Construction of the Tower of Babel. What remains of the Tower of Babel? Where is the Tower of Babel
Tower of Babel- a legendary structure of antiquity, which was supposed to glorify its builders for centuries and challenge God. However, the daring plan ended in disgrace: having ceased to understand each other, people were unable to complete what they started. The tower was not completed and eventually collapsed.
Construction of the Tower of Babel. Story
The history of the tower is based on spiritual roots and reflects the state of society at a certain historical stage. Some time passed after the Flood and Noah's descendants became quite numerous. They were one people and spoke the same language. From the texts of the Holy Scriptures we can conclude that not all of Noah’s sons were like their father. The Bible briefly speaks of Ham's disrespect for his father and indirectly refers to the grave sin committed by Canaan (Ham's son). These circumstances alone show that some people did not learn lessons from the global catastrophe that occurred, but continued on the path of resistance to God. Thus the idea of a tower to heaven was born. The authoritative historian of antiquity Josephus Flavius reports that the idea of construction belonged to Nimrod, a strong and cruel ruler of that time. According to Nimrod, the construction of the Tower of Babel was supposed to show the power of united humanity and at the same time become a challenge to God.
This is what the Bible says about it. People came from the east and settled in the valley of Shinar (Mesopotamia: basin of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers). One day they said to each other: “... let's make bricks and burn them with fire. …let us build ourselves a city and a tower, its height reaching to heaven, and let us make a name for ourselves, before we are scattered over the face of all the earth” (Gen. 11:3,4). Many bricks were made from baked clay and construction began on the infamous tower, later called the Tower of Babel. One tradition claims that the construction of the city began first, while the other tells of the construction of a tower.
Construction began, and, according to some legends, the tower was built to a considerable height. However, these plans were not destined to come true. When the Lord came down to earth to “see the city and the tower,” He saw with regret that the true meaning of this undertaking was arrogance and a daring challenge to Heaven. In order to save people and prevent the spread of evil on such a scale as happened in the time of Noah, the Lord violated the unity of people: the builders stopped understanding each other, speaking in different languages. The city and the tower turned out to be unfinished, and the descendants of the sons of Noah dispersed to different lands, forming the peoples of the Earth. The descendants of Japheth went north and settled Europe, the descendants of Shem settled in southwest Asia, the descendants of Ham went south and settled in southern Asia, as well as in Africa. The descendants of Canaan (Son of Ham) settled Palestine, which is why it was later called the land of Canaan. The unfinished city received the name Babylon, which means “confusion”: “for there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth, and from there the Lord scattered them throughout all the earth.”
The Bible notes that the Tower of Babel was supposed to fulfill the insane task of the builders who decided to “make a name for themselves,” that is, to perpetuate themselves, to rally around a certain center. The idea to build a tower of unprecedented size “to the skies” spoke of a daring challenge to God, an unwillingness to live in accordance with His will. Finally, its creators hoped to take refuge in the tower in the event of a repeat of the Flood. Josephus Flavius described the motives for creating the tower this way: “Nimrod called the people to disobey the Creator. He advised building a tower higher than the water could rise if the Creator sent a flood again - and thereby take revenge on the Creator for the death of their ancestors. The crowd agreed, and they began to consider obedience to the Creator shameful slavery. They began to build the tower with great desire.”
The tower being erected was not an ordinary structure. At its core, it carried a hidden mystical meaning, behind which the personality of Satan was visible - a gloomy powerful creature who one day decided to lay claim to God’s throne and started a rebellion in Heaven among the angels. However, having been defeated by God, he and his overthrown supporters continued their activities on earth, tempting every person and wanting to destroy him. Invisibly behind King Nimrod was the same fallen cherub; the tower was for him another means of enslavement and destruction of humanity. That is why the Creator’s answer was so categorical and immediate. Construction of the Tower of Babel was stopped, and it itself was then destroyed to the ground.Since that time, this building began to be considered a symbol of pride, and its construction (pandemonium) - a symbol of crowds, destruction and chaos.
