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MESOPOTAMIA, the land between two Rivers gave birth to many of the world’s first great cities. The splendid city of Babylon, located between the water of the Euphrates and the Tigris some 60 miles south of Baghdad, was one of them.

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ANCIENT BABYLON, , • Babylon is the most famous city from ancient Mesopotamia whos ruins lie in modern day Iraq 60 mile (94 kilometers) Southwest of Baghdad., , • It was founded around 2300 B.C. by the ancient Akkadian speaking of people southern Mesopotamia., , • The city owes it’s fame to the many references the Bible make to it; In the book of Genesis, chapter 11, Babylon is featured in the story of the tower of Babel. The Babylon also appears prominently in the biblical books of Daniel, Jeremiah and Isiah, among others, and the most notably, The Book of Revelation.

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WHERE IS BABYLON?, , • The town of Babylon was situated along the Euphrates and Tigris rivers., , • The river divided the city into two, with the old City to the east and a smaller new city to the west., , • The land is very fertile and produces wild barley, chickpea, and sesame. The marshlands produce an edible root that is equal in nutrition to barley. The land is also rich with dates, apples, and other fruit as well as fish and birds., , • Today the remains Of the city are spread out over a cluster of mounds located on the Euphrates about 60 miles southwest of Baghdad Iraq.

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ANCIENT BABYLONIAN MAP OF THE WORLD

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MODERN MAP OF BABYLON

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“BABYLON”, WHAT DOES IT MEAN?, , • The name is thought to derive from bav-il or bav-ilim which in the Akkadian language of the time, meant ‘Gate of God’ or ‘Gate of God’s’ and “Babylon” coming from Greek

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KING HAMMURABI, (R.1792-1750 BCE), • Babylon became a major military power under this obscure Amorite Prince who ascended to the throne upon the abdiction of his father, King Sin-Mubalit., , • Hammurabi conquered the neighboring city states and brought much of southern and cnetrql Mesopotamia under unified Babylonian rule, creating an empire called Babylonia., , • Hammurabi turned Babylon into a rich powerful and influential city., , • He created one of the World’s earliest and most complete written legal codes, known as CODE OF HAMMURABI.

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KING HAMMURABI

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CODE OF HAMMURABI, , • Code reinforced “An eye for an eye” mentality., , • Laws focused on property rights, slaves, children and women’s rights, murder, theft and marriage., , • Punishment differed based on a person’s social reasons;, – To establish order in a land in constant conflict., – To represent a King’s beliefs of justice., , • Several laws were written to protect the poor and powerless from abuse.

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CODE OF HAMMURABI

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DOWNFALL OF BABYLON, , • Following Hammurabi’s death, his empire fell apart and Babylonia dwindled in size and scope until Babylon was easily conquered., , • Hittites in 1995 B.C.E invaded Babylon and conquered it., , • Kassites followed the Hittites and renamed the city as Karanduniash., , • The Assyrian then followed the Kassites under the reign of Assyrian King ruler Sennacherib (R. 705-615 B.C.E)

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NEO-BABYLONIAN EMPIRE, (626 B.C – 539 B.C), , • The Neo-Babylonian Empire became the most powerful state in the world after defeating the Assyrians and Nineveh in 612 B.C., , • During the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar II. The Babylonian built many beautiful and lavish buildings and preserved statues and artworks from the earlier Babylonian Empire.

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KING NEBUCHADNEZZAR

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BABYLON IN JEWISH HISTORY, , • After the Babylonian conquest of the Kingdom of Judah in the sixth century B.C. Nebuchadnezzar II took thousands of Jews from the City of Jerusalem and help them captive in Babylon for more than half a century., , • The Neo-Babylonian Empire fell to Cyrus the Great’s Persian forces. Some stayed and a Jewish community flourished there for more than 2000 years. Many relocated to the newly created Jewish stayed of the Israel in 1950s.

