Mesopotamia: Sumer, Akkad and Babylon

Babylon lay where the Euphrates and Tigris come close to each other; its name means “gate of the gods”. In the 18th century BCE King Hammurabi (about 1792–1750 BCE) united all of Mesopotamia. He issued a famous law code: the laws were written on a stone pillar and set up in cities, and were to apply to everyone. Punishments were harsh; for example, a builder was punished if a house he built collapsed and killed someone. After Hammurabi the Kassites conquered Babylon. The New Babylonian Kingdom (7th–6th centuries BCE) reached its peak under Nebuchadnezzar II (about 605–562 BCE): he destroyed Jerusalem (587/586 BCE) and turned Babylon into a strong fortress; the city had eight gates, the most beautiful being the Ishtar Gate, decorated with glazed bricks. In 539 BCE the Persian king Cyrus II took Babylon and the New Babylonian Kingdom became part of the Persian state. Babylonian and Sumerian priests studied astronomy, made a lunar calendar (a lunar year of 354 days) and used a base-60 number system; ziggurats also served as observatories. There were also written recipes for medicines.