See History Through Civilization - Babylon

See Babylon’s history through Civilization VI

Series introduction

This series uses Civilization VI, a history-based game, to explain the historical background and stories behind each civilization. It is not chronological; it just supplements knowledge in a scattered way.

These are posts I wrote for my high school class account and republished on my personal blog.

Civilization VI introduction

Civilization VI is a historical turn-based strategy game developed by Firaxis Games and published by 2K. Players build an empire and stand the test of time. You guide your civilization from the Stone Age to the Information Age and try to become a world leader. Along the way, you wage wars, conduct diplomacy, promote culture, and face many historical leaders.

Last time we talked about Qin Shi Huang. Today we continue with Babylon, one of the four ancient civilizations.

See Hammurabi’s Babylon through Civilization

Hammurabi was the sixth king of the Babylonian Empire (reigned around 1792-1750 BC by the middle chronology or 1728-1686 BC by the short chronology).

Babylon here refers to Old Babylon (around 1894-1595 BC), located on the Mesopotamian plain about 4,000 years ago. People formed states and kingdoms there. It was one of the four ancient civilizations, located in the land between the rivers.

We can learn a lot from the overview above.

Quote: Your golden words are the supreme code. You follow the code, and your empire will mirror it.

Here the code clearly refers to the Code of Hammurabi. It is the earliest known complete written law code. The laws were carved on a black stone stele. Its content is broad and clearly reflects Old Babylonian society. It shows three strict social classes: free citizens with civic rights, free people without civic rights, and slaves. Slavery was highly developed in Old Babylon. War captives were the main source, and slavery was also traded. Domestic slavery was a major feature. Male heads of households held power over slaves and absolute authority over wives and children, and could even send wives and children to repay debts.

The code also contains many rules about leasing, employment, exchange, and loans, showing an active commodity economy. The Code of Hammurabi is a precious cultural legacy of the Babylonian Kingdom, showing the long history of legal tradition in human society.

Quote: Your empire will mirror it. To you, the world is a complex web of alliances, opportunities, and risks.

As mentioned before, Eureka in Civilization VI is a way to speed up science research. Babylon’s ability does not just speed it up – it grants the technology outright.

Speaking of Babylon, we have to talk about its science and technology.

Under two great rulers, Babylon became the capital of the ninth satrapy. It was also a center of learning and scientific progress. Under the Persian Achaemenids, Babylonian astronomy and mathematics revived and flourished. Babylonian scholars completed star charts. The city was the administrative capital of the Persian Empire, the strongest power known at the time. It played a major role for more than two centuries. Many important archaeological discoveries have given us a better understanding of that era.

Speaking of Babylon, we must mention the Hanging Gardens.

The Hanging Gardens are the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World whose exact location has not been found. Existing Babylonian texts do not mention the gardens, and no clear archaeological evidence has been found in Babylon. The Hanging Gardens are said to have used multi-level landscaping, with gardens placed on four terraces built of asphalt and brick. The terraces were supported by 25-meter-high columns, and there was an irrigation system where slaves continually turned handles connected to gears. The gardens were filled with flowers and trees, and from a distance they looked like a garden suspended in the air.

PS: The city growth here means a 15 percent surplus food increase, so this wonder is not that strong.

Quote: Build an empire, weigh carefully, and unify the Mesopotamian plain.

Although Hammurabi often went out for military campaigns, he still maintained remote control of the state, which kept him closely connected to the rapidly expanding empire. By the end of his 42-year reign, he controlled all of southern Mesopotamia. The city of Babylon was established as the imperial capital, becoming the center of wealth and power on the Mesopotamian plain. After Hammurabi’s era, Babylon was captured by the Assyrians, who reshaped warfare in Mesopotamia. The Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III built a professional army from recruited peasants and assigned different units to different tasks (supply lines, communications, engineering, etc.). The Assyrian army used iron weapons while most of their contemporaries still used bronze. The main Assyrian strike force was terrifying. Assyrian kings repeatedly described themselves on monuments: “I destroyed violently, devastated violently, and burned everything to ashes.”

Quote: Canals

The Mesopotamian plain had a very complex relationship with water. Between the Tigris and Euphrates, with dry deserts and frequent floods, Babylonians had to learn how to control their rivers. They not only controlled them but guided the flow through small canals to irrigate exquisite gardens. Although the Hanging Gardens were not well documented as historians hoped, the Assyrian king Sennacherib did build luxurious gardens in Nineveh with canals and clever waterways. These channels often had different levels, cut through mountains and crossed valleys, allowing exotic trees like ebony and sandalwood to grow inside palaces. The canals were reinforced with large limestone blocks and controlled by special gates. The king was deeply proud of all this, and inscribed on clay tablets: “Above deep ravines, I built a bridge of white stone. These waters flowed swiftly below.” In the 20th century, the Yazidi people in Iraq still preserved the tradition of building delicate canals and waterways.

The fall of Babylon

Like many other regions around 500 BC, Babylon fell into the hands of Cyrus the Great of Persia. Under Cyrus II and Darius I, Babylon became the capital of the ninth satrapy and the administrative capital of the Persian Empire. It again became a city sought by scholars and artists. For two hundred years, it flourished. However, over time the city rebelled. The reason was rising taxes while improvements to people’s lives were scarce.

Extra content

As everyone knows, Civilization VI is not a competitive game, so balance is not its strength. The Babylon we discussed here is a pure tech-jump civilization.

The scary part is this ability: you can ignore the normal tech order and jump directly. You can even build planes without researching Printing. That leads to many possible playstyles. Here is the most brain-dead, outrageous conquest line.

Ok, we start a random map and settle on sugar.

We notice scouts and the main corps both cost 3 turns and have 3 movement. The main corps has extra strength, so clearly build the main corps first (ignoring era score).

There are not many trees, so I settle a coastal city. Then it is time to prepare for an “alien invasion.” The land is not great, so we just open with two ancient cities.

We use builders to open three mines, rush Apprenticeship, then both cities build industrial zones. Because of Hammurabi’s ability, the industrial zones immediately get workshops. Then we chop with Magnus to finish the industrial zone + workshop, and jump straight to Industrialization.