With the recovery of Babylonian independence， a new era of architectural activity ensued， and his son Nebuchadnezzar II （604–561 BC） made Babylon into one of the wonders of the ancient world. Nebuchadnezzar ordered the complete reconstruction of the imperial grounds， including rebuilding the Etemenanki ziggurat and the construction of the Ishtar Gate – the most spectacular of eight gates that ringed the perimeter of Babylon.
Nebuchadnezzar is also credited with the construction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and turned it into one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.It is said to have been built for his homesick wife Amyitis. Whether the gardens did exist is a matter of dispute. Although excavations by German archaeologist Robert Koldewey are thought to reveal its foundations， many historians disagree about the location， and some believe it may have been confused with gardens in the Assyrian capital， Nineveh.
It is not clear if Neriglissar and Labashi-Marduk were Chaldeans or native Babylonians， and the last ruler Nabonidus and his son and regent Belshazzar were Assyrians from Harran.
In 539 BC， the Persians rose up. When Cyrus II of Persia led his army to invade the new kingdom of Babylon， the priest opened the city gate for the Persian army unexpectedly. Belshazzar was killed and Nabonidus was captured. The new kingdom of Babylon vanished without a fight.
新巴比伦帝国：人类伟大的建筑工程
在尼布波拉撒的领导下，巴比伦于公元前612年摆脱了亚述的统治，成为了新巴比伦帝国的首都。
随着巴比伦恢复独立，一个建筑活动的新时代接踵而至，他的儿子尼布甲尼撒二世（公元前604年到公元前561年在位）将巴比伦建设成为古代世界里的一大奇迹。尼布甲尼撒下令彻底重建帝国的皇居，包括重建埃特曼安吉金字形神塔和伊斯塔门，它们是环绕在巴比伦边缘的最壮观的八大门。
尼布甲尼撒还主持建筑了巴格达空中花园工程，使之成为古代世界里的七大奇迹之一。这座花园相传是为他思乡的妻子安美依迪丝而建，但此花园是否存在是一个有争议的问题。尽管有人认为德国考古学家罗伯特·科尔德威的发现揭示了其基础，但许多史学家不认可那个地点，而有些观点认为后人可能把它与亚述首都尼尼微的花园混为一谈了。
后人并不清楚涅里格利沙尔和拉巴施马尔杜克到底是迦勒底人还是巴比伦本地人，以及最后的统治者那波尼德斯和他的儿子摄政王伯沙撒是不是来自哈兰的亚述人。
公元前539年，波斯人崛起，居鲁士二世率军入侵新巴比伦王国时，祭司竟打开大门放波斯军队入城，伯沙撒被杀，那波尼德斯被俘，新巴比伦王国不战而亡。
2. Legendary traces of civilization on the mound and mud-bricks
Babylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia， the remains of which are found in presentday Al Hillah， Babylon Province， Iraq， about 85 kilometers（55 mi） south of Baghdad. All that remains of the original ancient famed city of Babylon today is a mound， or of broken mud-brick buildings and debris in the fertile Mesopotamian plain between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
沙堆与泥砖上刻写的传奇文明痕迹
巴比伦是古美索不达米亚地区的一座阿卡德人的城邦，遗址在今天的巴格达南部约85公里（55英里）处的伊拉克巴比伦省的希拉地区。古代著名城市巴比伦的所有遗迹如今只是底格里斯河和幼发拉底河之间肥沃的美索不达米亚平原上的一个个沙堆，或者说是一堆碎泥砖残骸。
Civilization in Mesopotamia：Constant regimchanges
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system， corresponding to modern-day Iraq and to a lesser extent northeastern Syria， southeastern Turkey and smaller parts of southwestern Iran.
Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization in the West， Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the Akkadian， Babylonian and Assyrian empires， all native to the territory of modern-day Iraq. In the Iron Age， it was controlled by the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian empires. The indigenous Sumerians and Akkadians （including Assyrians and Babylonians） dominated Mesopotamia from the beginning of written history （c. 3100 BC） to the fall of Babylon in 539 BC， when it was conquered by the Achaemenid Empire. It fell to Alexander the Great in 332 BC and， after his death， it became part of the Greek Seleucid Empire.
Around 150 BC， Mesopotamia was under the control of the Parthians. Mesopotamia became a battleground between the Romans and Parthians， with parts of Mesopotamia coming under ephemeral Roman control. In AD 226， it fell to the Sassanid Persians， and remained under Persian rule until the 7th century Arab Islamic conquest of the Sassanid Empire. A number of primarily neo Assyrian and Christian native Mesopotamian states existed between the 1st century BC and 3rd century AD， including Adiabene， Osroene and Hatra.
美索不达米亚文明：不断轮换的统治者
美索不达米亚是底格里斯河和幼发拉底河流域的一个地名，相当于今天的伊拉克以及叙利亚东北部、土耳其东南部和伊朗西南部的小部分地区。
人们普遍认为，青铜时代的美索不达米亚是西方文明的摇篮，它主要由苏美尔、阿卡德、巴比伦、亚述等文明组成，当时所有土著居民都生活在现代伊拉克境内。在铁器时代，美索不达米亚屈从于亚述帝国和新巴比伦帝国的控制，自从公元前3100年有文字记载历史以来到公元前539年巴比伦被阿契美尼德王朝征服，土著的苏美尔人和阿卡德人（包括亚述人和巴比伦人）一直统治着美索不达米亚。公元前332年，美索不达米亚的政权落在亚历山大大帝的手中，他死后这片土地成了希腊塞琉古帝国的一部分。
公元前150年左右，美索不达米亚在帕提亚人的控制之下成为罗马人和帕提亚人之间的一个战场，美索不达米亚部分地区暂时由罗马统治。公元226年，它落入了波斯萨珊王朝的手中，直到公元7世纪阿拉伯伊斯兰征服萨珊帝国。公元前1世纪到公元3世纪，一些主要的新亚述和基督教的土著美索不达米亚国家相继建立，其中包括阿迪亚波纳、奥斯若恩和哈提拉。
Hanging Gardens of Babylon：One of theSeven Wonders of the Ancient World
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World， and the only one of the Wonders that may have been purely legendary. They were purportedly built in the ancient city-state of Babylon， near present-day Al Hillah， Babil province， in Iraq. The Hanging Gardens were not the only World Wonder in Babylon； the city walls and obelisk attributed to Queen Semiramis were also featured in ancient lists of Wonders.
