第15章 巴比伦——沙尘掩盖下的沉睡文明(1)

巴比伦文明是距今6000年到2500年间，两河流域（幼发拉底河和底格里斯河）附近一系列城市文明的总称。生活在这块沙土地上的人们凭借着智慧和劳动，将这个地区灿烂的文明一步步推向顶峰，取得了举世瞩目的成就。这里诞生了世界上第一座城市，颁布了世界上第一部成文法典，创造了最早的文字。

1. Babylon：The great history and construction of the short lived Empire

Available historical resources suggest that Babylon was at first a small town which had sprung up by the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC. The town flourished and attained independence with the rise of the First Amorite Babylonian Dynasty in 1894 BC. An Amorite king named Hammurabi first created the short lived Babylonian Empire； After his death and Babylon spent long periods under Assyrian， Kassite and Elamite domination. Babylon again became the seat of the Neo-Babylonian Empire from 612 to 539 BC which was founded by Chaldeans and whose last king was an Assyrian.

巴比伦：短命帝国的伟大历史和宏大工程

有关历史表明，巴比伦原先是公元前3000年如雨后春笋般兴起的首个小城镇。这座小城的繁荣和独立归因于公元前1894年第一个亚摩利人巴比伦王朝的崛起。一位名叫汉谟拉比的国王首创了短命的巴比伦帝国，他死后巴比伦陷入亚述人和埃兰人的长期统治之下。公元前612年到公元前539年，巴比伦再次成为帝国，那是迦勒底人成立的新巴比伦帝国，最后一个国王是亚述人。

Old Babylonian period：Being the biggest nation in the worldtwice

The First Babylonian Dynasty was established by an Amorite chieftain named Sumu-abum in 1894 BC. The Amorites were not native to Mesopotamia， but were semi nomadic Semitic invaders from the lands to the west. Babylon controlled little surrounding territory until it became the capital of Hammurabi’s empire a century later （1792 BC–1750 BC）. Hammurabi is famous for codifying the laws of Babylonia into the Code of Hammurabi that has had a lasting influence on legal thought. Subsequently， the city of Babylon continued to be the capital of the region known as Babylonia. Hammurabi’s empire quickly dissolved after his death， although the Amorite dynasty remained in power until 1595 BC when they were overthrown by the invading Hittites from Asia Minor.

Following the sack of Babylon by the Hittites， the Kassites invaded and took over Babylon， ushering in a dynasty that was to last for 435 years until 1160 BC. The city was renamed Karanduniash during this period. The Kassites originated from the Zagros Mountains to the north east of Mesopotamia. However， Kassite Babylon eventually became subject to domination by Elam and Assyria， both nations often interfering in or controlling Babylon during the Kassite period. The Assyrian king TukultiNinurta I took the throne of Babylon in 1235 BC， becoming the first native Mesopotamian to rule there.

It has been estimated that Babylon was the largest city in the world from ca. 1770 to 1670 BC， and again between ca. 612 and 320 BC. It was perhaps the first city to reach a population above 200000.

古巴比伦时期：两次成为世界最大的国家

巴比伦第一王朝是由亚摩利人首领阿布姆于公元前1894年建立的。亚摩利人不是美索不达米亚本地人，他们是来自平原向西入侵后处于半游牧状态的闪米特人。巴比伦控制的周边地区很狭小，直到一个世纪后成为汉谟拉比帝国的都城（公元前1792～前1750年）。汉谟拉比因将巴比伦王国的法律制成汉谟拉比法典而闻名天下，此法典对法律思想产生了持久的影响。随后，巴比伦市一直是巴比伦王国的都城。在汉谟拉比死后，帝国迅速瓦解，但是亚摩利人王朝依然在掌权，直到公元前1595年被来自小亚细亚的希泰人侵略者征服。

