Mesopotamia. Ancient Mesopotamia (Mesopotamia) - culture, art, religion

Mesopotamian civilization- one of the oldest, if not the oldest in the world. It was in Sumer at the end of the 4th millennium BC. e. human society, almost for the first time, left the stage of primitiveness and entered the era of antiquity, from here begins true story humanity. The transition from primitive to antiquity, "from barbarism to civilization" means the formation of a fundamentally new type of culture and the birth of a new type of consciousness.

The thinking of a person of primitive culture can be defined as "complex", with the predominance of objective logic; the individual is completely immersed in activity, is bound by the psychological fields of situational reality, and is not capable of categorical thinking. With the birth of civilization, this sympracticality is overcome and "theoretical" textual activity arises, associated with new types of social practice (management, accounting, planning, etc.). These new types of activity and the formation of "civil" relations in society create conditions for categorical thinking and conceptual logic.

In Mesopotamia, the bearers of their culture were apparently best represented by the figures of the Sumerian official-bureaucrat and learned scribe. People who managed a complex temple or royal economy, planned major construction work or military campaigns, people engaged in predicting the future, accumulating useful information, the improvement of the writing system - by the very nature of their occupation, they were placed in different conditions, often found themselves in situations that were previously impossible, and new forms and methods of thinking were required to solve the problems they faced.

an important role in the formation and consolidation new culture ancient society was played by writing, with the advent of which new forms of storage and transmission of information of intellectual activity became possible. In the culture of ancient Mesopotamia, writing belongs to special place: the cuneiform invented by the Sumerians is the most characteristic and important for us of what was created by the ancient Mesopotamian civilization. At the word "Egypt" we immediately imagine the pyramids, sphinxes, the ruins of majestic temples. There is nothing like it in Mesopotamia. Only written monuments speak of the past, countless wedge-shaped inscriptions on clay tablets, stone tiles, steles and bas-reliefs. About one and a half million cuneiform texts are now stored in museums around the world, and every year archaeologists find hundreds and thousands of new documents. A clay tablet covered with cuneiform signs could serve as the same symbol of Mesopotamia as the pyramids are for Egypt.

« Mesopotamia"- means "Land between the rivers" (between the Euphrates and the Tigris). Now, Mesopotamia is understood mainly as a valley in the lower reaches of these rivers, and lands are added to it east of the Tigris and west of the Euphrates. In general, this region coincides with the territory of modern Iraq, with the exception of mountainous regions along the borders of this country with Iran and Turkey.

Most of the elongated valley, especially the whole of Lower Mesopotamia, was covered for a long time by sediments brought by both rivers from the Armenian Highlands. Over time, fertile soils began to attract the population of other regions. The absence of stone and wood gave impetus to the development of trade with lands rich in these natural resources. The Tigris and Euphrates turned out to be convenient waterways connecting the Persian Gulf region with Anatolia and the Mediterranean. Geographic location and natural conditions allowed the valley to become a center of attraction for peoples and an area for the development of trade.

During the excavations carried out in the middle of the 19th century. not far from the territory of Mosul (north-eastern Iraq), amazing Assyrian monuments were discovered. The French expedition led by Paul Emile Botta, after unsuccessful excavations on the Kuyundzhik hill (part of ancient Nineveh) in 1843, continued to work in Khorsabad (ancient Dur-Sharrukin), the majestic but short-lived capital of Assyria under Sargon II. Great successes were achieved by a British expedition led by Sir Austin Henry Layard, who excavated two other Assyrian capitals from 1845 - Nineveh and Kalah (modern Nimrud).

The excavations sparked a growing interest in Mesopotamian archeology and, most importantly, led to the final decipherment of Akkadian (Babylonian and Assyrian) cuneiform writing. The beginning was laid in 1802 by the German scientist Georg Friedrich Grotefend, who was trying to read the ancient Iranian text on a trilingual inscription from Iran. It was an alphabetic cuneiform script with a relatively small number of characters, and the language was a dialect of the well-known Old Persian. The second column of the text was written in Elamite in a syllabic script containing 111 characters. The writing system in the third column was even more difficult to understand, as it contained several hundred characters representing both syllables and words. The language coincided with the language of the inscriptions found in Mesopotamia, i.e. with Assyro-Babylonian (Akkadian). The difficulties that arose when trying to read these inscriptions did not stop the British diplomat Sir Henry Rawlinson, who was trying to decipher the signs. Findings of new inscriptions at Dur-Sharrukin, Nineveh and other places ensured the success of his research. In 1857, four Assyriologists meeting in London (Rawlinson was among them) received copies of the newly discovered Akkadian text. When their translations were compared, it turned out that they coincided in all major positions.

The first success in deciphering the Akkadian writing system - the most common, centuries-old and complex of all cuneiform systems - led to the suggestion that these texts could certify the veracity of biblical texts. Because of this, interest in the plates has greatly increased. The main goal was not the discovery of things, artistic or written monuments, but the restoration of the appearance of bygone civilizations in all their connections and details. Much in this regard has been done by the German archaeological school, whose main achievements were excavations under the direction of Robert Koldewey in Babylon and Walter André in Assur. Meanwhile, the French were doing similar work in the south, primarily in Tello (ancient Lagash), in the heart of ancient Sumer, and the Americans in Nippur.

In the 20th century, between the world wars, many new monuments were explored. Among the major discoveries of this period are the Anglo-American excavations at Ur, probably made especially famous by the finds in the so-called Royal Necropolis, with its incredibly rich, if often brutal, evidence of Sumerian life in the 3rd millennium BC; German excavations in Varka (ancient Uruk, biblical Erech); the beginning of French excavations at Mari on the Middle Euphrates; the work of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago at Tell Asmar (ancient Eshnunna), as well as at Khafaj and Khorsabad, where the French began excavations almost a century earlier; excavations by the American School of Oriental Research (Baghdad) at Nuzi (jointly with Harvard University), as well as at Tepe Gavre. After World War II, the Iraqi government began independent excavations, mainly in the south of the country.

