Babylon, the Glorious Ancient Mesopotamian Capital

Babylon was the name of the capital of Babylonia, one of several city-states in Mesopotamia. Our modern name for the city is a version of the  ancient Akkadian name for it: Bab Ilani or Gate of the Gods. Babylons ruins are located in what is today Iraq, near the modern town of Hilla and on the eastern bank of the Euphrates river. People first lived at Babylon at least as long ago as the late 3rd millennium BC, and it became the political center of southern Mesopotamia beginning in the 18th century, during the reign of Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC). Babylon maintained its importance as a city for an astounding 1,500 years, until around 300 BC. Hammurabis City A Babylonian description of the ancient city, or rather a list of the names of the city and its temples, is found in the cuneiform text called Tintir Babylon, so named because its first sentence translates to something like Tintir is a name of Babylon, on which glory and jubilation are bestowed. This document is a compendium of Babylons significant architecture, and it was probably compiled about 1225 BC, during the era of Nebuchadnezzar I. Tintir lists 43 temples, grouped by the quarter of the city in which they were located, as well as city-walls, waterways, and streets, and a definition of the ten city quarters. What else we know of the ancient Babylonian city comes from archaeological excavations. German archaeologist Robert Koldewey  dug a huge pit 21 meters [70 feet] deep into the tell discovering the Esagila temple in the early 20th century. It wasnt until the 1970s when a joint Iraqi-Italian team led by Giancarlo Bergamini revisited the deeply buried ruins. But, apart from that, we dont know a lot about Hammurabis city, because it was destroyed in the ancient past. Babylon Sacked According to cuneiform writings, Babylons rival Assyrian king Sennacherib sacked the city in 689 BC. Sennacherib bragged that he razed all the buildings and dumped the rubble into the Euphrates River. Over the next century, Babylon was reconstructed by its Chaldean rulers, who followed the old city plan. Nebuchadnezzar II (604-562) conducted a massive reconstruction project and left his signature on many of Babylons buildings. It is Nebuchadnezzars city that dazzled the world, beginning with the admiring reports of Mediterranean historians. Nebuchadnezzars City Nebuchadnezzars Babylon was enormous, covering an area of some 900 hectares (2,200 acres): it was the largest city in the Mediterranean region until imperial Rome. The city lay within a large triangle measuring 2.7x4x4.5 kilometers (1.7x2.5x2.8 miles), with one edge formed by the bank of the Euphrates and the other sides made up of walls and a moat. Crossing the Euphrates and intersecting the triangle was the walled rectangular (2.75x1.6 km or 1.7x1 mi) inner city, where most of the major monumental palaces and temples were located. The major streets of Babylon all led to that central location. Two walls and a moat surrounded the inner city and one or more bridges connected the eastern and western parts. Magnificent gates allowed entry to the city: more of that later. Temples and Palaces At the center was the main sanctuary of Babylon: in Nebuchadnezzars day, it contained 14 temples. The most impressive of these was the Marduk Temple Complex, including the Esagila (The House Whose Top is High) and its massive ziggurat, the Etemenanki (House/Foundation of Heaven and the Underworld). The Marduk Temple was surrounded by a wall pierced with seven gates, protected by the statues of dragons made from copper. The ziggurat, located across an 80 m (260 ft) wide street from the Marduk Temple, was also surrounded by high walls, with nine gates also protected by copper dragons. The main palace at Babylon, reserved for official business, was the Southern Palace, with an enormous throne room, decorated with lions and stylized trees. The Northern Palace, thought to have been the Chaldean rulers residence, had lapis-lazuli glazed reliefs. Found within its ruins was a collection of much older artifacts, collected by the Chaldeans from various places around the Mediterranean. The Northern Palace was considered a possible candidate for the Hanging Gardens of Babylon; although evidence has not been found and a more likely location outside of Babylon has been identified (see Dalley). Babylons Reputation In the Christian Bibles  Book of Revelation  (ch. 17), Babylon was described as Babylon the great, mother of harlots and of earths abominations, making it the epitome of evil and decadence everywhere. This was a bit of religious propaganda to which the preferred cities of  Jerusalem  and Rome were compared and warned against becoming. That