City of Babylon

                                     

“The Gate of the Gods” is set upon the broad, languid Euphrates River and split in two by its flow, with high banks to contain seasonal floods.  She spreads out over 2,000 acres, surrounded by a deep moat and thick, high walls that protect her massive population.  Beyond these walls, cultivated fields of wheat, date palms and hundreds of other crops stretch beyond sight in all directions.  Within them lies a city of wonders: the great temple-ziggurat of Etemenanki; Marduk’s temple complex of Esagil; the grand palace complexes and famous Hanging Gardens of Old King Nebuchadnezzar; the grand Gate of Ishtar.

King Marduk-Baladan rules Babylon and its subject cities.  The opportunistic Chaldean chieftain successfully forged a coalition against the Assyrian governor about a year ago, stormed the city and expelled the Assyrian forces.  The foreign-born  king enjoys broad popularity within the city amidst vows to make Babylonia a great power once again.  King Baladan is supported from without by his Chaldean and Elamite allies.  He rules capably and makes overt homage to Babylon’s culture and imperial past.

People from all over the world frequent the numerous temples, gardens, palaces, amphitheaters, bathhouses and markets of Babylon.  It’s crowded and bustling interior is a maze of narrow lanes and alleyways divided into wards by the broader streets and canals that allow one to traverse the city more directly.  Babylon tenuously reigns at the center of a land rife with intrigue and adventure.

City Stats for Adventurer Conqueror King System

Settlement Population: 40,000+ families (metropolis)

Ruler: Marduk-Baladan, 14th level fighter

Market: Class I

Imports: wood (common & rare), hides/ furs, metals (common & precious), gems, semiprecious stones, spices, ivory, silk

Exports: grain, vegetables, preserved fish, bitumen (oil), cloth, textiles, beer, tools, armor/ weapons

Religions of Notes: Marduk, Ishtar, Adad

Adventure Hooks:  new construction exposes buried part of old city; cult of Tiamat threatens peace of annual "sacred marriage" ritual; mercantile adventurer seeks new or dangerous markets abroad; crime syndicate hires morally ambiguous recruits to conduct hijinks; temple of Marduk offers a quest to recover/ deliver artifact; King Baladan seeks information on distant Assyrian troop movements; minor noble hires extra muscle in preparation for a rival's move against him; a local merchant has imported a rare artifact and locked it away in a nearby warehouse...