Babylonia

Hammurabi's Babylonia, BC Babylonia was a state in Mesopotamia a long time ago. It was named for the capital city, Babylon, which meant The Gate of the Gods. Mesopotamia included Sumer, Akkad, and Assyria. It is important because it was one of the first places where humans lived together in a civilization. The people of Babylonia, or Babylonians, had a written language that they used to learn things about the world around them. They were actually the first people to write from left to right, and made many written documents

The Babylonians loved art. Beautiful vessels ornamented with sparkling gold were buried with the kings. In those days books dealt with floods which were thought to be caused by sin, or about the journey of Abraham. Science, too, improved well: they invented the first calendar, the 60- minute hour, and the advance multiplication table. Life was rich, full, and usually peaceful. People rarely thought about war or how to protect the city. As a result, Babylon was conquered in 730 BC by the Assyrians and Kassites. This great civilization then ended.

One of the most famous Babylonians was Hammurabi. He fought wars and made Babylonia bigger and created one of the earliest set of laws in the world. Hammurabi's code contains 280 judgments and is very often quoted. It can still be seen in the Louvre, a museum in Paris, today. Whereas the earlier Sumerian punishments had not been harsh, Babylonian law was quite severe. The death penalty wsas given for theft, murder, and other crimes.

US Marines in front of the rebuilt ruins of Babylon, 2003