Where is the Tower of Babel located? Ziggurats
The historical authenticity of the Biblical story about the tower to heaven is now beyond doubt. It has been established that in many cities of that time on the coasts of the Tigris and Euphrates, majestic ziggurat towers were built, intended for the worship of deities. Such ziggurats consisted of several stepped tiers, tapering upward. On the flat top there was a sanctuary dedicated to one of the deities. A stone staircase led upstairs, along which a procession of priests ascended during services to music and chants. The grandest ziggurats ever discovered was found in Babylon. Archaeologists excavated the foundation of the structure and the lower part of its walls. Many scientists believe that this ziggurat is the Tower of Babel described in the Bible. In addition, descriptions of this tower on cuneiform tablets (including the name - Etemenanki), as well as its drawing, have been preserved. It was found that it was recovering from destruction. The found tower, according to available data, included seven to eight tiers, and the height estimated by archaeologists was ninety meters. However, there is an opinion that this tower is a later version, and the original had incomparably larger dimensions. Talmudic traditions say that height of the Tower of Babel reached such a level that a brick falling from above would fly down for a whole year. Of course, this should hardly be taken literally, but we may be talking about values an order of magnitude greater than scientists assume. Indeed, the found tower was obviously a fully completed structure, while the structure described in the Bible, according to legend, was never completed.
Babylonian myth of the Tower of Babel
The tradition that the Bible conveys to us is not the only one. A similar theme is present in the legends of peoples living in different parts of the Earth. And although the legends about the Tower of Babel are not as numerous as, for example, about the Flood, there are still quite a lot of them and they are the same in meaning.
Thus, the legend of the pyramid in the city of Choluy (Mexico) tells about ancient giants who decided to build a tower to heaven, but it was destroyed by celestials. The legend of the Mikirs, one of the Tibetan-Burman tribes, also tells of giant heroes who planned to build a tower to the heavens, but whose plan was stopped by the gods.
Finally, in Babylon itself there was a myth about the “great tower”, which was “the likeness of heaven.” According to the myth, its builders were the underground gods of the Anunnaki, who erected it for the purpose of glorifying Marduk, the Babylonian deity.
The construction of the Tower of Babel is described in the Koran. Interesting details are contained in the Book of Jubilees and the Talmud, according to which the unfinished tower was destroyed by a hurricane, and the part of the tower that remained after the hurricane fell into the ground as a result of an earthquake.
It is significant that all attempts by the Babylonian rulers to recreate even smaller versions of the tower failed. Due to various circumstances, these buildings were destroyed.
Country Sinaar
A very interesting story is about the Tower of Babel, set out in the Book of Jubilees - an apocryphal book that mainly sets out the events of the book of Genesis in the countdown of “jubilees”. Jubilee means 49 years - seven weeks. A special feature of this book is the exact chronology of events in relation to the date of the creation of the world. In particular, here we learn that the tower took 43 years to build and was located between Assur and Babylon. This land was called the country of Sinaar... read
The Mystery of Babylon
At the moment when the builders of the Tower of Babel began work, the spirit of self-destruction of mankind invisibly came into action. Subsequently, the Bible speaks of the mystery of Babylon, with which the highest measure of wickedness is associated. When the tower builders were stopped by the division of tongues, the mystery of Babylon was suspended, but only until a time known only to God... read
The European Union is an empire restored
Despite the passing of millennia, the spirit of Babylon in humanity has not faded away. At the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st centuries, Europe united under the banner of a single parliament and government. In essence, this meant the restoration of the ancient Roman Empire with all the ensuing consequences. After all, this event was the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy relating to the end of times. Surprisingly, the European Parliament building turned out to be built according to a special design - in the form of an unfinished “tower to the sky.” It's not hard to guess what this symbol means... read
/images/stories/1-Biblia/06-Vavilon/2-300.jpg
Four suns
Augean stables
The Secret of the Holy Grail. Part 2
Hopi: The End of the Second World
Blessed Country of the Sea God
Long before our time, noble people lived on the shores of the Great Ocean on fertile lands. He called his land the Blessed Land of the Sea...
How to Write a Captivating Book
An exciting book is written for a reason. First of all, this requires a well-thought-out and unusual plot. And the more popular...
To the question Where is the Tower of Babel in our time asked by the author European the best answer is The ruins of the tower are located on the banks of the Euphrates, about 90 km south of modern Baghdad in Iraq.
The Tower of Babel (Hebrew: מגדל בבל Migdal Bavel) is a tower to which the biblical legend is dedicated, set out in the first nine verses of chapter 11 of the book of Genesis. According to this legend, after the Flood, humanity was represented by one people speaking the same language. From the east, people came to the land of Shinar (in the lower reaches of the Tigris and Euphrates), where they decided to build a city (Babylon) and a tower high to heaven in order to “make a name for themselves.” The construction of the tower was interrupted by God, who created new languages for different people, because of which they ceased to understand each other, could not continue the construction of the city and the tower, and were scattered throughout the earth. Thus, the story of the Tower of Babel explains the emergence of different languages after the Flood.
