What kind of aesthetics and themes would a space empire based on Babylon have besides really big square beards?

Babylon was a small city in the Akkadian Empire (the first semitic empire) but became an independent city-state. It was located in Mesopotamia so pretty much any aesthetic from Mesopotamia could be used. Some examples are: pointy hats, men in skirts with bare chests, wings which are folded down instead of out like an angel's, and lions.

>Tfw Mesopotamia is awesome as fuck
>Tfw now its shitty Middle East Muslim land

What the FUCK happened

Got replaced by boring modern stuff.

Mohammedanism is basically the worst thing ever.

>the cradle of civilization is now its graveyard

Marduk preserve us

Fucking Mongols happened.

Ziggurats. Ziggurats everywhere.

Ziggurats in space.

The French and English fucked it all up, then the USA and USSR took that fucked up mix and decided "let's fuck this up some more.

Americans arming religious extremists to fight communism didn't go as planned either

Physical planetary shields?

>implying arabs aren't the root cause
A seed needs soil to grow.

Stone everywhere

Putting religious extremists and megalomaniacs in charge and bankrolling their regimes was the soil, and the water, and the fertilizer. The west ploughed and tended that field of violence for nearly a century before it blew up in their faces.

Tower of Babel styled space elevators

>to fight communism
Jee... that's a funny way of saying, "destabilize the region to keep oil prices low."
It's almost like you've bought into propaganda or something.

Eh, early Al-Qaeda was trained by the CIA to start an insurgence against the USSR in Afghanistan.

Ziggurats that span from earth to heaven?

>implying we stopped

Really big square ships.

Did I say we did? Just because you used to do something doesn't mean you don't still do it.

Kinda poetic when you think about it.

well if OPEC hadn't laid that embargo due to being butthurt over people telling the Muslims that invading and raiding Israel was a bad thing, maybe they wouldnt have been a target for having destabalization

>space empire
>babylon

Like Necrons? Semitic mega-monarchies with giant pyramidal buildings everywhere?

The West has been fucking with the Middle East's politics since the end of WWI

to be fair, England and Russia have been fucking around there since the 1800s, and even before then Europe had been in constant contest and conflict with them since forever as well.

the only difference is Europe survived, while the Ottomons lost a few major cities to Mongals and never recovered due to the extremists taking over, and after that most European powers had no incentive at all to invade back and stabalize the place.

so really, you could say being a destabalized hole of crazy murderous religious extremists, being played by much more economically stronger western nations is the norm for them, because theyre too obstinate to actually try to not be dickheads even when given technology, infrastructure, relief, and education from other nations, and the people there who could potentially make things better are either killed off in extremist fueled witch hunts, or piss off the wrong global power.

I meant that the best chance for lasting peace in the area (The Hashimids) got fucked over then ousted. They were fucking willing to figure out a solution for Israel to be a think where everyone wasn't pissed off and try to mediate secular disputes. And then the god ousted by the British and the Sauds were put in charge, and you know how that went.

Also, I remember reading that the middle-east has a very high number of cousin and second cousin marriages, which is a symptom or cause of clannishness and tribalism, which when coupled with the apparatus of government leads to nepotism and corruption.
I think it posited that one of the reasons the west did so well is because of our strong inbreeding taboo (except amongst the nobility, who are basically a few big interlinked tribes anyway)

c , ,

Second cousin marriages are the balance between genetic complications from breeding too close or too far.

The whole region was peaceful when the entire region was Palestine. Hitler killed the wrong jews.

Same thing that happened to Celts in Europe
Their culture got EMPIRE'D out of existance.

Though in the case of Babylonian culture that shit was long gone anyway.

A constant state of not being as good as Assyria would mean they would have a complex of paranoia

They have dedicated their whole empire to building a big tower. So big that it has to be built in space. It houses a supercollieder of enormous proportions that is said to, when finished, break reality and uplift their whole civilization to the level of the gods.

