View source for Babylon

{{Short description|Ancient Mesopotamian city in Iraq}}
{{hatnote group|{{redirect-distinguish|Babilu|Babalu (disambiguation)}}{{other uses}}
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{{Infobox ancient site
|name = Babylon
|native_name = {{Transliteration|akk|Bābilim}}
|alternate_name = {{plainlist|
{{langx|ar|بابل}} {{Transliteration|ar|Bābil}}
*{{langx|akk|𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠}} {{Transliteration|akk|Bābilim}}<ref name="Cam"/>
*{{langx|sux|𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠}} {{Transliteration|sux|KÁ.DIG̃IR.RA<sup>KI</sup>}}<ref name="Cam">{{Cite book |author1-link=I. E. S. Edwards |last1=Edwards |first1=I. E. S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZTsRnQEACAAJ |title=Prolegomena and Prehistory |author2-link=C. J. Gadd |last2=Gadd |first2=C. J. |last3=Hammond |first3=N. G. L. |author3-link=N. G. L. Hammond |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1981 |isbn=978-0-521-29821-6 |series=The Cambridge Ancient History |volume=1 Part 1 |access-date=2019-08-18 |archive-date=2020-05-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200519011417/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZTsRnQEACAAJ |url-status=live}}</ref>
*{{langx|arc|𐡁𐡁𐡋}} {{Transliteration|arc|Bāḇel}}<ref name="Cam"/>
*{{langx|syc|ܒܒܠ}} {{Transliteration|syc|Bāḇel}}
*{{langx|peo|𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢}} ''Bābiru''
*{{langx|grc|Βαβυλών}} ''Babylṓn''
*{{langx|he|בָּבֶל}} {{Transliteration|he|Bāvel}}
*{{langx|elx|𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷}} ''Babili''
*[[Kassite language|Kassite]]: ''Karanduniash, Karduniash''}}
|image = Street in Babylon.jpg
|image_size=250px
|alt = A partial view of the ruins of Babylon
|caption = A reconstructed portion of the ruins of Babylon
|map_type = Iraq#Near East
|relief = yes
|map_alt = Babylon lies near the center of Iraq
|coordinates = {{coord|32|32|33|N|44|25|16|E|display=inline,title}}
|location = [[Hillah]], Babil Governorate, Iraq
|region = [[Mesopotamia]]
|type = Settlement
|part_of = [[Babylonia]]
|length =
|width =
|area = {{cvt|9|km2|sp=us}}
|height =
|builder =
|material =
|built = {{circa|1894 BC}}
|abandoned = {{circa|1000 AD|lk=no}}
|epochs = <!-- actually displays as "Periods" -->
|cultures = Sumerian, Akkadian, Amorite, Kassite, Assyrian, Chaldean, Achaemenid, Hellenistic, Parthian, Sasanian, Muslim caliphate
|dependency_of =
|occupants =
|event =
|excavations =
|archaeologists = [[Hormuzd Rassam]], [[Robert Koldewey]], [[Taha Baqir]], recent Iraqi [[List of Assyriologists|Assyriologist]]
|condition = Ruined
|ownership = Public
|management =
|website = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->
|embedded={{designation list 
| embed = yes
| designation1 = WHS
| designation1_offname = Babylon
| designation1_date = [[List of World Heritage Sites by year of inscription#2019 (43rd session)|2019]] (43rd [[World Heritage Committee|session]])
| designation1_type = 
| designation1_criteria = {{UNESCO WHS type|(iii), (vi)}}(iii), (vi)
 |designation1_number = [https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/278 278]
 |designation1_free1name = Region
 |designation1_free1value = [[List of World Heritage Sites in the Arab states|Arab States]]
 }}
}}
{{Contains special characters}}

'''Babylon''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|æ|b|ɪ|l|ɒ|n}} {{respell|BAB|il|on}}) was an ancient city located on the lower [[Euphrates]] river in southern [[Mesopotamia]], within modern-day [[Hillah]], [[Iraq]], about {{convert|85|km|mi|abbr=off}} south of modern-day [[Baghdad]]. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the [[Akkadian language|Akkadian-speaking]] region of [[Babylonia]]. Its rulers established two important empires in antiquity, the 19th–16th century BC [[Old Babylonian Empire]], and the 7th–6th century BC [[Neo-Babylonian Empire]]. Babylon was also used as a regional capital of other empires, such as the [[Achaemenid Empire]]. Babylon was one of the most important urban centres of the [[ancient Near East]], until its decline during the [[Hellenistic period]]. Nearby ancient sites are [[Kish (Sumer)|Kish]], [[Borsippa]], [[Dilbat]], and [[Kutha]].<ref name="OP2011"/>

The earliest known mention of Babylon as a small town appears on a [[clay tablet]] from the reign of [[Shar-Kali-Sharri]] (2217–2193 BC), of the [[Akkadian Empire]].<ref>Beaulieu, Paul-Alain (2017). A History of Babylon, 2200 BC – AD 75. Blackwell History of the Ancient World. Wiley. p. 50. ISBN 978-1-119-45907-1. Retrieved 2022-08-27.</ref> Babylon was merely a religious and cultural centre at this point and neither an independent state nor a large city, subject to the Akkadian Empire. After the collapse of the Akkadian Empire, the south Mesopotamian region was dominated by the [[Gutian rule in Mesopotamia|Gutian Dynasty]] for a few decades, before the rise of the [[Third Dynasty of Ur]], which encompassed the whole of Mesopotamia, including the town of Babylon.

The town became part of a small independent [[city-state]] with the rise of the first Babylonian Empire, now known as the [[Old Babylonian Empire]], in the 17th century BC. The [[Amorites|Amorite]] king [[Hammurabi]] founded the short-lived Old Babylonian Empire in the 16th century BC. He built Babylon into a major city and declared himself its king. Southern Mesopotamia became known as [[Babylonia]], and Babylon eclipsed [[Nippur]] as the region's holy city. The empire waned under Hammurabi's son [[Samsu-iluna]], and Babylon spent long periods under [[Assyrian people|Assyrian]], [[Kassites|Kassite]] and [[Elam]]ite domination. After the Assyrians destroyed and then rebuilt it, Babylon became the capital of the short-lived [[Neo-Babylonian Empire]], from 626 to 539 BC. The [[Hanging Gardens of Babylon]] were ranked as one of the [[Seven Wonders of the Ancient World]], allegedly existing between approximately 600 BC and AD{{nbsp}}1. However, there are questions about whether the Hanging Gardens of Babylon even existed, as there is no mention within any extant Babylonian texts of its existence.<ref>Finkel (1988) P.58.</ref><ref>Finkel, Irving and Seymour, Michael (2008). Babylon: City of Wonders. London: British Museum Press. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-7141-1171-1.</ref> After the fall of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, the city came under the rule of the [[Achaemenid]], [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid]], [[Parthian Empire|Parthian]], [[Roman Empire|Roman]], [[Sasanian Empire|Sassanid]], and [[Muslim conquest of Persia|Muslim]] empires. The last known habitation of the town dates from the 11th century, when it was referred to as the "small village of Babel".

It has been estimated that Babylon was the largest city in the world {{circa|1770|1670&nbsp;BC}}, and again {{circa|612|320&nbsp;BC|lk=no}}. It was perhaps the first city to reach a population above 200,000.<ref name="Chandler">Tertius Chandler. ''Four Thousand Years of Urban Growth: An Historical Census'' (1987), St. David's University Press ({{Cite web |title=etext.org |url=http://www.etext.org/Politics/World.Systems/datasets/citypop/civilizations/citypops_2000BC-1988AD |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080211233018/http://www.etext.org/Politics/World.Systems/datasets/citypop/civilizations/citypops_2000BC-1988AD |archive-date=2008-02-11 |access-date=2010-04-18}}). {{ISBN|0-88946-207-0}}. See [[Historical urban community sizes]].</ref> Estimates for the maximum extent of its area range from 890 (3½ sq. mi.)<ref name="mieroop">{{Cite book |last=Mieroop |first=Marc van de |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_YKlbIp9pYMC&pg=PA95 |title=The Ancient Mesopotamian City |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1997 |isbn=9780191588457 |location=Oxford |page=95 |access-date=2015-06-20 |archive-date=2020-05-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200518225103/https://books.google.com/books?id=_YKlbIp9pYMC&pg=PA95 |url-status=live}}</ref> to {{cvt|900|ha|sp= us}}.<ref name="boiy">{{Cite book |last=Boiy |first=T. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1frplXFGf4sC&pg=PA233 |title=Late Achaemenid and Hellenistic Babylon |publisher=Peeters Publishers |year=2004 |isbn=9789042914490 |series=Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta |volume=136 |location=Leuven |page=233 |access-date=2015-06-20 |archive-date=2015-10-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015175417/https://books.google.com/books?id=1frplXFGf4sC&pg=PA233 |url-status=live}}</ref> The main sources of information about Babylon—excavation of the site itself, references in [[cuneiform]] texts found elsewhere in Mesopotamia, references in the [[Bible]], descriptions in other classical writing, especially by [[Herodotus]], and second-hand descriptions, citing the work of [[Ctesias]] and [[Berossus]]—present an incomplete and sometimes contradictory picture of the ancient city, even at its peak in the sixth century BC.{{sfn|Seymour|2006|pp=140-142}} [[UNESCO]] inscribed Babylon as a [[World Heritage Site]] in 2019. The site receives thousands of visitors each year, almost all of whom are Iraqis.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":7" /> Construction is rapidly increasing, which has caused encroachments upon the ruins.<ref>{{Citation |title=Bringing Babylon back from the dead - CNN Video |date=3 April 2013 |url=https://www.cnn.com/videos/international/2013/04/03/inside-middle-east-iraq-babylon-b.cnn |access-date=2021-09-29 |archive-date=2022-01-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220107192257/https://www.cnn.com/videos/international/2013/04/03/inside-middle-east-iraq-babylon-b.cnn |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Arraf |first=Jane |date=2021-02-06 |title=In Beleaguered Babylon, Doing Battle Against Time, Water and Modern Civilization |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/06/world/middleeast/babylon-iraq-archeology-conservation.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/06/world/middleeast/babylon-iraq-archeology-conservation.html |archive-date=2021-12-28 |url-access=limited |access-date=2021-09-29 |issn=0362-4331}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name=":4" />

Babylon stopped functioning as an urban centre between the 2nd century BC and the 7th century CE. Over those 700 years, it gradually declined from a major city to near-total abandonment. Small communities have continued to live in the area, and nearby towns such as Hillah remain inhabited on the historical site.<ref>{{cite web |title=Al-Ḥillah |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Al-Hillah |publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica}}</ref>

==Names<span class="anchor" id="Etymology"></span>==
[[File:Map of Babylon with major areas.jpg|thumb|A map of Babylon, with major areas and modern-day villages]]
The spelling ''Babylon'' is the Latin representation of [[Koine Greek|Greek]] ''Babylṓn'' ({{lang|grc|{{linktext|Βαβυλών}}}}), derived from the native ([[Babylonian language|Babylonian]]) ''{{Transliteration|akk|Bābilim}}'', meaning "gate of the [[El (deity)|god(s)]]".<ref name=Lambert2011 /> The [[cuneiform]] spelling was {{lang|akk|{{linktext|𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠}}}} ({{Transliteration|sux|KÁ.DIG̃IR.RA{{sup|KI}}}}). This would correspond to the Sumerian phrase {{Transliteration|sux|Kan dig̃irak}}.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ernest A. Budge |url=https://archive.org/stream/historyofesarhad00esarrich#page/134/mode/2up |title=The history of Esarhaddon (son of Sennacherib) King of Assyria, B.C. 681-668; |publisher=Trübner & Co. |year=1880 |pages=135–136 |oclc=977799662 |author-link=E. A. Wallis Budge}}</ref>
The sign {{lang|sux|𒆍}} ({{Transliteration|sux|KÁ}}) is the logogram for "gate", {{lang|sux|𒀭}} ({{Transliteration|sux|[[dingir|DIG̃IR]]}}) means "god", and {{lang|sux|𒊏}} ({{Transliteration|sux|RA}}) represents the [[Syllabic coda|coda]] of the word {{Transliteration|sux|dig̃ir}} (-r) followed by the genitive suffix {{Transliteration|sux|-ak}}. The final {{lang|sux|𒆠}} ([[Ki (cuneiform)|{{sup|KI}}]]) is a determinative indicating that the previous signs are to be understood as a place name.

