2008 - Page 103 of 234 - DonQuichotte

BABIL KULESI

Pek çok efsanede ve kutsal kitaplarda adý geçen Babil Kulesi, yeryüzündeki uluslarýn ve onlarýn konuþmakta olduðu binlerce dilin nasýl ortaya çýktýðýyla ilgili bir inanýþ unsurudur: Ýnsanlar, Tanrýya ulaþmak ve ona daha yakýn olabilmek için, uyum içerisinde ve büyük bir istekle göðe yükselen bir kule inþa etmeye giriþmiþlerdir. Kule, çok geçmeden yükselmeye baþlamýþ ve bunu gören Tanrý, kuleyi inþa eden her insana ayrý bir dil vermiþ, onlarý dünyanýn dört bir tarafýna savurmuþtur. Ýnsanlar birbirleriyle anlaþamadýklarý için kulenin yapýmý da durmuþ ve dünya üzerinde çok sayýda ulus ve bu uluslara ait binlerce dil türemiþtir.

Bâbil, Akad dilindeki bāb-ilû kelimesinden teþekkül etmiþtir ve ‘Tanrýnýn kapýsý’ anlamýna gelmektedir; zira Akad diliyle benzerlikler gösteren Arapçada da bâb kelimesi ‘kapý’ anlamýndadýr. Kelime, Türkçeye de buradan geçmiþtir. Ayrýca, Kur’an’da ve Hristiyanlar tarafýndan da kutsal kabul edilen, Tevrat ve Zebur‘u kapsayan Museviliðe ait Tanah‘ta da Bâbil’den bahsedilir.
Kelimenin Batý dillerindeki karþýlýðý babylon ise, yine Akad dilindeki bāb-ilû kelimesinin Yunanca söyleniþinden ibarettir. Ýbranice bavel okunuþunun babel þekline dönüþmesinden türeyen kelime, “Eski Antlaþma” olarak da bilinen ve Hristiyanlarca da kutsal kabul edilen Eski Ahit‘te ‘kargaþa, anarþi’ þeklinde açýklanýr.

Babil Þehri
Babil, M.Ö. 23. yüzyýl civarýnda Aþaðý Mezopotamya‘da (þu anki Güney Irak civarýnda) Sümer ve Akad topraklarý üzerine kurulmuþ olan Babil (Babylon) ülkesinin antik baþkentidir. Babil, en parlak dönemini Kral Hammurabi ¹ zamanýnda yaþamýþtýr.

Asma bahçeleri ve kulesi ile Babil

Þehir, ilk defa M.Ö. 539 yýlýnda Pers imparatoru Büyük Kiros tarafýndan ele geçirilir. Sonrasýnda Pers Ýmparatorluðu, Büyük Ýskender‘in hâkimiyeti altýna girer ve doðal olarak Babil’i de Büyük Ýskender yönetir. Büyük Ýskender’in ölümünden sonra Babil’i iþgal eden Selevkoslar ise Babil’de yaþayanlarý baþka bölgelere tecrit ettirirler ve Babil, tarih sahnesinden silinir.

Babil’den günümüze kalan ve üzerinde Sümerlilerin geliþtirdiði dilde yazýlmýþ yazýlar bulunan bir tablet vardýr. Tablet, Sargon dönemine aittir. Ayrýca Babil, dünyanýn yedi harikasýndan biri sayýlan ve M.Ö. 7. yüzyýlda Kral Nebukadnezar tarafýndan karýsý için yaptýrýldýðýna inanýlan asma bahçelerine sahiptir.

Babil döneminde sanat, mimarî, astronomi, matematik, týp ve felsefe gibi alanlarda büyük bir geliþme gözlemlenir: Babilliler, günümüzde zaman (60 saniye ‘1 dakika’, 60 dakika ‘1 saat’) ve derece hesaplamalarý (360 derece daire) için kullanýlan 60’lýk sistemi geliþtirmiþler, tapýnaklar üzerine dikilen ve günümüzdeki modern gözetleme kulelerine ilham kaynaðý olan gözetleme kulelerini inþa etmiþlerdir.

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BABYLON

The earliest source to mention Babylon may be a dated tablet of the reign of Sargon of Akkad (ca. 24th century BC short chronology). The so-called “Weidner Chronicle” states that it was Sargon himself who built Babylon “in front of Akkad” (ABC 19:51). Another chronicle likewise states that Sargon “dug up the dirt of the pit of Babylon, and made a counterpart of Babylon next to Agade“. (ABC 20:18-19).

Some scholars, including linguist I.J. Gelb, have suggested that the name Babil is an echo of an earlier city name. According to Dr. Ranajit Pal, this city was in the East^[1]. Herzfeld wrote about Bawer in Iran, which was allegedly founded by Jamshid; the name Babil could be an echo of Bawer. David Rohl holds that the original Babylon is to be identified with Eridu. The Bible in Genesis 10 indicates that Nimrod was the original founder of Babel (Babylon). Joan Oates claims in her book Babylon that the rendering “Gateway of the gods” is no longer accepted by modern scholars.

Map showing the Babylonian territory upon Hammurabi’s ascension in 1792 BC and upon his death in 1750 BC

Over the years, the power and population of Babylon waned. From around the 20th century BC, it was occupied by Amorites, nomadic tribes from the west who were Semitic speakers like the Akkadians, but did not practice agriculture like them, preferring to herd sheep. The First Babylonian Dynasty was established by Sumu-abum, but the city-state controlled little surrounding territory until it became the capital of Hammurabi‘s empire (ca. 18th century BC). From that time onward, the city continued to be the capital of the region known as Babylonia — although during the 440 years of domination by the Kassites (1595–1185 BC), the city was renamed Karanduniash.

Hammurabi is also known for codifying the laws of Babylonia into the Code of Hammurabi that was to have a profound influence on the region. It is recorded that Babylon‘s legal system developed a form of negligence law, and Babylon was probably the first culture to develop negligence law. In the common law world, the law of negligence was not fully rediscovered until the 20th century.

The city itself was built upon the Euphrates, and divided in equal parts along its left and right banks, with steep embankments to contain the river’s seasonal floods. Babylon grew in extent and grandeur over time, but gradually became subject to the rule of Assyria.

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 200,000.