Lots of stone and torches, even where it doesn't make sense, like spaceships.
Super fit god-kings, maybe genetically engineered to be swole af or something
Powerful priests, with a focus on the harsh brutality of nature and the unpredictability of the gods.
You need a big Tiamat Kaiju in there somewhere. Just go with it.
Lions with wings, people with wings, suns with wings
P sure it was Babylon who had a religious tradition of prostitution, so they'd probably view sex differently.

user, you're missing the point. The arabs (religious extremists) are the soil, bankrolling and supporting them is the seed.

The Empire of Babel follows a supreme creed above all else, a drive to first unify all humans, and then possibly all sapients, under a single banner.
They believe that when all people speak with a single voice and a single language, they will cast down God and make man the master of the universe.

>The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them."

...

Big defences
Pretty wealthy
Emphasis on law, maybe libraries
As says really big square everything

They have digitalized their information like everyone else, but still use stone tablets out of tradition. Like to put an emphasis on their decrees and laws to be "set in stone" to back up its legitimacy. Showing up in person and drop your demands in tablet form on someone's table is a great way to tell them you mean business.

Rise of Wahhabi Islam in the 1960's as a response to broken promises following the world wars and a growing traditionalist stance in response to the growing liberalization of areas like Afghanistan, Iran, and Iraq. This mixed with arming Wahhabi groups funded by the US and Saudi Arabia, and a failed communist turned islamist revolution in Iran lead to a pretty shitty situation in a once thriving area.

Oh, that and Mongols.

Lamassus around city gates, starship ports, castle entrances etc as a protective deity. Maybe the statues are actually decorated turrets, or the elite soldiers or royal guard wear helmets that look like the stone head.

Mongols happend. Forget Arabs, it was Mongolian conquest that pretty much turned the entire region into piece of shit, since they've burned everything burnable and destroyed everything easy destroyable. Including all the intracite irrigation works, which in turn made that place good for goatherding and nothing else. Islam in turn went into really shitty period and never really recovered.

Islamic nations were recovering in the early part of the twentieth century. Look at Iran or Iraq pre-1960. Hell, you could even look at stuff like Ataturk at the secularization of Turkey.

the babylonians were obsessed with cataloging and recording everything
OBSESSED

It's less about being "fit" by itself and more about a long "hero king" eastern tradition. Every ancient middle eastern should try to be a total alpha like Gilgamesh. Obviously, heroes are fit as fuck, and so must be the king but it's yet another heroic quality he must have.

>while the Ottomons lost a few major cities to Mongals

Well, at first empires happened and small city-states with hero kings didn't happen anymore. Instead, you had a huge to freaking humongous empire with satrapies and bureaucracies, because you can't have a big organization function at all unless it has order and rules up the ass. At some point, they went into Zoroastrianism, which pretty much killed the old gods. Then after a few hundred years of fighting the Eastern Romans/Byzantium, they were weakened and the Arabs conquered the stuffing out of them. Then at some point the Turkish rode through and captured Baghdad, which was already flagging, then around 200 years later the Mongols came and utterly trashed the place AND the whole infrastructure of the region. After that it hasn't been very good.

Still, it lasted a few millennia, that was a pretty decent run.

>Rise of Wahhabi Islam in the 1960's as a response to

user, the Ottomans kicked the shit outta the Whais at least twice long before WW1 was a twinkling in the eyes of a british politician. They had been around for a long time, they just were shitty sandniggers without US and british money, arms and political support.

Egypt apparently had an economy before the Brits NOPED it out of existance in order to secure the channel.

LOL, no.

Let me tell you a story known as "Abridged history of Israel and Arabic countries".

Dramatis personae:
Israel - a country surrounded with Arabian countries. Population at the start of the events - < 1 million.
Arabian countries - neighbours of Israel: Egypt, Syria, Jordan etc. Total population - > 100 million.
Other countries - USSR, USA, Britain, France Iceland etc. and also UN.

Prelude. 1947.
UN (after finishing a speech): ...And we, United Nations Organization, ask the Great Britain to withdraw troops from Palestine's territory that was given to it and create two countries on its territory - Arabian and Jewish! Who's in favor?