notion dominated western thought until late 19th-century German excavators brought home parts of the ancient city and installed them in a museum in Berlin, including the marvelous dark-blue Ishtar gate with its bulls and dragons. Other historians marvel at the citys amazing size. The Roman historian  Herodotus  [~484-425 BC] wrote about Babylon in the first book of his  Histories  (chapters 178-183), although scholars argue about whether Herodotus actually saw Babylon or just heard about it. He described it as a vast city, much much larger than the archaeological evidence shows, claiming that the city walls stretched a circumference of some 480 stadia (90 km). The 5th-century Greek historian Ctesias, who probably did actually visit in person, said the city walls stretched 66 km (360 stadia).  Aristotle  described it as a city that has the size of a nation. He reports that when  Cyrus the Great  captured the outskirts of the city, it took three days for the news to reach the center. The Tower of Babel According to Genesis in the Judeo-Christian Bible, the  Tower of Babel  was built in an attempt to reach heaven. Scholars believe that the massive Etemenanki ziggurat was the inspiration for the legends. Herodotus reported that the ziggurat had a solid central tower with eight tiers. The towers could be climbed by way of an exterior spiral staircase, and about half-way up there was a place to rest. On the 8th tier of the Etemenanki ziggurat was a great temple with a large, richly decorated couch and beside it stood a golden table. No one was allowed to spend the night there, said Herodotus, except one specially selected Assyrian woman. The ziggurat was dismantled by  Alexander the Great  when he conquered Babylon in the 4th century BC. City Gates The Tintir Babylon tablets list the city gates, which all had evocative nicknames, such as the Urash gate, The Enemy is Abhorrent to it, the Ishtar gate Ishtar overthrows its Assailant and the Adad gate O Adad, Guard the Life of the Troops. Herodotus says there were 100 gates in Babylon: archaeologists have only found eight in the inner city, and the most impressive of those was the Ishtar gate, built and rebuilt by Nebuchadnezzar II, and currently on display at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin. To get to the Ishtar Gate, the visitor walked for some 200 m (650 ft) between two high walls decorated with bas-reliefs of 120 striding lions. The lions are brightly colored and the background is a striking glazed lapis lazuli dark blue. The tall gate itself, also dark blue, depicts 150 dragons and bulls, symbols of the protectors of the city, Marduk and Adad. Babylon and Archaeology The archaeological site of Babylon has been excavated by a number of people, most notably by  Robert Koldewey  beginning in 1899. Major excavations ended in 1990. Many cuneiform tablets were collected from the city in the 1870s and 1880s, by  Hormuzd Rassam  of the British Museum. The Iraqi Directorate of Antiquities conducted work at Babylon between 1958 and the onset of the Iraq war in the 1990s. Other recent work was conducted by a German team in the 1970s and an Italian one from the University of Turin in the 1970s and 1980s. Heavily damaged by the Iraq/US war, Babylon has recently been investigated by researchers of the  Centro Ricerche Archeologiche e Scavi di Torino  at the University of Turin using QuickBird and satellite imagery to quantify and monitor the ongoing damage. Sources Much of the information about Babylon here is summarized from Marc Van de Mieroops 2003 article in the American Journal of Archaeology for the later city; and George (1993) for the Babylon of Hammurabi. Brusasco P. 2004. Theory and practice in the study of Mesopotamian domestic space.  Antiquity  78(299):142-157.Dalley S. 1993.  Ancient Mesopotamian gardens and the identification of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon resolved.  Garden History  21(1):1-13.George AR. 1993.  Babylon revisited: archaeology and philology in harness.  Antiquity  67(257):734-746.Jahjah M, Ulivieri C, Invernizzi A, and Parapetti R. 2007.  Archaeological remote sensing application pre-postwar situation of Babylon archaeological site—Iraq.  Acta Astronautica 61:121–130.Reade J. 2000.  Alexander the Great and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.  Iraq  62:195-217.Richard S. 2008. ASIA, WEST |  Archaeology of the Near East: The Levant. In: Pearsall DM, editor.  Encyclopedia of Archaeology. New York: Academic Press. p 834-848.Ur J. 2012. Southern Mesopotamia. In: Potts DT, editor.  A Companion to the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. p 533-555.Va n de Mieroop M. 2003.  Reading Babylon.  American Journal of Archaeology  107(2):254-275.