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THE TOWER OF BABEL, , • The tower of Babel was a ziggurat, a pyramid shaped temple built to honor Marduk, the patron God of Babylon, , • It was constructed in about 1100 B.C.E under the rule of King Nebuchadnezzar., , • The tower reached a height of 91 meters (295 feet)., , • According to a tablet left by the King, the tower was made of “baked brick enameled in brilliant blue”.

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THE TOWER OF , BABEL

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THE WALLS OF BABYLON, , • Hammurabi first encircled the city with walls., , • Nebuchadnezzar II further fortified and transformed the city of Babylon into an aw-inspiring wonder. He built three walls around Babylon at heights of fourthy feet and so broad at the top that Chariots could race them., , • The Greek Historian Herodutos praised the Walls which he said we’re 56 miles (90 kilometers) long, 80 feet (24 meters) thick, and 320 feet (97 meters) high.

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WALLS , OF , BABYLON

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ISHTAR GATE, , • The main entrance into the inner city of Babylon., , • The portal was decorated with bright blue glazed bricks adorned with pictures of bull, dragons and lions., , • It was claimed by some to be the greater than any of the listed Wonders of the Ancient World., , • It was constructed in about 575 B.C by order of King Nebuchadnezzar II on the North side of the city., , • Excavated in the early 20th century and a reconstruction using original bricks is now shown in the Pergamon Museum, Berlin., , • Dedicated to the Babylonian Goddess Ishtar, the gate was constructed using glazed brick with alternating rows of dragons and aurocks, symbolizing the God Marduk.

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ISHTAR GATE

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HANGING GARDEN, , • The Hanging Garden of the Babylon, a colossal maze of terraced trees, shrubs, flowers, and man-made waterfalls, were one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World., , • Built by King Nebuchadnezzar II in 600 B.C, the gardens are believed to have been a remarkable feat of engineering; anscending series of tiered gardens containing all manner of tress, shrubs, and vines.

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HANGING GARDEN

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BABYLON TODAY, , • Under Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi government excavated Babylonian ruins and attempted to reconstruct certain features of the ancient city, including one of Nebuchadnezzar’s palaces., , • After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, United States forces built a military base on the ruins of Babylon. The United Nations cultural heritage agency UNESCO reported the base caused “major damage” to the archaeological site. The site was reopened to tourists in 2009.

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FUNDAMENTAL CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE BABYLONIANS REGARDING TECHNOLOGY, SCIENCE, MEDICINE, ASTRONOMY, AND LAWS.

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• The Babylonians achieved important results in the treatment of sicknesses beginning with organic natural compositions like honey and medicinal plants. They carried out surgical operations, diagnosis, and prognosis of recognized sicknesses in a written compendium., , • The prevention of sicknesses with the application of measures of personal hygiene which included frequent ablutions, washing of hands, boiling water and production with this of medicinal drinks as well as those for regular use. Also the use of symbols and described signs in their tablets which correspond to distinct sicknesses known to them and how to treat them effectively., , • Creation and implementation of the first penal code of laws to regulate people’s behavior

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• Creation of religious services which spread, with modified versions, to other ancient cultures., , • They achieved the attainment of metal alloys with which they produced tools, weapons, and elements of decorative and utilitarian character like metal sculptures, jewelry, metal vessels, shields, bangles etc., , • Advanced knowledge regarding the use of irrigation for agriculture, rotation of fields and crops., , • Utilization of cuneiform writing on baked clay cylinders and tablets, a technique inherited from the Sumerians, has contributed valuable information with which aspects of history, traditions, and culture could be documented.

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• Surprising technology for the production of vitrified bricks used for the decoration of palaces and temples., , • Advanced mathematical and astronomical knowledge about constellations, distance from the earth to the sun, the solstices and equinoxes, that the orbit of the earth was elliptical, the number of planets in our galaxy, among others. Also the velocity of heavenly bodies using geometric figures like the trapezoid., , • The creation of the wheel in Sumeria and widespread use of the same in all of Mesopotamia.