Britain (sipping tea): I don't give a shit. Palestine gives us nothing but trouble.
Arabian countries (together): Over our dead bodies!
Jews (perking up): That sounds like a plan!
USSR: I'm in favor.
USA: Me too!
Iceland (stealthily dipping a codfish into Britain's tea): And me.
Egypt (sarcastically): Like someone asked for your fucking opinion.
Iceland (pointing codfish at Egypt, with authority): I'll fuck you up, mate.
UN: Majority decision made in favor of the proposition.
Arabian countries: Are you fucking kidding?!
Britain (absent-mindedly): Okay, I'll withdraw the troops... (taking out a fish scale from tea) What the fuck?
Jews (suggestively): That's Arabian fault.
Arabian countries (to Jews): You're fucking dead.
Jews (loudly): We announce the creation of independent country of Israel... (glancing at Arabs) ...and also mobilization.
(Arabs and Jews initiate firefights all over the Palestine.)
UN (clutching head in panic): ...FUCK!

(cont.)

>P sure it was Babylon who had a religious tradition of prostitution
It was part of the whole cultural continuum from Sumer onwards. Specifically, the cult of Inanna/Ishtar/Astarte. There's also some thought that she might've been adopted by Greeks as Aphrodite and sacred prostitution still remained for many generations

Maybe don't prop up an apartheid state built on explicitly stolen land to assuage the guilt of a genocide you didn't even have a part in, just saying.

Like, the history of why the Middle East is fucked is multifacited and goes back to the rise of Islam, the Mongols (mainly Tamerlane,) the Ottomon's, then the Brits and French and that's just part of it, with later influences hurting too, but lets not pretend Israel is some kindly saint of a nation.

Mandatory:
youtube.com/watch?v=4pKMV6e5kEo

>"Abridged history of Israel and Arabic countries".

The tl;dr version is

"It's a polish-russian colony the Brits put there because they figured they might as well put all those damn slavs in their country to some use."

Act I. 1948.

Arabian countries (with pathos): Israel, remember: you're fucking dead.
(Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan attack Israel.)
Israel (counting Arabian soldiers): Where are we gonna dig all the fucking graves for you...
USSR (conspiratorially): Hey, Israel...
Israel (to itself): And no money left!
USSR (quietly): Do you need fighter aircraft?
Israel: For free?
USSR: Yes.
Israel (with faked indifference): Why do we need fighters, when we don't have mortars?
USSR (baffled): I fail to see the point.
Israel (pointing at USSR): But you have mortars, right?
USSR (completely confused): Sure.
Israel (pointedly): That'a'boy! (patting USSR's shoulder). Fine, you convinced me, I'll take the mortars too. How about the money, though?
USSR (in panic): Fuck off!
Israel (generously): Fine, fine, but you'll owe me.
USSR (horrified): Czechoslovakia, give him the fucking fighter aircraft and tell him to fuck off!
Israel (thoughtfully counting the fighters): Good, but not enough. (aside) Hey, USA!
USA: What?
Israel (pointedly): I need bomber aircraft.
USA (just as pointedly): Fuck off.
Israel (with authority): I'll remember that.
USA (with irony): And what are you gonna do, huh? (turning around) Fuck! Where are my Boeings?!
Israel (polishing their new Boeings): What Boeings?
USA (in rage): These Boeings!
Israel (looking at the Boeings): Oh, whoops!
USA (thoughtfully): You fucker.
Israel (insolently): Chao, baby! Israel is gonna go and pew-pew those bad Arabs.
(Israelian army with new weapons fights off the Arabian troops and begins couter-offense.)
UN (firmly): Now. All of you. Stop fucking around.
Israel (not stopping fucking around): What, me too?
UN: You in particular.
Israel (destroying the remains of Arabian troops): Just a second...
UN: Israel!...
Israel (occupying Arabian territories): Just five more minutes, Mom.
UN: Fuck...