Romeo And Juliet Argumentative Essay - 812 Words

Romeo and Juliet Argumentative Paper Have you ever heard of a story about two lovers who commit suicide because of a secret that was kept to keep them together? In the book Romeo and Juliet , by William Shakespeare, is about two lovers who come from two families who are enemies. The two fell in love and their parents refuse to let them marry each other. At the end both the lovers die. This connects to my topic because of one secret that was kept to save them killed six people. Even though some may believe otherwise, there are times when secrets must be told so it doesnt lead to more problems. There are times when secrets must be told because it causes deaths. Romeo, son of Montague, and Juliet, daughter of capulet get†¦show more content†¦First, because of Friar Lawrence kept the plan as a secret. Romeo thought Juliet was dead and kills himself. After that Juliet saw Romeo dead she kisses him then she stabs herself then She dies. This one secret cost Romeo’s and Juliet’s lives. Second, this secret caused problems by taking Romeo’s and Juliet’s lives. Others may say, secrets must be kept because they can hurt people. In an article by Irene Van, says that you can keep secrets about family and friends. Irene Van says, â€Å" Gossip about family or friends unless this is about something that worries you, in / which case you should tell a adult you trust† (Van.II). This proves that, Irene Van believes that secrets about family and friends should be kept because it can really hurt your friends feelings. Second, this could be true because if I tell my friend one of my secrets, I trust this person. If he or she is going to go and tell my secret to someone, I am not going to tell he/she any secrets. However, on the other hand, in the same article Irene Van says that any kind of touch should not be kept as a secret. Irene Van says, â€Å" Secrets that are not safe to keep:/ Any kind of touch† (Van.II). First, I would tell my parents if this happens to me be cause if I tell this secret to my friends, and they spread it, it would hurt me. Second, this can lead to more problems if I kept this as a secret from my parents because, the same thing will continue if I don’t takeShow MoreRelatedRomeo And Juliet Argumentative Essay756 Words   |  4 PagesRomeo and Juliet Argumentative Essay William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is set in 16th century Verona, Italy. A play that relays the story of two young lovers whose ill-fated deaths end an ancient family feud. The two lovers, Romeo and Juliet, come from families who disapprove of their love. Their situation complicates as the play progresses, with an arranged marriage and several deaths. Romeo and Juliet both fall to the consequences of their secret marriage. Even from the beginning, theirRead MoreThe Senseless Couple: Romeo and Juliets Tragedy1157 Words   |  5 PagesIs love worth it all? 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Disclosure issues- voluntary versus mandatory Free Essays

string(101) " It looks back in time and reports the results of events and transaction that already have occurred\." Now a day’s most of the companies are trying to find out ways to attract as much capital as possible. With the continuation to wards market globalisation the urge to introduce harmonise global accounting standards have been increased. In order to attract larger amount of capital in the different regions of the world it is important for the companies to present the information in the financial statements, which is understandable by a diverse group of people. We will write a custom essay sample on Disclosure issues- voluntary versus mandatory or any similar topic only for you Order Now Most of the world organisations are trying to find out ways towards the general standards. The formation of IASC in 1973, was the result of such efforts by different countries including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, UK and US. This international body has issued more than 30 International Accounting Standards and has given a general presentation of the framework of the preparation and information availability of information in the financial statements. Although the organisation has adopted English as its formal language but the standards are translated into many other languages used in the world to make them understandable by as many people as possible. The main hindrance in the way of the use of common standards between the nations is that they are not legally imposed. The use of International Accounting Standards is a voluntary act of the countries. (Taylor Pincus, 2002; p. 39) 2. Definition of Risk: Smith (1999) defines risk as a decision expressed by a range or possible outcomes with attached probabilities. When there is a range of possible outcomes but no assumed probabilities, there is only uncertainty (ibid. ). Hertz Thomas (1984) have suggested that â€Å". Risk means uncertainty and the results of uncertainty†¦ risk refers to a lack of predictability about problem structure, outcomes or consequences in a decision or planning situation. † Risk is defined, as a bad notion is the most important stimulants for life. Uncertainty, far from being a symptom of imperfection, is in fact a natural property of economics, indeed, probably of all life systems . . .. Uncertainty is the name of the game in the service economy. (Giarini, 2000) According to (Feynman, 1998) it is in the admission of ignorance and the admission of uncertainty that there is hope for the continuous motion of human beings in some direction that doesn’t get