The City of Babylon: A History, c. 2000 BC – AD 116

by Stephanie Dalley

The 2000-year story of Babylon sees it moving from a city-state to the centre of a great empire of the ancient world. It remained a centre of kingship under the empires of Assyria, Nebuchadnezzar, Darius, Alexander the Great, the Seleucids and the Parthians. Its city walls were declared to be a Wonder of the World while its ziggurat won fame as the Tower of Babel. Visitors to Berlin can admire its Ishtar Gate, and the supposed location of its elusive Hanging Garden is explained. Worship of its patron god Marduk spread widely while its well-trained scholars communicated legal, administrative and literary works throughout the ancient world, some of which provide a backdrop to Old Testament and Hittite texts. Its science also laid the foundations for Greek and Arab astronomy through a millennium of continuous astronomical observations. This accessible and up-to-date account is by one of the world's leading authorities.

Genres: History, Ancient History, Nonfiction

396 pages, Hardcover

Published September 16, 2021

About the author

Stephanie Mary Dalley (b. March 1943) is a British Assyriologist and scholar of the Ancient Near East. Prior to her retirement, she was a teaching Fellow at the Oriental Institute, Oxford. She is known for her publications of cuneiform texts and her investigation into the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, and her proposal that it was situated in Nineveh, and constructed during Sennacherib's rule.

Reviews

[Elcilor]

Only about 3 percent of Babylon has been excavated. The remainder lies beneath a deep layer of sand. The history of Mesopotamia is sometimes described as the first half of the (written) history of humanity. Although the book begins relatively late (by Mesopotamian standards) around the year 2000 BCE, you do realize that it covers a significant span of time when one of the eleven chapters is titled "The next six centuries."

Babylon is known as one of the world's first metropolises (perhaps the first), the Tower of Babel, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon (which may not have existed at all, and if they did, perhaps not even in Babylon), the Babylonian cuneiform script (used as a lingua franca in a wide region), and the magnificent temples, gates, glassware, paved roads, and buildings. In this book, parallels can be found with the Hebrew Bible, where some protagonists of this story, such as Nebuchadnezzar II or the city of Babylon itself, are considered pagan and malevolent.

Stephanie Dalley has created a comprehensive work from the story. She examines many kings and leaders who have governed the city, recounting the highlights and peculiarities of their rule. In my opinion, more attention could have been given to the common people. Nevertheless, I found it an entertaining work, especially since religious explanations were often sought for earthly events. Kings lost their power because they presumably paid too little attention to the gods, Alexander the Great died because he did not follow the diviner's advice to enter the city from the west but from the east, and a king could become terrified because a lunar eclipse happened to occur during his reign, seen as a bad omen.

By connecting the story to many Mesopotamian myths and providing numerous quotations from the historical texts, the book became quite interesting. It was a pleasant read.

[Rochu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me cansan un poco estos libros que terminan siendo todos historia política de la más sosa. Este en particular labura mucho con fuentes, lo que está piola, y es conciso, claro y experto. Como material de consulta es útil, sintetiza mucho de los ires y venires de la ciudad de Babilonia. Pero me agota que todo empiece y termine con qué rey mató a quién y qué dinastía llegó de dónde. Los datos que no refieren a los avatares de la clase dominante son escasos. Entiendo que también son escasas las fuentes, pero ¿ya no vale la pena la historia social?

Está bien, cumple con lo que promete.

[Tranium67 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides a comprehensive review on the history of the city of Babylon, from its humble beginnings to it’s peak, stagnation, decline and eventual fall.

It follows a clear and consistent chronological order, while being engaging and an overall fun read, making it an easy introductory book. Although, it did have some “slow” parts. But they are far and few in between (the Parthian parts were quite boring for me due to my lack of interest in them)