What Did the Babylonians Think the World Looked Like?

The answer to the question of what the Babylonians compared the world to is a round, flat disc surrounded by water. The Babylonians thought of the earth as a landmass encircled by an ocean called the “bitter river”. The sky was like a dome set over this disc. The document that best shows this conception is the clay tablet known as the “Babylonian Map of the World”.

Quick Summary

• The Babylonians thought of the world as a round, flat disc surrounded by water.
• At the centre of the Babylonian Map of the World lie the city of Babylon and the Euphrates.
• According to the Enuma Elish epic, the god Marduk created heaven and earth by splitting the body of Tiamat in two.
• Babylon was one of the most important centres of astronomy and astrology in Mesopotamia.
• The 360-degree circle and the 60-minute hour we use today come from the Babylonian sexagesimal system.

Contents

• The answer to the question
• Babylonian civilization in brief
• The Babylonian Map of the World
• The Enuma Elish and creation
• Heaven, earth and the underworld
• Babylonian astronomy
• The ziggurat and observation towers
• Comparison with the Greeks
• Influence on later civilizations
• Frequently asked questions

What Did the Babylonians Compare the World To?

The Babylonians thought of the world as a round disc with land in the middle. This land was surrounded by an ocean of salty, bitter waters. The disc rested on a great sea of fresh water under the earth. The sky was imagined as a solid dome built over the earth.

This idea was also connected with the geography of Mesopotamia. On the broad plains watered by the Euphrates and the Tigris, the horizon looked flat. To the south stretched the salt waters of the Persian Gulf. So the idea that the world was surrounded by water seemed natural. The absence of high mountains on the Babylonian plain also strengthened this impression.

Babylonian Civilization in Brief

Babylon was a capital founded on the banks of the Euphrates and one of the most famous cities of Mesopotamia. According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, two periods stand out in the city’s history. One is the period when Hammurabi, famous for his laws, reigned. The other is the era of the Chaldeans, when the city enjoyed its most brilliant age.

According to the encyclopedia, Babylon is mentioned once in the Quran (al-Baqara 2:102). The Persian king Cyrus captured the city, but rather than destroying its famous tower he restored it. According to the encyclopedia, Alexander the Great did not destroy the city either; on the contrary, he began restoring it to make it his capital. The city’s ruins lie today in Iraq, near Hilla.

What Does the Babylonian Map of the World Show?

The most important document showing how the Babylonians imagined the world is a small clay tablet now in the British Museum. This map, also known as the “Imago Mundi”, is usually dated to the 6th century BC. The tablet was found in the ancient city of Sippar near Baghdad. The upper part of the map bears a text written in cuneiform, and the lower part a drawing of the world.

On the map the world is shown by two concentric circles. The inner circle contains the land, and the ring between the two circles holds the ocean called the “bitter river”. The city of Babylon lies near the centre of the map. The Euphrates is drawn as a band flowing from one end to the other.

Beyond the ocean lie triangular regions. According to the text on the tablet, these regions are distant, legendary places that people could not reach. Some of them are described as places where the sun is never seen. The map reflects a picture of the world in which real geography and mythology are woven together. Because parts of the tablet are broken, the whole text cannot be read.

The Enuma Elish and Creation

The most important text describing the Babylonians’ view of the universe is the creation epic called the Enuma Elish. The epic’s name comes from its opening words, which mean “when on high”. According to the story, in the beginning there were only waters. The fresh waters were represented by Apsu and the salt waters by Tiamat.

In the epic the young god Marduk fights Tiamat, goddess of chaos and the sea, and defeats her. He then splits Tiamat’s body in two. He raises one half to form the sky and makes the earth from the other half. Marduk then sets the stars, the months and the days in order.

This story rests on the idea that the universe was put in order by separating it from the waters. It was believed that there were waters above the dome of the sky as well. Rain was thought to come from these waters in the heavens. The epic was recited every year at the New Year festival celebrated in Babylon.

Heaven, Earth and the Underworld

According to the Babylonians, the universe consisted of layers. At the top were the layers of heaven where the gods lived. In the middle was the earth where people lived. Beneath the earth lay Apsu, the ocean of fresh water, and the underworld where the dead went. Some tablets describe the sky as consisting of three layers, each made of a different stone.

