Underwood & Underwood UNEARTHING ANCIENT BABYLON FROM BENEATH THE DEBRIS OF CENTURIES Babylonia is covered with cities hidden by the accumulations of thousands of years. And yet never was debris kinder, for it acted as a safe in which treasures of millenniums before Christ could be held in trust for the coming of a generation that would appreciate their value, and that could correctly interpret their meanings. But for the burial from human sight which time gave to the structures and relics of the ancient civilization of the Euphrates and Tigris River country they would have been destroyed, even as the priceless marbles of Rome were destroyed in the manufacture of lime and the magnificent structures of that great city torn down to secure the iron with which the marble blocks were jointed together. EXCAVATORS UNEARTHING THE REMAINS OF ANCIENT BABYLON The citizen of a modern city would probably feel more at home in the Babylon of 5,000 years ago than in medieval Europe. The average Babylonian was no wild savage, but a law-abiding citizen, a faithful husband, good father, kind son, firm friend, industrious trader, or careful man of business. The story of how man came again to know these ancient civilizations, of how we have a more intimate knowledge of the ways of people who lived thousands of years before the Christian era than we have of some who lived so recently as medieval times, constitutes one of the most fascinating passages in the history of exploration. "To us the time of Abraham seems almost incredibly distant, and we can scarcely bring ourselves to believe that civilized life was actually possible then; but the Code of Hammurabi is sufficient to assure us that in Babylonia, at all events, life in Abraham's days was practically as thoroughly organized and as carefully regulated as it is in our own" (see page 141). of Larsam, whose name may also be read Eri-aku; Chedorlaomer is simply Kudur Lagamar, a good Elamite name. THE FIRST GREAT LAW-GIVER There remains Amraphel, King of Shinar, who is the most interesting figure of all, if, as seems not unlikely, he is to be identified with Hammurabi, King of Babylon, the first great law-giver of the world whose laws have come down to us. At the time of the invasion of Palestine it seems as though he and the others were vassals of the Elamite Chedorlaomer. Perhaps the defeat sustained at Abraham's hands weakened the Elamite King's authority. At all events we find Hammurabi firmly seated on the throne of Babylon by about 2297 B. C. Notwithstanding the unfortunate incident with Abraham, he was a great conqueror, subduing the Elamites, and asserting his dominion over the whole of Babylonia and Mesopotamia; but he was far more. He was one of the first of all kings to understand that a king's glory is to be the father of his people. And so in his inscriptions, while we read of successful wars, we hear far more of canals dug, and temples restored and city walls built, while his favorite titles are "Builder of the Land," and "King of Righteousness." His great memorial is the famous Code of Laws, of which a copy, engraved on stone, was found by M. de Morgan at Susa and is now in the Louvre. Hammurabi begins his Code with a little bit of self-glorification, perhaps not unwarranted. "I am the pastor, the saviour, whose sceptre is a right one, the good protecting shadow over my city; in my breast I cherish the inhabitants of Sumer and Akkad. By my genius in peace I have led them, by my wisdom I have directed them, that the strong might not injure. the weak, to protect the widow and orphan. By the command of Shamash (the Sun god), the great Judge of Heaven and Earth, let righteousness go forth in the land. Let the oppressed who has a case at law come and stand before my image as King of Righteousness. let him read the inscrip tion, and understand my precious words. The inscribed stone will explain his case to him, and make clear the law to him, and his heart, well pleased, will say, 'Hammurabi is a master, who is as the father who begat his people!'" LAAWS OF HAMMURABI Then follow 282 sections regulating almost every conceivable' incident and relationship of life. Not only are the great crimes dealt with and penalized; life is regulated down to its most minute details. There are marriage laws and breach of promise laws, laws for the guardianship of the widow and the orphan, irrigation laws, anticipations of modern land legislation, providing that if land is not cultivated the holder must give account and pay compensation, and licensing laws which would rather surprise "the trade" at the present day. "If a wine merchant has allowed riotous characters to assemble in her house, and those riotous characters she has not seized and driven to the palace, that wine merchant shall be put to death." No such complete regulation of the affairs of human life was known elsewhere in ancient days; nor, indeed, it may be said, till Roman law asserted its power over the world. Of course, it does not follow that the glory of all this legislation belongs to Hammurabi, who, in all probability, was merely the codifier of laws already existing. Still, his honor, even on that footing, is not small, and the revelation which his Code gives us of a well-ordered and highly disciplined community is simply amazing. To us the time of Abraham seems almost incredibly distant, and we can scarcely bring ourselves to believe that civilized life was actually possible then: but the Code of Hammurabi is sufficient to assure us that in Babylonia, at all events, life in Abraham's days was practically as thoroughly organized and as carefully regulated as it is in our own (see article by Professor Clay in this number). The great law-giver of Babylonia, Hammurabi, founded an empire which endured through five subsequent reigns, and closed about 200 years after the ad THE CHIEF TEMPLE OF BABYLON, SACRED TO THE NATIONAL GOD, MARDUK There were hundreds of rooms in this temple. It was known as "the lofty house." A "sacred way" built above the street connected it with the King's palace. Along this the images of the gods and goddesses which constituted the court of Marduk were carried on festive occasions. |