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mntl-text-block">›</span></li> <li id="mntl-breadcrumbs__item_3-0" class="comp mntl-breadcrumbs__item mntl-block"><a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/archaeology-4133504" rel="nocaes" id="mntl-text-link_7-0" class="mntl-text-link mntl-breadcrumbs__link" data-tracking-container="true" ><span class="link__wrapper">Archaeology</span></a> <span id="breadcrumbs__separator_3-0" class="comp breadcrumbs__separator mntl-text-block">›</span></li> <li id="mntl-breadcrumbs__item_4-0" class="comp mntl-breadcrumbs__item mntl-block"><a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/ancient-civilizations-4133503" rel="nocaes" id="mntl-text-link_8-0" class="mntl-text-link mntl-breadcrumbs__link" data-tracking-container="true" ><span class="link__wrapper">Ancient Civilizations</span></a> <span id="breadcrumbs__separator_4-0" class="comp breadcrumbs__separator mntl-text-block">›</span></li></ul> <div id="article-heading_1-0" class="comp article-heading mntl-article-header"> <h1 class="article-heading type--lion">Babylon</h1> <p class="article-subheading type--dog">The Ancient Capital of the Mesopotamian World</p> </div></div> </div><div class="loc article-post-header"><div id="post-header-social-block_1-0" class="comp post-header-social-block mntl-block"><div id="social-share-block_1-0" class="comp social-share-block mntl-block"><ul id="social-share_1-0" class="comp social-share mntl-social-share share" data-title="Babylon" document="StructuredContentDocumentEx{parent=BaseDocumentEx{templateType=STRUCTUREDCONTENT, documentId=170193, bestTitle='Babylon'}}" data-description="For over one thousand years, Babylon was an important Mediterranean city, enormous and glittering, with marvelous architecture and powerful kings." data-tracking-container="true"> <li class="share-item share-item-facebook"> <span 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Gate in the Pergamon Museum." class=" primary-image__image mntl-primary-image--blurry" onload="(function(e){e.classList.add('loaded')})(this)" style="--blurry: url('data:image/gif;charset=utf-8;base64,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')" /> <noscript> <img 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id="mntl-bylines__item_1-0" class="comp mntl-bylines__item mntl-attribution__item mntl-attribution__item--has-date"> <span class="mntl-attribution__item-descriptor">By</span> <div data-tooltip="K. Kris Hirst is an archaeologist with 30 years of field experience. Her work has appeared in scholarly publications such as Archaeology Online and Science." tabindex="0" data-inline-tooltip="true"> <a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/k-kris-hirst-166730" rel="nocaes" data-trigger-link="true" class="mntl-attribution__item-name" tabindex="-1" >K. Kris Hirst</a> <div id="mntl-author-tooltip_1-0" class="comp mntl-author-tooltip mntl-tooltip mntl-group "> <div class="mntl-author-tooltip__top mntl-author-tooltip__top--no-image"> <div id="mntl-author-tooltip__name_1-0" class="comp mntl-author-tooltip__name mntl-attribution__item "> <a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/k-kris-hirst-166730" rel="nocaes" class="mntl-attribution__item-name" tabindex="0" >K. Kris Hirst</a> </div> <div id="mntl-author-tooltip__social-nav_1-0" class="comp mntl-author-tooltip__social-nav reference-social-nav mntl-social-nav" data-tracking-container="true"> <ul class="social-nav__list"> <li class="social-nav__item social-nav__item--x"> <a href="https://twitter.com/archaeology" target="_blank" rel="noopener nocaes" class="social-nav__link social-nav__link--x" aria-label="Visit K. Kris Hirst's X" > <svg class="icon icon-x social-nav__icon" > <use xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="#icon-x" href="#icon-x"></use> </svg> </a> </li> </ul> </div> <span id="mntl-author-tooltip__job-title_1-0" class="comp mntl-author-tooltip__job-title mntl-text-block">Archaeology Expert</span> <ul id="mntl-author-tooltip__education_1-0" class="comp mntl-author-tooltip__education mntl-block"><li id="mntl-author-tooltip__education-item_1-0" class="comp mntl-author-tooltip__education-item mntl-text-block">M.A., Anthropology, University of Iowa</li> <li id="mntl-author-tooltip__education-item_2-0" class="comp mntl-author-tooltip__education-item mntl-text-block">B.Ed., Illinois State University</li></ul> <div class="mntl-author-tooltip__bio"> K. Kris Hirst is an archaeologist with 30 years of field experience. Her work has