Babylon (بابل)

Babylon (بابل)


Babylon is the legendary place that was once the capital city of the kingdom of Babylonia. The oldset known record of Babylon was a clay tablet from the 22nd century BC.

It first reached prominence under King Hammurabi, but it achieved its zenith during the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar II, between 605 and 56 BC. Babylon was renowned for its high, well-fortified walls and for the magnificence and beauty of its temples, palaces and gardens.

Babylon's Hanging Gardens were built by Nebuchadnezzar for his wife Amytas and were regarded one of the Seven Wonders of the World. According to legend, Amytas was a Mede and her home was in mountainous country, so the King reputedly had the Hanging Gardens built to allay her homesickness.

During the Hellenistic period, Babylon started declining. It was eventually abandoned in the 11th century.

Nowadays Babylon is in ruins and an important archaeological site.

Points of interest
  • All that remains of the ancient splendor is a large and beautifully carved stone lion. The lion was created around 1595 BC and it was carved from black basalt.
  • The Ishtar Gate was the 8th gate to Babylon's inner city wall. The original gate was constructed around 569 BC. It was a double gate that featured a frontal gate and a much larger (15 m high) secondary gate. The walls were covered in glazed bricks, which were predominantly blue, and features images of animals and deities. The Germans excavated the site between 1904 and 1914. They dismantles the smaller frontal gate and brought it to Germany, where it was reconstructed. It can now be seen in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin. In the 1980s, a 70% replica gate was erected at the original location in Babylon.
  • The Palace of Nebuchadnezzar II has been reconstructed.
  • The ancient Processional Way.
  • The Temple of Nin Makh is a reconstruction.
Babylon is situated with the modern city of al-Ḥillah, 85 km (53 mi) south of Baghdad and it is best visited on a day trip from the capital.

Babylon was inscribed into the UNESCO list of world heritage sites in 2019.

Hotels in Babylon

Images


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