Babylon
Sign in to saveBabylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the 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, unti
AI overview
Babylon was an ancient city in southern Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) that served as the cultural and political center of the Akkadian-speaking region and was home to two major empires—the Old Babylonian Empire (19th–16th century BC) and the Neo-Babylonian Empire (7th–6th century BC). It was one of the most important urban centers of the ancient Near East and also functioned as a regional capital for other empires, including the Achaemenid Empire.
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Key facts
- Ancient site.name
- Babylon
- Ancient site.image
- Ishtar Gate.jpg
- Ancient site.image_size
- 250px
- Ancient site.caption
- Ishtar Gate
- Ancient site.map_type
- Iraq#Near East
- Ancient site.relief
- yes
- Ancient site.map_alt
- Babylon lies near the center of Iraq
- Ancient site.location
- Hillah, Babil Governorate, Iraq
- Ancient site.region
- Mesopotamia
- Ancient site.type
- Settlement
- Ancient site.part_of
- Babylonia
- Ancient site.cultures
- Sumerian, Akkadian, Amorite, Kassite, Assyrian, Chaldean, Achaemenid, Hellenistic, Parthian, Sasanian, Muslim caliphate
Article
28 sectionsContents
- Names<span class="anchor" id="Etymology"></span>
- Archaeology
- Excavations
- Sources
- Early references
- Classical dating
- History
- Old Babylonian period
- Middle Babylon
- Assyrian period
- Neo-Babylonian Empire
- Persian conquest
- Hellenistic period
- Renewed Persian rule
- Muslim conquest
- Modern era
- Iraqi government
- Under US and Polish occupation
- Present-day
- Cultural importance
- Biblical narrative
- Babylon in art
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Sources
- Further reading
- External links
Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the 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, Borsippa, Dilbat, and Kutha.
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. Babylon was merely a religious and cultural centre at this point and was neither an independent state nor a large city. Instead, it was subject to the Akkadian Empire. After the collapse of the Akkadian Empire, the south Mesopotamian region was dominated by the 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.