Babylonia is the fictional biography of Sammuramat (Semiramis in Greek), who became queen of the Assyrian Empire in 811 BCE. We meet Semiramis as a young girl living in the small village of Eber-Nari. Abandoned by her mother (who drowned herself shortly after giving birth), she’s raised by the head shepherd of the village. Her drunken stepfather beats her regularly and she schemes to escape into the larger world, hiding gold under her mattress—gold she took off a dead man, the former governor. Her only ally is her beloved stepbrother, but he can’t protect her from his father’s wrath. |
Then her stepfather finds her hidden gold, accuses Semiramis of stealing, and beats her bloody. She goes to Governor Onnes and tells him her father stole gold from the former governor. Her stepfather is punished (his hand is severed), then Onnes takes Semiramis with him, back to the capital of the empire. These traits of ambition, boldness, and deceit are consistent aspects of her story throughout the novel. By taking revenge against her stepfather, she forever alienates her beloved stepbrother and the rest of the village. We see her affection for her stepbrother in the novel’s opening, but this love is not enough to keep Semiramis from seeking revenge against her stepfather or pursuing her ambition to be part of the larger world. |
The slave Ribat is the third primary point-of-view character, providing an interesting take on the capital city of the empire and palace dynamics. Despite his lowly status, he aspires to be a scribe, and recognizes a kindred spirit in ambitious Semiramis.
Other characters include:
- The ruthless queen mother who disdains Semiramis for her common birth.
- The general who berates King Ninus for his weakness and disdains Onnes because he is a royal bastard.
- And the eunuch spymaster who, like the slave Ribat, sees a potential ally in Semiramis.
The author does an excellent job creating the world of ancient Assyria. During the village feast: “Men stand close to large vats of beer, drinking through large tubes. Women are seated on rugs, biting into flat-breads and ripe figs.” At a wedding: “Men and women recline on crimson couches, hair plaited with beads of rare amber, arms covered with bracelets. Between them, three-legged tables are laid with roasted ducks and pigeons. Attendants wind through them, their arms heavy with wine jars and trays of honeyed almonds.” |
At one point, Semiramis insists on making a wild leopard her personal pet. This leopard lounges about her palace for the rest of the story like a domesticated cat. It attacks an enemy at the end of the novel, but otherwise serves no story purpose I could discern (and this attack was unwarranted since guards were present to defend Semiramis). |
Another implausible part of the story for me was Semiramis training in weapons with the men and joining them in war. I suspect the author included this because the historical Sammuramat led military campaigns when she was queen regent, but I found her martial exploits in the novel highly improbable. Similarly, when Semiramis asks the king to spare female prisoners of war after a bloody battle, it felt like a modern sensibility and not true to the times—and not likely to be granted for both military and political reasons. |