All language subtitles for Lost.Cities.of.the.Bible.2022.Part.2.WEBRip.x264-ION10

[narrator] Ancient Iraq.

A land of myth and legend.

Home to some of the greatest
cities of the Bible.

It's the cradle
of civilization.

It is one of the most
important areas in the world.

[narrator] Now after
decades of war,

pioneering archaeologists
are returning to Iraq.

Our cameras have
unprecendented access,

as they unearth
buried treasures,

as they unearth
buried treasures,

and discover the real world
of the Old Testament.

Western civilization only kept
memories through the Bible.

I think it's very difficult

to pick apart
the myths and the legends.

[narrator] This time,

archaeologists uncover
two superpowers

of the ancient world.

Nineveh and Babylon.

[Osama] Nebuchadnezzar wanted
to make Babylon

the greatest city on Earth.

[narrator] How did
the epic struggle

[narrator] How did
the epic struggle

between these two
infamous cities

shape the ancient world?

And why do we know them
from the Bible

as cities of sin?

Iraq. The cradle
of civilization.

2,500 years ago,

two great cities
and their empires

dominated this ancient land.

Babylon and its great rival,
Nineveh.

Babylon and its great rival,
Nineveh.

Babylon lies in central Iraq,

on the banks
of the River Euphrates.

Nineveh sits
much further north,

beneath the banks
of the modern city of Mosul.

According to the Bible,

both cities
were sinful places,

ruled by tyrants

who were brought down
by the wrath of God.

But is there another side
to these stories?

The Bible was
a potent vehicle of memories

which were re-worked
and traded as you wish,

but that was
the only connection

until the first travellers

started telling people
back in Europe what they saw.

They were reflecting on

these clearly massive ruins
in front of your eyes.

And so myths were recreated.

[narrator] Nineveh is
the oldest of the two cities.

It was founded by a people
called the Assyrians.

It was founded by a people
called the Assyrians.

The Bible says that Nineveh
was a vast metropolis,

so large it took three days
to walk across it.

The walls stretched for miles,

protecting grand palaces
and temples.

So, how much of this is true?

Was Nineveh as big
as the story describes?

Engineers rebuilt key sections

Engineers rebuilt key sections

of Nineveh's
once mighty ramparts

in the 1970s,

based on what they would
have looked like.

But today, little remains.

In 2014, Islamic State
tried to erase

the ancient city's ruins
from existence.

Khaireddine Nasser is the Head
of Antiquities in Mosul.

He and his team are determined
to rebuild what was lost,

and discover the true scale
of this ancient city.

[speaking Arabic]

[narrator] Khaireddine
investigates a huge structure

called the Shamash Gate.

It's one of the few sections
of Nineveh's city walls

that survived the destruction.

[speaking Arabic]

[narrator] Our cameras have
been granted rare access

to the Iraqi team,

as it explores
this lost wonder.

Here at the Shamash Gate,

Islamic State looters
dug this tunnel

underneath the ruins,

hunting for hidden treasures
to sell on the black market.

Engineers must fill it in

to prevent the whole structure
from collapsing.

[Khaireddine speaking Arabic]

[Khaireddine speaking Arabic]

[narrator] The archaeological
repair work

is also an opportunity
to discover more

about the size
of the ancient city.

Nineveh was so big
it needed many entrances.

On the other side of Mosul

lie the remains
of the Mashki Gate.

Here, Fadhel Mohamad Khodr

and a team from
the University of Pennsylvania

hope to uncover
its foundations.

[speaking Arabic]

[narrator] This image taken
before the destruction

shows how the reconstructed
Mashki Gate used to look.

shows how the reconstructed
Mashki Gate used to look.

It was a miniature fortress,

more than 80 feet high
and 80 feet wide.

[Fadhel speaking Arabic]

[narrator] So, how large
was this city?

Archaeologist,
Nicolo Marchetti,

Archaeologist,
Nicolo Marchetti,

from the University
of Bologna,

belongs to an Iraqi-Italian
team at Nineveh.

He uses drone technology

backed up by excavations
on the ground

to piece together
the city's layout.

What you see here
is a representation

of the elevations.

We call it
a digital elevation model.

