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117-527: According to tradition, Adnan is the father of a group of the Ishmaelite Arabs who inhabited west and northern Arabia; he is believed to be a descendant of Ishmael , son of Abraham . Adnan is believed by genealogists to be the father of many Ishmaelite tribes along the Western coast of Arabia , northern Arabia and Iraq . Many family trees have been presented for Adnan, which do not agree about

234-657: A dysphemism for the Roman Empire . Babylon, like the rest of ancient Mesopotamia, followed the Ancient Mesopotamian religion , wherein there was a general accepted hierarchy and dynasty of gods and localized gods who acted as patron deities for specific cities. Marduk was the patron deity of the city Babylon, having held this position since the reign of Hammurabi (18th century BC) in Babylon's first dynasty. Although Babylonian worship of Marduk never meant

351-603: A 127 BC legal document). At this time, two major recognized groups lived in Babylon: the Babylonians and the Greeks, who settled there during the centuries of Macedonian and Seleucid rule. These groups were governed by separate local (e.g. pertaining to just the city) administrative councils; Babylonian citizens were governed by the šatammu and the kiništu and Greeks by the epistates . Although no king lists younger than

468-767: A collection of various Arab tribes, tribal confederations and small kingdoms described in Abrahamic tradition as being descended from and named after Ishmael , a prophet according to the Quran , the first son of Abraham and the Egyptian Hagar . According to the Book of Genesis in the Bible, Ishmael had one daughter and twelve sons, the "twelve princes" mentioned in Genesis 17:20. In Islamic tradition, this gave rise to

585-464: A duty for them to rescue her. In other poems such as the ones composed by the Pre-Islamic poet "Qumma'a Ibn Ilias", it appears that Arabs considered it as an "Honor" to be a descendant of Adnan, and for some reason they appear to have been proud of it - presumably because if something is considered an "Honor", it is something to be proud of, as a function of the language model. The name of Adnan

702-521: A family business. Slave families were most often sold as a unit, children only being separated from their parents once they reached adulthood (or working age). Though slaves probably endured harsh living conditions and poor treatment from others, it would not have been equivalent to the brutal form of slavery in the Roman Empire and in later times. Though there are occasional mentions of slaves escaping, there are no records of slave rebellions in

819-421: A fee called the mandattu to their masters, which allowed them to work and live independently, essentially "renting" themselves from their master. There are records of slaves paying the mandattu for themselves and for their wives so that they could live freely. There are, however, no records of slaves completely buying their freedom, Babylonian slaves could only be freed by their masters. The establishment of

936-699: A golden age for Babylon, which became the most powerful kingdom in the Middle East. Nebuchadnezzar's most famous campaigns today are his wars in the Levant . These campaigns began relatively early in his reign and were chiefly conducted to stabilize his reign and consolidate his empire (most of the newly independent kingdoms and city-states in the Levant previously having been vassals of the Neo-Assyrian Empire). His 587 BC destruction of Jerusalem ended

1053-404: A great nation. Chapter 25 lists his sons as: And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael Nebaioth ; and Kedar , and Adbeel , and Mibsam , And Mishma, and Dumah , and Massa , Hadar , and Tema , Jetur, Naphish , and Kedemah According to the documentary hypothesis , Genesis 25 would have been added during

1170-746: A late Islamic fabrication because of the confusion in Islamic times which made it such a capacious term as to include the inhabitants of the south as well as the north of the Arabian Peninsula . But short of this extravagance, the concept is much more modest in its denotation, and in the sober sources, it applies only to certain groups among the Arabs of pre-Islamic times. Some important statements to this effect were made by Muhammad when he identified some Arabs as Ishmaelites and others as not. Ishmaelism, in this more limited definition, holds that Ishmael

1287-490: A level, completely unlike the actual architecture of real ancient Mesopotamian cities, with obelisks and sphinxes inspired by those of Egypt. Ottoman influence came in the shape of cupolas and minarets dotted through the imagined appearances of the ancient city. Babylon is perhaps most famous today for its repeated appearances in the Bible, where it appears both literally (in reference to historical events) and allegorically (symbolizing other things). The Neo-Babylonian Empire

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1404-717: A major power and eventually conquered Mesopotamia and beyond, founding the Old or First Babylonian Empire . After his death, his dynasty lasted another century and a half, but the Babylonian Empire quickly collapsed, and Babylon once more became a small state. Babylonia fell to the Hittite king Mursili I c.   1595 BC, after which the Kassites took control and ruled for almost five centuries before being deposed by native Babylonian rulers, who continued to rule

1521-575: A massive counterattack in 623 BC. Though this counterattack was initially successful and Sinsharishkun might have been ultimately victorious, he had to abandon the campaign due to a revolt in Assyria threatening his position as king. The absence of the Assyrian army allowed the Babylonians to conquer the last remaining Assyrian seats of power in Babylonia from 622 BC to 620 BC. Both Uruk and Nippur,

1638-529: A renaissance of culture and artwork as Neo-Babylonian kings conducted massive building projects, especially in Babylon itself, bringing back many elements from the previous 2,000 years of Sumero-Akkadian culture. The Neo-Babylonian Empire retains a notable position in modern cultural memory due to the invidious portrayal of Babylon and its greatest king Nebuchadnezzar II in the Bible . The biblical description of Nebuchadnezzar focuses on his military campaign against

1755-437: A row of sacrificing Ishmael. Ibrahim blindfolded himself, because he could not bear to see his son suffer, then he placed the knife on Ishmael neck and wield the knife, when he opened his blindfold he found Ishmael standing next to him and instead of Ishmael there was a lamb. Ibrahim knew it was a test from Allah and then he received a command from Allah to rebuild the mosque for Ishmael's tribe which had been constructed by Adam ,

