Babylonian Life and History

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Cosimo, Inc., Feb 1, 2006 - History - 164 pages
The following pages have been written with the view of offering to the Bible student, in a small compass, a little of the history of Babylon, her thought, religion, and manners, and consequently the means whereby he may understand better some of the allusions of the prophets and Bible historians.-from the Introduction Almost 6,000 years after the beginning of their great society, and 2,600 years after its collapse, the heritage handed us by the ancient Babylonians still runs like a shining thread through our global civilization today, a profound cultural gift recognized in the 19th-century as their cuneiform language was first translated.Here, one of the most prominent antiquarians of the Victorian era introduces us to both the secular reality and the spiritual worldview of these sophisticated early people, from their daily life - including aspects of their food, clothing, and furniture - to their religious traditions, their devotion to astrology, and their practice of magic.Drawing on primary and secondary sources uncovered by the archaeology of the era, this is an important volume for students of mythology, religion, history, and historical research. SIR E.A. BUDGE (1857-1934) was curator of Egyptian and Assyrian antiquities at the British Museum form 1894 to 1924. Among his many works of translation and studies of ancient Egyptian religion and ritual is his best-known project, The Egyptian Book of the Dead.

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Contents

CHAPTER I
17
CHAPTER II
29
BABYLONIAN HISTORY FROM ABOUT B C 38001330
34
The Fight between Merodach Bel and the Dragon Frontispiece
40
CHAPTER IV
46
Stone object containing an Inscription of Nebuchadnezzar I B C 1120
51
CHAPTER V
67
Inscription on the edge of the Bronze Step bearing the name
71
Terracotta Cylinder containing the History of the Capture of Babylon
83
CHAPTER VII
90
Terracotta Cylinder of Antiochus king of Babylon B C 280261
99
CHAPTER VIII
104
CHAPTER IX
125
CHAPTER X
148
Babylonian Seals
153
Copyright

PAGE
76

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Page 90 - THUS saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, Whose right hand I have holden, To subdue nations before him ; And I will loose the loins of kings, To open before him the two leaved gates; And the gates shall not be shut...
Page 92 - With three rows of great stones, and a row of new timber: and let the expenses be given out of the king's house : 5 And also let the golden and silver vessels of the house of God...
Page 29 - While such is its size, in magnificence there is no other city that approaches to it. It is surrounded, in the first place, by a broad and deep moat, full of water, behind which rises a wall fifty royal cubits in width, and two hundred in height. (The royal cubit is longer by three fingers' breadth than the common cubit.) 179.
Page 90 - I will go before thee and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron. And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.
Page 74 - My net also will I spread upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare: and I will bring him to Babylon to the land of the Chaldeans; yet shall he not see it, though he shall die there.
Page 30 - The centre of each division of the town was occupied by a fortress. In the one stood the palace of the kings, surrounded by a wall of great strength...
Page 135 - ... the darkness, who piercest the face of darkness, 2 merciful god, who settest up those that are bowed down, who sustainest the weak, 3...

About the author (2006)

E.A. Wallis Budge, 1857 - 1934 Budge was the Curator of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities at the British Museum from 1894 to 1924. He was also a Sometime Scholar of Christ's College, a scholar at the University of Cambridge, Tyrwhitt, and a Hebrew Scholar. He collected a large number of Coptic, Greek, Arabic, Syriac, Ethiopian, and Egyptian Papyri manuscripts. He was involved in numerous archaeology digs in Egypt, Mesopotamia and the Sudan. Budge is known for translating the Egyptian Book of the Dead, which is also known as The Papyrus of Ani. He also analyzed many of the practices of Egyptian religion, language and ritual. His written works consisted of translated texts and hieroglyphs and a complete dictionary of hieroglyphs. Budge's published works covered areas of Egyptian culture ranging from Egyptian religion, Egyptian mythology and magical practices. He was knighted in 1920. E.A. Wallis Budge died on November 23, 1934 in London, England.

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