Babylon: Metropolis and Myth

The word Babylon carries a dual legacy: the powerful ancient Mesopotamian city and the symbolic Babylon that echoes through global culture—from the Tower of Babel to the Whore of Babylon and even the reggae classic “Rivers of Babylon.”

Founded by the Amorite ruler Sumu-la-El long after Sumer’s fall, Babylon rose along the Euphrates, expanding south to the Persian Gulf and north into Syria. Under its growing might, Babylonia emerged as a defining force in Near Eastern civilization, a legacy explored by historian Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones of Cardiff University.