appeared in scholarly publications such as Archaeology Online and Science. </div> </div> <div class="mntl-author-tooltip__bottom"> <span class="mntl-author-tooltip__learn-more-text">Learn about our</span> <a href="/about-us-4779650#toc-editorial-guidelines" rel="nocaes" class="mntl-author-tooltip__learn-more-link" >Editorial Process</a> </div> </div></div> </div> <div class="mntl-attribution__item-date">Updated on September 08, 2018</div></div> </div></div> </div><div class="loc article-content"><div id="article-content_1-0" class="comp article-content mntl-block"><div id="mntl-sc-page_1-0" class="comp mntl-sc-page mntl-block structured-content expert-content" data-sc-sticky-offset="85" data-sc-ad-label-height="24" data-sc-ad-track-spacing="100" data-sc-min-track-height="250" data-sc-max-track-height="600" data-sc-breakpoint="50em" data-sc-load-immediate="3" data-sc-content-positions="[1, 1050, 1250, 1550, 1950, 2350, 2750, 3150]" data-bind-scroll-on-start="true"><p id="mntl-sc-block_1-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html"> Babylon was the name of the capital of Babylonia, one of several city-states in <a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/introduction-to-ancient-mesopotamia-171837" class="CMY_Link CMY_Valid" data-component="link" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="internalLink" data-ordinal="1">Mesopotamia</a>. Our modern name for the city is a version of the ancient Akkadian name for it: Bab Ilani or "Gate of the Gods". Babylon's ruins are located in what is today Iraq, near the modern town of Hilla and on the eastern bank of the Euphrates river. </p> <div id="mntl-sc-block_2-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block"></div> <p id="mntl-sc-block_3-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html"> People first lived at Babylon at least as long ago as the late 3rd millennium BC, and it became the political center of southern Mesopotamia beginning in the 18th century, during the reign of <a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/hammurabi-112486" class="CMY_Link CMY_Valid" data-component="link" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="internalLink" data-ordinal="1">Hammurabi</a> (1792-1750 BC). Babylon maintained its importance as a city for an astounding 1,500 years, until around 300 BC. </p> <div id="mntl-sc-block_4-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block"></div> <span class="heading-toc" id="toc-hammurabis-city"></span><h2 id="mntl-sc-block_5-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block reference-sc-block-heading mntl-sc-block-heading"> <span class="mntl-sc-block-heading__text"> Hammurabi's City </span> </h2> <p id="mntl-sc-block_6-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html"> A Babylonian description of the ancient city, or rather a list of the names of the city and its temples, is found in the <a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/cuneiform-mesopotamian-writing-in-wedges-170549" class="CMY_Link CMY_Valid" data-component="link" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="internalLink" data-ordinal="1">cuneiform</a> text called "Tintir = Babylon", so named because its first sentence translates to something like "Tintir is a name of Babylon, on which glory and jubilation are bestowed." This document is a compendium of Babylon's significant architecture, and it was probably compiled about 1225 BC, during the era of Nebuchadnezzar I. Tintir lists 43 temples, grouped by the quarter of the city in which they were located, as well as city-walls, waterways, and streets, and a definition of the ten city quarters. </p> <div id="mntl-sc-block_7-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block"></div> <p id="mntl-sc-block_8-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html"> What else we know of the ancient Babylonian city comes from archaeological excavations. German archaeologist <a href="https://www.world-archaeology.com/great-discoveries/koldewey-at-babylon.htm" class="CMY_Link CMY_Redirect CMY_Valid" data-component="link" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="externalLink" data-ordinal="1">Robert Koldewey</a> dug a huge pit 21 meters [70 feet] deep into the tell discovering the Esagila temple in the early 20th century. It wasn't until the 1970s when a joint Iraqi-Italian team led by Giancarlo Bergamini revisited the deeply buried ruins. But, apart from that, we don't know a lot about Hammurabi's city, because it was destroyed in