A History of Babylon

[redstoner]

A History of Babylon - Preface

Around the year 4000 BC, a small nomadic tribe of people, who called themselves the Babylonians after their great and powerful God, Babylonis, settled in a fertile river valley to make camp for the upcoming winter season.

For several generations, the Babylonians had wandered the land scavanging for food and trying desparately to survive. Times were hard for the Babylonians. The previous winter took the lives of nearly 80% of their people. The elders of the tribe decided it was time to find a place to settle for the winter. A nearby forrest would provide wood for shelter, and wild game for food. They could ill afford to roam the land during winter, as their ancestors had always done before. The elders determined this to be the best way to ensure the survival of their people.

Ancient lore says that the great God Babylonis took two eagles from the sky and gave them life as the first Babylonian people. He gave each of them a name, Hammis and Urabis. It was from their loins that the first ancestors of the Babylonian people would be born. The leading elder of the tribe was christened with the title of Hammurabi, taken from the names of the peoples created by Babylonis. Worship of the God Babylonis was the single most important aspect of Babylonian life. When he reached a certain age, a Babylonian man would be gifted an eagle, carved from stone which he wore around his neck. This was a symbol of great honor and respect among the Babylonians.

As the winter drew on, the Babylonians endured a fairly comfortable life. Food was plentyful, wood for fire and shelter was abundant. By the time the winter ended, only a few people had been lost. The elders of the tribe looked upon the land on which they had spent the winter and marveled at its bounty. It was then decided that the tribe would not pack up camp and move on, but stay, and build a permanant settlement. They called their city Babylon and it was the beginning of a whole new era in Babylonian history.

 

[redstoner]

Over the next few generations, Babylon grew into more than a settlement, it had become a small city. A granary was built to store food and a grand temple was built to honor their God, Babylonis. Hunting parties brought back an abundance of wild game and the land outside the city was cultivated for crops. Yes indeed, it was a very prosperous time for the Babylonian people.

One day, while the hunting parties were out of the village, a small band of violent warriors entered Babylon, demanding food and tribute. Most of the men were gone, leaving the women, children, and elders in the village. The barbarians pillaged what they could, stealing food, hides, and kidnapped several women. Before they left they cut the throat of the Great Elder, Hammurabi Pinus and he bled to death. When the hunters returned and discovered what had happened, it was decided that a warring party would be sent to find the barbarians and take revenge. And never again would the village be left undefended.

The next day, two war parties left Babylon in the direction the barbarians were said to have gone. Several weeks passed before any word came from the war parties. Then, one of them returned with news. The barbarian camp had been found and destroyed. The war party had taken numerous pelts and weapons. Unfortunately, none of the kidnapped women survived. The barbarians had sacrificed them in some sort of gruesome ritual.

They also brought back with them news of another tribe to the west. This tribe was no more advanced than the barbarians, but they were friendly, and welcomed the Babylonian war parties into their camps. They too, had been attacked by the barbarians and were grateful for their defeat. In thanks to the Babylonians, the tribe, who called themselves the Uruks, offered to teach the Babylonians the science of map making, and gifted to them a map of the surrounding region. It was discovered that a great body of water lie near to the west and one of the war parties was sent to explore the region while the other returned to Babylon with the news.

The new Great Elder, Hammurabi Vanus, told the war party to return to the Uruk camp with a message of peace and friendship. The elder also declared that a group of citizens would make their way to join the Uruks and build a new Babylonian settlement on the shores of the great ocean. In 3700 BC, the second Babylonian settlement was founded. They named the city Uruk, after the friendly peoples who helped to build it.

 

[redstoner]

A History of Babylon - Chapter Two

The Babylonian civilization continued to grow as an astonishing rate. The surrounding region had been explored and more barbarian tribes defeated. The Babylonians now laid claim to all lands between the ocean bordering on the north, west, and south, and the mountains bordering to the east. An expedition to the top of the eastern mountains found a great desert stretching as far as the eye could see. The Council of Elders decided that the fertile lands they now claimed should be poplulated first, and that the great desert to the east was worthless.

Less than 50 years after the founding of Uruk, a new city was founded to the north, followed soon after by several more settlements. Babylonian cities now dotted the landscape. Roads were constructed to connect each of the cities to Babylon. Luxuries were discovered and sold in the streets of the cities. It was indeed a glorious and prosperous time.

