Babylon

“Babylon An ancient city in Mesopotamia, first prominent under Hammurabi who made it capital of the kingdom of Babylonia. The city (now in ruins) lay on the Euphrates 55 miles south of present-day Baghdad and was noted for its luxury, its fortifications, and particularly for the ‘Hanging Gardens,’ which were one the Seven Wonders of the World.”

Excerpted from: Wright, Edmund, Ed. The Oxford Desk Encyclopedia of World History. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.