<<Wanted: Fewer Troops in Iraq >>>
All these troubles shall pass,and Iraq can become the trade center of the ME, where West meets East to exchange and bargain for goods.
So lets get on with the empire building.....
1. First select a new Capital less tainted with the image of Saddam in Baghdad. I suggest a place like Hilla, close to old Babylon and a reminder of the golden days of old. A place that can become a great tourist resort to visit scenes from antiquity.
2. Electrify the country with a new power grid, gas or oil powered generator stations cooled by the Tigris or Euphrates rivers with a modern North- South 800kv main line . An REA type project to bring power to the rural areas
3. A new International airport built 10 + miles outside the city which will attract supporting industries that gravitate toward such a place.
4. Reconstruct parts of old Babylon, establish a Hilla- Hilton complete with hanging gardens and such, get Disney planners into the act for an amusement area.
Iraq has a huge chance here, we will stay around so they dont blow the opportunity completely.
Hilla
What future do you depict?
Sig@newempireorbust.com
Iraq's southern city of Hilla is home to nearly half a million people.
About 60 Km to the south of Hilla is the holy city of Najaf, where lies the Shrine of the Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib with
its resplendent golden dome and minarets. Great quantities of priceless objects, gifts of potentates and sultans,
are treasured in the mosque.
Ezekiel's Tomb is mentioned in a number of medieval Jewish sources as being located at a village 20 miles south
of Hilla in central Iraq.
In 637 AD the decisive battle of the Arabian-Persian War was fought at Kadisiya, near the present Hilla. The
growing power of the Arabian Moslems made certain a showdown clash with the empire of Sassanian Persia, to
the east. The Persian moved first. In the spring of 637, Rustam, regent for Yazdegerd III, took an army of about
100,000 men across the Euphrates River to Kadisiya in Iraq. Expecting the Persian attack, Caliph Omar I sent
forth 30,000 Arabian cavalrymen under Sa'ad ibn-Abi-Waqqas. The Persian army disintegrated, taking terrible
losses from the Arabians, who gave no quarter.
In March 1991 government forces temporarily lost control of major cities and towns in northern and southern
Iraq. On 13 March 1991 the execution of sixty civilians suspected of armed activity against government forces
was carried out publicly by a firing squad in Saddam Square, the main city square of al-Hilla. On 16 March 1991
at al- Mahawil Garrison near the city of al-Hilla between 150 - 170 men and boys from the Shi'a community were
shot dead. Others were reportedly thrown to their death from the top floor of al-Hilla Hospital on 9 March 1991,
or pushed into the Tigris River and Shat al-'Arab waterway with weights tied to their feet. Victims' bodies were
said to have been dragged through the streets or left hanging from electricity pylons to terrorize the local
population. Members of the armed forces from al-Hilla who refused to fight against their own people when
government forces entered the city were executed.
Babylon
Babylon lies 90 Kilometers south of Baghdad, and 10 Kilometers north of Hilla the road to Babylon branches of
the main Baghdad-Hilla highway. Heavy traffic flows on a four-lane road, which becomes two lanes without any
slowing of traffic speeds. Terraces and green gardens flourish behind walls, palm fronds sticking up like plants
growing in giant, square pots. Army posts frequently block roads, always with armed soldiers halting traffic for
inspections.
In the fertile Mesopotamian plain between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, in what is now modern Iraq, is a
mound, or tell, of broken mud-brick buildings and debris. This is all that remains of the ancient famed city of
Babylon. Historical resources inform us that Babylon was in the beginning a small town that had sprang up by
the beginning of the third millennium BC (the dawn of the dynasties). The town flourished and attained notable
prominence and political repute with the rise of the first Babylonian dynasty.
The number of temples that were put up at that time is said to have amounted to (1179) of various sizes and
statuses. In addition a number of (153) other temples of a larger size and more sumptuous were also built and
dedicated to the names of the greater gods. Among these, there are four mentioned viz.; the temple of
“Nanmakh” meaning the great lady, and the temples of “Ishtar”, “Babylon” and “Mardukh”.
Babylon was a small town came into being in the beginning of the third millennium BC (era of dawn dynasties).
