Introduction to Babylon
Babylon, the largest city of ancient Mesopotamia and capital of the Babylonian Empire. Babylon was on the east bank of the Euphrates River in what is now Iraq, just north of modern Hilla. The original name was Bab-ilu ("gate of god"), and a mound on the site is still called Babil. Another spelling of this name is Babel.
To the Hebrews, Babylon was the symbol of oppression and wickedness, yet during and after the Babylonian Captivity (sixth century B.C. ) the city was one of the chief centers of Jewish religion and culture. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Description
Ancient Babylon was an important trading center because of its location on the Euphrates and its nearness to the Tigris River. The city collected taxes from passing caravans and from subject towns. Prosperous, it was able to develop a high culture. The building material was sun-dried brick, but decorative facings were made of glass-like tiles or painted plaster.
Ancient writers marveled at the wonders of Babylon. They described a city surrounded by a brick wall 300 feet (90 m) high and 85 feet (26 m) thick, with 250 towers and with 100 bronze gates. A moat ran along the outside of the wall. The Greek historian Herodotus, who visited Babylon in the fifth century B.C ., wrote that it was laid out in the form of a square, each side about 14 miles (23 km) long.
Modern scholars have found that the figures given in ancient accounts are exaggerated. For example, excavation has shown that the area within the walls of the city was no more than 12 square miles (31 km 2 ), far less than the 196 square miles (507 km 2 ) it would have had to occupy if Herodotus's account had been correct.
The buildings uncovered by excavation are from the Babylon of Nebuchadnezzar in the sixth century B.C. , but the walls of two older cities have been found. The mound of Babil at the north may have been the site of the Hanging Gardens. This structure was a pyramid of brick and earth rising about 75 feet (23 m) high. It consisted of a series of five levels or terraces. Trees, shrubs, and flowers covered each terrace. It is said that Nebuchadnezzar built this wonder for his wife, who longed for the scenery of her mountain homeland.
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were said to have been built by King Nebuchadnezzar II after he married a mountain princess. He hoped the gardens would make her feel at home.South of Babil is another mound, which contains the ruins of Nebuchadnezzar's palace. Here were the Ishtar Gate and the Procession Street, which were decorated with sculptured figures of bulls, dragons, and lions. Farther south are other mounds, covering what was probably the section where most of the people lived. Archeologists have uncovered what they believe was the great temple of Marduk, the chief god of Babylonia. This temple, like other Babylonian shrines, was built at the top of a ziggurat (a lofty pyramid rising in successive stages). Across the street there was another ziggurat, the Etemenanki, which some scholars identify with the Biblical Tower of Babel. The suburb of Borsippa was on the west side of the Euphrates. A stone bridge spanned the river. The city was surrounded by orchards and gardens watered by canals from the Euphrates.
History
The first mention of Babylon was from the time of Sargon the Great, who reigned at Akkad about 2400 B.C. About this time Babylon benefited from a change in the channel of the Euphrates. The First Dynasty of Babylon was founded about 1830 B.C. The sixth king was Hammurabi, who reigned about 1792–1750 B.C. In 1595 B.C. the Hittites sacked Babylon, and soon afterwards the city passed under the control of the barbarian Kassites.
Babylon eventually regained independence under the leadership of the native Chaldeans, but in the eighth century B.C. it came under the rule of the Assyrians. In 689 B.C. Sennacherib of Assyria completely destroyed Babylon because it had revolted, but the next Assyrian king rebuilt the city. In 612 B.C. Nabopolassar of Babylon helped destroy the Assyrian Empire. Under his son Nebuchadnezzar Babylon became the capital of the Neo-Babylonian, or Chaldean, Empire. In 539 B.C. Cyrus the Great captured Babylon and made it part of his Persian Empire. The city fell to Alexander the Great in 331 B.C. After Baghdad was founded in 762 A.D. , Babylon declined and disappeared.