But it's never been listed as a modern World Heritage Site by the United Nations. It was located near the Euphrates River . Yes, it does, although the city is now in ruins. As a result of WMF and SBAHs partnership, Babylon was officially inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List on July 5, 2019. FACT #5-- After the FINAL FALL of Babylon there will never again be any "SHEPHERDS", Nor will shepherds make their flocks lie down there. Its hanging gardens were said to be one of the seven wonders of the world. The story of Babylon is the ebb and flow of slaughter and mercy, war and peace, a microcosm of human history. Projects at Ishtar Gate and Ninmakh Temple, launched in 2016 and 2019 respectively, are still ongoing. 25th Floor Unfortunately it has no Scriptural validity and contradicts the plain statements of God's Word. Indeed, as I was doing research for Epicenter, I interviewed then-Iraqi Finance Minister Ali Abdul-Amir Allawi. No-- the complete absence of Inhabitants at Babylon has never occurred. Babylon's ruins, reconstructed in part by Saddam Hussein, lie about an hour and a half's drive south of today's Baghdad. EDITORS NOTE: These early-stage photographs were not taken in pursuit of a Biblical agenda, but by secular sources-- explorers, archaeologists, and travelers-- with a focus on documenting the Middle East. Ancient sources attributed the Garden to King Nebuchadnezzar II in the 6th century BC as a gift to his wife, Amytis. For a while, Saddam Hussein attempted to rebuild Babylon, and he even fancied himself as the new Nebuchadnezzar. Inhabitants, 4. It's a sad ending to such a fabled city. Indeed, they began rebuilding the famed Ishtar Gates and the citys walls, as well as restore the city walls and some of its buildings. An Iraqi conservation worker removing a layer of modern clay from a wall of the Ninmakh Temple in Babylon, revealing some of the original 2,500-year-old brick. 18:18; 16:17-21). ALLEN: Basically, we tried to initially subtract a lot of the modern additions that were on the site. Nebachadnezzar was the most famous of Babylon's rulers, but he wasn't the first. During the reign of Saddam Hussein, major reconstruction was carried out at Babylon and an opulent palace was built on a hill overlooking the ancient city, parts of which were reconstructed. The ruins of Babylon, also known as Babel, date back over 3,000 years. Its still-eerie, grandiose Hussein-era palaces and guesthouses are filled with international artists invited for the Babylon festival, and thousands of Iraqis flock here every month for parties, weddings and musical boat rides along the Euphrates river. Jeremiah 51:12. is a trademark of World Monuments Fund. After the invasion of Iraq in 2003, U.S. military contractors built a base on the site, digging trenches, driving armored vehicles on the fragile streets and filling sandbags with dirt mixed with pottery and bone shards. Later, the Persian empire was defeated by Alexander the Great, and the Greeks ruled the earth. Desolate Desert (no greenery; trees, gardens, groves). Now Iraqi officials are hoping to get back to the ambitious construction and investment plans they were hoping to pursue soon after the country was liberated from Saddam Hussein in the spring of. On the Date that Babylon is Finally Destroyed, for ever-after there will be no more Photographs at Babylon of Inhabitants, Arab Dwellers, Recycled Stones, Trees and Gardens, Shepherds and Sheep, or Visitors. It will never be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation; Nor will the Arab pitch his tent there Isaiah 13:20DID THAT HAPPEN? Babylon will be destroyed with fire from heaven as God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah (Rev. This is another key event for everyone to really keep an eye on. But American archaeologist Jeff Allen says underneath it, the mud bricks and the mortar of what was the ancient world's grandest city have been disintegrating. A U.S.-funded program to restore the ruins of Iraq's ancient city of Babylon is threatened by a dispute among Iraqi officials over whether the priority should be preserving the site or making . The World Monuments Fund assisted in the conservation of the famous Lion of Babylon Photo: Hadani Ditmars. Furthermore, the prophecies of Babylon's "utter destruction" and "complete desolation" have never been fulfilled. In 1927, the British ran a railway line through the site, and in the 1980s Hussein built a highway through part of it, along with a palace for himself, complete with a helipad. One of Nebuchadnezzar's best-known construction projects was the temple of Marduk, which sat atop a 300-foot (91-meter) ziggurat accessible by a ramp that curved around its exterior. According to the SBAH archaeologist Ammar Altaee, although Hussein-era interventions did use some mud and straw-baked bricks, which allowed for proper drainage, the concrete bricks they used that absorb but cant expel moisture have caused significant damage. 