Pottery was gradually improved in terms of manufacturing techniques, variety of shapes and ornaments, this can be traced from the most ancient through other prehistoric cultures up to the emergence of a single technology for the production of stone and metal vessels. Now it is impossible to say what important discoveries in the field of ceramics were brought to Mesopotamia from outside. A significant development was the introduction of the closed kiln, which allowed the craftsman to achieve a higher temperature and more easily control it, and as a result to obtain dishes of high quality in shape and finish. Such ovens were first discovered at Tepe Gavre, north of present-day Mosul. In the same settlement, the oldest known samples of carefully made seals-stamps were found.

Mesopotamia created the oldest known structures of monumental architecture in the north - in Tepe Gavre, in the south - in Eridu. The high technical level of this time can be judged by the aqueduct in Jervan, approx. 50 km, through which water entered Nineveh.

Mesopotamian craftsmen brought metal work to the level of high art. This can be judged by items made of precious metals, remarkable samples of which, dating back to the early dynastic period, were found in burials in Ur, and a silver vase of the Lagash ruler Entemena is also known.

Sculpture in Mesopotamia reached a high level of development even in prehistoric times. Cylinder seals with indented images are known, and rolling them on clay made it possible to obtain convex impressions. large-form samples ancient era are the reliefs on the Naram-Suen stela, carefully executed portrait sculptures of the ruler of Lagash Gudea and other monuments. Mesopotamian sculpture reached its highest development in the 1st millennium BC. in Assyria, when colossal figures and exquisite reliefs were created with images of animals, in particular, galloping horses, wild donkeys struck by hunters, dying lionesses. In the same period, magnificent reliefs depicting individual episodes of hostilities were sculpted.

Little is known about the development of painting. Murals could not survive due to moisture and soil conditions, but surviving examples from various eras show that this type of art was widespread. Magnificent examples of painted ceramics were found, in particular, in Ashur. They testify that their creators preferred bright colors.

The religion of Mesopotamia in all its major moments was created by the Sumerians. Over time, the Akkadian names of the gods began to replace the Sumerian ones, and the personifications of the elements gave way to star deities. Local gods could also lead the pantheon of a particular region, as happened with Marduk in Babylon or Ashur in the Assyrian capital. But the religious system as a whole, the view of the world and the changes taking place in it differed little from the initial ideas of the Sumerians.

None of the Mesopotamian deities was the exclusive source of power, none had supreme power. The fullness of power belonged to the assembly of the gods, who, according to tradition, elected the leader and approved all important decisions. Nothing was set forever or taken for granted. But the instability of the cosmos led to intrigues among the gods, and therefore promised danger and gave rise to anxiety among mortals.

At the same time, there was always the possibility that events would turn into better side if the person behaves correctly. The temple tower (ziggurat) was the place where the celestials stayed. She symbolized the human desire to establish a connection between heaven and earth. As a rule, the inhabitants of Mesopotamia relied little on the goodwill of the gods. They tried to propitiate them by performing increasingly complex rites.

The sign of ancient writing depicted objects of the surrounding world - animals, plants, etc. The signs formed groups, each of which, for example, consisted of images of animals, plants or objects, was composed in a certain sequence. Over time, the lists acquired the character of a kind of reference book on zoology, botany, mineralogy, etc. The Akkadians did everything in their power to preserve the Sumerian language. As a result, word lists, numerous Sumero-Akkadian dictionaries, and grammar studies were created.

There were many other cultural phenomena that were systematized thanks to writing. Among them, a special place is occupied by omens, through which people tried to know their future through various signs, such as the shape of the liver of a sacrificed sheep or the location of the stars. The list of omens helped the priest to predict the consequences of certain phenomena. Compilation of lists of the most common legal terms and formulas was also widespread. In mathematics and astronomy, the ancient Mesopotamians also made significant advances. According to modern researchers, the system of Egyptian mathematics was crude and primitive compared to the Babylonian; it is believed that even Greek mathematics learned much from the achievements of earlier Mesopotamian. A highly developed area was the so-called. "Chaldean (i.e. Babylonian) astronomy".

Many close links are found between the opening chapters of the biblical Genesis and early Mesopotamian texts. The brightest examples These connections are, in particular, the order of events of the Creation of the world, the peculiarities of the geography of Eden, the story of the Tower of Babel, and especially the story of the flood, the harbinger of which is contained in the XI tablet of the legend of Gilgamesh.

The famous stele of Hammurabi was not found on the ruins of Babylon, but in the distant Elamite capital, in Susa, where this heavy object was delivered as a valuable trophy. No less striking evidence of the influence of Mesopotamia is found in the Bible. The Jewish and Christian religions have invariably opposed the spiritual direction that was formed in Mesopotamia, but the legislation and forms of government discussed in the Bible owe to the influence of Mesopotamian prototypes. Like many of their neighbors, the Jews were subject to legislative and social regulations that were generally characteristic of the countries of the Fertile Crescent and largely dated back to Mesopotamian.

The ideal of Assyro-Babylonian beauty was solidity and massiveness. They, unlike the slender and graceful Egyptians, depicted themselves as massive and clumsy, with powerful muscles.

