The Historical and Cultural Memory of the Babylonian World: Collecting Fragments From the Centre of the World (Aratta, 2)

In the study of the ancient world, Babylon can be considered as the most impressive representation, historically, archaeologically, and in literature, of urbanism in the Near East. This first example of an urban centre and its cultural heritage - both tangible and intangible - provides a focal point for discussions of historical and cultural memory in the region. The eleven contributions gathered together here draw together multidisciplinary research into Babylonian culture, exploring the epistemic foundations, contacts, resilience, and cultural transmission of the city and its milieu from ancient times up until the modern day. Through this approach, this volume is able to support the conversation of the historical and cultural memory of Babylon and promote a dialogue that cuts across and unites both cultures and academic disciplines. Front Matter 1 Marco Ramazzotti. 1. The Historical and Cultural Memory of Babylon: Collecting Fragments from the ‘Centre of the World’ 11 Francis Joannès. 2. Babylon as Seen by Babylonians 35 Alessandro Catastini. 3. Traces of Babylon in the Old Testament 45 Rita Francia. 4. The View of Babylon in Hittite Texts 63 Rita Dolce. 5. The Perception of Babylonia in the Historical Memory of the Assyrians: Between Evocation and Negation, and its Reflections in the Urbanization of the Imperial Seats 79 Roberto Dan, Marie-Claude Trémouille. 6. From Plains to Mountains. Literary and Cultural Models between Mesopotamia and UrarṬu 93 Alessio Agostini. 7. The ‘Mesopotamian Connection’: An Overview of South Arabian Data Relating to Mesopotamia (First Millennium bc) 111 Pierfrancesco Callieri. 8. A ‘Persian Conception of Urbanism’ as Seen from the Results of New Field Research in Fars (Southern Iran) 131 Gianfilippo Terribili. 9. Reversing and Reinventing the Centre of the World: Iranian and Zoroastrian Perception of the Old Babylon 149 10. Receiving Knowledge of the Past: Narratives of Babylon in Medieval Arabic Culture 165 Giovanni Greco. 11. Untranslatable Babel: A Quick Glance at the Contemporary Reception of the Biblical Myth 181 Back Matter 191 In the study of the ancient world, Babylon can be considered as the most impressive representation, historically, archaeologically, and in literature, of urbanism in the Near East. This first example of an urban centre and its cultural heritage - both tangible and intangible - provides a focal point for discussions of historical and cultural memory in the region. The eleven contributions gathered here draw together multidisciplinary research into Babylonian culture, exploring the epistemic foundations, contacts, resilience, and cultural transmission of the city and its milieu from ancient times up until the modern day. Through this approach, this volume is able to support conversations concerning the historical and cultural memory of Babylon and promote a dialogue that cuts across, and unites, both cultures and academic disciplines