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Oct 20, 2021 · Learn about the ancient city of Babylon, its rise and fall, its rulers and its wonders. Find out where Babylon was located, what it looked like and why it is still important today.
- Dave Roos
- Overview
- The ancient city
- The present site
- Archaeology
Evidence of the topography of ancient Babylon is provided by excavations, cuneiform texts, and descriptions by Herodotus and other Classical authors. The extensive rebuilding by Nebuchadrezzar has left relatively little archaeological data in the central area earlier than his time, while elsewhere the water table has limited excavation in early strata. The reports of Herodotus largely relate to the Babylon built by Nebuchadrezzar.
Nebuchadrezzar’s Babylon was the largest city in the world, covering about 4 square miles (10 square km). The Euphrates, which has since shifted its course, flowed through it, the older part of the city being on the east bank. There the central feature was Esagila, the great temple of Marduk, with its associated ziggurat (a tower built in several stages) Etemenanki. The latter, popularly known as the Tower of Babel, had a base 300 feet (91 metres) on a side, and its seven stages, the uppermost a temple in blue glaze, reached a total height equal to that of its base. Four other temples in the eastern half of the city are known from excavations and a larger number from texts. Along the Euphrates, particularly in the neighbourhood of Esagila, were quays for trading vessels, and textual evidence that Babylon was an entrepôt for trade with south Babylonia points to the existence of warehouses. The river was spanned by a bridge, on brick piles with stone capping, to the western half of the city. The streets were laid out on a grid, with the main axis parallel to the river. From Esagila northward passed the paved Processional Way, its walls decorated with enameled lions. Passing through the Ishtar Gate, adorned with enameled bulls and dragons, it led to the Akitu House, a small temple outside the city that was said to be visited by Marduk at the New Year festival. West of the Ishtar Gate, one of eight fortified gates, were two palace complexes that covered about 40 acres (16 hectares) with their fortifications.
Evidence of the topography of ancient Babylon is provided by excavations, cuneiform texts, and descriptions by Herodotus and other Classical authors. The extensive rebuilding by Nebuchadrezzar has left relatively little archaeological data in the central area earlier than his time, while elsewhere the water table has limited excavation in early strata. The reports of Herodotus largely relate to the Babylon built by Nebuchadrezzar.
Nebuchadrezzar’s Babylon was the largest city in the world, covering about 4 square miles (10 square km). The Euphrates, which has since shifted its course, flowed through it, the older part of the city being on the east bank. There the central feature was Esagila, the great temple of Marduk, with its associated ziggurat (a tower built in several stages) Etemenanki. The latter, popularly known as the Tower of Babel, had a base 300 feet (91 metres) on a side, and its seven stages, the uppermost a temple in blue glaze, reached a total height equal to that of its base. Four other temples in the eastern half of the city are known from excavations and a larger number from texts. Along the Euphrates, particularly in the neighbourhood of Esagila, were quays for trading vessels, and textual evidence that Babylon was an entrepôt for trade with south Babylonia points to the existence of warehouses. The river was spanned by a bridge, on brick piles with stone capping, to the western half of the city. The streets were laid out on a grid, with the main axis parallel to the river. From Esagila northward passed the paved Processional Way, its walls decorated with enameled lions. Passing through the Ishtar Gate, adorned with enameled bulls and dragons, it led to the Akitu House, a small temple outside the city that was said to be visited by Marduk at the New Year festival. West of the Ishtar Gate, one of eight fortified gates, were two palace complexes that covered about 40 acres (16 hectares) with their fortifications.
The present site, an extensive field of ruins, contains several prominent mounds. The main mounds are (1) Babil, the remains of Nebuchadrezzar’s palace in the northern corner of the outer rampart, (2) Qasr, comprising the palace complex (with a building added in Persian times), the Ishtar Gate, and the Emakh temple, (3) Amran ibn Ali, the ruins of ...
After minor surveys and excavations by the British scholar Claudius James Rich (1811 and 1817), the British archaeologist and sometime diplomat Austen Henry Layard (1850), the French Orientalist Fulgence Fresnel, the German Assyriologist Jules Oppert (1852–54), and others, a major archaeological operation began under Koldewey for the German Oriental Society in 1899 and continued unbroken until 1917. In the course of his excavation of the structures mentioned, Koldewey also discovered cuneiform inscriptions, statues, stelae (pillars), terra-cotta reliefs, cylinder seals, pottery, glassware, and jewelry. Further brief investigations were made by the German Archaeological Institute in 1956 under Heinrich J. Lenzen at the Greek theatre and in 1966 under H.J. Schmidt at the site of Etemenanki. Restoration of the Emakh temple and of part of the Ishtar Gate, the Processional Way, and the palace complex was begun in 1958 by the Iraqi Department of Antiquities, which also built a half-size model of the complete Ishtar Gate at the entrance to the site. The original gate has been on display at Berlin’s Pergamon Museum since 1930.
Beginning in 2003, warfare in Iraq had a devastating effect on a number of antiquities and archaeological sites throughout the country, some of which were looted or damaged. In 2003 the presence of coalition forces based at the archaeological site initially protected the Babylon complex from looting; however, the subsequent establishment of a military encampment among the ruins caused significant damage, including leveling and contamination, prior to the site’s return to the Iraqi Ministry of Culture in 2005. In January 2009 the World Monuments Fund—in collaboration with Iraq’s State Board of Antiquities and Heritage and with funding from the U.S. Department of State—announced a new conservation plan for the site of the ancient city.
Oct 14, 2022 · Learn about the history, culture, and legacy of Babylon, the most famous city from ancient Mesopotamia. Explore its rise and fall, its kings, its wonders, and its biblical and classical references.
- Joshua J. Mark
- Why is Babylon famous?Babylon was famous in its time as a great intellectual, cultural, and religious center. It is best known today for its depiction in the Bible as a...
- Was the Tower of Babel really in Babylon?The story of the Tower of Babel in the Bible (Genesis 11: 1-9) never mentions Babylon specifically but only references "the city and the tower". It...
- Where does the name Babylon come from and what does it mean?The name Babylon comes from the Akkadian "bav-il" which means "Gate of the God" or "Gate of the Gods."
- How did Babylon fall?Babylon was attacked and destroyed by Sennacherib of Assyria and by Xerxes I of Persia but was rebuilt. It finally fell simply due to neglect. It w...
Feb 2, 2018 · Learn about Babylon, the ancient city that ruled Mesopotamia and inspired the Tower of Babel story. Explore its ruins, palaces, walls and famous gardens.
Jan 2, 2024 · Learn about the history and culture of Babylon, the ancient Mesopotamian city that rose and fell many times over millennia. Explore its legendary monuments, such as the Ishtar Gate and the Hanging Gardens, and its role in biblical and classical lore.
Babylon | History, Religion, Time Period, & Facts | Britannica. Home Geography & Travel Cities & Towns Cities & Towns A-B. Babylon. ancient city, Mesopotamia, Asia. Also known as: Aṭlāl Bābil, Bāb-ilim, Bab-ilu, Babel, Bavel. Written by. Henry W.F. Saggs. Emeritus Professor of Semitic Languages, University College, Cardiff, University of Wales.
Babylon was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Babil Governorate, Iraq about 85 kilometers south of modern day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-speaking region of Babylonia.
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