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The Babylonians: An Introduction (Peoples of the Ancient World)

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Gwendolyn Leick, a lecturer and author of many books on the ancient Near East, has written a very accessible and interesting book on the Babylonians here. Babylon has long been a place of mystery and enigmatic reputation. The biblical text often speaks in disparaging tones of the place, but in fact this text often disguises a respect for the power of the place. Alexander the Great recognised the power inherent in the major city, which was also home to one of the ancient wonders of the world.

The real Babylon is not far from the modern city of Baghdad, between the great rivers Tigris and Euphrates. Leick begins with a discussion of the geographical setting of the city of Babylon and the more general geography of the Fertile Crescent, the area surrounded between and around the two great rivers that gave rise to the most ancient civilisation on earth. This area also included well-known cities of the ancient world, such as Ur, Uruk, Seleucia and Nineveh. She also discusses in her first chapter the early development of writing, which became a standard kind of script across many cultures, the cuneiform script. 'Literacy is one of the most defining characteristics of Mesopotamian civilisation. By the time the Babylonians first appear as a people, writing had been in use for at least two thousand years.'

Leick begins the historical timeline with the Old Babylonian period, which begins with late Akkadian texts from the year 2000 BCE up until about 1600. Middle Babylonian runs roughly from 1600 to 1000, Neo-Babylonian from 1000 to 600, and Late Babylonian from 600 BCE to the beginning of the Christian/Common era. Leick prefers this arrangement to the more general archaeologist divisions of Bronze and Iron Ages (even including early, middle, late and other such modifiers) as the archaeological division 'does little to elucidate Babylonian historical or cultural development.' Leick puts Babylonia in a context of the more international setting (Egypt, Greece, Persia and other cultures), and looks at the internal structures, cultural developments and political shifts over time. She traces this history through to the bitter end, as Mesopotamia became a buffer state between the Parthians and Romans, too vulnerable to be reliable for trade and commerce, and ultimately abandoned for several centuries for the most part - by the time the Muslims returned to the area, many of the great ancient cities were buried beneath the sands.

Later chapters develop the themes of society, religion, politics, and general cosmology of the Babylonians. There was a complex urban culture that coexists with rural, agricultural settings; there is a division and cooperation between temple and palace institutions. Leick also does an extended discussion of the 'everyday' things of life - clothing, dwellings, foodstuffs, cooking, medicine, etc., which she says 'characterises a people as much as their abstract ideas and social stratification.'

This book is only intended as a primer; it has an eclectic collection of facts and topics selected rather as an ethnographic study. The intention here is to stimulate the reader toward further reading and research, and toward that end there is a very good bibliography. Leick includes endnotes and an index for better use in research; the index includes both an English and Sumerian/Akkadian listing. Leick's writing is certainly interesting and should stimulate those with an interest in this ancient but important people to pursue further reading, some of which may be other writing of Leick herself.

The book is only 150 pages excluding the notes, yet 26.00? The book covers the pre-Mesopotamian roots through Babylon and Assyria, the culture and the history. What I liked in this book were the nuggets about Mesopotamian economics, how centralized planning led to overproduction of resources and ecological disaster. Slaves and women were entreprenuers, investing in bars and brothels. That is not something that is usually mentioned in surveys of the Ancient Mid-East. Other than that, it is an overall satisfactory introduction to an important period, if you can get it used or through a book club.

Scholars studying the ancient Near East have often understood Babylon as the emblematic state of the Mesopotamian world. However, the study range of this topic is so broad that it is always hard to understand the socio-economic environments. Furthermore, even with the focus on Babylon, scholars have often neglected the socio-economic environment of that civilization. However, Leick's book addresses the socio-economic environment in a way that advances scholarship for readers.Shorter than most overtures to the subject (only 182 pages), Gwendolyn Leick's The Babylonian: An Introduction is designed to introduce the beginning student to the Babylonians in a concise manner. The book deals with five major subjects: the geographical scene, history, society and economy, religion, and material culture.

