Ancient authors waxed lyrical about the great size and incredible luxury of Babylon. Herodotus writes, “Assyria possesses a vast number of great cities, whereof the most renowned and strongest at this time was Babylon, whither, after the fall of Nineveh, the seat of government had been removed.” (1.177)

Beginnings

The Assyrians were never able to maintain control of Babylon for any length of time.  This was due, in large part, to the constant threat posed by Chaldean tribes living in southern Mesopotamia. These were the Bit-Dakkuri, Bit-Amukkani and Bit-Yakin among others. The prefix ‘bit’ means ‘house of’, which was a typical naming convention for nomadic tribes whose social structure was orientated around the family and clan. The Chaldean tribes were particularly troublesome to the Assyrians since, whenever they were threatened, they quickly dispersed into the ‘sealand’, a vast stretch of marshes on the southern coast of Mesopotamia.  The Chaldeans shared much in common with the Aramaean tribes that inhabited the upper reaches of the Euphrates.  Both were semi-nomadic groups who lived on the fringes of civilization. And both spoke dialects of Aramaic.  However, the Chaldeans bore distinctly Babylonian names and maintained a separate identity. 

Merodach-Baladan was the first Chaldean ruler to pose a major threat to Assyrian rule in Mesopotamia. He met Sennacherib in battle around 700 BC but was defeated. In subsequent campaigns, Sennacherib attempted to root out the Chaldeans from their hideouts in the marshes and islands of the Persian Gulf. But Sennacherib was never able to fully overcome the Chaldean threat.

When Assyrian power began to unravel after the death of Assurbanipal, another Chaldean general named Nabopolassar joined with the native Babylonians to push the Assyrians out of Babylonia. His son, Nebuchadnezzar II, further enlarged his kingdom until it extended over the whole of the vast territory once controlled by the Assyrians. It was Nebuchadnezzar II who attacked and destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BC, carrying many Judaeans captive, including Daniel and Ezekiel. Nebuchadnezzar II is also famous for the building project he undertook in Babylon. Over the course of his long reign, Babylon was transformed into one of the most magnificent cities ever built.

The Walls of Babylon

Herodotus further states that the walls of Babylon were of such breadth that chariots pulled by four horse could travel two abreast along the whole length of the wall, measuring a total of 86 kilometers in circumference.  Another historian, Ctesias, claimed the walls measured 65 kilometers long.  Neither of these figures seem to be correct.   Archaeologists calculate that the wall of Babylon had a circumference of 18 kilometers.  This still makes Babylon the largest city in the ancient world, with the exception of Rome.

If Herodotus was mistaken in measurement for the length of the wall, he does seem to have correctly stated its width. Archaeologists have uncovered two parallel walls.  The outer wall was made of unbaked mud brick held together by clay mortar.  It was 7 meters thick.   The inner wall was made of kiln-baked brick held together with bitumen or “tar” that was 7.8 meters thick.  These walls were separated by a space 12 meters wide that was filled with rubble to the top. Such a massive wall gave room for a broad road that facilitated the movement of troops and equipment. No wonder neither the Persians nor the Greeks were able to capture Babylon by direct assault.

Babylon

Nebuchadnezzar left many inscriptions on clay cylinders praising his work:

Nebuchadnezzar gave special attention to Esagila, the temple of Marduk:

Next to the Esagila was the famous Etenmanki, the ziggurat of Babylon.  Today it is nothing more than a moldering pile of bricks, but it was once a huge tower with seven stages, accessed by a great ceremonial staircase.  Herodotus described this tower, quite inaccurately as it turns out, for he said that it was round and had a spiral staircase.   This led to many inaccurate paintings of the Tower of Babel during the Renaissance period, since it was assumed that the tower described by Herodotus must be the same as the tower of Babel described in Genesis.  However, since archaeologists have begun exploring the ancient cities of Mesopotamia, they have found that all of the important cities of Sumer had ziggurat temples, all of which claimed the title of “bab-el” or “gate of god”.   For example, a hymn inscribed on a cuneiform tablet praises the ziggurat of Arbel with the following words:

It is interesting to find similar language in the book of Genesis except there the people decide to build a tower “with its head in the heavens” in order to “make a name for ourselves.”  Just as the serpent tempted the woman in the garden with knowledge that would make her “like God,” so too, the tower of Babel stands for human ingenuity that stands in opposition to God.

Wealth

In contrast, visitors there was some doubt about where exactly Babylon should be located. Della Valle, who visited the site in , “called it a vast heap of ruins.”

