Summary In the study of the ancient world, Babylon can be considered as the most impressive representation, historically, archaeologically, and in literature, of urbanism in the Near East. This first example of an urban centre and its cultural heritage ? both tangible and intangible ? provides a focal point for discussions of historical and cultural memory in the region. The eleven contributions gathered here draw together multidisciplinary research into Babylonian culture, exploring the epistemic foundations, contacts, resilience, and cultural transmission of the city and its milieu from ancient times up until the modern day. Through this approach, this volume is able to support conversations concerning the historical and cultural memory of Babylon and promote a dialogue that cuts across, and unites, both cultures and academic disciplines. TABLE OF CONTENTS Section I. The Epistemic Foundation of the Historical and Cultural Memory of Babylon The Historical and Cultural Memory of Babylon: Collecting Fragments of the 'Centre of the World' ? MARCO RAMAZZOTTI Babylon as Seen by Babylonians ? FRANCIS JOANN S Traces of Babylon in the Old Testament ? ALESSANDRO CATASTINI Section II. Semantic Waves in the Historical and Cultural Memory of Babylon The View of Babylon in Hittite Texts ? RITA FRANCIA The Perception of Babylonia in the Historical Memory of the Assyrians between Evocation and Negation, and its Reflections in the Urbanization of the Imperial Seats ? RITA DOLCE From Plains to Mountains: Literary and Cultural Models between Mesopotamia and Urar?u ? ROBERTO DAN and MARIE-CLAUDE TR MOUILLE The 'Mesopotamian Connection': An Overview of South Arabian Data Relating to Mesopotamia (1st Millennium BCE) ? ALESSIO AGOSTINI A 'Persian conception of urbanism' as Seen from the Results of New Field Researches in Fars (Southern Iran) ? PIERFRANCESCO CALLIERI Section III. The Literary Form of Cultural Memory of Babylon Reversing and Reinventing the Centre of the World: Iranian and Zoroastrian Perception of the Old Babylon ? GIANFILIPPO TERRIBILI Receiving Knowledge of the Past: Narratives of Babylon in the Medieval Arabic Culture ? LEONARDO CAPEZZONE Untranslatable Babel: A Quick Glance at the Contemporary Reception of the Biblical Myth ? GIOVANNI GRECO