[[Archibald Sayce]], writing in the 1870s, postulated that the Semitic name was a loan-translation of the original [[Sumerian language|Sumerian]] name.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sayce |first=Archibald Henry |url=https://archive.org/details/originsemiticci00saycgoog |title=The Origin of Semitic Civilisation, Chiefly Upon Philological Evidence |publisher=Harrison and Sons |year=1872 |page=[https://archive.org/details/originsemiticci00saycgoog/page/n13 5] |oclc=459000074}}</ref> However, the "gate of god" interpretation is increasingly viewed as a Semitic [[folk etymology]] to explain an unknown original non-Semitic placename.<ref>Liane Jakob-Rost, Joachim Marzahn: ''Babylon'', ed. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. Vorderasiatisches Museum (Kleine Schriften&nbsp;4), 2nd&nbsp;ed., Putbus 1990, p.&nbsp;2</ref> [[Ignace Gelb|I. J. Gelb]] in 1955 argued that the original name was ''Babilla'', of unknown meaning and origin, as there were other similarly named places in [[Sumer]], and there are no other examples of Sumerian place-names being replaced with Akkadian translations. He deduced that it later transformed into Akkadian ''Bāb-ili(m)'', and that the Sumerian name ''Kan-dig̃irak'' was a loan translation of the Semitic folk etymology, and not the original name.<ref name="Gelb 1955">{{Cite book |last=Gelb |first=I. J. |title=I studied inscriptions from before the flood: ancient Near Eastern, literary, and linguistic approaches to Genesis 1–11 |date=1994 |publisher=Eisenbrauns |isbn=9780931464881 |editor-last=Hess |editor-first=Richard S. |location=Winona Lake, Indiana |pages=266–269 |chapter=The Name of Babylon |oclc=31239619 |editor-last2=Tsumura |editor-first2=David Toshio}}</ref><ref name=Lambert2011 /> The re-translation of the Semitic name into Sumerian would have taken place at the time of the "Neo-Sumerian" [[Third Dynasty of Ur]].<ref>[[Dietz Otto Edzard]]: ''Geschichte Mesopotamiens. Von den Sumerern bis zu Alexander dem Großen'', Beck, Munich 2004, p. 121.</ref> (''Bab-[[El (deity)|Il]]'').

[[File:Babylon, 1932.jpg|thumb|Babylon in 1932]]
A fragmentary limestone votive inscription dated by paleography to the Early Dynastic II period (c. c. 2700 BC) was suggested to include the name of Babylon.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/votive-and-historical-texts-from-babylonia-and-assyria] Stephens, Ferris J, "Votive And Historical Texts From Babylonia And Assyria", Yale University Press, 1937</ref> It read "en<sub>5</sub>-[si] BAR.KI.BAR dumu a-hu-ì-lum ̆lu-ì-lum-be-l[í] lú-ur-kù-bí dím é <sup>d</sup>amar-utu mu-gub-am<sub>6</sub>". Proposed as being in the [[Akkadian language]] though earlier than that language is attested, it refers to an unknown lord who was the governor (ENSI) of BAR.KI.BAR who constructed a temple for (possibly) [[Marduk]], suggesting that the city might be Babylon.<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal |last=Beaulieu |first=Paul-Alain |date=2019 |title=What's in a Name? Babylon and its Designations throughout History |url=https://www.academia.edu/80043710 |journal=Journal of the Canadian Society for Mesopotamian Studies |volume=14 |via=Academia}}</ref> During the [[Early Dynastic III|ED III]] period, sign placement was relatively fluid and so the KI sign could be seen as the determinative, with the name of the city as BAR.BAR, perhaps pronounced Babbar.<ref name=":9">{{Cite journal |last=Lambert |first=W. G. |date=1984 |title=Studies in Marduk |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/618314 |journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London |volume=47 |issue=1 |pages=1–9 |doi=10.1017/S0041977X00022102 |jstor=618314 |s2cid=162349822 |issn=0041-977X|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Paul-Alain Beaulieu proposes that the original name could mean "shining" "glowing" or "white". It would be likely that it was later read as Babbir, and then Babbil by swapping the consonant r with l.<ref name=":8" /> The attribution to Marduk and to Babylon is considered doubtful.<ref name=Lambert2011 /><ref name=Boer2018 />

The earliest reasonably firm mention of the city of Babylon came from one of [[Shar-Kali-Sharri|Shar-Kali-Sharri's]] year names, which reports founding temples of [[Annunitum]] and [[Ilaba]] in KÁ.DINGIR<sup>ki</sup>, thought to be Babylon, indicating that the folk etymology was already widely known in the [[Akkadian Empire]] (c. 2334–2193 BC) period.<ref name="Lambert2011" /> However, the original form of the name (Babbar/Babbir) was not forgotten, as seen from the phonetic spelling ba-ab-bí-lum in the [[Third Dynasty of Ur|Ur III period]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Koslova |first=N. |date=1998 |title=Eine syllabische Schreibung des Namens Babylon in einem Ur III-Text aus Umma |url=https://sepoa.fr/wp/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/NABU-1998-1.pdf |journal=NABU: Nouvelles Assyriologiques Brèves et Utilitaire |pages=23–24}}</ref> and the spellings Pambalu and Babalu in the [[Kassite dynasty|Kassite period]].<ref name=":9" />

Another attested spelling for the city of Babylon is TIN.TIR.KI, attested sparsely in the [[Old Babylonian period]], known mostly from later Neo-Babylonian copies, and was in widespread usage in the 1st Millennium BC.<ref name=":8" /> The spelling E.KI also appears in the 1st Millennium BC.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ribo/babylon7 |url=http://oracc.iaas.upenn.edu/ribo/babylon7/qpn?xis=qpn.r000068 |access-date=2023-08-20 |website=oracc.iaas.upenn.edu}}</ref><ref name=":8" />

In the [[Hebrew Bible]], the name appears as ''Babel'' ({{langx|he|[[:wikt:בבל|בָּבֶל]]}} ''Bavel'', [[Tiberian vocalization|Tib.]] {{lang|he|בָּבֶל}} ''Bāḇel''; {{langx|syc|ܒܒܠ}} ''Bāwēl'', {{langx|arc|בבל}} Bāḇel; in {{langx|ar|بَابِل}} ''Bābil''), interpreted in {{Bibleverse|Genesis|11:9|KJV}} to mean "[[confusion of tongues|confusion]]", from the verb ''bilbél'' ({{lang|he|[[:wikt:בלבל|בלבל]]}}, "to confuse").<ref>Magnus Magnusson, ''BC: The Archaeology of the Bible Lands''. BBC Publications 1977, pp. 198–199.</ref> The modern English verb, ''{{lang|en|to babble}}'' ("to speak foolish, excited, or confusing talk"), is popularly thought to derive from this name but there is no direct connection.<ref>{{Cite dictionary |url=http://www.lexico.com/definition/babble |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929210159/https://www.lexico.com/definition/babble |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 29, 2020 |title=babble |dictionary=[[Lexico]] UK English Dictionary |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref>

Ancient records in some situations use "Babylon" as a name for other cities, including cities like [[Borsippa]] within Babylon's sphere of influence, and [[Nineveh]] for a short period after the Assyrian sack of Babylon.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=[[Stephanie Dalley|Dalley]] |first=Stephanie |date=1994 |title=Nineveh, Babylon and the Hanging Gardens: Cuneiform and Classical Sources Reconciled |journal=Iraq |volume=56 |pages=45–58 |doi=10.2307/4200384 |issn=0021-0889 |jstor=4200384}}</ref><ref name=Dalley2005 />

==Archaeology==
[[File:Plan of Ruins of Babylon 1905.jpg|thumb|A map of ruins in 1905, with locations and names of villages]]
{{Quote box|From the accounts of modern travellers, I had expected to have found on the site of Babylon more, and less, than I actually did. Less, because I could have formed no conception of the prodigious extent of the whole ruins, or of the size, solidity, and perfect state, of some of the parts of them; and more, because I thought that I should have distinguished some traces, however imperfect, of many of the principal structures of Babylon. I imagined, I should have said: "Here were the walls, and such must have been the extent of the area. There stood the palace, and this most assuredly was the tower of Belus." – I was completely deceived: instead of a few insulated mounds, I found the whole face of the country covered with vestiges of building, in some places consisting of brick walls surprisingly fresh, in others merely of a vast succession of mounds of rubbish of such indeterminate figures, variety and extent, as to involve the person who should have formed any theory in inextricable confusion.|[[Claudius Rich|Claudius J. Rich]], ''Memoir on the Ruins of Babylon'' (1815), pp. 1–2.{{sfn|Seymour|2006|p=175}}|width=40%}}

The site covers an area of about {{convert|1,000|ha|mi2|frac=4}}, with about {{convert|450|ha|mi2|frac=4}} within the several kilometer (mile) long city walls, containing a number of mounds, the most prominent of which are Kasr, Merkes ({{convert|13|m|ft|sp=us|disp=semicolon}} above the plain), Homera, Ishin-Aswad, Sahn, Amran, and Babil.<ref>{{cite book |last=Pedersen |first=Olof |url=https://www.zaphon.de/WebRoot/Store28/Shops/83179382/MediaGallery/Pedersen-Babylon-Zaphon-2021-100dpi.pdf |title=Babylon: The Great City |isbn=978-3-96327-136-6 |year=2021 |publisher=Zaphon}}</ref> It is roughly bisected by the Shatt Al-Hillah, a branch of the [[Euphrates river]], which has shifted slightly since ancient times. The local water table has risen, making excavation of lower levels difficult. Prior to the heavy use of baked bricks in the reign of Neo-Babylonian ruler [[Nebuchadnezzar II]] (605–562 BC), construction at Babylon was primarily of unbaked brick, with the occasional use of baked bricks or bitumen.<ref>[https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.12657/61341/9783110798432.pdf?sequence=1#page=774] Da Riva, Rocío, "Urban Religion in First Millennium BCE Babylonia", in Naming and Mapping the Gods in the Ancient Mediterranean, pp. 763–790, 2022</ref>
*Kasr – also called Palace or Castle, it was the location of the [[Neo-Babylonian]] ziggurat [[Etemenanki]] of Nebuchadnezzar II. It lies in the center of the site and rises to {{convert|19|m|ft|sp=us}} above the plain.
*Amran Ibn Ali – about {{convert|22|m|ft|sp=us}} high and at the south of the site. It is the site of [[Esagila]], a temple of [[Marduk]] that also contained shrines to [[Ea (Babylonian god)|Ea]] and [[Nabu]].
*Homera – a reddish-colored mound on the west side. Most of the [[Hellenistic]] remains are here. Most of the remains of the ziggurat Etemenanki were heaped here when it was demolished by [[Alexander the Great]] in 331 BC.<ref>van de Mieroop, Marc, "Reading Babylon", American Journal of Archaeology, vol. 107, no. 2, pp. 257–75, 2003</ref>
*Babil – a mound about {{convert|25|m|ft|sp=us}} high at the northern end of the site. Its bricks have been subject to looting since ancient times. It held a palace built by Nebuchadnezzar.

Subsequent excavation, looting, and reconstruction have reduced these original heights found by the German excavators.

