Scientists Restore the Oldest Known Hymn About Babylon
A remarkable discovery from ancient cuneiform tablets has brought to light a long-lost hymn detailing the legendary city of Babylon, its environment, and its people. The hymn was reconstructed through an international research effort.
Enrique Jimenez of Ludwig Maximilian University, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Baghdad, uncovered this ancient work dating back nearly a thousand years. According to Phys.org, the hymn offers a vivid portrayal of life in Babylon, describing its architecture and the lives of its male and female inhabitants.
Founded around 2000 BC, Babylon was once the largest city in the world, a major hub of culture and learning that contributed greatly to early literature and art. The Babylonians wrote in cuneiform script on clay tablets. Many of these tablets, now partially damaged or fragmented, are preserved in collections such as the Sippar Library.
Jimenez heads the Electronic Library of Babylon project, which aims to build a comprehensive digital archive of all surviving cuneiform tablets. The project also uses advanced tools to help reconstruct incomplete texts. Through this effort, researchers were able to identify 30 individual fragments of a single hymn, allowing them to restore the full composition.
Believed to have been written in the first millennium BC, the hymn contains about 250 lines and reflects the author’s deep admiration for Babylon. The verses highlight the natural beauty surrounding the city, including the Euphrates River, and provide rare insight into the social structure of Babylonian society.
Notably, the hymn makes special mention of the roles of women, particularly priestesses, and promotes values of tolerance and respect for people of different backgrounds—an early testament to the city’s cultural openness.
Among the translated lines are verses that poetically describe the Euphrates River, which once flowed beside ancient Babylon and played a vital role in the city’s prosperity.