Screenshot 2025 09 21 at 5.04.13 pm

Babylon

By Pszkodon
  • Period: 1894 BCE to 539 BCE

    Babylon

    There were two sets of fortified walls, massive palaces, and religious buildings in Babylon. Referenced in the bible, Babylon was known to the Akkadians as the Gate of the Gods. In Babylon, God intertwined with kingship and law. Codified law, religion, and power were displayed in monumental architecture and large reliefs constructed of stone, clay, glazed bricks, and metal.
  • Babylonian, Stele of Hammurabi, c. 1780 BCE, black basalt, 7’4” height, Louvre Museum, Paris, France.
    1780 BCE

    Babylonian, Stele of Hammurabi, c. 1780 BCE, black basalt, 7’4” height, Louvre Museum, Paris, France.

    The Stele of Hammurabi is carved in relief at the top and inscribed in cuneiform script in the Akkadian language (used for government decrees). Carved are King Hammurabi and the sun god Shamash, both in composite pose. 300 divine laws are inscribed in the stele, many announcing actions and their consequences, all coming directly from the God Shamash and given to Hammurabi, giving him authority.
  • Neo-Babylonian, Ishtar gate, c. 575 BCE, glazed mudbrick, 15 meters in height, Pergamon Museum, Berlin, Germany
    575 BCE

    Neo-Babylonian, Ishtar gate, c. 575 BCE, glazed mudbrick, 15 meters in height, Pergamon Museum, Berlin, Germany

    The Ishtar Gate was an elaborate inner city gate in Babylon rebuilt by Nebuchadnezzar II. The Gate was primarily constructed from durable baked bricks covered in shining blue ceramic glaze, likely achieved using copper. The Gate is adorned with bas-reliefs of mythological creatures like bulls and dragons. To Babylonians, the animals represented deities that protected and provided for the city.