Researchers have recently uncovered a long-lost Babylonian hymn that had been missing for over a thousand years. Using an AI model to decode fragments of cuneiform tablets found in a library in Baghdad, experts were able to piece together the hymn. Legend has it that Noah preserved Babylonian writings on clay tablets before a great flood over 4,000 years ago. Researchers stumbled upon a tablet resembling this ancient style, containing a hymn dedicated to Babylon that had been lost for a millennium.
Published in the journal Iraq, a group of researchers from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) and the University of Baghdad sifted through hundreds of cuneiform tablet fragments at the Sippar Library to rediscover the hymn. With the help of their AI-supported platform, they identified 30 additional manuscripts related to the hymn, a task that would have taken decades without this technology. Thanks to these extra texts, scholars were able to fully decipher the hymn, which had missing parts.
Babylon, founded in Mesopotamia around 2,000 B.C., was once the largest city globally and a major cultural center where intellectuals wrote extensively on clay tablets. Enrique Jiménez, a professor of Ancient Near Eastern Literature at LMU, is leading a project to digitize cuneiform text fragments worldwide and utilize AI to piece together related pieces. The hymn’s multiple copies indicate its popularity in ancient times, even being copied by schoolchildren. The researchers found the hymn to be a captivating piece that vividly portrays Babylon’s grandeur and provides insights into the daily lives of its citizens.
The hymn praises the healing powers of Marduk, the splendor of Babylon, the Euphrates River during spring, and the generosity of its people. It details the author’s deep admiration for the city, gods, and inhabitants, offering a unique glimpse into Babylonian culture. The song is estimated to originate from the early millennium and showcases the author’s admiration for his city, highlighting its architecture and the rejuvenating effects of the Euphrates River.
Additionally, the hymn sheds light on the roles of women in Babylon, depicting them as priestesses with specific duties, a perspective rarely found in Mesopotamian literature. The researchers note that the hymn also portrays Babylonian society as respectful towards foreigners. This newly discovered hymn immortalizes the author’s love for Babylon and its people, resonating through the final days of cuneiform culture.
The historic Babylon, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site located approximately 52 miles from the current capital of Iraq, Baghdad, was as described by the translated lines: Its river is the Euphrates, established by the wise lord Nudimmud. It nourishes the land, saturates the fields of reeds, and flows into lagoons and the sea. The fertile grounds grow an abundance of herbs and flowers, while the meadows flourish with beautiful barley. The harvested sheaves are stacked high, and herds and flocks graze on lush pastures. The wealth and splendor that are fitting for humanity are generously bestowed, multiplied, and granted in a regal manner.