1872-813: A sacred tree or mythological animals and creatures. Cylinder seals increasingly fell into disuse over the course of the Neo-Babylonian century, eventually being entirely replaced by stamp seals. Terracotta figurines and reliefs, made using molds, were common during the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Preserved figurines usually represent protective demons (such as Pazuzu ) or deities but there are also examples of horsemen, naked women, boats, men carrying vases and various types of furniture. Terracotta figurines could be sacred objects intended to be kept in people's homes for magical protection or as decorations, but they could also be objects offered to deities in

1989-499: A set quota of lambs to provide for sacrificial purposes, with wool and hides also being used in the temples for various purposes. Dairy products were less important since the animals would be unavailable for most of the year as the shepherds drove them across the land. Cows and oxen, rare in Mesopotamia due to being difficult to feed and maintain through the summer months, were mainly used as draft animals for plowing. Regions with

2106-545: A swampy environment, unsuited for farming, were used to hunt birds and fish. The most common form of business partnership recorded from Neo-Babylonian sources is called the harrānu , which involved a senior financing partner and a junior working partner (who did all the work, using the money provided by the senior partner). Profit from such business ventures were divided equally between the two partners. The idea allowed rich individuals to use their money to finance businesses by capable individuals who might not otherwise have had

2223-427: A victory for Tiamat until Marduk convinced the other gods to proclaim him as their leader and king. The gods agreed, and Marduk was victorious, capturing and executing Kingu and firing a great arrow at Tiamat, killing her and splitting her in two. With these chaotic primordial forces defeated, Marduk created the world and ordered the heavens. Marduk is also described as the creator of human beings, which were meant to help

2340-445: Is assumed to have died. Sinsharishkun's successor, Ashur-uballit II , the final king of Assyria, was defeated at Harran in 609 BC. Egypt, Assyria's ally, continued the war against Babylon for a few years before being decisively defeated by Nabopolassar's crown prince Nebuchadnezzar at Carchemish in 605 BC. Nebuchadnezzar II succeeded Nabopolassar in 605 BC upon the death of his father. The empire Nebuchadnezzar inherited

2457-502: Is by the side of Mizraim [Egypt], from thy going up towards Arthur [Assyria]." The 14th century Kebra Nagast says "And therefore the children of Ishmael became kings over Tereb , and over Kebet , and over Nôbâ , and Sôba , and Kuergue , and Kîfî , and Mâkâ , and Môrnâ , and Fînḳânâ , and ' Arsîbânâ , and Lîbâ , and Mase'a , for they were the seed of Shem ." Assyrian and Babylonian royal inscriptions and North Arabian inscriptions from 9th to 6th century BC, mention

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2574-507: Is featured in several prophecies and in descriptions of the destruction of Jerusalem and subsequent Babylonian captivity. Because of its sordid reputation for atrocities, including sexual abuse , in Jewish tradition, Babylon symbolizes an oppressor. In Christianity , Babylon symbolizes worldliness and evil. Prophecies sometimes symbolically link the kings of Babylon with Lucifer . Nebuchadnezzar II, sometimes conflated with Nabonidus, appears as

2691-464: Is from 35 BC and contains a prayer to Marduk. The latest known other documents written in Akkadian are astronomic predictions (e.g. planetary movements) for the year 75 AD. The way the signs are written in these astronomic texts means that readers would not have to be familiar with Akkadian to understand them. If the Akkadian language and Babylonian culture survived beyond these sparse documents, it

2808-495: Is known to have completely renovated at least 13 cities but spent most of his time and resources on the capital, Babylon. By 600 BC, the Babylonians and possibly their subject peoples saw Babylon as the literal and figurative center of the world. Nebuchadnezzar widened Processional Street and fitted it with new decorations, making the annual New Year's Festival , celebrated in honor of the city's patron deity Marduk , more spectacular than ever before. After Nebuchadnezzar II's reign,

2925-626: Is often found in various Thamudic inscriptions, but with few details. In some Nabataean inscriptions, Adnan seems to hold some kind of importance or venerability, to the extent that some Nabataeans (descendants of Nabioth, the eldest son of Ishmael) were named after him as Abd Adnon (meaning, "the slave [or servant] of Adnan"). This is no particular indication that he was worshiped, rather than venerated as an honorable figure, much as other Arabs sometimes named their sons "servants" of their forefathers. Adnan died after Nebuchadnezzar II returned to Babylon . After Adnan's death, his son Ma'ad moved to

3042-436: Is suggested by ancient sources to have had dire consequences for the city. Though no direct evidence exists , Babylon appears to have been severely punished for the revolt. Its fortifications were destroyed and its temples damaged as Xerxes ravaged the city. It is possible that the sacred statue of Marduk , which represented the physical manifestation of Babylon's patron deity, was removed by Xerxes from Babylon's main temple,

3159-658: The Chaldean Empire , was the last polity ruled by monarchs native to Mesopotamia until Faisal II in the 20th century. Beginning with the coronation of Nabopolassar as the King of Babylon in 626 BC and being firmly established through the fall of the Assyrian Empire in 612 BC, the Neo-Babylonian Empire was conquered by the Achaemenid Persian Empire in 539 BC, marking the collapse of

3276-682: The Chaldean dynasty less than a century after its founding. The defeat of the Assyrian Empire and subsequent return of power to Babylon marked the first time that the city, and southern Mesopotamia in general, had risen to dominate the ancient Near East since the collapse of the Old Babylonian Empire (under Hammurabi ) nearly a thousand years earlier. The period of Neo-Babylonian rule thus saw unprecedented economic and population growth throughout Babylonia , as well as

3393-613: The Esagila , at this time. Xerxes also divided the previously large Babylonian satrapy (composing virtually all of the Neo-Babylonian Empire's territory) into smaller sub-units. Babylonian culture endured for centuries under the Achaemenids and survived under the rule of the later Hellenic Macedonian and Seleucid Empires , with the rulers of these empires also listed as kings of Babylon in Babylonian civil documents. It