During excavations in Babylon, the German scientist Robert Koldewey managed to discover the foundation and ruins of a tower. The tower mentioned in the Bible was probably destroyed before the time of Hammurabi. To replace it, another was built, which was erected in memory of the first. According to Koldewey, it had a square base, each side of which was 90 meters. The height of the tower was also 90 meters, the first tier had a height of 33 meters, the second - 18, the third and fifth - 6 meters each, the seventh - the sanctuary of the god Marduk - was 15 meters high.
The tower stood on the plain of Sahn (the literal translation of this name is “frying pan”) on the left bank of the Euphrates. It was surrounded by the houses of priests, temple buildings and houses for pilgrims who flocked here from all over Babylonia. The topmost tier of the tower was lined with blue tiles and covered with gold. A description of the Tower of Babel was left by Herodotus, who thoroughly examined it and, perhaps, even visited its top. This is the only documented account of an eyewitness from Europe.
"In the middle of each part of the city a building was erected. In one part there is a royal palace, surrounded by a huge and strong wall; in the other there is a sanctuary of Zeus-Bel with copper gates that have survived to this day. The temple sacred area is quadrangular, each side is a length of two stadia. In the middle of this temple sacred area is erected a huge tower, one stadia long and wide. On this tower stands a second, and on this another tower; in total, eight towers - one on top of the other. An outer staircase leads up around all these towers. In the middle of the stairs there are benches - probably for rest. On the last tower a large temple was erected. In this temple there is a large, luxuriously decorated bed and next to it a golden table. There is no image of a deity there, however. And not a single one no person spends the night here, with the exception of one woman, whom, according to the Chaldeans, the priests of this god, God chooses from all the local women.
“The Father of History” Herodotus was stingy and strict in choosing the wonders of the world: the Tower of Babel, the bridge over the Euphrates River, the labyrinth in the Fayum oasis. That's all.
The Tower of Babel is a sky-high pillar, which, according to biblical legend, began to be built by Ham's grandson Nimrod and other descendants of Noah so that there would be a place to hide in the event of a new global flood. Another motive was the exorbitant pride of people, their desire to “become equal to the gods.” In a figurative sense, it is a grandiose undertaking that ended in failure due to external circumstances or miscalculations of the authors.
The Tower of Babel is one of the most outstanding structures of Ancient Babylon, and its name is still a symbol of confusion and disorder. During excavations in Babylon, the German scientist Robert Koldewey managed to discover the foundation and ruins of a tower. The tower mentioned in the Bible was probably destroyed before the time of Hammurabi. To replace it, another was built, which was erected in memory of the first. According to Koldewey, it had a square base, each side of which was 90 meters. The height of the tower was also 90 meters, the first tier had a height of 33 meters, the second - 18, the third and fifth - 6 meters each, the seventh - the sanctuary of the god Marduk - was 15 meters high.
According to the ancient biblical legend, more than four thousand years ago all people lived in Mesopotamia, that is, in the basin of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and everyone spoke the same language. Since the land of these places was very fertile, people lived richly. This made them very proud and decided to build a tower up to the sky. To build a monumental structure, people did not use stone, but unfired raw brick; bitumen (mountain tar) was used instead of lime to join the bricks. The tower grew and grew in height. Finally, God became angry with the foolish and vain people and punished them: he forced the builders to speak different languages. As a result, the stupid, proud people stopped understanding each other and, abandoning their guns, stopped building the tower, and then dispersed to different directions of the Earth. So the tower turned out to be unfinished, and the city where construction took place and all languages were mixed was called Babylon.
However, historians and archaeologists have proven that the biblical legend is fully consistent with genuine historical events. It turned out that the Tower of Babel, or the ziggurat of Etemenanki (“House of the Foundation of Heaven and Earth”), was indeed built in the 2nd millennium BC, but then was repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt. The last construction took place in the 7th-6th centuries BC. The ziggurat) with high stairs and ramps had a square base with sides of about 90 m and the same height. By today's standards, the structure reached the height of a 30-story skyscraper.
