Babylonian religion

Babylonian religion was the way people in Babylonia believed in and worshiped gods and goddesses long ago. The stories and ideas about their gods came mostly from the nearby land of the Sumerian people. These stories were written on special clay tablets using a writing style called the cuneiform script, which was also created by the Sumerians.

The myths and religious texts were often written in two languages: Sumerian and Akkadian. Sometimes, Babylonian writers would take old Sumerian stories and change them into Akkadian. They might also give the gods new names in these stories. This mix of languages and traditions shows how Babylonian religion grew from the beliefs of earlier cultures around it.

Mythology and cosmology

Main articles: Mesopotamian myths and Ancient near eastern cosmology

Further information: Enûma Eliš

Babylonian myths were inspired by the Sumerian religion. These stories were written on clay tablets in a special writing style called cuneiform, which began with the Sumerian cuneiform. They were written in Sumerian or Akkadian languages. Some Babylonian books were translations from Sumerian, and sometimes they changed the names of gods.

One important Babylonian god was Marduk, who became the leader of the gods. A famous Babylonian story, the Enûma Eliš, explains how the world was made. In this story, two powerful water beings, Apsu and Tiamat, created the world but had a big disagreement. Marduk fought and defeated them. He used Tiamat’s body to make the earth and sky, and then started the city of Babylon.

Religious festivals

Further information: Akitu

Tablet pieces from the Neo-Babylonian time tell us about special days for a big party to welcome the New Year. This party started on the first day of the first month in Babylon, called Nisannu. This is about the same time as April or May in the calendar we use today. The festival celebrated how the Earth was made, based on a story about Marduk creating everything.

Importance of idols

In Babylonian religion, people took special care of statues of gods. They believed the gods lived inside these statues in temples and also in nature. They thought it was very important to look after these statues.

If a statue was destroyed, people believed the god would no longer protect them. Once, a prince named Marduk-apla-iddina II moved the statues of Babylon’s gods to a safe place to protect them from soldiers from Assyria.

Babylonian gods

Babylonia centered around the god Marduk, who was the national god of the Babylonian empire. People also worshipped other gods and goddesses. Some important ones were Enlil, Enki, Inanna, Nabu, Nanna-Suen, Ninhursag, and Utu.

In different cities, one god had a special role, like being in charge of the earth, the air, or the sky. That god was seen as the most important in that city.