The Ishtar Gate gave way to the city’s great Processional Way, a half-mile decorated corridor used in religious ritual to celebrate the New Year. The portal was decorated with bright blue glazed bricks adorned with pictures of bulls, dragons and lions. The main entrance to the inner city of Babylon was called the Ishtar Gate. Some researchers have uncovered evidence that suggests the hanging gardens existed, but not in Babylon-they may have actually been located in the city of Nineveh in upper Mesopotamia. It’s unclear where they were located or whether they ever existed at all. Yet archaeologists have turned up scant evidence of the gardens. ![]() The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, a colossal maze of terraced trees, shrubs, flowers and manmade waterfalls, are one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The shrine stood 280 feet tall, nearly the size of a 26-story office building. He also built a number of shrines, the largest of which, called Esagil, was dedicated to Marduk. Nebuchadnezzar II built three major palaces, each lavishly decorated with blue and yellow glazed tiles. The city inside the walls occupied an area of 200 square miles, roughly the size of Chicago today. The Greek historian Herodotus wrote that the walls of Babylon were so thick that chariot races were held on top of them. Nebuchadnezzar II further fortified the city with three rings of walls that were 40 feet tall. ![]() Hammurabi first encircled the city with walls. Walls of BabylonĪrt and architecture flourished throughout the Babylonian Empire, especially in the capital city of Babylon, which is also famous for its impenetrable walls. Some scholars believe the legendary Tower of Babel may have been inspired by a real-life ziggurat temple built to honor Marduk, the patron god of Babylon. When God saw this, he destroyed the tower and scattered mankind across the Earth, making them speak many languages so they could no longer understand each other. According to the Old Testament story, humans tried to build a tower to reach the heavens. Hebrew scriptures tell the story of the Babylonian exile, portraying Nebuchadnezzar as a captor.įamous accounts of Babylon in the Bible include the story of the Tower of Babel. Christian scriptures portray Babylon as a wicked city. The city of Babylon appears in both Hebrew and Christian scriptures. Many relocated to the newly created Jewish state of Israel in the 1950s. Some stayed, and a Jewish community flourished there for more than 2,000 years. Many Judeans returned to Jerusalem after the Neo-Babylonian Empire fell to Cyrus the Great’s Persian forces. Babylon in Jewish HistoryĪfter 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 held them captive in Babylon for more than half a century. The fall of Babylon was complete when the empire came under Persian control. ![]() In 539 B.C., less than a century after its founding, the legendary Persian king Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon. The Neo-Babylonian Empire, like the earlier Babylonia, was short-lived. The Babylonians built many beautiful and lavish buildings and preserved statues and artworks from the earlier Babylonian Empire during the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar II. The Neo-Babylonian Empire enjoyed a period of cultural renaissance in the Near East. The Neo-Babylonian Empire became the most powerful state in the world after defeating the Assyrians at Nineveh in 612 B.C. Neo-Babylonian EmpireĪ new line of kings established the Neo-Babylonian Empire, which lasted from 626 B.C. The empire fell apart after Hammurabi’s death and reverted back to a small kingdom for several centuries. ![]() Known as the Code of Hammurabi, it helped Babylon surpass other cities in the region.īabylonia, however, was short-lived. He created one of the world’s earliest and most complete written legal codes. Hammurabi turned Babylon into a rich, powerful and influential city.
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