It flourished by establishing the first Babylonian dynasty, which was founded by the Babylonian Prince Semo
Abem in 1894 BC. In his reign, temples, palaces and walls were built, including as Nen Makh temple (The great
lady), Ishtar temple, Baboo temple and Mardoukh temple. 11 kings ruled Babylon in the First Babylonian
dynasty; the most famous king was Hammurabi who ruled for 42 years (1792-1750 BC). He was one of the
kings who worked on unifying Iraq and keeping its safety. He also took a great interest in irrigation system,
economic as well as religious affairs, and ustice among people. He was further known for his famous code of
laws, which was the first legislation in the human history. It included 282 items.
From the first Babylonian dynasty eleven kings ruled Babylon, the most famous and illustrious of whom was King
Hammurabi. He ruled Babylon for 42 years (1792-1750 BC). During his rule Hammurabi was able to consolidate
and entrench the foundations of his kingdom. He triumphed over all the small statelets and is thereby
considered among the first and foremost kings who exerted their efforts to unify Iraq and establish firmly its
security. Hammurabi also paid great attention to matters of irrigation as well as the religious, economic and
justice affairs of the state and people.
Hammurabi’s name and fame especially shined in his renowned code of laws, which is deemed to be the first
positive code of laws to be recorded in the history of humanity. The code included 282 legal items divided into
three fields that began with a preamble and ended with a conclusion.
Babylon was further ruled by several other dynasties the last of which ruled in the later or modern era of
Babylon and endured for about one century. The period of King Nebuchadnezzar II (604-562 BC) is among the
distinguished periods of reign in the ancient history of Iraq in particular and the ancient history of the middle
east in general.
Among the more important works of King Nebuchadnezzar II is that he continued his conquests east and west
and established an empire that was the strongest known in history. He made great efforts to rebuild and
improve the city of Babylon and expand it. During his reign the area of the city of Babylon amounted to more
than 10,000000m2 with a parameter of 18 kms. He surrounded the city with two walls, the outer one actually
consisting of three walls. The thickness of the first one which was built of clay amounted to seven meters. The
second was built of bricks and had a thickness of seven meters too. The third was also built of bricks and had a
thickness of three meters.
Defensive towers were built all along the outer wall which itself was surrounded by a moat filled with water. The
inner wall consisted of two rows or walls both of bricks with defensive towers in between. There were a great
many buildings inside the wall of which some relics still stand. Among the still surviving buildings are the
Southern Palace, the Northern Palace, Ishtar Gate, the Procession Street and the Babylon Tower. There is in the
city of Babylon eight main gates (including those of Mardukh and Ishtar) in addition to the Lion of Babylon and
the residential quarters.
In execution of the order of President Saddam Hussein the Southern Palace has been rebuilt and with it also the
walls of the Procession Street and several temples. A Babylonian theater has been built with tourism facilities.
Three mounts have been put up one bearing the name of Saddam along with vast lakes, gardens and orchards.
Babylon was ruled by many dynasties, the last one was the Modern Babylonian era dynasty that lasted for
almost one century. Nabukhuthnusar II era was the most distinguished eras in the history of ancient east in
general and one of the most powerful empires in history. He worked on enlarging Babylon. He surrounded it by
two great walls. The outside wall consists of three smaller walls. The thickness of the two smaller walls, is 7
meters but the third one is 3 meters. Around the outside walls are security towers and in front of it lies a trench,
whereas, the inside wall is built of two walls. Inside the wall there are great buildings like the Southern palace,
Northern Palace, Ishtar Gate, Al-Mawkeb Street, and Babylon Tower.
Hammurabi made Babylon one of the great cities of the ancient world. Archaeologists have discovered that in his
city the streets were laid out in straight lines that intersect approximately at right angles, an innovation that
bears witness to city planning and strong central government.
There were 24 streets in Babylon, running either parallel to the river or at a right angle to it. These streets were
narrow, irregular, ranging from about four to twenty feet in width with high windowless walls on each side. The
streets were not paved, with the exception of the Processional Way, but instead created with raw earth.
