Architecture in the Miraculous City of Babylon During the Reign of the Great Nebuchadnezzar II.

King Nebuchadnezzar II is one of the great men in the history of kings. The unique figure who had power and command was the oldest of the two sons of Nabopolasar. He ruled from 605 to 562 B.C., and in addition to being a warrior, Nebuchadnezzar sought to restore Babylon and establish religious service. During his reign, he strengthened his kingship and strengthened himself. Although Nebuchadnezzar was a strong soldier, he also focused on initiatives to build a nation. Brutality existed outside the walls of Babylon, but Babylon experienced peace and development under the direction of King Nebuchadnezzar.

Nebuchadnezzar promoted art and architecture. The famous forty-foot impenetrable walls of Babylon indicate brilliant architectural minds under its great leadership in this period. Under his skillful reign, Babylon was transformed into one of the brightest cities in the ancient world when the king embarked on the construction of some of the world’s most magnificent buildings and gardens.

URBAN PLANNING IN BABYLON

By comparatively studying archaeological fallout and document records, it is possible to reconstruct the city as it looked. As Babylon relates religiously to the origins of the world, it is no wonder that, despite later expansions and embellishments, its architectural form has remained unchanged. When the great empire was restored, the kings planned to rebuild all public and religious buildings to give the city a prospect worthy of its power. Babylon was transformed into a glorious capital, its reputation immeasurable, and its ruler the true master of the world. The total area of the city world, together with the suburbs at the time of Nebuchadnezzar II, was a thousand hectares. The inner city spanned five hundred hectares and had about a hundred thousand inhabitants. Neo — Babylonian rulers associated their ancient ancestors with former kings, so they dug up the ruins of buried temples and adhered to the original plan by burying back the layers of foundation left behind by their predecessors and faithfully reconstructed them. Babylon was divided into ten districts. All neighborhoods were listed by name and had a specific border to which a neighborhoods stretched, doors, temples, or rivers.

The fourth were distributed on both sides of the Euphrates River. In the eastern area there were six neighborhoods, that part of the city was most densely populated, and large public buildings and temples were located there. There were four quarters in the western part. The neighborhoods in the eastern part bear the name of the city itself: Erida, Shuanna and Ka-dingirra. Erid was just the heart of the city. It stretched from “the gates of the marketplace “to “the great gates” in the walls of the walls. During the period of Hammurabi’s reign, Ka-dingirra, partly Shuanna and other parts of the city, were inhabited. The first eastern quarter of Erid was called the holy quarter. During the New Babylonian period, the main quarters were Erida, Ka-dingirra, and Shuanna. There was a royal palace in the Ka-dingira. The area outside the inner walls was probably poorly populated. Babylon had a very clear urban plan. Wide streets led to eight doors, most important of which were Mardukova and Nabuova streets, which crossed the city north-south, and the entire city was probably a quadrilateral.

DWELLINGS AND INTERIOR FURNISHINGS

In Merkesh, east of Marduk Street, German archaeologists unearthed parts of Stari-Babylonian dwellings, but they mostly found the remains of private homes. Mostly the southeastern part of Ka-dingirra, the eastern part of Eridu and the northern edge of Shuanne were investigated. The houses were made of unburned bricks that were sun — dried and clay — bound. In richer dwellings, the rooms were strung around the main central area, most often the courtyard. The opening system at the top of the walls provided light and radiation through which the air flowed. The main large room was always rectangular, and the “living room” in large houses went out to the courtyard. Behind the room were private rooms, toilets, and auxiliary rooms. On the other side, the entrance to the house was looking at a quiet street. The courtyard was reached through other straight rooms. The roofs were flat from the charged ground. Palaces and temples were built according to the same plan as private houses. The facades were irregular, serrated with prominent elements. The dead were laid in roasted — earth sarcophagus and buried in family dwellings. The children were buried in embers, in a coffin of sorts consisting of two vessels.

Most of the dishes were found in the houses. The home Inventor included stone vessels, clay vessels, and glass containers that kept the fragrances. Cylindrical and natural jewel seals were printed into clay tiles instead of signatures. The seal mainly depicts the king, recognizable by the cap worn by the rulers after the Sumerian period, it was a bonnet with a periphery, as the ruler armed stands before the deity. The seals of New Babylon depict the figure of a king or priest at the time of the cult rite of worship depicted on the altar. Marduka is very easy to recognize by its sign triangular motici, which is related to the God of farming. Many jewels and pearls and silver necklaces and precious stones from Mesopotamia were found in the tombs. The temple of Marduk found jewelry of kings and princes made of semi — precious stones. The stones were stored in temples and warehouses in the palace or stored elsewhere. Ceramic statues depicted family scenes, the most common theme was the intimate sight of a woman with a child, such statues were credited with magic and served as vows or charms.