===Excavations===
[[Claudius Rich]], working for the [[British East India Company]] in Baghdad, excavated Babylon in 1811–12 and again in 1817.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/memoironruinsba00richgoog] Claudius J. Rich, "Memoir on the Ruins of Babylon", 1815</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/secondmemoirofba00rich] Claudius J. Rich, "Second memoir on Babylon; containing an inquiry into the correspondence between the ancient descriptions of Babylon, and the remains still visible on the site", 1818</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/narrativeofjourn00rich] Claudius J. Rich, "Narrative of a journey to the site of Babylon in 1811", Posthumous compilation, 1839</ref> Captain [[Robert Mignan]] explored the site briefly in 1827. In 1829, he completed a map of Babylon which includes the location of several villages.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mignan |first=Robert |url=https://archive.org/details/travelsinchalda00migngoog |title=Travels in Chaldaea: Including a Journey from Bussorah to Bagdad, Hillah and Babylon, Performed on Foot in 1827 |publisher=Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley |year=1829 |oclc=1003963534}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{Cite book |last=World Monuments Fund |url=http://archive.org/details/babylon-site-management-plan |title=Babylon Site Management Plan |date=2015}}</ref> [[William Loftus (archaeologist)|William Loftus]] visited there in 1849.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Loftus |first=William Kennett |authorlink=William Loftus (archaeologist) |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_4ZiBAAAAIAAJ |title=Travels and researches in Chaldaea and Susiana: with an account of excavations at Warka, the "Erech" of Nimrod, and Shush, "Shushan the Palace" of Esther, in 1849-52 |publisher=Robert Carter & Brothers |year=1857}}</ref> [[Austen Henry Layard]] made some soundings during a brief visit in 1850 before abandoning the site.<ref>[[Austen Henry Layard|A. H. Layard]], "[[iarchive:discoveriesinru00layagoog|Discoveries among the Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon]]", New York: Harper & Brothers, 1853</ref><ref>[[Hermann Volrath Hilprecht|H V. Hilprecht]], "[[iarchive:explorationsinb00steigoog|Exploration in the Bible Lands During the 19th Century]]", Philadelphia: A. J. Holman and Company, 1903</ref>

[[File:Confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates near Al-Qurnah.tif|thumb|The location of the [[Qurnah Disaster]], where hundreds of cases of antiquities from Fresnel's mission were lost in 1855]]
[[File:Charles Le Brun - Entry of Alexander into Babylon.JPG|thumb|"Entry of Alexander into Babylon", a 1665 painting by [[Charles LeBrun]], depicts Alexander the Great's uncontested entry into the city of Babylon, envisioned with pre-existing [[Ancient Greek architecture|Hellenistic architecture]].|alt=]][[Fulgence Fresnel]], [[Julius Oppert]] and [[Felix Thomas]] heavily excavated Babylon from 1852 to 1854.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Pillet |first=Maurice |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5730001x |title=L'expédition scientifique et artistique de Mésopotamie et de Médie, 1851-1855 / Maurice Pillet,... |publisher=É. Champion (Paris) |year=1922 |location=Bibliothèque nationale de France |language=FR |access-date=2021-04-13  }}</ref><ref>J. Oppert, "Expédition scientifique en Mésopotamie exécutée par ordre du gouvernement de 1851 à 1854", Tome I: [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_abSOZ6sClWQC "Rélation du voyage et résultat de l'expédition]", 1863 Tome II: "[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_5Elhp7ufax4C Déchiffrement des inscriptions cuneiforms]", 1859 (also as {{ISBN|0-543-74939-8}}) (in French)</ref> Much of their work was lost in the [[Qurnah Disaster]], when a transport ship and four rafts sank on the [[Tigris]] river in May 1855.<ref name=":3" /> They had been carrying over 200 crates of artifacts from various excavation missions, when they were attacked by Tigris river pirates near [[Al-Qurnah]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Potts |first=D. T. |title=Potts 2020. 'Un coup terrible de la fortune:' A. Clément and the Qurna disaster of 1855. in Finkel, I.L. and Simpson, St J., eds. In Context: The Reade Festschrift. Oxford: Archaeopress. |url=https://www.academia.edu/44717694 |journal=Archaeopress Archaeology |language=EN |pages=235–244 |via=Academia.edu |access-date=2021-04-13 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Samuel D. Pfister |url=https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/the-qurnah-disaster/ |title=The Qurnah Disaster: Archaeology & Piracy in Mesopotamia |website=Bible History Daily |date=20 January 2021 |access-date=13 April 2021 }}</ref> Recovery efforts, assisted by the Ottoman authorities and British Residence in Baghdad, loaded the equivalent of 80 crates on a ship for [[Le Havre]] in May 1856.<ref name=":2">{{cite web |author=Namio Egami |url=https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/orient1960/8/0/8_0_1/_pdf |title=The Report of The Japan Mission For The Survey of Under-Water Antiquities At Qurnah: The First Season (1971-72) |pages=1–45 |access-date=2021-04-13}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{cite book |author=Larsen, M.T. |title=The Conquest of Assyria: Excavations in an Antique Land |edition=1st |publisher=Routledge |year=1996 |doi=10.4324/9781315862859 |pages=344–9, 350–3 |isbn=9781317949954}}</ref> Few antiquities from the Fresnel mission made it to France.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" /> Subsequent efforts to recover the lost antiquities from the Tigris, including a Japanese expedition in 1971–72, have been largely unsuccessful.<ref name=":2" />
[[File:Original tiles of the processional street. Ancient Babylon, Mesopotamia, Iraq..jpg|thumb|Original tiles of the processional street. Ancient Babylon, Mesopotamia, Iraq.]]

[[Sir Henry Rawlinson, 1st Baronet|Henry Rawlinson]] and [[George Smith (Assyriologist)|George Smith]] worked there briefly in 1854.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/jstor-25228697] Rawlinson, Henry C., "On the Birs Nimrud, or the Great Temple of Borsippa", Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, vol. 18, pp. 1–34, 1861</ref> The next excavation was conducted by [[Hormuzd Rassam]] on behalf of the [[British Museum]]. Work began in 1879, continuing until 1882, and was prompted by widespread looting of the site. Using industrial scale digging in search of artifacts, Rassam recovered a large quantity of cuneiform tablets and other finds. The zealous excavation methods, common at the time, caused significant damage to the archaeological context.<ref>[[Hormuzd Rassam]], "[https://archive.org/download/asshurlandofnimr00rass/asshurlandofnimr00rass.pdf Asshur and the Land of Nimrod: Being an Account of the Discoveries Made in the Ancient Ruins of Nineveh, Asshur, Sepharvaim, Calah, Babylon, Borsippa, Cuthah, and Van, etc]", Curts & Jennings, 1897</ref><ref>Julian Reade, "Hormuzd Rassam and his discoveries", Iraq, vol. 55, pp. 39–62, 1993</ref> Many tablets had appeared on the market in 1876 before Rassam's excavation began.<ref name=OP2011 />
[[File:Mušḫuššu (sirrush) and aurochs on either side of the processional street. Ancient Babylon, Mesopotamia, Iraq.jpg|thumb|[[Mušḫuššu]] (sirrush) and [[auroch]]s on either side of the processional street. Ancient Babylon, Mesopotamia, Iraq.]]

A team from the [[Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft|German Oriental Society]] led by [[Robert Koldewey]] conducted the first scientific [[Excavation (archaeology)|archaeological excavations]] at Babylon. The work was conducted daily from 1899 until 1917. A major problem for Koldewey was the large scale mining of baked bricks, which began in the 19th century and which were mainly sourced from the time of Nebuchadnezzar II. At the time, excavations for brick mining, for various building projects, including the Hindiya dam were under way.<ref>[http://uu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:515169/FULLTEXT01.pdf] Pedersén, O., "Work on a Digital Model of Babylon Using Archaeological and Textual Evidence", Mesopotamia 46, pp. 9–22, 2011</ref> The primary efforts of the dig involved the temple of [[Marduk]] and the processional way leading up to it, as well as the city wall.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/wiedererstehende00kold][[Robert Koldewey]], "Das wieder erstehende Babylon, die bisherigen Ergebnisse der deutschen Ausgrabungen", J.C. Hinrichs, 1913; Agnes Sophia Griffith Johns (translator), [[iarchive:ldpd 10797913 000|The Excavations at Babylon]], Macmillan and Co., 1914. "Up to the present time only about half the work has been accomplished, although since it began we have worked daily, both summer and winter, with from 200 to 250 workmen" (p. v).</ref><ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101068046869&seq=10] R. Koldewey, "Die Tempel von Babylon und Borsippa", WVDOG, vol. 15, pp. 37–49, 1911 {{in lang|de}}</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/ischtar-tor-in-babylon-nach-den-ausgrabungen-durch-die-deutsche-orient-gesellschaft] R. Koldewey, "Das Ischtar-Tor in Babylon Nach Den Ausgrabungen Durch Die Deutsche Orient Gesellschaft", WVDOG, vol. 32, 1918</ref><ref>F. Wetzel, "Die Stadtmauren von Babylon", WVDOG, vol. 48, pp. 1–83, 1930</ref><ref>F. Wetzel and F.H. Weisbach, "Das Hauptheiligtum des Marduk in Babylon: Esagila und Etemenanki", WVDOG, vol. 59, pp. 1–36, 1938</ref><ref>F. Wetzel et al., "Das Babylon der Spätzeit", WVDOG, vol. 62, Gebr. Mann, 1957 (1998 reprint {{ISBN|3-7861-2001-3}})</ref>

Artifacts, including pieces of the [[Ishtar Gate]] and hundreds of recovered tablets, were sent back to Germany, where Koldewey's colleague [[Walter Andrae]] reconstructed them into displays at the [[Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin]].<ref>[https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0293014] Di Chiara, Anita, et al., "An archaeomagnetic study of the Ishtar Gate, Babylon", Plos one 19.1, 2024</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Bilsel |first=Can |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xG5xl81LoW4C&pg=PA163 |title=Antiquity on Display: Regimes of the Authentic in Berlin's Pergamon Museum |publisher=OUP Oxford |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-19-957055-3 |pages=163–183 |access-date=2019-08-18 }}</ref> The Koldewey expedition recovered artifacts from the [[Old Babylonian Empire|Old Babylonian period]].<ref>Douglas Frayne, "Babylon", Old Babylonian Period (2003-1595 B.C.): Early Periods, Volume 4, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp. 323–438, 1990</ref> These included 967 clay tablets, with 564 tablets from the [[Babylonia|Middle Babylonian period]], stored in private houses, with Sumerian literature and lexical documents.<ref name=OP2011 /> The German archaeologists fled before [[Middle-Eastern theatre of World War I|oncoming British troops]] in 1917, and again, many objects went missing in the following years.<ref name=OP2011 />

Further work by the [[German Archaeological Institute]] was conducted by Heinrich J. Lenzen in 1956 and Hansjörg Schmid in 1962, working the Hellenistic, Parthian, Sasanian, and Arabic levels of the site. Lenzen's work dealt primarily with the [[Hellenistic]] theatre, and Schmid focused on the temple ziggurat [[Etemenanki]].<ref>[https://findit.library.yale.edu/images_layout/view?parentoid=15763246&increment=64] Lenzen, H. J., "The Greek theatre in Babylon", Sumer 15, pp. 39, 1959</ref><ref>Hansjörg Schmid, "Der Tempelturm Etemenanki in Babylon", Zabern, 1995, {{ISBN|3-8053-1610-0}}</ref><ref>Schmidt, J., "Das Bīt Akītu von Babylon. Mit einem Beitrag von B. Finster", BaM 33, pp. 281–31, 2002</ref>

A topographical survey at the site was conducted in 1974, followed in 1977 by a review of the stratigraphical position of the main monuments and reconsideration of ancient water levels, by the Turin Centre for Archaeological Research and Excavations in the Middle East and Asia, and the Iraqi-Italian Institute of Archaeological Sciences.<ref>G. Bergamini, "Levels of Babylon Reconsidered", Mesopotamia, vol. 12, pp. 111–152, 1977</ref> The focus was on clearing up issues raised by re-examination of the old German data. Additional work in 1987–1989 concentrated on the area surrounding the Ishara and [[Ninurta]] temples in the Shu-Anna city-quarter of Babylon.<ref>[https://findit.library.yale.edu/images_layout/view?parentoid=15763308&increment=29] G. Bergamini, "Preliminary Report on the 1987 Season of Excavations at Babylon, Iraq", Sumer 47, pp. 30–34, 1995</ref><ref>G. Bergamini, "Excavations in Shu-anna Babylon 1987", Mesopotamia, vol. 23, pp. 5–17, 1988</ref><ref>G. Bergamini, "Preliminary report on the 1988–1989 operations at Babylon Shu-Anna", Mesopotamia, vol. 25, pp. 5–12, 1990</ref>

