Went to see the Babylon exhibition at the British Museum yesterday. Was hoping to get to the lecture From Jerusalem to Babylon : new thoughts on the Babylonian exile, but despite trying to book 2 weeks before it was sold out, and I couldn't get in.
Good exhibition - the cuneiform tablets are exquisite, and it's quite something to see the 'Cyrus Cylinder' : the imperial edict that ended the Judæans exile in 539BCE. But I'm often frustrated at exhibitions like this because they don't give a real sense of the sociology of the place : what was Babylon's population? How many Jews were living there, and under what conditions? How many exiles from other states were also there? How did Babylonian religion really work? Apparently the British Museum has 130,000 cuneiform tablets : they must know a bit more than what we know from the Old Testament. That's why it was frustrating not getting into the lecture.
I'm trying to get hold of a transcript, or a pointer to further reading. If you're interested, watch this space.
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Babylon, I haven't seen yet but Byzantium was wonderful. I'm talking to a few friends about a possible Anabaptism exhibition at the moment.
Just had a long conversation with I.L.Finkel, who delivered the lecture "From Jerusalem to Babylon". He was working from rough notes, and the lecture wasn't recorded, but will be publishing a book based on his and Michael Seymour's researches in about three months' time. Watch this space.
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