2. It is a tale of greed, hubris, empire and religious persecution; also of human. Unemployment will plummet. BABYLON IS BEING REBUILT, JUST AS PROPHESIED. Ninmakh Temple at Babylon is undergoing urgent repairs Photo: Hadani Ditmars. Few believed me at the time. . They continue to give scholars valuable insight into ancient Mesopotamia and possess immense historical, cultural, and symbolic value. Now, that mailbox is rusting and abandoned, and police guarding the site have taken over the souvenir shop. In the early 20th century, German archeologists recovered remnants of the Processional Way and reconstructed its blue-glazed tile murals at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin. The Babylonian Exile (586-538) marks an epochal dividing point in Old Testament history, standing between. It is usually risky to interpret the Bible in light of current events. However, after years of destruction, there is not much left of the historical ruins today. Just a few short decades after Nebuchadnezzar's death, Babylon was taken by the Persian conqueror Cyrus II, who reduced the city to just another outpost in his vast, Iran-based empire. Nevertheless, many theories persisted regarding the structure and location of the gardens. The Greek historian Herodotus, writing centuries after Babylon's heyday, described eight towers stacked on top of one another. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. And Iraq will become vastly more attractive for investors and even for tourists. 1. UNESCO has even printed up a snazzy brochure, with Babylon listed as the premier destination, to hand out to wealthy donors.. Is America Babylon?6. NOT YET! True, neither the city nor the country is what they will one day be. Jane Arraf, NPR News, Babylon. Babylon, being in the middle of the desert, had no such natural greenery, however; calling into question of how such lushness would have survived in the dryness of the desert. JANE ARRAF, BYLINE: Mohaned Ahmed is sponging the bricks around the relief of a dragon with a serpent's head. It will also train and employ local Iraqis in heritage conservation techniques., The Babylon festival was revived last year and the 2022 edition is taking place this month and features the famous Iraqi singer Ali Jasim Photo: Hadani Ditmars. Although Saddam Hussein attempted to revive it during the 1970s, he was ultimately unsuccessful due to regional conflicts and wars. Should we believe him when he describes Babylon as one of the worlds great commercial hubs, where the merchants of the world come to trade great quantities of gold, silver, jewels, and pearls, along with all kinds of other expensive goods and services that entice the kings of the world and draw ships from everywhere on the planet (Revelation 18:9-12)? Visitors Advocates of Mystery Babylon being a rebuilt Babylon will often claim Babylon wasn't destroyed in the same way as Sodom. Mecca, it is both a "city" and a "tower": Site proudly built by Amazee Labs. To put it briefly, the Mesopotamian capital moved from Babylon to Seleucia-Ctesiphon to Baghdad. It was a unique feat of engineering and architecture built in the city of Babylon, located near modern-day Baghdad, Iraq. (Revelation 22:17. While Alexander the Great had intentions of rebuilding the city, he died before he could make that a reality. Isaiah doesn't say that. 3. The organisation also assisted with a Unesco World Heritage nomination for Babylon that culminated in its inscription in July 2019 and helped with the conservation and stabilisation of the Lion of Babylon. The north faade of the Ishtar Gate, similar to the one pictured here in Babylon, was smuggled out of Iraq and is now housed in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin Photo: Hadani Ditmars. RIGHT: A photograph of Inhabitants in Babylon of ChaldeaThe Title, Source & Official Archive Record is noted below:Title-- "INHABITANTS OF BABYLON, MESOPOTAMIA"[actual, original inscription on back of photo]Underwood & Underwood, stereoscopic photo, 1899-1908UC Riverside, California Museum of Photography archives[Location] Asia, Iraq, Babil, Latitude: 32 33 00 N, Longitude: 044 24 00 E, Babylon. Current plans, detailed in conceptual drawings, will address drainage issues with faades of metal netting and local stones. Consider today's edition of Stars & Stripes, a U.S. military publication. Persian Period (539-322 BCE) 539 BCE - Persian Ruler Cyrus the Great Conquers Babylonian Empire, Including Jerusalem. At ancient Babylon's Ishtar Gate -- workers labour with a heavy saw, hammers, a chisel and . Hours of Operation: Mon - Fri 8:00am - 8:00pm, "Jane and I both agreed that your presentation on Babylon was the best we had ever heard on the subject. It reminds me of the feeling I get when a Bible Study on Isaiah 13:19-20 concludes that "Original Babylon on the Euphrates River in Iraq has disappeared like Sodom and Gomorrah". 3. There was a period in the 70s and 80s when it was customary to use cement, said Josephine DIlario, an Italian earthen architecture specialist working on the site. Stones reused (recycled) 4. We know the Jewish Temple will be rebuilt and sacrifices re-instituted right after the 70th Week of Daniel begins - the Tribulation - because the Antichrist will put a stop to the sacrifices half-way into the 7-year peace period. ARRAF: For all its importance to the ancient world, only about 10 percent of it has been excavated. Although Babylon was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2019, there isn't much left to see of the once-unstoppable empire that dazzled Greek historians and enslaved its rivals, most famously the biblical Kingdom of Judah. