Makenzie Allen November 14, 2012 Babylonian Empire Essay

The Babylonian Empire

The Mesopotamian Empire that, in my opinion, accomplished the most was the Babylonian Empire. The Babylonian Empire was located on the banks of the Euphrates River with conditions that were hot and dry. The Empire lasted from 1792 B.C. through 1750 B.C. (sources vary). The capital of the Empire is Babylon with a huge structure in the middle called a ziggurat. The ziggurat was a huge 150 foot tall stepped structure with a temple on its summit. This temple was a tribute to the city god. All year long, people left offerings of food and wine on the steps of the ziggurat. The king of the Babylonian Empire was Hammurabi, who became king in 1792 B.C. He created laws that were carved on a stele in a public area of Mari. These laws were known as The Code of Hammurabi. The Babylonians built roads for transportation. They also used an effective postal service, who used these roads to deliver written communications back and fourth on horseback. The Babylonians were also very skilled mathematicians and astronomers. Scholars could plot the fixed stars, accurately follow the course of the sun and some of the planets, and predict lunar eclipses. They also perfected the Sumerian system of measuring circles, spheres, and time using 60 as a base. Their mathematicians were the first to use multiplication, square root tables, and understand algebraic geometry. Technology is another reason that I chose the Babylonian Empire as to which empire achieved the most. They wrote The Epic of Gilgamesh, which is a story about a king who was king of the city of Uruk in about 2800 B.C. Gilgamesh was the kind of king that didnt care about anyone but himself. He wanted everlasting fame. The storys themes are friendship, to live life to the fullest, and that the death of loved ones is certain. The story was written on clay tablets in cuneiform writing. People have told, retold, and collected the legends of Gilgamesh.

Compared to the Assyrian Empire, the Akkadian Empire, and the NeoBabylonian Empire, the Mesopotamian empire that, in my opinion, accomplished the most was the Babylonian Empire. Hammurabis code of laws is the empires lasting legacy. The laws were written on a human-sized stone stele and various clay tablets in about 1772 B.C. Hammurabis code consists of 282 laws that cover divorce, inheritance, and the rule eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. As mentioned before, in my opinion, the Babylonian Empire has achieved the most.