Streets provided access to houses, temples, and public buildings. They also carried the burden of becoming the
dumping grounds for the city. The citizens of Babylon, not unlike those of Renaissance England, threw their
garbage and filth into the streets. Then, they covered it up with layers of clay. As a result, the streets of Babylon
began to rise, and eventually, houses needed to be built on higher ground.
The street known to the Babylonians as Aibur-shabu (the enemy shall never pass) was the name of the road
leading from the north to the Ishtar gate. It was a broad paved road that ran for 200m between high walls (the
eastern wall of the northern palace and the western side of the eastern outer bastion).
The most famous street was the "Processional Way" which ran along the eastern side of the southern palace,
through the Ishtar gate and outside the inner town to a special festival house called the Bit Akitu situated to
the north. The road climbs gently upwards towards gate. Center of the roadway was laid with huge flagstones
of limestone, either side were slabs of reb beccia veined with white, each paving stone has an inscription of
Nebuchadnezzar's dedication. On leaving the gate, the Processional Way goes past the Southern Palace,
sloping downwards then some 900m south turns west between the ziggurat enclosure and the Marduk temple
towards the Euphrates bridge built by both Nabonidus and Nebuchadnezzar.
The way was lined with figures of some 120 lions, the symbol of Ishtar in molded glazed bricks. The lions on the
Ishtar gate have a dark blue background. They were either white with yellow mane or yellow with red manes
(now weathered to green).
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon are alluded to in many ancient historical texts, but it is the one Wonder which
we are unsure even existed. Current day archeologists are still examining the evidence and trying to determine
if and where these Gardens existed. The oldest and best historical reference to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon
comes from the third century BC, written by a priest of Babylon named Berosus. He wrote an ancient document
called the Babylonica, which is a wonderfully extensive document about many aspects of ancient Babylonian life.
His source materials were ancient Babylonian cuneiform records, which he studied and interpreted. Cuneiform
tablets were clay plaques into which the written language of Babylonian cuneiform was pressed using writing
utensils made from reeds. In his historical documents, Berosus wrote about Babylonian astronomy, the history
of the city, the ancient creation myths and the great Epic of Gilgamesh. He listed the dynasties of kings and the
countries they ruled; and he also gave the most accurate record of the great Nebuchadnezzar's rule during his
many years as King. The appeal of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon lies with the human desire to return to the
simple and exquisite life in the Garden of Eden, a life of Earthly Paradise. The myth of an original Garden with
perfumed trees and luscious fruits, birds and animal life, and rivers of life giving waters is common to many faiths
including Christianity, Judaism and Islam. This mystical and peaceful Paradise holds a fascination for the peoples
of all ages and cultures, and which helps us to understand the allure of the first Wonder, the Hanging Gardens
of Babylon.
Babylon was one of a number of cities built by a succession of peoples that lived on the plain starting around
5,500 years ago. There developed a tradition in each city of building a temple in the shape of a stepped
pyramid. These temples, or ziggurats, most likely honored a particular god. The people of Mesopotamia believed
in many gods and often a city might have several ziggurats. Over time Babylon became the most influential city
on the plain and its ziggurat, honoring the god Marduk, was built, destroyed and rebuilt until it was the tallest
tower.
Archaeologists examining the remains of the city of Babylon have found what appears to be the foundation of
the tower: a square of earthen embankments some 300 feet on each side. The tower's most splendid
incarnation was probably under King Nebuchadnezzar II who lived from 605-562 BC. The King rebuilt the tower
to stand 295 feet high. According to an inscription made by the King the tower was constructed of "baked brick
enameled in brilliant blue." The terraces of the tower may have also been planted with flowers and trees.
Constructing ziggurats on the Mesopotamian plain was not easy. The area lacks the stone deposits the
Egyptians used effectively for their timeless monuments. The wood available is mostly palm, not the best for
construction, so the people used what they had in abundance: mud and straw. The bulk of the towers were
constructed of crude bricks made by mixing chopped straw with clay and pouring the results into molds. After
the bricks were allowed to bake in the sun they were joined in construction by using bitumen, a slimy material
imported from the Iranian plateau. |
