BABYLON

This is the second volume in the series, ""Ancient Cities and Temples"". The first was Jerusalem. Babylon has much more historical reality as the archaeological discoveries of the last decade have revealed remains of her ancient glory, and documents have given credence to the rumored brilliance of her sociological development. Babylon retained its importance for almost twelve centuries; military success was not all; the impact of her culture, the high development of her religious beliefs, her trade, her code of law, her methods of transportation and communication, her crafts- all have taken on significance with the findings of Mesopotamian archeology. This book is an attempt to recreate Babylonia, on the groundwork of the Sumerian culture, on what is know of her great rulers. In the Old Babylonian era the sources of knowledge are dependent on clay tablets, documents in process of deciphering, remnants of art- all pointing to a way of life. The Code of Hammurabi had overtones of morality as well as political significance. The life of the city state was remarkably cohesive. Then a gap- with high spots known down to the sacking of Thebes. The Neo-Babylonian era was ushered in by Nebuchadnezzar, who added immensely to his father's conquests, and whose kingdom fell only before the onslaught of Cyrus, the Persian. Considerable space is devoted to a recreation of the city as it must have been -- a city now taken over by the desert.