the ancient past. </p> <div id="mntl-sc-block_9-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block"></div> <span class="heading-toc" id="toc-babylon-sacked"></span><h2 id="mntl-sc-block_10-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block reference-sc-block-heading mntl-sc-block-heading"> <span class="mntl-sc-block-heading__text"> Babylon Sacked </span> </h2> <p id="mntl-sc-block_11-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html"> According to cuneiform writings, Babylon's rival Assyrian king <a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/ancient-civilizations-4133503" class="CMY_Link CMY_Valid" data-component="link" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="internalLink" data-ordinal="1">Sennacherib</a> sacked the city in 689 BC. Sennacherib bragged that he razed all the buildings and dumped the rubble into the Euphrates River. Over the next century, Babylon was reconstructed by its Chaldean rulers, who followed the old city plan. <a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/chaldean-babylonian-king-nebuchadnezzar-ii-112482" class="CMY_Link CMY_Valid" data-component="link" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="internalLink" data-ordinal="2">Nebuchadnezzar II</a> (604-562) conducted a massive reconstruction project and left his signature on many of Babylon's buildings. It is Nebuchadnezzar's city that dazzled the world, beginning with the admiring reports of Mediterranean historians. </p> <div id="mntl-sc-block_12-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block"></div> <span class="heading-toc" id="toc-nebuchadnezzars-city"></span><h2 id="mntl-sc-block_13-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block reference-sc-block-heading mntl-sc-block-heading"> <span class="mntl-sc-block-heading__text"> Nebuchadnezzar's City </span> </h2> <p id="mntl-sc-block_14-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html"> Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon was enormous, covering an area of some 900 hectares (2,200 acres): it was the largest city in the Mediterranean region until imperial Rome. The city lay within a large triangle measuring 2.7x4x4.5 kilometers (1.7x2.5x2.8 miles), with one edge formed by the bank of the Euphrates and the other sides made up of walls and a moat. Crossing the Euphrates and intersecting the triangle was the walled rectangular (2.75x1.6 km or 1.7x1 mi) inner city, where most of the major monumental palaces and temples were located. </p> <div id="mntl-sc-block_15-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block"></div> <p id="mntl-sc-block_16-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html"> The major streets of Babylon all led to that central location. Two walls and a moat surrounded the inner city and one or more bridges connected the eastern and western parts. Magnificent gates allowed entry to the city: more of that later. </p> <div id="mntl-sc-block_17-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block"></div> <span class="heading-toc" id="toc-temples-and-palaces"></span><h2 id="mntl-sc-block_18-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block reference-sc-block-heading mntl-sc-block-heading"> <span class="mntl-sc-block-heading__text"> Temples and Palaces </span> </h2> <p id="mntl-sc-block_19-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html"> At the center was the main sanctuary of Babylon: in Nebuchadnezzar's day, it contained 14 temples. The most impressive of these was the <a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/who-is-marduk-119784" class="CMY_Link CMY_Valid" data-component="link" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="internalLink" data-ordinal="1">Marduk</a> Temple Complex, including the Esagila ("The House Whose Top is High") and its massive <a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/ziggurat-ancient-towering-temples-or-ziggurats-116908" class="CMY_Link CMY_Valid" data-component="link" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="internalLink" data-ordinal="2">ziggurat</a>, the Etemenanki ("House/Foundation of Heaven and the Underworld"). The Marduk Temple was surrounded by a wall pierced with seven gates, protected by the statues of dragons made from copper. The ziggurat, located across an 80 m (260 ft) wide street from the Marduk Temple, was also surrounded by high walls, with nine gates also protected by copper dragons. </p> <div id="mntl-sc-block_20-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block"></div> <p