3510-516: The Kingdom of Judah and particularly the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in 587 BC, which resulted in the destruction of Solomon's Temple and the subsequent Babylonian captivity . Babylonian sources describe Nebuchadnezzar's reign as a golden age that transformed Babylonia into the greatest empire of its time. Religious policies introduced by the final Babylonian king Nabonidus , who favoured

3627-497: The Kingdom of Judah and scattered its populace, with many of its elite citizens sent back to Babylon, initiating a period known as the Babylonian Captivity . Nebuchadnezzar subsequently besieged Tyre for 13 years. Though he did not capture the city, it surrendered to him in 573 BC, agreeing to be ruled by vassal kings. The length of the siege can be ascribed to its difficulty: Tyre was on an island 800 metres from

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3744-528: The Medes , also ancient enemies of Assyria, under King Cyaxares entered Assyria and conquered the region around the city of Arrapha . In July or August of 614 BC, the Medes began attacking the cities of Kalhu and Nineveh . They then besieged Assur , the ancient political (and still religious) capital of Assyria. The siege was successful and the city endured a brutal sack. Nabopolassar arrived at Assur only after

3861-618: The Neo-Assyrian Empire , incorporating Babylonia into its empire in 729 BC. The Assyrian conquest began a century-long struggle for Babylonian independence against Assyria. Although the Assyrians incorporated the region into their empire and used the title King of Babylon in addition to the title King of Assyria , Assyrian control of Babylonia was neither stable nor entirely continuous and the century of Assyrian rule included several unsuccessful Babylonian revolts. Early in

3978-606: The Parthian Empire in the 1st century BC. Although Babylon revolted several times during the rule of later empires, it never successfully restored its independence. Babylonia was founded as an independent state by an Amorite chieftain named Sumu-abum c.   1894 BC. For over a century after its founding, it was a minor and relatively weak state, overshadowed by older and more powerful states such as Isin , Larsa , Assyria and Elam . But Hammurabi ( r.   c.   1792–1750 BC) turned Babylon into

4095-442: The ancestry of Muhammad back to Ma'ad (and from there to Adam ), Arab scholars alternate, with some citing the line as through Nebaioth, others Qedar. Many Muslim scholars see Isaiah 42 (21:13–17) as predicting the coming of a servant of God who is associated with Qedar and interpret this as a reference to Muhammad. Neo-Babylonian Empire The Neo-Babylonian Empire or Second Babylonian Empire , historically known as

4212-470: The statue of Marduk usually refers to Marduk's primary statue, placed prominently in the Esagila and used in the city's rituals. The Babylonians themselves conflated the statue with the actual god Marduk – the god was understood as living in the temple, among the people of his city, and not in the heavens. As such, Marduk was not seen as some distant entity, but a friend and protector who lived nearby. This

4329-552: The "Twelve Tribes of Ishmael", Arab tribes from which the early Muslims were descended. In Jewish tradition, the Twelve Tribes of Israel were descended from Abraham and his wife Sarah's son, Isaac , via Isaac's son Jacob . These traditions are accepted by both Islam and Judaism. Genesis and 1 Chronicles describe the Qedarites as a tribe descended from the second son of Ishmael, Kedar . Some Abrahamic scholars described

4446-430: The Achaemenids, like the Assyrians had been resented a century earlier. At least five rebels proclaimed themselves King of Babylon and revolted during the time of Achaemenid rule in attempts at restoring native rule; Nebuchadnezzar III (522 BC), Nebuchadnezzar IV (521–520 BC), Bel-shimanni (484 BC), Shamash-eriba (482–481 BC) and Nidin-Bel (336 BC). The revolt of Shamash-eriba against Xerxes I in particular

4563-451: The Arabs of the Hejaz are descendants of Nebaioth and Qedar." Medieval Jewish sources also usually identified Qedar with Arabs and Muslims. According to author and scholar Irfan Shahîd, while Western scholars viewed this kind of "genealogical Ishmaelism" with suspicion, the concept can be supported for certain groups among the Arabs, Genealogical Ishmaelism was viewed with suspicion as

4680-443: The Assyrians had been resented by the Babylonians as impious and warlike and the Neo-Babylonian kings preferred to present themselves as devout kings. The king was also the single most important landowner within the empire, with there being several large swaths of land placed under direct royal control throughout Babylonia. There were also large domains placed under other members of the royal family (for instance, there are mentions of

4797-549: The Assyrians had recaptured Nippur and besieged Nabopolassar at the city of Uruk . Sinsharishkun failed to capture Babylon and Nabopolassar endured the Assyrian siege of Uruk, repulsing the Assyrian army. In November of 626 BC, Nabopolassar was formally crowned as King of Babylon, restoring Babylonia as an independent kingdom after more than a century of direct Assyrian rule. With only small successes during campaigns in northern Babylonia from 625 to 623 BC and more southern cities, such as Der , joining Nabopolassar, Sinsharishkun led

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4914-465: The Babylonian rump state . The population of Babylonia in this so-called Post-Kassite or Middle Babylonian period comprised two main groups, the native Babylonians (composed of the descendants of the Sumerians and Akkadians and the assimilated Amorites and Kassites) and recently arrived, unassimilated tribesmen from the Levant ( Suteans , Arameans and Chaldeans ). By the 8th century BC,

5031-456: The Babylonian political scene and by 730 BC, all the major Chaldean tribes had produced at least one Babylonian king . The 9th to 8th century BC was catastrophic for the independent Babylonian kingdom, with many weak kings either failing to control all the groups composing Babylonia's population, failing to defeat rivals, or failing to maintain important trade routes. This collapse eventually resulted in Babylonia's powerful northern neighbor,