(cont.)

It's spelled ciao.

...

water fountains and decorative water features are common

Act II. 1956.

USSR: Hey, Israel...
Israel (firmly): No money left.
USSR: You want some weapons?
Israel (with interest): And what do you want from me in return?
USSR (carelessly): Just a small favor. You need to prank Britain and France.
Israel (smiling): USSR, you're not cut out to be a Jew.
USSR: Fuck! (aside) Hey, Egypt, you want some weapons?
Egypt (with joy): Sure!
USSR (with faked optimism): Now you can kick out France and Britain and take all the money you make from Suez Canal!
Egypt (with idiotic smile): Sure! I'll do just that! Thanks, USSR!
Israel (watching from the sidelines): What an idiot.
(Egypt nationalizes the Suez Canal, taking it from Britain and France and cutting off the access for Israelian ships.)
Israel (thoughtfully). You fuck. (to France and Britain) Gentlemen, don't you think it's time to fuck Egypt up?
Britain and France (together): Of course!
(Israel, France and Britain attack the Egypt, the Suez war begins).
Egypt (nervously): USSR, help!
USSR (clutching his head): Everything is going to shit. (taking out the nuclear bomb) I'll fuck you three up!
USA (looking from afar): This idiot can really try and do that. (aside) Hey, you three! Fuck off from Egypt.
Britain and France (together): But, Mom...
USA (with authority): Right fucking now. (to Israel) What the fuck are you waiting for?
Israel (hugging the occupied Sinai peninsula): That's mine!
USA: Put it back where you took it.
Israel: What's the magic word?
USA (darkly): Sanctions.
Israel (sadly): Pls no.
Egypt (lying on the floor with all of his teeth kicked out): You fuckers, get off me already!
(Britain, France and Israel withdraw from Egypt. Suez war ends.)
Egypt (carefully touching his jaw): I'll have my revenge, don't forget it!

(cont.)

An external power putting massively unpopular and violent fanatics in charge of the country for decades, until the situation festers into a conflict that is now both religious AND political AND cultural in nature would fuck up anyone given enough time. Its dumb to think otherwise.

The real problem is that, right now, its basically impossible to imagine a way that the conflict could ever STOP without what is effectively one side just genociding everyone else. It isn't about land or even religion anymore. Its just revenge killing all the way down.

So either it goes until there isn't anyone else left for them to fight, or someone like the US has to plant their feet on the ground and hold these squabbling factions away from each other in relative peace for something like 50 years, until an entirely new generation of people who haven't grown up in a cycle of revenge killing have grown up and assumed power and all the fanatics have aged out of relevance. But its not like even the US can really do that.

Act III. 1967.

Syria (quietly): Hey, Egypt...
Egypt (feeling the freshly inserted teeth): What?
Syria (whispering): Stop shouting... Let's fuck Israel up.
Egypt (nervously looking around): Just the two of us?
Syria (even more quietly): USSR gave me the aviation. Says that Israel is getting on his nerves.
Egypt (thoughtfully): We won't succeed with just the two of us. Hey, Jordan!
Jordan: ???
Egypt: Shush! Let's fuck Israel up.
Jordan: Sure thing. Hey, Iraq! Wanna fuck Israel up together with us?
Iraq: Sure! Algeria, wanna give us some troops?
Algeria: Of course!
Saudi Arabia: Hey, I wanna with you!
Israel (suspiciously): Oka-a-a-ay... What the fuck are you whispering there about?
Arabian countries (giggling): We wanna make a surprise for you.
Israel (looking around): And why are you moving your troops towards my borders?
Arabian countries (darkly): You'll see soon enough.
Israel (shrugging shoulders): Alright. I merely asked.
Syria (whispering): The plan is simple. We'll attack from all the sides and win.
Arabian countries (whispering together): Hooray!
Israel (carefully cutting off the tracking antenna off the roof of USA embassy): Look how how fucking optimistic these guys are.
(Israel simultaneously attacks neighbouring Arabian countries, the Six-Day war starts.)
Arabian countries (together): Fuck!
Israel (occupying one territory after another, mockingly): Surprise!
USA (horrified): Israel, what the fuck are you doing?!
Israel (sinking the USA's scouting vessel): Don't pay any attention to it.
USA (disbelievingly): What the fuck!
Israel (driving Arabs all over the desert): Well, I guess I got ahead of myself a bit.
UN (strictly): Alright, what's going on here?
Israel (taking out the Jordan's passenger aircraft): Nothing special.
UN (clutching his head): Fuck!
USSR (without comprehension): Alright... Syria, what the fuck? Where are the planes I gave to you?
Israel (suggestively): There, burning in the distance.
USSR (clutching his head): Fuck!

