Babylon Had It Coming

Babylon Had It Coming

Babylon had survived five destructions before Sennacherib tried to erase it for good. Why did Assyria's most bookish king — a man who loved Babylonian scholarship — finally flood the city and smash its temples in 689 BCE?


This is Oldest Stories, a biweekly deep dive into ancient Mesopotamia. Online at oldeststories.net


In this episode we trace Babylon's strange immortality: a city founded around 1894 BCE that claimed six thousand years of history by borrowing it from Eridu, the first city of the gods. We walk through each of Babylon's "deaths":


Death 1: the ritual transfer from dying Eridu to Babylon under Hammurabi's successors, making Babylon the heir to pre-Flood kingship

Death 2: the Hittite sack of 1595 BCE and decades of abandonment

The Kassite revival, when Babylon became the world's university town, exporting doctors and diviners instead of armies

The humiliations under Tukulti-Ninurta I, the Elamite sack that stole Marduk, and Nebuchadnezzar I's brief martial comeback

The long grind with Assyria: Merodach-Baladan's revolts, Sennacherib's first campaign at Cutha and Kish in 703 BCE, the puppet kings Bel-ibni and Assur-nadin-shumi, the 694 BCE boat raid on Elam, the Elamite counterstroke in 693, and the bloodbath at Halule in 691

We end with the two-year siege of Babylon, Sennacherib's decision to dig a canal through the city, and what the destruction meant for cuneiform civilization. If Babylon had stayed dead, would Mesopotamian culture have lasted longer?


This episode continues our Sennacherib series. For the rise of Sargon II, Tiglath-Pileser III, and the earlier Assyrian-Babylonian wars, see the playlist.


Music from the show: oldeststories.net/music (or search "Oldest Stories Music")


Support the show:

Books: https://a.co/d/7Wn4jhS

Donate: oldeststories.net

Patreon / YouTube members get bonus episodes: patreon.com/JamesBleckley


No-AI readings of ancient texts: youtube.com/@osnightreading


Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(234)

The Bottom of the Mesopotamia Iceberg

The Bottom of the Mesopotamia Iceberg

An examination of the deepest level of the Ancient Mesopotamia iceberg, commonly labeled "Theories and Speculative Ideas." The video reviews each claim against primary sources from Sumer, Akkad, Babyl...

1 Jul 51min

Sennacherib Builds a Paradise in Nineveh

Sennacherib Builds a Paradise in Nineveh

Sennacherib is remembered as one of the most powerful kings of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, but his greatest legacy may not have been conquest. It was Nineveh: a rebuilt imperial capital of canals, garden...

17 Jun 39min

Lachish and How an Assyrian Siege Worked

Lachish and How an Assyrian Siege Worked

Its the siege of Lachish, but also a much more wide ranging explanation of Assyrian siegecraft more generally. Including how it was recognizably modern and, in many ways, responsible for modernity.

3 Jun 51min

Sennacherib vs Hezekiah in 701 BCE: Isaiah and the Battle of Eltekeh

Sennacherib vs Hezekiah in 701 BCE: Isaiah and the Battle of Eltekeh

In 701 BCE, Assyrian king Sennacherib launched his western campaign against Judah, bringing him into direct conflict with King Hezekiah and the political counsel of the prophet Isaiah. The decisive fi...

6 Mai 44min

Sennacherib's Inheritance

Sennacherib's Inheritance

Sennacherib is remembered in the Bible as a villain, the Assyrian king who invaded Judah and stood against Jerusalem. But that reputation, like his father Sargon’s as a world conqueror, may be mislead...

8 Apr 37min

The Doom of Sargon II

The Doom of Sargon II

This episode examines the final major campaign of Sargon II of Assyria (reigned 722–705 BCE) and the long conflict with the Chaldean ruler Marduk-apla-iddina II (Merodach-Baladan) for control of Babyl...

25 Mar 34min

AI and History

AI and History

How does one "do" history, and can an AI do it? The answers:1. You don't "do" history, you feel it.2. AI can do the actions of history, but it can't feel it.Bonus rant: I never liked the idea that the...

18 Mar 21min

Populært innen Historie

henrettelsespodden
rss-dette-ma-aldri-skje-igjen
med-egne-oyne
historier-som-endret-norge
historier-som-endret-verden
rss-benadet
aftenposten-historie
rss-frontkjemperne
sektledere
rss-nadelose-nordmenn-gestapo
vare-historier
rss-strid-de-norske-borgerkrigene
sannhet-eller-konspirasjon
historiepodden
diktatorpodden
historiepodden-ww2
liberal-halvtime
virkelig-grusomt
undersattene
rss-politisk-preik