The city is truly ancient, records indicating that it was founded millenia ago, and new buildings have been repeatedly built upon the ruins of others, to the point where the metropolis consists now of towering spires and ziggurats, interconnected by stone bridges and aqueducts to bear water from the mountain peaks.

The largest structure by far is the Great Tower, Babel, which is forever under construction. It is a measure of a ruler's power how much he can add to the tower's girth and height, and over time it has expanded outward to consume older portions of the city. Officially, no one actually lives in the Tower. It is a structure of religious (and political) significance, and a statement of the power and age of the Ashdodite civilization. Many of the battles fought in Babel are between warring construction crew factions, over matters of building and resources to be used. Babel is sometimes known as the "City of Strife", for "gang wars" are commonplace, especially in the shadowed and ruinous "Streets Below" in the forgotten lower levels that have been built upon with each succeeding generation.

For millenia, the ruler of Babel (and, by extension, the ruler of Ashdod, at least in title), was known as the Sabaoth, which means "Almighty". After the War of the Plaguebringers, in which Babel was soundly defeated during a raid on Rephidim, the Sabaoth's reign ended, and he was succeeded by the first High Prince of Babel, Boghaz bar Sabaoth.