Babylon (apocalyptic) - the capital of the Babylonian monarchy - with its power and unique culture made such an indelible impression on the Jews after the Babylonian captivity that its name became synonymous with every large, rich and, moreover, immoral city. The prophet Isaiah predicted the death of Babylon, comparing it to Sodom and Gomorrah. The story of the Tower of Babel was recorded during the time of the Assyrian kingdom.
The culture of Babylonia was formed on the traditions of the Sumerian and Akkadian cultures: at this time, the Sumerian writing system - cuneiform - spread widely throughout the Middle East; Various branches of Babylonian science achieved a lot - medicine, astronomy, mathematics, although they were all still closely connected with magic.
Beginning with the reign of Hammurabi, Babylon was the cultural and scientific center of Western Asia for about 1200 years. Many achievements of the ancient Babylonians have entered modern life: following the Babylonian priests, we divide the year into twelve months, the hour into minutes and seconds, and the circle into 360 degrees. Thanks to the hardworking Babylonian scribes, we know the content of Sumerian legends. Moreover, they combined individual stories into large cycles, and their content was skillfully adapted to modern times. The scientific and cultural life of Babylon turned out to be little dependent on changes in its political fate. Kings and conquerors changed, and in Babylon they also revered Marduk, collected libraries and trained young scribes in special schools. In ancient times, the “hanging gardens”, in which the trees seemed to climb up to the very sky, were also ranked among the seven wonders of the world, created by order of the Babylonian kings.
The old gods of the Sumerian-Akkadian pantheon retained their importance in the religion of Babylonia, but religious views became significantly more complex. In Babylonia, a number of local gods were revered, identified with heavenly bodies. A relic of the veneration of the Babylonian astral gods is the modern seven-day week. In some Western European languages, the names of the days of the week still reflect the names of the seven deities.
In Babylonia, the cult of dead kings and the deification of royal power itself developed greatly.
Magic was a powerful means of influencing the priesthood on the masses. Using magical formulas, priest-spellcasters “saved” people from illnesses and misfortunes “caused” by evil spirits, witches and sorcerers. Priests-foretellers allegedly foreshadowed with their art a coming misfortune for a person and tried to prevent it with the help of witchcraft.