Today’s
Enlightening Entertainment
will be presented
in Arabic and English,
with subtitles in Arabic,
Aulacese (Vietnamese),
Chinese, English,
French, German,
Indonesian, Japanese,
Korean, Malay,
Persian, Portuguese,
Russian, Spanish
and Thai.
About 2,600 years ago,
a kingdom called Chaldea
was established
on the southern end of
Tigris-Euphrates Valley,
in present-day Iraq.
Under the leadership
of King Nebuchadnezzar,
the Chaldeans soon
became a strong presence
in the entire
Middle East region.
The Chaldean,
or the Neo-Babylonian,
dynasty left significant
traces of its civilization,
including in architecture,
technology, astrology,
literature, and many more.
Till today,
the descendants
of Chaldeans
are still flourishing
around the world.
We are descendants
of Babylonians.
Chaldeans of Babylon,
people of Abraham
migrated to the north
then spread all over Iraq.
Situated at the lower end
of the Euphrates River,
Babylon was
the capital city of
the Chaldean civilization.
It was one of
the most magnificent cities
in the ancient world.
With facilitated highways
and waterways,
the city became
a major trade center
filled with merchants
and their goods.
Noted for their
architectural achievements,
Chaldeans built
the Babylon City
with amazing structures.
One of them was
Ishtar Gate,
which was known for its
beautiful blue glazed tiles
and mysterious
animal patterns on it
formed by yellow tiles.
Of the three animals
portrayed on
the Ishtar Gate,
lions represent
the goddess Ishtar;
dragons and bulls stand
for the protective power.
As part of
the Walls of Babylon,
the gate was once
regarded as one of
the Seven Wonders
of the Ancient World.
The main road, called
the Processional Way,
connected the Ishtar Gate
to a seven-story ziggurat,
or temple tower.
This seven-story ziggurat
was believed to be
a reconstruction
on the remains of
the famous Tower of Babel
mentioned in the Bible.
Soaring to a height
of 200 meters,
the ziggurat was colored
with red, blue, or orange
to symbolize
different heavenly spheres.
Another spectacular
structure built by
the Chaldean civilization
was the Hanging Garden
of Babylon, which was
also considered one of
the Seven Wonders
of the Ancient World.
Elevated 23 meters
above the ground,
the garden gained its name
because it looked as if
it was hanging in the sky.
King Nebuchadnezzar
built this lush garden
for his wife, Ametis,
to ease her longing for
the hills and mountains
of her hometown.
Various kinds of shrubs,
flowers, and trees
were planted
to create a beautiful niche
with animals
of different species.
The spirit of the Chaldeans
was represented
by the famous
Lion of Babylon Statue
that sits at the entrance
of Nebuchadnezzar’s
Southern Palace.
The giant stone lion
was carved in basalt,
symbolizing
the goddess Ishtar
and the power
of the civilization.
Reverend Jacob Yasso,
the founder of
Chaldean Culture Center
in Detroit, USA,
shared with us about
how Babylon was rebuilt
in modern-day Iraq
from the remains
of ancient buildings.
You aware of
the Lion of Babylon.
The Lion of Babylon is
a statue still there
in southern Iraq
within the ruins
of ancient Babylon.
In Babylon and in Assyrian
in northern Iraq Nineveh,
you can see today
the new walls of Nineveh
and Babylon in the south.
The ancient Chaldeans
are well known for
having invented the wheel.
But they have also
been noted
for their contributions
to astronomy.
The many ziggurats
of the city
provided the best places
for priests to observe
stars and planets.
They had discovered
five planets, including
Jupiter, Venus, Saturn,
Mercury and Mars.
The Chaldeans were also
the first to make
the system of naming
the days of the week
after these objects.
For example,
Sunday was named
after the Sun,
Monday for the Moon,
and Saturday
for the Saturn.
In fact, they invented
the seven-day week.
The philosophy of course
is naturalistic; nature,
observations of the world.
So they invented, as I said,
the timing of the world,
the eclipses, etc.,
the mathematics.
Indeed, the numeral system
based in 60, as used
by the Chaldeans, laid
an important foundation
for modern mathematics.
This numeral system
is still used today
to measure the time and
to calculate the degrees
in a circle.
The Chaldeans also
foretold the future
by predicting
celestial movements and
believed that in every
natural phenomena,
there was a spiritual hand
of a god.
Chaldean astrology
and method of
forecasting the weather
were admired
and incorporated
by neighboring cultures.
All Western astrology
has roots
in the Chaldean system.
Chaldeans left civilizations,
art, culture, reading.
If you look at your watch,
who divided the time
into 12, 24 units of time,
for the 24 hours day
and night?
Who divided the days into
weeks, month and year?
(They) were
the Babylonians because
they were astronomers,
they invented the wheel,
now the center
of civilization.
So most of those
astrologies were founded
by those Chaldeans,
which also means for
the Persians and Romans,
Chaldeans means also
magicians and astronomers.
So it is
an ancient civilization
that influenced
the new civilization.
Did the Chaldean
civilization also contribute
to the field of medicine?
Yes, they did.
In fact, up to today
we have some use of
medical, natural medical
and herbs, still used today.
Especially
in southern Iraq, which is
former Babylonia,
Babylon portion
of Mesopotamia.
Please stay tuned
to Supreme Master
Television.
When we return,
Father Jacob
will share more about
the Chaldean people
and their religion in
the ancient land of Iraq.
