Babylon

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Babylon was based in what is now the southern part of the country of Iraq. Babylon was first an important power in about 1850 BC and then later in about 650 BC when they overcame the Assyrian empire. Although the oldest known alphabet comes from the Canaanites, the oldest known writing comes from the Babylonians.

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An example of cuneiform writing from the time of the Persian and Babylonia empires (now Iran). There were several kings in those empires named Darius.