The Chaldean Marduk-apla-iddina (biblical *Merodach-Baladan (Akk. Shalmaneser v (726–722) continued the practice of employing another name in Babylon, Ululayu, an adjective meaning 'of the sixth month,' commemorating the month of his birth. In Babylon he reigned under another name, Pulu, which is found in the Bible (ii Kings 15:19). When Tiglath-Pileser iii (745–727) took Babylon, he gave it the status of an independent kingdomunited to Assyria. Under the Assyrian king Tukulti-Ninurta i (1244–1208), Babylon was partially destroyed. Assyria in northern Iraq tinkered in Babylon's politics. Under Hammurapi's son Samsu-iluna, however, the southern part of the kingdom was lost.ĭuring the subsequent Middle Babylonian period Babylon continued as a capital city in southern Mesopotamia. The kings of Babylon saw themselves as heirs of the Old Akkadian rulers who had first unified Mesopotamia 400 years before. The city gained fame during the time of Hammurapi (1792–1750 b.c.e.), when it extended its influence over most of southern Mesopotamia through diplomacy and then military conquest. Its kings enjoyed unusually long reigns, and this may symbolize the stability which allowed them eventually to take a dominant role in Mesopotamian politics. During the Isin-Larsa period (2017–1794) it became the capital of a small independent kingdom under an Amorite dynasty. The first certain mention of Babylon in cuneiform texts is from the time of the Third Dynasty of Ur (2112–2004 b.c.e.), when it served as a provincial capital and seat of a governor. the city was only a small provincial town. This view of the antiquity of Babylon was also current in Babylon itself in the period after *Hammurapi, but in fact before 2050 b.c.e. 10:10), as one of the earliest cities in Babylonia. The English word follows the Greek spelling.īiblical tradition lists the city with Erech and Akkad in the land of Shinar (Gen. Akkadian scribes derived the name from the words bāb-ili ('gate of god'), but in Genesis 11:9 the name is explained derogatorily as a derivation from the root bll ('to confuse'). No satisfactory etymology for the city's name has been proposed.

In biblical Hebrew בבל is used for both.) Its ruins lie within the suburbs of the modern city of Baghdad. (In contemporary convention, 'Babylon' is used for the city name and 'Babylonia' for the country.

Βαβυλὼν), ancient city on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River in what is now Iraq.

Where is babylon today