Not many people become professional artists, despite the fact that everyone draws in childhood. Just someone develops in himself Creative skills, and for some they remain in their infancy. But sometimes the desire to create wakes up sharply in a person, and he wants to immediately draw a masterpiece. Of course, it is difficult to realize such a dream, but you can try. Today we will talk about how to draw the coat of arms of Russia in stages with a pencil and get a little closer to your cherished desire - to master the art of drawing.
The history of the creation of the coat of arms of Russia
In this article, we will analyze in detail how to draw the coat of arms of Russia in stages with a pencil, but in order to draw something, you need to at least know the history. Firstly, it's interesting, and secondly, after you study all the details, it's much easier to draw them.
The first drawing of the flag and coat of arms of Russia in the form in which we know it was mentioned in the annals of the 15th century. Under Ivan III, the eagle acquired two heads turned in different directions. And what was the state symbol before? Russian princes borrowed the eagle from Roman culture as early as the 12th century. But at that time the bird had only one head and its color was black.
Under Ivan III, the eagle not only acquired a second head. The belly of the bird began to decorate the shield, in the middle of which Andrei the Victorious delivered a fatal blow to the snake. Why did this change happen? Moscow becomes the capital of the state, and the shield with Andrei the Victorious was the symbol of the Moscow principality. The merger of the two symbols gave rise to what we see today on the coat of arms. Gradual changes in state symbols took place under each king. First, each head of the eagle received a crown, and then the third crown began to decorate the coat of arms. In 1589, the eagle acquired an almost modern look; they gave him a scepter and an orb in his hands.
The meaning of the coat of arms of Russia
After reading about the history of the appearance of state symbols, you need to find out its meaning. How to draw the coat of arms of Russia in stages with a pencil, we will analyze in detail below, and now we will find out what hidden meaning lies in the eagle. Many are interested in why a two-headed bird holds an orb and a scepter. The state represents power. Moreover, complete and undivided power over the entire country. The scepter represents the power of the church. The two heads of the bird show the unity of the Christian faith and the power of the state ruler, now the president.
And what does George the Victorious mean? This legendary saint was known in Russia even before the adoption of Christianity. According to legend, he saved the city from a monster that devoured young maidens. The legend says that before the duel with the serpent, George offered up a prayer to God, and it was with his help that the knight managed to behead the monster. In 988, at baptism, Vladimir the Red Sun received the Christian name George. It is believed that this is why the symbolic hero appeared on the Russian coat of arms.
The correctness of the construction of the composition
How to draw the coat of arms of Russia in stages with a pencil? You need to start with building. In order for the drawing to subsequently look harmonious, it is necessary to compose the coat of arms immediately. We choose the A4 paper format - this is a landscape sheet. Do not draw a small eagle. In its center is George the Victorious, and this figure requires detailed study. Therefore, we leave 5 cm from the bottom, 3 cm from the top, and enter an oval into the rest of the space. Divide with a thin line geometric figure into two equal parts. Now you can draw the outline of the eagle. We immediately outline the upper, central crown. If this is not done, subsequently it may go beyond the contours of the oval, and the drawing may move up by itself. Visually, the coat of arms can be divided into three parts: the tail, the shield in the center and the bird's head.
At this stage, you do not need to do a detailed drawing. You just need to proportionally build the composition.
drawing rules
To answer the question "How to draw the coat of arms of Russia?", You need to know the elementary rules of drawing. You need to start working on your creation from the center. Otherwise, there is a high probability that in the future the drawing can be smeared by hand. To prevent this from happening, you need to put a clean sheet of paper under the brush. When working on the heads of the eagle, the sheet should be at the bottom, and when drawing the tail, the paper will cover everything drawn above. Hatching should be applied only after the entire drawing has been worked out in detail. Otherwise, the feathers on the wings will lose their presentable appearance, and dirt will turn out. Small details: eyes, mesh on crowns, etc. are drawn last.
Draw an eagle
The work must be carried out in stages. How to draw a coat of arms so that it looks like the original? You need to start by drawing an eagle. We draw the bird's head, to make it easier to do, we can divide the oval we have already drawn. It looks like a square.
