Babylonia

Babylonia was a region in southern Mesopotamia, between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, corresponding largely to parts of modern-day Iraq. It centered on the city of Babylon and included a network of urban centers, temples, and agricultural estates. The term commonly refers to the political entities that controlled southern Mesopotamia from the early second millennium BCE onward, notably during the Old Babylonian and Neo-Babylonian periods.

Historically, Babylon rose to prominence under the Old Babylonian period (roughly 2000–1600 BCE), with Hammurabi (c. 1792–1750 BCE) as a key ruler who consolidated authority and issued a well-known law code. After a period of decline and rivalry with Assyria, the Neo-Babylonian or Chaldean Dynasty (626–539 BCE) rebuilt Babylon and expanded the state under kings such as Nebuchadnezzar II. In 539 BCE, Babylon fell to the Achaemenid Persian Empire led by Cyrus the Great, becoming part of a larger imperial system.

Culture and science flourished in Babylonia, including the Code of Hammurabi, the use of cuneiform writing in Akkadian, and advances in mathematics and astronomy based on a sexagesimal system. Babylon was a major religious center, housing the temple complex of the god Marduk. Literary and astronomical texts, myths, hymns, and administrative documents provide a detailed record of Mesopotamian life and governance.

Economy depended on irrigation agriculture, trade along river routes, and urban production. Archaeological remains, including monumental architecture, tablets, and inscriptions, continue to inform the study of Babylonia’s history and its influence on later civilizations.