confined, permanently blocked, as it has so many times before in various periods in the history of man. † Adams (1995) defines risk as the â€Å"balancing act† in which the actors â€Å"balance the expected rewards of their actions against the perceived costs of failure† in a world in which both it and our perceptions of it are constantly being transformed by our effect on the world and its effect on us. In a ISO/TMB Risk Management Terminology Paper (1999) risk is defined as combination of the probability of an event and its negative or positive consequences,† The royal Society (1983) defined risk as â€Å"a particular adverse event occurs during a stated period of time, or results from a particular challenge. † Importance of Risk Disclosure: Murphy (1999) sees Financial reporting and financial statements in particular can be thought of as a lens through which one could view a business. Financial reporting provides a broader view of the business than that provided by financial statements only. In other words, financial reporting encompassed financial statements, but it is not limited to financial statements. It is assumed that by providing information that meets the needs of investors and creditors, the company also meet the information needs of other external parties, it would be able to provide superior information if it treated each potential group of external users separately and prepared different information for each group. This approach is impractical, however, and the company instead out for preparing what is referred to as general-purpose information that we believe is useful to multiple user groups. With the change in the economic environment the list of factors of production has included intangible assets such as information and knowledge. The intangible assets are replacing the old sets of assets. â€Å"In order to keep on delivering profits the business must keep on investing in different projects in order to improve their organizational capabilities. These investments improve the capabilities of the business to respond to the customer demands, the external contacts of business reduces the risks attached to the products, internal integration improve the productivity of organization continuous experimenting not only improve the value creation but also enhance the image of the organization in business. These investments are very important for the businesses to survive it is necessary to measure the cost, inventory, space and quality savings measured by traditional capital budgeting systems. Most of the traditional accounting techniques measure the future flow of income by undertaking an investment which is not easy to calculate since the stream of income is expected to increase in future and the managers cannot decide to assign the right value to the future benefit. Rather than that it is easier to the calculate investment. This is due to the difficulty the future organisation face in calculating the future benefits; most organisations normally do not undertake new investments. (Enterweb, 2005) The use of intangible assets has created difficulties on the other hand also. People believe in what they see. The process of interaction of ideas and assets has been revolutionised. Developing trust and understanding with stakeholders is very important in order to turn knowledge in value. Today, the companies are required to report the performances not only on financial basis but also should under cover the issues such as vision, strategy, risks, value drivers, KPIs etc. The founders of the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP), Lev Borodovsky and Marc Lore, wrote in Risk Professional, â€Å"no matter what types of methods are used, the key to risk management is delivering risk information, in a timely and succinct fashion, while ensuring that key decision makers have the time, the tools, and the incentive to act upon it. † (Lev Lore, 1997) Externally reported financial information is largely historical in nature. It looks back in time and reports the results of events and transaction that already have occurred. You read "Disclosure issues- voluntary versus mandatory" in category "Papers" While historical information is very useful in assessing the future, the information itself is more about the past than it is about the future. A comparison of the historical trends with the future trends can be found helpful in better understanding of the information by the shareholders and other related people. (Financial Economists Roundtable, 1996) The improvement in public scrutiny and controlled market discipline is largely dependent upon the meaningful and accurate disclosure of information. This not only helps the shareholders but also helps the organisation to conduct business in a safe and efficient manner by achieving their targets through improving their risk management processes. The researchers find many gaps in the appropriate disclosure of risk by the organisations. Many surveys have been conducted, a wide variety of studies and interviews from the information users and shareholders have pointed out towards gaps in the currently disclosed information. The demand of provision of accurate and timely information is increasing. Business reporting effect people from every work of life an effective allocation of resources strengthens an economy by promoting productivity, innovations and an efficient and liquid market. Adequate information plays an important role in reporting the risks and opportunities of investing in business venture. To make effective decisions people need accurate information. The completeness and timeliness