In the upper left part, draw a semicircle from the center to the side. Here you need not get carried away and remember that at the top is the central crown. Now draw the left wing. This will be an arc that comes out of the middle of the first square and reaches almost to the middle of the bottom one. We mirror the workpiece to the other side. Now let's move on to the paws of the bird. We outline in circles the places where the scepter and orb will be located. Be sure to keep the proportions. The symbols of power are located exactly in the middle of the wings. Next, draw the tail. In the center of the eagle you need to draw a shield. As already mentioned above, in proportion it is equal to the height of the tail. We draw a clear outline of the bird and detail it. Crowns, scepter and orb should be drawn at this stage.
Detailing the drawing
We continue to reveal the secrets of how to draw a coat of arms. The description is step-by-step, so you need to follow the sequence of operations.
We have the outline of the eagle ready, now we need to detail our bird. Before you start drawing feathers, you should thoroughly approach the image of the paws. This is a difficult task, so first you need to depict the right paw, where there are only two "fingers". Then we move on to drawing the left limb. The main thing here is to convey the capture realistically. Having studied the original picture, you can trace the trend in the arrangement of feathers. Everywhere: on the neck, wings and paws, the plumage is located in three rows. This is what we transfer to our drawing. Feathers on the necks look like jackdaws. The feathers on the wings are oval, at the base they are small and gradually lengthen towards the end of the wing. Feathering on the paws is the most difficult to draw. Here you need to count the curls and copy them exactly. It is necessary not to miss the moment when the feathers smoothly pass from the neck to the wings, and from the wings to the paws.
We draw George the Victorious
The eagle is ready, now you need to depict the central shield. Answering the question "How to draw the coat of arms of Russia?", We have already said that George the Victorious is the center of the composition. You need to start drawing with a horse. The animal occupies 1/3 of the entire space of the shield. His figure does not need a clear drawing, you can draw a horse as a cartoon character. George himself is also miniature. His body is not quite proportional, the torso is large, and the legs are short. The raised hand is on the same level with the head. And of course, we must not forget about the raincoat. The final touch is a kite that sprawled at the feet of the winner. The head of the kite is under the front hoof of the horse, and the tail is under the back. The wings will be located exactly in the middle.
Hatching
You need to finish the work by applying chiaroscuro and working out small details that could be rubbed during work. To understand what needs to be done, you need to look at the various coats of arms Russian Federation. How to draw the final part of the work in stages?
We start with the drawing of St. George the Victorious. We put a shadow on the horse, rider, snake. We slightly shade the shield itself from the eagle. There should not be sharp borders, the shadow should be soft. To achieve this effect, you can rub the lead with a piece of cotton wool. Next, draw the heads of the eagles. Here you need to emphasize the eyes, tongues. Apply small details to the crowns. The final action is the drawing of feathers. Here you can experiment and separate all three rows of feathers with a shadow from each other. If you do not want to do this, then you just need to draw one or two small strokes on each of the wings.
Making a drawing in color
So we answered the question of how to draw a coat of arms in stages with a pencil. You can teach your family a lesson visual arts. After several trainings, even schoolchildren can get a completely similar image. To make the work look more vivid, it can be drawn with watercolor pencils.
Then, after the completion of the creative process, it will be possible to draw a wet brush over the entire drawing. Get an interesting effect of a watercolor sketch. True, in this case, small details will have to be drawn again. And this is already worth doing with a gel pen.
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Babylon - sinful and great city
"Babylon is sinful
and great city
90 kilometers south of Baghdad, the ruins of ancient Babylon, covered with the dust of centuries, are four huge hills of rubble. Here in Mesopotamia, several millennia ago, one of the first centers of human civilization with the famous "hanging gardens of Babylon" and paradise, where, according to legend, the ancestor Eve plucked the apple that seduced Adam.
During the entire time of its existence, Babylon changed hands more than once, and over time it became the capital of one of the most formidable and powerful states. ancient world. The powerful Babylonian kingdom lasted until its conquest by the Persian king Cyrus in 538 BC. Almost two centuries later, the city was captured by Alexander the Great, who at first even intended to make it the capital of his immense power. But then the great conqueror founded another city nearby, which he named after himself.