A number of Iraqi excavations have occurred at Babylon, the earliest in 1938. From 1979 to 1981 excavation and restoration work was conducted at the Ninmah Temple, Istar Temple, and the Southern Palace.<ref>[https://findit.library.yale.edu/images_layout/view?parentoid=15763297&increment=18] Abdul-Razzak, Wahbi, "Ishtar gate and the inner wall" Sumer 41, pp. 19, 22, Arabic section pp. 34–35, 1985</ref><ref>[https://findit.library.yale.edu/images_layout/view?parentoid=15763297&increment=51] Ali, Shah Mohammed, "The Southern Palace", Sumer 41, pp. 52–54, Arabic section pp. 77–82, 1985</ref><ref>[https://findit.library.yale.edu/images_layout/view?parentoid=15763297&increment=62] Al-Suba’ai, ‘Ata Allha Mohammed, "Ishtar temple and the residential quarter west of the temple", Sumer 41, pp. 63–66, Arabic
pp. 101–107, 1985</ref><ref>[https://findit.library.yale.edu/images_layout/view?parentoid=15763297&increment=57] Alwan, Kamil Shihab, "The Vaulted Structure", Sumer 41, pp. 58–59, Arabic section, pp. 94–97., 1985</ref><ref>[https://findit.library.yale.edu/images_layout/view?parentoid=15763297&increment=29] Isḥaq, Danial, "The excavations at the southern part of the procession street and the Nabû ša ḫarê temple", Sumer 41, pp. 30–33, Arabic section, pp. 48–54, Figs. 1–18, 1985</ref><ref>[https://findit.library.yale.edu/images_layout/view?parentoid=15763297&increment=20] Kamil, Ahmed Mohammed, "Excavation at the northeastern part of the inner wall", Sumer 41, pp. 20–21, Arabic section, pp. 36–42, 1985</ref> Occasional excavations and restorations continued in the 1970s and 1980s.<ref>Damerji, Moayad Said Basim, "Babylon – ka.dingir.ra – “gate of god”. The story of a city killed by legends and
oblivion", Mesopotamia 47, pp. 1–102, 2012</ref>

During the restoration efforts in Babylon, the Iraqi State Organization for Antiquities and Heritage conducted extensive research, excavation and clearing, but wider publication of these archaeological activities has been limited.<ref>"Excavations in Iraq 1981–1982, Iraq, vol. 45, no. 2, pp. 199–224, 1983</ref><ref>Farouk N. H. Al-Rawi, Nabopolassar's Restoration Work on the Wall "Imgur-Enlil at Babylon, Iraq, vol. 47, pp. 1–13, 1985</ref> Most of the known tablets from all modern excavations remain unpublished.<ref name=OP2011 />

== Sources ==
[[File:Dynastic Chronicle.jpg|thumb|Illustration by [[Leonard William King]] of fragment K. 8532, a part of the [[Dynastic Chronicle]] listing rulers of Babylon grouped by dynasty]]

The main sources of information about Babylon—excavation of the site itself, references in [[cuneiform]] texts found elsewhere in Mesopotamia, references in the [[Bible]], descriptions in other classical writing, especially by [[Herodotus]], and second-hand descriptions citing the work of [[Ctesias]] and [[Berossus]]—present an incomplete and sometimes contradictory picture of the ancient city, even at its peak in the sixth century BC.{{sfn|Seymour|2006|pp=140-142}} Babylon was described, perhaps even visited, by a number of classical historians including [[Ctesias]], [[Herodotus]], [[Quintus Curtius Rufus]], [[Strabo]], and [[Cleitarchus]]. These reports are of variable accuracy and some of the content was politically motivated, but these still provide useful information.<ref name="MacGinnis">{{Cite journal |last=MacGinnis |first=John |date=1986 |title=Herodotus' Description of Babylon |url=https://www.academia.edu/10243265 |journal=Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies |volume=33 |pages=67–86 |doi=10.1111/j.2041-5370.1986.tb00185.x |access-date=18 March 2015 |archive-date=14 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211114165832/https://www.academia.edu/10243265 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Historical knowledge of early Babylon must be pieced together from epigraphic remains found elsewhere, such as at [[Uruk]], [[Nippur]], [[Sippar]], [[Mari, Syria|Mari]], and [[Haradum]].

=== Early references ===
[[File:Ancient Remains in Babylon.jpg|thumb|Brick structures in Babylon, 2016]]
The earliest known mention of Babylon as a small town appears on a clay tablet from the reign of Shar-Kali-Sharri (2217–2193 BC) of the Akkadian Empire. References to the city of Babylon can be found in Akkadian and Sumerian literature from the late third millennium BC. One of the earliest is a tablet describing the Akkadian king Šar-kali-šarri laying the foundations in Babylon of new temples for [[Annunitum|Annūnı̄tum]] and [[Ilaba]]. Babylon also appears in the administrative records of the [[Third Dynasty of Ur]], which collected in-kind tax payments and appointed an ''[[Ensí|ensi]]'' as local governor.<ref name="Lambert2011">Wilfred G. Lambert, "Babylon: Origins"; in Cancik-Kirschbaum et al. (2011), pp. 71–76.</ref><ref>Vedeler (2006), pp. 7–8.</ref>

The so-called [[Babylonian Chronicles#Provenanced Chronicles|Weidner Chronicle]] (also known as ''ABC 19'') states that [[Sargon of Akkad]], {{circa|23rd century BC}} in the [[short chronology]], had built Babylon "in front of Akkad" (ABC 19:51). A later chronicle states that Sargon "dug up the dirt of the pit of Babylon, and made a counterpart of Babylon next to Akkad". (ABC 20:18–19). Van de Mieroop has suggested that those sources may refer to the much later Assyrian king [[Sargon II]] of the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]], rather than Sargon of Akkad.<ref name="Dalley2005">{{Cite conference |last=[[Stephanie Dalley|Dalley]] |first=Stephanie |date=18–22 July 2005 |title=Babylon as a name for other cities including Nineveh |url=https://isac.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/shared/docs/saoc62.pdf |conference=Proceedings of the 51st [[Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale]] |series=SAOC |volume=62 |pages=25–33 |oclc=938410607 |access-date=11 April 2009  }}</ref>

===Classical dating===

[[Ctesias]], quoted by [[Diodorus Siculus]] and in [[George Syncellus]]'s ''Chronographia'', claimed to have access to manuscripts from Babylonian archives, which date the founding of Babylon to 2286&nbsp;BC, under the reign of its first king, [[Belus (Babylonian)|Belus]].<ref>''Records of the Past'', [[Archibald Sayce]], 2nd series, Vol. 1, 1888, p. 11.</ref> A similar figure is found in the writings of [[Berossus]], who, according to Pliny,<ref>N.H. vii. 57</ref> stated that astronomical observations commenced at Babylon 490&nbsp;years before the Greek era of [[Phoroneus]], indicating 2243&nbsp;BC. [[Stephanus of Byzantium]] wrote that Babylon was built 1002&nbsp;years before the date given by [[Hellanicus of Lesbos]] for the siege of Troy (1229&nbsp;BC), which would date Babylon's foundation to 2231&nbsp;BC.<ref>''The Seven Great Monarchies of the Ancient Eastern World'', [[George Rawlinson]], Vol. 4, p. 526–527.</ref> All of these dates place Babylon's foundation in the [[23rd century BC]]. However, cuneiform records have not been found to correspond with these classical, post-cuneiform accounts.

==History==
[[File:Relieve Reina de la Noche (ca. 1800 a.C).jpg|thumb|The [[Burney Relief|Queen of the Night]] relief. The figure could be an aspect of the goddess [[Ishtar]], Babylonian goddess of sex and love.]]

The first attested mention of Babylon was in the late 3rd millennium BC during the Akkadian Empire reign of ruler [[Shar-Kali-Sharri]] one of whose year names mentions building two temples there. Babylon was ruled by ensi (governors) for the empire. Some of the known governors were Abba, Arši-aḫ, Itūr-ilum, Murteli, Unabatal, and Puzur-Tutu. After that nothing is heard of the city until the time of Sumu-la-El. After around 1950 BC Amorite kingdoms will appear in Uruk and Larsa in the south.<ref name=Boer2018 >Rients de Boer. "Beginnings of Old Babylonian Babylon: Sumu-Abum and Sumu-La-El." Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 70, The American Schools of Oriental Research, 2018, pp. 53–86</ref>

===Old Babylonian period===
[[File:Hammurabi's Babylonia 1.svg|thumb|A map showing the Babylonian territory upon Hammurabi's ascension in 1792&nbsp;BC and upon his death in 1750&nbsp;BC]]
[[File:Cylinder Seal, Old Babylonian, formerly in the Charterhouse Collection 03.jpg|thumb|Old Babylonian [[cylinder seal]], [[hematite]]. This seal was probably made in a workshop at [[Sippar]] (about {{cvt|40|mi|km|order=flip|round=5|sp=us|disp=or}} north of Babylon on the map above) either during, or shortly before, the reign of [[Hammurabi]].<ref>Al-Gailani Werr, L., 1988. Studies in the chronology and regional style of Old Babylonian Cylinder Seals. Bibliotheca Mesopotamica, Volume 23.</ref> It depicts the king making an animal offering to the sun god [[Shamash]].|alt=]]
[[File:Cylinder Seal, Old Babylonian, formerly in the Charterhouse Collection 09.jpg|thumb|alt=|Linescan camera image of the cylinder seal above, reversed to resemble an impression]]

According to a Babylonian king list, [[Amorite]] rule in Babylon began ({{circa|19th or 18th century BC}}) with a chieftain named [[Sumu-abum]], who declared independence from the neighboring city-state of [[Kazallu]]. [[Sumu-la-El]], whose dates may be concurrent with those of Sumu-abum, is usually given as the progenitor of the [[First Babylonian dynasty]]. Both are credited with building the walls of Babylon. In any case, the records describe Sumu-la-El's military successes establishing a regional sphere of influence for Babylon.<ref>Vedeler (2006), pp. 8–15. "However, this later tradition is almost certainly a simplification or even a reworking of the actual events surrounding Sumu-abum, who was never regarded as an actual ancestor to the other kings of the Babylon I dynasty (Edzard 1957:122); in reality the relationship of Sumu-abum to Babylon was much more complex. It was long been noted that many of Sumu-abum's year names are identical or virtually identical to the year names of Sumu-la-el, whom we know for certain was king of Babylon. Goddeeris (2002:319–320) sums these parallels up as follows: Sa 1 and 2 / Sl 5 and 6: building the wall of Babylon. Sa 9 / Sl 'b': building the wall of Dilbat. Sa 13/14 / Sl 20/21: the destruction and seizure of Kazallu."</ref>

Babylon was initially a minor city-state, and controlled little surrounding territory. Its first four Amorite rulers did not assume the title of king. The older and more powerful states of [[Elam]], [[Isin]], and [[Larsa]] overshadowed Babylon until it became the capital of [[Hammurabi]]'s short-lived empire about a century later. Hammurabi (r. 1792–1750&nbsp;BC) is famous for codifying the laws of Babylonia into the ''[[Code of Hammurabi]]''. He conquered all of the cities and city states of southern Mesopotamia, including [[Isin]], [[Larsa]], [[Ur]], [[Uruk]], [[Nippur]], [[Lagash]], [[Eridu]], [[Kish (Sumer)|Kish]], [[Adab (city)|Adab]], [[Eshnunna]], [[Akshak]], [[Shuruppak]], [[Bad-tibira]], [[Sippar]], and [[Girsu]], coalescing them into one kingdom, ruled from Babylon. Hammurabi also invaded and conquered [[Elam]] to the east, and the kingdoms of [[Mari, Syria|Mari]] and [[Ebla]] to the northwest. After a conflict with the [[Old Assyrian period]] king [[Ishme-Dagan]], he forced his successor to pay tribute late in his reign.

After the reign of Hammurabi, the whole of southern Mesopotamia came to be known as [[Babylonia]]. From this time, Babylon supplanted [[Nippur]] and [[Eridu]] as the major religious centers of southern Mesopotamia. Hammurabi's empire destabilized after his death. The far south of Mesopotamia broke away, forming the native [[Sealand Dynasty]], and the Elamites appropriated territory in eastern Mesopotamia. The Amorite dynasty remained in power in Babylon, which again became a small city state. After the destruction of the city the [[Kassites]] rose to control the region.

