The famous temple of Marduk, Esagila, and its ziggurat, Etemenanki, were considered to be the foundation of heaven on earth. The syncretism is expressed in the words that Marduk is 'the enlil of the gods', an expression that is perhaps best translated as 'president of the council of gods'.

He superseded the Sumerian supreme god Enlil, took over many of his attributes, and now became the head of the pantheon. One of the results was that the hitherto unimportant city god of Babylon, Marduk, gained prestige. Mesopotamia, and even though the political power of Babylonia had its ups and downs in the next millennium or so, Babylon remained the cultural capital of the ancient Near East. From written sources, however, we know that the city became important after the fall of the empire of the Third dynasty of Ur, when the Amorites had invaded the area. The city was (and the ruins are) situated on the banks of the river Euphrates, and the remains of the oldest city are below groundwater level. The oldest building phase of Babylon cannot be recovered. (A similar etymology was invented for Arbela.) When Mesopotamia was infiltrated by people who spoke a Semitic language (Akkadians or Amorites), they recognized their own words Bâb ('gate') and ili ('gods') and concluded that this place was 'the gate of the gods'. The Greek word Babylon is a rendering of Babillu, a very old word in an unknown language. In front: the Procession Street center: the Ištar Gate on the horizon: the Etemenanki.

Babylon map