id="mntl-sc-block_21-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html"> The main palace at Babylon, reserved for official business, was the Southern Palace, with an enormous throne room, decorated with lions and stylized trees. The Northern Palace, thought to have been the Chaldean rulers' residence, had lapis-lazuli glazed reliefs. Found within its ruins was a collection of much older artifacts, collected by the Chaldeans from various places around the Mediterranean. The Northern Palace was considered a possible candidate for the <a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/ancient-civilizations-4133503" class="CMY_Link CMY_Valid" data-component="link" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="internalLink" data-ordinal="1">Hanging Gardens of Babylon</a>; although evidence has not been found and a more likely location outside of Babylon has been identified (see Dalley). </p> <div id="mntl-sc-block_22-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block"></div> <span class="heading-toc" id="toc-babylons-reputation"></span><h2 id="mntl-sc-block_23-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block reference-sc-block-heading mntl-sc-block-heading"> <span class="mntl-sc-block-heading__text"> Babylon's Reputation </span> </h2> <p id="mntl-sc-block_24-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html"> In the Christian Bible's Book of Revelation (ch. 17), Babylon was described as "Babylon the great, mother of harlots and of earth's abominations", making it the epitome of evil and decadence everywhere. This was a bit of religious propaganda to which the preferred cities of Jerusalem and Rome were compared and warned against becoming. That notion dominated western thought until late 19th-century German excavators brought home parts of the ancient city and installed them in a museum in Berlin, including the marvelous dark-blue Ishtar gate with its bulls and dragons. </p> <div id="mntl-sc-block_25-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block"></div> <p id="mntl-sc-block_26-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html"> Other historians marvel at the city's amazing size. The Roman historian <a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/who-was-the-greek-historian-herodotus-118979" class="CMY_Link CMY_Valid" data-component="link" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="internalLink" data-ordinal="1">Herodotus</a> [~484-425 BC] wrote about Babylon in the first book of his <em>Histories</em> (chapters 178-183), although scholars argue about whether Herodotus actually saw Babylon or just heard about it. He described it as a vast city, much much larger than the archaeological evidence shows, claiming that the city walls stretched a circumference of some 480 stadia (90 km). The 5th-century Greek historian Ctesias, who probably did actually visit in person, said the city walls stretched 66 km (360 stadia). <a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/the-life-and-legacy-of-aristotle-112489" class="CMY_Link CMY_Valid" data-component="link" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="internalLink" data-ordinal="2">Aristotle</a> described it as "a city that has the size of a nation". He reports that when <a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/cyrus-the-great-persian-achaemenid-dynasty-120220" class="CMY_Link CMY_Valid" data-component="link" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="internalLink" data-ordinal="3">Cyrus the Great</a> captured the outskirts of the city, it took three days for the news to reach the center. </p> <div id="mntl-sc-block_27-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block"></div> <span class="heading-toc" id="toc-the-tower-of-babel"></span><h2 id="mntl-sc-block_28-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block reference-sc-block-heading mntl-sc-block-heading"> <span class="mntl-sc-block-heading__text"> The Tower of Babel </span> </h2> <p id="mntl-sc-block_29-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html"> According to Genesis in the Judeo-Christian Bible, the Tower of Babel was built in an attempt to reach heaven. Scholars believe that the massive Etemenanki ziggurat was the inspiration for the legends. Herodotus reported that the ziggurat had a solid central tower with eight tiers. The towers could be climbed by way of an exterior spiral staircase, and about half-way up there was a place to rest. </p> <div