5148-791: The Great , the Achaemenid king of Persia , revolted against his suzerain Astyages , king of Media , at Ecbatana . Astyages' army betrayed him and Cyrus established himself as ruler of all the Iranic peoples, as well as the pre-Iranian Elamites and Gutians , ending the Median Empire and establishing the Achaemenid Empire . Ten years after his victory against the Medes, Cyrus invaded Babylon. Nabonidus sent Belshazzar to head off

5265-514: The Ishmaelite Confederacy simultaneously, and tribes joined in one instance may not be a part of it in another instance, and they sometimes may have fought each other despite the association with the wider Ishmaelite Confederacy. However, the term "Ishmaelites" or rather "Sumu'ilu" disappears from documentary sources as the Assyrian Empire fell. However, the individual tribes and members kept going on, as there are references from

5382-571: The Jews. Accordingly, one of his first acts was to allow these exiles to return to their homelands, carrying with them the images of their gods and their sacred vessels. The permission to do so was explicitly written in a proclamation, today called the Cyrus Cylinder , wherein Cyrus also justified his conquest of Babylonia as the will of Marduk. Babylon fell as an independent political entity in

5499-499: The Middle East forever. The early Achaemenid rulers had great respect for Babylonia, regarding it as a separate entity or kingdom united with their own kingdom in something akin to a personal union . The region was a major economical asset and provided as much as a third of the entire Achaemenid Empire's tribute. Despite Achaemenid attention and the recognition of the Achaemenid rulers as kings of Babylon, Babylonia resented

5616-542: The Neo-Babylonian 182, with the average size of these settlements also increasing. This population growth was probably because of increasing prosperity in Babylonia, combined with the resettlement of subjugated peoples and the possible return of peoples that had been resettled under the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The Neo-Babylonian period also saw a dramatic increase in urbanization , reversing a trend of ruralization which southern Mesopotamia had experienced since

5733-462: The Neo-Babylonian Empire meant that for the first time since the Assyrian conquest, tribute flowed into Babylonia rather than being drained from it. This reversal, combined with building projects and the relocation of subjugated peoples stimulated both population and economic growth in the region. Although the soil in Mesopotamia was fertile, the average rainfall in the region was not enough to sustain regular crops. As such, water had to be drawn from

5850-735: The Neo-Babylonian Empire were valuable resources, typically sold for money matching several years of income for a paid worker. Slaves were typically from lands outside of Babylonia, becoming slaves through the slave trade or through being captured in times of war. Slave women were often given as part of a dowry to help daughters of free men and women in their household or in raising children. Slaves were not cheap to maintain as they had to be clothed and fed. Because they were expensive to begin with, many Neo-Babylonian slave-owners trained their slaves in professions to raise their value or rented them out to others. Sometimes slaves who showed good business sense were allowed to serve in trade or through managing part of

5967-416: The Neo-Babylonian Empire. Slaves mentioned in connection to farming and agriculture are usually not forced laborers. As farming required diligence and care, slaves at farms were typically given contracts and were allowed to work independently, which would make the slaves more interested in the result of their labor. Some slaves acted as proxies or junior partners of their masters. Slaves were also allowed to pay

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6084-400: The Neo-Babylonian Empire. The punishment for these types of crimes and disputes appears, for the most part, to have been money-related, with the guilty party paying a specified amount of silver as compensation. Crimes such as adultery and lèse-majesté were apparently punishable by death , but little surviving evidence exists for the death penalty actually being carried out. Artists in

6201-538: The Neo-Babylonian period continued the artistic trends of previous periods, showing similarities with the artwork of the Neo-Assyrian period in particular. Cylinder seals of the period are less detailed than in previous times and shows definite Assyrian influence in the themes depicted. One of the most common scenes depicted in such seals are heroes, sometimes depicted with wings, about to strike beasts with their curved swords. Other common scenes include purification of

6318-531: The Persian Period by the Priestly source , who attributed the known Ishmaelite (Shumu'ilu) Tribes as the names of the sons of Ishmael. However, the name and narrative of Ishmael found in other parts of Genesis would antedate this by centuries. The Hebrew Bible already contained the story of Ishmael, and it would later come across Ishmaelite Tribes, and they would invent names for Ishmael's sons, named after

6435-600: The Seleucid Empire survive, documents from the early years of Parthian rule suggest a continued recognition of at least the early Parthian kings as kings of Babylon. Although Akkadian-language legal documents continued in a slightly reduced number through the rule of the Hellenic kings, they are rare from the period of Parthian rule. The astronomical diaries kept since the days of ancient Babylon survived through Persian and Hellenic rule but stopped being written in

6552-585: The Temple at Sippar , had to make repeated excavations until he found the foundation deposit of Naram-Sin of Akkad . The discovery then allowed him to rebuild the temple properly. Neo-Babylonians also revived the ancient Sargonic practice of appointing a royal daughter to serve as priestess of the moon-god Sîn . As in most ancient empires, slaves were an accepted part of Neo-Babylonian society. In contrast to slavery in ancient Rome , where slave-owners often worked their slaves to death at an early age, slaves in

6669-568: The assassination, the influential courtier Nabonidus and his son Belshazzar , then took power. Despite the turmoil that had surrounded his rise to the throne, the empire itself had remained relatively calm through the difficult period. Nabonidus began his reign with traditional activities associated with the king: renovating buildings and monuments, worshipping the gods and waging war (also campaigning in Cilicia). Nabonidus wasn't of Babylonian ancestry, originating from Harran in former Assyria, one of

6786-417: The campaign) in northern Arabia . His son Belshazzar was left to govern Babylonia (though with the title crown prince rather than king, a title Nabonidus continued to hold). Why Nabonidus spent a decade away from his capital there is unknown. Nabonidus' return c.   543 BC was accompanied with a reorganization of his court and the removal of some of its more influential members. In 549 BC Cyrus

