The goddess wears a headdress made of horns and has talons for feet. The Babylonians worshipped many gods, but chief of these was Marduk, god of the city of Babylon. In the artwork that decorated the city, Marduk was depicted in the form of a dragon. Festivals were held throughout the year in honor of specific gods to assure their favor. The New Year festival for Marduk assured fertility in the fields.
For a brief time, the New Empire was among the richest in the world. The city reflected that wealth in its extensive and highly decorated monuments. The interior of the Temple of Marduk was reportedly covered with gold. At the center of a far-flung and prosperous trading empire, the people of Babylon had access to exotic goods and manufactured items from throughout the world. It resembles monolithic Hittite lion sculptures and might have been taken from the Hittites as a spoil of war.
On display at the ruins of Babylon, Iraq The New Empire government of Babylon adopted many of the Assyrian imperial practices, which probably contributed to its own short life. The king had overall administrative power, in addition to his central role in important religious rituals. Governors ruled provinces on behalf of the king, but most of these were Babylonians appointed from outside the local area.
Local puppets were often left in place to rule local kingdoms, but this occasionally led to revolt, as in the case of Jerusalem. Antique engraving depicting the Hanging Gardens of Babylon The city of Babylon was destroyed and rebuilt several times, usually on top of the old ruins.
Buildings and walls were constructed of mud bricks, baked first in the sun and then with fire. The Babylon of the New Empire period was one of the wealthiest cities in the world. The Chaldean kings rebuilt the city and established its reputation for splendor. The Euphrates River passed through the middle of the city and was also directed around its four sides through a moat.
Inside the moat were double walls. The ancient Greek historian Herodotus claimed that the outer wall was so wide that a chariot with four horses could drive along it. There were several city gates, each named after an important god. The gate, sacred way, and temples were decorated with bright blue glazed tiles depicting real and fantastical animals in relief.
A bridge connected the two sides of the city. The east side contained the palace and temples, including many ziggurats. The greatest of these, built by Nebuchadnezzar II, had seven levels with a small temple devoted to Marduk at the top. This ziggurat was probably the Tower of Babel mentioned in the Bible.
Nebuchadnezzar also built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, a multistoried ziggurat decorated with trees and plants to resemble a mountain. According to legend, the gardens were built to remind one of his wives of her mountain homeland.
The New Empire armies probably adopted much from the Assyrians. This would suggest that Babylonians made extensive use of cavalry, especially mounted bowmen.
Foot troops probably used iron weapons and wore iron helmets and some mail armor. The Babylonians and their less advanced allies, the Medes, took three heavily fortified Assyrian cities in short succession, suggesting that they had mastered the Assyrian techniques for storming cities.
Tile lions taken from the Ishtar Gate processional way in Babylon , the Istanbul Archaeology Museum, Turkey Following seven turbulent years that saw three new kings in quick succession and two rebellions, the last of the Chaldean Dynasty, Nabonidus, took the throne of Babylon in BCE.
He worshipped the moon god, Sin, but neglected local affairs and important religious rituals associated with other gods. For several years, he did not perform the New Year festival in the name of Marduk, the deity of Babylon that renewed the fertility of the land. He also introduced reforms that gave him effective control of temple finances. The unrest and dissatisfaction that these events fostered came at a time when a new power to the east, Persia, had been gradually expanding and spreading its influence.
Assyrian domination continued until c. Assyria descended into a period of civil war after BCE, which allowed Babylonia to once more largely free itself from the Assyrian yoke for a few decades. However, Babylonia soon began to suffer repeated incursions from Semitic nomadic peoples migrating from the west, and large swathes of Babylonia were appropriated and occupied by these newly arrived Arameans, Chaldeans, and Suteans.
Starting in and lasting till BCE, Babylonia descended into a period of chaos. Privacy Policy. Skip to main content. Search for:. Key Points Following the collapse of the First Babylonian Dynasty under Hammurabi, the Babylonian Empire entered a period of relatively weakened rule under the Kassites for years.
The Kassite Dynasty eventually fell itself due to the loss of territory and military weakness. The Kassites were succeeded by the Elamites, who themselves were conquered by Marduk-kabit-ahheshu, the founder of the Second Dynasty of Isin.
Nebuchadnezzar I was the most famous ruler of the Second Dynasty of Isin. Hammurabi turned Babylon into a rich, powerful and influential city. Known as the Code of Hammurabi , it helped Babylon surpass other cities in the region. Babylonia, however, was short-lived. A new line of kings established the Neo-Babylonian Empire, which lasted from B. The Neo-Babylonian Empire became the most powerful state in the world after defeating the Assyrians at Nineveh in B.
The Babylonians built many beautiful and lavish buildings and preserved statues and artworks from the earlier Babylonian Empire during the reign of king Nebuchadnezzar II. In B. The fall of Babylon was complete when the empire came under Persian control.
After the Babylonian conquest of the Kingdom of Judah in the sixth century B. Some stayed, and a Jewish community flourished there for more than 2, years. Many relocated to the newly created Jewish state of Israel in the s. The city of Babylon appears in both Hebrew and Christian scriptures. Christian scriptures portray Babylon as a wicked city. Hebrew scriptures tell the story of the Babylonian exile, portraying Nebuchadnezzar as a captor.
Famous accounts of Babylon in the Bible include the story of the Tower of Babel. According to the Old Testament story, humans tried to build a tower to reach the heavens.
When God saw this, he destroyed the tower and scattered mankind across the Earth, making them speak many languages so they could no longer understand each other. Some scholars believe the legendary Tower of Babel may have been inspired by a real-life ziggurat temple built to honor Marduk, the patron god of Babylon.
Art and architecture flourished throughout the Babylonian Empire, especially in the capital city of Babylon, which is also famous for its impenetrable walls. Hammurabi first encircled the city with walls. Nebuchadnezzar II further fortified the city with three rings of walls that were 40 feet tall. The Greek historian Herodotus wrote that the walls of Babylon were so thick that chariot races were held on top of them.
The city inside the walls occupied an area of square miles, roughly the size of Chicago today. Nebuchadnezzar II built three major palaces, each lavishly decorated with blue and yellow glazed tiles. He also built a number of shrines, the largest of which, called Esagil, was dedicated to Marduk.
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