Sumerian monuments have preserved for us the type of the most ancient men's clothing, the so-called kaunakes, which replaced clothing made from animal skin and often imitated fur. The love of fur was preserved among the Assyrians. Their cloaks, decorated with scarves and capes, were also originally trimmed with fur, which later began to be replaced with fringes. National clothes Assyrians had a shirt. Among the common people, it reached the knees and was tied with a sash, rich people wore a multi-colored shirt to the heels and decorated with tassels at the bottom. Fringed scarves were worn only by dignitaries. The staff, which initially served as a symbol of royal power, later began to be used by all noble people.

Special attention the Assyrians gave hair decoration: hairstyle, beard, mustache, sideburns. The rulers wore long hair, often tied in a bun. The beard and mustache were carefully curled. Golden threads were woven into the beard, eyebrows were blackened, and the face was whitened and blushed.

Assyro-Babylonian furniture is simple and massive, lacking the soft, dynamic lines that the Egyptians used. The dwellings had chairs, stools, ceremonial thrones, couches, benches, canopies.

The Assyro-Babylonian ornament is rich in images of fantastic animals and plants.

The Assyrians sailed in simple boats, which were woven from strong rods, covered with leather and had a round shape. In addition to boats, they also had rafts, with leather, air-filled furs.

Herodotus found the ships of Mesopotamia the most amazing of what he saw in this country.

“Now I will pass on to the story of the most amazing thing that is in this country (except Babylon itself). The ships that float down the river to Babylon are completely round and made entirely of skin. In Armenia, which lies above Assyria, the Babylonians cut willow rods for the skeleton of the ship. Outside (the skeleton) they cover with dense skins like the round bottom of the ship. They do not expand the stern of the ship and do not sharpen the bow, but make the ship round, like a shield. Then they stuff the ship with straw (for wrapping cargo) and, having loaded, they let them go downstream. They carry down the river mainly earthenware vessels with Phoenician wine. They steer the ship with the help of two steering oars, which are rowed by two people while standing. One of them pulls the ship with an oar towards him, and the other repels. Such ships are built very large and smaller ... Each ship has a live donkey, and large ones have several. Upon arrival in Babylon, the merchants sell their goods, and then sell both the skeleton of the ship and all the straw at public auction. And then the skins are loaded onto donkeys and returned to Armenia. It is absolutely impossible to swim up the river because of the fast current. Therefore, ships are built not from wood, but from skins. When merchants arrive in Armenia on their donkeys, they build new ships in the same way. Such are their (river) vessels.

Where and when was the wheel invented? Around 4000 BC in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq).

The Babylonians were the first to use the seven-day week, invented the principles of arranging libraries, mastered the knowledge of arithmetic and geometry, which were necessary for measuring land.

Temples played a special role in the formation of the Mesopotamian civilization. In Mesopotamia, the temple was not only a place where the gods were worshiped, performed sacrifices and others iconic actions, but it was also a public storage of grain and products. In such barns, the inhabitants of the village poured part of the grain, creating a general reserve in case of some kind of disaster. The vault was considered sacred, because there was bread - the basis of life, which means that good divine forces should have also been there: the "spirit of grain" and other deities on which life and abundance depend. In this barn and around it, important rituals were performed related to the introduction of a new crop into storage, the start of sowing and other seasonal holidays. For the most ancient farmers, the barn and the sanctuary were inseparable from each other, and this dual unity of the religious and economic functions of the temple has been preserved throughout Mesopotamian history.

- Code of Laws of Hammurabi. Basalt.

First half of the 18th century BC e., Babylon.

Babylon - the ancient city of Mesopotamia, which was once considered a kind of "megalopolis"

So, in the ancient world, there were about 150 thousand inhabitants. Babylon was rightfully considered the cultural "capital" of the ancient world.

You will learn some interesting facts about Babylon below.

1). Did you know that Babylon "fell" repeatedly? And, even the most important historians are not able to determine who nevertheless broke him. However, the fact that the fall of the "metropolis" took place very quietly and imperceptibly remains unchanged.

2). Trade in Babylon was an integral part. Products that were created there were very popular. And of those who wanted to buy it, there were the most high-ranking people from all countries. Babylon is rightfully considered a "trendsetter".

3). And this city was famous for the "easy availability" of girls. Everyone here was priestess of love, from young to old. And this was by no means considered a shame and a sin. On the contrary, in Babylon this "profession" was "prestigious and fashionable."

4). Did you know that in Babylon, if a doctor made a wrong diagnosis, they simply cut off his hand? The price for the mistake was serious, so there were few such cases.

5). Crazy legends circulate about the gardens of Babylon. It turns out that a variety of rare species of trees, shrubs and herbs were imported into the ancient city. Slaves took care of this "miracle", constantly pouring water from the Euphrates over them. And when all this blossomed - the incense and beauty were incomparable with anything.

There is an opinion that Macedonian spent there last days before leaving for another world.

6). Did you know that the inhabitants of Babylon were solving quadratic equations long before the birth of Christ?

7). The legendary Tower of Babel is interpreted differently from different sources. However, more or less everyone agrees that such a temple took place in the center of the ancient city. His mission was religious and astronomical.

8). Trying to restore all sorts of historical chronicles, the Tower of Babel looks absolutely "not a tower" - a huge shapeless structure, with a bunch of stairs, windows and doors. Just "chaos" in the middle of the city.

9). Well, we will never know exactly and thoroughly how and what happened in ancient city Babylon. But at least we have some information.

Other interesting facts about Babylon can be found on the Web pages of the Internet.

If you're planning a trip to Cuba, or you're just curious about the country, here are some interesting facts about it:

by the most major city and the capital of Cuba is Havana, more than 2.4 million people live here. It is curious that Spanish conquistador D. Velasquez founded Havana in 1519-1521.

