Iraq, Scene of the Beginnings of Humanity

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                     

 The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World listed by Hellenic culture. The gardens, as depicted in artworks, featured blossoming flowers, ripe fruit, burbling waterfalls and terraces exuberant with rich foliage.  According to one legend, the Hanging Gardens were built alongside a grand palace known as The Marvel of Mankind, by the Neo-Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II (who ruled between 605 and 562 BC), for his Median wife Queen Amytis, because she missed the green hills and valleys of her homeland. This was attested to by the Babylonian priest Berossus, writing in about 290 BC, a description that was later quoted by Josephus. The construction of the Hanging Gardens has also been attributed to the legendary queen Semiramis, who supposedly ruled Babylon in the 9th century BCE, and they have been called the Hanging Gardens of Semiramis as an alternative name.  Jews were here from Judah  in Babylon as they were taken here in 597 BCE and 586 BCE . Most likely it was they who did the work.                          

The Torah's book of Genesis started in today's Iraq.  Iraq could use this gift of time and turn many sites into a type of Disneyland, depicting where it all began;  the Tower of Babel, etc. 

                                                 

 We have places like this in the USA showing pioneering with actors in it, never breaking their roles, playing to the hilt. I saw one in Virginia called "Colonial Williamsburg".               

Then it occurred to me.  Iraq is a Muslim country and might not appreciate having Christian and even Jewish tourists coming into their country.  On top of this, there is COVID as well, stopping group activities.  Now may not be the time of more tourist attractions.  Isn't it amazing that the Torah is not read by the very people that it was writing about?  Muslims may not be familiar at all with our story found in Genesis.                                      

       War's destruction in Iraq

This is the time, however, that the 3 basic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam all believe that we are at the END OF TIMES.  Christians believe that Jesus will appear again.  Jews, who have been waiting for all this time feel that now is the time for the Messiah to appear, and the  Muslims believe that Jesus (called “Isa” in Arabic) was a prophet of God and was born to a virgin (Mary). They also believe he will return to Earth before the Day of Judgment to restore justice and defeat al-Masih ad-Dajjal, or “the false messiah” — also known as the Antichrist.  This is one of the few things that all 3 do agree upon. So considering this, today may be just the right time for tourists with appropriate vaccination cards and masks to visit some of these sites. 

                                                 

Mesopotamia is a region of Southwest Asia that corresponds to modern-day Iraq, Syria, western Iran and southeast Turkey. Thousands of years ago Mesopotamia’s weather was semi-arid, with hot summers and sporadic rain. However, the presence of two rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates, made it humid, fertile and ideal for nomads to start settlements. The abundance of water and nutrient-rich soil made it an ideal place to develop agriculture. More tribes made the region home and gave birth to one of the world’s first settlements. Mesopotamia, which in Greek means "the land between the rivers," eventually became the cradle of world civilization. 

Genesis means creation.  In the beginning in Hebrew is "Be-Beshit." which is the name of the 1st book or scroll.  The subject matter consists  of :(1)the creation of the world and the beginning of mankind (chapters II-6:8): (2) the 10 generations to Abraham, including the story of the Flood (6:9-11:32): (3)Abraham as the progenitor of the people of Israel (12-20): (4)Abraham and his son, Isaac (21-25:18): (5)Isaac and his son, Jacob (25:18-36:43): Jacob and his sons (37:1-47:27): the last years of Jacob and of Joseph (47:28-50:26).

                                               

The first 5 books are considered by Jews to be written by Moses.  Moses is accepted by the Muslims as well, so there is no problem there.  In fact, Jacob's 12 sons made up the 12 tribes of Israel of which 10 were taken away by the Assyrians in 721 BCE, and have now been thought to be the some of the Pashtuns of Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, Muslim people.                                                   

The problem could come from the story of Isaac, son of Sarah and the sacrifice by Abraham with Jews saying it was Isaac and  Muslims  who believe that Abraham was told to sacrifice his first son by Hagar, Ishmael, though the Qur'an does not mention the name of the son. The multiple versions suggest that the dhabih was originally an oral story that had been circulating before being written as it is in the Qur'an and in additional commentaries.  It is from the Torah, written, as the religious Jews believe, by Moses himself.  Who were the followers of Moses?  The Jews, who still are following the teachings of Moses.                          

