilt the Nimmak Temple and the Hanging Garden on the ruins of Babylon and Baghdad, and restored the pale blue wall of a new ancient city with a height of several tens of meters, thus recreating the charm of the old city.
2. The famous hanging garden
Location: Located on the east bank of the Euphrates River, about 50 kilometers south of Baghdad, the capital of Iraq. History of Hanging Gardens: The Kingdom of Babylon was once prosperous under the rule of the famous King Hammurabi (1792~ 1750 BC). But it was not until the new Babylonian dynasty that Mesopotamian civilization reached its peak. It is believed that the legendary Hanging Garden was built by Nebuchadnezzar II (604-562 BC). It is said that Nebuchadnezzar built the hanging garden to please his queen or concubine who grew up in Medea and had deep feelings for mountain scenery. Although the most detailed description of this garden was written by Greek historians Bellows and Diodor Rus West Gullers, the historical records of Babylon do not mention it. Although descriptions of his palace, the city of Babylon and the walls of Babylon were found on various writing boards left over from the period of Nebuchadnezzar, there was no mention of the hanging garden on these writing boards. Even historians who have described the hanging gardens in detail have never witnessed them. Modern historians believe that when Alexander's soldiers arrived in rich Mesopotamia and saw Babylon, they were deeply shocked. When they later returned to their rugged hometown, they brought back the amazing gardens and coconut trees in Mesopotamia ... the palace of Nebuchadnezzar ... and all kinds of stories about Babel and Golden Pagoda. It is the imagination of poets and ancient historians that combines all these elements and creates one of the wonders of the world. It was not until the twentieth century that some secrets around the hanging garden were uncovered. Archaeologists are still trying to collect enough evidence to draw a final conclusion about the geographical location, irrigation system and real appearance of the garden. Like the colossus of Rhodes, archaeologists have not found the remains of the hanging garden so far. In fact, many ancient people mentioned hanging gardens in their works, but they only heard of them from others and never really saw them. Is the hanging garden purely a legend? Of course, the hanging gardens in Babylon have never hung in the air. The origin of this name is purely due to people's misinterpretation of the Greek word "kremastos" and the Latin word "pensilis", which originally meant "hanging" and "protruding". It is generally believed that the Hanging Garden was built by King Nebuchadnezzar (604- 562 BC) to comfort the homesick princess Amyitis, and it was modeled after her hometown in the mountains. This hanging garden was built in 600 BC. It is a pyramid with four corners. The building made of asphalt and bricks is supported by arched columns. Green trees are planted on the steps all year round. The river looks like a hill from a distance under the artificial river next to the hanging garden. The most magical part of the hanging garden is the water supply system. Because there is not much rain in Babylon, and the ruins of the hanging garden are thought to be far away from the Euphrates River, the researchers believe that there should be many water conveyance facilities in the hanging garden, as shown in the figure. The slaves kept pushing the handle with gears to transport the groundwater to the storage tank on the top floor and then return to the ground through the artificial river. Another problem is maintenance, because it is impossible for ordinary buildings to resist the erosion of the river for many years without falling down. Because there are not many stones in Mesopotamia, researchers think that the bricks used in hanging gardens are different. They added reeds, asphalt and tiles, and there are even documents that the stone was covered with lead to prevent the river from infiltrating into the foundation.
3. code of hammurabi
Code of hammurabi was promulgated by the sixth Babylonian king Hammurabi (BC 1792- 1750 when code of hammurabi ruled the Louvre). It is considered to be the earliest system code in the world, which was produced 3800 years ago. The full text of the code is engraved in cuneiform, with 282 articles except preface and conclusion. Including litigation procedures, damages, tenancy relationship, creditor's rights and debts, property inheritance, slave disposal, etc. 190 1 was discovered in Iran. It is a black basalt cylinder and is now in the Louvre Museum in Paris, France. At the upper end of the column is a relief, in which Hammurabi took the scepter from Chamakh, the sun god. Code of hammurabi divided people into three grades: 1. Freemen with civil rights II. Freemen without citizenship 3. Slaves: Royal slaves, slaves belonging to freemen and private slaves of citizens.
[Edit this paragraph] VI. Politics and Society of the Kingdom of Babylon
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The political system of the city-state in the Babylonian era was different from that in the Sumerian Akkadian era and the third Ur dynasty. After the reunification of Hammurabi, a centralized autocratic system was established. The king monopolizes political, military, diplomatic, judicial and religious powers and directly appoints central and local officials. Set up a governor in a large administrative region, appoint an official named "Shakanaku" in a larger city, and appoint an official named "Labia Num" in a small city for governance. Some cities (such as Szipal) have gained certain autonomy. City businessmen are elected from wealthy merchant families for a term of 1 year, and are responsible for taxation, canal digging, wall building, management of public warehouses and docks, etc. Hammurabi's domestic policy is basically a continuation of Isis's city-state policy. In the process of unification, the basic policy of Hammurabi's foreign policy is to make far-reaching friends and attack near, and the flexible alliance serves the overall goal of unifying the two river basins.
