Babylon: Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones (The Hayes Lectures) - Cardiff

We are delighted to welcome the brilliant Professor Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones, who will be talking about his new book, Babylon, as part of our Hayes Lectures series.
Babylon often appears more myth than history. Purportedly the site of the Hanging Gardens and the Tower of Babel, its infamous presence in the Bible has made it a byword for sinful decadence. But Babylon was a real place teeming with life, a bustling mega-city on the Euphrates where schoolteachers, artisans, priests, slaves, prostitutes and soldiers rubbed shoulders in maze-like streets and busy marketplaces.The city was home to some extraordinary rulers, from Hammurabi the great lawgiver to Nebuchadnezzar II, the conqueror-king, under whose reign the city glistened in gold and lapis lazuli.In Babylon, Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones brings the city vividly to life, tracing its foundation through to its world domination, and subsequent decline, fall and ruin into dust. From ribald drinking songs to acerbic letters between rival kings, the extraordinary ancient sources help inform what is both a stunning work of scholarship and a fascinating evocation of a long-lost world.
Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones is Professor of Ancient History at Cardiff University. He is one of the world’s foremost experts on Persian history, and has written extensively on ancient Iran, the Near East, Egypt, and ancient Greece. His work has appeared in History Today and BBC History Magazine, among others, and he has made numerous television and radio appearances. He has been a guest on many podcasts and YouTube channels, including The Ancients (History Hit), Biblical Time Machine, and The Megillah Project. Recent public lectures include appearances at The British Library, The British Museum, Mongomery Festival of Literature, York Festival of Literature, and the Jaipur Literature Festival.
Refreshments will be provided! Please note that our events space is on the first floor, accessible via stairs or lift. Do contact us if you have any access questions.
Doors open at 18:30. Latecomers will be admitted until 19:15.

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