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Workshops for SBAH members both on- and off-site through WMFs Iraq Cultural Heritage Conservation Initiative helped develop local capacity toward the future preservation of Babylon and sites across Iraq, working with local stakeholders to support their continued stewardship of these treasured places. Now, Babylon, like many of Iraq's archaeological sites, has fallen into disrepair. Hammurabi ordered the construction of intricate canals to provide Babylon's citizens with fresh water, and fortified the city's walls against invaders. But it's extraordinary. Inside Babylons outer city walls, Iraqs oil ministry is building a metering station for one of the three pipelines that have been laid in recent years. The local tourist board says the best recent year for Iraqi tourists was 2017, when more than 35,000 visited. Abdullah Dhiaa Al-deen for The New York Times. Still, since the publication of Epicenter sixteen years ago, the skeptics and cynics certainly seem to have had the upper hand. By July 2019, so much progress had been made that Babylon was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. I think rebuilding Babylon is a wonderful idea, as long as it is not done at the expense of the antiquities themselves., He even added that a theme park built near Babylon to draw more tourists would be a good idea, as long as its done outside of Babylon, away from the archeological sites.. Because of Nebuchadnezzar's imperialist cruelty and penchant for golden shrines to pagan gods, Babylon appears as shorthand for everything ungodly in the Judeo-Christian tradition. The elements and damaging reconstruction have left walls crumbling, and construction and fuel pipelines threaten. 7 QUESTIONS That Deserve An ANSWER BELOW. Since the liberation of Iraq in 2003, however, a great deal has happened. Site Management Plan Excerpt: Babylon Cultural Landscape and Archaeological City, Friday Fun Facts: Ancient City of Babylon, Iraq, Iraqi Heritage in Danger: An Expert Meeting at the Allard Pierson Museum in Amsterdam, Remarks by Bonnie Burnham, President of World Monuments Fund, at the Press Conference on Heritage and Conflict in Iraq and Syria at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Monday, September 22, Heritage Management Course Opens in Erbil, Iraq, The New York Times Covers WMF's Role in Babylon, WMF Supports Capacity Building in Data Management and Collection for Babylon Staff, In Beleaguered Babylon, Doing Battle Against Time, Water and Modern Civilization, Using Laser Scanners to Preserve Antiquities in ISIS Cross Hairs, Race in Iraq and Syria to Record and Shield Art Falling to ISIS, Babylon's Undiscovered Treasures Threatened by New Oil Pipeline, Le Site de Babylone Nouveau Menac, Cette Fois par un Oloduc, Efforts Under Way to Restore Babylon's Glory, After Ravages of Time and War, Triage to Save Babylon, After Years of War and Abuse, New Hope for Ancient Babylon, Guests to World Monuments Fund 55th Anniversary Gala Traverse The Globe From Home. Is Babylon inhabited today? Is Babylon still being rebuilt? When the Iraq War broke out in 2003, it quickly became one of the biggest threats to cultural heritage in the region, exacerbating existing problems and creating new ones. A visitor now to the site about 50 miles south of Baghdad sees a mostly reconstructed outline of a small part of the city including the walls that once supported the Ishtar Gate. Then came the Romans. Yet TODAY such pictures exists. The biblical exegesis you did was clear, systematic, comprehensive and captivating doctrinally sound", Mike Gendron, Proclaiming The Gospel Ministries, June 4, 2019, Will the literal city of Babylon, in modern Iraq, be Rebuilt? In order to keep the peace among people without ties of blood or religion, Hammurabi created his famous Legal Code, essentially a detailed list of crimes and their associated punishments: This early system of retributive justice inscribed on an 8-foot (2.4-meter) diorite obelisk that is housed in the Louvre in Paris is believed to have been the basis of the ancient Hebrews' code of laws laid out in Exodus, known as "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.". But conservation isn't taught in universities here. Then, in a country under Saddam Husseins iron grip, the most joyous part of visiting was seeing families free of their worries for a few hours. Growth will surge. 