(cont.)

I remember you, goyim.

Act III (cont). 1967.

UN (with authority): Alright, stop this shit. Right. Now.
Israel (peacefully): Alright, alright, you don't need to shout.
(Israel stops its army. Six-Day war is over, the Israel's territory tripled during its course.)
Israel (with satisfaction): Only Creator himself could do more in six days!
Egypt (with his teeth kicked out again): Fucking fuck!

(cont.)

Hey.

This is neither Veeky Forums, not /pol/.

Take it elsewhere.

Hey buddy, shut-up. I'm trying to enjoy a story and maybe learn something.

Yeah, so far so good. Keep it up, this is now relevant because reasons

Act IV. 1967, a month after Six-Day war.

USSR: Hey Egypt...
Egypt: What?
USSR: You need some aircraft?
Egypt (sarcastically): What do you think?
(USSR gives Egypt aircraft and weapons.)
Israel (tiredly): Never would've guessed...
Egypt (cheerfully): So, Israel, where is my Sinai peninsula?
(Egypt starts attacking Israel territory, the War of Attrition begins.)
Israel (making return strikes against Egypt): You little fucker!
Egypt (surprised): USSR, he's resisting!
USSR (resignedly): Fuck. I'm showing you this one last time...
(USSR sends 32 thousands soldiers dressed in Egyptian uniform to Egypt).
Israel (ironically): Again these goyim are trying to cheat us.
(Israel shares the information with western newspapers about exact position coordinates of USSR soldiers.)
USSR (nervously): Fucking Egypt! Stop shaming me! Do something already!
Egypt (surprised): Me?!
USSR (tiredly): Fuck.
(Israelian and Soviet pilots have a few air engagements.)
USSR (counting its losses): Egypt, you are one hell of a faggot. Fuck off.
Egypt (sadly): I'm not a faggot... (aside) Israel, temporary peace?
Israel (counting its losses, with faked generousity): Fine. You can live for a bit more.

(cont.)

I'm almost done anyway.

Act V. 1973.

UN: Alright, Israel, sign over here.
Israel (surprised): What's that?
UN: An agreement about restricting the distributon of nuclear weapons. You don't have nuclear weapons, right?
Israel (quickly hiding a nuclear bomb): Why are you asking?
UN: Fucking Israel! Do you have a bomb or not?
Israel (mysteriously): You know, my grandma used me to tell this story...
UN: Israel, I'm tired of your shit.
USSR (thoughtfully): "Tired" isn't a word expressive enough for his shit. (whispering) Alright, Arabs, tell Israel that he's a faggot.
Syria (loudly): Israel, you're a faggot.
Egypt (agreeing): That's right, such a faggot!
(Syria and Egypt attack Israel, Yom Kippur War starts.)
Israel (surprised): You fuckers!
USA: Need help?
Israel (fighting off): Fuck off.
USA: And now?
Israel (retreating): Don't disturb me.
USA: How about now?
Israel (suffering incredible losses): Fine, you silver-tongued bastard.
USA (starting the supply shipments, ironically): First time I'm convincing the Jews to take something for free.
(Israel stops Arabs and begins counter-offense, coming close to capitals of Egypt and Syria.)
USSR (watching the Arabs): Worthless, cowardly, pitiful...
USA (clearing his throat): Ahem.
USSR (hearing USA behind him): ...peaceful, defenseless, innocent Arabs!
USA: Aren't you tired of this yet?
USSR (sadly): A bit.
USA: Fuck them all?
USSR: All?
USA: All.
USSR (sighing): Alright.
(USSR and USA create a peace resolution together about peace on Middle East.)
UN (looking at USA and USSR flirting with each other): Never would've thought.
(UN approves the resolution, the Yom Kippur War ends.)
Arabian countries (whispering): What the fuck. (loudly) Dear supporters of Israel and USA! You can fuck right off, we won't give you any oil anymore. Thanks for attention.
(Arabian countries announce embargo, the oil prices quadruple.)
European countries (enraged): Fuck! Fucking Israel! Fucking Arabs! Fucking oil! Fucking everything!...

