One of the first civilization developed about 6000 years ago in the middle East, between the tigris and euphrates river. This region was known as Mesopotamia, meaning “land between rivers”.The land was fertile, and farming methods were highly refined. The people were among the first to develop a system of writing, use the wheel, and build cities. One of these cities was Babylon, founded before 2500 BCE. It became the capital city of Babylonia. Babylon was an important trading centre. It was also a religious centre and the site of many splendid temples. It's people were strong and prosperous under the great king Hammurabi, who United the different areas into one empire.. Babylon became even more magnificent later, under king Nebuchadnezar II. In 538 BCE, the persian king Cyrus the great conquered Babylon. Alexander the great conquered it again in 331 BCE. The city was then ruled by the parthians and the Persian Sassanid dynasty until the 7th century CE, but by then had lost its importance and fallen into ruins

BABYLON

       The city of Babylon was rebuilt many times before it's final destruction. It reached the height of its glory in about 600 BCE. It was an impressive city, with massive walls and elaborate religious buildings, including a pyramid lke ziggurat. Babylon also had a fabulous hanging garden- one of the seven Wonders of the ancient world

HAMMURABI

      Under King Hammurabi, Babylon gained control of a large part of Mesopotamia. Hammurabi is famous for the laws he introduced, which are carved on a stela, or pillar, of stone. The stone shows a portrait of Hammurabi standing before Shamash, the God of justice. Beneath this are the laws of Babylon, carved in cuneiform (wedge-shaped) writing. They deal with all aspects of life and show that Babylon was a sophisticated civilization

NEBUCHADNEZZAR

      Nebuchadnezzar II was one of the most famous kings of Babylonia. Among other conquests, he captured Jerusalem and forced thousands of its people into  exile in Babylonian territory. This story is told in Bible, in the Book of Daniel. Nebuchadnezzar is said to have gone mad at the end of his reign

CYLINDER SEAL

      The Babylonians wrote using cylinder seals. These seals were often made of semiprecious atone and were very delicately carved. To sign or stamp a document, a person rolled a cylinder seal over damp clay. This seal shows clearly the God Shamash., the goddess Ishtar(with wings), and the God Ea