From the early second millenium to the early first millenium BCE, Babylon was the capital of a land once called southern Mesopotamia - now called Babylonia. It also served as the capital of the Chaldean Empire at the height of the empire's power: the seventh and sixth centuries BCE. Babylon's favorable location an political importance made it a center for trade and government administration in Babylonia. However, its affluence and prestige also made the capital a target of interest for foreign conquerors

The ruins of Babylon are now located along the Euphrates river near the modern town of Al-Hillah, Iraq. British archaeologists and scholars in the 19th century like Austen Henry Layard and Claudius James Rich supported a major archaeological operation of Babylon led by Koldewey in 1899. "Statues, stelae (pillars), terra-cotta reliefs, cylinder seals, pottery, glassware, and jewelry" (Britannica.com) were found in this excavation.