[Very Short Introductions 480] • Babylonia by Bryce, Trevor -- Read -- Imperial Library of Trantor

Index

Halftitle page Series page Title page Copyright page Contents Acknowledgements List of illustrations Introduction 1 The Old Babylonian period

Peoples and kingdoms of the early second millennium Hammurabi and his dynastic predecessors Hammurabi’s successors

2 Babylonian society through the perspective of Hammurabi’s Laws

Hammurabi’s stele The nature and content of the Laws The social hierarchy The slave Marriages within and between classes Justice was not blind What access to justice did a Babylonian really have? The purpose of the Laws

3 Old Babylonian cities 4 The Kassites

The arrival of the Kassites Nationhood under the Kassites The Kassites on the international scene Kassite contributions to Near Eastern civilization and culture

5 Writing, scribes, and literature

Writing and the early historical era The scribal schools Divination Scribes as creative artists The decline and demise of the cuneiform tradition A selection of Babylonian literary compositions

6 The long interlude

Babylonia in a world of dramatic change Environmental factors and new tribal groups Assyrian overlordship The preservation of Babylonian cultural traditions

7 The Neo-Babylonian empire

The rise of the Neo-Babylonian dynasty Egypt enters the fray The reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar’s first successors The empire’s last king Babylon’s kings in biblical tradition

8 Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon

Recreating Nebuchadnezzar’s royal capital The New Year festival The palaces and temples The ‘Hanging Gardens of Babylon’

9 Babylonia in later ages

Babylonia under Persian rule Alexander the Great and Babylon Babylonia in the Seleucid and Roman periods The Babylonian legacy

Chronology of major events, periods, and rulers

Early Bronze Age Middle and Late Bronze Ages Iron Age Neo-Babylonian period (reigns dated from first full regnal year) Persian period Hellenistic and Roman periods

Kinglists (main Babylonian periods; reigns dated from first full regnal year)

Old Babylonian kings (approximate dates) Kassite kings (approximate dates) Neo-Babylonian Kings

References Further reading Index Alexander the Great Ancient Assyria The Ancient Near East