Texts from Old Babylon often include references to [[Shamash]], the sun-god of Sippar, treated as a supreme deity, and [[Marduk]], considered as his son. Marduk was later elevated to a higher status and Shamash lowered, perhaps reflecting Babylon's rising political power.<ref name=Lambert2011 />

=== Middle Babylon ===
In 1595&nbsp;BC,{{efn|Please see [[Chronology of the ancient Near East]] for more discussion on dating events in the [[2nd millennium BC]], including the Sack of Babylon.}} the city is thought to have been sacked by [[Mursili I]], ruler of the [[Hittite Empire]] sometime during the 31-year reign of [[Samsu-Ditana]], last ruler of the First Dynasty of Babylon. This is based on a line in the century later [[Telepinu Proclamation]] reading "Subsequently he marched to Babylon and he destroyed Babylon, and defeated the Hurrian troops, and brought captives and possessions of Babylon to Hattusa.".<ref>[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.279400/page/n1/mode/2up] Edgar H Sturtevant, "A Hittite Chrestomathy", University of Pennsylvania, 1935</ref> Originally it was thought that cult statues of Babylon, including Marduk, were carried off to the [[Kingdom of Khana]] but the source Agum-Kakrime Inscription is now generally considered a much later forgery.<ref>Paulus, Susanne, "Fraud, Forgery, and Fiction: Is There Still Hope for Agum-Kakrime?", Journal of Cuneiform Studies 70.1, pp. 115-166, 2018</ref> Thereafter, the [[Kassite dynasty]] took power in the city of Babylon, renaming it Karduniash, ushering in a dynasty that lasted for 435&nbsp;years, until 1160&nbsp;BC.

[[Babylonia|Babylon]] was weakened during the [[Kassites|Kassite]] era, and as a result, Kassite Babylon began paying [[tribute]] to the Pharaoh of [[Egypt]], [[Thutmose III]], following his eighth campaign against Mitanni.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Aldred |first=Cyril |date=1970 |title=The Foreign Gifts Offered to Pharaoh |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3856046 |journal=The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology |volume=56 |pages=105–116 |doi=10.2307/3856046 |jstor=3856046 |issn=0307-5133 |access-date=2021-11-16 |archive-date=2021-11-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211116130941/https://www.jstor.org/stable/3856046 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Kassite Babylon eventually became subject to the [[Middle Assyrian Empire]] (1365–1053 BC) to the north, and [[Elam]] to the east, with both powers vying for control of the city.

By 1155&nbsp;BC, after continued attacks and annexing of territory by the Assyrians and Elamites, the Kassites were deposed in Babylon. An Akkadian south Mesopotamian dynasty then ruled for the first time. However, Babylon remained weak and subject to domination by Assyria. Its ineffectual native kings were unable to prevent new waves of foreign West Semitic settlers from the deserts of the Levant, including the [[Arameans]] and [[Suteans]] in the 11th century BC, and finally the [[Chaldea]]ns in the 9th century BC, entering and appropriating areas of Babylonia for themselves. The Arameans briefly ruled in Babylon during the late 11th century BC.

===Assyrian period===
[[File:Sennacherib.jpg|thumb|Sennacherib of Assyria during his [[Battle of Halule|Babylonian war]], relief from his palace in [[Nineveh]]]]
During the rule of the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]] (911–609&nbsp;BC), Babylonia was under constant [[Assyria]]n domination or direct control. During the reign of [[Sennacherib]] of Assyria, Babylonia was in a constant state of revolt, led by a chieftain named [[Marduk-apla-iddina II|Merodach-Baladan]], in alliance with the [[Elamites]], and suppressed only by the complete destruction of the city of Babylon. In 689&nbsp;BC, its walls, temples and palaces were razed, and the rubble was thrown into the Arakhtu, the sea bordering the earlier Babylon on the south. The destruction of the religious center shocked many, and the subsequent murder of Sennacherib by two of his own sons while praying to the god [[Nisroch]] was considered an act of atonement.

Consequently, his successor, [[Esarhaddon]] hastened to rebuild the old city and make it his residence for part of the year. After his death, Babylonia was governed by his elder son, the [[Assyria]]n prince [[Shamash-shum-ukin]], who eventually started a civil war in 652&nbsp;BC against his own brother, [[Ashurbanipal]], who ruled in [[Nineveh]]. Shamash-shum-ukin enlisted the help of other peoples against Assyria, including [[Elam]], [[Persia]], the [[Chaldea]]ns, and [[Suteans]] of southern Mesopotamia, and the [[Canaanites]] and [[Arabs]] dwelling in the deserts south of [[Mesopotamia]].

Once again, Babylon was besieged by the Assyrians, starved into surrender and its allies were defeated. Ashurbanipal celebrated a "service of reconciliation", but did not venture to "take the hands" of [[Bel (mythology)|Bel]]. An Assyrian governor named [[Kandalanu]] was appointed as ruler of the city. Ashurbanipal did collect texts from Babylon for inclusion in his extensive [[Library of Ashurbanipal|library]] at Ninevah.<ref name=OP2011 />

===Neo-Babylonian Empire===
{{Main|Neo-Babylonian Empire}}
[[File:Cuneiform cylinder- inscription of Nebuchadnezzar II commemorating the reconstruction of Etemenanki, the ziggurat at Babylon MET ME86 11 284.jpg|thumb|A cuneiform cylinder from reign of Nebuchadnezzar II, honoring the exorcism and reconstruction of the ziggurat [[Etemenanki]] by Nabopolassar.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Spar |first1=Ira |title=The Ebabbar Temple Archive and Other Texts from the Fourth to the First Millennium B.C. |last2=Jursa |first2=Michael |publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-57506-327-0 |series=Cuneiform Texts in The Metropolitan Museum of Art |volume=IV |pages=288–290 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JbREBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA288 |archive-date=2020-05-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200518225924/https://books.google.com/books?id=JbREBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA288 |url-status=live}}</ref>]]

[[File:Babylon relief.jpg|right|thumb|Detail of a relief from the reconstruction of the [[Ishtar Gate]] in the [[Pergamon Museum]], Berlin]]
[[File:Ishtar Gate at Berlin Museum.jpg|thumb|A reconstruction of the blue-tiled Ishtar Gate, Pergamon Museum, Berlin, which was the northern entrance to Babylon. It was named for the goddess of love and war. Bulls and dragons, symbols of the god [[Marduk]], decorated the gate.|alt=]]
Under [[Nabopolassar]], Babylon escaped Assyrian rule, and the allied Medo-Babylonian armies destroyed the Assyrian Empire between 626 BC and 609 BC. Babylon thus became the capital of the Neo-Babylonian (sometimes called the Chaldean) Empire.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bradford |first=Alfred S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dY86rHCI1I8C&pg=PA47 |title=With Arrow, Sword, and Spear: A History of Warfare in the Ancient World |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-275-95259-4 |pages=47–48 |access-date=2019-08-18 |archive-date=2020-05-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200519030115/https://books.google.com/books?id=dY86rHCI1I8C&pg=PA47 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=von Soden |first=Wolfram |url=https://archive.org/details/ancientorientint0000sode |title=The Ancient Orient |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-8028-0142-5 |page=[https://archive.org/details/ancientorientint0000sode/page/60 60] |url-access=registration}}</ref>

With the recovery of Babylonian independence, a new era of architectural activity ensued, particularly during the reign of his son [[Nebuchadnezzar II]] (604–561&nbsp;BC).<ref>Saggs, H.W.F. (2000). ''Babylonians'', p. 165. University of California Press. {{ISBN|0-520-20222-8}}.</ref> Nebuchadnezzar ordered the complete reconstruction of the imperial grounds, including the [[Etemenanki]] [[ziggurat]], and the construction of the [[Ishtar Gate]]—the most prominent of eight gates around Babylon. A reconstruction of the Ishtar Gate is located in the [[Pergamon Museum]] in [[Berlin]].

Nebuchadnezzar is also credited with the construction of the [[Hanging Gardens of Babylon]], one of the [[Seven Wonders of the Ancient World]], said to have been built for his homesick wife, [[Amytis of Babylon|Amytis]]. Whether the gardens actually existed is a matter of dispute. German archaeologist [[Robert Koldewey]] speculated that he had discovered its foundations, but many historians disagree about the location. [[Stephanie Dalley]] has argued that the hanging gardens were actually located near the Assyrian capital, [[Nineveh]].<ref>[[Stephanie Dalley]], (2013) ''The Mystery of the Hanging Garden of Babylon: an elusive World Wonder traced,'' OUP {{ISBN|978-0-19-966226-5}}</ref>

Nebuchadnezzar is also notoriously associated with the [[Babylonian exile]] of the Jews, the result of an imperial technique of pacification, used also by the Assyrians, in which ethnic groups in conquered areas were [[Resettlement policy of the Neo-Assyrian Empire|deported en masse]] to the capital.{{sfn|Seymour|2006|pp=88-89|ps=: "Preventing uprisings on the fringes of the empire was a major concern for Assyrian kings, and a number of policies developed to meet this need, among them mass deportations. When new territory was conquered or a rebellious vassal crushed, an increased imperial presence in the trouble spot was often complemented by the removal of large numbers of the indigenous population to the imperial core, effectively breaking up the rebellious population and reducing the potential for future resistance. This practice was effective, and continued throughout the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian empires until 539 BC and Cyrus's conquest of Babylon. The majority of the immigrant population were not slaves (Yamauchi 2002: 365), and some did rise to high status positions at the core of the empire (a possibility reflected in the career of the biblical Daniel, who rises to the status of trusted royal confidant)."}} According to the Hebrew Bible, he [[Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC)|destroyed]] [[Solomon's Temple]] and [[Babylonian captivity|exiled]] the Jews to Babylon. The defeat was also recorded in the [[Babylonian Chronicles]].<ref name="BabylonianChronicles">{{Cite web |title=British Museum – Cuneiform tablet with part of the Babylonian Chronicle (605–594 BC) |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/me/c/cuneiform_nebuchadnezzar_ii.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141030154541/https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/me/c/cuneiform_nebuchadnezzar_ii.aspx |archive-date=30 October 2014 |access-date=30 October 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=ABC 5 (Jerusalem Chronicle) – Livius |url=https://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/abc5/jerusalem.html |website=www.livius.org |access-date=2020-03-26 |archive-date=2019-05-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190505195611/https://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/abc5/jerusalem.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Persian conquest===
{{Main|Fall of Babylon}}

In 539&nbsp;BC, the Neo-Babylonian Empire fell to [[Cyrus the Great]], king of [[Persia]], with a military engagement known as the [[Battle of Opis]]. Babylon's walls were considered impenetrable. The only way into the city was through one of its many gates, or through the Euphrates River. Metal grates were installed underwater, allowing the river to flow through the city walls while preventing intrusion. The Persians devised a plan to enter the city via the river. During a Babylonian national feast, Cyrus' troops upstream diverted the Euphrates River, allowing Cyrus' soldiers to enter the city through the lowered water. The Persian army conquered the outlying areas of the city while the majority of Babylonians at the city center were unaware of the breach. The account was elaborated upon by [[Herodotus]]<ref name="Herodotus">{{Cite book |chapter-url=http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.perseus-eng1:1.178 |title=Herodotus, The Histories |last=Godley |first=Alfred Denis |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=1920 |volume=Book 1 |chapter=Ch. 178-200 |oclc=4559420 |access-date=2019-08-19 |archive-date=2023-03-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230316054709/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.perseus-eng1:1.178 |url-status=live }}; or see {{Cite web |date=2017 |title=Herodotus' Description of Babylon and the Babylonians |url=http://www.shsu.edu/~his_ncp/Herobab.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170505040539/http://www.shsu.edu/~his_ncp/Herobab.html |archive-date=2017-05-05 |website=shsu.edu }}</ref><ref name=MacGinnis />

Herodotus also described a moat, an enormously tall and broad wall, cemented with [[bitumen]] and with buildings on top, and a hundred gates to the city. He writes that the Babylonians wear turbans and perfume and bury their dead in honey, that they practice ritual prostitution, and that three tribes among them [[Piscivore|eat nothing but fish]]. The hundred gates can be considered a reference to [[Homer]]. Following the pronouncement of [[Archibald Henry Sayce]] in 1883, Herodotus' account of Babylon has largely been considered to represent Greek folklore rather than an authentic voyage to Babylon. However, recently, Dalley and others have suggested taking Herodotus' account seriously.<ref name=Herodotus />{{sfn|Seymour|2006|pp=107-115}}

[[File:Xerxes I tomb Babylonian soldier circa 470 BCE.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|A Babylonian soldier in the Achaemenid army, {{Circa|470 BC}}, [[Xerxes I]] tomb]]
According to [[Books of Chronicles|2 Chronicles]] 36 of the [[Hebrew Bible]], Cyrus later issued a decree permitting captive people, including the [[Jews]], to return to their own lands. The text found on the [[Cyrus Cylinder]] has traditionally been seen by biblical scholars as corroborative evidence of this policy, although the interpretation is disputed{{by whom|date=March 2021}} because the text identifies only Mesopotamian sanctuaries but makes no mention of Jews, Jerusalem, or Judea.

