Mystery of World’s Oldest Babylonian Map Finally Solved

Imago Mundi, Babylonian oldest representation of the satellite yet solved. Credit: Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin / CC BY-SA 4.0

A caller video from the British Museum highlights the Imago Mundi, the oldest known satellite representation discovered connected a clay tablet from Babylon. The Babylonian oldest map, dating backmost to astir the seventh period BC, offers a fascinating glimpse into the beliefs and worldview of the Babylonians.

Researchers recovered the tablet successful the confederate Iraqi metropolis of Abu Habba, besides known arsenic Sippar. The British Museum has owned this important portion since 1882. For galore years, it remained a enigma until curators precocious uncovered a missing conception and decoded the writing.

Interpretation from the cuneiform tablet

The cuneiform tablet from the 6th period BC shows a bird’s-eye presumption of Mesopotamia, the country known arsenic the “land betwixt the rivers” successful modern Iraq. In summation to mapping this acquainted region, the tablet besides represents places the Babylonians thought existed extracurricular their contiguous knowledge.

On the backmost of the tablet and supra the map, determination are respective paragraphs written successful cuneiform. These picture the instauration of the Earth and what the scribe imagined existed beyond it.

Babylonians homeland astatine the halfway of the world

Researchers enactment that the circular diagram surrounding Mesopotamia indicates that the Babylonians viewed their homeland arsenic the halfway of the world. The representation prominently features the Euphrates River flowing done the region. A treble ringing encircles Mesopotamia, referred to by the past scribe arsenic the “bitter river.”

This stream marked the boundaries of the known satellite for the Babylonians. Inside the Bitter River, tiny circles and rectangles correspond assorted cities and tribes, including Babylon, portion different rectangle signifies the Euphrates.

Significance of the circular diagram

The Babylonian scribe did not lone map their surroundings. They besides included references to well-known stories, including their mentation of the biblical communicative of Noah’s Ark.

According to Babylonian belief, the remains of a monolithic ark built by their Noah, named Utnapishtim, were located connected the backside of a mountain. This upland is the aforesaid 1 mentioned successful the Bible arsenic the resting spot of Noah’s Ark, situated beyond the Bitter River.

British Museum curator and cuneiform adept Dr. Irving Finkel remarked connected this fascinating connection, noting that it illustrates however these stories influenced 1 another. “That’s rather a meaty thing, rather an absorbing happening to deliberation astir due to the fact that it shows that the communicative was the same, and of course, that 1 led to the other.”

Babylonian’s religion successful their creator

The tablet besides reveals the Babylonians’ religion successful their creator god, Marduk, on with their content successful mythical creatures. Among these are the scorpion-man and a lion-headed vertebrate known arsenic Anzu. This blend of geography and mythology showcases the affluent imaginativeness of the Babylonians and their analyzable knowing of the satellite astir them.