From the historian's notes

Babylon, 539 BCE

Iraq · Middle East · October 539 BCE · autumn

What it was high

one of the largest cities in the world, inside double walls on the Euphratesa city since the 3rd millennium BCE; rebuilt magnificently by Nebuchadnezzar II

That year

• Persian troops under Gubaru enter Babylon without a battle mid-October 539 BCE highan empire changes hands in a day
• The temple rites in Esagila go on without interruption, as the chronicle notes October 539 BCE highthe city keeps its rhythm
• Cyrus himself enters the city at the end of the month; green branches are spread in front of him late October 539 BCE higha conqueror welcomed

Who held it high

the Neo-Babylonian empireKing Nabonidus, often away; until recently his son Belshazzar governed in his placeCyrus of Persia has beaten the Babylonian army at Opis, and Sippar has opened its gates

Its name high

Babili, 'gate of the god'Written in cuneiform on clay; Aramaic is written in ink for daily business

The date, there high

the 17th year of Nabonidusthe Babylonian lunar calendar, years counted by the king's reignWatches of the day and night; the astronomers record the sky every night.

Money medium

silver by weightthe shekelno coins: small purchases in barley or tiny weights of silver

Weather medium

October: hot days, cooler nights, dry; the river low; the date harvest

Things

Objectsclay tablets; cylinder seals; silver weighed on balances; glazed bricksFoodbarley bread; dates; beer drunk through straws; onions and fishClothwool; linenGetting aboutround boats of hide and reed on the river; donkeysIn the airdate syrup; bitumen; the river

What she'd hear

Aramaic in the streets; Akkadian for temples and records; Persian arriving with the soldiers.

Where she could stand

• the Ishtar Gate — a gate faced with blue glazed bricks, dragons and bulls in relief
• the Processional Way — the avenue lined with glazed lions
• the Etemenanki ziggurat — the great stepped temple tower
• the Euphrates bridge — the stone-piered bridge joining the two halves of the city

Researched for this card · confidence high