But things in Babylon weren't entirely so wonderful. The Counsel of Elders still held to the claim that colonizing the desert to the east was not in the best interest of the Babylonian nation. There were no resources, luxuries or reliable sources of food or water. To move people into the desert region would surely lead to their eventual deaths. The mountains were far too rugged to build roads to connect those cities to Babylon. When it was proposed that a scouting party be sent to explore the region for possible settlement locations, the Council of Elders rejected the idea.

A large group of citizens who favored the idea of expanding the borders of Babylon decided that a change of leadership was needed. To ensure the longevity of Babylon, they needed leadership what was willing to expand the territories as much as possible. Therefore, at the next council meeting a mob of citizens stormed the council chambers and removed the council from power. The group elected as leader the man largely responsible for organizing the coup. He took the name Hammurabi Babylonis, after the Great God, and proclaimed himself absolute monarch of the Babylonian people.

 

[Smellincoffee]

Keep going!

 

[RowAndLive]

Indeed, it is reading very well so far. Please continue!

 

[redstoner]

A History of Babylon - Chapter Three

The new Babylonian King, Hammurabi Babylonis, ruled his kingdom with a strong hand. A powerful and sometimes ruthless leader, he set to work building his empire. Under his rule, science and education continued to grow and populations of the cities swelled.

While he did much to help prosper the Babylonian Kingdom, his ultimate dream was of an empire that ruled all the earth. He dispatched scouting parties over the mountains to explore and claim the lands for his throne. After several months and no word received from any of the scouting parties, the Hammurabi sent 2 more parties over the mountains to the eastern desert. It was another several months when finally, one of the parties returned.

Of the 4 expeditions sent over the mountains, only the one would return. They brought with them word of another tribe. An advanced and civilized tribe, but an extremely hostile tribe. They had captured and killed the other 3 scouting parties and the one that returned, barely escaped. They were known as the Mongols and they possesed weapons made of a material called iron, something the Babylonians did not posses.

Hammurabi Babylonis ordered search parties to immediately begin looking for sources of iron. After an exhaustive search, none could be found anywhere in the Babylonian Kingdom. Word was received that a search party had located an iron source in some hills just on the other side of the mountain range. It was some distance, but the mountains in the region were less rugged and a road could possible be built through them. The King ordered all available workers to begin constructing a road so that a colony could be connected to the main empire. Hammurabi Babylonis was determined to build an army to defend against any possible Mongolian attack, as well as to begin an offensive into their territory to claim the lands for Babylon.

 

[redstoner]

A History of Babylon - Chapter Four

As work on building the iron colony progressed, word was received in Babylon that a horde of Mongolian soldiers were approaching the worker groups building the road through the mountains. The Mongolian solders rode upon the backs of mighty four legged beasts, creatures the Babylonians had never seen before. They could move quickly through the rugged terrain and could easily defeat a footsoldier. By the time additional units were sent to help defend the workers, it was too late. The small defensive forces that were there were routed by the Mongolian horde and the workers taken prisoner. The additional forces attempted to counter attack, but were also destroyed.

The Mongolian soldiers moved down the mountains and quickly rode to the outskirts of the northern city of Sumera. The Governor of Sumera rode out to make contact with the Mongolians. They demanded Babylon pay them gold tribute and give them all Babylonian technology. When King Hammurabi heard of these outrageous demands, he dispatched what army units he could to Sumera and demanded the Mongolians leave his territory at once, or else. When they refused to depart, Hammurabi ordered his army to attack.

The result of the battle was catastrophic for Babylon. While they outnumbered the Mongolians, the bronze weapons of the Babylonian army were no match for the stronger iron weapons of the Mongols. The Mongolian horseman were faster and stronger and easily defeated the Babylonians.

King Hammurabi now found his empire is a difficult situation. What remained of his army was no match for the Mongolians, and there was word that Mongol reinforcements had just crossed the mountains. As the Babylonian people fled the city Sumera, the Governor of the city was ordered by the King to make any effort to acheive peace. The Mongolians refused to even negotiagte. Their army entered Sumera and burned it to the ground.

