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Babylonia: Cities
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The Babylonian god Marduk was the chief god of the city of Babylonia. As a result of Hammurabi's expansion of the empire, Marduk ... began to be considered the chief god of the entire traditional Mesopotamian pantheon. Religion was central to everyday life in Babylonia. Large temples were central features in every city and wealthy homes likely included their own private chapels.
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The armies of Babylonia were well-disciplined, and they conquered the city-states of Isin, [[Eshnunna], Uruk, and the kingdom of Mari. But Mesopotamia had no natural, defensible boundaries, making it vulnerable to attack. Trade and culture thrived for around 150 years until Babylon was sacked by the Hittites in the reign of Samsu-Ditana, ushering in the age of the Kassites who filled in the power vacuum.
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The history of Babylonia began c. 2000 B.C. when a Semitic speaking people known as the Amorites migrated to Mesopotamia. Two cities emerged as the chief powers on the Babylonian plain: Isin and Larsa.
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Babylonia, and particularly its capital city Babylon, has long held a place in Abrahamic religions as a symbol of excess and dissolute power. Many references are made to Babylon in the Bible, both literally and allegorically. The mentions in the Tanakh tend to be historical or prophetic, while New Testament references are more likely figurative, or cryptic references to pagan Rome. The legendary Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the Tower of Babel are seen as symbols of luxurious and arrogant power respectively.
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Rav Moshe ben Enoch was a young man, one of the four scholars that traveled from Sura (in Babylonia), in order to collect contributions for their yeshibot. Traveling to raise funds was a common, but potentially dangerous Jewish practice. A traditional story tells of Moshe's arduous ordeal. While sailing on the Adriatic Sea near the coastal city of Bari, he, together with his wife and young son, as well as their traveling mates, were captured by Islamic pirates. Legend holds that the Muslim captain became lustful for Moshe's beautiful wife, but she would entertain nothing of the sort. In a moment of anguish, she asked her husband whether those who were drowned in the sea could look forward to the Resurrection when the Mashiach arrives, and when Moshe answered her in the positive saying: "The Lord said, I will bring them back from Bashan, I will bring them back from the depths of the sea," she jumped overboard, drowning herself in the depth of the ocean.
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In religion, there wasn't much change from Sumer / Akkad to Babylonia. Hammurabi added a Babylonian Marduk, as chief god, to the Sumerian pantheon. The Epic of Gilgamesh is a Babylonian compilation of Sumerian tales about a legendary king of the city-state of Uruk, with a flood story.
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