Under Cyrus and the subsequent Persian king [[Darius I]], Babylon became the capital city of the 9th [[Satrapy]] (Babylonia in the south and Athura in the north), as well as a center of learning and scientific advancement. In [[Achaemenid]] Persia, the ancient Babylonian arts of [[astronomy]] and [[mathematics]] were revitalized, and Babylonian scholars completed maps of constellations. The city became the administrative capital of the [[Achaemenid Empire|Persian Empire]] and remained prominent for over two centuries. Many important archaeological discoveries have been made that can provide a better understanding of that era.<ref>[https://www.britishmuseum.org/the_museum/news_and_press/statements/cyrus_cylinder.aspx Cyrus Cylinder] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111201041948/http://www.britishmuseum.org/the_museum/news_and_press/statements/cyrus_cylinder.aspx |date=2011-12-01 }} ''The British Museum''. Retrieved July 23, 2011.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1999-06-06 |title=Mesopotamia: The Persians |url=http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/MESO/PERSIANS.HTM |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206180919/http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/MESO/PERSIANS.HTM |archive-date=6 December 2010 <!--DASHBot--> |access-date=2010-11-09 |publisher=Wsu.edu:8080}}</ref>

The early Persian kings had attempted to maintain the religious ceremonies of [[Marduk]], who was the most important god, but by the reign of [[Darius III]], over-taxation and the strain of numerous wars led to a deterioration of Babylon's main shrines and canals, and the destabilization of the surrounding region. There were numerous attempts at rebellion and in 522&nbsp;BC ([[Nebuchadnezzar III]]), 521&nbsp;BC ([[Nebuchadnezzar IV]]) and 482&nbsp;BC (Bel-shimani and Shamash-eriba) native Babylonian kings briefly regained independence. However, these revolts were quickly repressed and Babylon remained under Persian rule for two centuries, until [[Alexander the Great]]'s entry in 331&nbsp;BC. Following his conquests, [[Death of Alexander the Great|he died in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar II]] in Babylon on the evening of 10–11 June 323&nbsp;BC.

===Hellenistic period===
In October of 331 BC, [[Darius III]], the last [[Achaemenid]] king of the Persian Empire, was defeated by the forces of the [[Ancient Macedonians|Ancient Macedonian]] ruler [[Alexander the Great]] at the [[Battle of Gaugamela]], occupying Babylon. Under Alexander, Babylon again flourished as a center of learning and commerce. However, following Alexander's death in 323&nbsp;BC in the palace of [[Nebuchadnezzar]], his empire was divided amongst his generals, the [[Diadochi]], and [[Wars of the Diadochi|decades of fighting]] soon began. Babylon declined somewhat in importance but remained active throughout this period.<ref>Nissen, Hans J. and Heine, Peter, "Alexander and the Seleucids in Babylonia (331–141 BCE)", From Mesopotamia to Iraq: A Concise History, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pp. 114-119, 2009</ref>

===Renewed Persian rule===
{{Main|Babylonia#Persian Babylonia}}
Under the [[Parthian Empire|Parthian]] and [[Sassanid Empire]]s, Babylon (like Assyria) became a province of these [[Persian Empire]]s for nine centuries, until after AD&nbsp;650.{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}} Although it was captured briefly by [[Trajan]] in AD 116 to be part of the newly conquered province of [[Mesopotamia (Roman province)|Mesopotamia]], his successor [[Hadrian]] relinquished his conquests east of the Euphrates river, which became again the Roman Empire's eastern boundary.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bennett |first=Julian |title=Trajan: Optimus Princeps |publisher=Routledge |year=1997 |isbn=0-415-16524-5}}</ref>

However, Babylon maintained its own culture and people, who spoke varieties of [[Aramaic]], and who continued to refer to their homeland as Babylon. Examples of their culture are found in the [[Babylonian Talmud]], the [[Gnostic]] [[Mandaeism|Mandaean]] religion, [[East Syrian Rite|Eastern Rite]] [[Christianity]] and [[Manichaeism|the religion]] of the philosopher [[Mani (prophet)|Mani]]. Christianity was introduced to Mesopotamia in the 1st and 2nd centuries, and Babylon was the seat of a Bishop of the [[Church of the East]] until well after the [[Early Muslim conquests|Arab/Islamic conquest]]. Coins from the Parthian, Sasanian and Arabic periods excavated in Babylon demonstrate the continuity of settlement there.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Radner |first=Karen |title=A Short History of Babylon |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-8386-0169-0 |location=Great Britain |pages=158}}</ref>

===Muslim conquest===
{{Main|Muslim conquest of Persia}}
In the mid-7th century, Mesopotamia was conquered and settled by the expanding [[Muslim]] Empire, and a period of [[Islamization]] followed. Babylon was dissolved as a province and [[Aramaic]] and [[Church of the East]] Christianity eventually became marginalized. Ibn Hawqal (10th century) and Arab scholar al-Qazwini (13th century) describe Babylon (Babil) as a small village.{{sfn|Seymour|2006|p=148}} The latter described a well referred to as the 'Dungeon of Daniel' that was visited by Christians and Jews during holidays. The grave-shrine of Amran ibn Ali was visited by Muslims.

According to medieval Arabic writings, Babylon was a popular site to extract bricks,<ref name="OP2011">[https://www.academia.edu/1904365/Excavated_and_Unexcavated_Libraries_in_Babylon] Pedersén, Olof, "Excavated and Unexcavated Libraries in Babylon", Babylon: Wissenskultur in Orient und Okzident, edited by Eva Cancik-Kirschbaum, Margarete van Ess and Joachim Marzahn, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 47-68, 2011</ref> which were used to build cities from Baghdad to Basra.<ref name="Reade2009">Julian E. Reade, "Disappearance and rediscovery"; in Finkel & Seymour, eds., ''Babylon'' (2009); pp. 13–30.</ref>

European travellers, in many cases, could not discover the city's location, or mistook [[Fallujah]] for it. [[Benjamin of Tudela]], a 12th-century traveller, mentions Babylon, but it is not clear if he went there. Others referred to [[Baghdad]] as Babylon or New Babylon and described various structures encountered in the region as the [[Tower of Babel]].{{sfn|Seymour|2006|pp=148–151}} [[Pietro della Valle]] travelled to the village of Babil in Babylon in the 17th century and noted the existence of both baked and dried [[mudbrick]]s cemented with [[bitumen]].<ref name=Reade2009 /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Radner |first=Karen |title=A Short History of Babylon |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-8386-0169-0 |location=Great Britain |pages=Ch. 2, p. 21}}</ref>

===Modern era===
[[File:أسد بابل - Lion of Babylon.png|thumb|The [[Lion of Babylon (statue)|Lion of Babylon]]]]
The eighteenth century saw an increasing flow of travellers to Babylon, including [[Carsten Niebuhr]] and [[Pierre-Joseph de Beauchamp]], as well as measurements of its latitude.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.17311/page/n5/mode/2up] Champdor, Albert, "Babylon", translated from French by Elsa Coult, 1958</ref> Beauchamp's memoir, published in English translation in 1792, provoked the [[British East India Company]] to direct its agents in Baghdad and Basra to acquire Mesopotamian relics for shipment to London.{{sfn|Seymour|2006|pp=169-173}}

By 1905, there were several villages in Babylon, one of which was Qwaresh with about 200 households located within the boundaries of the ancient inner city walls. The village grew due to the need for laborers during the German Oriental Society excavations between 1899 and 1917.{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}

====Iraqi government====
The site of Babylon has been a cultural asset to Iraq since the creation of the modern Iraqi state in 1921. The site was officially protected and excavated by the [[Mandatory Iraq|Kingdom of Iraq under British Administration]], which later became the [[Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq]], and its successors: the [[Arab Federation]], the [[Iraqi Republic (1958–1968)|Iraqi Republic]], [[Ba'athist Iraq]], also officially called the Iraqi Republic, and the [[Republic of Iraq]]. Babylonian images periodically appear on Iraqi postcards and stamps. In the 1960s, a replica of the [[Ishtar Gate]] and a reconstruction of Ninmakh Temple were built on site.<ref name=Curtis2011 />

In February 1978, the [[Ba'athist]] government of Iraq under [[Saddam Hussein]], began the "Archaeological Restoration of Babylon Project": reconstructing features of the ancient city atop its ruins. These features included the Southern Palace of Nebuchadnezzar, with 250 rooms, five courtyards, and a {{convert|30|m|ft|sp=us|adj=on}} entrance arch. The project reinforced the Processional Way, the [[Lion of Babylon (statue)|Lion of Babylon]], and an amphitheater constructed in the city's Hellenistic era. In 1982, the government minted a set of seven coins, displaying iconic features of Babylon. A Babylon International Festival was held in September 1987, and annually thereafter until 2002, excepting 1990 and 1991, to showcase this work. The proposed reconstruction of the Hanging Gardens and the great ziggurat never took place.<ref name="Curtis2009">John Curtis, "The Site of Babylon Today"; in Finkel & Seymour, eds., ''Babylon'' (2009); pp. 213–220.</ref><ref name="Curtis2011">John Curtis, "The Present Condition of Babylon"; in Cancik-Kirschbaum et al. (2011).</ref><ref>Paul Lewis, "[https://www.nytimes.com/1989/04/19/world/babylon-journal-ancient-king-s-instructions-to-iraq-fix-my-palace.html Babylon Journal; Ancient King's Instructions to Iraq: Fix My Palace]" ([https://web.archive.org/web/20171220204046/http://www.nytimes.com/1989/04/19/world/babylon-journal-ancient-king-s-instructions-to-iraq-fix-my-palace.html archive]), ''New York Times'', 19 April 1989.</ref>

Hussein installed a portrait of himself and Nebuchadnezzar at the entrance to the ruins and inscribed his name on many of the bricks, in imitation of Nebuchadnezzar. One frequent inscription reads: "This was built by [[Saddam Hussein]], son of Nebuchadnezzar, to glorify Iraq". These bricks became sought after as collectors' items after Hussein's downfall.<ref>"[http://www.abc.net.au/news/2003-04-21/saddam-removed-from-ancient-babylon-brick-by-brick/1840416 Saddam removed from ancient Babylon 'brick by brick'] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018113214/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2003-04-21/saddam-removed-from-ancient-babylon-brick-by-brick/1840416 |date=2017-10-18 }}", ''ABC News'' 20 April 2003.</ref> Similar projects were conducted at [[Nineveh]], [[Nimrud]], [[Assur]] and [[Hatra]], to demonstrate the magnificence of Arab achievement.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lawrence Rothfield |url=https://archive.org/details/rapeofmesopotami00roth |title=The Rape of Mesopotamia: Behind the Looting of the Iraq Museum |date=1 Aug 2009 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=9780226729435 |url-access=registration}}</ref>

In the 1980s, [[Saddam Hussein]] completely removed the village of Qwaresh, displacing its residents.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Iraq's ancient city of Babylon gets long-overdue international recognition |url=https://www.mei.edu/publications/iraqs-ancient-city-babylon-gets-long-overdue-international-recognition |access-date=2021-10-01 |website=Middle East Institute |language=en |archive-date=2021-10-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021113931/https://www.mei.edu/publications/iraqs-ancient-city-babylon-gets-long-overdue-international-recognition |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":4" /> He later constructed a modern palace in that area called Saddam Hill, over some of the old ruins, in the pyramidal style of a [[ziggurat]]. In 2003, he intended to have a [[Aerial lift|cable car]] line constructed over Babylon, but plans were halted by the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]].