在希泰人颠覆巴比伦之后，加喜特人又入侵并占领了巴比伦，迎来一个时间长达435年的王朝，这个王朝直到公元前1160年才消亡。在那个时期，城市改名为加喜特巴比伦。加喜特人来自扎格罗斯山脉，向东朝美索不达米亚东北部进军。然而，加喜特巴比伦最终屈膝在埃兰人和亚述人的统治之下。在加喜特时期，这两个民族经常干涉或控制巴比伦。亚述王图库尔蒂-尼努尔塔一世于公元前1235年登上了巴比伦王位，成为第一个美索不达米亚本土国王。

据估计，大约在公元前1770～前1670年，巴比伦是世界上最大的城市，大约在公元前612～前320年间，它又再次成为世界上最大的国家，也许它是第一个人口达到20万以上的城市。

Assyrian period：The sons made atonement fortheir father Sennacherib

During the Babylonian war，Sennacherib of Assyria saved the capital Nineveh palace. Throughout the duration of the Neo Assyrian Empire （911 BC to 608 BC） Babylonia was under Assyrian domination or direct control. During the reign of Sennacherib of Assyria， Babylonia was in a constant state of revolt， led by Mushezib-Marduk， and suppressed only by the complete destruction of the city of Babylon. In 689 BC， its walls， temples and palaces were razed， and the rubble was thrown into the Arakhtu. This act shocked the religious conscience of Mesopotamia； the subsequent murder of Sennacherib by two of his sons was held to be in expiation of it， and his successor Esarhaddon hastened to rebuild the old city， to receive there his crown， and make it his residence during part of the year. After his death， Esarhaddon"s elder son the Assyrian prince Shamash-shum-ukin， started a civil war in 652 BC against his own brother and master Ashurbanipal， who ruled in Nineveh.

Once again， Babylon was besieged by the Assyrians and starved into surrender. Ashurbanipal purified the city and celebrated a "service of reconciliation". After the death of Ashurbanipal， the Assyrian empire began to unravel due to a series of bitter civil wars. Eventually Babylon， like many other parts of the near east， took advantage of this to free itself from Assyrian rule. In the subsequent overthrow of the Assyrian Empire， the Babylonians saw another example of divine vengeance.

亚述时期：儿子为父王辛那赫里布赎罪

在巴比伦战争期间，亚述王辛那赫里布解救了首都尼尼微皇宫的危机。在整个新亚述帝国时期（公元前911～前608年），巴比伦都屈从于亚述人的统治或直接控制之下。在亚述王辛那赫里布统治期间，巴比伦是一个持续不断发生叛乱的地方，由穆塞吉布-马尔都克领导。只有把巴比伦城彻底毁灭，才能镇压叛乱。公元前689年，它的城墙、庙宇和宫殿都被夷为平地，垃圾被倒入了阿拉图江。这种行为震惊了美索不达米亚的宗教良知，随后辛那赫里布的两个儿子就开始谋杀他来为他赎罪，他的继承人阿萨尔哈东加速了对旧城的改造，在那里接受了冠冕并曾经在那里居住。阿萨尔哈东死后，他的大儿子亚述王子沙马什·舒姆·乌金亚述于公元前625年发动了内乱，他背叛了自己的亲兄弟，也即在尼尼微执政的亚述巴尼帕国王，从而将政权揽到自己的手中。

巴比伦再一次地被亚述所包围，听任于亚述。亚述巴尼帕国王净化了城市，举行了一种“和解仪式”。亚述巴尼帕去世后，亚述帝国因不堪一系列的激烈内战而开始瓦解，最终巴比伦像近东地区许多其他的地方一样，利用这一点来摆脱亚述的统治。在后来推翻亚述帝国的行为中，巴比伦目睹了神复仇的另一个例子。

Neo-Babylonian Empire：themagnificent architecture of human beings

Under Nabopolassar， Babylon threw off Assyrian rule in 612 BC and became the capital of the Neo-Babylonian Empire.