The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology

• The Concise Oxford Dictionary of...
• About
• Get help in the History Group

Babylon, Iraq

Babylon, Iraq [Si].
One of the largest and most ancient cities in Mesopotamia, 80km south of modern Baghdad on the River Euphrates. Excavations by the German archaeologist Robert Koldewey between 1899 and 1917, together with more recent work, provide the plan of the ancient city and allow some understanding of its main elements.

In the early 2nd millennium bc it was the centre of a city-state, the so-called old Babylonian, reaching prominence in 1792 BC under the 6th ruler of the 1st Dynasty, Hammurabi. It was destroyed by the HITTITES in c.1595 BC and then ruled by the KASSITES until c.1157 BC. Thereafter followed a period of further decline under short-lived dynasties and with frequent wars with ELAM and ASSYRIA.

In the 7th century bc the city-state rose again under the rulers of the 11th Dynasty, destroying Assyria and,...

[The entire page is 309 words long]

Oxford University Press Titles

• The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology
• The Oxford Dictionary of Economics
• The Oxford Companion to American Literature
• The Oxford Companion to American Military History
• The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization
• The Oxford Companion to English Literature
• The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales
• The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare
• The Oxford Dictionary of Plays
• The Oxford Dictionary of Art
• Oxford Dictionary of Sociology
• Oxford Dictionary of World History
• Oxford Dictionary of World Mythology