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Yahoo
5 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists Reconstructed a Babylonian Hymn Lost for Over 1,000 Years
Here's what you'll learn when you read this story: A Babylonian hymn lost for over a thousand years was rediscovered. Experts pieced together the hymn using an AI model to decipher hundreds of cuneiform tablets in a Baghdad library. The library's tablets were only preserved in fragments, requiring the difficult process of stitching the individual fragments together. Legend has it that Noah tucked away Babylonian cuneiform writings on clay tablets before the great flood over 4,000 years ago. Researchers just discovered a tablet writing in the same style, a hymn written in honor of Babylon that was lost a millennium ago. They were able to decipher it with a little help from AI. In a study published in the journal Iraq, a team of researchers from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) and the University of Baghdad scoured the Sippar Library's collection of hundreds of fragments of cuneiform tablets to rediscover the hymn to Babylon. 'Using our AI-supported platform, we managed to identify 30 other manuscripts that belong to the rediscovered hymn—a process that would formerly have taken decades,' Enrique Jiménez, professor of Ancient Near Eastern Literature at LMU's Institute of Assyriology, said in a translated statement. 'Thanks to these additional texts, the scholars were able to completely decipher the hymn of praise on the clay tablet, parts of which were missing.' Founded in Mesopotamia around 2,000 B.C., Babylon was, at one time, the largest city in the world. The metropolis was a cultural hub, and its intellectuals produced plenty of writing, much of which were done on clay tablets. Jiménez is working on a project to digitize all cuneiform text fragments discovered worldwide and then used AI to decipher which pieces belonged together. Finding so many copies of an original hymn showed that it was a popular text in its time. 'The hymn was copied by children at school,' Jiménez said. 'It's unusual that such a popular text in its day was unknown to us before now. It's a fascinating hymn that describes Babylon in all its majesty and gives insights into the lives of its inhabitants, male and female.' The study authors said that the hymn includes unparalleled descriptions of the healing powers of Marduk (the patron deity of Babylon), the splendor of Babylon, the the Euphrates River in the spring, and the generosity of the Babylonians. 'The author of this highly accomplished piece immortalized his devotion to his city, gods, and people in words that resonated until the final decades of cuneiform culture,' the study authors wrote. The 250-line song is believed to be from the early days of the first millennium. 'It was written by a Babylonian who wanted to praise his city,' Jiménez said. 'The author describes the buildings in the city, but also how the waters of the Euphrates bring the spring and green the fields. This is all the more spectacular as surviving Mesopotamian literature is sparing in its descriptions of natural phenomena.' The song includes details about the life of women in Babylon, including roles as priestesses and the tasks they performed. There are no other known texts describing this information. Jiménez said that the hymns also provide insight into an urban society shown being respectful to foreigners. According to the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, the following lines are from the newly discovered hymn describing the river Euphrates, where the historic Babylon was at the time, now at UNESCO World Heritage Site about 52 miles from the current Iraq capital of Baghdad. The translated lines: The Euphrates is her river—established by wise lord Nudimmud— It quenches the lea, saturates the canebrake, Disgorges its waters into lagoon and sea, Its fields burgeon with herbs and flowers, Its meadows, in brilliant bloom, sprout barley, From which, gathered, sheaves are stacked, Herds and flocks lie on verdant pastures, Wealth and splendor—what befit mankind— Are bestowed, multiplied, and regally granted You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Babylonian text missing for 1,000 years deciphered with AI
A team of ancient literature experts have deciphered a Mesopotamain text that was missing for over 1,000 years. Etched on clay tablets, the Hymn to Babylon describes the ancient megacity in 'all of its majesty,' and gives new insights into the everyday lives of those who resided there. The text is detailed in a study published in the journal Iraq. Founded in Mesopotamia around 2,000 BCE, Babylon was once the largest city in the world. Babylon's ruins are a UNESCO World Heritage Site about 52 miles outside of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad. At its height, the city was a cultural hub that inspired written works that still form part of our global heritage today. A religious text called the Enuma elish or Babylonian Epic of Creation details the creation of the universe and the rise of Marduk, the city's chief god. The Code of Hammurabi is one of the oldest surviving legal frameworks, and includes the concept of 'innocent until proven guilty.'. Babylonian texts were primarily composed of an ancient writing system called cuniform on clay tablets. Most of these tablets have only survived in tiny fragments. One of the goals of a team from the University of Baghdad in Iraq and Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich in Germany has been to decipher and preserve hundreds of cuneiform tablets included in the Sippar Library. This collection of texts was uncovered in the Temple of Shamash in the ancient city of Sippar, Iraq. Legends also say that Old Testament hero Noah hid tablets in Sippar before boarding his ark when the floodwaters came. [ Related: 6,000-year-old Mesopotamian artifacts linked to the dawn of writing. ] In the Electronic Babylonian Library Platform, study co-author and Assyriologist Enrique Jiménez is digitizing all of the cuneiform text fragments that have been discovered around the world. With the help of artificial intelligence (AI), he is piecing together fragments that belong together. 