Irving L. Finkel

Michael J. Seymour

A strikingly-illustrated short introduction to Babylon, a powerful and sophisticated ancient city and the home of the fabled Hanging Gardens of Nebuchadnezzar, one of the 7 Wonders of the World. Over the centuries Babylon was lost to view, and survived only in a rich and bizarre set of half-fantastical stories and traditions, until painstaking archaeological work uncovered the real city once more. The city of Babylon flourished for nearly 2,000 years on the River Euphrates in what is now central Iraq. After its conquest by the Persians in 539 BC it slowly faded from prominence and over time was lost from the historical record almost completely. One of the greatest cities of the ancient world lived on only in popular belief and legend. Amalgamating fact and fantasy, stories about the city and the kings of Babylon survived through the Middle Ages into modern times and were the inspiration for many pieces of art and literature in Europe between the 17th and 19th centuries. The Tower of Babel the Madness of Nebuchadnezzar the Writing on the Wall the Hanging Gardens of Babylon Daniel in the Lions Den - such stories and images grew famous over the years, while the city itself became little more than a name. However, the real city and its kings have re-emerged into the light thanks to the endeavours of many scholars and archaeologists in the 19th and 20th centuries. Today we can visualise a splendid city of massive walls (once counted among the Seven Wonders of the World), towering pyramid-shaped temples, vast royal palaces and gardens, and monumental gateways. Festivals and processions dedicated to the gods passed along streets lined with colourful glazed-brick reliefs of lions and mythical beasts. The glory of Babylon was expressed not only in physical buildings but also in the learning and scholarship of the city. Babylonian achievements in mathematics, astronomy and medicine had far-reaching effects on the Classical world and even on our own times we get our sixty-minute hours from Babylonia. This city of real wonders is brought back to life in these colourful pages.

City of Wonders

Babylon

Over 2500 years after the city's fall, the Babylon of ancient Iraq is still an evocative name. The stories of the Tower of Babel, the Hanging Gardens, Daniel in the Lions' Den, the madness of Nebuchadnezzar and the "city of sin" still resonate today. But how much do we really know of the original city and the reality behind the myths, traditions, and stories? This lavishly illustrated volume sheds light for the first time on the true wonders of this ancient city and the echoes and images that have grown up around it over thousands of years. Babylon has carried complex and evolving meanings for artists through the ages and the authors bring together a wealth of art works inspired by this ancient city, from medieval manuscripts and major canvases to contemporary digital art. Alongside these later evocations of an imagined Babylon, the authors present the reality of the city: its kings, its history and its amazing structures, such as Nebuchadnezzar's magnificent state buildings with their famous glazed brick reliefs. They investigate the history, culture and religious life of the time, describing the Conquest of Jerusalem and the emergence of monotheism within Babylonian religion. They also demonstrate how ancient Babylon's legacy lives on today--in astronomy, astrology, and the origins of modern calendars and clocks. A final chapter considers the recent troubled history of the site of Babylon in today's Iraq. This book is published to accompany the major exhibition "Babylon" at the British Museum and draws on three of the most important collections of artifacts from the ancient city of Babylon, at the British Museum itself, the Musée du Louvre, and the Vorderasiatisches Museum, Berlin.

Michael J. Seymour

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