6903-541: The canals was seen as a royal task and the resources required to construct and maintain the infrastructure necessary, and the manpower itself, was provided by the many temples which dotted the region. The most detailed economical records from Neo-Babylonian times are from these temples. The people who cultivated the temple lands of Babylonia were mostly unfree personnel, so-called temple dependents ( širāku ), which were usually given larger work assignments than they could accomplish. In later times, to increase productivity,

7020-409: The cities who had shifted the most between Assyrian and Babylonian control, were firmly in Babylonian hands by 620 BC, and Nabopolassar had consolidated his rule over all of Babylonia. After further Babylonian conquests and further failures by Sinsharishkun to stop Nabopolassar, despite receiving military aid from Egypt , the Assyrian Empire quickly began to fall apart. In October or November 615 BC,

7137-428: The clothes used by the deity's cult, cleaned and moved around the statues of the deities, maintained the rooms within the temple and performed the important rituals, represented the skilled and free urban elite of Babylonian society and were paid through leftovers from meals intended for the gods, barley and beer. The surviving sources suggest that the justice system of the Neo-Babylonian Empire had changed little from

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7254-426: The coast and could not be taken without naval support. Though it withstood numerous sieges, it was not captured until Alexander the Great 's siege in 332 BC. It is possible that Nebuchadnezzar campaigned against Egypt in 568 BC, given that a fragmentary Babylonian inscription from that year, given the modern designation BM 33041, records the word "Egypt" as well as possibly traces of the name "Amasis" (the name of

7371-481: The coming of Muhammad and ordered his successors to follow him. The following is the list of chiefs who are said to have ruled the Jazeera and to have been the intraline ancestors of Muhammad: Ishmaelites The Ishmaelites ( Hebrew : יִשְׁמְעֵאלִים , romanized :  Yīšməʿēʾlīm ; Arabic : بَنِي إِسْمَاعِيل , romanized :  Banī Ismā'īl , lit.   'sons of Ishmael') were

7488-463: The constituent groups of the native Babylonians, the main population in the large cities, had lost their old identities and had assimilated into a unified "Babylonian" culture. At the same time, the Chaldeans, though retaining their tribal structure and way of life, were becoming more "babylonized", many adopting traditional Babylonian names. These Babylonized Chaldeans became important players in

7605-520: The denial of the existence of the other gods in the Mesopotamian pantheon , it has sometimes been compared to monotheism . The history of worship of Marduk is intimately tied to the history of Babylon itself and as Babylon's power increased, so did the position of Marduk relative to that of other Mesopotamian gods. By the end of the second millennium BC, Marduk was sometimes just referred to as Bêl , meaning "lord". In Mesopotamian religion, Marduk

7722-449: The descendants of Qedar also bearing the name of "Nebaioth". Most Muslim scholars refused any attempt to recite the ancestors between Adnan to Ishmael, and condemned other scholars such as Ibn Ishaq for doing it. This partial absence of evidence for any ancestor between Adnan and Ishmael (and his son) has led some scholars to consider any personal name between the two figures as post-Islam apocrypha . Adnan married Mahdad bint Laham, who

7839-480: The dominance of the Neo-Assyrian Empire to the north. Christian Frevel holds that while there certainly existed a tribe of Sumu'il in the eighth century BCE, it is possible that the biblical tradition describing the existence of Ishmaelites in the Middle Bronze Age is unhistorical and emerged no earlier than the eighth or seventh centuries. According to the Book of Genesis , Abraham 's first wife

7956-399: The elder gods and Abzu decided to rid himself of them by killing them. Alarmed by this, Tiamat revealed Abzu's plan to Enki, who killed his father before the plot could be enacted. Although Tiamat had revealed the plot to Enki to warn him, the death of Abzu horrified her and she too attempted to kill her children, raising an army together with her new consort Kingu . Every battle in the war was

8073-456: The empire fell into political turmoil and instability. Nebuchadnezzar's son and successor, Amel-Marduk , reigned for only two years before being assassinated in a coup by the influential courtier Neriglissar . Neriglissar was a simmagir , a governor of one of the eastern provinces, and had been present during several of Nebuchadnezzar's campaigns. Importantly, Neriglissar was also married to one of Nebuchadnezzar's daughters and thus linked to

8190-448: The everyday tongue, Akkadian was retained as the language of administration and culture. Ancient artworks from the heyday of Babylonia's imperial glory were treated with near-religious reverence and were painstakingly preserved. For example, when a statue of Sargon the Great was found during construction work, a temple was built for it, and it was given offerings. The story is told of how Nebuchadnezzar II , in his efforts to restore

8307-559: The fall of the Old Babylonian Empire. At the top of the Neo-Babylonian Empire social ladder was the king ( šar ); his subjects took an oath of loyalty called the ade to him, a tradition inherited from the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The Neo-Babylonian kings used the titles King of Babylon and King of Sumer and Akkad . They abandoned many of the boastful Neo-Assyrian titles that claimed universal rule (though some of these would be reintroduced under Nabonidus), possibly because

8424-480: The first Islamic prophet, and Ibrahim and Ishmael began building the Kaaba. Ibrahim built the mosque, and Ishmael provided the stones, When the walls were built and the roof was almost complete, Ibrahim stood on the miraculous small stone to finish the roof. The Samaritan book Asaṭīr adds: And after the death of Abraham, Ishmael reigned twenty-seven years; And all the children of Nebaot ruled for one year in

8541-473: The foremost ruler in this narrative. The Book of Revelation in the Christian Bible refers to Babylon many centuries after it ceased to be a major political center. The city is personified by the " Whore of Babylon ", riding on a scarlet beast with seven heads and ten horns and drunk on the blood of the righteous. Some scholars of apocalyptic literature believe this New Testament "Babylon" to be

