Lion of Babylon

Lion of Babylon is a stone sculpture, over 2,600 years old, that was found in the ancient city of , . Its discovery was first documented in 1817 by Claudius Rich, although it may have been seen as early as 1790 by Joseph de Beauchamp.
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  • Type: Memorial
  • Description: sculpture
  • Also known as: Babylon Lion” and “Lion of Babylon (statue)
  • Inscription: “أسد بابل وهو تمثال لأسد عثر عليه في مدينة بابل الأثرية في العراق في سنة 1776 من قبل بعثة حفريات أثرية ألمانية، وهو مصنوع من حجر البازلت الأسود الصلب، حيث يظهر هذا التمثال على شكل أسد يقف على شخص بشري، طوله يبلغ حوالي متران وهو موضوع على منصة طولها حوالي م”

Places of Interest Nearby

Highlights include Babylon and Ishtar Gate.

Photo: Edwin Long, Public domain.
is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in , today only ruins; it was once one of the most prominent cities of Ancient Mesopotamia. Alexander the Great chose to be the capital of the great empire he had created, and died there while planning further conquests; for several centuries after that it was a major center of the Seleucid Empire founded by one of his generals.

City gate
The was the eighth gate to the inner city of . It was constructed c. 569 BC by order of King Nebuchadnezzar II on the north side of the city. is situated 450 metres southeast of Lion of Babylon.

Archaeological site
The Ésagila or Esangil was a temple dedicated to Marduk, the protector god of . It lay south of the ziggurat . is situated 1¼ km south of Lion of Babylon.

Places in the Area

Nearby places include Hillah.

is in . is the nearest city to the ruins of , which are 5 km north of the city. It is the capital of Babylon Province and has a population of about 456,000.

Lion of Babylon

Latitude
32.54502° or 32° 32′ 42″ north
Longitude
44.42155° or 44° 25′ 18″ east
Elevation
2 metres (7 feet)
Open location code
8H46GCWC+2J
Open­Street­Map ID
node 7248398788
Open­Street­Map feature
historic=­memorial
Wiki­data ID
Q16120770
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Satellite Map

Discover Lion of Babylon from above in high-definition satellite imagery.

In Other Languages

From Arabic to Welsh—“Lion of Babylon” goes by many names.
  • Arabic: أسد بابل
  • Arabic: اسد بابل
  • Chinese: 巴比伦之狮 (雕像)
  • Chinese: 巴比伦之狮
  • French: Lion de Babylone
  • German: Löwe von Babylon
  • Indonesian: Singa Babilonia (patung)
  • Indonesian: Singa Babilonia
  • Japanese: バビロンのライオン(像)
  • Kurdish: ئه سه د بابل
  • Persian: شیر بابل (مجسمه)
  • Persian: شیر بابل
  • Russian: Вавилонский лев
  • Spanish: León de Babilonia (estatua)
  • Spanish: León de Babilonia
  • Tamil: பாபிலோனின் சிங்கம் (சிங்கம்)
  • Tamil: பாபிலோனின் சிங்கம்
  • Ukrainian: Лев Вавилону (статуя)
  • Ukrainian: Лев Вавилону
  • Welsh: Llew Babylon

Places with the Same Name

Discover other places named “Lion of Babylon”.

Notable Places Nearby

Highlights include Ishtar Gate and مول جوزيف.

Nearby Places

Explore places such as جوزيف and Tower of Babel Hall.

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About Mapcarta. Data © OpenStreetMap contributors and available under the Open Database License". Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, except for photos, directions, and the map. Description text is based on the Wikipedia page “Lion of Babylon”. Photo: Wikimedia, CC BY 2.0.