Cuban territory includes 4,000 small and medium-sized islands.

Among island countries Caribbean Cuba is considered the most densely populated.

Although official languages the country is Spanish, English is widely spoken here.

Cuba gained independence from Spain in 1898.

Christopher Columbus landed in Cuba on October 12, 1492, thus Cuba became a Spanish colony. For more than four centuries it has been considered part of the Kingdom of Spain.

The territory of Cuba is equal to 110,860 sq. km., in terms of area it occupies the 104th place in the world.

The population of Cuba is 10% black, 64% white, 25% mulatto, 1% other nationalities remain.

22% of Cuban territories are occupied by protected lands.

The most widespread religion in Cuba is Catholicism.

There are approximately 5.58 million women in Cuba, and more than 5.60 million men.

Maybe that's why the birth rate in Cuba is one of the lowest in the Western Hemisphere - 9.8 children per thousand population.

The beaches of Varadero are considered one of the most beautiful places on earth, this business card Liberty Islands. In 1992, Varadero Beach was recognized by UNESCO as one of the most the cleanest beaches peace.

An interesting fact is that Cuba has a very high number of doctors. She occupies one of the leading places. Cuban specialists are often sent to countries where there is a shortage of doctors.

At the same time, Cubans live longer than residents of the United States.

Every year more than 2 million tourists come to Cuba, and if you buy tickets to this country, then you can be among these lucky ones.

Cuba is famous not only for a large number of beaches, but also for its peculiar colonial architecture, mild climate and interesting cultural history.

The most famous Cuban products are cigars and coffee.

IN Lately holidays are in increasing demand popular resorts Montenegro. What attracts tourists so much, here are some interesting facts about this small country:

The highest Balkan bridge, whose height is 198 meters, is located in the city of Kolasin.

And the Dzhurzhevich Tara Bridge is considered the highest European automobile bridge.

The Tara River Canyon is the first deepest canyon in Europe and the second deepest in the world. This canyon is 78 meters long and its maximum depth is 1300 meters (bridge near Churevac mountain).

Also in Montenegro is the largest nudist center in Europe (the island of Ada Bojana).

The largest Montenegrin beach is the "Great Beach", located in the city of Ulcinj. The length of the beach is 14 kilometers.

The largest lake in the Balkans is Lake Skadar. Its area is 369.7 square kilometers. There are 40 islands on its territory. It is also interesting that political criminals were once imprisoned on one of the islands. The Boyan River connects Skadar Lake with the sea.

And the most deep lake is black lake. It consists of two lakes, which is why it received a second name - "Mountain Eyes"

Montenegro is also unique with its Biogradska Gora National Park. The area of ​​the park is 2500 hectares. On its territory there is a beautiful forest with coniferous trees, whose age exceeds 400 years.

To the most highest points Montenegro includes Maya Kolata with a height of 2.582 meters, Zla Kolata with a height of 2.534 meters, Rosit with a height of 2.525 meters (Prokletije mountain range) and Bobotov Kuk with a height of 2.522 meters (Durmitor mountain range).

In addition to everything, Montenegro can be proud of its reserves: Durmitor with an area of ​​​​39,000 hectares, the Skadar Lake basin with an area of ​​\u200b\u200b40,000 hectares.

Earlier we wrote about the residence of the French monarchs. Versailles is strikingly different from another, no less famous and even more grandiose residence of the autocrat. But this time it is not about the Western, but about the Eastern monarchy. In the East, there was a different idea of ​​the ruler, of his way of life and way of life. This was well manifested in the architecture of the residence of the Chinese emperor. If in France it was a combination of grandeur, luxury, sophistication and openness of the “ideal city”, then in China the grandeur, splendor and mystery of the “Forbidden City” joined the majesty.

This incomparable building is the most outstanding monument in Beijing. It was erected by Emperor Zhu Di from the Ming Dynasty, who moved the capital here from Nanjing. In those days, Beijing began to be divided into the Outer and Inner City.

It was distinguished by special grandiosity and closeness central part inner city where the residence of the Chinese emperors was located. Its full name means "Purple Forbidden City". A few centuries later, the name Gugun appeared - “The Palace of the Former Rulers”. Cut off from the rest of the city by the Jin Shuihe Canal and high purple-red walls (hence the residence's first name), it was the center of a vast empire, and for the Chinese themselves, the whole world. But until 1925, mere mortals were ordered to enter here.

The construction of the Forbidden City began at the very end of the Middle Ages - in 1406. But fires repeatedly occurred on its territory, so most of the buildings were erected in the 17-19 centuries. and are of modern times.

Unlike many majestic monuments Europe, Gugun was created relatively quickly - in 14 years. This is due to the ability of the eastern despotisms to mobilize huge resources. Only 1 million workers worked on the construction of the Imperial Palace, 100,000 artists were engaged in its design. Among them were wood and stone carvers, painters and sculptors. Valuable wood species were used as the main building material.

The hands of Chinese craftsmen created a colossal complex consisting of 980 buildings, many courtyards, gates, bridges and gardens. It is a regular rectangle with sides of 961 and 753 m. The only part of this territory accessible to the eyes ordinary people, there were majestic towers erected at the four corners of the palace wall.

All the buildings of the city were carefully planned taking into account the philosophical teachings and religious beliefs of China. So, the facades of the main buildings are facing south. This side of the world was considered the source of heavenly energy, which the emperor possessed. For five centuries forbidden city remained the greatest palace complex in the world. Securely hidden from prying eyes, it contributed to the birth of numerous myths about emperors and their way of life. The last of them left the palace only in 1925. Today, the Forbidden City is open to the world, it is enough to purchase tours to China and anyone can enter and plunge into the times of the powerful monarchs of the Celestial Empire.

