During the second and first millennia BCE, Babylon was one of the most important cities in the ancient world. It stood on the banks of the Euphrates River some sixty miles (96 km) southwest of modern-day Baghdad in Iraq. Much of the city was unearthed by German archaeologists, led by Robert Koldewey, in the years from 1899 to 1914.
City Walls
At the height of its glory, between 625 and 562 BCE, Babylon was the world’s biggest city, covering an area of ten thousand acres (4,047 hectares). It was surrounded by double walls some thirteen miles (21 km) long. A Greek historian, Herodotus, described the outer walls as being 320 feet (97 m) high and 80 feet (24 m) thick – wide enough to allow a horse-drawn chariot to turn around on. Although modern historians doubt the accuracy of Herodotus’s measurements, they agree that the battlements were certainly impressive. The bricks were covered in white glaze and decorated with images of roaring lions. Huge towers allowed guards to keep watch for invaders. A deep moat made it difficult for unwanted visitors to storm the gates.
The Gate of Ishtar
Babylon is the Greek form of Bab-ili, which means "the gate of God," and the city boasted no less than eight main gates. In his book The Histories, Herodotus claims the gates were "all of bronze with bronze uprights and lintels." The most spectacular of the entrances was the Ishtar Gate, dedicated to the Babylonian goddess Ishtar. It was decorated with rows of bulls and also of dragons – the symbol of the main Babylonian god, Marduk. A special avenue ran through the gate, connecting a plaza outside the city with a temple complex inside. The avenue was built high above street level and paved with slabs of polished limestone trimmed with red rock. The walls on either side of it were decorated with huge images of lions and dragons moulded in relief on glazed bricks.
Temples and Palaces
The Euphrates River ran straight through Babylon, dividing it into two districts. On the east bank was the old city with its magnificent palaces and temples. On the west bank stood the new city, where most of the people lived. In the middle of the city was an enormous stepped pyramid called a ziggurat. Its seven platforms were connected by stairs. They led up to a temple on the summit that could be seen from far outside the city. The ziggurat was known by the Babylonians as Etemenanki, meaning "the house of the platform of heaven and earth." This structure was the famous Tower of Babel mentioned in the Bible.
A dazzling palace stood at the northern side of the old city, where the Babylonian kings entertained foreign dignitaries. At some point stood the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the fabled landmark that was considered to be one of the seven wonders of the world. Built on a series of stepped terraces, the hanging gardens presented a true spectacle to the onlooker.
Invading Armies
Alexander the Great conquered Babylon in 331 BCE. By then most of the great temples and the ziggurat had been destroyed by Persian invaders. Alexander hoped to rebuild Babylon, but he died before he could carry out his plans. In 275 BCE Babylon’s last inhabitants were moved to a new city. Babylon, once the proudest city in the world, was left to fall into ruin.
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THE FOLLOWING WORDS WERE INSCRIBED ON THE EDGE OF EVERY PAVING STONE ON THE SACRED PATH: Nebuchadrezzar, King of Babylon, son of Nabopolassar, King of Babylon, am I. The Babel street I pave with blocks of shadu stone for the procession of the great Lord Marduk. Marduk, Lord, grant eternal life.
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THE HANGING GARDENS OF BABYLON |
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Philo of Byzantium, a writer born around 250 BCE, had this to say about the Hanging Gardens of Babylon: "The Hanging Garden has plants cultivated above ground level, and the roots of trees are embedded in an upper terrace rather than the earth. The whole mass is supported on stone columns. Streams of water emerging from raised sources flow down sloping channels … the grass is permanently green and the leaves of the trees grow firmly attached to the supple branches. This is a work of art, a royal luxury and its most striking feature is that the work of cultivation is suspended above the spectators’ heads." According to legend, King Nebuchadrezzar II constructed the Hanging Gardens for his wife around 600 BCE, but did they really exist? The Babylonians themselves left no written record of them. Some historians have suggested that the Hanging Gardens were actually at another city to the north, called Nineveh, which Greek and Roman sources often confused with Babylon. So far, the gardens remain undiscovered.
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