Babylon
Babylon was an ancient city-state in the time of Mesopotamia. Its ruins can be found in Al Hillah, Iraq.
Not much remains of the famous Babylon today, but a mound of broken mud-brick buildings. Babylon appears first in history at the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC. The city grew and gained importance with the first Babylonian Dynasty. It was the Capital of the Neo-Babylonian Empire from 612 to 539 BC.
Babylon’s Hanging Gardens were part of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. They were built by king Nebuchadnezzar II around 600 BC. He constructed the gardens for his persian wife who missed her homeland’s vegetation. Earthquakes destroyed the gardens in the 2nd century.
Saddam Hussein wanted to rebuild Babylon, but the restoration was simply done on top of the ancient ruins, which is the reason why artifacts often can be found under the city as of today. The provincial government of Babil reopened the site to tourism in 2009.