The fact is that Jewish tribes were living in Arabia where Mohammad lived.  By the 6th and 7th centuries there was a considerable Jewish population in Hejaz, mostly in and around Medina (or Yathrib as it called by the time), Khaybar, and Tayma. There were three main Jewish tribes in Medina, forming the most important Hejazi community before the rise of Islam in Arabia.                                       

It is said that Mohammad walked by our storytellers who were reading the Torah aloud to others and heard our history.                            

  Map of Iraq in 1500 BCE showing Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.

The Tower of Babel, in biblical literature, structure built in the land of Shinar (Babylonia) some time after the Deluge. 

                                                  

The story of its construction, given in Genesis 11:1–9, appears to be an attempt to explain the existence of diverse human languages.

                 Iraq today :  below                            

Babylon/Babylonia was known in the bible as the land of Shinar or of the Kasdim (Chaldees).  Remember, Abraham came from Ur of the Chaldees, and that pinpoints it being almost on the Euphrates River of today's Iraq. It is Babylon considered in Genesis to be the cradle of humanity and as the scene of Man's 1st revolt against G-d in the Tower of Babel.  

                                                  

           Date Palms are common in Babylon 

Many of the early biblical stories find a parallel in Babylonian literature, like the flood.  Abraham was born in Ur of the Chaldeans, but migrated to Canaan where he later fought Amraphel, king of Shinar (Gen. 14). Babylon was considered by the  prophets as the symbol of insolent pagan tyranny, and this symbolism was later adopted by others.  The Babylonian Nebuchadnezzar II (604-561 BCE) inherited the Assyrian Empire and after his conquest of Judah in 597 and 586 BCE exiled many Jews to Babylon. Many Jews remained in Babylon  even after King Cyrus permitted a return to Judah.

                                                 

                    The Ishtar Gate, one of many in Iraq: The Ishtar Gate was the eighth gate of the city of Babylon (in present day Iraq) and was the main entrance into the great city. It was a sight to behold; the gate was covered in lapis lazuli glazed bricks which would have rendered the façade with a jewel-like shine. Alternating rows of bas relief lions, dragons, and aurochs representing powerful deities formed the processional way.  It was constructed in about 575 BCE by order of King Nebuchadnezzar II. This was after the Jews were captured and taken to Babylon in 597 and 586 BCE. It might be that it was the Jews who did this building.   You knew you were entering a special city when you walked through this entrance.  

It seems like the Euphrates River was the eastern border of people.  I've never read anything about the people on of the Tigris River.  However, National Geographic says, "The Tigris River, which borders Mesopotamia in the Fertile Crescent, has been a key source of irrigation, power, and travel that dates back to the earliest known civilizations."  Between the 2 rivers of the Tigris and Euphrates is what is called, THE FERTILE CRESCENT.  While the local population uses the Tigris as a source of fresh water, agriculture is the primary focus for the people near the river. The region’s low rainfall and hot, dry summers mean that irrigation is necessary for growing crops. While such irrigation can sometimes lead to problems in water quality, the Tigris is generally considered to have acceptable quality.

Ancient Mesopotamia used to have about 10 inches of rain per year and very hot temperatures – in summer average temperatures reached 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Modern-day Iraq and Syria have an arid climate. They have hot, dry summers and short cool winters.                                                      

  Babylon's ancient city:  The 2500-acre site, 50 miles south of Baghdad, comprises both the ruins of the ancient city as well as surrounding villages and agricultural areas. Between 626 and 539 BCE, the city was the capital of the Neo-Babylonian empire and the largest metropolis in the world. It was here that King Hammurabi produced the world’s first written law. The city is also believed to be the site of the mythical Hanging Gardens — one of the “seven wonders of the world” — said to be a legacy of King Nebuchadnezzar, who ordered the complete reconstruction of the imperial grounds, including the 300-foot Etemenanki ziggurat (believed to be the legendary Tower of Babel), and the building of the Ishtar Gate, the most prominent of eight gates around Babylon.                                                            

U.S. Marines in northern Kuwait gear up after receiving orders to cross the Iraqi border on March 20, 2003. It has been more than 10 years since the American-led invasion of Iraq that toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein. Look back at 100 moments from the war and the legacy it left behind. ERIC FEFERBERG/AFP/Getty Images

For years scientists have been trying to explain why Mesopotamian culture vanished. The first hypothesis suggests that Mesopotamia’s collapse was the result of environmental changes. Irrigation systems can leave behind traces of mineral salts that may have reached very high levels and rendered the soil poisonous for some edible plants. Other theories concentrate on armed conflicts such as invasions.