Babylon has long ceased to exist, but even today these majestic ruins testify to its former grandeur. In ancient times locals they called it "Babili", which means "Gate of God"; the Greeks transformed this name into Babylon, while the Iraqis themselves still write and pronounce this word as "Babylon".
The first mention of Babylon is found in the legend of King Sargon, who ruled Akkad around the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. It tells that Sargon of Akkad crushed a rebellion in Babylon subject to him. Many historians testify to the enormous size of this city, although so far they have not come to a consensus regarding its length. According to Herodotus, who visited Babylon around the middle of the 5th century BC, the city stretched along both banks of the Euphrates in the form of a huge quadrangle 22 kilometers wide and 22 kilometers long.
"Babylon is sinful
and great city
It had 25 copper gates on each side, from the gate there were streets that intersected at right angles. The houses in Babylon were not close to each other, and therefore there was free space between them for gardens and even for fields and vineyards.
About 100-150 years after Herodotus, the priest Beroz lived in Babylon, who wrote a long essay about the city. In his book, the priest told the story of Babylon and Assyria, outlined many legends about kings and the main myths about the gods. Unfortunately, the priceless work of Berosus was almost completely lost; only a few passages from it have come down to us, which are cited in his writings by the Christian writer Eusebius of Caesarea.
So sad was the situation, and it seemed that along with Babylon, destroyed during the decline of the Roman Empire, all written monuments that could tell us about the fate of the city perished. For 44 centuries, the city disappeared from the historical arena twice, but the ruins of the famous Babylon did not disappear without a trace.
The ruins of Babylon attracted the attention of archaeologists as early as 1850. They were examined by A.G. Layard, O. Russam, J. Smith and other scientists. Among the objects found in the ruins, several bricks were found with the names of the kings Neriglissar and Levinet, but most of the bricks found bear the name of Nebuchadnezzar II. It was during the reign of this king, in the VI century BC, that Babylon reached its peak. Then the lands of Akkad and Sumer were subject to him, and Babylon turned into a major trade and cultural center. Along the Euphrates, ships with copper, meat and building materials came to the city from the north, and caravans with wheat, barley and fruits followed to the north. During the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II, treasures flowing into Babylon from Asia Minor were used to rebuild the capital and build mighty fortifications around it.
Since 1899, the Berlin Museum has entrusted the start of excavations in ancient Babylon to Robert Koldewey.
First, the German expedition unearthed two rows of Babylonian walls that stretched around the city for almost 90 kilometers. Their length was twice the circumference of 19th-century London, and yet English capital At that time, there were more than 2,000,000 inhabitants.
At the beginning of 1900, a German expedition also discovered the third belt of the Babylonian walls. With their thickness, they were not inferior to the walls of the Assyrian Dur-Sharrukin, and therefore barracks were built on them for the soldiers of the garrison guarding the city. If all the bricks of these walls were stretched in one line, then it would encircle Earth along the equator 12-15 times.
Having turned the capital into an impregnable fortress, Nebuchadnezzar ordered the inscription carved in stone:
“I surrounded Babylon from the East with a powerful wall, I dug a ditch and strengthened its slopes with asphalt and baked bricks. At the base of the ditch I erected a high and strong wall. , plotting evil, could not penetrate the boundaries of Babylon from the flanks, I surrounded it with powerful, like sea waters, waters..."
But even more than the fortress walls, R. Koldevey (and with him the whole world) was struck by another discovery. Already during trial excavations on the Kasr hill, the German expedition found a street paved with large slabs, some of which were covered with inscriptions. This street turned out to be the "Road for the processions of the god Marduk", and it went from the Euphrates and the Great Gate to Esagile, the main temple of Babylon, dedicated to the god Marduk. On the underside of each slab was engraved in cuneiform:
"I, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, son of Nabopolassar, king of Babylon. I paved the Babylonian pilgrimage road for the procession of the great lord Marduk with stone slabs ... O Marduk! O Great lord! Grant eternal life!"
