Babylon: The Gate of the Gods

Q: Why is Babylon famous?

Babylon was famous in its time as a great intellectual, cultural, and religious center. It is best known today for its depiction in the Bible as a city of sin and depravity.

Q: Was the Tower of Babel really in Babylon?

The story of the Tower of Babel in the Bible (Genesis 11: 1-9) never mentions Babylon specifically but only references "the city and the tower". It is thought that the Hebrew scribes associated the tower with Babylon due to a misinterpretation of the Akkadian name for Babylon, which meant "Gate of the Gods," with the Hebrew word for "confusion".

Q: Where does the name Babylon come from and what does it mean?

The name Babylon comes from the Akkadian "bav-il," which means "Gate of the God" or "Gate of the Gods."

Q: How did Babylon fall?

Babylon was attacked and destroyed by Sennacherib of Assyria and by Xerxes I of Persia, but it was rebuilt. It finally fell simply due to neglect. It was in poor repair by 651 when the Muslim Arabs swept the region and damaged the city, and it was abandoned sometime after.

Joshua J. Mark

Definition

Babylon is the most famous city from ancient Mesopotamia, whose ruins lie in modern-day Hillah, Iraq, 59 miles (94 km) southwest of Baghdad. The name is derived from bav-il or bav-ilim, which in Akkadian meant "Gate of God" (or "Gate of the Gods"), given as Babylon in Greek. In its time, it was a great cultural and religious center and, at its height, the largest city in the world.

More about: Babylon

Timeline

2350 BCE
First code of laws by Urukagina, king of Lagash.
c. 2000 BCE
Babylon controls Fertile Crescent.
1894 BCE
Amorite dynasty established in Babylon.
1795 BCE - 1750 BCE
Reign of Hammurabi, king of Babylon.
c. 1792 BCE
King Hammurabi builds walls of Babylon.
1787 BCE
Hammurabi of Babylon conquers Uruk and Isin.
c. 1772 BCE
The Code of Hammurabi: One of the earliest codes of law in the world.
c. 1761 BCE
Zimri-Lim, the last ruler of Mari dies for unknown reasons. His former ally, Hammurabi of Babylon, captures the city of Mari.
c. 1760 BCE - c. 1757 BCE
Hammurabi of Babylon destroys the city of Mari. The people of Mari are spared according to Hammurabi.
1755 BCE
Hammurabi rules the whole of Mesopotamia from Babylon.
1595 BCE - 1155 BCE
Kassite Dynasty rules over Babylonia.
1595 BCE
King Mursilis of the Hittites sacks Babylon. Begin of Babylonian "dark ages."
1595 BCE
Hittites under Mursilli I sack Babylon, ending Amorite rule.
1220 BCE
Babylon is under Assyrian control.
853 BCE
Babylonian kings depend on Assyrian military support.
c. 750 BCE
Sophisticated networks of aqueducts are constructed at Babylon.
734 BCE
Babylon is captured by Chaldeans.
729 BCE
Babylon is occupied by Assyrians.
612 BCE
Nineveh is sacked and burned by combined forces of Babylonians and Medes.
605 BCE - 562 BCE
Nebuchadnezzar II is king of Babylon.
597 BCE
Babylonian king Nebuchadnezar captures Jerusalem.
597 BCE - 587 BCE
Jews are deported to Babylonia.
587 BCE - 539 BCE
Jewish exile in Babylonia.
c. 575 BCE
Nebuchadnezzar II builds the Ishtar Gate and great walls of Babylon.
539 BCE
Fall of Babylon, conquered by Cyrus of Persia. Return of the Jews.
485 BCE
Babylon is destroyed by Xerxes, King of Persia.
323 BCE
Alexander the Great receives Celtic delegations in Babylon.
321 BCE - 315 BCE
Seleucos rules the satrapy of Babylon.
312 BCE
Seleucos conquers Babylon and founds the Seleucid dynasty.
c. 312 BCE - 63 BCE
Duration of the Seleucid Empire.