"Mesopotamia" means "land between rivers". Here, on the banks of the Euphrates and the Tigris, there was one of the oldest centers of civilization, where the legend of the Garden of Eden arose, with which man associated peace and bliss. Perhaps that is why Mesopotamia seemed to strangers a flourishing land. In fact, it has always been a place where the water element of overflowing rivers brought destruction and where withering winds blow in hot summers.

However, at the end of the 4th millennium BC. e. one of the oldest civilizations in the world, Sumer, appeared here. It got its name from the people who settled in the lower reaches of the Euphrates, near the place where the river flows into the Persian Gulf.

Where the Sumerians came from is still not clear, and their language is unlike any other. But they were able to cultivate barley and wheat, learned how to drain swamps and bring water to dry areas. With time locals created an economy based not only on agriculture, but also on the production of metals, fabrics and ceramics. By 3000 BC. e. they had the highest, for their time, culture with a carefully thought-out religion and a special system of writing.

However, by the 2nd millennium BC. e. The Sumerian kingdom fell into decay, and then the local land gave birth to another mighty state of antiquity - Babylonia. It existed in the south of Mesopotamia from the beginning of the 2nd millennium until 539 BC. e. This civilization took its name from the capital - Babylon, the ancient names of which - Kadingirra and Babilu, mean "gate of god".

Until the 19th century BC e. Babylon did not play an independent political role, but then, using its favorable geographical position, it gradually became the "center of the world", which had no equal on Earth.

Three outstanding buildings brought special glory to the country: the Tower of Babel, the powerful fortress walls that surrounded the city, and the hanging gardens of Babylon. The civilization flourished during the period of the New Babylonian Kingdom (626-539 BC), and the most unique buildings were built here during the time of King Nebuchadnezzar II. So, the inner wall of the city was fortified with a large number of towers. From a distance it seemed that the city was surrounded by a huge and terrible palisade.

And around the wall, built of gray-yellow brick, a moat was dug, filled with muddy water. It was connected to the Euphrates River by a system of canals and locks. And if necessary, by the will of the king, the entire surrounding area could be flooded, turning the city into an island. For several centuries, Babylon was the world capital, during which time its inhabitants gave mankind the division of the year into 12 months, the hour into minutes and seconds, and the circle into 360 degrees. The Babylonians were the first to use the seven-day week, invented the principles of arranging libraries, mastered the knowledge of arithmetic and geometry, which were necessary for measuring land.

World history without complexes and stereotypes. Volume 1 Gitin Valery Grigorievich

Mesopotamia (Mesopotamia)

Mesopotamia (Mesopotamia)

In the southern foothills of the Caucasus, two rivers originate, the Euphrates and the Tigris, which flow into the Persian Gulf. The space bounded by their mean and downstream, has long been called Mesopotamia (in Greek - Mesopotamia).

During the entire period of ancient history in the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates, three lush civilizations, three powers are formed, develop and wither: Sumer, Babylon and Assyria.

The Sumerian civilization is the most ancient not only in this region, but, perhaps, in everything. inhabited world. And perhaps the most mysterious.

She left to her descendants the concepts of a year, which consists of 12 months or 365 days, of the zodiac constellations, of the wheel and the potter's wheel, of bronze and colored glass, of the professional army and the legal code. But at the same time, this civilization left many unresolved issues. For example, in the Sumerian myths, military operations are mentioned, which are carried out with the help of some kind of long metal arrows that carry the “glow of hellfire” (the translation may not be entirely accurate, but the meaning is exactly that). Battle missiles for six thousand years BC? And the fact that the Sumerian warriors thoroughly washed their weapons and clothes with some special solution after the battle? This process is called deactivation. It is a necessary measure of protection against nuclear contamination. So, the description of this process in the Sumerian myths is an indefinite play on words? So, of course, I would like those who, with maniacal persistence, are trying to drive the world into the narrow framework of their life stereotypes.

“Whatever a patient with jaundice looks at, everything seems yellowish to him.”

Tat Lucretius Kar

Apparently, the Sumerians at one time experienced something unimaginably terrifying, some kind of terrible tragedy, which they could not give an exhaustive definition of, but which was clearly imprinted on their worldview.

Sumerian mythology is permeated with chilling horror and a hopeless struggle against evil fate, against what is beyond understanding and therefore especially scary.

The Sumerians completely lack the motives of the afterlife prosperity characteristic of the Egyptians in the bright kingdom of Osiris. Their gods are cruel and merciless, they know neither pity nor mercy, and in the other world there is gloom and suffering. This living world, in the Sumerian perception, is not much better, but still allows for the presence of certain joys that can be obtained at the cost of intense and cruel struggle, suffering and deprivation.

The authorship of the catchphrase “Momento more” (“Remember death”) does not belong to the Romans, as is commonly believed, but to the Sumerians. It was the Sumerians who proclaimed the constant feeling of the threat of death and, at the same time, the desire to enjoy every moment of a fleeting life as the norm of the worldview.

"Death is an arrow shot at you, and life is the moment that it flies to you."

Al Husri

The interpretation of the Sumerian worldview, wandering from one academic textbook to another, is incredibly amusing. It is based, first of all, on the difficult natural conditions of Mesopotamia, on the floods of the Tigris and Euphrates, on the hot climate, etc. And therefore, they say, such a gloomy philosophy of life arose in these harsh lands. Well, what can I say? To be honest, I really want to turn to the pundit: “Dubina, look at the map!” Indeed, this Mesopotamia was not located in Alaska. Fertile soil, on which each sown grain yielded a crop in the ratio of 1 to 100; date palms; forests full of game and rivers full of fish. Almost the same region with Egypt. And as for the philosophy of life, the natural conditions, if they play some role in its formation, but still far from decisive.