[narrator]
Ancient inscriptions reveal

how Nineveh had
more than a dozen gates.

[Nicolo] The earlier texts
speak of 13, 14 gates.

[Nicolo] The earlier texts
speak of 13, 14 gates.

And then the number
grows until 18.

But until now,
only five of them

have been known
archaeologically.

[narrator] Incredibly,
archaeologists are still
finding more.

We were very lucky in 2021
to identify a new gate here,

almost halfway between
the river

and the Shamash Gate.

And we just started
excavation here.

[narrator]
The aerial survey reveals

how the city was surrounded by
fortified walls

nearly 7.5 miles long.

nearly 7.5 miles long.

[Nicolo] The main defensive
wall was 35 meters thick.

And minimum today,

it's preserved to a height
of 15 meters.

But of course,
it was much higher.

If you multiply this,
the amount of labor

which was needed
to make this wall

was simply mind-blowing.

It was
an impossible technical feat.

[narrator] It's not hard to
see why the biblical writers

believe that it took
three days

to walk across Nineveh.

to walk across Nineveh.

The Assyrian capital
was a mega-city.

One of the largest
in the ancient world.

It covered an area of more
than 2.5 square miles.

So, why is Nineveh so big?

A clue lies
in the east of the city,

where Nicolo's team is helping

to rebuild another of
the city's massive gates.

Here, investigators uncover
an inscription,

Here, investigators uncover
an inscription,

hidden from view
for more than 2,500 years.

It reveals the name
of the king who built it,

a mighty warrior
called Sennacherib.

One of the most notorious
rulers in the Old Testament.

[Nicolo] This is
the inscription

by Sennacherib, and it says,

"Sennacherib, King of Assyria,
King of the world,

erected the inner wall
and the outer wall of Nineveh,

and built it as high
as a mountain."

[narrator] In 705 BC,

[narrator] In 705 BC,

Sennacherib inherited
the Assyrian throne.

His father
had been killed in battle,

bringing shame
to the royal family.

So Sennacherib decided

to move the imperial capital
to Nineveh

and start again.

Nicolo's investigations reveal

how Sennacherib remodeled
Nineveh's existing settlement

on an unprecedented scale.

He doubled its size

He doubled its size

and even diverted
the Khawsar River

to run through it.

This is not encampments
surrounded by walls,

empty, as so many people
have surmised.

Our researchers have shown

that this was
a real, thriving city.

Wherever we look,
we find buildings.

And this is extraordinary.

[narrator] Archaelogists think
that Nineveh

was home to
more than 100,000 people.

Sennacherib's ambitions
had no limits.

He decided to turn Nineveh

into one of the biggest cities
on Earth.

Only Babylon was comparable
in size and scale.

So, who was
Nineveh's mighty king?

And did his city live up to
his reputation in the Bible?

The Bible says that
Nineveh was a great city,

but steeped in sin.

So God sent a prophet, Jonah,

to preach against
the people of the city,

and save them
from their evil ways.

At first, Jonah refused.

He tried to run away,
and ended up at sea,

where he was swallowed
by a whale.

But when the whale
spat him out,

But when the whale
spat him out,

he returned to Nineveh,
and the people repented.

It's a famous tale,

but the Bible never says
exactly why

the city needed saving.

So, what was Nineveh like
to live in?

Tradition says that
Jonah was buried
on this hill in Nineveh.

Today, a mosque dedicated
to him stands here.

It's now in ruins,

destroyed by
the same militants

who tore down
the city's ancient gates.

who tore down
the city's ancient gates.

Intriguingly, investigators
are uncovering the remains

of a vast palace beneath it.

It's one of several

built by the Assyrian kings
in the city.

Fadhel Mohamad Khodr

investigates the most famous
of Nineveh's royal residences,

Sennacherib's
southwest palace.

[Fadhel speaking Arabic]

[narrator]
The southwest palace

was the jewel
in Sennacherib's crown.

Raised high
on 160 layers of brick,

it had 80 rooms,
adorned with sculptures,

and nearly two miles
of decorated wall panels.

Sennacherib wanted this to be
the greatest palace on Earth.