====Under US and Polish occupation====
[[File:WMF Future of Babylon.ogv|thumb|A [[World Monuments Fund]] video on conservation of Babylon]]
Following the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]], the area around Babylon came under the control of [[United States|US]] troops, before being handed over to [[Polish involvement in the 2003 invasion of Iraq|Polish forces]] in September 2003.<ref name="McCarty">{{Cite news |last1=McCarthy |first1=Rory |last2=Kennedy |first2=Maev |date=2005-01-15 |title=Babylon wrecked by war |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/jan/15/iraq.arts1 |access-date=2016-08-20 |archive-date=2016-09-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160920172645/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/jan/15/iraq.arts1 |url-status=live }}</ref> US forces under the command of General [[James T. Conway]] of the [[I Marine Expeditionary Force]] were criticized for building the military base "Camp Alpha", with a [[helipad]] and other facilities on ancient Babylonian ruins during the [[Iraq War]]. US forces occupied the site for some time and caused irreparable damage to the archaeological record. In a report of the [[British Museum]]'s Near East department, John Curtis described how parts of the archaeological site were levelled to create a landing area for helicopters, and parking lots for heavy vehicles. Curtis wrote of the occupation forces:

{{blockquote|They caused substantial damage to the [[Ishtar Gate]], one of the most famous monuments from antiquity [...] US military vehicles crushed 2,600-year-old brick pavements, archaeological fragments were scattered across the site, more than 12 trenches were driven into ancient deposits and military earth-moving projects contaminated the site for future generations of scientists.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bajjaly, Joanne Farchakh |date=2005-04-25 |title=History lost in dust of war-torn Iraq |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4461755.stm |access-date=2013-06-07 |archive-date=2018-07-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180708233357/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4461755.stm |url-status=live}}</ref>}}

A US military spokesman claimed that engineering operations were discussed with the "head of the Babylon museum".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Leeman |first=Sue |date=January 16, 2005 |title=Damage seen to ancient Babylon |publisher=The Boston Globe |url=https://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/01/16/damage_seen_to_ancient_babylon/ |access-date=February 21, 2020 |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303224434/http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/01/16/damage_seen_to_ancient_babylon/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The head of the Iraqi State Board for Heritage and Antiquities, Donny George, said that the "mess will take decades to sort out" and criticised [[Polish Armed Forces|Polish troops]] for causing "terrible damage" to the site.<ref name="Marozzi">{{Cite news |last=Marozzi |first=Justin |date=2016-08-08 |title=Lost cities #1: Babylon – how war almost erased 'mankind's greatest heritage site' |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/aug/08/lost-cities-1-babylon-iraq-war-history-mankind-greatest-heritage-site |access-date=2016-08-20 |archive-date=2020-04-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200413012909/https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/aug/08/lost-cities-1-babylon-iraq-war-history-mankind-greatest-heritage-site |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[http://www.worldheritagealert.org/Pages/news.htm Heritage News from around the world] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202162256/http://www.worldheritagealert.org/Pages/news.htm |date=2016-02-02 }}, ''World Heritage Alert!''. Retrieved April 19, 2008.</ref> Poland resolved in 2004 to place the city under Iraq control, and commissioned a report titled ''Report Concerning the Condition of the Preservation of the Babylon Archaeological Site'', which it presented at a meeting in December 2004.<ref name=Curtis2009 /> In 2005, the site was handed over to the Iraqi Ministry of Culture.<ref name="McCarty" />

In April 2006, Colonel John Coleman, former Chief of Staff for the I Marine Expeditionary Force, offered to issue an apology for the damage done by military personnel under his command. He also claimed that the US presence had deterred far greater damage by other looters.<ref>Cornwell, Rupert. [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/us-colonel-offers-iraq-an-apology-of-sorts-for-devastation-of-babylon-474205.html US colonel offers Iraq an apology of sorts for devastation of Babylon] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110919065526/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/us-colonel-offers-iraq-an-apology-of-sorts-for-devastation-of-babylon-474205.html |date=2011-09-19 }}, ''The Independent'', April 15, 2006. Retrieved April 19, 2008.</ref> An April 2006 article stated that UN officials and Iraqi leaders have plans to restore Babylon, making it into a cultural center.<ref>Gettleman, Jeffrey. [http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/04/13/news/babylon.php Unesco intends to put the magic back in Babylon], ''[[International Herald Tribune]]'', April 21, 2006. Retrieved April 19, 2008. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060612204629/http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/04/13/news/babylon.php |date=June 12, 2006 }}</ref><ref>McBride, Edward. [http://www.metropolismag.com/html/content_0699/ju99monu.htm Monuments to Self: Baghdad's grands projects in the age of Saddam Hussein], ''MetropolisMag''. Retrieved April 19, 2008. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051210184039/http://www.metropolismag.com/html/content_0699/ju99monu.htm |date=December 10, 2005 }}</ref>

Two museums and a library, containing replicas of artifacts and local maps and reports, were raided and destroyed.<ref>Maryam U. Musa, "The Situation of the Babylon Archaeological Site until 2006", in Cancik-Kirschbaum et al. (2011).</ref>
{{Panorama
| image = File:The historical city of Babylon.jpg
| height = 180
| alt = Panoramic view of ruins in Babylon photographed in 2005
| caption = {{center|Panoramic view of ruins in Babylon, 2005}}
}}

==== Present-day ====
In May 2009, the provincial government of [[Babil Governorate|Babil]] reopened the site to tourists. Over 35,000 people visited in 2017.<ref name=":6">{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/02/23/965400736/it-was-like-magic-iraqis-visit-babylon-and-other-heritage-sites-for-1st-time |title='It Was Like Magic': Iraqis Visit Babylon And Other Heritage Sites For 1st Time |last=Fordham |first=Alice |work=NPR.org |date=23 February 2021 |access-date=29 July 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210223192025/https://www.npr.org/2021/02/23/965400736/it-was-like-magic-iraqis-visit-babylon-and-other-heritage-sites-for-1st-time |archive-date=2021-02-23}}</ref> An oil pipeline runs through an outer wall of the city.<ref>{{cite web |first=Arawa |last=Damon |url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/04/world/meast/iraq-babylon-tourism/ |url-status=live |title=Bringing Babylon back from the dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170606141233/http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/04/world/meast/iraq-babylon-tourism |archive-date=2017-06-06 |work=CNN |date=4 April 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Steven Lee |last=Myers |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/03/world/middleeast/03babylon.html |title=Babylon Ruins Reopen in Iraq, to Controversy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170806111853/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/03/world/middleeast/03babylon.html |archive-date=2017-08-06 |work=The New York Times |date=2 May 2009}}</ref> In July 2019, the site of Babylon was inscribed as a [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]].<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |date=5 July 2019 |title=Ancient city of Babylon heads list of new Unesco world heritage sites |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/05/ancient-forests-and-vast-marshlands-added-to-un-heritage-list |website=The Guardian |access-date=5 July 2019 |archive-date=29 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191129054703/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/05/ancient-forests-and-vast-marshlands-added-to-un-heritage-list |url-status=live}}</ref>

Thousands of people reside in Babylon within the perimeter of the ancient outer city walls, and communities in and around them are "rapidly developing from compact, dense settlements to sprawling suburbia despite laws restricting constructions".<ref name="auto"/><ref name=":4">{{cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/document/168481 |title=Management Plan of Babylon |website=unesco.org |access-date=29 July 2021 }}</ref> Modern villages include Zwair West, Sinjar Village, Qwaresh, and Al-Jimjmah, among which the first two are better off economically.<ref name=":5">{{cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/document/168482 |title=Maps and Plans: Excavations and Investigations at Babylon |website=unesco.org |access-date=29 July 2021 |archive-date=5 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200705155301/https://whc.unesco.org/document/168482 |url-status=live }}</ref> Most residents primarily depend on daily wage earning or have government jobs in [[Hillah|Al-Hillah]]. Some cultivate dates, citrus fruits, figs, fodder for livestock and limited cash crops, although income from the land alone is not enough to sustain a family.<ref name=":4" /> Both Shi'a and Sunni Muslims live in Sinjar village, with mosques for both groups.<ref name=":4" />

The State Board of Antiquities and Heritage (SBAH) is the main authority responsible for the conservation of the archeological site. They are assisted by Antiquity and Heritage Police, and maintain a permanent presence there. The [[World Monuments Fund]] is involved in research and conservation. The SBAH Provincial Inspectorate Headquarters is located within the boundaries of the ancient inner city walls on the east side. Several staff members and their families reside in subsidized housing in this area.

==Cultural importance==
[[File:Nuremberg chronicles f 65r 3.png|thumb|A 1493 [[woodcut]] in the ''[[Nuremberg Chronicle]]'', depicting the fall of Babylon]]
[[File:The walls of Babylon and the temple of Bel.png|thumb|"The Walls of Babylon and the Temple of Bel (Or Babel)", by 19th-century illustrator [[William Simpson (Scottish artist)|William Simpson]]&nbsp;– influenced by early archaeological investigations]]

Before modern archaeological excavations in Mesopotamia, the appearance of Babylon was largely a mystery, and typically envisioned by Western artists as a hybrid between ancient Egyptian, classical Greek, and contemporary Ottoman culture.<ref>Liverani 2016, pp. 21–22. "In practice, the solution adopted to visualize cities which were in fact unknown was a mixture of classical (Greek) and Egyptian elements, with long colonnades, even built on more than one level—which will then prove totally foreign to the unfired brick architecture of Mesopotamian cities—and with plenty of obelisks and the odd sphinx. To this mixture is added, often and willingly, something of Ottoman architecture, showing cupolas and minarets, clearly useful in picturing an unchangeable Near East which therefore needed to retain elements of remote antiquity in a modern age."</ref>

Due to Babylon's historical significance as well as references to it in the [[Bible]], the word "Babylon" in various languages has acquired a generic meaning of a large, bustling diverse city. Examples include:
*''Babylon'' is used in [[reggae]] music as a concept in the [[Rastafari movement#Zion vs. Babylon|Rastafari]] belief system, denoting the materialistic [[capitalist]] world, or any form of imperialist evil. It is believed that Babylon actively seeks to exploit and oppress the people of the world, specifically people of African descent. It is believed by Rastafarians that Babylon attempts to forbid the smoking of ganja because this sacred herb opens minds to the truth.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Samuel Murrell |last2=Spencer |last3=McFarlane |title=Chanting Down Babylon: The Rastafari Reader |date=1998 |publisher=Temple University Press |isbn=9781566395847 |page=24 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iesWzLHb_GUC&q=babylon}}</ref>
*''[[Babylon 5]]''&nbsp;– A [[science fiction]] series set on a futuristic [[space station]] that acts as a trading and diplomatic nexus between many different cultures. Many stories focus on the theme of different societies and cultures uniting, respecting differences, and learning from each other rather than fighting or looking on each other with prejudice and suspicion.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}}
*''[[Babylon A.D.]]'' takes place in New York City, decades in the future.{{primary source inline|date=October 2020}}
*[[Babilonas]] ([[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]] name for "Babylon") is a real estate development in [[Lithuania]].{{primary source inline|date=October 2020}}
*"[[Chromatica|Babylon]]" is a song by [[Lady Gaga]] that uses allusions to ancient Biblical themes to discuss gossip.{{primary source inline|date=October 2020}}
*''[[Eternals (film)|Eternals]]'' (2021), depicts Babylon on its greatest extent and is shown to be protected and aided in its development by the eternals.

===Biblical narrative===
In {{Bibleverse|Genesis|10:10|KJV}}, Babel (Babylon) is described as founded by [[Nimrod]] along with [[Uruk]], [[Akkad (city)|Akkad]] and perhaps [[Calneh]]—all of them in [[Shinar]] ("Calneh" is now sometimes translated not as a proper name but as the phrase "all of them"). Another story is given in Genesis 11, which describes a united human race, speaking one language, migrating to Shinar to establish a city and tower—the [[Tower of Babel]]. God halts construction of the tower by scattering humanity across the earth and confusing their communication so they are unable to understand each other in the same language.

