Babylon
Famed Babylon was a powerful Akkadian city-state in Mesopotamia. Founded in the 3rd millennium BC, it was the capital of a short lived empire under King Hammurabi in the 18th century BCE and later the centre of the Neo-Babylonian Empire.It was King Nebuchadnezzar II (604-561 BCE) in particular who turned Babylon into one of the wonders of the ancient world. He built the spectacular Ishtar Gate, the reconstruction of which can be seen in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, and rebuilt the Etemenanki ziggurat - the legendary "Tower of Babel". Nebuchadnezzar is also said to have constructed the "Hanging Gardens", one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
In 539 BC, Babylon fell to Cyrus the Great, King of Persia, and later to Alexander the Great who declared it the capital of his empire. Centuries later, the "city of cities" slowly drifted into oblivion.
Destruction and Resurrection of a Legend
For more than 3000 years, Babylon has been a symbol for power and arrogance. Some 3700 years ago, it may have been the largest city in the world, capital of a powerful empire - and yet, one thousand years ago nothing of the former greatness remained. Medieval travelers saw a little village - and later only ruins. Until excavations began...
Babylon
Most powerful city on earth, symbol for greatness and excess, rulers like Nebuchadnezzar, Hammurabi and Belshazzar: few names unleash such a flood of associations as Babylon. And then of course, there’s the Tower of Babel. Did it actually exist…?▶The Museum of Islamic Art, Berlin▶ Babylon
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Resurrecting the Walls of Babylon
When archeologist Robert Koldewey uncovered the ancient metropolis of Babylon, he found a hundred thousand pieces of stone. It was his student Walter Andrae who solved the giant puzzle - and re-erected the Ishtar Gate, one the Wonders of the World…▶The Museum of Islamic Art, Berlin▶ Babylon
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