(cont.)

Act V (cont). 1973.

USSR (scratching its oil fields): Now, now, Europe, don't be nervous. You want some oil?
European countries (resignedly): Fine.

Epilogue. 1979.
Egypt (tiredly): Israel?
Israel (just as tiredly): Whaat?
Egypt: Fuck you.
Israel: Agreed.
(Egypt and Israel sign a peace agreement, Egypt receive the Sinai peninsula back together with Sharm-el-Sheikh.)
Other Arabian countries (together): We could do that?!
Israel (wiping off the sweat): At least now I can live peacefully...
Palestinians (committing one act of terrorism after another): Nuh-uh, you big-nosed asshole.
Israel (enraged): Fuck!...

The End.

Lots of things around the number 60, ancient Mesopotamians used a base 60 number system

Thanks, but all I think I learned is that Israel a shit, and the Arabs also a shit and that the USSR and USA should probably not give shit away to other nations

With a good reason. 60 is nice because it's easy to divide by 2, 3 and 5 (and their many derivatives) unlike 10 that is divisible only by 2 and 5

Who would have thought using other people for proxy wars isn't really the nicest thing to do?

It's politics, no one cares about being nice there. Now, it does create a mess but that seems to have been the goal to begin with

It beats nuclear war, admittedly, but not caring about being nice is pretty stupid. It's one of the costs and/or benefits, and it can have repercussions thirty or a hundred years down the road.

It might still be the right choice, but it's stupid to do thing A that directly causes thing B, and then complain about how thing B wasn't your fault.

>arabians>people
To get back on topic;
I dunno, space hanging gardens? Being technologically superior to their counterparts? Oppression of minorities?

Starfighters with X form but without noses

>Lamassus around city gates, etc.
Statues or marvels of genetic engineering?

Hanging guardians could imply effective space farming. I'd argue they should be more a league of cities that regularly shift alliances and leaders.

I thought this storywas screencap-worthy. Good job, user.

Ziggarut space elevators with orbital shipyards concentrated around the summit.

They bristle with gun turrets, missile silos, shied generators, and missile-defense systems that make them nearly unassailable fortresses that dominate entire hemispheres of planets. Whole battleships can ram the ziggarut without causing catastrophic damage.

Except its true. First cousins and direct siblings will result in genetic defects rather close down the line. Second cousins puts that really damn far down the line.

Bronze. Ziggurats. Chariots. Harnessing a natural force heretofore considered untameable to work for civilization and power those chariots, or perfecting the technology to do so. Staff-wands. Fabulous gardens with waterfalls and fountains. Worship of the night as virtuous rather than the day. "Eye for an eye" reasoning and code of law. Cuneiform-like written language. Eventual losing conflict with !Persia. Sacred hedonism. Celebration of humanity as well as anthomorphs and half-breeds. Sci-fi expy for irrigation.

Well Timur was turko-mongol and almost caused the destruction of Ottoman empire by causing the Ottoman interregnum/civil war.

That would actually be fucking awsome.

This is really dense value for this question. Care to elaborate on any of these?

Space hanging gardens

ITT: living examples of why you should read the thread first.