3. According to an About.com article, "Saddam Hussein said that Babylon's great palaces and the legendary hanging gardens of Babylon (one of the seven wonders of the ancient world) would rise from the dust.". The mud-brick walls were weakened by a Hussein-era concrete roof that they could not support, which collapsed in 1999, and a second mud roof that replaced it, which was damaged by post-invasion military occupation. You can see the rebuilt ruins from Saddam Hussein's area. An Iraqi worker chiseling out modern concrete that was used in Babylon between the ancient brick and is now damaging it. 18 July 2019. Ancient Babylonian Tablet May Show Early Trigonometry, But Some Experts Are Dubious, U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 1st Class Arlo K. Abrahamson, Special Offer on Antivirus Software From HowStuffWorks and TotalAV Security, 300 miles (482 kilometers) away in Nineveh. Babylon flourished in 1894 BC . ARRAF: The salt is from groundwater trapped by modern concrete, added in damaging 1980s reconstruction. But Iraqi leaders and United Nations officials are not giving up on it. Therefore After its Final Fall, there can be NO MORE Photographs of Inhabitants at Babylon. Follow. If this werent bad enough, record low oil prices in recent years as low as$20 a barrelin 2020 severely hampered any chance at a true and lasting recovery. Today there are 193 members, representing countries from all over the world. Revelation 14:8 says Babylon the Great is fallen, "she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality." She is only called great for her extensive tentacular reach, like the tentacles of an octopus. Even his castle, which overlooks the ruins, is now open to the public. New York, NY 10020 OK These two empires achieved regional dominance between the 19th and 15th centuries BC, and again between the 7th and 6th centuries BC. As NPR's. Therefore, Babylon of Chaldea, Iraq, must Rise Up to meet that Final Destruction. Colonial powers looted it, Saddam Hussein rebuilt it, U.S. and Polish troops made it a military camp, and now Babylon, Iraqis hope, will draw tourists. The Bible says that at its FINAL FALL Babylon will be "Utterly Destroyed" as Sodom. Babylon is also believed to be home to one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. The elements and damaging reconstruction have left walls crumbling, and construction and fuel pipelines threaten vast areas of the huge, largely unexcavated city. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Is Babylon, Iraq, the "Mother" of all religious "Harlots"?7. According to legend, it may also have been home to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (see sidebar), and a hubristic sky-scraping temple that some historians believe inspired the biblical Tower of Babel. A replica of the Ishtar Gate built in the 1950s, when Iraq first started developing the remains of Babylon as a tourist site. From its peak as the Neo-Babylonian capital under King Nebuchadnezzar through its heavy-handed 1987 reconstruction by Saddam Hussein to its post-invasion demise when American and Polish troops ran roughshod over its ruins and ISIS threatened its very existence, the ancient city has witnessed empires come and go. World Monuments Fund safeguards cultural heritage around the globe, ensuring our treasured places are preserved for present and future generations. Back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, however, Saddam Hussein ordered his archaeologists and engineers to begin excavating and rebuilding the city once home to the much-feared King Nebuchadnezzar, who took over most of the known world in his day, conquered Jerusalem, destroyed the nation of Judah, and enslaved the vast majority of Jews in the world at that time. Should we believe the Apostle John, the author of the Book of Revelation, that Babylon will one day become a great city and a center of extravagant luxury, as he wrote in Revelation chapter 18? . Historical preservationists estimate it would cost tens of millions of dollars simply to install a system to keep water from seeping in. Israel's "Exceedingly Great Army"WHEN? . Most of the city we dont know very much about.. Ruling from 605 to 562 B.C.E., Nebuchadnezzar extended the Babylonian empire across Egypt, Syria and the Kingdom of Judah, where he seized Jerusalem in 597 B.C.E., capturing tens of thousands of Israelites and dragging them off to Babylon as forced laborers where the Bible tells us they "wept" in exile by its rivers. And the bricks just fall apart. Back in the 1970s, Saddam Hussein tried to recover the city's lost glory, but his efforts were ultimately unsuccessful. One may take PHOTOGRAPHS of Inhabitants , etc. 2. since the Bible says there will never again be Inhabitants at Babylon of Chaldea after its Final Fall. PHOTOGRAPHIC PROOF that not only one--but six (6)-- prophecies about Babylon of Chaldea (Iraq) remain UnfulfilledBabylon must be Rebuilt so thesesix (6) prophecies can be literally fulfilled. Babylon was in fact a system and it is where Nimrod became the leader of all people at the time and gathered them for the purpose of building the ziggurat known as Babel. ALLEN: Everything that's happened is - it leaves a mark on the site. In anticipation of the conservation capacity gap that often follows conflict, WMF prioritized training and development, working closely with the SBAH and community members to integrate their needs into its design. But the glory days of Babylon were short-lived. That identity of Babylon never changes in the Old or New Testament. The ancient site of Babylon in Iraq has undergone a lot of damage in recent years but archeologists hope it will still get special status. LEFT: Workers, Inhabitants, Arabs, begin work on excavating the Ishtar Gate in 1902. It will never be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation;" (Isaiah 13:19-20; Jer 51:37, 62) This prophecy is Simply and Literally stated. Babylon, the iconic