Babylon

Babylon was an ancient Mesopotamian city on the Euphrates, famed as the capital of several empires and captured by Cyrus the Great in 539 BCE.

Old Babylonian Empire: A Mesopotamian kingdom centered on Babylon, especially prominent under Hammurabi in the eighteenth century BCE. Its expansion made Babylon a major political and legal center.
Fall of Babylon: The capture of Babylon by Cyrus the Great in 539 BCE, ending the Neo-Babylonian Empire. This event marks the city’s transition from independent imperial capital to Persian rule.
Marduk: The chief god of Babylon, elevated to a leading position in Mesopotamian religion. Babylon’s status as Marduk’s city shaped its royal ceremonies and civic identity.
Ishtar Gate: A monumental glazed-brick gateway built in Babylon during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II. Its reliefs and vivid blue bricks exemplify the city’s monumental art.
Edict of Cyrus: A policy associated with Cyrus the Great that allowed displaced peoples, including Judeans, to return to their homelands. Persian rule from Babylon enabled the return of some Judean exiles.
Hammurabi: A Babylonian king who ruled in the eighteenth century BCE and is associated with a famous collection of laws. His reign marked Babylon’s early rise to imperial prominence.
Cyrus the Great: The founder of the Achaemenid Empire, who conquered Babylon in 539 BCE. His conquest brought Babylon into the Persian imperial system.
Esagila: The principal temple of Marduk in Babylon. This sanctuary was central to the city’s religious landscape.
Processional Way: A ceremonial avenue in Babylon that connected the Ishtar Gate with the city’s religious center. It formed the route for major festivals and royal display.
Book of Daniel: A biblical book whose narratives are set partly among Judean exiles in Babylon. Its stories preserve a powerful later memory of life under Babylonian kings.

Linked from 32 pages