Every day we here at Hammurabi Today receive letters from many of our readers demanding that we discover what to wear in our hair and on our heads. At last, we have answers! After having met with the city’s best-known fashion designers I & T (Ishtar & Tammuz) and BCBG (Babylon Charm, Babylon Glamour), we have been given the heads up on headwear!
First of all, men can stop worrying because your fashion is nothing but simple! As we explained in our last issue, long hair has been the latest craze, but it has become a problem to control such long, flowing manes. Turbans, or scarf headdresses intricately woven about the head, have become the newest fashion! (See above left picture). BCBG alerted us that they have many colors available, but reminds interested buyers that purple is for the upper wealthy class alone!
For women, all manner of decorations are available such as beads and ribbons. The right-hand picture advertises a golden headdress, which is perfect for those who love to show off their rank! Also, in manner of hairstyles, long hair and braids are highly popular this season. For further details, please visit your nearest outlet store where you will find the latest fashions at a reasonable price!

For centuries the kings of the past have offered land to those who joined the Babylonian army. Several men have joined the army to fight for the empire and the king, viewing their gift of land as a secondary perk to the job. However, there are reports of many other men who have joined the army strictly for the land alone! Not only do men join the army for land, but also those who receive it eventually clamor for more!
These reports have reached King Hammurabi’s ears and he is not happy! He has been reported to complain, “If I give them an acre, they take a hectare! Why is my generosity never enough for them? When will they fight for their city and not just for themselves?”
King Hammurabi has suggested to his legislators that perhaps he should do away with the giving of land to his soldiers and instead give them wages appropriate to their status in the army.
Some soldiers who have never taken advantage of King Hammurabi’s generosity are furious about this. “It isn’t fair that the greedy should spoil it for everyone. Just because a handful of selfish men only want the land, the rest of us have to suffer!”
Of course, nothing has yet gone into effect, but warriors must be warned.

For as long as anyone could remember, wearing the color purple has always been a sign of wealth and importance in Babylonia due to the rarity of its source: Syrian shells at Ugarit. It is an expensive process to make purple garbs, therefore only allowing high-ranking persons to purchase them because only they can afford them. This has become a controversy for those who can afford purple accessories such as sashes and are banned from buying them because their rank is not high enough.

“It isn’t fair,” said one citizen. “I want to be able to wear purple if I can afford it, and I can afford it! But they don’t want to sell it to me because I’m not upper class. If I am willing to spend my money, I should be able to buy what I please! I have never heard of a merchant refusing money before, but now they are being picky about their buyers!”

This man was not alone, either. Several citizens of the middle class feel the same way. However, upon asking the lower class, slaves, and the upper class, we found views to be completely different.

Of course, one can predict the response of the upper class, but what surprised us here at Hammurabi Today was the view taken by the lower class and slaves. For instance, one slave told us “If everyone was able to wear purple, it would not retain its value. It is the same with money.

If everyone had it, it would be worthless. For me, I have no problem with only the upper class being eligible to wear purple because it allows those of us who are lower class and slaves to recognize our superiors. If everyone was wearing purple how could we distinguish masters from fellows? It would lead to us approaching our equals and asking ‘Master, what will you have me do today?’ It is insolent! In society, one must have a place and those places must be distinguished by certain features. For the wealthy, their distinguishing feature is the color purple, and the distinguishing feature of a slave is his shaved head.”

Members of the lower class also feel this way. One woman said: “Of course it is my desire to wear the color purple because it means I have attained the upper class status. Everyone wishes it. The middle class has every right to wish to wear purple, but to actually wear it? Preposterous! Unheard of! Ridiculous! If everyone was wearing purple, what then would the color represent? If everyone was allowed to wear purple, what would be the pleasure? Right now, the pleasure is to be marked as a wealthy, upper class citizen. If purple were as comonplace as white or green, the people would then scream for another color. Besides, the middle class would not want the lower class to wear purple. It’s all a selfish act on the part of the middle class. Nothing is ever enough for them. Once they get one thing, they want another. I think it should remain a privilege to wear the color purple.”

Hammurabi Today remains neutral on this subject, but if our readers have responses, we would like to publish them. No word yet on what our good King Hammurabi has to say on the matter.

Almost 500 years ago, the king of Sumer, Ur-Nammu, had a ziggurat, or temple tower, built in honor of the moon god Nanna. This temple, made from at least 8 million mud bricks remains as a reminder of the greatness of the Sumerian Empire and we now know it as the Great Ziggurat of Ur and it now serves serves as a scenic backyard to our lovely city Babylon. Visiting this temple has been the desire of many citizens, and now, according to our sources stationed in the Judicial and Architect Headquarters, the Great Ziggurat of Ur will open to the public. While tours have not yet begun, our sources have confirmed they will begin on the first day of next month.

Since this is the first opening, the curators of the touring project have set a high cost of ten shekels for adults and five shekels for children. The curators have also determined the oldest one can be to still be considered a child is 13. “Those willing to deceive us risk having their tongues removed,” warned a curator in an interview yesterday morning. “King Hammurabi has already approved this punishment, so don’t bother sending us complaints!” The curators also want tourists to be very cautious entering the ziggurat and to not wander about the temple, especially where the architects have not yet tested to see if the building is sound.

After our artist whipped up some drawings of the Great Ziggurat of Ur, we took our interview to the streets where one excited citizen exclaimed, “Long we have dreamed of touring the Great Ziggurat of Ur, and now we can! This is all King Hammurabi’s doing. First he unites Babylonia and makes Babylon the capital city, and now he is giving us all exactly what we want!”

Ziggurats are definitely a way of life in Babylonia whether we live in Ur or in Babylon. The Great Ziggurat of Ur is not the only ziggurat. A ziggurat dedicated to Marduk also stands: the Ziggurat of Etemenanki. This ziggurat, as is known, was built not long ago, but it is evident that our cultures and societies are built to last, and last they will!