So, was the biblical story
of Jonah

So, was the biblical story
of Jonah

a rejection
of Nineveh's extravagance?

Western archaeologists
excavated this palace

in the 19th century,

driven by stories
of the Bible and Jonah.

Today, little remains
above ground.

But flying overhead

reveals the sheer magnificence
of this legendary building.

[Fadhel speaking Arabic]

[Fadhel speaking Arabic]

[narrator] Fadhel thinks
that Nineveh's palaces

were designed to make
a powerful statement.

[Fadhel speaking Arabic]

[narrator] So, was Nineveh
just a royal playground?

Nicolo Marchetti thinks
that there was more

to Sennacherib's city
than grand palaces.

He has uncovered the remains

of a mysterious tunnel
beneath the city walls.

We opened an area here,
and we were very surprised

to understand this was
a water inlet, a canal.

to understand this was
a water inlet, a canal.

The tunnel is 42 meters long.

But we are there eight meters
below the surface.

[narrator] The canal was part
of an immense network,

carrying water to Nineveh
from the mountains.

[Nicolo] Nineveh was,
at that time,

undergoing a drought.

A severe drought.

And this is why they worked
so hard for bringing waters

from very distant fields.

This is an incredible feat
by Sennacherib.

This is an incredible feat
by Sennacherib.

[narrator] Nicolo has also
unearthed evidence

of where Sennacherib found
the expertise

to pull off
these pioneering projects.

[Nicolo] We found a library
of literary texts.

And the contents
are incredibly interesting.

There is no
administrative aspects here.

This is a library belonging to
a learned individual.

[narrator] Nicolo and his team
found fragments

of around 50 texts.

of around 50 texts.

But these are
just the tip of the iceberg.

[Nicolo] At Nineveh
there was another library,

which is the Library
of Ashurbanipal,

which is an immense library,

featuring tens of thousands
of tablets.

So this was
a truly imperial capital,

and the intellectuals
flocked here

from all around the empire.

[narrator] Nineveh was
very different

to the decadent city of sin

portrayed in the story
of Jonah.

So why did the biblical
writers place his story here?

Did something happen later

Did something happen later

to spark the city's
evil reputation?

A clue could lie
in a stone carving

from inside
one of Nineveh's palaces.

It shows an Assyrian king
and his queen

relaxing in a garden,

while behind them, the head
of an enemy hangs from a tree.

Did this paradise city
have a dark side?

New discoveries reveal

how Sennacherib
transformed Ninneveh

into a city
of astonishing sophistication.

But did everyone embrace

the ancient
Assyrian way of life?

The Assyrians, unlike
the writers of the Bible,

believed in many Gods.

So could this be why
Nineveh was seen as evil?

Our cameras have been granted
rare access

to the Mosul Museum,

where Khaireddine Nassar
and a team of specialists

where Khaireddine Nassar
and a team of specialists

are trying to save the remains
of Nineveh's ancient past.

Islamic State militants
blew up this building

and smashed many
of its greatest treasures.

[Khaireddine speaking Arabic]

[narrator] These feet
belong to

the statue of a winged bull,

a popular Assyrian deity
known as a Lamassu.

The creature's body
represents speed and strength.

But each one has a human head,

But each one has a human head,

a symbol of wisdom
and intelligence.

These celestial beings
were hugely popular deities.

Archaeologists find Lamassu

at all
the major Assyrian cities.

The Assyrians saw them
as guardians.

[Khaireddine speaking Arabic]

[narrator] Archaeologists have
discovered an astonishing 43

of these colossal statues
at Nineveh alone.

So, where did these
fantastic beasts come from?

A clue could lie
with another, far older city.

Sebastian Rey is digging
the ancient site of Girsu

Sebastian Rey is digging
the ancient site of Girsu

in southern Iraq.

A familiar creature
has been uncovered here.

[Sebastian] This was found
at the site of Girsu.

This is
a small stone sculpture

of a mythical
supernatural being

with a human head
and the body of a bull.

It's probably the earliest
known representation

of these supernatural beasts
known as Lamassus.

[narrator] This sculpture is
more than 1,000 years older

than the ones from Nineveh.