Robert Koldewey managed to unearth in Babylon the famous "Hanging Gardens of Babylon", which, however, were not built by this legendary queen and not even during her reign.
"Babylon is sinful
and great city
They were built by order of Nebuchadnezzar II for his beloved wife Amitis, an Indian princess who, in dusty Babylon, yearned for the green hills of her homeland. Magnificent gardens with rare trees, fragrant flowers and coolness in sultry Babylon were truly a wonder of the world.
That Babylon, which the German expedition of R. Koldewey excavated for several years, was built on the ruins and remains of many other cities, traces of which were found in several places of the excavated area. These were the remnants of that Babylon, which during its long history was desecrated more than once, but did not submit to either the Assyrians or any other enemies. These were the ruins of that Babylon, which 1000 years before Nebuchadnezzar II was the residence of the famous Babylonian king Hammurabi.
Ancient Babylon occupies a significant place in Old Testament in connection with his relations with Israel: he is mentioned in almost every chapter of the Book of Jeremiah. In addition, it is also notable for being the first of the four great empires, the destruction of which was prophesied by the prophet Daniel. The kingdom of the Lord, established in the house of David and supported in Judea, ceased to exist for a while because of iniquity, the "times of the Gentiles" have come. In the "Apocalypse" Babylon is called "secret", "mother of harlots and abominations of the earth", where they indulged in drunkenness and violent fun.
But Babylon was not only a city of sin: as E. Tseren writes in his book "Bible Hills", Babylon was a religious "storehouse of the deepest piety." One of the excavated inscriptions mentions that there were 53 temples of great gods, 300 earthly and 600 celestial deities in the city, 55 sanctuaries were dedicated to the god Marduk alone.
"Babylon is sinful
and great city
Near the temple of Esagile lies the district of Etemenanki, in the courtyard of which stood the famous tower of babel. Similar towers were erected not only in Babylon: any Sumerian-Akkadian or Assyrian-Babylonian city had its own ziggurat - a large stepped or tower temple with a sanctuary at the top, into which "god from heaven entered."
The tower mentioned in the Bible was destroyed, probably before the era of King Hammurabi. Another was built to replace it, in memory of the first. The following words of King Nabopolassar have been preserved:
"By this time, Marduk commanded me to erect the Tower of Babel, which had been weakened before me and brought to a fall, to erect, setting its foundation on the chest of the underworld, and its top to go into the skies."
"I had a hand in building the top of the Etemenanki so that it could compete with the sky."
According to Herodotus, the Tower of Babel was the structure where the towers rose "one above the other."1 A large temple was erected on the last tower. In this temple there is a large, luxuriously furnished bed and next to it is a golden table. However, there is no image of the deity there. Yes, and not a single person spends the night here, with the exception of one woman, whom, according to the Chaldeans ... God chooses for himself from all the local women.
The Bible says that God, angry with the people, confused their languages, so that they no longer understood each other, and scattered the Babylonians around the world. But the Bible says nothing about the destruction of the tower itself. However, what appeared before the eyes of R. Koldevey's expedition was just a pile of bricks broken into thousands of pieces. Persian king Xerxes left only the ruins of the Tower of Babel, which Alexander the Great saw on his way to India in 324 BC.
The gigantic ruins amazed him so much that he tried to rebuild this structure, using 10,000 people for this. However, the great commander soon fell ill and died - before the ruins were dismantled.
Babylon itself was captured by Gobryas, the commander of the Persian king Cyrus. Ancient city fell, although the walls of Nebuchadnezzar II continued to stand and no one captured them. Some ancient monuments testify that the betrayal of some part of its inhabitants contributed to the capture of Babylon. Holy Scripture speaks quite definitely of the complete destruction of the city.
"And Babylon, the beauty of the kingdoms, the pride of the Chaldeans, will be overthrown by God, like Sodom and Gomorrah, will never be inhabited, and in generations of generations there will be no inhabitants in it; the Arabian will not pitch his tent, and the shepherds with their flocks will not rest there. But they will the beasts of the desert will dwell in it, and the houses will be filled with owls, and the ostriches will dwell, and the shaggy ones will gallop there.