FORTIFICATIONS AND DEFENCE SYSTEM

During the period of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Babylon was protected by the magnificent wall complex and the outer walls that stretched a few miles north of the city, the double wall connected the two ports of Euphrates and sixty kilometers away by the second wall and the inner wall. The first defensive structure connected the capital of Kish and another so far unknown city, Kar Nergal. This fortress protected the northern walls of Babylon. Then the wall against the vapour that was erected to defend all Babylon that strengthened the protection of Esagila and Babylon. During every flood of plains between the anchor and Babylon, it turned into a swamp. Wall builders used this natural phenomenon and incorporated the flooded area into the defence system. This wall was known as the “Median Wall” the surface of the outer wall enclosed by a triple brick wall with numerous towers stretched five kilometres from north to south and almost as much from west to east to the coast of Euphrates. The city districts west of Euphrates are not walled because the enemy could only attack from the north or east.The rampart was likely erected when Nebuchadnezzar decided to build a residence for himself in the north section. His palace was called the “summer palace” and leaned against a fortified wall that protected it. The rampart consisted of three separate walls and canals. The first interior wall 7.12 meters thick is made of sun-dried brick, on the other side a middle slightly thicker wall than a fortified baked brick was erected and at the end of the second wall a third wall slanted, more than fifty meters wide canal filled with water was erected. The entire complex without a canal was thirty metres wide. At fifty — two — meter intervals, square towers were built. The wall begins at Euphrates and ends at the coastal sea gate, which probably went out on the road to the south. The door to the Suhi Canal was probably open on the opposite, north side. One rampart is mentioned in the name of the first year of Sumuabum, the founder of the first Babylonian dynasty in the early 19th century B.C. This rampart was round, likely repeatedly torn down and renewed.

The city was surrounded by a double wall, and its rectangular shape dates back to the olden days. The wall was encircling the part that marked the inner city during the New Babylonian period. The city stretched two kilometers from north to south and three kilometers from east to west. The fort consisted of two main brick walls, fortified by towers and support columns, each wall had its own name: the city wall was called “Imgur Enlil, “meaning “God Enlil is merciful,” and the outer wall was called “Nimit Enlil,” meaning “Enlil’s rampart.” The restoration of Imgur Enlil was initiated by Nabopolasar, who firmly strengthened it. In front of the walls, he dug a large channel filled with water. It was completed by his son, who increased the defensive complex, expanded and beautified the door. The inner city wall of Imgur Enlil, six and a half metres thick, was fortified by towers and support columns. A road was built in an empty space between the walls. Three rows of brick walls separated the canals and endangered the city on both sides of Euphrates. Nebuchadnezzar added two towers to these mighty walls on the northern side of Babylon, one in Euphrates in the west and one in the north between Ishtar’s gates and the river. He also built forts north of Ishtar’s gate.

ROYAL PALACES

Nebuchadnezzar had three palaces in Babylon, all three east of Euphrates and in the northern part of the city. “South Palace” within the city wall Imgur-Enlil zazim “North Palace” the largest main palace built later on both sides of the walls and “Summer Palace”. The southern palace, the so — called “palace of admiration to the people,” was located inside the fortifications. Its foundations date back to the Assyrian Reign, and it was restored by Nabopolasar. Nebuchadnezzar grew up in his father’s residence near the river and extended it eastward. It is located in the Ka-dingirra district of Babylon. It had a form of trapeze, this irregular shape was formed because it was built in multiple stages. Its facade was parallel to the street of procession, which existed earlier, but its position had to be aligned with the old palace. The wall around the palace was made of baked brick bound with bitumen, the inner wall was fixed by transverse and longitudinal beams placed at regular intervals.

It entered from the east, through a monumental door curved by a tower on either side. Life in the palace was organized around five main courtyards, with official offices on the south side. There was an upstairs. Kat was reserved for the king and court, but also for the headquarters of the government and the ministry. The first two yards served economic and administrative purposes. The third was government. In the fourth courtyard that existed in the days of Nebuchadnezzar, the royal chambers of Nebuchadnezzar’s family were likely located. The Kingdom Hall was located in the center of the palace. The third courtyard that archaeologists called “the main courtyard” was the largest. It was approached through an arch, on whose north wall there were stairs. On the south side of the arch, a throne hall was set up in width. It was entered from the courtyard, through three doors, at the bottom of the room was a royal stand. The facade was lined with glazed colored bricks similar to Ishtar’s gates. It was decorated with the frieze of a geometrically stylised tree of life, the hair of a rosette, the hair of a lion on the move. The ornaments were ornamental and symbolic, for example. Wood, palm symbol of fertility, lion king of animals … the main northern palace or “big house” on the fifteen-meter-tall platform Nebuchadnezzar II had a new royal palace built.

The main palace hasn’t been fully explored yet. This palace with a large tower in the north is built in several stages inside and outside the city walls. In front of an old buried canal, the king had a large wall erected that served as a base for the construction of dwellings. Nebuchadnezzar had the northern fort built. This strong fortress, which rounded up Babylon’s defenses with a large wall, was further strengthened by large blocks of stone. During works outside the northern walls of Nebuchadnezzar II, he also protected the western side of the old royal palace by building a massive western fortress connected to the southern palace in the riverbed. The gardens of the royal palace in Babylon are arranged primarily for comfort, for the rest of the royal family in the shade and freshness of lush flowers, fruit trees, ornamental trees, and bushes. Toward the end of Nebuchadnezzar II’s reign, he built another palace outside the fortifications, about two kilometers north. It rose above the fortified wall, giving the king a view of the city’s panorama and the fields outside the walls, which is probably why he chose this position. From this palace are only parts underground, erected on a mound, rectangular in shape. The chambers were arranged around two main courtyards, and to the south of them, official offices were opened in width. This last royal palace was an official government building within a vast complex of Babylonian palaces.

Nebuchadnezzar II completely rebuilt the city because it was destroyed in the days of the rulers of Sennacherib. The characteristics of construction were arches, vaults, and a designed defense system consisting of fortresses, towers, and walls. For protection, cities were erected on terraces. Babylon is today a pile of rubble, uninhabited and empty. All that’s left of him is the remains. He lies in the heart of Mesopotamia. Once it was a cultural and religious center, a world — controlled city, streets full of thousands of people, merchants, and craftsmen who built cities with their own hands. Along with their gods, the citizens of Babylon shaped today’s consciousness.

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