The very life philosophy of this or that people, or rather, the dominant philosophy of this or that people, undoubtedly plays a decisive role in the formation of its spiritual values.

By the way, the Sumerian myth of the global flood arose, if not earlier than the biblical one, then at least independently of it. It features both the ark and the raven that found the earthly firmament.

The most significant literary monument of the Sumerians is the Epic of Gilgamesh. The hero of this epic goes on a long and dangerous path wishing for immortality. His search is painful and full of dangerous adventures. Eventually Gilgamesh returns home. He looks at the high city walls and consoles himself with the thought that if what remains after a person is what he built, then immortality may well lie in his accomplishments.

The Sumerians also left behind such symbols of immortality as stepped towers, the so-called ziggurats. These towers were the central structures of the temple complex. At the top of the multi-stage tower there was a sanctuary, which was considered the abode of the god. There, the priests entered into direct communication with higher powers, and no one can know for sure whether they were monologues or dialogues ...

We know too little for sure.

Well, perhaps knowledge is not at all necessary condition progress of civilization.

Maybe it's for this reason cultural heritage the Sumerians are permeated with such deep sadness.

But the heirs of the Sumerian culture - the Babylonians - were already distinguished by unshakable optimism, and not at all because they knew less, but because they treated their knowledge differently, more soberly, pragmatically - to a certain extent. Yes, if life is a black sheep, then from a black sheep - at least a tuft of wool!

And they took their tuft of wool cheerfully, boldly, recklessly.

It is not for nothing that Babylon is a symbol of vitality, a synonym for hypertrophy of any life phenomenon. There is such a common expression "Babylonian harlot." No one will be able to define the exact parameters of this concept, but anyone will say that it means some kind of super whore, some kind of subverter of all decorum, all moral dogmas, all social stereotypes.

And the expression "Babylonian pandemonium" by itself implies something large-scale, crowded, amazing in its scope. According to the biblical myth, the construction of a huge tower began in the city of Babylon, which was supposed to reach the sky. Naturally, an incredible number of builders took part in the implementation of this daring project. The construction was developing quite successfully, and the Tower of Babel (pillar) was already very high, when God, angry with the presumptuous people, endowed them with different languages, and then, having lost the opportunity to communicate freely with each other, they were forced to stop construction ...

And the very word "Babylon" is synonymous with a large and majestic city, full of temptations and some kind of sophisticated sin, in many respects corresponding to popular ideas about modern Las Vegas.

In the Bible, Babylon is characterized as a city that “did all nations to drink with the wine of its wrathful fornication.”

One way or another, but Babylon was the capital of a powerful kingdom and the largest trading center of Mesopotamia, at least during its heyday (the first half of the 2nd millennium BC).

In the history of mankind, Babylon was the first of the cities corresponding to the concept of "capital of the world."

It is known that in Babylon there were 53 temples of the great gods, 55 temples of the supreme god Marduk, 300 sanctuaries of earthly and underground gods, 600 sanctuaries of heavenly gods, 180 altars to the goddess of war and love Ishtar and 200 altars dedicated to other gods. The crowning glory of this huge complex cult architecture was the so-called Esagila - a 90-meter multi-stage tower (ziggurat), built in honor of the supreme god Marduk.

It goes without saying that all these structures were not empty.

The religious zeal of the Babylonians was stimulated primarily by a powerful sexual instinct, because the temples served as places of mass copulation.

We can say that the sexual ecstasy of the Babylonians gently turned into a religious one. And vice versa.

At that time, temple prostitution was already quite developed, so that men had ample opportunities to make contact with certain deities through intercourse with their priestesses.

"The beginning of fornication is turning to idols."

Book of proverbs. 14;12.

Babylon was considered a classic country of religious prostitution.

Herodotus noted that all the inhabitants of Babylon were obliged to come to the temple of Militta at least once in their lives in order to surrender themselves to some stranger there. Of course, not all of them had the necessary degree of attractiveness, especially given the fierce competition, so some had to wait for their lucky break for quite some time. However, given the huge number of "guests of the capital", the situation of the ugly girls was not so hopeless.

In all other respects, this human hive was the same as all similar trading centers of the Ancient and all other worlds. And so it was before the country began to rule king Hammurabi(from 1792 to 1750 BC). During his reign in the temples or in the marketplaces, everything continued in its long-established routine, as in the houses of the Babylonians, if we consider the external side of being. But in the inner, in its true essence, being has changed radically, and this change has determined the special place of Babylon in the history of civilization.

At the beginning of the 20th century, archaeologists found a tall black stone pillar. On this pillar, the laws of King Hammurabi were carved in neat cuneiform writing, very likely the first written laws on our planet.

These laws to a certain extent became the foundation for all subsequent legal norms of all peoples and states.

“I, Hammurabi,” was written in the introductory part of this code, “the leader appointed by the gods, the first of the kings who conquered the Euphrates settlements, I put truth and justice into the mouth of the country and gave prosperity to the people.

From now on:

If a man steals the property of a temple or a king, he must be killed; and the one who accepts the stolen must be killed ... "

In the textbooks of the Soviet period, buckets of sarcastic bile poured out on the above lines. Here, they say, how the rulers took care of the safety of their property. Is there any other way to ensure the safety of property?

Now, at the beginning of the 20th century, cases of theft of hundreds of meters of copper wires directly from trolleybus lines are not uncommon. At night. In the morning - in addition to material losses, there was also a surprise for those who were going to arrive at their place of work by trolleybus.

