Town of Mésopotamie whose ruins are to 90 km in the south of Baghdad (close to current Hilla, in Iraq), it was the capital of a vast area of Mésopotamie, sprinkled by the Tiger and Euphrate, which knew one of the most brilliant ages of the ancient world. The town of Babylon existed as of the XXIII E front century J. - C., at the time of the splendor of Akkad. It passed then under the domination of Amorrites (XIX E front century J. - C.) to become the capital of their sixth king, Hammourabi.

Razziée by the Hittite ones to the XVI E front century J. - C., it was dominated by Elamites, before becoming Assyrian (VIII e-VII E front century J. - C.). Freedom was returned to him by Nabopolassar, which founded the Empire néobabylonien (626 av. J. - C.). Under the reign of his/her son Nabuchodonosor II, the city reached the ridge of its power: it then understood a double marked out strengthened enclosure of turns, celebrates it door of Ishtar, the palates equipped with platform roofs (famous hanging gardens), colossal the ziggourat Etemenanki, of the richly decorated temples dedicated to the Mardouk god.

Become Persian province under Cyrus II (539 av. J. - C.), she saw her decline being accentuated under Darius and Xerxès. Alexandre the Large one annexed it in 331 av. J. - C. and died there. In 300 av. J. - C., Séleucos forsook it with the profit of Séleucie. As of I er front century J. - C., the Greek geographer Strabon found the site deserted.