Similarities Between Babylon And Enuma Elish

Trew Chimenti
Professor Ellis
Cosmic Views and Humanity
30 August 2014
Babylon and the Enuma Elish vs. The Old Testament Throughout the fabric of time, the human race has defined itself on the basis of cosmology. Religion had provided a way for people to accept their very importance in the natural order of the universe, to reflect and understand that creation itself was not random but specified toward the human population. Without an inkling for the beginning, the human mind had developed the multitude of ideas for the creation of the universe, metaphors that allowed a complicated idea to become accessible. Looking at the different religious mythologies, it is easy to see the similarities between them; how the idea of creation had been adapted
from earlier, more ancient myths and incorporated in the newer religions that can be seen today. The Enuma Elish and the Book of Genesis is an example of a shared and similar creation story. The Mesopotamian ruins of the ancient city of Babylon were once a symbol of materialism, power, and great cruelty.
Fifty-nine miles from the Iraqi city of Baghdad, some historians believe that Babylon was found before the rule of Sargon “The Great” of Akkad in 2334 BCE. While history seems to point to this conclusion, some ancient writings indicate that Sargon actually founded a town, ultimately naming in Babylon. The importance of this part in Babylon's history is missing, the ruins completely submerged by the steady rise in water levels. Due to this loss is historical context, the only complete known history of Babylon begins with the reign of King Hammurabi (Mark, “Babylon”). The Amorite Hammurabi was the most influential and powerful of any Babylonian ruler. He developed the well known and famous Code of Hammurabi, one of the first forms of basic law that applied to the three realms of society, including the slaves (“Code of Hammurabi: The Stele of Hammurabi: C. 1750 BC.”). This brought peace and prosperity among the Babylonians. Also, he built temples and canals, created a form of diplomacy, enlarged the city walls, and ultimately united the whole of Mesopotamia (Mark, “Babylon”). It was his death that lead to the steady decline in Babylon's
influence. The Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, who had created the Hanging Gardens, one of the seven wonders of the world, was also written in the books of the Bible, first appearing in 2 Kings 24:1 and finally in the Book of Daniel. He is best known for the besiege of Jerusalem, the destruction of the Jerusalem temple, and the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, the event that left him to go and live in the wilderness as a wild animal (“History of Babylon”). As the centuries elapsed, the Persians gained dominance of Babylon, beginning with Cyrus the Great who bypassed the impenetrable walls of Babylon, laying conquest to the city.
Persian rule was very influential in the fields of art and education. It was in this time when Babylon experienced the development of mathematics, cosmology, and astronomy, subjects that were highly regarded. It is also said that Thales and Pythagoras had studied, lived, and developed their ideas in Babylon during Persian rule (Mark, “Babylon”). However, the Persian rules abruptly ended with the conquest of Alexander the Great, who viewed the city with reverence, hereby ordering his soldiers to take care of the buildings and the people. Joshua Mark
explains, The historian Stephen Bertman writes, “Before his death, Alexander the Great ordered the superstructure of Babylon’s ziggurat pulled down in order that it might be rebuilt with greater splendor. But he never lived to bring his project to completion. Over the centuries, its scattered bricks have been cannibalized by peasants to fulfill humbler dreams. All that is left of the fabled Tower of Babel is the bed of a swampy pond (“Babylon”).” The city of Babylon is featured throughout historical texts, mentioned also in the Christian Bible-described negatively from the beginning with the story of the Tower of Babel in the Book of Genesis. Mankind had decided to settle in the land of Babylon, planning to build a city and tower in which to stay together; the tower was meant to reach for the sky, giving the denizens fame. However, The Lord came down to look at the city and the tower the people were building. “Look!” He said. “The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them! Come, let’s go down and confuse the people with different languages. Then they won’t be able to understand each other (New Living Translation, Gen. 11.5-7).”
With this confusion that God had provided, the people were said to have gone their own ways, the city of Babel rightfully named for the wrought confusion. In the Enuma Elish, the Babylonian creation myth, the origin of the universe and the birth and creation of gods and human beings is depicted. It related to as well as explained the ultimate cosmic order and chaos and the cycle of the seasons in an easy to comprehend way (Mark, “Enûma Eliš-The Babylonian Epic of Creation.”). Likewise, the Book of Genesis in the Christian Bible predicts in its own way the creation of the universe by God, a being who is eternal. It is described that God created everything that is seen and acknowledged by wishing is to be so.