8658-401: The goddess Ishtar ) flowers, mušḫuššu (a mythological creature associated with the god Marduk) and oxen (associated with the god Adad ). After Babylonia regained its independence, Neo-Babylonian rulers were deeply conscious of the antiquity of their kingdom and pursued a highly traditionalist policy, reviving much of the ancient Sumero-Akkadian culture. Even though Aramaic had become

8775-414: The gods and for conducting various rituals. Because of their religious significance, temples were present in all major cities, with trade and population growth being stimulated by the presence of a temple. Workers within the temples had to be "fit" for service and were not slaves or temple dependents (unlike those who served the temples by cultivating food and other supplies). These temple workers, who created

8892-469: The gods in defeating and holding off the forces of chaos and thus maintain order on Earth. The Statue of Marduk was the physical representation of Marduk housed in Babylon's main temple, the Esagila . Although there were actually seven separate statues of Marduk in Babylon; four in the Esagila, one in the Etemenanki (the ziggurat dedicated to Marduk) and two in temples dedicated to other deities,

9009-400: The hills of Safa and Marwa in search of water for her son. After her seventh run between the hills, an angel appeared before her. He helped them, saying that God heard Ishmael's cry and would provide them with water; Hajar stopped the water with stones. Muhammad said, "May Allah forgive Hajar if she doesn't stop the water, there was a great water fountain." A group of people passed by, and saw

9126-469: The historic tribe of Nabataeans as descendants of Nebaioth based on the similarity of sounds, but others reject this connection. Different Islamic groups assign the ancestry of the Islamic prophet Muhammad either to Kedar, or to Nebaioth . Assyrian and Babylonian inscriptions refer to the Ishmaelites as Sumu'ilu , a tribal confederation that would take control of the incense trade route during

9243-527: The huge Persian army, but the Babylonian forces were overwhelmed at the Battle of Opis . On 12 October, after Cyrus's engineers diverted the waters of the Euphrates, the soldiers of Cyrus entered Babylon without the need for battle. Nabonidus surrendered and was deported. Gutian guards were placed at the gates of the great temple of Marduk, where services continued without interruption. Cyrus claimed to be

9360-504: The king of Qedar , sometimes as Arab and sometimes as Ishmaelite. The names "Nabat, Kedar, Abdeel, Dumah, Massa, and Teman" were mentioned in the Assyrian royal inscriptions as Arabian tribes. Jesur is mentioned in Greek inscriptions in the first century BC. Assyrian and Babylonian Inscriptions have referred to the Ishmaelites as "Sumu'ilu" and Ernst Knauf had written that Yisma'el is a typical West Semitic Personal name found in texts from

9477-400: The legitimate successor of the ancient Babylonian kings and the avenger of Marduk, who Cyrus claimed to be wrathful at Nabonidus's supposed impiety. Cyrus's conquest was welcomed by the Babylonian populace, though whether it was because he was genuinely seen as a liberator or out of fear is unknown. Cyrus's invasion of Babylonia may have been helped along by the presence of foreign exiles such as

9594-511: The lifetime of Ishmael; And for thirty years after his death from the river of Egypt to the river Euphrates ; and they built Mecca . Josephus also lists the sons and states that they "inhabit the lands which are between Euphrates and the Red Sea , the name of which country is Nabathæa ". The Targum Onkelos annotates Genesis 25:16, describing the extent of their settlements: "And they dwelt from Hindekaia [India] unto Chalutsa, which

9711-446: The local courts would be headed by royal representatives, usually titled sartennu or šukallu . For the most part, surviving sources related to the Neo-Babylonian justice system are tablets containing letters and lawsuits. These tablets document various legal disputes and crimes, such as embezzlement , disputes over property, theft , family affairs, debts and inheritance and often offer considerable insight into daily life in

9828-518: The main places of worship of the god Sîn (associated with the moon). For this, Nabonidus may have faced opposition from the Babylonian clergy. Nabonidus was also opposed by the clergy when he increased governmental control over the temples in an attempt to solve ongoing management problems with the empire's religious institutions. Nabonidus left Babylonia to campaign in the Levant and then settled for ten years in Tayma (which he had conquered during

9945-416: The means to carry out their trade (for instance second sons who had not inherited as much money as first-born sons). Records show that some junior partners worked their way up through their businesses to eventually become senior partners in new harrānu arrangements. The Neo-Babylonian period saw marked population growth in Babylonia, with the number of known settlements increasing from the previous 134 to

10062-484: The middle of the 1st century BC. It is likely that only a small number of scholars knew how to write Akkadian by the time of the Parthian kings, and the old Babylonian temples became increasingly undermanned and underfunded as people were drawn to the new Mesopotamian capitals, such as Seleucia and Ctesiphon . The latest dated document written in accordance with the old scribal tradition in Akkadian cuneiform

10179-426: The moon god Sîn over Babylon's patron deity Marduk , eventually served as a casus belli for Persian king Cyrus the Great , who invaded Babylonia in 539 BC by portraying himself as a champion of Marduk divinely restoring order to Mesopotamia. After the conquest, Babylon remained culturally distinct for centuries, with references to people with Babylonian names and to the Babylonian religion known from as late as

10296-522: The most important of the twelve Ishmaelite tribes. Muslims believe that the first person to speak Arabic clearly was Ishmael : "Isma'il grew up among the Jurhum (an Arabic-speaking tribe), learning the pure Arabic tongue from them. When grown-up, he successively married two ladies from the Jurhum tribe, the second wife being the daughter of Mudad ibn 'Amr, leader of the Jurhum tribe." In accounts tracing

