Babylon is one of the ancient Near East’s most influential cities and one of the places where history, sacred tradition and archaeological evidence overlap. The UNESCO World Heritage property lies about 85 kilometres south of Baghdad, near Hillah in Babil Governorate. Its boundaries include the ancient city’s remains as well as surrounding villages and agricultural land, so the heritage site is a broad landscape rather than a single compact monument.
The city’s history stretches back to the third millennium BCE, while its best-known imperial period came under rulers including Hammurabi and Nebuchadnezzar. Babylon was the capital of the Neo-Babylonian Empire from 626 to 539 BCE, when its political power, urban planning and monumental architecture reached exceptional prominence. UNESCO identifies the inner and outer city walls, gates, palaces and temples as evidence of a civilisation whose influence extended across the ancient Near East.
