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Babylon

The Mother of All Cities

Professor Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones

$34.99

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English
WILDFIRE
19 May 2026
Babylon often appears more myth than history. Purportedly the site of the Hanging Gardens and the Tower of Babel, its infamous presence in the Bible has made it a byword for sinful decadence. But Babylon was a real place teeming with life, a bustling mega-city on the Euphrates where schoolteachers, artisans, priests, slaves, prostitutes and soldiers rubbed shoulders in maze-like streets and busy marketplaces.

The city was home to some extraordinary rulers, from Hammurabi the great lawgiver to Nebuchadnezzar II, the conqueror-king, under whose reign the city glistened in gold and lapis lazuli.

In Babylon, Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones brings the city vividly to life, tracing its foundation through to its world domination, and subsequent decline, fall and ruin into dust. From ribald drinking songs to acerbic letters between rival kings, the extraordinary ancient sources help inform what is both a stunning work of scholarship and a fascinating evocation of a long-lost world.
By:  
Imprint:   WILDFIRE
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Dimensions:   Height: 232mm,  Width: 152mm,  Spine: 40mm
Weight:   657g
ISBN:   9781035416714
ISBN 10:   1035416719
Pages:   528
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active

Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones is Professor of Ancient History at Cardiff University. He has spent extensive time in Egypt, the Middle East and Iran and is a specialist in the histories and cultures of Near Eastern, Greek and Hellenistic antiquity and champions a global approach to the study of the ancient world and its reception. Lloyd has appeared on the BBC, Channel 4, Netflix, in The Times and other media outlets and in many popular podcasts. He is co-host of the Biblical Time Machine podcast and has worked closely with the British Museum on major exhibitions. His previous books include The Cleopatras: The Forgotten Queens of Egypt, Persians: The Age of the Great Kings, Ancient Persia and the Book of Esther, The Hellenistic Court, Sister-Queens in the High Hellenistic Period, Aphrodite's Tortoise: The Veiled Women of Ancient Greece, and Designs on the Past: How Hollywood Created the Ancient World. He is currently writing a book on the Hittites of ancient Anatolia. Born in Cefn Cribwr, Lloyd lives in Taffs Well, Wales.

Reviews for Babylon: The Mother of All Cities

Intimate and immensely detailed. I've never encountered a work of ancient history so finely drawn. * THE TIMES * A book that's rich with meticulous scholarship, illuminated by sharp wit, and full of subtle judgment. Babylon is quite simply enthralling. * TELEGRAPH * 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, author of JERUSALEM * 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, 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. * This book sweeps you up and carries you off like the River Tigris itself! * Irving Finkel, British Museum * Rollicking story of a city with a biblically bad reputation . . . Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones, professor of Ancient History at Cardiff University, cuts through the pop culture nonsense to uncover a vastly more interesting and many-layered city . . . his book is a loving, highly readable act of restorative justice. * LONDON STANDARD * Babylon is brought brilliantly to life here . . . there are nuggets of fascinating detail dispersed through every chapter . . . A highly engaging life story of a city of astonishing importance to the development of civilization. * BUZZ MAGAZINE *


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