The Babylonians

             Page 1.
             Babylon, the Babylonian word for Bab-ilium which means the 'gate of god'), is one of the most important cities of the world. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates River, which divides it into two unequal parts, approximately fifty six miles south of what is now known as Baghdad, Iraq and has a population of approximately one hundred thousand. It continued as a city in one form or another until the beginning of the Christian era. The Babylonians lived in Mesopotamia, which was a fertile plain between the Tigrus and Euphrates rivers. To protect the city from evil and wicked,the city was enclosed by two huge sets of walls, designed by Nabonidus and completed by his son, King Nebuchadnezzar.
             Babylon was not a very sophisticated capital but grew during the Third Dynasty of Ur. It reached great levels during the reign of the famous Babylonian King Hammurabi, who made it the capital of his empire around 1792 BC. During his reign it was to become the most important political, cultural and religious city in Mesopotamia. During this time period the city was divided into ten districts with eight gates and at least fiftythree temples and other shrines and buildings. (www.crystalinks.com) For a brief time the new empire was among the richest in the world. At the center of a great and rich trading empire, the people of Babylon had access to exotic goods and manufactured items from throughout the world. Under Samsuiluna's successors, Babylonian suffered a serious decline in power and territory. When about 1595 BC, a Hittite army penetrated as far south as Bablon and carried off Babylonian prisoners and wealth to far off Anatolia, the kingdom became badly disorganized. Babylonian later fell under the rule of the dynasty of the Sealand atleast for a brief period.