The Ruins of Babylon
Ginger Yapp, Leaf Group Updated March 13, 2018
The Ruins of Babylon (Photo: )
Places to See in Babylon, Iraq
Three Famous Places in Iraq
Major Historical or Interesting Places to Visit in Iraq
Zimbabwe National Monuments
Iraq's famous ruins of Babylon can be found about 56 miles south of Baghdad, next to the Euphrates River. Babylon —which can be translated to "the gate of the gods" — served as the center of ancient civilization for over 1,500 years. It has been revered as one of the world's biggest treasures; its hanging gardens, now covered in desert sands, are one of the so-called seven world wonders. However, time — as well as centuries of turmoil and warfare in the region — have not been kind to the ruins.
Babylon is estimated to have been constructed over 2,600 years ago, in Biblical times; rulers like Alexander the Great, Xerxes and Herodotus all reigned from the city. The ruins, which include Nebuchadnezzer's palace and the Tower of Babel, were made of mud bricks. Nebuchadnezzer, who ruled from 605 to 563 B.C., was responsible for much of the city's finest architecture. Babylon's decline began around 538 B.C., when Cyrus the Great and his army of Persians conquered the city.
The swirling desert sands buried parts of the city after its decline; enterprising criminals nabbed many of the site's mud bricks and other ancient artifacts. During colonial times — the late 1800s and the early 1900s — much of the ruins were carried off to Europe. Today, the original Ishtar Gate can be found in Berlin at the Museum of the Near East, for example, thanks to an expedition of German archaeologists.
Changes Under Saddam Hussein
Ex-Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein rebuilt the ruins in the early 1980s; his new vision of Babylon was harmful to the original ruins, scientists say, because he used cheap, modern materials on the site's ancient foundations. Hussein's likeness was imprinted on many of the newly-constructed monuments. In the early 2000s, when U.S. and Danish troops were in Iraq attempting to bring down Hussein, there were troops stationed in the ruins; army officials acknowledged their damage to the site in 2006.
Recent Controversy
After U.S. troops left Babylon, the city of Babil seized ownership of the ruins and opened a major tourist attraction on the site. Some of the buildings erected by Saddam Hussein have been remodeled and are rented out to visitors. The country's Ministry of Culture Director Qais Hussein Rashid bemoaned the situation to the "New York Times" in 2009, when he said, "Most of the people and some officials have no respect for heritage. They think archaeological sites are just a bunch of bricks that have no value at all." The Iraqi government recently reopened the oldest part of the ruins, even though experts say this will likely cause even more damage to the already crumbling site.
"Modesto Bee"; Japanese to Rebuild Part of Babylon; Masashi Kuramitsu; May 1980
Ginger Yapp has been writing professionally since 2006, specializing in travel and film topics. Her work has appeared in such publications as "USA Today" and online at Hotels.com. Yapp also has experience writing and editing for a small California newspaper. She earned her B.A. in film and media studies and has worked as an ESL teacher at an international school.
Attribution: Hjaltland Collection; License: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license
Attribution: Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg); License: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license
Yapp, Ginger. "The Ruins of Babylon." Travel Tips - USA Today, https://traveltips.usatoday.com/ruins-babylon-54842.html. 13 March 2018.
Yapp, Ginger. (2018, March 13). The Ruins of Babylon. Travel Tips - USA Today. Retrieved from https://traveltips.usatoday.com/ruins-babylon-54842.html
Yapp, Ginger. "The Ruins of Babylon" last modified March 13, 2018. https://traveltips.usatoday.com/ruins-babylon-54842.html
Information on Aztec Pyramids
Monuments in Egypt
History of the Canterbury Cathedral in England
Tours of Roman Ruins in Italy
Famous Buildings of Panama
History of Sorrento, Italy
Tourist Attractions in Normandy, France
The Pyramids of Cancun
Historic Sites of Ancient Greece
The Ruins of Monte Alban in Oaxaca, Mexico
Mysteries and Facts on Pyramids in Egypt
Famous Sites Along the Indus River
Pyramids in Caral, Peru
Famous Buildings in St. Petersburg, Russia
Images related to Babylon
Old Babylonian cylinder seal, hematite. This seal was probably made in a workshop at Sippar (about 40 miles north of Babylon on the map above) either during, or shortly before, the reign of Hammurabi.[15] It depicts the king making an animal offering to the Sun god Shamash.
These are original tiles of the processional street at Babylon city. Neo-Babylonian period, reign of Nebuchadnezzar II, 605-562 BCE.
This wall is part of the processional street at the ancient city of Babylon, Mesopotamia, Iraq. Mušḫuššu and aurochs can be seen on the wall as reliefs. Neo-Babylonian period, reign of Nebuchadnezzar II, 605-562 BCE.
Things to See & Do in Canakkale, Turkey
Day Tours of Tula, Mexico