Product Description

Over 2500 years after the citys fall, Babylon is still an evocative name. The resonance of the Tower of Babel, the Hanging Gardens, Daniel in the Lions Den or the madness of Nebuchadnezzar continues today even without popular certainty that Babylon itself ever existed. Drawing on three of the most important collections of artefacts from the ancient city of Babylon, at the British Museum, the Louvre and the Vorderasiatisches Museum, Berlin, this book brings to life Nebuchadnezzars magnificent state buildings with their famous glazed brick reliefs, and the great stepped tower or ziggurat that inspired the Biblical story of the Tower of Babel. Contemporary writings investigate the history, culture and religious life of the time, describing the Conquest of Jerusalem and the emergence of monotheism within Babylonian religion. Also included will be documents showing how ancient Babylons legacy lives on today tablets recording the signs of the zodiac, the appearance of Halleys Comet and the origins of modern calendars and clocks. While the real city remained lost under the sands of Iraq for 2000 years, a rich web of myths and associations gathered around the name. Babylon has inspired art, books, films, and music, and plays a powerful role in Rastafarian religion. This book explores how and why the magnificent ancient capital evolved into a universal symbol of the city of sin. The book brings together for the first time a wealth of art works from medieval manuscripts and major canvases to contemporary digital art, which have all been inspired by Babylon.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #35685 in Books
• Published on: 2008-11-19
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

Customer Reviews

The Reality of Babylon
The book is well presented with excellent photographs. As the narrative unfolds there are some excellent articles inserted on specific items. It has certainly motivated me to visit the exhibition at the British Museum.

Babylon brought back to life.
Whether you were able to visit the British Museum Exhibition or not, this is a great book which will bring ancient Babylon back to life. The exhibits on display at the Museum are fully illustrated in the book, together with a lot more. Various well-written, and authoritive, articles delve into different facets of Babylonian life.
For example, did you know where our units of time(60 seconds to a minute and 60 minutes to an hour)came from? No, it was not Greenwich!
I have enjoyed exploring this great book and would encourage anyone with an interest in ancient history, or Bible prophesy, to get this book and immerse themselves in it. It is well worth it!

Great value and highly informative
Having visited the exhibition at the British Museum, which I very much enjoyed, I decided to order the book through Amazon as it was half the price of the ones sold in the exhibition shop.

The book arrived very quickly. It is very comprehensive and contains all the exhibits (and more) with lots of information that was not provided at the exhibition. The pictures are very clear and well taken. Even if you have not been to the exhibition the book is well worth the money as it gives a great overview of what life was like in Babylon and how Babylon has inspired our modern world.