id="mntl-sc-block_30-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block"></div> <p id="mntl-sc-block_31-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html"> On the 8th tier of the Etemenanki ziggurat was a great temple with a large, richly decorated couch and beside it stood a golden table. No one was allowed to spend the night there, said Herodotus, except one specially selected Assyrian woman. The ziggurat was dismantled by <a href="https://www.thoughtco.com/alexander-the-great-study-guide-116811" class="CMY_Link CMY_Valid" data-component="link" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="internalLink" data-ordinal="1">Alexander the Great</a> when he conquered Babylon in the 4th century BC. </p> <div id="mntl-sc-block_32-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block"></div> <span class="heading-toc" id="toc-city-gates"></span><h2 id="mntl-sc-block_33-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block reference-sc-block-heading mntl-sc-block-heading"> <span class="mntl-sc-block-heading__text"> City Gates </span> </h2> <p id="mntl-sc-block_34-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html"> The Tintir = Babylon tablets list the city gates, which all had evocative nicknames, such as the Urash gate, "The Enemy is Abhorrent to it", the Ishtar gate "Ishtar overthrows its Assailant" and the Adad gate "O Adad, Guard the Life of the Troops". Herodotus says there were 100 gates in Babylon: archaeologists have only found eight in the inner city, and the most impressive of those was the Ishtar gate, built and rebuilt by Nebuchadnezzar II, and currently on display at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin. </p> <div id="mntl-sc-block_35-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block"></div> <p id="mntl-sc-block_36-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html"> To get to the Ishtar Gate, the visitor walked for some 200 m (650 ft) between two high walls decorated with bas-reliefs of 120 striding lions. The lions are brightly colored and the background is a striking glazed lapis lazuli dark blue. The tall gate itself, also dark blue, depicts 150 dragons and bulls, symbols of the protectors of the city, Marduk and Adad. </p> <div id="mntl-sc-block_37-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block"></div> <span class="heading-toc" id="toc-babylon-and-archaeology"></span><h2 id="mntl-sc-block_38-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block reference-sc-block-heading mntl-sc-block-heading"> <span class="mntl-sc-block-heading__text"> Babylon and Archaeology </span> </h2> <p id="mntl-sc-block_39-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html"> The archaeological site of Babylon has been excavated by a number of people, most notably by Robert Koldewey beginning in 1899. Major excavations ended in 1990. Many cuneiform tablets were collected from the city in the 1870s and 1880s, by <a href="http://www.atour.com/people/20010702m.html" class="CMY_Link CMY_Valid" data-component="link" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="externalLink" data-ordinal="1" rel="nofollow">Hormuzd Rassam</a> of the British Museum. The Iraqi Directorate of Antiquities conducted work at Babylon between 1958 and the onset of the Iraq war in the 1990s. Other recent work was conducted by a German team in the 1970s and an Italian one from the University of Turin in the 1970s and 1980s. </p> <div id="mntl-sc-block_40-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block"></div> <p id="mntl-sc-block_41-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html"> Heavily damaged by the Iraq/US war, Babylon has recently been investigated by researchers of the Centro Ricerche Archeologiche e Scavi di Torino at the University of Turin using QuickBird and satellite imagery to quantify and monitor the ongoing damage. </p> <div id="mntl-sc-block_42-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block"></div> <p id="mntl-sc-block_43-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html"> <cite>Sources</cite> </p> <div id="mntl-sc-block_44-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block"></div> <p id="mntl-sc-block_45-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html"> <cite>Much of the information about Babylon here is summarized from Marc Van de Mieroop's 2003 article in the<em> American Journal of Archaeology</em> for the later city; and George (1993) for the Babylon of Hammurabi.