17 Facts About Babylonian civilization That You Didn’t know

17 Facts that tells History of  Babylonian civilization .

Babylonia is a very old Akkadian-speaking Afroasiatic state and an ethnical region located in central-southern region of Mesopotamia, which is 59 miles southwest of Baghdad in the present day Iraq. Following the downfall of the Akkadian dynasty, two more empires rose to power – Assyrians in the north and the Babylonians in the south. The Babylonian civilization was the first civilization ever to build an empire that comprised all of Mesopotamia.

The town of Babylon was a major city in Mesopotamia for centuries. As soon as the Akkadian Empire fell down, Amorites took over and colonized the whole city. It was in 1792 BC, the metropolis jumped right into the power as King Hammurabi snapped the position. He then, was a strong and competent leader who planned to control much more than the town of Babylon. Shortly after being the King, Hammurabi started to triumph over other towns in the region. In just a couple of years, Hammurabi had seized all of Mesopotamia along with the majority of the Assyrian territories in the north.

Under the empire of Hammurabi, the town of Babylon took over as the strongest and most successful city in the arena. Situated on the river banks of the Euphrates, the hub was actually a leading trade center merging unique ideas and devices. Babylon further became the greatest city on earth at that time with up to 200,000 people residing there altogether.

At the middle of the town was a major temple called Ziggurat. This particular place of worship appeared something similar to a pyramid that had a plain top. Most of the archeologists believe that it was around 300 feet tall. There was also an entire path following the gates of the middle of the town. This urban area was likewise well-known for its towers, gardens, palaces and its amazing Babylonian architecture. The sight clearly was worth seeing. Not only the town was a cultural hub of the whole empire, but also the heart of science, art, music, astronomy, literature and mathematics.

Here are 17 interesting facts about Ancient Babylonia you might not have known yet.


1 Babylon was one of the splendid cities in the ancient world.Ancient Babylonia


2 The literal meaning of the word Babylon is ‘Confusion.’ It was the last name given to Babel, which was the capital city of Babylonia in Mesopotamia.


3 The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were amongst the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Those spectacular gardens were actually created for a homesick king’s wife. She yearned for the garden plants of her motherland. Unfortunately, the gardens were all ruined right after the earthquakes in 2nd century BC.

Hanging Gardens of Babylon


4 The widely known Hammurabi code comprises of 282 written laws and regulations about agriculture, marriage, industries, governance, land, properties and others.


5 The Code was printed on a large stone tablet at the middle of the town. It was open for everyone to look at.This significant code of value was actually the people’s guidebook for their day to day actions and undertakings.



6 The major motto of Hammurabi’s Code was “a tooth for a tooth and an eye for an eye.”


7 The Babylonian military used to comprise of well-trained soldiers.

Babylonian military

8 The administrative unit of seniors from the upper-class people served as judges also known as “amelu”. The decisions they made were mostly influenced by the Code of Hammurabi.


9 The Babylonians were very good in record-keeping. They used to record all the verdicts from the judges for the future references.


10 Babylonia was a very liberal place for the women. Unlike other societies, the Babylonian culture allowed their women to be priests. What’s more, women were even free to sell wine and set up their very own business.


11 A Babylonian woman could ask her husband to support for her life. She could also ask for a dowry from her father. In addition, she even had the rights to the properties of her husband after his death.


12 The Babylonian history shows that they worshipped Sumerian gods and goddesses. Marduk was their greatest god.

Sumerian gods and goddesses


13 The regular attacks from Kassites followed closely by the Hittites resulted in the decline of Ancient Babylonia.


14 The Babylonians were the first people to bring in the concept of sales contract. They also introduced the idea of sealing in a contract.

Babylonian civilization


15 The Babylonian art was one of its kind in the ancient times. The ancient Babylonians introduced jewelries into the world. They made use of precious gems and metals to design the jewelries. Needless to say, they were extra-ordinary jewelry makers.


16 The epics like EnunaElish and Gilgamesh were the important pieces of Babylonian writing that made their literature much better.


17 As one of the greatest Babylonian inventions, the Code of Hammurabi even today is used as the foundation of several laws and regulations across the world.

See Also,

10 Discoveries and Inventions of Mesopotamia Civilizations


Joanne Shelby

Joanne holds an M.A. in History from Cardiff School of History, Archeology and Religion. She is very much interested in studying and exploring the history of the civilizations across the world.

  • Thepleiades

    I am a little skeptical that Babylon means “Confusion”. I’m not an expert, but the word Bab in Persian and also in Hebrew and Arabic can mean Gate/Door and Il (I-L) means God. Therefore BabEl means just that. The “Gateway to God” sounds more meaningful especially since the Ziggurat appears to be the focal point of the city of a religious society. Another interesting word “Mammurabi” . In Arabic, Murabi. means a religious guide/teacher/master. Similarly, in Judaism, the word Rabi means essentially Master of Torah. The word Rab in Arabic also means Master as well as Lord. There seems to be a clear correlation between the religion of Babylonia and Hebrew/Islam. One can also see similarities between the code of Hammurabi and Islamic Shariah/Judiac laws. Just food for thought.

  • Brisa Gil

    love the facts