This is a general survey of Assyrian and Babylonian life and history. It includes the results of British and American excavations at Ur of the Chaldees, and Babylonian culture is presented against its true historical background. Through the Jews, the Babylonians have profoundly influenced Christendom: the Code of Hammurabi was the basis of Mosaic legislation, the Flood and other stories from Genesis originated in Babylonia, and the commercial law of the third millennium anticipates modern practice.