Babylon

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The number 258,458 expressed in the sexagesimal (base 60) system of the Babylonians and in cuneiform.

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Babylon summary

Babylon

Q: Which ruler of the Amorite dynasty made Babylon his capital?

Hammurabi (1792–1750 BCE), the sixth and best-known ruler of the Amorite dynasty, conquered the surrounding city-states and designated Babylon as the capital of a kingdom that comprised all of southern Mesopotamia and part of Assyria.

Q: Where is Babylon located?

Built on the Euphrates River in Mesopotamia during the late third millennium, Babylon’s ruins are located about 55 miles (88 km) south of Baghdad, Iraq, and is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Q: What is Babylon known for?

Babylon was the capital of the Babylonian and Neo-Babylonian Empires. It was a sprawling, heavily-populated city with enormous walls and multiple palaces and temples. Famous structures and artifacts include the temple of Marduk , the Ishtar Gate , and stelae upon which Hammurabi’s Code was written.

Q: How is Babylon portrayed in the Bible?

In the Bible, due to the Neo-Babylonian empire’s conquest, destruction, and deportation of Judah , Babylon is frequently positioned as not only an enemy of Judah and its deity in historical narratives, but also as a symbol for imperial evil in apocalyptic texts.

Q: Babylon fell to which Persian ruler in 539 BCE?

When the Persian Achaemenian dynasty under Cyrus the Great attacked Babylon in 539 BCE, the Babylon capital fell almost without resistance. A legend (accepted by some as historical) states that Cyrus achieved entry by diverting the Euphrates is unconfirmed in contemporary sources.

ancient city, Mesopotamia, Asia

Also known as: Aṭlāl Bābil, Bāb-ilim, Bab-ilu, Babel, Bavel

Written by Henry W.F. Saggs

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Feb 13, 2024 • Article History

Ishtar Gate reconstruction

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Category: Geography & Travel

Babylonian:: Bab-ilu

Old Babylonian:: Bāb-ilim

Hebrew:: Bavel or Babel

Arabic:: Aṭlāl Bābil

Major Events:: Battle of Cunaxa

Key People:: Alexander the Great; Hammurabi; Tiglath-pileser III; Hormuzd Rassam; Sir Austen Henry Layard

Related Topics:: archaeology; cuneiform; Assyrian; Babylonian Map of the World; Aramaean

Related Places:: Iraq; Babylonia; ancient Middle East; Neo-Babylonian Empire; Mesopotamia

On the Web:: Learn Religions - Biblical history of ancient babylon (Feb. 13, 2024)

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Which ruler of the Amorite dynasty made Babylon his capital?

Where is Babylon located?

What is Babylon known for?

How is Babylon portrayed in the Bible?

Babylon fell to which Persian ruler in 539 BCE?

Babylon, one of the most famous cities of antiquity. It was the capital of southern Mesopotamia (Babylonia) from the early 2nd millennium to the early 1st millennium bce and capital of the Neo-Babylonian (Chaldean) empire in the 7th and 6th centuries bce, when it was at the height of its splendour. Its extensive ruins, on the Euphrates River about 55 miles (88 km) south of Baghdad, lie near the modern town of Al-Ḥillah, Iraq. Though traces of prehistoric settlement exist, Babylon’s development as a major city was late by Mesopotamian standards; no mention of it existed before the 23rd century ...(100 of 1894 words)

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