The Neo-Babylonian Empire, 600–539 B.C.E.

The Chaldeans seized the lion’s share of territory. Originating among semi-nomadic herders along the Persian Gulf, the Chaldeans had by 600 B.C.E. established the Neo-Babylonian Empire. The Neo-Babylonians increased the splendor of Babylon, rebuilding the great temple of Marduk, the chief god, and constructing an elaborate city gate dedicated to the goddess Ishtar. Blue-glazed bricks and lions molded in yellow, red, and white decorated the gate’s walls, which soared thirty-six feet high.

The Neo-Babylonians preserved much Mesopotamian literature, such as the Epic of Gilgamesh. They also created many new works of prose and poetry, which the educated minority would often read aloud publicly to the illiterate. Particularly popular were fables, proverbs, essays, and prophecies teaching morality and proper behavior. This so-called wisdom literature, a tradition going back at least to the Egyptian Old Kingdom, was a Near Eastern tradition that was also prominent in the religious writings of the Israelites.

The Neo-Babylonians passed their knowledge to others outside their region. Their advances in astronomy became so influential that the Greeks later used the word Chaldean to mean “astronomer.” The primary motivation for observing the stars was the belief that the gods communicated their will to humans through natural phenomena like celestial movements and eclipses. (Other such phenomena included abnormal births, patterns of smoke curling upward from a fire, and the trails of ants.)