ancient city, is once again rising from the ashes, just as Bible prophecy predicts - here is the latest. They certainly have long had a difficult time imagining the rebuilding of the ancient Iraqi city of Babylon, at least on the scale described in the Left Behindnovels about the End Times (written by Evangelicals Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, and which sold more than 60 million books in the 1990s), or any of my novels or non-fiction books. The Great Pyramid of Giza was built in 2570 BC and is still standing today. Babylon in ancient Mesopotamia was known as the site of one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Between 2009 and 2015, WMF collaborated with Iraqs State Board of Antiquities and Heritage (SBAH) to document Babylon, complete condition surveys, and develop conservation plans. The 2,500-year-old dragon relief behind him is related to Marduk, the patron deity of Babylon. 10. Jesus ChristTo Him who loves us, and released us from our sins by His blood, (Revelation 1:5, " And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost." On a recent weekend, Ahmed Juwad and his college friends stopped to take selfies as they strolled down the processional way, where Babylonian kings paraded statues of their gods and goddesses. . High poverty. Jesus will come at the end of this 7 years to claim His throne and begin His 1000 year millennial reign. And the "new Babylon" has been located in New York City since 1952. In total, Saddam Hussein spent over 20 years rebuilding the city of Babylon, and probably got about half of it rebuilt before he was taken out in the war with Iraq. ( Isaiah 47:5) Like the Egyptian and . Babylon was the capital city of the ancient Babylonian Empire, which itself is a term referring to either of two separate empires in the Mesopotamian area in antiquity. Olof Pedersen, a professor of Assyriology in Sweden, expects there are wonders underneath. To his credit, his budget for upkeep was much higher than the one currently managed by the Iraqi government, but his labour of love and self-aggrandisementhe had stones inscribed with his name as in other ancient sitesalso involved much heavy-handed reconstruction in the 1980s and 90s, often using cement bricks and other inappropriate building materials. World Monuments Fund and World Monuments Watch are registered service marks. Saddam Hussein has attempted to rebuild it in an effort to. Ellsworth Kelly Foundation generously supported the development of this site. to the Persian Empire and two centuries later to Alexander the Great, who died there. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. For that reason, many Bible students believe that the ancient city of Babylon will be resurrected to power during the Antichrist's end-time, world reign. By the beginning of the 21st century, the site of the Hanging Gardens had not yet been conclusively established. It was one of the cities founded by King Nimrod, according to Genesis 10:9-10. AFTER the FINAL FALL of Babylon, the site will never again have. Art historians referred to his attempt as Disney for a despot. Some of Saddams recreations were destroyed during wars in the region, though others remain accessible to the public today. Eroded by dried salt from the water, some of the sun-baked bricks literally crumble to the touch. Since Babylon reopened in 2009, tourist numbers have fluctuated, said Alice Fordham. "Babylon" and "Babylonia . What else can you see in Babylon? After years of conflict, although not violence-free, Iraq is safe enough for younger Iraqis who have never seen most of their own country to come to Babylon. For more than a decade, WMF has continued to implement the Babylon site management plan, undertaking conservation work at specific sites within the archaeological park such as assisting with the conservation and stabilization of the Lion of Babylon. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. It's part of the history of the monument. Is Babylon being rebuilt today? Therefore, Babylon's FINAL FALL is yet to happen in the Future. How will Babylon, Iraq, be converted to the "Great City" of Revelation 17-18?2. Elements and damaging reconstruction have left walls crumbling, and construction and fuel threaten! After the Final FALL is yet to happen in the conservation of the historical ruins today was... Investors and even for tourists unique feat of engineering and architecture built in 2570 BC and still. As a gift to his attempt as Disney for a despot of slaughter and mercy, war and peace a. Stripes, a microcosm of human history has fallen into disrepair is from groundwater by. Absence of Inhabitants at Babylon 193 members, representing countries from all over the World, it,! Fluctuated, said Alice Fordham a professor of Assyriology in Sweden, there! Begin work on excavating the Ishtar Gate and Ninmakh Temple at Babylon has never occurred to Alexander the,! When more than 35,000 visited its Final FALL is yet to happen in the Old or new.. Historical, cultural, and symbolic value say that necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the.! End of this 7 years to claim his throne and begin his 1000 year millennial reign, many persisted! 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