It would not be long before the Mongolians neared neighboring Babylonian cities. The Babylonian people fled the cities for their lives, fearing capture and enslavement. Even the military fled in fear. The Mongolians rode through the region, burning Babylon's cities and enslaving any citizens that were unable to escape the cities in time. King Hammurabi ordered every army unit available into Babylon to protect the capital city. As the Mongolians attacked, it was certain that the capital's defenses could not hold off the advancing armies.

The King, his court, and what was left of the military fled the capital for Uruk, the city at the far western edge of the empire. It was surrounded on three sides by the ocean, and the King and his advisors decided this would be the best place for a last stand. As they fled along the roads out of the capital, they could look back and see the flames begining to rise out of the once beautiful city of Babylon.

 

[redstoner]

A History of Babylon - Chapter Five

What remained of the Babylonian people fled to Uruk, tearing up the roads behind them in an effort to slow the advancing Mongolian army. Once inside the city, they built a large wall on the only side of the city that could be accessed from land. The other three sides of the city were surrounded by water, and the Mongolians would unlikely attack from the sea. Once the wall was complete, every citizen armed themselves with any weapons they could. Each one prepared for the upcoming seige, and possibly, their deaths.

The King and his advisors took refuge in the Temple of Babylonis. From the top of the bell tower, they had a view of the entire city. Off in the distance, they could see the dust rising from the ground as the Mongolian army neared the city. King Hammurabi ordered his generals to prepare for the attack. Every able man, woman, and child took up arms and lined themselves along the top of the wall. Soon the Mongolians arrived, and the seige of Uruk began.

The first attack by the Mongols was deterred. The mounted soldiers had no way of breaking through. Several times the Mongols attempted to manuver around the wall and attack on the ocean sides, but the water was too deep and the current too strong for their horses to move through. The Mongolians set up camp outside the city wall and waited.

Over a month went by and with the Mongols fortified outside the city, there was no way for anyone in the city of Uruk to leave. Starvation soon began to set in. Fisherman made attempts to catch food in the ocean, but it was not enough to feed everyone in the city. Several more weeks went by and the situation grew dire. To make matters worse, the Mongolians had reinforced their army outside the city and were preparing another attempt to capture the city. This time, they had even more advanced weapons.

The attack began at night. Mongolian catapults began lobbing fiery bombs over the wall, setting many buildings on fire. Huge battering rams were used to pound at the wall. By dawn, a large portion of the city was burned, but the wall held, and so did Uruk. The siege continued all day and into the next night. Eventually, the Mongolians broke through the wall and entered the city.

King Hammurabi swore not to be taken alive. He had some of his men secure several small boats and under the cover of darkness, the King and his family, along with his closest advisors and friends, left behind the people of Uruk, and fled. They sailed along the coastline, out of site. Behind them the city of Uruk erupted in flame. The screams of those left behind could be heard over the sound of the waves. Many in the group cursed the King as a coward, saying he should've stayed behind and fought with his people. King Hammurabi ignored their gripes and threatened to have them thrown over board.

They sailed on, not knowing what would become of them. The small boats they sailed in were not sea-worthy vessels, merely small fishing boats. Suddenly a storm began to brew. The waves grew larger, the winds blew harder. They tried in vain to keep near the shore, but the tidal currents pulled them further and further out to sea. The small boats were tossed about, nearly capsizing them. The people prayed to Babylonis to help them. Suddenly a giant wave rose up from the ocean and swallowed the boats, dragging them to the bottom of the sea.

Ancient lore says that the storm was the wrath of Babylonis, who was angered by the King and his court for abandoning the people of Babylon in their time of need. The story would be told by a young man, a priest, who had miraculously survived the storm and made it to shore. The priest spent nearly the rest of his life as a slave to the Mongolians, but he preached to the other Babylonian slaves that he was chosen by the great God Babylonis to survive, and would one day lead the people of Babylon to freedom.

~The End~

 

[Amenhotep7]

Kinda Anticlimactic, but good!

 

[redstoner]

I have to be honest, I got really busy and got out of the writing groove. When I got a chance to finish, I had a difficult time coming up with the ending. I was just glad to finish it.

 

[amirsan]

What does Anticlimactic mean?

Great story btw.

 

[Amenhotep7]

Anticlimactic-Ends without much action.