'Using our AI-supported platform, we managed to identify 30 other manuscripts that belong to the rediscovered hymn – a process that would formerly have taken decades,' Jiménez said in a statement. With these additional texts, the team was able to completely decipher this ancient hymn of praise. In it, they found some new insights into Babylonian urban society and believe that the Hymn to Babylon was very widespread. 'The hymn was copied by children at school. It's unusual that such a popular text in its day was unknown to us before now,' Jiménez said. The song of triumph–or paean–likely dates back to the start of the first millennium before Christ and is made up of 250 lines. 'It was written by a Babylonian who wanted to praise his city,' said Jiménez. 'The author describes the buildings in the city, but also how the waters of the Euphrates bring the spring and green the fields. This is all the more spectacular as surviving Mesopotamian literature is sparing in its descriptions of natural phenomena.' One of the exciting new discoveries includes new information regarding Babylonian women–many were priestesses. The hymns also describe the inhabitants as being respectful to foreigners. The lines below are from a newly discovered hymn, describing the river Euphrates. The city was located on the riverbanks at the time. The Euphrates is her river—established by wise lord Nudimmud— It quenches the lea, saturates the canebrake, Disgorges its waters into lagoon and sea, Its fields burgeon with herbs and flowers, Its meadows, in brilliant bloom, sprout barley, From which, gathered, sheaves are stacked, Herds and flocks lie on verdant pastures, Wealth and splendor—what befit mankind— Are bestowed, multiplied, and regally granted. Continued advances could potentially lead to better translations of this ancient celebration of a great city.
The Sun
02-07-2025
- Science
- The Sun
AI deciphers hymn on 4,000-year-old clay tablet to unlock mystery of ancient city of Babylon
AN ANCIENT hymn lost for 4,000 years on a Babylonian tablet has finally been deciphered using artificial intelligence (AI). Advances in technology made the discovery possible in a fraction of the time, according to a new study. 5 5 5 Without AI, it would have taken decades to decode. The text, inscribed on an ancient tablet, is from Babylon, Mesopotamia - once the largest city in the world in 2000 BCE. Babylonian texts were composed in cuneiform, the oldest form of writing, on clay tablets. But they have only survived in fragments, meaning their messages are hard to decipher. After digitising a selection of ancient texts, researchers at the University of Baghdad and Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU) of Munich, uncovered an ancient hymn they believe Babylon residents would have sung. "Using our AI-supported platform, we managed to identify 30 other manuscripts that belong to the rediscovered hymn—a process that would formerly have taken decades," said Enrique Jiménez, professor of Ancient Near Eastern Literatures at LMU's Institute of Assyriology. Although parts of these texts were missing, scholars were still able to completely decipher the hymn of praise. "It's a fascinating hymn that describes Babylon in all its majesty and gives insights into the lives of its inhabitants, male and female," added Jiménez. Researchers believe children would have studied the hymn, which is comprised of 250 lines of text, at school. Numerous copies of the hymn have been found inscribed on clay tablets from the era. "The hymn was copied by children at school. It's unusual that such a popular text in its day was unknown to us before now," said Jiménez. "It was written by a Babylonian who wanted to praise his city. "The author describes the buildings in the city, but also how the waters of the Euphrates bring the spring and green the fields. "This is all the more spectacular as surviving Mesopotamian literature is sparing in its descriptions of natural phenomena." Excerpt from the ancient hymn Here are some lines from the newly discovered hymn of praise: "The Euphrates is her river - established by wise lord Nudimmud - "It quenches the lea, saturates the canebrake, "Disgorges its waters into lagoon and sea, "Its fields burgeon with herbs and flowers, "Its meadows, in brilliant bloom, sprout barley, "From which, gathered, sheaves are stacked, "Herds and flocks lie on verdant pastures, "Wealth and splendour - what befit mankind - "Are bestowed, multiplied, and regally granted." The ruins of the ancient city of Babylon, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are located some 85 km south of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad. Beyond the city and its pastures, the hymn also reveals new details about the lives of women in Babylon. Women had roles as priestesses, which were described as being particularly virtuous. They were praised in the hymn for their devotion and discretion. Priestesses were famously celibate, and were among the professions established to to keep the population's birth rate under control. Their "partners", mentioned in the hymn, are understood to be the gods they are devoted to. The hymn also offers insights into the melding of different cultures in the early urban society. For example, the inhabitants are described as being respectful to foreigners. While researchers have uncovered unprecedented detail about ancient Babylon, there are more secrets to uncover. Roughly 100 lines of the hymn's ending are still missing or mutilated, according to the study, so it is difficult to decipher what they might have contained. 5 5
