Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 02.djvu/415

BABYLONIAN ABT. anii the Dragon, or Ordor and C'liaos, and the adoration scene of some patron god, are the most frequent.

Other branches of sculpture are less well rep- lesented by discoveries, but sufliciently to prove considerable proficiencj' on the part of the ar- tists. Precious metals were embossed and chased, as shown in the famous silver cup of Telle, now in Constantinople. Bronze figurines were cast at an early date with considerable skill, many being yielded by the Tel-lo excava- tions. Terra-cotta sculptures were made from molds in relief and in the round, and afterwards finished by hand. A very original form of such work was the building up of large figures in relief, or the round out of separate tiles molded and then enameled in brilliant colors. Recent excavations at Babylon have brought to light an entire royal avenue leading through the city. Hanked by colossal lions of this technique. The jnilace of Sargon at Khorsbad, and the palace at Susa, show that the Assyrians and Persians imitated this branch of art.

The best restorations and descriptions are: '•La Chaldee et I'Assyrie," Vol. 1 [. of Perrot and Chipiez, Histoire de I'art duns I'untiqiiite (Paris, 18S4), translated by Armstrong, His- lonj of Art in Chaldea and Assyria (London, 18.S4). A good brief account is given in Babelon, Manuel d'archc^ologie orientale (Paris, 1888), translated by Voetts, Manual of Oriental An- tiriuitics (New York, 1889). The Tel-lo-Sirpurla discoveries are described briefly in Henzey, Un [laluis VliaUlccii (Paris, 1884), and fully "in De Larzec and Henzey, Dccouvertrs en Chaldec I Paris, in course). The best historic and scien- tific treatment of gems is in Mcnant, Les pierres ijravees de la Chaldee et de I'Asst/rie (Paris, 1884), and the best series of illustrations and detailed descriptions in Menant, La collection Le Vlvrcij (Paris, 18S8). For explorations, con- sult: Loftus, Trai^els and Researches: in Clialdcea and Susiuna (London, 1853) ; Peters, Nippur, (New York, 1807).

BAB'YLO'NISH CAPTIVITY, or BABYLO'NIAN EX'ILE. The name given to the deportation of Judeans to Babylonia by Nebu- chadnezzar at the time of the conquest of the Judean Kingdom. The policy of deporting the principal inhabitants of conquered districts, as an efl'ective means of preventing uprisings, appears to have been begun by the Assyrian mon- archs, who in their inscriptions frequently refer to the execution of such a measure. So in B.C. 738, Tiglathpilcser IIL carried away portions of the trans-.Jordanic Hebrew tribes, and at the time of tlie destruction of Samaria, Sargon (B.C. 721) took many captives to Assyria, and re- (ilaced them by colonists from various towns of Babylonia. The kings of the Neo-Babylonian jicriod adopted this policy, and accordingly Nebu- chadnezzar, at the time of the defection of Zede- kiah (B.C. 5!)"), carried Jehoiaehin the King, the royal household, the princes and chief men to Babylonia; and ten years afterwards, when ,leru- salem was finally destroyed, a second and even larger deportation took place (11. Kings xxv.). Vet it must be borne in mind that the majority of the inhabitants remained in the land, even when we subtract those who went into a volun- tary exile in Egypt. Those who were taken to Babylonia were settled in various parts of Southern Mesopotamia, and it would seem that the favorable conditions existing in Babylonia induced many to leave Palestine, where the long ravages of war had brought on great distress, and to join their brethren in the Euphrates Valley. The captivity must not, therefore, be regarded as a condition of hardship. As a matter of fact, the Jews were allowed, as were all foreigners in the Babylonian domain, the greatest possible freedom, and soon became as- similated to conditions prevailing in Babylonia. Instead, however, of cultivating the soil, as they had done in their own country, they entered upon commercial life ; and this change from agricul- tural pursuits is. perhaps, the most significant feature of the Babylonish Captivity, which pro- foundly influenced the future fortunes of the .lews. Traces of settlements of .Jews in Baby- lonia may be seen in the numerous .Jewish names that appear in the so-called contract tablets found in Babylonia, belonging to the Neo- Babylonian and Persian period. From these and other sources we know that many of the .Jews acquired riches in Babylonia; and, on the whole, all lived in ease and comfort, if not in pros- perity.

So complete was the assimilation to Baby- lonian ways of life that when, after the advent of Cyrus (B.C. i>6S) permission was given to the •Tews to return to their homes in Palestine and to rebuild the Temple, only a comparatively small number availed themselves of the oppor- tunity. Only the pious and zealous were im- pelled to take up the pilgrim's staff, and the sad fortunes encountered by those who did return served to discourage emigration from Baby- lonia on a large scale.

The period of the exile was a most important epoch in the religious life of the people. The downfall of .Jerusalem was looked upon as a pun- ishment sent by .Jehovah for the people's sins in not following the injunctions of the purists, who objected to all foreign ingredients in the .Jehovistic cult. The cause of the Prophets was thus strengthened by the natural catastrophe, and the new spirit manifested itself during the exile by the literary activity which now began and which gradually transformed the annals and traditions and all literary productions of the past into one grand illustration of the funda- mental principle of the religion of the Prophets, that there was no god like .Jehovah, and that His people Israel, who were bound to Him by the Covenant at Sinai, prospered when they were faithful to .Jehovah, and that all dist»i'c.s.s, de- feats, and misfortunes that mark Israel's his- tory were punishments sent because of dis- obedience to His will. It was important, there- fore, for the future to know exactly what was the will of .Jehovah, and hence prophets like Ezekiel set themselves to work preparing codes regulating forms of worship and the conduct of life. The upshot of this movement is the production of an elaborate code by Ezra, which is promulgated by hira and Nehemiah in B.C. 444 as the eternal law of the land, and which was subsequently combined with the legendary and the historical traditions of Israel to form the present Pentateuch, though it should be added that the Pentateuch itself is but a part of one great final compilation which, extending from Genesis to the end of the second book of Kings, embraced tlierefore, besides the Pentateuch, Joshua, .fudges, Samuel and Kings, the