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Surely we all heard the biblical story about the famous and unfinished Tower of Babel, as a result of which there was a mixture of human languages, the so-called "Babylonian pandemonium". Of course, all this looks like a beautiful legend, but, nevertheless, the Tower of Babel mentioned in the Bible was really built under King Nebuchadnezzar II, and the city of Babylon itself was truly a pearl of the ancient world. The “father of history” Herodotus, who visited Babylon, was delighted with its grandeur and size, his descriptions of this great city, which can be called the metropolis of the ancient world, have come down to us.
Where is Babylon
But before sending back to the past, let's define the geography of our virtual journey and answer the question: "where was Babylon on the map." So, Babylon is located, or rather was, on the territory of modern Iraq, a little north of the Iraqi city of Al-Hilla, but now only ruins remain in its place, well, tourist stalls with souvenirs.
Here in this place once was the largest city of antiquity - Babylon.
But in the era of its heyday, Babylon was not only a city, but also a state, owning vast territories.
Map of the Babylonian kingdom.
History of Babylon
The history of the Babylonian kingdom is a whole series of dramatic ups and downs, uprisings and conquests, the ancient Babylonians themselves were more than once both in the role of conquerors and conquered.
It all started around the twentieth century BC, according to legend, the founder of the legendary city was the no less legendary king Nimrod, the great-grandson of Noah himself. He also began the construction of the very Tower of Babel, the completion of which was carried out much later by another great Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar II.
Very soon, Babylon rose above the other cities of Mesopotamia and became the capital of a powerful kingdom that united all of Lower and a significant part of upper Mesopotamia. This period is characterized by the flourishing of urban culture, literature, art, jurisprudence (for example, at that time the famous code of laws of the Babylonian king Hammurabi, the greatest legal monument of the laws of antiquity, was created).
In 1595 B.C. e. Mesopotamia is invaded by the warlike nomads of the Hittites, who seize power over Babylon. And instead of destroying the Babylonian civilization already developed by that time, the nomads assimilate in it, gradually adopting the cultural traditions of the Babylonians. Their reign in the relative world lasted more than 400 years, until a new powerful, and, moreover, a very warlike power of the ancient world, entered the arena of history.
The Assyrians became famous for their incredible cruelty towards the conquered peoples and the bad habit of wiping entire cities off the face of the earth, but when they conquered the Babylonian kingdom, its capital, beautiful Babylon, they did not touch, but, on the contrary, appropriated the city special status, many Assyrian kings even engaged in the restoration of its ancient temples and the construction of new ones.
But then came the turn of the fall of the Assyrian kingdom, which rested solely on the strength and fear of the conquered peoples. But nothing can last forever, and at one fine moment a general uprising against Assyrian domination began, led by the future Babylonian king Nabopolassar. The uprising was crowned with success, the once formidable Assyria fell, and with its fall a new period of prosperity for Babylonia began. Babylon reached its peak of power during the reign of Nabopolassar's son, the very active and energetic King Nebuchadnezzar II.
Nebuchadnezzar pursued an active foreign policy of conquest, in particular, during his reign, Judea was conquered, and the Jews themselves were forcibly resettled in Babylonia. This period of their history, known as the "Babylonian captivity" is vividly described in the Bible.
In addition to Judea, Syria and Palestine were finally conquered. The city of Babylon itself was significantly rebuilt, it increased even more in size, becoming the largest cultural, commercial, and economic center in the then world. Contemporaries wrote about him with admiration.
Fall of Babylon
But as usual, flourishing often leads to pride, and as the biblical story tells, the proud Babylonian king decided that he could build a tower to heaven and thus become equal to God (By the way, Nebuchadnezzar really tried to build such a tallest tower), but was angry God punished this arrogance by confusing the builders' tongues, as a result of which all building work had to be stopped. In reality, the fall of Babylon and its famous tower, which was a pagan temple dedicated to the Babylonian god Marduk, followed gradually over the centuries.
A new threat to Babylon came from the east, where an uprising against Media began, but it turned out that the Persians got a taste, and in addition to Media, they successfully conquered the Babylonian kingdom. Babylon itself was now the crown jewel of the Persian empire.
