(10 Jul 2019) LEAD IN: UNESCO's World Heritage Committee has named the historic city of Babylon a World Heritage Site.
Years after Baghdad began campaigning for the site to be added to the list, Babylon has secured its place.
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The deep rich blue, Ishtar gate, is revered both in antiquity and modern-day Iraq for its vibrancy.
It leads into the inner city of Babylon, located on the Euphrates River, about 85 kilometres (55 miles) south of Baghdad.
Mighty creatures line these ancient walls - including a mythical dragon.
And this is the most celebrated artefact of a lion statue trampling a man.
In a vote held in Azerbaijan, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee decided to name the historic city of Babylon a World Heritage Site.
"This will attract many visitors to the city such as delegations, organisations, and tourist groups that will have economic benefits and provides a revenue not only for the province of Babylon but for the whole country. " says Mohammed Tahir Abbas, the head of Babylon archaeologists.
The 4,300-year-old site -- now mainly an archaeological ruin and two museums -- is where dynasties have risen and fallen since the earliest days of settled human civilization.
King Hammurabi wrote his famous code of laws in Babylon, while Nebuchadnezzar sent his vast army from the city to Jerusalem to put down an uprising and bring the Jews back as slaves.
Some say Alexander the Great, who led his army out of Macedonia to conquer most of the known world, died here in 332 B.C.
Iraq's Minister of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities, Abdulameer al-Hamdani says it was only a matter of time until Babylon would be listed.
"Iraq regained its prestige, its glory, and its heritage, at least regarding Babylon. Babylon represents the cradle of civilization for Iraq and the world, and it was the baseline for global culture and Babylon was the capital for the old Near East."
It was once the main tourist attraction before Iraq suffered one war after another in the past four decades.
In 1983, the city of Babylon was submitted to UNESCO to be listed as a World Heritage Site.
However, the decision remained up in the air for 40 years because UNESCO did not approve the restorations that were completed during the 1980s.
Abdulameer al-Hamdani, Iraq's Minister of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities says, "for 40 years, the case was
hanging due to the restoration that was done during the '80s in the last century. The restoration was unscientific according to UNESCO and there were unverified landmarks added."
Between 1989 and 1994, much of the reconstruction that took place was not in keeping with the material used at that time such as cement and industrial bricks.
A number of restoration projects have been carried out since 2003 to resolve UNESCO's concerns. A restoration project in 2013 and further work between 2017 and 2019 was funded by Global Heritage Fund, the Iraqi government, and the World Monuments Fund.
The vote also comes years after the Islamic State group damaged another Iraq World Heritage site in the country's north, the ancient city of Hatra.
Dozens of Iraqis gathered on July 5 at the Ishtar Gate to celebrate their city's new international status.
The UNESCO World Heritage Committee met in Azerbaijan to examine 36 nominations for inscription on the list of World Heritage, from 30 June to 10 July 2019.
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