The military history of Iraq, due to a rich archaeological record, is one of the longest in written human history. The region of Iraq, which used to be Mesopotamia, has been referred to as the "cradle of civilization", and wars of conquest have been recorded in this region as far back as the third millennium BCE. (Abraham was born in the 2nd millennium BCE) The area possesses strategic value, initially for the rich, fertile agricultural region in the Mesopotamian plain, and more recently for large petroleum deposits and access to the oil-rich Persian Gulf. The present territory of Iraq lacks significant strategic barriers, making it difficult to defend against foreign invasion.

• In 2525 BC, there was a battle between King Eannatum of Lagash, and Umma. The battle is recorded on the Stele of the Vultures. The king won the battle by using armored soldiers who were in phalanx formation, and also used chariots pulled by onagers.
• About 2300 BC, Sargon of Akkad attacked and conquered 34 Sumerian cities, beginning the Akkadian Empire.
• The Sumerians living in Iraq had to battle the Elamites from western Iran.
• Kassites attacked Babylonia in the 16th century BC
• About 1263 BC, the Assyrian king Shalmaneser I defeated a rebellion led by Shattuara II of Hanigalbat.
• Nebuchadnezzar I (1119–1098 BC) attacked Assyria.
• The Chaldeans took over Babylonia in the 9th century BC, forming the Neo-Babylonian Empire, and had to fight many revolts and aggressors.
• Nebuchadrezzar II (605-562 BC) conquered Jerusalem taking 15,000 Jewish captives, who were put into exile for 70 years. (See Babylonian captivity.)
• Cyrus the Great, founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, defeated the Neo-Babylonian Empire and conquered the region in 539-538 BC
• In 331 BC, Alexander the Great defeated Darius III of Persia at the Battle of Gaugamela, east of present-day Mosul. Alexander died in Babylon in 323 BC.
• In later centuries, starting from 190 BC, the Persians ruled Iraq for hundreds of years under different dynasties including the Parthian and Sassanid dynasties, after the first conquest in the 6th century BC.
• In 627 AD, the Byzantines sacked Ctesiphon, which was invaded again in 637, this time by Muslim Arabs. The battle between 18,000 Arab tribesmen led by General Khalid ibn al-Walid (The Sword of Allah) and the Persians led by Rostam Farrokhzād, was fought at the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah, south of Baghdad.

This last battle of 627 CE was between Muslim Arabs and Muslim Persians-the 1st Iraq-Iran War.  

            I remember that they were down to using boys to fight.

In present day time, another Iraq-Iran War was fought from  September 1980, when Iraqi forces launched a full-scale invasion of neighboring Iran, beginning the Iran-Iraq War. (We had moved to Israel in September 1980 from Oregon).  Fueled by territorial, religious and political disputes between the two nations, the conflict ended in an effective stalemate and a cease-fire nearly eight years later, after more than half a million soldiers and civilians had been killed during the 8 years of war.

Iraq, the scene of Creation and the scene of the end of their own population, almost.  A few years ago Iraq had 31,234,000 population of which 97% were Muslims; Shi'a/Sunni.  Islam was the state religion. it was #11 in large Muslim populations. They had 254,418 active troops.

Iran  was #6 with 76,923,300.  It had 98% Muslims of Shi'a and was which was also a state religion.  They had 545,000 active troops.  

                                                         

Iraqi police officers hold up their index fingers marked with purple indelible ink, a security measure to prevent double voting.  Clever idea others might want to borrow.  

Resource:

https://www.history.com/topics/middle-east/iran-iraq-war

https://www.colonialwilliamsburg.org/events-calendar/?experiences=places-to-visit&type=sites&date=today&from=navexplore

Tanakh (Old Testament) Stone Edition

The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishtar_Gate

sciencing.com/ temperature-climate-ancient mesopotamia 9330.html

https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/tigris-river/

https://www.jhuapl.edu/Content/documents/ApocalypseVision.pdf