Alexander of Macedon, who had already successfully attacked the Persians, was seriously planning to make Babylon the capital of his vast empire, but he died suddenly, his heirs quarreled among themselves, and Babylon itself gradually found itself on the sidelines of history.
Architecture of Babylon
Perhaps most of all, the majestic architecture of the Babylonian kingdom struck contemporaries. In particular, one of the seven wonders of the world of the ancient world, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, was located here.
Palms, figs, and many other trees, luxurious gardens were planted on artificial terraces. In fact, Queen Semiramis has nothing to do with these gardens, human rumor called this miracle so already in later times, originally the hanging gardens were built by the same king Nebuchadnezzar for his wife Nitocris, who suffered from the stuffy climate of Mesopotamia, since she was born from the wooded area.
Another amazing architectural monument of ancient Babylon is the front gate of Ishtar, decorated with mosaics. of blue color and bas-reliefs depicting sirrus and bulls.
Built in 575 BC. e. By order of King Nebuchadnezzar, these gates, which protect the northern entrance to the city, have been perfectly preserved to our time, were reconstructed by German archaeologists and can now be seen with your own eyes in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.
The streets of ancient Babylon were not arranged randomly, but were built in accordance with a clear plan, one part of the streets ran parallel to the river, and the other part crossed them at a right perpendicular angle. The houses were usually three or four storey, the central streets were lined with stone.
In the northern part of the city there was a majestic royal palace, built, yes, again by Nebuchadnezzar, and on the other side the main temple of the city, a huge zikurat dedicated to the supreme Babylonian god Marduk, the same Tower of Babel from the Bible. According to the story of Herodotus, a special priestess lived on top of this temple-zikurat - “the bride of the god Marduk” and according to legend (at least, as the Babylonians told Herodotus, and he told us), the god Marduk himself from time to time rests on the top of the tower.
Religion of Babylon
Well, now is the time to touch on the ancient religion of Babylon. As we already know, the supreme god in the pagan pantheon of the Babylonians was Marduk, who, according to the Babylonian legend of the creation of the world, defeated the monster of chaos Tiamat, thereby bringing order to the eternal chaos and laying the foundation for our world. It was to this god that numerous temples and zikurats were dedicated, but besides him, ordinary Babylonians often worshiped a number of other smaller gods (some of which are incarnations of the same Marduk). For example, the Babylonian women prayed to the female goddess of love, Ishtar, who was the divine embodiment of the feminine. The goddess Ishtar was also dedicated to the famous front gate named after her, which we wrote about a little higher.
The gods of the Sun and Moon were also revered: Shamash and Sin, the god of wisdom and accounts of Nabu, and many other lesser known gods.
The Babylonian priests, servants of the gods, were also excellent scientists of the ancient world, and especially very good astronomers, for example, they were the first to see and fix the planet Venus in the starry sky, poetically called "morning dawn" by the time of its appearance in the sky.
Culture of Babylon
The culture of ancient Babylon, in terms of its degree of advancement, could only be compared with a no less developed culture. ancient egypt. So writing was well developed in Babylon, they wrote on clay tablets, and the young Babylonians learned this art from early years in special schools.
The Babylonian priests advanced the science of that time, mastered the art of healing, were well versed in mathematics and especially geometry. The author of the famous theorem of his name, the Greek Pythagoras in his youth studied among the Babylonian priests.
The Babylonians were first-class builders, excellent artisans, whose products went throughout the ancient east.
The Babylonian jurisprudence was dominated by the famous code of laws written by King Hammurabi, which had a great influence on the legal culture of the ancient East. The laws there, by the way, were quite harsh. How about, for example, such a law from this code: If a brewer brewed bad beer (and beer was already brewed in ancient Babylon), then he should have been drowned in this very bad beer of his own production.
Some of the laws of Hammurabi from the so-called “family code” are very curious, for example, one such law says that in the event of a wife’s infertility, the husband has the legal right to conceive a child from a “harlot”, but in this case he is obliged to fully support her, but not bring to the wife's house during her lifetime.