The Tower of Babel was a stepped eight-tiered pyramid, lined with baked bricks on the outside. Moreover, each tier had a strictly defined color. At the top of the ziggurat there was a sanctuary lined with blue tiles and decorated at the corners with golden horns (a symbol of fertility). It was considered the habitat of the god Marduk, the patron saint of the city. In addition, inside the sanctuary there were a gilded table and bed of Marduk. Stairs led to the tiers; Religious processions ascended along them.
In Mesopotamia there was a special type of temple, completely different from the Egyptian one. So, if the pyramids were essentially tombs, then the ziggurats had solid masonry without interior spaces. At the top there was a pavilion, which, according to the beliefs of that time, represented the dwelling of the deity. The main part of the ziggurat terraces had a flat roof along the vaults. Since there was no stone suitable for construction in the main areas of Mesopotamia, and there was little wood, this kind of construction seemed the only possible one.
It should be noted that the upper platforms of the ziggurats were used not only for cultic purposes, but also for practical purposes: for warrior-guards to view the surrounding area. In general, the defensive function permeated the entire architecture of Mesopotamia.
Currently, only the foundation and the lower part of the wall remain from the legendary Tower of Babel. But thanks to cuneiform tablets, there is a description of the famous ziggurat and even its image.
The tower stood on the left bank of the Euphrates on the Sakhn plain, which literally translates as “frying pan.” It was surrounded by the houses of priests, temple buildings and houses for pilgrims who flocked here from all over Babylonia. The topmost tier of the tower was lined with blue tiles and covered with gold. A description of the Tower of Babel was left by Herodotus, who thoroughly examined it and, perhaps, even visited its top. This is the only documented account of an eyewitness from Europe.
A building has been erected in the middle of every part of the city. In one part is the royal palace, surrounded by a huge and strong wall; in the other there is the sanctuary of Zeus-Bel with copper gates that have survived to this day. The temple sacred area is quadrangular, each side two stages long. In the middle of this temple sacred site was erected a huge tower, one stade long and wide. On this tower stands a second one, and on it another tower; in general, eight towers - one on top of the other. An external staircase leads up around all these towers. In the middle of the stairs there are benches - probably for rest. A large temple was erected on the last tower. In this temple there is a large, luxuriously decorated bed and next to it a golden table. However, there is no image of a deity there. And not a single person spends the night here, with the exception of one woman, whom, according to the Chaldeans, the priests of this god, God chooses from all the local women.
There is another sanctuary in the sacred temple site in Babylon below, where there is a huge golden statue of Zeus. Nearby there is a large golden table, a footstool and a throne - also golden. According to the Chaldeans, 800 talents of gold went into making all these things. A golden altar was erected in front of this temple. There is another huge altar there - adult animals are sacrificed on it; On the golden altar, only sucklings can be sacrificed. On a large altar, the Chaldeans burn 1,000 talents of incense each year at a festival in honor of this god. There was also in the sacred area at the time in question a golden statue of the god, entirely made of gold, 12 cubits in height.
According to Herodotus, the Tower of Babel had eight tiers, the width of the lowest was 180 meters. According to Koldewey’s descriptions, the tower was one tier lower, and the lower tier was 90 meters wide, that is, half as much. It is difficult not to believe Koldewey, a learned and conscientious man, but perhaps in the time of Herodotus the tower stood on some terrace, albeit a low one, which over the millennia was razed to the ground, and during excavations Koldewey did not find any trace of it. Each large Babylonian city had its own ziggurat, but none of them could compare with the Tower of Babel, which towered over the entire area like a colossal pyramid. It took 85 million bricks to build, and entire generations of rulers built the Tower of Babel. The Babylonian ziggurat was destroyed several times, but each time it was restored and decorated anew. The ziggurat was a shrine that belonged to the entire people, it was a place where thousands of people flocked to worship the supreme deity Marduk.
the most important episode from the story about ancient humanity in the book. Genesis (11.1-9). According to the biblical account, Noah's descendants spoke the same language and settled in the Valley of Shinar. Here they began the construction of a city and a tower, “with its height reaching to heaven, let us make a name for ourselves,” they said, “before [in MT “lest”] we be scattered over the face of the whole earth” (Gen. 11.4). However, the construction was stopped by the Lord, who “confused the languages.” People, having ceased to understand each other, stopped construction and scattered throughout the earth (Gen. 11.8). The city was named "Babylon". Thus, a story about V. b. (Genesis 11.9) is built on the consonance of the ancient Hebrew. the name “Babylon” ( , ) and the verb “to mix” ( , ). According to legend, the construction of V. b. led by Ham's descendant Nimrod (Ios. Flav. Antiq. I 4.2; Epiph. Adv. haer. I 1.6).