10413-519: The number of ancestors between Ishmael and Adnan but agreed about the names and number of the ancestors between Adnan and the Islamic prophet Muhammad . The overwhelming majority of traditions and Muslim scholars state that Adnan is a descendant of Qedar the son of Ishmael, except for Ibn Ishaq who claimed that Adnan was a descendant of Nebaioth . According to classical Muslim historian Al-Tabari , Ibn Ishaq's differing record may be due to one of

10530-518: The one it had from inside the temple. The statue was traditionally incorporated into the coronation rituals for the Babylonian kings , who received the Babylonian crown "out of the hands" of Marduk during the New Year's festival, symbolizing them being bestowed with kingship by the patron deity of the city. The temples of southern Mesopotamia were important as both religious and economic centers. The temples were chiefly institutions for caring for

10647-415: The one which functioned during the Old Babylonian Empire a thousand years prior. Throughout Babylonia, there were local assemblies (called puhru ) of elders and other notables from society which among other local roles served as local courts of justice (though there were also higher "royal" and "temple courts" with greater legal prerogatives). In these courts, judges would be assisted by scribes and several of

10764-477: The plunder had already begun and met with Cyaxares, allying with him and signing an anti-Assyrian pact. In April or May 612 BC, at the start of Nabopolassar's 14th year as King of Babylon, the combined Medo-Babylonian army marched on Nineveh. From June to August of that year, they besieged the Assyrian capital and in August the walls were breached, leading to another lengthy and brutal sack during which Sinsharishkun

10881-500: The political history, society and appearance of ancient Babylonia was largely a mystery. Western artists typically envisioned the city and its empire as a combination of known ancient cultures—typically a mixture of ancient Greek and Egyptian culture—with some influence from the then-contemporary Middle Eastern empire, the Ottoman Empire . Early depictions of the city show it with long colonnades , sometimes built on more than

10998-668: The prophetic child, who was named Ishmael by Allah through one of his angels. God ordered Ibrahim to bring Ishmael and Hajar to present-day Mecca . He prayed for them after leaving them, saying: "O our Lord! I have made some of my offspring to dwell in an uncultivatable valley by Your Sacred House (the Kaaba in Mecca) in order, O our Lord, that they may perform As- Ṣalāt . So fill some hearts among men with love towards them, and (O Allah) provide them with fruits so that they may give thanks." Ishmael and Hagar were very thirsty, and Hagar ran between

11115-684: The region of Central-Western Hijaz after the destruction of the Qedarite kingdom near Mesopotamia , and the remaining Qedarite Arabs there were displaced from their lands and forced to live in Al-Anbar province and on the banks of the Euphrates river under the rule of the Neo-Babylonian Empire . According to Islamic tradition, the Islamic prophet Muhammad was descended from Adnan. It has also been said that Adnan foretold

11232-421: The reign of the Neo-Assyrian king Sinsharishkun , the southern official or general Nabopolassar used ongoing political instability in Assyria, caused by an earlier brief civil war between Sinsharishkun and the general Sin-shumu-lishir , to revolt. In 626 BC, Nabopolassar assaulted and successfully seized the cities of Babylon and Nippur . Sinsharishkun's response was quick and decisive; by October of that year

11349-457: The royal family. Possibly due to old age, Neriglissar's reign was also short, some of its few recorded activities being the restoration of some monuments in Babylon and a campaign in Cilicia . Neriglissar died in 556 BC and was succeeded by his underage son, Labashi-Marduk . Labashi-Marduk's reign was even briefer; he was assassinated after reigning for just nine months. The perpetrators of

11466-431: The temple as compensation. Although animal husbandry was practiced throughout Mesopotamia, it was the most common form of farming in the south. In Uruk, animals, rather than some type of plant, were the main cash crop . Shepherds could be temple dependents or independent contractors and were entrusted with herds of either sheep or goats. Similar to other farmers working in connection to the temples, these shepherds had

11583-471: The temples began hiring "rent farmers". These rent farmers were given a portion or all of a temple's farming grounds and fields, including the temple dependents and equipment there, in exchange for money and a fixed quota of commodities to supply to the temple. Rent farmers were personally liable for accidents and falling short of the quota and there are many records of rent farmers giving up or sometimes being required to sell their own possessions and assets to

11700-497: The temples. The technique of colored glaze was improved and perfected by Neo-Babylonian artists. In reliefs, such as the ones on the Ishtar Gate in Babylon and along the city's Processional Street (where parades passed through during religious festivals in the city), colored glaze was combined with bricks molded in various shapes to create decorations in color. Most of these decorations are symbols of lions (associated with

11817-519: The then incumbent Pharaoh, Amasis II , r.   570–526 BC). A stele of Amasis, also fragmentary, may also describe a combined naval and land attack by the Babylonians. But the evidence for this campaign is scant, and historians believe that if Nebuchadnezzar launched another campaign, he was unsuccessful. In addition to his military exploits, Nebuchadnezzar was a great builder, famous for his monuments and building works throughout Mesopotamia, such as Babylon's Ishtar Gate and Processional Street. He

11934-705: The third millennium BC to pre-Islamic Arabic in the first half of the first millennium CE. He argues that the North Arabian "Sama'il" would be rendered "Shumu'il" by Assyrians, and would have the same meaning as "Yisma'el" and hence the Shumu'ilu tribes would be descended to an ancestor named Yisma'el, which is anglicized as Ishmael. One of the Inscriptions mentioning the Ishmaelites is Sennacherib's Annals , in column vii line 96. The Ishmaelite Confederacy did have differences. The Qedar Tribe's political center

12051-614: The time Cyrus the Great came to power of the kings living in tents. Southern Palestine and the surrounding areas were inhabited considerably by Nabataeans , who had been entrenched there as early as the 6th century BC. According to Knauf, this expansion caused the tribes to decrease contact, and this caused the Ishmaelite Confederacy to end, not any military defeat. Medieval Arab genealogists divided Arabs into three groups: Abu Ja'far al-Baqir (676–743 AD) wrote that his father Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin informed him that Muhammad had said: "The first whose tongue spoke in clear Arabic