</cite> </p> <div id="mntl-sc-block_46-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-adslot mntl-block"></div> <ul id="mntl-sc-block_47-0" class="comp mntl-sc-block mntl-sc-block-html"> <li><cite>Brusasco P. 2004. Theory and practice in the study of Mesopotamian domestic space. <em>Antiquity</em> 78(299):142-157.</cite></li> <li><cite>Dalley S. 1993. <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/1587050" class="CMY_Link CMY_Redirect CMY_Valid" data-component="link" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="externalLink" data-ordinal="1">Ancient Mesopotamian gardens and the identification of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon resolved.</a> <em>Garden History</em> 21(1):1-13.</cite></li> <li><cite>George AR. 1993. Babylon revisited: archaeology and philology in harness. <em>Antiquity</em> 67(257):734-746.</cite></li> <li><cite>Jahjah M, Ulivieri C, Invernizzi A, and Parapetti R. 2007. Archaeological remote sensing application pre-postwar situation of Babylon archaeological site—Iraq. Acta Astronautica 61:121–130.</cite></li> <li><cite>Reade J. 2000. <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/4200490" class="CMY_Link CMY_Redirect CMY_Valid" data-component="link" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="externalLink" data-ordinal="2">Alexander the Great and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.</a> <em>Iraq</em> 62:195-217.</cite></li> <li><cite>Richard S. 2008. ASIA, WEST | <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780123739629003757" class="CMY_Link CMY_Redirect CMY_Valid" data-component="link" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="externalLink" data-ordinal="3">Archaeology of the Near East: The Levant</a>. In: Pearsall DM, editor. <em>Encyclopedia of Archaeology</em>. New York: Academic Press. p 834-848.</cite></li> <li><cite>Ur J. 2012. Southern Mesopotamia. In: Potts DT, editor. <em>A Companion to the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East</em>: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. p 533-555.</cite></li> <li><cite>Van de Mieroop M. 2003. <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/40026077" class="CMY_Link CMY_Redirect CMY_Valid" data-component="link" data-source="inlineLink" data-type="externalLink" data-ordinal="4">Reading Babylon.</a> <em>American Journal of Archaeology</em> 107(2):254-275.</cite></li> </ul></div> <div id="sources-and-citation_1-0" class="comp sources-and-citation mntl-block"><div id="citation-widget_1-0" class="comp citation-widget js-citation-widget" data-tracking-container="true"> <div class="citation-widget__container js-container"> <button class="citation-widget__button js-button"> <span class="citation-widget__cite-label">Cite this Article </span> <svg class="icon icon-cite citation-widget__icon-cite" > <use xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="#icon-cite" href="#icon-cite"></use> </svg> </button> <div class="citation-widget__window js-window"> <svg class="icon icon-close citation-widget__icon-close js-icon-close" > <use xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="#icon-close" href="#icon-close"></use> </svg> <div class="citation-widget__heading">Format</div> <a href="#" class="citation-widget__format-link citation-widget__format-link--active js-format-link">mla</a> <a href="#" class="citation-widget__format-link js-format-link">apa</a> <a href="#" class="citation-widget__format-link js-format-link">chicago</a> <div class="citation-widget__heading">Your Citation</div> <div class="citation-widget__content js-content"> <span class="citation-widget__citation citation-widget__citation--active js-active" data-citation-format="mla">Hirst, K. Kris. "Babylon." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/babylon-iraq-ancient-capital-170193.</span> <span class="citation-widget__citation" data-citation-format="apa">Hirst, K. Kris. (2023, April 5). Babylon. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/babylon-iraq-ancient-capital-170193</span> <span class="citation-widget__citation" data-citation-format="chicago">Hirst, K. Kris. "Babylon." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/babylon-iraq-ancient-capital-170193 (accessed December 18, 2024).