According to {{Bibleverse|2 Kings|20:12|KJV}} and {{Bibleverse|Isaiah|39|KJV}} of the Hebrew Bible after Hezekiah, the king of Judah, became ill, [[Marduk-apla-iddina II|Baladan]], king of Babylon, sent a letter and gifts to him. Hezekiah showed all of his treasures to the delegation, and the prophet Isaiah later said to him: "Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD".

According to {{Bibleverse|Daniel|5|KJV}} the prophet Daniel lived in Babylon for most of his life. Nebuchadnezzar made Daniel ruler over the entire province of Babylon for having interpreted his dream. Years later, Belshazzar held a banquet, at which fingers of a hand appeared and wrote on a wall. Daniel was called to provide an interpretation of the writings, upon which he explained that God had put an end to Belshazzar's kingdom. Belshazzar was killed that very night, and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom.

{{Bibleverse|Isaiah |13:19|KJV}} says the following regarding Babylon: "And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there." {{Bibleverse|Jeremiah|50|KJV}} says that Babylon "shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate".

In [[Jewish]] tradition, Babylon symbolizes an oppressor against which righteous believers must struggle.{{Citation needed|date=January 2018}} In [[Christianity]], Babylon symbolizes worldliness and evil. Prophecies sometimes symbolically link the kings of Babylon with [[Lucifer]]. [[Nebuchadnezzar II]], sometimes conflated with [[Nabonidus]], appears as the foremost ruler in this narrative.{{sfn|Seymour|2006|pp=91–101}}

The [[Book of Revelation]] in the [[Christian Bible]] refers to Babylon many centuries after it ceased to be a major political center. The city is personified by the "[[Whore of Babylon]]", riding on a [[The Beast (Revelation)|scarlet beast with seven heads and ten horns]], and drunk on the blood of the righteous. Some scholars of [[apocalyptic literature]] believe this [[Babylon (New Testament)|New Testament "Babylon"]] to be a [[dysphemism]] for the [[Roman Empire]].<ref>Merrill Tenney, ''New Testament Survey'', Inter-varsity Press, 1985, p. 383</ref> Other scholars suggest that Babylon in the book of Revelation has a symbolic significance that extends beyond mere identification with the first century Roman empire.<ref>Craig R. Koester, ''Revelation'' (New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 2014), 506, 684</ref>

== Babylon in art ==
<gallery>
File:René-Antoine Houasse - Nabuchodonosor et Semiramis fait élever les jardins de Babylone (Versailles).jpg|''[[Nebuchadnezzar II]] ordering the construction of the [[Hanging Gardens of Babylon]] to please his consort [[Amytis of Babylon|Amytis]]'', [[René-Antoine Houasse|R<bdi>ené-Antoine Houasse</bdi>]], 1676
File:The fall of Babylon; Cyrus the Great defeating the Chaldean Wellcome V0034440.jpg|''The [[Fall of Babylon]]'', [[mezzotint]] by [[John Martin (painter)|John Martin]], 1831
File:John Martin - The Daughters of Jerusalem Weeping by the Waters of Babylon - B1975.4.639 - Yale Center for British Art.jpg|''The Daughters of Jerusalem Weeping by the Waters of Babylon'' by [[John Martin (painter)|John Martin]], 1834
File:Johann Georg Platzer - Alexander der Große empfängt die Schlüssel von Babylon.jpg|''[[Alexander the Great]] receiving the keys of Babylon'', by [[Johann Georg Platzer]], c. 1740
File:Apocalypse figurée des ducs de Savoie - Escorial E Vit.5 - Fall of Babylon.png|''Figured Apocalypse of the Dukes of Savoy'' – Escorial E Vit.5 – [[Fall of Babylon]], 15th century
File:The Walls of Babylon LACMA 65.37.292.jpg|''The Walls of Babylon'' by [[Antonio Tempesta]], 1610
File:Pieter Bruegel the Elder - The Tower of Babel (Vienna) - Google Art Project - edited.jpg|''[[The Tower of Babel (Bruegel)|The Tower of Babel]]'' by [[Pieter Bruegel the Elder]], 1563
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[Akitu]]
*[[Cities of the ancient Near East]]
*{{annotated link|Euphrates Tunnel}}
*[[Jehoiachin's Rations Tablets]]
*[[List of Kings of Babylon]]
*[[Tomb of Daniel]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

=== Sources ===
*Cancik-Kirschbaum, Eva, Margarete van Ess, & Joachim Marzahn, eds. (2011). ''Babylon: Wissenskultur in Orient und Okzident''. Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter. {{ISBN|978-3-11-022212-8}}.
*Finkel, I. L. and M. J. Seymour, eds. ''Babylon''. Oxford University Press, 2009. {{ISBN|0-19-538540-3}} . Exhibition organized by British Museum, Musée du Louvre & Réunion des Musées Nationaux, and Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.
*[[Mario Liverani|Liverani, Mario]]. ''Imagining Babylon: The Modern Story of an Ancient City''. Translated from Italian to English by Ailsa Campbell. Boston: De Gruyter, 2016. {{ISBN|978-1-61451-602-6}}. Originally published as ''Immaginare Babele'' in 2013.
*{{Cite thesis |last=Seymour |first=M. J. |title=The idea of Babylon: archaeology and representation in Mesopotamia |date=2006 |degree=Doctoral |publisher=University College London |url=http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1445913/ |oclc=500097655}}
*Vedeler, Harold Torger. ''A Social and Economic Survey of the Reign of Samsuiluna of Babylon (1794–1712 BC).'' PhD dissertation accepted at Yale, May 2006.

=== Further reading ===
*Abdul-Razzak, Wahbi, "Ishtar gate and its inner wall" Sumer 35, pp.&nbsp;112–117, 1979 (in Arabic)
*Ali, Shah Mohammed, "The Southern Palace", Sumer 35, pp.&nbsp;82–93, 1979 (in Arabic)
*[https://igj-iraq.org/igj/index.php/igj/article/download/1379/2014] Al-Assadi, Hind A., and Najah A. Abd, "Application of Georadar Method to Investigate Shallow Artifacts for Al-Maabid Area in Babylon Archaeological City", The Iraqi Geological Journal, pp.&nbsp;288–295, 2024
*Al-Kassar, Awwad Abdul-Kareem, "Views and conclusions about the excavations of the northern part of the procession street for the year 1981" Sumer 41, Arabic section, pp.&nbsp;137–138, 1985 (in Arabic)
*Alwan, Kamil Shihab, "The Vaulted Structures or the so-called Hanging Gardens", Sumer 35, pp.&nbsp;127–136, 1979 (in Arabic)
*{{cite book |last=Dalley |first=Stephanie |title=The City of Babylon: A History c. 2000 BC – AD 116 |isbn=978-1-316-50177-1 |date=2021 |publisher=Cambridge University Press}}
*Kamil, Ahmed Mohammed, "The inner wall of Babylon", Sumer 35, pp.&nbsp;137–149, 1979 (in Arabic)
*[[Leonard William King|King, L. W.]], "[[Babylonian Religion and Mythology]]", 1899
*[https://archive.org/details/pflastersteine-von-aiburschabu-in-babylon] Koldewey, Robert, "Pflastersteine Von Aiburschabu In Babylon", J. C. Hinrichs'sch Buchhandlung, 1901
*{{Cite journal |last=Maul |first=Stefan |year=1997 |title=The Ancient Middle Eastern Capital City – Reflection and Navel of the World |url=http://prelectur.stanford.edu/lecturers/maul/ancientcapitals.html |journal=Stanford Presidential Lectures and Symposia in the Humanities and Arts}} – originally published in German {{Cite journal |year=1997 |title=Die altorientalische Hauptstadt – Abbild und Nabel der Wel |journal=Die Orientalische Stadt: Kontinuitat. Wandel. Bruch. 1 Internationale Colloquium der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft. 9–10. Mai 1996 in Halle/Saale |location=Saarbrücker Druckerei und Verlag |pages=109–124}}
*[https://ia902908.us.archive.org/14/items/in.ernet.dli.2015.529795/2015.529795.ruins-of.pdf] Maurice, Thomas, "Observations on the ruins of Babylon, as recently visited and described by Claudius James Rich, Esq. resident for the East India Company at Bagdad; with illustrative engravings", London: John Murray, Albemarle Street, 1816
*{{cite book |last1=Mommsen |first1=Theodor |last2=Dickson |first2=William Purdie |last3=Haverfield |first3=Francis |title=The provinces of the Roman Empire: from Caesar to Diocletian, Vol. II |publisher=Gorgias Press LLC |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-59333-026-2}}
*{{Cite book |last=Oates |first=Joan |url=https://archive.org/details/babylon00oate |title=Babylon |publisher=Thames and Hudson |year=1986 |isbn=0-500-02095-7 |author-link=Joan Oates |url-access=registration}} and {{ISBN|0-500-27384-7}} (paperback)
*Nasir, Mohammad, "The Temple of Ishtar of Agade", Sumer 35, pp.&nbsp;61–81, 1979 (in Arabic)
*Nasir, Mohammad, "The so-called Summer Palace (Nebuchadnezzar’s life palace)" Sumer 35, pp.&nbsp;150–159, 1979 (in Arabic)
*[https://findit.library.yale.edu/images_layout/view?parentoid=15763297&increment=9] Sollberger, Edmond, "Babylon’s beginnings", Sumer 41, pp.&nbsp;10–13, 1985

==External links==
{{wiktionary|𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠}}
{{Wikivoyage|Babylon}}
{{Commons category|Babylon}}
*[https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/481389/Iranian-archaeologists-to-perform-survey-in-Babylon Iranian archaeologists to perform survey in Babylon - Tehran Times - January 29, 2023]
*[https://www.uni-muenster.de/imperia/md/content/GoviB/boivin_ane_today_november_2022.pdf Modern Wars and Ancient Governance: Archaeology and Textual Finds from First Millennium BCE Babylon – Odette Boivin – ANE Today – Nov 2022]
*[https://www.asor.org/anetoday/2022/09/babylonian-festival-and-ritual-humiliation – The Babylonian Akītu Festival and the Ritual Humiliation of the King – Sam Mirelman – ANE Today – Sep 2022] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230630190127/https://www.asor.org/anetoday/2022/09/babylonian-festival-and-ritual-humiliation/ |date=2023-06-30 }}
*[https://www.geschkult.fu-berlin.de/en/e/altorient/forschungsprojekte/forschung/abgeschlossen_Das-Babylon-Projekt/index.html The Babylon Project – Freie Universität Berlin]
*{{In Our Time|Babylon|p004y25j|Babylon}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090421000617/http://www.iraqimage.com/pages/browse/Babylon.html Iraq Image – Babylon Satellite Observation]
*[http://oi.uchicago.edu/gallery/asp_meso_babylon/ Site Photographs of Babylon – Oriental Institute] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090427101003/http://oi.uchicago.edu/gallery/asp_meso_babylon/ |date=2009-04-27 }}
*[http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=51&letter=B 1901–1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, Babylon]
*[http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15324coll10/id/57688 ''Beyond Babylon: art, trade, and diplomacy in the second millennium B.C.''], Issued in connection with an exhibition held Nov. 18, 2008-Mar. 15, 2009, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
*Osama S. M. Amin, "[http://etc.worldhistory.org/travel/visiting-ancient-city-babylon/ Visiting the ancient city of Babylon]", ''Ancient History Et Cetera'', 17 November 2014.
*Video of reconstructed palace: {{YouTube|id=9OFZJnlSucc|title=Iraq elections: The palace that Nebuchadnezzar built}}
*[https://www.theguardian.com/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1391042,00.html Babylon wrecked by war, The Guardian, January 15, 2005]
*{{Cite news |date=July 10, 2009 |title=Experts: Iraq invasion harmed historic Babylon |agency=Associated Press |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna31842219}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110812220343/http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001831/183134e.pdf UNESCO Final Report on Damage Assessment in Babylon]

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[[Category:Babylon| ]]
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[[Category:Archaeological sites in Iraq]]
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