Babylon

The Biography of a Metropolis

Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones

A vibrant, colorful, and authoritative exploration of the world's first and most illustrious metropolis.

'Babylon' is a name that has a double life: it denotes the great ancient Mesopotamian city with a long and complex history, and it is also a fictive allusion with a wide variety of connotations, from the Hebrew bible's Tower of Babel, through the New Testament's 'Whore of Babylon' to the iconic song 'The Rivers of Babylon’ in the 1970s.

The first royal dynasty of Babylon was founded by an Amorite interloper named Sumu-la-El a thousand years after the fall of the great Sumerian city states of Ur and Uruk, creating a new superpower in the Near East. Clinging close to the mighty River Euphrates, the city quickly grew in size and, thanks to its military prowess, soon expanded its territories, sweeping down to the Persian Gulf and advancing north into Syria.

The kingdom of Babylonia came in to being and, governed from mighty Babylon, setting the agenda for what civilization meant. This fascinating book explores Babylon's reputation as a city with a dual legacy by exploring its rich ancient past and its astonishing mythic legacy.

Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones holds the chair in ancient history at Cardiff University. The author of Persians and The Cleopatras, among other books, he has published widely on ancient history and lives in Taff’s Well, Wales.

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Endorsements & Reviews

“A portrait of the city and its inhabitants that’s intimate and detailed. I’ve never encountered a work of ancient history so finely drawn. Llewellyn-Jones recounts Babylon’s long history as a straightforward narrative peppered with quirky detail. The author has a wonderfully light touch and contagious enthusiasm. He addresses the reader directly as if in conversation. It’s delightful to witness a writer so excited about his subject. Each page brings unexpected bounty.” The Times (London)

"Llewellyn-Jones guides the reader through labyrinthine streets, frenzied shopping for gewgaws, taverns that functioned as love hotels, Rabelaisian eating and drinking, raucous popular songs. Rich with meticulous scholarship, illuminated by sharp wit, and full of subtle judgment, Babylon is quite simply enthralling.” The Telegraph 

"Llewellyn-Jones delves deeply into Babylonian culture, limning the ways war was integral to the society as a sacred charge of the gods and exploring the sources and results of the Babylonian fixation on such pleasures as sex and food. An excellent and accessible tome that expertly explores the rich history of the famed ancient city. Teens studying ancient history will find this useful and accessible." Booklist

“Llewellyn-Jones (ancient history, Cardiff Univ.; The Cleopatras: The Forgotten Queens of Egypt) skillfully presents the dramatic rises and falls of the ancient Mesopotamian city of Babylon in this mesmerizing book. For both scholarly and popular audiences, this book belongs in all libraries supporting the study of ancient history.” Library Journal

"Llewellyn-Jones writes well. He delivers a steady stream of rulers, cutthroat royal infighting, and war. An authoritative examination of “the Mother of All Cities.”" Kirkus Reviews

"An important reassessment of Babylonian civilisation, literature and science by one of our greatest scholars of the ancient world. Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones achieves a remarkable feat of urban resurrection as he reanimates Babylon and shows us how far Mesopotamia's greatest metropolis rose above its caricature as the City of Sin, the home of the Great Whore, the Antichrist and the Tower of Babel." William Dalrymple

"Compelling and authoritative, this history of Babylon combines narrative flair with the latest scholarship to deliver an exhilarating portrait of one of the world's greatest cities." Simon Sebag Montefiore, New York Times bestselling author of Jerusalem: The Biography

"An important reassessment of Babylonian civilisation, literature and science by one of our greatest scholars of the ancient world. Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones achieves a remarkable feat of urban resurrection as he reanimates Babylon and shows us how far Mesopotamia's greatest metropolis rose above its caricature as the City of Sin, the home of the Great Whore, the Antichrist and the Tower of Babel.” William Dalrymple, bestselling author of The Golden Road 

"A masterpiece worthy of the greatest city in the ancient world." Tristan Hughes, host of The Ancients

"Engrossing and informative, this is a literal "tour de force" of Babylon's history, and of Babylonian society and culture, from its earliest beginnings to its final end. Highly recommended.” Dr. Eric H. Cline, historian and bestselling author of 1177 B.C.