12168-500: The two major rivers, the Euphrates and the Tigris, for use in irrigation. These rivers tended to flood at inconvenient times, such as at grain harvest time. To solve these issues and allow for efficient farming, Mesopotamia required a sophisticated large-scale system of canals, dams and dikes, both to protect from floods and to supply water. These structures required constant maintenance and supervision to function. Digging and maintaining

12285-410: The various tribes in the Ishmaelite Confederacy. Comparing aspects of the descendants of Ishmael and Israel (Jacob): According to the Quran , "Allah has gifted all of Ishmael , Alyasa , Yunus and Lut a favor above the nations. With some of their forefathers and their offspring and their brethren, We chose them and guided them unto a straight path". (Quran 6:86). Ibrahim and Hajar bore

12402-488: The well and Hajar and Ishmael sitting there. They asked Hagar for some of the water from the well; she agreed, and an Arab tribe began there. Ishmael grew up there and learned Arabic from the tribe while waiting for his father. When Ibrahim arrived in Marwa, he learned that his son was alive. When young Ishmael saw his father, he ran to him and they embraced. Allah (God) decided to test Ibrahim again, and he dreamed two nights in

12519-414: Was Duma (Dumat Al-Jandal), which was also the cultic residence of the six deities of the "king of the Arabs", as John Travis Noble writes. Tayma's pantheon was quite different from that of Duma, which seems to be the capital of the Ishmaelites, even though Tema appears as a son of Ishmael in Genesis 25. Noble then writes that it is unlikely that all twelve tribes associated with the sons of Ishmael were in

12636-410: Was Ishmael, when he was fourteen years old." Hisham ibn al-Kalbi (737–819 AD) established a genealogical link between Ishmael and Muhammad using writings and the ancient oral traditions of the Arabs. His book, Jamharat al-Nasab ("The Abundance of Kinship"), seems to posit that the people known as "Arabs" (of his time) were all descendants of Ishmael. Ibn Kathir (1301–1373) writes (translated): "All

12753-751: Was a creator god . Going by the Enûma Eliš , the Babylonian creation myth, Marduk was the son of Enki , the Mesopotamian god of wisdom, and rose to prominence during a great battle between the gods. The myth tells how the universe originated as a chaotic realm of water, in which there originally were two primordial deities; Tiamat (salt water, female) and Abzu (sweet water, male). These two gods gave birth to other deities. These deities (including gods such as Enki) had little to do in these early stages of existence and as such occupied themselves with various activities. Eventually, their children began to annoy

12870-560: Was a descendant of his ancestor 's half brother Yaqshan . He had two sons with her, Ma'ad ibn Adnan and Akk ibn Adnan . Akk dwelt in the Yaman because he took a wife amongst the Asharites and lived with them, adopting their language. The Asharites were descended from Saba' ibn Yashjub ibn Ya'rub ibn Qahtan . Adnan was mentioned in various Pre-Islamic poems , by the Pre-Islamic poets Lubayb Ibn Rabi'a and Abbas Ibn Mirdas. Adnan

12987-578: Was among the most powerful in the world and he quickly reinforced his father's alliance with the Medes by marrying Cyaxares's daughter or granddaughter, Amytis . Some sources suggest that the famous Hanging Gardens of Babylon , one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World , were built by Nebuchadnezzar for his wife as to remind her of her homeland (though the existence of these gardens is debated). Nebuchadnezzar's 43-year reign brought with it

13104-473: Was both an important religious figure and eponymous ancestor for some of the Arabs of western Arabia. Prominence is given in Arab genealogical accounts to the first two of Ishmael's twelve sons, Nebaioth (Arabic: نبيت , Nabīt ) and Qedar (Arabic: قيدار , Qaydār ), who are also prominently featured in the Genesis account. It is likely that they and their tribes lived in northwestern Arabia and were historically

13221-631: Was decisively wiped out c.   230 AD with the religious reforms introduced in the Sasanian Empire . By this time, the ancient Babylonian cult centres had already been closed and razed. Some temples had been closed during the early Parthian period, such as many temples in Uruk, whilst others lingered on to near the end of the Parthian Empire, such as the Esagila in Babylon. Before modern archaeological excavations in Mesopotamia,

13338-407: Was first under the rule of the Parthian Empire that Babylon was gradually abandoned as a major urban center and the old Akkadian culture truly disappeared. In the first century or so of Parthian rule, Babylonian culture was still alive, and there are records of people in the city with traditional Babylonian names, such as Bel-aḫḫe-uṣur and Nabu-mušetiq-uddi (mentioned as the receivers of silver in

13455-747: Was named Sarah and her Egyptian slave was named Hagar . However, Sarah could not conceive. In chapter 16, Sarah (then Sarai) gave her slave Hagar in marriage to Abraham, in order that Abraham might have an heir. And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian ;... and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife. Hagar conceived Ishmael from Abraham, and the Ishmaelites descend from him. After Abraham pleaded with God for Ishmael to live under his blessing, chapter 17 states: But as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: behold I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him

13572-412: Was no different from other Mesopotamian cities, who similarly conflated their gods with the representations used for them in their temples. During the religiously important New Year's festival at Babylon, the statue was removed from the temple and paraded through Babylon before being placed in a smaller building outside the city walls, where the statue received fresh air and could enjoy a different view from

13689-515: Was viewed by Pre-Islamic Arabs as an honorable father among the fathers of Arab tribes, and they used this ancestry to boast against other Qahtani tribes who were a minority among the Adnanites . Layla Bent Lukayz , a Pre-Islamic female poet , was captured by a Persian king and forced to marry him, so she composed a poem designated to other Arab tribes, asking for their help and reminding that she and they all belong to Adnan, which makes it

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