By Youssef Kanjou
A team of scientists from Baghdad and Munich has discovered a 3,000-year-old literary text that was previously unknown. It is a complete hymn about Babylon. How was this possible? Here is the background.
The discovery of cuneiform script in Mesopotamia in 3200 BC marked a turning point in human history, dividing it into two phases: prehistory without written records, and history with written records. In the 19th century, scientists succeeded in deciphering this script for the first time. Since then, hundreds of thousands of cuneiform tablets have been discovered in ancient libraries, for example in Iraq and Syria. These tablets contain literary and cultural information, laws, trade agreements, myths, and other topics. Unlike some other ancient scripts, however, cuneiform is extremely difficult to decipher, and only a small portion of it has been translated into modern languages. This is because there is a significant shortage of specialists who can read it. For this reason, archaeologists have been trying for several years to use artificial intelligence to decipher these texts and understand their content by creating a special digital archive.
Ancient cuneiform libraries
To date, numerous ancient libraries containing thousands of cuneiform tablets have been discovered. Among the most notable examples are the library of Mari in eastern Syria on the Euphrates, which contains some 25,000 cuneiform tablets from the 18th century BC, and the library of Ebla south of Aleppo, which comprises some 17,000 texts from around 2300 BC. The largest libraries were discovered in Iraq, including the library of Ashurbanipal in Nineveh (Mosul) with about 30,000 clay tablets from the 7th century BC and the library of the ancient city of Babylon from the 18th century BC.
Cuneiform tablets in varying states of condition were found in these libraries: some were complete, others broken into several pieces or badly damaged. All texts were written in cuneiform in various languages and dialects, including Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, and Assyrian, which makes them extremely difficult to translate.
The number of cuneiform tablets discovered so far is estimated at around 500,000, but only 10 percent of them have been translated, which means that a huge amount of information is still unknown and awaiting translation and thus the unveiling of the secrets of the ancient kingdoms of Mesopotamia.
Successes of artificial intelligence: The Hymn of Babylon
Using artificial intelligence, a team of researchers from Iraq (University of Baghdad) and Germany (Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich) recently succeeded in piecing together dozens of scattered fragments of clay tablets to form a poem from around 1000 BC. This poem of about 250 lines was written in the city of Sippar, north of Babylon.
A researcher at the LMU’s Institute of Assyriology explains the process: „With the help of an AI-supported database, we were able to identify 30 additional texts that belong to the rediscovered hymn – a process that would have taken decades in the past.” Thanks to these additional texts, the team was able to complete the hymn written on the clay tablet, which previously had gaps.
This now complete hymn contains a literary description of the city of Babylon, then the largest city in the world, and its surroundings at the height of its prosperity, a paean to the Euphrates River, and a comprehensive picture of the lives of its inhabitants—men and women—and their religious beliefs some three thousand years ago. The hymn appears to have been copied and taught for over a thousand years, indicating its importance and perhaps resembling the role of the national anthem in our modern times. Numerous references suggest that this text—known as the „Song of Babylon”—was so popular in its day that even children copied it down in school. It is surprising that a text of this popularity has remained unknown until now.
Professor Enrique Jiménez, head of the project, explains: „It seems that the author of the hymn was a Babylonian who wanted to praise his city. He describes the buildings in the city, but also how the Euphrates brings spring and green fields. This is surprising, as very few descriptions of nature have been handed down to us from Mesopotamia.“
New insights into the role of women in ancient high culture
The hymn also reveals important information about the women of Babylon and their role as priestesses who promoted ritual purity and education. These tasks associated with women surprised the researchers, as they were not known from any other texts. The hymn also offers a rich insight into coexistence in urban society and describes the city’s inhabitants as respectful towards foreigners.
It is interesting to note that cuneiform script first emerged in the Middle East around five thousand years ago, then disappeared over time and was eventually deciphered by scholars from both East and West. Despite enormous technological developments and advances in various scientific fields, most of the secrets of ancient civilizations remain unknown and await further discovery. At the same time, collaboration between scientists from East and West, supported by artificial intelligence tools, is now opening up broad horizons for uncovering further secrets of the past and shedding light on new aspects of human history.
In this video, Enrique Jiménez recites part of the hymn in its original language and, together with Iraqi researcher Anmar A. Fadhil, explains the significance of the hymn to this day: YouTube | LMU Munich: Hymn to Babylon discovered
Further information on the project: LMU | Hymn to Babylon discovered
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