Welcome back to
today’s program featuring
the Chaldean civilization
in Iraq.
Since ancient times,
the Chaldean culture
placed great emphasis
on the Divine.
Throughout the city
of Babylon,
many altars and ziggurats
were built for people
to make offerings to gods.
It is said that the number
of temples built at the time
was more than
one thousand.
The temples were mainly
dedicated to Ishtar,
Marduk, and Nanmakh,
known as the great lady.
The main god
of Babylonians
was Marduk.
From that idea
of one strongest god
of the gods
with the small g’s,
the Christians went further,
the invisible God Marduk
or Allah, Elohim –
the Hebrews transfer
that name into Elohim,
which means God of gods.
According to legend,
the Chaldeans were first
introduced to Christianity
through Saint Thomas,
one of Jesus Christ’s
select apostles.
However,
it was not until 1445
that the Chaldeans were
officially recognized
by the Roman Church.
The Pope chose
“Chaldean” as the name
for the new Catholic rite
to refer to their glorious
historic homeland
as well as that of
the prophet Abraham.
Christianity entered
Mesopotamia,
land of two rivers,
which is today Iraq,
first century.
The Christians spread
all over Mesopotamia,
which is Iraq, I said,
and Persia.
Even those Christians
migrated to the south,
crossing the Persian Gulf
to India.
The history says
that Saint Thomas,
one of the twelve apostles
of Jesus, went to India,
spread the Christianity
of Iraqi liturgies
and traditions
in southern India,
called Province of Kerala.
Now we have about
10 million Chaldeans
of India, Catholics
using the same traditions,
same liturgies,
same books of
the Chaldean Catholics
in Mesopotamia, in Iraq,
and all over the world.
Since 1889,
some Chaldeans
started to immigrate
to the United States.
Most of them settled
in metropolitan Detroit
for religious
and economic reasons.
They speak English,
Arabic, and Chaldean,
a dialect of Aramaic,
which was the language
spoken by Jesus.
Over the years,
Chaldean Americans
have remained faithful
to their cultural heritage
and Catholic belief,
as the Iraqi Chaldeans do.
Folklore is beautiful,
up to today.
If you go to Christian
villages in northern Iraq
now, those Chaldeans
migrated to the north.
The Christians kept
and are still using
those traditions,
that folklore even today,
and it’s practiced and
used here in this country,
in the United States.
In 1947, Mother of God,
the first Chaldean Church
in the United States,
was established in Detroit.
Father Jacob Yasso
was appointed
to serve at the church
as the 4th Pastor
of Mother of God Parish.
I was born
in northern Iraq in the city
of ancient Nineveh,
today called Telkaif,
a city in the province
of Nineveh near Mosul.
I finished my high school
in Iraq.
I was sent to Rome
for higher education,
Ecclesiastical education.
And I finished
with a Master’s degree in
Philosophy and Theology.
Then I was back to Iraq
for three years.
Father Jacob Yasso
served as a school teacher
in Mosul,
then became rector
of the Baghdad seminary.
There,
he also taught the history
of the Catholic Church
and philosophy.
After two years,
Archbishop of Baghdad,
sent me to Detroit to serve
the growing community
in Detroit, in 1964.
So I came to this country
and I start working.
God gave me
extraordinary energy
to do something
others before me
didn’t accomplish.
As the congregation
kept growing,
Father Yasso built
the Sacred Heart Parish
in Detroit,
and later added the
Chaldean Culture Center.
This center presents
the extraordinary history,
arts, and traditions
of the Chaldean people.
The Sacred Heart Parish
congregation also
includes Assyrian people,
an ethnic group
sharing the same roots
as the Chaldeans.
We are basically
Christian Catholics.
We have a portion
of this Church,
also non-Catholic
called Orthodox,
named themselves
as Assyrians.
The Assyrian people
live in northern Iraq,
the Chaldeans
in south Iraq.
So we are same tradition,
same language,
same liturgy.
Finally,
Reverend Jacob Yasso
would like to encourage
all the Chaldeans worldwide
to be proud of
their identity
and keep a firm faith
in their religion.
Keep your culture,
believe in God
that one day you will be
arisen with your faith and
try to keep your identity
as Chaldeans anywhere
and all over the world.
Now we are spread,
I can say,
all over the world.
In US, in Australia,
in Europe; all over
you find Chaldeans.
First thing, they start
with the Church, because
the Church gathers
those Chaldeans around.
Same thing
do the Assyrians.
Okay. Father Yasso,
thank you so much.
God bless.
Thank you very much.
(Thank you) Thank you.
Our appreciation,
Father Jacob Yasso,
for sharing with us
the wonderful, impressive
heritage of Chaldeans.
May the splendid culture
of the Chaldeans and Iraq
be honored worldwide
for generations to come.
Thank you,
cherished viewers,
for your company today.
Please stay tuned
to Supreme Master
Television
for Words of Wisdom,
coming up
after Noteworthy News.
May your days
be brightened
by Divine love and light.
The work of visionary
best-selling author and
scientist Gregg Braden
blends the profound
wisdom of the ancients
with modern discoveries
in genetics and
quantum physics.
What we know is that
there is a message,
an intentional message
within the DNA of all life.
The message occurs
in layers and each layer
has its own code that
must be understood
for that layer.
To find out the secret
message hidden in your
genetic code watch part 1
of “Gregg Braden:
Seeking the Divine Code
of Life,”
Monday, July 5 on
Science and Spirituality.