2. Class relations
Ancient Babylonian society was divided into three levels: 1. Avilu is a free man with complete power. The upper class is the ruling class, and the lower class is mostly yeomen and soldiers who pay taxes, perform military service and corvee. 2. Muhixinu, a free man attached to the royal land, had other dependent classes similar to Muhixinu in Babylonian times. 3. Waldo (male slave) and Amtu (female slave) are slaves.
3. Land system
The land occupied by the royal family in Hammurabi period is divided into three categories: 1, "supporting (maintaining) the palace field"; Land granted on terms of service; Land granted on the condition of paying taxes (tribute). Soldiers, officials, Tamuka (commercial agent, usurer) and so on obtained land on the condition of service. Soldiers Ledu and Bayiru got royal land for military service. His land can be inherited by his adult son, but it is still conditional on military service; Whoever refuses or hires someone to perform military service on his behalf shall be sentenced to death. 2. "Neigongren"; A person who owns most of the royal land on the condition of paying taxes (tribute) is exploited and controlled by the royal family, and his land cannot be bought, sold, mortgaged or passed on to the heiress. 3. In addition to royal land, ancient Babylonian society also had temple land, urban land and private land. Documents such as code of hammurabi and archaeological contract documents prove that private land accounts for a considerable amount, and land tenancy and employment relations have become popular. The land rent is generally 1/2 or 1/3 of the harvest. The land rent for orchards and vegetable gardens is two-thirds of the harvest. The value of land changes with the supply of irrigation water, and the rent of some gardens supplying irrigation water is as high as 3/4 of the harvest. The usury industry is very active, and both temples and hotels operate usury industry. The active usury industry promoted the development of debt slaves. Debt slaves are called kisato. In the aspect of family and marriage, it also preserves the patriarchal remnants of patriarchy and husband power. Parents can sell their wives or children as slaves, or make them debt slaves. Children must pay for other people's children killed by their parents. The development of debt slavery led to the debtor's resistance. After Hammurabi, the struggle against debt slavery broke out, which led to the king's release order. This is also one of the important reasons for the demise of ancient Babylon.
4. Monk class
The priest is the attendant of the temple, and is responsible for presiding over sacrificial activities, festival ceremonies, chanting prayers, divination and so on. They were one of the most special classes in ancient Mesopotamia. Most of the gods in Mesopotamia were enshrined in temples. Therefore, there are countless temples in Mesopotamia. According to statistics, archaeologists at Sumerian site alone have unearthed 3,500 temples! Mesopotamia paid attention to the blessing and enjoyment of the world, built temples to worship the gods and maintained good relations with them, so as to bless the good weather, the country and the people. Therefore, in a country, temples are often the best buildings after palaces. All ethnic groups are willing to spend a lot of money to build temples. The Babel described by Herodotus in his works is the most representative temple. Since there are countless temples, the number of priests who serve as temple attendants is naturally amazing. They are not only numerous, but also powerful. In Mesopotamia, the kingship of the country was restricted by three kinds: law, nobility and priest. Among them, the priest is the most powerful. The king is the spokesman of God, his power is given by God, and the representative of God is the priest. In the eyes of ordinary people, a monarch can't be justified if he doesn't get a scepter from a priest. When the priest authorizes the king on behalf of God, there is usually a solemn ceremony. Under this theocracy, priests have great privileges. In addition, priests are an important economic force of the country. They control and manage the wealth in the temple. Due to the position of religion in national life, temples in Mesopotamia have accumulated countless wealth. The king usually allocates part of the land as temple property and designates an area for paying rent and taxes. If a foreign war is won, the first place to send prisoners of war and trophies is the temple. Coupled with all kinds of offerings offered by the people, the temple is not only full of food, vegetables and fruits, but also a lot of gold and silver treasures. As managers of wealth, priests rented land, operated banks and participated in commercial activities, which increased the property of temples. Therefore, priests get wealth from God and power from wealth, and become the privileged class of society. Priests mostly come from noble families, and their careers are hereditary, and their titles are passed down from generation to generation. They are also often a minority of people whose cultural knowledge is monopolized by the state. In schools run in temples, priests are both school administrators and teachers. Education instills religious ideas in students, so it is also a monopoly class. Pastors are also divided into different grades. Senior priests are responsible for presiding over major sacrificial activities, while ordinary priests are responsible according to their grades. For example, Karoo and Nanu are responsible for singing hymns, Nisaku is responsible for hosting libation, Namuk is responsible for cleaning, and Banu is responsible for exorcism. In addition, there are priests who specialize in divination and interpretation of omens. They are responsible for praying for good luck to God, reading dreams and astrology.