of information enhances the probability of taking the most appropriate decisions by the investors. Perhaps the foremost social and ethical responsibility levied upon private and public organisation in recent decades is the adoption of fair and just accounting practices. This responsibility is being increasingly codified in laws and various accounting standards. Its influence is becoming increasingly pervasive through a constant series of new and improved standards as well as steady enlargement in the size and scope of administering agencies. The voluntary disclosure of information by the companies will lead to the competitive advantage for the company in the market and will provide help to gain enormous amounts of capital all over the world. US Regulations for Risk disclosure: The US GAAP was founded in 1930 after one year of the historical depression in the US stock market in 1929. Till 1934 the companies kept on disclosing the information voluntarily. SEC was established in 1934 with the authority to establish the accounting standards but also to make sure that these standards are used in the preparation of the disclosures. Since the issue was very complex the private sector also started assisting the SEC in 1938 in order to settle the accounting standards. The most important and unique characteristic of the US GAAP is that its strength is tested in the market in which retail investors with banks and entrepreneurs invest. Now FASB is responsible to set US accounting standards. The ultimate responsibility of protecting the interest of the financial information users lies on SEC and it is fulfilling its functions since decades by constantly forming and developing set of accounting standards according to changing needs. A history of 70 years of interpretation and implementation of US GAAP in different industries has make it one of the most reliable and applicable set of standards. This application of 70 years has helped the accounting practitioners and professionals in filling the gaps and flaws in these standards which has not make them perfect but improved their reliability and tested their strength. The main hurdle in the way of adoption of IFRS for US is that the application and strength of IFRS is not tested for as long as the US GAAP. IFRS are relatively newly developed as compare to US GAAP. The decision to change the US GAAP into the IFRS cannot be taken in a snapshot the process will be time taking, as a huge change is needed to be brought. The EU adoption of the IFRS was very steady and easier as compare to the US. This is because the unification of 25 countries in a union with different economic, cultural and social background is a big task in itself hence the change of accounting standards is a relatively important but small part of it. Despite all the differences in the financial market environment the U. S see the implementation of the IFRS as an opportunity to implement and introduce the better standards to improve the creditors accessibility. The process of convergence has started of the U. S GAAP in the IFRS, which will come to success if mutual consensus will be developed. The cutting edge IFRS has that they have prepared by the most experienced and brilliant accounting professionals but has a negative point of not having a long history of implementation and strength testing. International Accounting Standards: In the January of the year 2006 the accounts of all the listed companies shifted to the International Financial Reporting Standards. Under the International Financial Reporting standards all the listed companies should present their fair information regarding the company’s financial position, performance and cash flows. Despite the pressure from the International accounting agencies, some of the Governments are still reluctant to impose International accounting standards in their stock markets. Although there are big differences in the accounting standards in most of the economies of the world but the main aim of all the accounting systems is to ensure fair and transparent corporate governance and financial reporting. The adoption of the International standards will lead to decrease in the accounting scandals and increase the adoption of common standard all over the world. Conclusion: Degree of Information varies largely from institution to institution. The amount of information made available to the shareholders largely depends upon the volume of financial instruments and the type of financial instruments used by the company. It is estimated that the shareholders of a financial institution is more required to have the risk related information as compare to that of the shareholder of an industrial company. Financial risks are the important part of the financial business operations on the other hands it is generally a by-product of an industrial company’s daily business. At the very minimum, a company should keep shareholders informed about the types of financial instruments used and their purposes. It must make a distinction between instruments that are used for hedging and those that are not, as well as the relevant accounting policies. It should disclose the notional principal of these instruments, their maturity, cash requirements, market value and credit risk. It should also tell shareholders how the firm monitors the values of these instruments. Where possible, firms should also disclose the firm’s market risks; if quantitative information is not possible then a qualitative discussion should be included. (13 Questions on Risk Management) How to cite Disclosure issues- voluntary versus mandatory, Papers