Babylon is perhaps most famous for its luxury. The prophet Jeremiah calls it the ”  Even Alexander the Great commented on the

Ancient authors waxed lyrical about the great size and incredible luxury of Babylon. Herodotus writes, “Assyria possesses a vast number of great cities, whereof the most renowned and strongest at this time was Babylon, whither, after the fall of Nineveh, the seat of government had been removed.” (1.177)

Beginnings

The Assyrians were never able to maintain control of Babylon for any length of time.  This was due, in large part, to the constant threat posed by Chaldean tribes living in southern Mesopotamia. These were the Bit-Dakkuri, Bit-Amukkani and Bit-Yakin among others. The prefix ‘bit’ means ‘house of’, which was a typical naming convention for nomadic tribes whose social structure was orientated around the family and clan. The Chaldean tribes were particularly troublesome to the Assyrians since, whenever they were threatened, they quickly dispersed into the ‘sealand’, a vast stretch of marshes on the southern coast of Mesopotamia.  The Chaldeans shared much in common with the Aramaean tribes that inhabited the upper reaches of the Euphrates.  Both were semi-nomadic groups who lived on the fringes of civilization. And both spoke dialects of Aramaic.  However, the Chaldeans bore distinctly Babylonian names and maintained a separate identity. 

Merodach-Baladan was the first Chaldean ruler to pose a major threat to Assyrian rule in Mesopotamia. He met Sennacherib in battle around 700 BC but was defeated. In subsequent campaigns, Sennacherib attempted to root out the Chaldeans from their hideouts in the marshes and islands of the Persian Gulf. But Sennacherib was never able to fully overcome the Chaldean threat.

When Assyrian power began to unravel after the death of Assurbanipal, another Chaldean general named Nabopolassar joined with the native Babylonians to push the Assyrians out of Babylonia. His son, Nebuchadnezzar II, further enlarged his kingdom until it extended over the whole of the vast territory once controlled by the Assyrians. It was Nebuchadnezzar II who attacked and destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BC, carrying many Judaeans captive, including Daniel and Ezekiel. Nebuchadnezzar II is also famous for the building project he undertook in Babylon. Over the course of his long reign, Babylon was transformed into one of the most magnificent cities ever built.

The Walls of Babylon

Herodotus further states that the walls of Babylon were of such breadth that chariots pulled by four horse could travel two abreast along the whole length of the wall, measuring a total of 86 kilometers in circumference.  Another historian, Ctesias, claimed the walls measured 65 kilometers long.  Neither of these figures seem to be correct.   Archaeologists calculate that the wall of Babylon had a circumference of 18 kilometers.  This still makes Babylon the largest city in the ancient world, with the exception of Rome.

If Herodotus was mistaken in measurement for the length of the wall, he does seem to have correctly stated its width. Archaeologists have uncovered two parallel walls.  The outer wall was made of unbaked mud brick held together by clay mortar.  It was 7 meters thick.   The inner wall was made of kiln-baked brick held together with bitumen or “tar” that was 7.8 meters thick.  These walls were separated by a space 12 meters wide that was filled with rubble to the top. Such a massive wall gave room for a broad road that facilitated the movement of troops and equipment. No wonder neither the Persians nor the Greeks were able to capture Babylon by direct assault.

Babylon

Nebuchadnezzar left many inscriptions on clay cylinders praising his work:

Nebuchadnezzar gave special attention to Esagila, the temple of Marduk:

Next to the Esagila was the famous Etenmanki, the ziggurat of Babylon.  Today it is nothing more than a moldering pile of bricks, but it was once a huge tower with seven stages, accessed by a great ceremonial staircase.  Herodotus described this tower, quite inaccurately as it turns out, for he said that it was round and had a spiral staircase.   This led to many inaccurate paintings of the Tower of Babel during the Renaissance period, since it was assumed that the tower described by Herodotus must be the same as the tower of Babel described in Genesis.  However, since archaeologists have begun exploring the ancient cities of Mesopotamia, they have found that all of the important cities of Sumer had ziggurat temples, all of which claimed the title of “bab-el” or “gate of god”.   For example, a hymn inscribed on a cuneiform tablet praises the ziggurat of Arbel with the following words:

It is interesting to find similar language in the book of Genesis except there the people decide to build a tower “with its head in the heavens” in order to “make a name for ourselves.”  Just as the serpent tempted the woman in the garden with knowledge that would make her “like God,” so too, the tower of Babel stands for human ingenuity that stands in opposition to God.

Wealth

In contrast, visitors there was some doubt about where exactly Babylon should be located. Della Valle, who visited the site in , “called it a vast heap of ruins.”

Babylon is perhaps most famous for its luxury. The prophet Jeremiah calls it the ”  Even Alexander the Great commented on the