Neo-Babylonian Empire

Around 616 BC King Nabopolassar took advantage of the fall of the Assyrian Empire to bring the seat of
the empire back to Babylon. It was his son Nebuchadnezzar II who led Babylon back to its former glory.

Nebuchadnezzar II ruled for 43 years. He was a great military leader and expanded the empire to include
much of the Middle East all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. This included the conquering of the
Hebrews and taking them into slavery for 70 years as told in the Bible. Under Nebuchadnezzar's rule, the
city of Babylon and its temples were restored. It also became the cultural center of the world, just like
during Hammurabi's rule.

Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Nebuchadnezzar II built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. This was a large series of terraces that rose to
around 75 feet high. They were covered with all sorts of trees, flowers, and plants. The gardens is
considered one of the great wonders of the ancient world.

Hanging Gardens of Babylon

by Maarten van Heemskerck

Fall of Neo-Babylonia

After Nebuchadnezzar II died, the empire began to fall apart once again. In 529 BC, the Persians
conquered Babylon and made it part of the Persian Empire.

Fun Facts About the Babylonians

Nebuchadnezzar had a moat built around the city of Babylon for defense. That must have been quite a
sight in the desert!
All that remains of the city of Babylon is a mound of broken mud buildings about 55 miles south of
Baghdad, Iraq.

Alexander the Great captured Babylon as part of his conquests. He was staying in the city when he got
sick and died.

The city has been rebuilt or reconstructed in Iraq. The actual ruins and artifacts are likely buried under
the reconstruction.

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While its origins remain mysterious even today, the Hittite Empire was one of the most significant of the
Mesopotamian kingdoms, powerful enough to bring down the commanding Babylonians and their strict
ways of life. The Hittites burst on to the Mesopotamian scene sometime around the late 18th century
BCE.. At its height, the Hittite Empire covered Anatolia, northern Syria, and the northern regions of
Mesopotamia. Its capital was located at Hattusas, in northern Anatolia.

The Hittite people were seemingly enigmas. Their geographic origins are still not completely understood,
and their language was obscure and indecipherable for a very long time. Today, though, we know that
the language of the Hittite peoples was one from the Indo-European language family, specifically from
the Anatolian branch. This language family also includes the Indian languages, Latin, German, Greek, and
English. Very little evidence of the language remains, other than in the form of laws and administrative
announcements.

When the Hittites invaded Mesopotamia, they adapted many of the ways of life of the Babylonians and
even of the Sumerians, that had been in place for centuries. Specifically, they adopted the religion of the
region, worshipping and embracing the gods of Babylonia and Sumeria as their own. One governmental
modification they made was to modify the stringent laws that had been put into place by former kings
like Hammurabi. The strictness of the legal system was eased, and far fewer deaths resulted from crimes.
The king also became sole owner of all the land in his territory, which was vastly different from empires
like the Sumerians, whose king allowed the ownership of private property. Under the Hittites, in order
for a person to control (not own) land of any kind, he had to serve in the army of the king.

While much of the history of the Hittites is quite mysterious, we know now that their empire is one of
the most important from Mesopotamia. The Hittites were very skillful in the construction of chariots,
and were vanguards of the Iron Age. They were among the earliest peoples to produce iron tools and
artifacts (as early as the 14th century BCE), and consequently were able to establish a successful
economy of trade and commerce.
The size of the Hittite territory allowed them to trade with peoples throughout the Mediterranean and
into Egypt. With this ability to trade also came the exchange and teaching of Mesopotamian ideas,
history, politics, and economic and social concepts. Thus, the Hittites were hugely responsible for passing
on the thoughts and ideas of all the Mesopotamian people that had come before them, like the
Babylonians, the Sumerians, and the Amorites, and enlightening the rest of the world - and history –
about them.