Reading Babylon Author(s): Marc van de Mieroop Source: American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 107, No. 2 (Apr., 2003), pp. 257-275 Published by: Archaeological Institute of America Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40026077 . Accessed: 16/01/2015 12:01 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
[email protected]. Archaeological Institute of America is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to American Journal of Archaeology. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 128.148.252.35 on Fri, 16 Jan 2015 12:01:43 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Reading Babylon MARC VAN DE MIEROOP Abstract Was this all the city signified, however? Was it A combined investigation of the archaeological re- only the expression of the power of its builder who mains and the ancient testimonies of the city of Babylon thus exemplified the oriental despot whose mega- in the days of King Nebuchadnezzar, during the sixth lomania is demonstrated the of his B.C., allows us to read the ideo- by grandeur city? century city's multiple This article will an alternativesemiotic read- logical messages. The concern of the article is not with provide the identification of specific monuments, but with the ing of Babylon, one based on the Babylonian ideol- ideological notions that the monuments conveyed to ogy of the city's role in the universe rather than the ancient viewer.