Hammurabi and Babylonian Kingship

Today we take a look at the Babylonian empire and the rise of Hammurabi. We analyze the way kingship and religion worked hand-in-hand to justify rule. We take a close look at the Code of Hammurabi and what it tells us about Babylonian religion. We examine the cosmology of the Enuma Elish and the Babylonian pantheon and how in turn it impacted the formation of the empire. We discuss the way in which the Babylonian empire built on what can before and the ways it built ideological structures that would be borrowed by later empires and religions. We discuss the connections of Babylonian religion to the Hebrew Bible and explore the ordained just kingship at the heart of Babylon. Finally we conclude with a brief discussion of ancient magic and the role of demons.