Tradition says that once all people spoke the same language. Once they dared to build a tower high to the skies, and were punished. The Lord mixed languages so that people stopped understanding each other. As a result, the tower collapsed.
Archaeologists have found the first evidence of the existence of the Tower of Babel, the first material evidence of the existence of the Tower of Babel was discovered - an ancient tablet dating back to the 6th century BC. The plate depicts the tower itself and the ruler of Mesopotamia Nebuchadnezzar II.
The memorial plaque was found almost 100 years ago, but only now scientists have begun to study it. The find became an important proof of the existence of the tower, which, according to biblical history, caused the appearance of different languages on earth.
Scientists suggest that the construction of the biblical tower was begun near Nabopalasar during the reign of King Hammurali (about 1792-1750 BC). However, the construction was completed only 43 years later, during the time of Nebuchadnezzar (604-562 BC).
Scientists report that the content of the ancient tablet coincides in many respects with the biblical story. In this regard, the question arose - if the tower actually existed, then how true is the story with the wrath of God, which deprived people of a common language.
Perhaps someday the answer to this question will also be found.
Inside the legendary city of Babylon in present-day Iraq are the remains of a huge structure, and ancient records suggest it was the Tower of Babel. For scholars, the tablet offers further evidence that the Tower of Babel was not simply a work of fiction. It was a real building in antiquity.
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Biblical Legend of the Tower of Babel
The biblical legend of how people wanted to build a tower to heaven, and for this they received the punishment in the form of separation of languages, is best read in the biblical original:
1. There was one language and one dialect throughout the whole earth.
2. Moving from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.
3. And they said to one another, Let us make bricks and burn them with fire. And they had bricks instead of stones, and earthen pitch instead of lime.
4. And they said, Let us build ourselves a city and a tower with a height to heaven, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered over the face of the whole earth.
5. And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the sons of men were building.
6. And the Lord said, Behold, there is one people, and they all have one language; and this is what they began to do, and they will not lag behind what they decided to do;
7. Let us go down and confuse their language there, so that one does not understand the speech of the other.
8. And the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth; and they stopped building the city [and the tower].
9. Therefore his name was given: Babylon, for there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth, and from there the Lord scattered them over the whole earth.
History, construction and description of the Etemenanki ziggurat
Babylon is famous for its many structures. One of the main personalities in the exaltation of this glorious ancient city is Nebuchadnezzar II. It was during his time that the walls of Babylon, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Ishtar Gate and the Processional Road were built. But this is just the edge of the iceberg - during all forty years of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar was engaged in the construction, restoration and decoration of Babylon. He left behind a large text about his work done. We will not dwell on all the points, but it is here that there is a mention of the ziggurat in the city.
This Tower of Babel, which according to legend could not be completed due to the fact that the builders began to speak different languages, has another name - Etemenanki, which means the House of the cornerstone of heaven and earth. During excavations, archaeologists were able to discover the huge foundation of this building. It turned out to be a ziggurat typical of Mesopotamia (we can also read about the ziggurat in Ur), located at the main temple of Babylon, Esagil.
During the whole time, the tower was demolished and restored several times. For the first time, a ziggurat was built on this site even before Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC), before it was already dismantled. The legendary structure itself appeared during the reign of King Nabupalassar, and the final construction of the summit was taken over by his successor Nebuchadnezzar.
The huge ziggurat was erected under the direction of the Assyrian architect Aradahdesh. It consisted of seven tiers with a total height of about 100 meters. The diameter of the structure was about 90 meters.
At the top of the ziggurat was a sanctuary covered with traditional Babylonian glazed bricks. The sanctuary was dedicated to the main deity of Babylon - Marduk, and it was for him that a gilded bed and a table were installed, and gilded horns were fixed on the top of the sanctuary.
At the base of the Tower of Babel in the Lower Temple was a statue of Marduk himself made of pure gold with a total weight of 2.5 tons. About 85 million bricks were used to build the Etemenanki ziggurat in Babylon. The tower stood out among all the buildings of the city and gave the impression of power and grandeur. The inhabitants of this city sincerely believed in the descent of Marduk to their place of residence on earth and even talked about this to the famous Herodotus, who visited here in 458 BC (a century and a half after construction).
From the top of the Tower of Babel, another one from the neighboring city, Euriminanki in Barsippa, was visible. It is the ruins of this tower that have long been attributed to the biblical. When Alexander the Great lived in the city, he proposed to rebuild the majestic building anew, but his death in 323 BC left the building forever dismantled. In 275, Esagila was rebuilt, but Etemenanki was not rebuilt. Only its foundation and immortal mention in the texts remained a reminder of the former great building.