</span> </div> <div class="citation-widget__copy-container"> <button class="citation-widget__copy-button js-copy-button"> <div class="citation-widget__copy-wrapper"> <svg class="icon icon-checkmark citation-widget__icon-checkmark" > <use xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="#icon-checkmark" href="#icon-checkmark"></use> </svg> <span class="citation-widget__copy-label js-copy-label">copy citation</span> </div> </button> </div> </div> </div> </div></div></div> </div><div class="loc article-right-rail"><div id="mm-ads-right-rail_1-0" class="comp mm-ads-right-rail mntl-block"><div id="sc-billboard-group_1-0" class="comp sc-billboard-group mntl-block js-scads-inline-content"><div id="mntl-block_2-0" class="comp mntl-block"><div id="ref-billboard1-sticky-dynamic_1-0" class="comp ref-billboard1-sticky-dynamic mntl-block"><div id="mm-ads-sc-sticky-square-ad_1-0" class="comp 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data-wait-for-third-party="false" data-targeting="{}"></div> </div></div></div></div> <div id="mntl-block_7-0" class="comp mntl-block"><div id="ref-billboard5-sticky-dynamic_1-0" class="comp ref-billboard5-sticky-dynamic mntl-block"><div id="mm-ads-sc-sticky-square-ad_9-0" class="comp mm-ads-sc-sticky-square-ad mm-ads-squareFixed-sticky-dynamic mm-ads-sc-sticky-square scads-to-load right-rail__item" data-height="600" style="height: 600px;"><div id="mm-ads-sc-sticky-square-ad_10-0" class="comp mm-ads-sc-sticky-square-ad mm-ads-square mm-ads-gpt-adunit gpt square dynamic"> <div id="square-fixed" class="wrapper" data-type="square" data-pos="atf" data-priority="2" data-sizes="[[300, 250],"fluid"]" data-rtb="true" data-wait-for-third-party="false" data-targeting="{}"></div> </div></div></div></div> <div id="mntl-block_8-0" class="comp mntl-block"><div id="ref-billboard6-sticky-dynamic_1-0" class="comp ref-billboard6-sticky-dynamic mntl-block"><div id="mm-ads-sc-sticky-square-ad_11-0" class="comp mm-ads-sc-sticky-square-ad mm-ads-squareFixed-sticky-dynamic mm-ads-sc-sticky-square scads-to-load right-rail__item" data-height="600" style="height: 600px;"><div id="mm-ads-sc-sticky-square-ad_12-0" class="comp mm-ads-sc-sticky-square-ad mm-ads-square mm-ads-gpt-adunit gpt square dynamic"> <div id="square-fixed" class="wrapper" data-type="square" data-pos="atf" data-priority="2" data-sizes="[[300, 250],"fluid"]" data-rtb="true" data-wait-for-third-party="false" data-targeting="{}"></div> </div></div></div></div> <div id="mntl-block_9-0" class="comp mntl-block"><div id="ref-billboard7-sticky-dynamic_1-0" class="comp ref-billboard7-sticky-dynamic mntl-block"><div id="mm-ads-sc-sticky-square-ad_13-0" class="comp mm-ads-sc-sticky-square-ad mm-ads-squareFixed-sticky-dynamic mm-ads-sc-sticky-square scads-to-load right-rail__item" data-height="600" style="height: 600px;"><div id="mm-ads-sc-sticky-square-ad_14-0" class="comp mm-ads-sc-sticky-square-ad mm-ads-square mm-ads-gpt-adunit gpt square dynamic"> <div id="square-fixed" class="wrapper" data-type="square" data-pos="atf" data-priority="2" data-sizes="[[300, 250],"fluid"]" data-rtb="true" data-wait-for-third-party="false" data-targeting="{}"></div> </div></div></div></div> <div id="mntl-block_10-0" class="comp mntl-block"></div> <div id="mntl-block_11-0" class="comp mntl-block"></div> <div id="mntl-block_12-0" class="comp mntl-block"></div></div></div> </div></article> <div id="prefooter--outbrain_1-0" class="comp prefooter--outbrain prefooter mntl-block"><div id="reference-outbrain_1-0" class="comp reference-outbrain mntl-outbrain"> <div class="OUTBRAIN js-outbrain-widget" data-src="https://www.thoughtco.com/babylon-iraq-ancient-capital-170193" data-widget-id="AR_1"></div> </div> <section id="masonry-list-section_1-0" class="comp masonry-list-section mntl-block" data-tracking-container="true"><ul id="mntl-masonry-tax-card-list_1-0" class="comp mntl-masonry-tax-card-list mntl-masonry-card-list mntl-masonry-list mntl-block masonry-list"><li id="masonry-list__item_1-0" class="comp masonry-list__item mntl-block"><a id="mntl-card_1-0" class="comp mntl-card mntl-document-card is-inverted-small card card--no-image" data-doc-id="171837" data-tax-levels href="https://www.thoughtco.com/introduction-to-ancient-mesopotamia-171837" data-ordinal="1" data-cta="Read Now ▸"> <div class="loc card__top"><div class="card__media mntl-universal-image universal-image__container"><div class="img-placeholder" style="padding-bottom:59.6%;"> <img data-src="https://www.thoughtco.com/thmb/hp8YmTi_PKSGYVvryiZf_5sRcMw=/250x1788/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/borsippa_ziggurat-56a01f745f9b58eba4af11db.jpg" width="250" height="1788" alt="Borsippa Ziggurat (Iraq)" class="lazyload card__img universal-image__image" data-dim-ratio="1.678" /> <noscript> <img 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