[Sebastian] This is, in a way,

a sort of prototype
of the Assyrian Lamassus,

those great beasts.

[narrator] Sebastian thinks
it reveals

how the Assyrians
saw the cultures

that came before them.

[Sebastian] This confirms
this long tradition

[Sebastian] This confirms
this long tradition

of myths, legends
that were copied

time and time again

throughout the thousands years
of the history of Mesopotamia.

[narrator] Mythical beasts
were hugely popular

throughout the ancient world.

The Assyrians had the Lamassu.

The Egyptians had their
own version, the Sphinx,

a fiercely protective lion
with the head of a pharaoh.

Even the ancient Israelites,
who believed in one god,

Even the ancient Israelites,
who believed in one god,

had cherubim,
heavenly creatures

who act as guardians
and bearers of God's throne.

The Assyrian religion
was similar

to most other cultures
at the time.

So why does the Bible
single out

their capital, Nineveh,
for special condemnation?

A clue lies in the reliefs

that once adorned the walls
of Sennacherib's palace.

They depict his forces
attacking the city of Lachish,

in the Kingdom of Judah.

Soldiers advance
behind siege engines,

while defenders hurl missiles
at the attackers.

But against
Sennacherib's war machine,

resistance was futile.

He destroyed Lachish,
flayed alive its leaders,

and led its citizens
into captivity.

The story of Jonah was written

well after
all these events happened.

Sennacherib's conquest
of Israel

made his capital the enemy

in the eyes
of the biblical writers.

But the story
is also a morality tale.

Jonah warned that the city
would be destroyed.

A prediction that came true.

In 612 BC, Nineveh's
great rival, Babylon,

raised it to the ground.

The Assyrian empire
was broken,

and never recovered.

But Babylon has an even worse
reputation in the Bible.

Why did the Biblical writers
not celebrate the city

that had freed them
from Assyrian rule?

In the 7th century BC,

the Babylonians
destroyed Nineveh.

Their capital, Babylon,

now became the greatest city
in the world.

But for the writers
of both the Hebrew

and the Christian Bible,
it was a den of wickedness.

According to
the Old Testament,

Babylon's infamy stretched
back to the dawn of time.

Babylon's infamy stretched
back to the dawn of time.

Nimrod, who founded
ancient Erech,

supposedly built
this city, too.

His people set out to build
the Tower of Babel,

a building so tall,
its height offended God.

He punished
the people of Babylon

by making them
speak different languages,

so they could
no longer work together,

and the tower
was left unfinished.

It's a fabulous story.

So, was Babylon
really the original sin city?

Today, Osama Hisham
from the World Monuments Fund,

and archaeologist,
Ammar al-Taee,

work to rebuild Babylon.

Despite the city's infamy,

investigators know
surprisingly little

about its origins.

[Osama speaking English]

[Osama speaking English]

[narrator] Osama and Ammar
are currently restoring

a temple dedicated to
the goddess, Ninmakh.

Above ground,
it's a modern reconstruction,

built during the rule
of Saddam Hussein.

Iraq's notorious dictator
wanted to appropriate

Babylon's glorious past
for his own ends.

But the reconstructions stand
on ancient foundations.

[Ammar speaking English]

[narrator] Excavation trenches
like this

reveal how
Babylon's original buildings

were made from mud brick.

The team has had to figure out
the Babylonian recipe

for mud brick to make
their repairs more authentic.

[Ammar speaking]

[narrator] If the Tower
of Babel did exist,

it would have been constructed
from mud bricks like these.

Some think that
the city's giant ziggurat

might have been
the inspiration

for the biblical tower.

But there's a problem.

Today, it's a heap
of mud brick.

And no one knows
exactly how old it is.

And no one knows
exactly how old it is.

The city's high water table
makes it very difficult

for archaeologists to find
Babylon's earliest buildings.

[Ammar speaking]

[narrator] So, archaeologists
must hunt

for evidence elsewhere

to reconstruct
the city's origins.

to reconstruct
the city's origins.

According to Genesis,

Babylon was one of
the world's first cities.

But today, most archaeologists

believe it was
a relative latecomer.

Assyriologist,
Stephanie Dalley,

thinks Babylon first rose
to power around 1800 BC,

under a king called Hammurabi.