5. Schools in Babylon
When the schools in Babylon came into being is still inconclusive. In 1930s, archaeologists excavated a school site about 2 100 BC in Mali, south of the Euphrates River. According to archaeological excavations, it is considered as the oldest known school. "It includes a passage and two houses. This big house is 44 feet long and 25 feet wide. The area of a small room is one third of that of a large room. There are four rows of stone benches in the big room, each row can seat 1, 2, 4 people, with a total capacity of 45 people; There are three rows of stone benches in the small room, which can accommodate 23 people in total; Much like a school classroom. There are no windows in the walls of the two rooms, and light enters from the roof. There is no podium or desk in the room, but there are many students' homework tablets. At the bottom of the wall, there is a shallow sink filled with earth, as if to make a clay tablet for writing. There is an oval pottery basin nearby, which may be used to store clean water, make a clay board out of clay, or place writing utensils. There are many shiny shells on the ground, which seem to be teaching AIDS for computing. The house is near the palace, not the temple; The clay tablets just excavated elsewhere are also stored near the palace, not adjacent to the temple; Some people infer that this is an old school. "Schools in the two river basins aim at training teachers of the law. A scribe is divided into a senior scribe and a junior scribe. The former acts as an official, while the latter is engaged in various occupations, such as notary, handprint clerk, land survey registrar, military intelligence recorder, copywriter, calculator, secretary, etc. In the ancient two river basins, a large number of clay tablets were excavated by archaeology. The earliest date shown on these clay tablets is about 3000 BC. They are written in Sumerian hieroglyphics. In the following 1000 years, hieroglyphics developed into cuneiform characters, which were widely popular in the Middle East and used by Babylonians, Assyrians, Hittites and Persians. Most of these archaeological discoveries are religious articles or documents related to real life, such as contracts, records, reports of civilian personnel, laws, regulations and announcements. There are also some materials about mathematics. Although the mathematical level of the two river basins was much higher than that of ancient Egypt at that time, these mathematical problems, like ancient Egypt, involved some practical problems. In later mathematical records (that is, Persian and Seleucid times), there are some astronomical charts and calculation steps about calendars and astrology. Obviously, the purpose of these two valley schools is to provide advanced teaching for different types of future officials. A Sumerian article about 2000 BC describes school life at that time. This article was copied many times later, so it can be inferred that its description is representative. Judging from the adequacy of repeated use in this article, it can be judged that it was written by an adequate student, but the full text was written in Sumerian, because Sumerian was an academic language at that time and its status was equivalent to Latin in Europe later. Students come to school in the morning and bring their own lunch. The headmaster is the "father of the school", with a Sumerian teacher and an arithmetic teacher. The form of class is to copy the existing blackboard books. The subjects studied are Sumerian, arithmetic and bookkeeping. The school implements strict discipline, which is carried out by a handyman, a teacher and a playground supervisor. Students are often flogged several times a day for different mistakes, including being late in the morning, talking in class, standing up or leaving campus without permission, etc. It is not until evening that exhausted students can walk home and report their day to their father (usually an official). Go to bed early after dinner to ensure that you are full of energy the next morning. Sometimes, teachers are invited home, usually because the father wants his son to be the most outstanding writer and knowledgeable person, and he wants him to be better than other students and even people of noble birth. In 2000 BC, the house of wisdom was a place for advanced teaching in the two river basins. The students are all graduated scribes, and the research here is also of high level. However, the schools in the two river basins are different from those in ancient Greece, and their so-called profound knowledge also focuses on application value rather than theoretical exploration. Taking mathematics as an example, theoretical speculation has not been fully developed, and a large number of Babylonian mathematical papers involve specific issues. Babylon created the earliest civilization of mankind, and its education was earlier than other countries. " It can even be said that there were schools earlier than Egypt, or at least about the same time as Egypt. This is the original cradle of human school education and the starting point of human formal education. "Of course, its higher education is still quite vague.
[Edit this paragraph] VII. The legend of Babylon
Every spring, the plateau snow melts, and the Euphrates River and Tigris River flood in the two river basins. Especially in the downstream area, the terrain is low and concave, almost completely submerged. A Babylonian myth that has been handed down to this day vividly reflects this situation: an ancestor of a Babylonian king dreamed that he met a fairy. God told him that the flood would flood the earth to punish human sins. Because he has always been devout to God, and God wants to save him. The man obeyed God's command, built an ark, moved his family to the boat, and took some animals and some seeds with him. Soon, dark clouds filled the sky, darkness covered the earth, storms hit, floods flooded all life, and only the ark floated on the boundless water. On the seventh day, the wind stopped and the river was calm. At this time, the ark floated to a mountain. The people on board released the animals from the ark, scattered seeds on the mountains, and life on earth began again. Many myths of human nations are influenced by ancient Babylonian legends. The story of the famous Noah's Ark in the West also evolved from this legend: a man named Noah built an ark according to God's command, and the whole family sat on it to escape the flood. After the flood receded, Noah released a pigeon. Soon, the pigeon came back with a freshly twisted olive in its mouth, Ye Fei, to let Noah know that the flood had receded and everything was back to life. Later, westerners regarded pigeons and olive branches as symbols of peace. Of course, neither the immortal nor the dove of peace can bring real peace and happiness to people. To overcome the flood, people must rely on themselves. Later, this legend was written by Jews in the Old Testament.