Art of Babylon
The art of ancient Babylon is actively represented by its wonderful architecture, bas-reliefs, and sculpture, which we have already mentioned.
For example, this is a sculptural image of a high-ranking official Ibi-Ila from the temple of Ishtar.
But such bas-reliefs depicting warriors and lions adorn the famous Babylonian gates of Ishtar.
And this is the same bas-relief with the code of laws of King Hammurabi, where the stern Babylonian king himself proudly sits on the throne.
Babylon video
And in conclusion, your attention is interesting documentary"The Mystery of Ancient Babylon".
A few days ago, I remembered that there was a city of Babylon, which was considered the largest and most beautiful city in the world, and I became interested in what was left of it today. And there is a lot left. (By the way, let me remind you, I did a similar one almost two months ago).
Briefly about Babylon - a city that was located (from my memory) 70 km south of today's Baghdad, on the eternal river Euphrates. It has been known since about 2000 BC. e., but by the beginning of the new era, due to various circumstances, ceased to exist. The most famous king of Babylon (a country centered in the city of Babylon) was Hamurappi, who ruled in the 18th century BC. and gave the country (and the world) a lot of innovations and an impetus to development, including the most famous - the Code of Laws. Later, Babylon was conquered by Assyria, who established dominance in Mesopotamia for many centuries, but by the 7th century BC. e. Assyria fell with the direct participation of Babylon itself. This was followed by the second "golden age" of Babylon under King Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon subjugated all of Mesopotamia and the Middle East. However, later the country was conquered by Achaemenid Persia (which, however, did not interfere with the development of the city), but by the 4th century it was conquered by Macedonian and subsequently gradually ceased to exist.
The word Babylon to some extent has become a household word, a designation of greatness. It should also be noted the important role brought by Babylon to science. 3,000 years ago, the first abacus, the abacus, was invented in Babylon. Initially, the counting system in Babylon was 60, if memory serves. In Babylon they invented moon calendar and 7 day week. Also invented in Babylon, a solar, water clock. The usual names of the stars are Sirius, Orion, also Babylonian. The first world geographical map, also Babylonian, although called geographic Maps I would not become a Babylonian invention. By the way, Armenia is also on this map. - This is the same card, in the shape of a star.
Sunset in Babylon (painting by Raphael Lacoste). The painting shows the construction of the Tower of Babel, with the Hanging Gardens in the background. 
I think everyone knows about the Hanging Gardens. Briefly about the Tower of Babel, which formed the basis of the biblical myth. Many similar towers were built in Babylon, but the tallest of them reached, as it is now believed, 91 m in height, and possibly more. Jews resettled by the Assyrians in Mesopotamia in the 7th century BC. e. they saw the tower and saw in it a rebellion against God, a desire to reach heaven, because for those times it was a colossal structure. Most likely destroyed by an earthquake. As I recently found out, the building of the European Parliament was built on the model of the Tower of Babel, which is quite remarkable :)
Now briefly about the population of Babylon.
As a city on the world stage, it advanced in the 18th century BC. Already by 1600, it became the second in the then world after the Egyptian Avaris. The population of Babylon was 60 thousand people (Avaris - 100 thousand). Then followed the decline of Babylon. The city revived relatively by the 11th century BC and again became one of the largest cities, its population amounted to 45 thousand people. By 800 B.C. e., after two centuries, the population of Babylon increased by only 2 thousand, amounting to 47 thousand people, and by 650 BC. - already 60 thousand people. Interestingly, Babylon reached its peak already during the period of Achaemenid Persia (my article on Achaemenid Persia and its relationship with Armenia, with historical maps, can be viewed). According to Chandler, from "Tables of World" s Largest Cities 2250 B.C. - 1975", the population of Babylon by 430 BC amounted to 200 thousand people. At that moment, Babylon was largest city in the world, overtaking such cities as Athens (155 thousand), Sicilian Syracuse and many others. etc. The greatness of Babylon was put to an end at the end of the 4th century. BC e., in 312 its population was resettled by one of the generals of Alexander. By 200 B.C. Babylon has significantly lost its position. Only 60 thousand people remained, and after another three hundred years - even fewer. Subsequently, he finally ceased to exist. It should be noted that Babylon was a very large city in terms of area, hardly inferior in this to today's New York. The population of Babylonia itself (Babylonians) is referred to in the Bible as the Chaldeans. The Chaldeans were among the first to adopt Christianity. After the invasion of the Arabs in the 7th century, the Christian interfluve fell and the Arabs made up the majority there, at the same time Muslimizing the population and forcing out those who did not want to convert to Islam. To this day, the Chaldeans are usually united in one ethno-religious group with the Assyrians (Assyro-Chaldeans). They live mainly in Iraq and in diasporas in the USA, Scandinavian countries, etc.