Hammurabi was a great builder,

and may even have constructed
the original ziggurat.

and may even have constructed
the original ziggurat.

He transformed Babylon

from a small, regional city
into a huge metropolis.

[Stephanie] Hammurabi was
a great king.

He dug wonderful canals

to facilitate transport
and so on.

And by building the canals,
he made it possible

to irrigate a larger expanse
of agriculture.

[narrator]
This influential ruler

also produced
one of the earliest

also produced
one of the earliest

lists of laws ever discovered.

Known as
the Code of Hammurabi,

its principal
of reciprocal justice

could even have influenced

the Bible's
"eye for an eye" rule.

Archaeologists have found
copies of the Code

across the Middle East.

It's impossible to prove

exactly when
Babylon was founded.

But its long and glorious past

But its long and glorious past

could explain why
the writers of the Bible

saw it as one of
the world's first cities.

Stephanie thinks
that Babylon's fame

also drew criticism,

which may explain the origins
of the Tower of Babel story.

[Stephanie] It sounds as if
they're mocking the fact

that people are babbling away

and can't understand
each other.

And that, to me, tells how
cosmopolitan Babylon was.

And that, to me, tells how
cosmopolitan Babylon was.

[narrator] Other myths
from the time suggest that

the biblical authors may have
intended their story

as a slight on a city so proud
of its vast architecture.

[Stephanie] We've now found
a text

which seems to be
making fun of the people

who build towers
out of mud bricks,

so they fall down
all the time.

[laughs] And of course,
the Tower of Babel,

the ziggurat in Babylon,
did fall down,

irreparably in the end.

irreparably in the end.

[narrator] So, why did
the biblical authors

focus so much
on Babylon's flaws,

if everyone else admired
this great city?

The answer lies
with its most notorious king,

Nebuchadnezzar II.

In 586 BC, Babylonian armies
conquered Jerusalem,

and deported its population.

His campaign
would earn Babylon

its terrible reputation.

Who was Nebuchadnezzar II?

And how much about
his reign is true?

In 586 BC,

the King of Babylon,
Nebuchadnezzar II,

conquered the city
of Jerusalem.

The Bible says he ransacked
the city's temple,

and exiled its people
to Babylon.

2,500 years ago,

Babylon was
an awe-inspiring sight.

The exiled Judeans would have
entered the inner city

The exiled Judeans would have
entered the inner city

along a huge avenue
called the Processional Way,

that led to its main entrance,
the Ishtar Gate.

Babylonian engineers
built this gate

from baked brick
instead of mud brick,

and covered it
in images of animals

to amaze those
who came through.

For the exiled Judeans,

it was the entrance
to a prison like no other.

What can
this mighty structure tell us

about the man
who brought them here?

Was Nebuchadnezzar
the megalomaniac

of biblical fame?

Our cameras have been granted
special access

to Osama Hisham and his team,

as they rebuild
the Ishtar Gate.

[Osama speaking]

[narrator] Over the centuries,

this colossal monument
has been plagued

by Babylon's
destructive water problem.

[Osama speaking]

[narrator] To safeguard
the gate,

the team must ensure that
water does not become trapped

inside the brick walls.

[Osama speaking]

[narrator]
The reconstruction work

gives Osama an insight

into the mind of the king
who commissioned it.

[Osama speaking]

[narrator] But Nebuchadnezzar
wanted a city

that was beautiful
as well as big.

In the 1900s,
German archaeologists

discovered thousands
of broken glazed bricks

that used to cover the gate.

They shipped them to Berlin,

where specialists
painstakingly reconstructed

Nebuchadnezzar's
crowning achievement

in its original glory.

in its original glory.

This is the awesome sight

that would have greeted
the Hebrew exiles

as they began a new life,

thousands of miles
from their home in Jerusalem.

Museum curator, Helen Gries,

protects this
ancient mega-structure.

[speaking English]

[narrator] Today,
Helen and her team

undertake crucial work
on the Processional Way.

undertake crucial work
on the Processional Way.

[Helen speaking]

[narrator] They begin
by taking

high-resolution photographs
of each individual brick.

