Civilization was born eight thousand years ago, between the floodplains of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, when migrants from the surrounding mountains and deserts began to create increasingly sophisticated urban societies. In the cities that they built, half of human history took place.

In Babylon, Paul Kriwaczek tells the story of Mesopotamia from the earliest settlements seven thousand years ago to the eclipse of Babylon in the sixth century BCE. Bringing the people of this land to life in vibrant detail, the author chronicles the rise and fall of power during this period and explores the political and social systems, as well as the technical and cultural innovations, which made this land extraordinary. At the heart of this book is the story of Babylon, which rose to prominence under the Amorite king Hammurabi from about 1800 BCE. Even as Babylon's fortunes waxed and waned, it never lost its allure as the ancient world's greatest city.

Engaging and compelling, Babylon reveals the splendor of the ancient world that laid the foundation for civilization itself.

文明诞生于八千年前，在底格里斯河和幼发拉底河的洪泛区之间，当时来自周围山区和沙漠的移民开始创建日益复杂的城市社会。在他们建造的城市中，发生了一半的人类历史。

在《巴比伦》中，保罗-克里瓦切克讲述了美索不达米亚从七千年前最早的定居点到公元前六世纪巴比伦消失的故事。作者以生动的细节将这片土地上的人们带入生活，记录了这一时期权力的兴衰，并探讨了使这片土地变得不同寻常的政治和社会制度，以及技术和文化创新。本书的核心是巴比伦的故事，它在公元前1800年左右的亚摩利人国王汉谟拉比的领导下崛起。即使巴比伦的命运时好时坏，它也从未失去作为古代世界最伟大城市的诱惑力。

巴比伦》引人入胜，展现了古代世界的辉煌，为文明本身奠定了基础。