Biblical story about V. b. gives a symbolic explanation of the reason for the emergence of the diversity of languages of the world, which can also be correlated with modern times. understanding the development of human languages. Research in the field of historical linguistics allows us to draw a conclusion about the existence of a single proto-language, conventionally called “Nostratic”; Indo-European groups emerged from it. (Japhetic), Hamitic-Semitic, Altai, Uralic, Dravidian, Kartvelian and other languages. The followers of this theory were such scientists as V. M. Illich-Svitych, I. M. Dyakonov, V. N. Toporov and Vyach. Sun. Ivanov. In addition, the story about V. b. is an important indication of the biblical understanding of man and the historical process and, in particular, of the secondary nature of the division into races and peoples for the human essence. Later this idea, expressed in another form by St. Paul, became one of the foundations of Christ. anthropology (Col 3:11).
In Christ. V. B. tradition is a symbol, firstly, of the pride of people who consider it possible to reach heaven on their own and have as their main goal “to make a name for themselves”, and, secondly, the inevitability of punishment for this and the futility of the human mind, not sanctified By divine grace. In the gift of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, scattered humanity receives the once lost ability of complete mutual understanding. Antithesis of V. b. represents the miracle of the founding of the Church, which unites nations with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4-6). V. b. is also a prototype of modern technocracy.
The image of the “city and tower” in the book. Genesis reflected a whole complex of mythological universals, for example, the idea of the “center of the world”, which was supposed to be a city built by people in Crimea. The historically attested temples of Mesopotamia did fulfill this mythological function (Oppenheim, p. 135). In St. Scripture construction V. b. described from the perspective of Divine Revelation, in the light of which it is, first of all, an expression of human pride. Dr. aspect of the story about V. b. is an indication of the prospects for the progress of human civilization, and at the same time in the biblical narrative there is a negative attitude towards the urbanism of Mesopotamian civilization (Nelis J. T. Col. 1864).
The image of V. b. undoubtedly reveals parallels with the Mesopotamian tradition of temple construction. The temples of Mesopotamia (ziggurats) were stepped structures made of several. terraces located one above the other (their number could reach 7); on the upper terrace there was a sanctuary of the deity (Parrot. R. 43). Priest Scripture accurately conveys the realities of Mesopotamian temple construction, where, unlike most other states, Dr. In the Near East, sun-dried or baked brick and resin were used as the main material (cf. Gen. 11.3).
During active archaeological research, Dr. Many attempts have been made in Mesopotamia to find the so-called. “prototype” V. b. in one of the excavated ziggurats, the most substantiated assumption can be considered the Babylonian temple of Marduk (Jacobsen. P. 334), which the Sumerian had. the name "e-temen-an-ki" is the temple of the cornerstone of heaven and earth.
Find the remains of V. b. tried already in the 12th century. Up to the end. XIX - early XX century 2 ziggurats were identified with it, in Borsippa and Akar-Kufa, on the site of ancient cities located at a considerable distance from Babylon (in the description of Herodotus, the city was so large that it could include both points). With the ziggurat in Borsippa V. b. identified Rabbi Benjamin of Tudela, who visited Babylonia twice (between 1160-1173), German. explorer K. Niebuhr (1774), English. artist R. Kerr Porter (1818) and others. In Akar-Kuf V. b. saw the German L. Rauwolf (1573-1576), merchant J. Eldred, who described in the con. XVI century ruins of the "tower". Italian traveler Pietro della Valle, who compiled the first detailed description of the site of Babylon (1616), considered V. b. most northern from its hills, which retained the ancient name “Babil”. Attempts to find V. b. in one of the 3 tells - Babila, Borsippa and Akar-Kuf - continued until the end. XIX century
In the beginning. XX century borders dr. Babylon was identified and neighboring cities were no longer perceived as its parts. After the excavations of K. J. Rich and H. Rassam in Borsippa (the site of Birs-Nimrud, 17 km southwest of Babylon, II-I millennium BC), it became clear that in connection with V. b. we cannot talk about her ziggurat, which was part of the temple of the goddess Nabu (Old Babylonian period - 1st half of the 2nd millennium BC; perestroika in the Neo-Babylonian period - 625-539). G. K. Rawlinson identified Akar-Kuf with Dur-Kurigalza, the capital of the Kassite kingdom (30 km west of Babylon, founded in the late 15th - early 14th centuries, abandoned by the inhabitants already in the 12th century BC) , which excluded the possibility of his ziggurat dedicated to the god Enlil (excavated in the 40s of the 20th century by S. Lloyd and T. Bakir) to be considered V. b. Finally, the excavations of Babil, the northernmost. from the hills of Babylon, showed that it hides not a ziggurat, but one of the palaces of Nebuchadnezzar II.
