The Babylonians

The ancient Babylonian region was located in the Mesopotamian plain, roughly within the borders of modern-day Iraq. The term Babylonians refers to the peoples who lived in this region, including various ethnic groups such as the Amorites, Sumerians, Akkadians, and Chaldeans.

In 2006 BC, the Amorites invaded Mesopotamia. Around 1894 BC, they established a dynasty with the city of Babylon, situated on the Euphrates River, as its capital. From that point on, Mesopotamia became known as “Babylonia,” and all its inhabitants were called Babylonians. Babylonia was divided into two regions: the southern part near the Persian Gulf was Sumer, and the area north of Sumer was Akkad. The inhabitants of these regions were called Sumerians and Akkadians, respectively. Mesopotamian civilization was initially created by the Sumerians. As the Babylonians gradually mastered techniques for building dams, embankments, and irrigation canals, agriculture flourished, and the resulting economic and cultural prosperity made Mesopotamia the cradle of Western civilization.

In 1792 BC, the famous Hammurabi ascended to the throne. He conquered the Sumerians and Akkadians, unifying the Mesopotamian plain. He enacted the first codified civil law in human history, and the Old Babylonian Kingdom reached its peak under his rule. However, after Hammurabi’s death, the empire disintegrated. The kingdom was successively invaded by the Hittites and Kassites until it was finally annexed by the Assyrian Empire in 729 BC, and Babylon became a vassal state of Assyria.

In 630 BC, Nabopolassar, the leader of the Chaldeans, took advantage of internal strife within the Assyrian Empire to launch a rebellion against Assyrian rule. In 626 BC, he established the Neo-Babylonian Kingdom, which reached its zenith under the rule of Nebuchadnezzar II. The kingdom later formed an alliance with the Medes, who were in the northwestern Iranian plateau, and together they attacked the Assyrian Empire, ultimately capturing the Assyrian capital of Nineveh in 612 BC and destroying the empire.

The last king (or regent) of the Neo-Babylonian Kingdom, Belshazzar, came into conflict with the priests. In 539 BC, when Persian King Cyrus II invaded, the city’s priests opened the gates of Babylon, allowing the Persian army to enter from within. The Persians captured the king, and the Neo-Babylonian Kingdom fell.