The underworld was depicted as a dark, dusty place from which there was no return. The dead lived a shadowy existence there. This view closely resembles the beliefs inherited from the Sumerians. We described how city life began in Mesopotamia in our article on the first urban settlements.

Babylonian Astronomy

Although the Babylonians thought of the world as a flat disc, they observed the sky very carefully. According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, throughout its history Babylon was one of the most important centres of astronomy and astrology-divination in Mesopotamia. For centuries priests recorded the movements of the planets, the Moon and eclipses on clay tablets.

Thanks to these records, the Babylonians were able to calculate some eclipses in advance. They noticed that lunar eclipses recur in cycles of about 18 years. The zodiac, which divides the sky into twelve equal parts, also goes back to Babylonian astronomy. The star list called MUL.APIN and the omen tablets called Enuma Anu Enlil are the best-known examples of this body of knowledge.

The sexagesimal number system used by the Babylonians is still part of our lives today. The fact that a circle has 360 degrees, an hour 60 minutes and a minute 60 seconds comes from this system. The Babylonians could also calculate fractions with this system. This legacy of calculation matters as much as the question of how the Babylonians pictured the world.

Why Was the Ziggurat Important?

Babylon’s most famous building was its ziggurat, dedicated to Marduk, the city’s chief god. According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, we learn that the building had seven storeys and reached a height of 91 metres. On the top storey stood Marduk’s temple, built of blue-glazed bricks. This structure is also associated with the account of the “Tower of Babel” in the Bible.

According to the encyclopedia, the Greek and Roman world knew the Chaldeans above all as astronomers. The Chaldeans built multi-storey towers to make astronomical observations and study the sky. These towers served both religious and scientific purposes. Under the Chaldean dynasty of Babylon the city enjoyed its most brilliant age.

Comparison with the Greeks

The Babylonian picture of a flat world changed over time with the observations of Greek thinkers. In the 4th century BC, Aristotle started from the fact that the earth’s shadow looks round during a lunar eclipse. On the basis of this observation he argued that the earth is spherical. In the 3rd century BC, Eratosthenes calculated the earth’s circumference with astonishing accuracy.

Greek astronomers also drew on Babylonian observation records in these calculations. In other words, the data collected by the Babylonians, who thought the world was flat, also helped people understand that the earth is a sphere.

Influence on Later Civilizations

Babylonian astronomy deeply influenced the Greeks and later the Islamic world. Greek astronomers made use of Babylonian records. Star records and calculation techniques were thus carried on to new civilizations. According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, Hamza al-Isfahani writes that the Chaldeans living in Harran and Urfa took the name Sabians in the time of Caliph al-Ma’mun. Famous astronomers such as Thabit ibn Qurra emerged from among the Sabians of Harran.

The idea of a flat world, however, was abandoned over time. Through their observations, Greek thinkers showed that the earth is spherical. We compared the world pictures of other ancient civilizations in our articles on the ancient Egyptians, the ancient Indians and the Maya.

Frequently Asked Questions

What did the Babylonians compare the world to?

The Babylonians thought of the world as a round, flat disc surrounded by water. The sky was like a dome over this disc.

Why is the map important to the question of how the Babylonians pictured the world?

The Babylonian Map of the World is the most concrete document showing this conception. On the map the land is drawn as a circle and the surrounding ocean as a ring.

What did the Babylonians think lay at the centre of the world?

Near the centre of the map lies the city of Babylon. The Babylonians saw their own city as the centre of the world.

What is the Imago Mundi?

It is the Babylonian map of the world, dated to the 6th century BC and found at Sippar. It is preserved today in the British Museum.

What did the Babylonians contribute to astronomy?

Eclipse records, the zodiac and the sexagesimal number system are their most important contributions. The division of the circle into 360 degrees is also based on this system. They also succeeded in predicting some eclipses.

Conclusion

The answer to the question of what the Babylonians compared the world to is a flat disc surrounded by water. The Babylonian Map of the World shows this idea clearly, and the Enuma Elish epic describes how the universe was created from the waters. Although they thought the world was flat, the Babylonians observed the sky very well. The legacy of astronomy and calculation they left behind is still in use today.

Sources

• TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, entry “Bâbil” (Babylon)
• TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, entry “Keldânîler” (Chaldeans)
• TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, entry “Sâbiîlik” (Sabianism)
• Wayne Horowitz, Mesopotamian Cosmic Geography.