Find V. b. inside Babylon was one of the tasks assigned to the Germans. expedition of R. Koldewey (1899-1917). In the central part of the city, the remains of a foundation platform were discovered, which in 1901 were identified with the foundation of the Etemenanki ziggurat. In 1913, F. Wetzel carried out the cleaning and measurements of the monument. His materials, published in 1938, became the basis for new reconstructions. In 1962, Wetzel completed research on the monument, and H. Schmid conducted a detailed analysis of the materials collected over a century and published (1995) a new, more substantiated periodization and reconstruction of the Etemenanka ziggurat.
Iconography
Biblical story about the construction and destruction of V. b. was illustrated already in early Christ. period. The earliest surviving image is in the London manuscript of the book. Genesis (Cotton Genezis. London. Otho. B. VI. Fol. 14, 14v, 15, late 5th - early 6th century). In her miniatures and in mosaics repeating them, c. San Marco in Venice (12th century) also represents the division of people (division of languages) after the destruction of the tower. To Byzantium. Illuminated Octateuchas, as a rule, contain a scene of the destruction of V. b. (Vat. gr. 747. Fol. 33v, XI century; Vat. gr. 746. Fol. 61v, XII century). Along with illustrations of the books of St. Scripture construction V. b. (“Pandemon”) as one of the most important episodes of world history is depicted in medieval miniatures. works of historical content: Christian topography of Cosmas Indikoplov, chronographs, pales, which became widespread in ancient Russia. bookishness. In the mosaics of San Marco V. b. depicted as a structure on a rectangular base; in the front lists of the Christian topography of Cosmas Indikoplov (for example, RNB. OLDP. F 91. Sheet 25 volumes, early 16th century) it looks like a faceted tower with windows and an expanded top; in the illustrations of the front Pskov Paleia (GIM. Sin. 210. L. 65, 65 vol., 1477) the construction of the V. b. is presented. (in the form of a pillar) and its destruction. These scenes usually depict builders with various tools, carrying stretchers with stones, aligning the masonry with a plumb line.
From a book illustration, a scene of the construction of V. b. got on the icons “St. The Trinity in Action” (for example, an icon from the mid-16th century, Russian Museum): the tower has the shape of an octagon with an open top, in front of it is King Nimrod giving orders to the builders, in the heavenly segment is the Lord. In Western Europe. art image of V. b. found in illustrations of the Bible, Psalms, world chronicles, and the Middle Ages. maps, in wall paintings and stained glass, as well as in easel painting (for example, “The Tower of Babel” by P. Bruegel the Elder, 1563, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna). In addition to the rectangular, polyhedral or round shape of V. b. may take the form of a stepped structure (for example, on the frescoes of the Church of Santa Maria Novella in Florence, mid-14th century) or a spiral pyramid (as in P. Bruegel).
