Babylon · 575 BC
What you're walking through
Around 575 BC, Nebuchadnezzar II ruled Babylon at the height of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. The Euphrates crossed the city, linking its river landings with a wider world of trade. Brick walls enclosed royal palaces, temples and neighbourhoods.
The Ishtar Gate and its approach were faced with brilliant blue glazed bricks. Bulls and dragons decorated the gate, while lions lined the Processional Way. The great temple precinct of Marduk included Etemenanki, the stepped tower or ziggurat whose upper structure is known only imperfectly.
Who lives here
Babylonian townsman
A woven robe · Babylon's markets connected the city to the wider empire
Craftsmen, traders and porters worked among the brick houses, temple precincts and river landings. This scene dresses its townspeople in simplified woven robes.
Babylonian townswoman
A long woven dress · households and workshops made cloth for the city
The city's daily life depended on households, workshops and markets as well as its great royal buildings. The colours and clothing here are illustrative, rather than portraits of particular inhabitants.
Donkey
About 1.2 m at the shoulder · the pack animal of farms, roads and markets
Donkeys and mules carried firewood, grain and the farms' produce into town, and goods to and from the markets and harbours.
A compact interpretation: distances, walls and palace courts are reduced. The gate's reliefs are stylized, and the ziggurat's lost upper stages and shrine are conjectural. The Hanging Gardens are omitted because their location and appearance are disputed. People and period clothing are stylized approximations.
How to walk
Press Start walking above. WA SD or the arrow keys move you, the mouse looks around, hold Shift with a movement key to run at 3× walking speed, and Space jumps. Look at someone to see who they are. Esc pauses, and M turns the sound on or off. You're invisible: nobody here can see you.
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