(Babylonian:Bâbili, ancient Persian "gate of God", abirush), ancient kingdom of Mesopotamia, known originally as Sumer and later as Sumer and Acad, between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers to the south of present-day Baghdad, Iraq.
Babylonian civilization, which existed from the 18th to the 6th century BC, was, like the Sumerian that preceded it, urban in character, though based more on agriculture than industry. The country consisted of 12 cities, surrounded by towns and villages. At the top of the political structure was the king, an absolute monarch who exercised legislative, judicial and executive power. Below him was a group of select governors and administrators. City mayors and councils of elders were in charge of local administration.
The Babylonians modified and transformed their Sumerian heritage to suit their own culture and way of being, and influenced neighboring countries, especially the kingdom of Assyria, which almost completely adopted the Babylonian culture.
The archaeological excavations carried out allowed important works of literature to be found. One of the most valuable is the magnificent collection of laws (18th century BC) called the Code of Hammurabi, which, together with other documents and letters belonging to different periods, provide a broad picture of the social structure and economic organization of the Babylonian empire.
More than 1200 years have passed from the glorious reign of Hammurabi to the conquest of Babylon by the Persians. During this long period, the social structure and economic organization, art and architecture, science and literature, the judicial system and Babylonian religious beliefs underwent considerable change. Based on Sumer culture, Babylonian cultural achievements left a deep impression on the ancient world and particularly on the Hebrews and Greeks. The Babylonian influence is evident in the works of Greek poets such as Homer and Hesiod, the geometry of the Greek mathematician Euclid, astronomy, astrology, heraldry, and the Bible.
One of the first cities built in the world, it is mentioned in documents written over 5000 years BC.
It was built in a part of the world where the oldest civilizations were born, on the banks of the Euphrates River, in Iraq, in the Valley of Mesopotamia.
It grew in importance 4,000 years ago when a great king, Hammurabi, ruled it. He conquered all the cities and tribes around and wisely ruled his kingdom. His laws, written in cuneiform characters on clay blocks, were discovered by archaeologists. Others of these blocks demonstrate that Babylon must have been, then, a city with many comfortable houses and magnificent temples.
The priests of these temples administered all the finances of all Babylon.
After the death of Hammurabi, Babylon was successively conquered by many tribes; its second period of greatness was not reached until the year 600 BC. Shortly before that, the Assyrians (who cruelly dominated much of the region) were defeated by a tribe of Chaldeans, whose chief became king of Babylon. His son Nebuchadnezzar gradually conquered other tribes and determined to make Babylon the most beautiful city of its time. He built huge walls and towers to protect it from enemies. He built temples and palaces that were decorated with beautiful, colorful and transparent mosaics.
Of more fame were the hanging gardens, which he built to satisfy his wife. The vegetation of this garden grew on terraces built one above the other, which could be seen from anywhere in the city.
Babylon was the birthplace of one of the first great civilizations in history. It developed in the region bathed by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which is part of the so-called Fertile Crescent. Babylonian Civilization