In chapter one, Leick presents the geographical setting of Babylon and Babylonian cosmic notions. In addition, literature references (Assyrian Royal inscriptions, Nebuchadnezzar's inscriptions, and Enuma Elish) and the writing system are employed to show how the Babylonians saw themselves and to introduce their spatial concept of the world. In chapter 2, Leick then provides the history of the Babylonians in light of Mesopotamian history. She divides Babylonian history into four historical eras: (1) "Mesopotamia in the third millennium," (2) "The Old Babylonian period (ca. 2000-1600 BCE)," (3) "The Middle Babylonian Period (c.1500-612 BCE)," and (4) "The Neo and Late Babylonian Periods (c. 604 BCE -141 CE)."

After thoroughly reviewing the history, Leick deals with the structure of the Babylonian society and economy in chapter 3. In examining the social and economic aspects, she details such topics as kinship, family, temple, palace, the merchant community, business, scribes, and social divisions. In chapter 4, Leick studies the religious aspects of Babylonian life. She describes that society's gods and goddesses, temple architecture, temple service, priests, rituals, and divination by analyzing the textual and archaeological evidence. Finally, in chapter 5, Leick introduces the material culture of the Babylonians, including housing and the urban environment, domestic items, clothes, textiles, fashion, food, drink, cooking, health, sexuality, and concepts of death.

As this work was designed to skim the surface of the Babylonian world, the subtopics are quite selective and subjective. Still it is well written and gives a beginner a straightforward overview of the Babylonians, how they lived, what they ate, and what affected their lives. The book would benefit from the addition of information on education and music to the social survey, agriculture to the economic analysis, and fortifications to the material culture evaluation. With these minor adjustments, this book would provide a robust prologue for those who wish to conduct a serious study the Babylonians. In addition it would serve as an excellent introduction to the Babylonians for undergraduates in liberal arts colleges and seminaries.

Scholars studying the ancient Near East have often understood Babylon as the emblematic state of the Mesopotamian world. However, the study range of this topic is so broad that it is always hard to understand the socio-economic environments. Furthermore, even with the focus on Babylon, scholars have often neglected the socio-economic environment of that civilization. However, Leick's book addresses the socio-economic environment in a way that advances scholarship for readers.Shorter than most overtures to the subject (only 182 pages), Gwendolyn Leick's The Babylonian: An Introduction is designed to introduce the beginning student to the Babylonians in a concise manner. The book deals with five major subjects: the geographical scene, history, society and economy, religion, and material culture.

In chapter one, Leick presents the geographical setting of Babylon and Babylonian cosmic notions. In addition, literature references (Assyrian Royal inscriptions, Nebuchadnezzar's inscriptions, and Enuma Elish) and the writing system are employed to show how the Babylonians saw themselves and to introduce their spatial concept of the world. In chapter 2, Leick then provides the history of the Babylonians in light of Mesopotamian history. She divides Babylonian history into four historical eras: (1) "Mesopotamia in the third millennium," (2) "The Old Babylonian period (ca. 2000-1600 BCE)," (3) "The Middle Babylonian Period (c.1500-612 BCE)," and (4) "The Neo and Late Babylonian Periods (c. 604 BCE -141 CE)."

After thoroughly reviewing the history, Leick deals with the structure of the Babylonian society and economy in chapter 3. In examining the social and economic aspects, she details such topics as kinship, family, temple, palace, the merchant community, business, scribes, and social divisions. In chapter 4, Leick studies the religious aspects of Babylonian life. She describes that society's gods and goddesses, temple architecture, temple service, priests, rituals, and divination by analyzing the textual and archaeological evidence. Finally, in chapter 5, Leick introduces the material culture of the Babylonians, including housing and the urban environment, domestic items, clothes, textiles, fashion, food, drink, cooking, health, sexuality, and concepts of death.

As this work was designed to skim the surface of the Babylonian world, the subtopics are quite selective and subjective. Still it is well written and gives a beginner a straightforward overview of the Babylonians, how they lived, what they ate, and what affected their lives. The book would benefit from the addition of information on education and music to the social survey, agriculture to the economic analysis, and fortifications to the material culture evaluation. With these minor adjustments, this book would provide a robust prologue for those who wish to conduct a serious study the Babylonians. In addition it would serve as an excellent introduction to the Babylonians for undergraduates in liberal arts colleges and seminaries.