Babylonian lion
Ishtar Gate, reconstructed today
Gatekeeper statue from Nemrut Palace, 9th century BC
Illustration of the royal procession in front of the entrance to Babylon, Ishtar Gate
Reconstruction of the Tower of Babel and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Painting by Pieter Brueghel the Elder "Tower of Babel"
European Parliament building
Law Code of Hammurabi
This is what the Hanging Gardens probably looked like.
General view of Babylon. The Tower of Babel is on the left, then the Ishtar Gate, on the right is the palace of Nebuchadnezzar.
Walls of Babylon. We walk along the ancient road.
Walls of Babylon, Pergamon Museum, Berlin ()
Alexander enters Babylon(reconstruction, of course)
This is what ancient Babylon looks like today from above, view by Google Earth
Panoramic view of Babylon, photo - 2005(most buildings restored)
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, I mean, what's left of them
Walls of Nebuchadnezzar's palace
And finally, I will post a photo of the great Euphrates River, in the area between modern Baghdad and ancient Babylon
To a traveler in ancient times, on foot or on a camel, the massive wall, with its network of canals and rich land, looked like a mirage under the scorching sun of the Middle East.
At a height of about 300 meters, the central tower of the temple towered over the ancient city, surrounded on all sides by lush green gardens and date trees swaying on the terraces of luxurious estates.
The ancient settlement was located about 50 km south of modern city Baghdad in Iraq. From the magnificent capital of the East, only a desert hill covered with sand and a few trees remained. The ruins of a powerful civilization remained under this mound - a reminder of the great glory and former greatness.
Gardens of Babylon
In 6000-3000 BC, between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, there was the greatest in the history of mankind ancient civilization. The peoples of Assyria left here the remains of the Sumerian and Babylonian culture. They invented a writing system, became the founders of literature, compiled a code of laws, a calendar and a time system. The Babylonians used chariots for the first time in military operations. Their main achievement is the management water resources– creation of a dam, a drainage system, pools. The bathrooms of Babylon were the most popular and perfect for that era.
From 605 to 562 BC city of Babylon, which arose in 2900 BC, was under the rule of King Nebuchadnezzar, who extended power on both banks of the Euphrates River. Its area occupied about 500 hectares. The development was distinguished by the construction of three-storey houses with flat roofs made of wood mud. The lower strata of society could not afford such a luxury as a wooden house, and lived in adobe huts whose walls were filled with reeds and mud.
An important element of construction in Babylon was bitumen, which is the basis for combining materials in Mesopotamia. It was produced in liquid or solid form, i.e. tar or resin, used to design irrigation systems. Copper was encountered, but in small quantities due to the difficulty of shipping through trade routes prior to 2500 BC. It was replaced with tin or antimony. Workers did annealing, soldering or riveting, using a hammer.
Water was stored in large ceramic vessels and brought from the river by domestic servants - slaves. The containers were closed with glass lids, which was typical for a hot climate: due to evaporation, the water kept the temperature and remained cool. To store barley, wheat and oil, jars lined with bitumen were used.
Since 539, power in Mesopotamia has weakened, Cyrus the Great, the founder, captured Babylon. The influence of a powerful ruler was overcome only after the invasion of Alexander the Great in the 4th century. BC. The population of the lands began to decrease sharply, and interest in the canals weakened. The city was equal to the desert, only legends remained about the gardens of Babylon.