So what will the adherents of abstract humanism advise to do in such cases with caught thieves? A couple of years in a penal colony, where these subjects will feel like pikes in a pond? Freed, they will take up the old, perhaps, and for something new, more impressive.

As Nietzsche wrote in 1887, the Germans for many centuries resorted to terrifyingly cruel means to achieve elementary order in order to "train the 'people of thinkers'.

Unfortunately, there is no other way, and the best way to protect trolleybus wires from theft is to hang a caught thief on one of the desecrated poles, and next to him - a buyer of stolen goods.

But back to the laws of Hammurabi.

They are based on the well-known law of Nature, which says: “The force of action is equal to the force of reaction” (yes, physics is the mouthpiece of Nature, this is not history or sociology for you).

According to the laws of Hammurabi, theft in any of its manifestations is punishable by death, and this is absolutely fair. A person's property arises as a result of the expenditure of his vital energy, therefore, by encroaching on it, the thief thereby encroaches on a person's life. This often manifests itself in literally when, for example, they steal a car purchased at the cost of many years of hardship, or steal a wallet from an old woman with her miserable but vital pension. I don’t know about the humanists, but I don’t see any other way out of this situation, except for the public and, moreover, the shameful execution of the guilty.

Or the following: “If a person strikes an equal on the cheek, he must pay a fine”. Who will object to this just demand? Is that the champions of a general massacre, which for some reason is beneficial to them.

And here “If a person hits the cheek of the highest (noble, priest), he should be hit 60 times with a whip of oxhide”. This is very serious, on the verge, perhaps, of the death penalty, but on the other hand, is not the old saying true: "Power cannot be touched"?

Otherwise chaos will reign.

And in conclusion it was written: “I, Hammurabi, the just king, to whom the god of the Sun granted laws…”

This is truly a contribution to history.

In this regard, the literature of Babylon should also be noted.

"The Poem of Atrahasis" contains a vivid and figurative description of the global flood that came shortly after the repentance of the gods in the creation of people.

In the epic, called "When Above," its own version of the Sumerian poem about Gilgamesh is being developed, who continues to search for ephemeral immortality and, of course, does not find ... And the problem of good and evil is reflected in the famous dialogue between a slave and his master. He gives an order to a slave, and this order is immediately and unquestioningly executed. Then the master gives an order of the exact opposite meaning, and it is carried out with the same diligence. And then the master asks: “What, then, is considered good, and what is evil, if both find such unhindered use for themselves?” The slave answers the master: “Break your neck and mine and throw it into the river, because there is neither good nor evil”.

So that. And the size of the trade turnover in the markets of Babylon does not in the least excite the refined and capricious muse of Clio, just as she does not care about the yields on the fields of this state, nor the threatening gestures of the Babylonian (and not only Babylonian) military. What's the point? 232 years after the death of King Hammurabi, Babylon was conquered by the mountain tribes, who ruled there for a long time, but as they came, they went home, like snow under the rays of the Sun.

Babylon blossomed again, and in such a lush and riotous color as the world has never seen before.

Nebuchadnezzar II, king of Babylonia in 605-562. BC, became famous, first of all, for his urban planning zeal. He surrounded the capital with powerful fortress walls, so powerful that two war chariots could pass on them.

The city gates looked at all four directions of the world, from where merchants, travelers, adventurers, artisans, prostitutes, wandering warriors and many other people, attracted by stories of fabulous luxury and equally fabulous freedom of morals, flocked to the legendary Babylon in inexhaustible streams. Incidentally, the main ones facing rising sun, the city gates were dedicated to the goddess of war and love - Ishtar (Ashtoret, Astarte), and this in itself says a lot.

By the will of King Nebuchadnezzar II, the second wonder of the world was created in Babylon - the so-called Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

Such is the real contribution of Nebuchadnezzar II to History.

And his other actions, although they were distinguished by their scale, however, no longer bore that personal beginning, which is so highly appreciated by the muse of History. It is known that in 605 BC. this king captured the territories of Syria and Palestine. In 597, and then in 587 (or in 586 BC), he destroyed the rebellious Jerusalem, liquidated the Kingdom of Judah and took most of its inhabitants into captivity. But this was quite within the power of any experienced military leader, but the gardens of Babylon ...

Semiramide- the legendary queen of Babylon (according to other sources - Assyria). At least, her Assyrian name is also known - Shammuramat. She ruled at the end of the 9th century. BC. She had no direct relation to Nebuchadnezzar II and could not have had it because of the obvious age difference (IX century and VII century), so the “Gardens of Babylon” is a more traditional name than a real one. They also say about Semiramis that she allowed incestuous marriages and married her son, whom she herself killed after some time. Whatever it was, but the lady is outstanding, and, apparently, it is not by chance that the second wonder of the world is associated with her name.

In 538 B.C. Babylon was taken by the Persians.

Theoretically, this was a completely unthinkable enterprise, given the power of the fortifications and the garrison protecting them, but in practice everything was simple and obscene: the Babylonian priests treacherously opened one of the four city gates. Apparently, something was not shared with the secular authorities. Well, on the tablets of History, this happens all the time ...

Goddess with snakes XVII century BC

And after the short domination of the Persians in Mesopotamia, the real pearl of this region becomes Assyria.

To a large extent, Assyria can be considered the heir of the Babylonian civilization, the successor of its achievements, but it also transformed them, adapted them to the basic requirements of its state ideology. Religion, culture, and all, in principle, the social institutions of Babylon were subjected to such an impact.

If before the power was means achievement of economic power, fabulous luxury and loud glory in its tinsel-oriental sense, then in the Assyrian version the power was already purpose, in a self-valuable way, the appearance of which was formed from the symbols of sovereign greatness.

