See how, more than two and a half millennia ago, the inhabitants of Babylon saw the world in which they lived.
In 1899, an unusual clay tablet was found in the south of present-day Iraq, on the east bank of the Euphrates River. It didn't take long for the experts to realize that they were facing an important trace of the past: cuneiform and drawings on the board presented a kind of cartographic markings, thanks to which people got to know the world at the time it was created.
The tablet is believed to have originated in the sixth century BC and to represent the world as the inhabitants of Babylon knew it, and today this precious object is kept in the British Museum.
At the center of the map is Babylon because it was the center of the world for thousands of people who lived in it - just as is the case with many later maps, found in, say, Athens and Jerusalem.
This interesting map shows seven cities and as many islands, surrounded by two circles representing waters believed to have been located near Babylon. Among the marked locations are Urartu, the Assyrian Kingdom, Bit Yakin, Haban, Elam, Der, unknown regions, the Euphrates River, the ocean ... It is also interesting that this diagram shows mythological islands on the other side of the ocean that connect the Earth and the sky. .
Although many consider this map, called Imago Mundi, to be the oldest in the world, it is also indicated that it is a copy of an older map. Also, archaeologists have older drawings in caves in the Middle East that are believed to be representations of the world from the perspective of ancient man.
Do you know which city is the oldest in the world?
Archaeologists have established that humans lived on this soil even in the 9th century BC.
Jericho, a city on the west coast of Jordan, has been continuously inhabited for thousands of years, archaeologists believe.
As the 2007 census showed, less than 20,000 people live in Jericho today.
That is why it is often called the oldest city in the world - it has been inhabited without interruption since about 8000 BC, and traces have been found that indicate that hunter-gatherers built a sanctuary here around 9700 BC.
On the soil of Jericho, archaeologists have found about twenty settlements, and the city has been demolished and rebuilt several times. Huts, pottery, tombs, furniture, decorative objects were found in it ... All this testifies to interesting ancient cultures that existed on the soil of Jericho, such as the Canaanites and the Amorites.
In addition to being probably the oldest, it is also the "lowest city in the world" - it is located about 258 meters below sea level.
It was ruled by many nations and attracted many conquerors, so it is not surprising that it was surrounded by a rampart with towers. It is mentioned in the Bible as the "City of Palms", and it was named Yeriẖo after the word Yareaẖ, which means "moon".
Wonderfully done article. I look forward to the next one.