By comparing them to images
taken in previous years,

By comparing them to images
taken in previous years,

they can check
for signs of damage

to the fragile glazes.

Helen focuses on one of
the ornate lotus flowers

that line the walls.

[Helen speaking]

[narrator] Helen's forensic
analysis of
the bricks

also reveals how
Nebuchadnezzar's artists

pioneered a new technique

to give the tiles
their bright blue color.

[narrator] But Helen thinks

these ground-breaking
monuments also reveal

how Nebuchadnezzar
wanted to be seen.

Assyrian palaces are covered

with images of war
and conquest.

But these Babylonian walls are
alive with mythical beasts.

The lion represents Ishtar,
the goddess of love and war.

The bull is the symbol
of the weather god, Adad.

And the white dragon
is the avatar of Marduk,

Chief God of Babylon.

There are more than 575
animals on these walls.

Nebuchadnezzar wanted
to show himself

as a devoted follower
of the gods.

as a devoted follower
of the gods.

But to the biblical exiles,

the King must have seemed
anything but pious.

[Helen speaking]

[narrator] Nebuchadnezzar
was far from the liberator

of the ancient world.

of the ancient world.

He used the loot

from conquered cities
like Jerusalem

to make Babylon great again.

So, what was life like
for the exiles

inside this monumental prison?

And how did Babylon
really fall?

The bible describes Babylon
under Nebuchadnezzar II

as the ultimate city of sin.

It tells us that he conquered
the population of Judah

and exiled them to Babylon.

According to
the Book of Daniel,

the exiles endured
a succession

of terrible hardships
in their new home.

Including when one king threw
the prophet Daniel himself

into a lion's den.

[lion roars]

Ultimately, God brought
divine retribution

to the Babylonians.

Nebuchadnezzar descended
into madness.

And a new people,
the Persians,
conquered the city.

Many historians believe that
the earlier parts of the Bible

were written in Babylon
by exiled priests.

For them, exile was
a traumatic experience,

which explains the Bible's

negative portrayal
of the city.

Did all Judeans
see Babylon that way?

Helen Gries finds a clue
among the thousands

of cuneiform fragments
found at Babylon.

of cuneiform fragments
found at Babylon.

This tablet is a rare glimpse

into what life
in exile was like.

[narrator] Jehoiachin was
among the thousands

of Judean exiles
sent to Babylon.

Archaeologists discovered
this reference to him

in Nebuchadnezzar's
royal archive.

[Helen speaking]

[narrator] Nebuchadnezzar
granted Jehoiachin

an allowance of sesame oil
from the royal storehouses.

[Helen speaking]

[narrator] As a former king,

Jehoiachin enjoyed
special treatment.

But lower-ranking Judeans
also took to life in Babylon.

When the King of Persia,
Cyrus the Great,

conquered the city
and allowed the exiles

to return home to Jerusalem,
many decided to stay.

[Helen speaking]

[Helen speaking]

[narrator] Hundreds of years
after Babylon fell,

the Book of Daniel emerged.

It was an apocalypse story,

warning that God would punish
those who disobeyed him,

just as he had done

to the sinful
King Nebuchadnezzar.

The fierce rivalry
between Babylon and Nineveh

shaped the ancient world.

The writers of the Bible

saw the rise and fall
of these cities

as cautionary tales.

A sign of what happened
to those

who went against
the will of God.

[Nicolo] The historical
reality of the Assyrian East

was quickly forgotten.

Western civilization only kept
memories through the Bible.

The interplay of ancient
and modern myths

in Mesopotamia

is like a constant feature
of the land.

[narrator] But now,
archaeologists are uncovering

the true achievements of these
remarkable civilizations,

rebuilding lost wonders,

and resurrecting
rich and ancient cultures.

Their investigations
will take many years,

Their investigations
will take many years,

as Iraq continues to recover

from decades
of war and terrorism.

But the Babylonians
and the Assyrians of Nineveh

left us an incredible legacy.

They preserved the stories
and the culture

of the first city builders,
the ancient Sumerians,

whose echoes
can still be heard

in three of the world's
great religions.

The truth behind
the lost cities of the Bible

is the story
of the dawn of civilization.