Lit.: Unger E. Der Turm zu Babel // ZAW. 1927. Bd. 45. S. 162-171; Dombart T. Der Stand der Babelturmsproblem // Klio. 1927. Bd. 21. S. 135-174; Gressmann H. The Tower of Babel. N. Y., 1928; Wetzel F., Weisbach F. H. Das Hauptheiligtum des Marduk in Babylon, Esagila und Etemenanki. Lpz., 1938. (Osnabrück, 1967); Vincent L.-H. De la tour de Babel au temple // RB. 1946. T. 53. P. 403-440; Parrot A. Ziggurat et tour de Babel. P., 1949; Baur G. F., Mauville A. The Tower of Babel // Priestly Studies. 1953. Vol. 21. p. 84-106; Protasyeva T. N. Pskov Paleya 1477 // DRI. M., 1968. [Issue:] Art of Pskov. pp. 97-108; Nelis J. T. Tour de Babel // Dictionnaire Encycl. de la Bible. Tournhaut, 1987. Col. 1864; Jacobsen T. Babel //IDB. Vol. 1. P. 334; Oppenheim A. L. Ancient Mesopotamia: Potrait of a Dead Civilization. Chicago, 1977 (Russian translation: Oppenheim A.L. Ancient Mesopotamia: Portrait of a lost civilization. M., 1980); Vicari J. Les ziggurats de Tchoga-Zanbil (Dur-Untash) et de Babylone // Le dessin d'architecture dans les sociétés antiques. Leiden, 1985. P. 47-57; Klengel-Brandt. Tower of Babel: Legend and History: Translated from German M., 1991; Allinger-Csollich W. Birs Nimrud II: “Tieftempel” - “Hochtempel”: Vergleichende Studien Borsippa-Babylon // Babylonische Mitteilungen. 1998. Bd. 29. S. 93-330; Schmid H. Der Tempelturm Etemenanki in Babylon. Mainz, 1995; Albrecht S. Der Turm zu Babel als bildlicher Mythos: Malerei - Graphik - Architektur // Babylon: Focus mesopotamischer Geschichte, Wiege früher Gelehrsamkeit, Mythos in der Moderne / Hrsg. J. Renger. Saarbrücken, 1999. S. 553-574.
Who hasn't heard the myth about the legendary Tower of Babel? People learn about this unfinished structure to the skies even in early childhood. This name has become a household name. But not everyone knows that Tower of Babel really exists. This is evidenced by ancient records and modern archaeological research.
Tower of Babel: the real story
Babylon is famous for many of its buildings. One of the main personalities in the exaltation of this glorious ancient city is Nebuchadnezzar II. It was during his time that the walls of Babylon and the Processional Road were built.
But this is just the tip of the iceberg - throughout the forty years of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar was engaged in the construction, restoration and decoration of Babylon. He left behind a large text about his work. We will not dwell on all the points, but this is where there is a mention of the Ziggurat of Etemenanki in the city.
This Tower of Babel, which according to legend could not be completed due to the fact that the builders began to speak different languages, has another name - Etemenanki, which translated means House of the Cornerstone of Heaven and Earth. During excavations, archaeologists were able to discover the huge foundation of this building. It turned out to be a ziggurat typical of Mesopotamia (you can also read about the ziggurat in Ur), located at the main temple of Babylon Esagila.
Tower of Babel: architectural features
Over the years, the tower has been demolished and rebuilt several times. For the first time, a ziggurat was built on this site before Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC), but before him it had already been dismantled. The Tower of Babel itself appeared under King Nabupalassar, and the final construction of the peak was undertaken by his successor Nebuchadnezzar.
The huge ziggurat of Etemenanki was built under the direction of the Assyrian architect Aradahdeshu. It consisted of seven tiers with a total height of about 100 meters. The diameter of the structure was about 90 meters.
At the top of the ziggurat was a sanctuary covered in traditional Babylonian glazed brick. The sanctuary was dedicated to the main deity of Babylon - Marduk, and it was for him that a gilded bed and table were installed here, and gilded horns were fixed on the top of the sanctuary. 
At the base of the Tower of Babel in the Lower Temple there was a statue of Marduk himself made of pure gold with a total weight of 2.5 tons. The Tower of Babel was built from 85 million bricks. Tower of Babel stood out among all the buildings of the city and created an impression of power and grandeur. The inhabitants of this city sincerely believed in the descent of Marduk to his habitat on earth and even spoke about this to the famous Herodotus, who visited here in 458 BC (a century and a half after its construction).
From the top of the Tower of Babel, another from the neighboring city of Euriminanki in Barsippa was also visible. It was the ruins of this tower that were considered biblical for a long time. When Alexander the Great lived in the city, he proposed rebuilding the majestic structure, but his death in 323 BC left the building forever dismantled. In 275 Esagila was restored, but Tower of Babel was not rebuilt. The only reminders of the former great building are its foundation and immortal mention in the texts.
Tower of Babel: legend and real history
The Tower of Babel is an ancient wonder of the world that adorned. According to legend Tower of Babel reached the sky. However, the Gods were angry with their intention to reach heaven and punished people by giving them different languages. As a result, the construction of the tower was not completed. 
It is better to read the legend in the biblical original:
1. Throughout the whole earth there was one language and one dialect.
2 Traveling from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.
