Babylon
The ruined city on the Euphrates whose priests kept the records of the sky and the incantations against demons that shaped later magic.
Practised and told of here
Best time: November to March.
Babylon was a capital of Mesopotamia in the second and first millennia before the common era. Its scribes copied omen collections and rituals, and its name stayed in memory as a place of astrologers.
Priests of omens
Specialists called ashipu and baru handled illness and signs. The ashipu used incantations and rites against demons and sorcery, and the baru read the livers of sheep. The omen series Enuma Anu Enlil linked events in the sky to events on earth. Many of these texts are in Akkadian, on clay tablets in the museum in Baghdad and in Western museums.
Bowls and echoes
Aramaic incantation bowls from Mesopotamia, made in the Sasanian period, were buried upside down under houses as protection from demons. They show Jewish, Mandaean and Christian writers at work. The word Chaldean came to mean astrologer in Greek and Latin.
Visiting
Parts of the site were rebuilt in the 1980s and have been damaged. Check security advice and use a licensed guide.
A respectful visit to Babylon
Living communities are not a show. Ask before photographing a person or a ceremony, and follow local rules.
- The Ishtar Gate replica See the replica entrance.
- The Processional Way Walk the route used in the New Year rites.
- The Iraq Museum in Baghdad See tablets and incantation bowls.
Written by the EveryJaadu desk with AI assistance. Background: "Babylon" on Wikipedia. Opening hours, markets and ceremonies change; check locally before travelling. If something is wrong, tell us.
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