Assyrian culture breathed the pathos of power, invincibility, wisdom and justice of royal power. Religious motives gave way to secular ones. Majestic temples were challenged by even more majestic palaces built on artificial hills and surrounded by fortress walls. That was famous palace king Sargon II, built in the vicinity of the city of Nineveh. The entrance to it was guarded by skillfully carved figures of winged bulls with human heads, the inner walls were decorated with bas-reliefs on military or hunting themes, demonstrating the highest art of Assyrian sculptors.

In the king's palace Ashurbanipala (Sardanapala) there was a masterpiece of world fine art - the bas-relief "The Dying Lioness". This is undoubtedly the creation of a great master, much more valuable to History than his royal customer.

However, Ashurbanipal went down in history not only as a formidable tyrant and indefatigable conqueror of foreign territories, but also as a thoughtful collector of ancient written monuments. He possessed the richest library at that time, consisting of more than two tens of thousands of cuneiform tablets, which reflected the most diverse aspects of life. “I have learned the most secret secrets of the art of writing, - Ashurbanipal noted on one of the tablets of his library, - I read in the heavenly and earthly spheres and pondered for a long time on what I read ".

Well, not bad at all for an autocrat.

But the lifestyle of that era was least of all characterized by blissful pastime in the quiet of libraries. The authorities need a constant show of force to maintain their image.

The Assyrians masterfully mastered the art of war, as evidenced by imperishable clay tablets:

“Look, here they come quickly and irresistibly, no one will doze off and fall asleep. The hooves of their horses are like stone, and the wheels are like a violent whirlwind. Their roar is like that of a lion. No one can hide from them."

“Across the abysses and gorges, I made their blood flow like rivers; steppes, plains, heights I painted like scarlet wool; I lit the surrounding villages like bonfires; I turned the fresh water of the canal into a swamp. My warriors broke into the beautiful gardens and let the iron ax rattle ... I did not leave a wheel.

And if you ask them why, in the end, all these vile things that they were so proud of were committed? And not only them. The history of mankind is literally stuffed with such abominations. When you read this, the thought involuntarily arises that one global flood was, perhaps, not enough ...

War, in truth, is not such a disgusting phenomenon, if we consider it as a clash on a huge field of two conflicting armies, and then God will decide, but such as “I turned the fresh water of the canal into a swamp” can only be considered a crime, and no the personal valor of its participants will not atone for such a terrible sin. And what the hell can be valor here?

Speaking of virtue. Herodotus and cuneiform texts tell many interesting facts about the reign of one of the most valiant rulers of Assyria, whose name was Sennacherib(reigned 705-680 BC).

This worthy man began his reign with a radical revision of his genealogy. Renouncing your own father, the king Sargon II, he declared himself a direct descendant of the demigods Adapa and Gilgamesh.

He often fought with neighbors, devastating their cities and villages, brutally suppressing uprisings in the occupied areas.

He conquered almost all of Asia Minor, and only Babylon for many years remained a white spot on the map of the victorious acquisitions of the valiant Sennacherib. All these years he circled like a kite around the famous city, the most revered cult center of Mesopotamia, waiting for his finest hour.

And that hour has come. In 689 B.C. Sennacherib, having previously bled all possible allies of Babylon, surrounded him and took him by storm.

After the "heroic" sack of the great city, its inhabitants were partly resettled, partly given into slavery.

Countless treasures were taken out by Sennacherib from Babylon, but this action, as it turned out, was only a small part of a comprehensive plan to trample on shrines. After the removal of the treasures, Sennacherib ordered to demolish all the residential quarters of Babylon, all administrative and religious buildings, that is, to wipe the city off the face of the earth. But that's not all. Having blocked part of the Euphrates channel, he let the waters of the river flow through the ruined city, turning it into a swamp. And at the end of the operation, samples Babylonian land were solemnly scattered to the wind ...

And seven years later, Sennacherib became a victim of a palace coup. He was killed in the temple by his two sons, who, however, were soon forced to flee, fleeing the revenge of their brother, the third son of the valiant Assyrian king Sennacherib.

These, for the most part, were the historical realities in which the characters of this heroic farce acted.

Right word, it is better and, no doubt, immeasurably more moral to serve the insatiable gods in the manner described by Herodotus: “Every woman in the country should once in her life sit down at the temple of Aphrodite and give herself up to some stranger. servant. But the majority do the following: they sit in the sacred grove of Aphrodite with wreaths of ropes on their heads - there are many of them, because some leave and others come.

From the circle formed by the women, straight roads diverge in all directions, along which strangers pass in order to choose one of those seated for themselves. Since a woman came and sat down here, she cannot return home until she has received money from a stranger and has not entered into intercourse with him outside the sanctuary. Throwing money to her, he must say: in the name of the goddess Militta. Militta is called by the Assyrians Aphrodite. No matter how much money he gives her, she should not reject it. It is forbidden because the money is dedicated to the deity. She should go with the first person who gave her money, and should not refuse anyone..

It would be better if History kept in memory something like this, and not seas of blood shed, among other things, completely in vain.

Laurels-covered robbery,

Both land and sea

Not worth praise.

I'm ready to give my blood

In that life-creating battle

What we call love.

I glorify the triumph of the world,

Contentment and prosperity.

It's nicer to make one

How to destroy a dozen!

Robert Burns

Even with a cursory acquaintance with ancient history one gets the impression that, of course, they did something, but they exterminated people much more and with immeasurably greater zeal.

Mesopotamia (SUMER, AKKAD, ASSYRIA, BABYLON) This vast region contests the palm of Egypt as the original center of civilization. And if the first large state associations first arose in the Nile Valley, and not in Mesopotamia, then the first centers of the producing