Map showing the Babylonian territory upon Hammurabi's ascension in 1792 BCE and upon his death in 1750 BCE

Detail of the Ishtar Gate

Babylon was a city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, in present-day Iraq, about 85 kilometers (55 mi) south of Baghdad. All that remains of the original ancient city of Babylon today is a mound of broken mud-brick buildings and debris in the fertile Mesopotamian plain between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.