Difference between revisions of "Chaldea"

<p> [[Ancient]] Babylonia was occupied largely by people belonging to two racial groups, the Sumerians and the Amorites. In addition smaller tribal groups were scattered throughout the region. The most important of the smaller groups were the Chaldeans, who lived in the south of Babylon around the lower reaches of the Euphrates and [[Tigris]] Rivers. </p> <p> In the time before Abraham, the Babylonian rulers were mainly of Sumerian descent and their capital was the [[Chaldean]] city of Ur, from which [[Abraham]] originally came (&nbsp;Genesis 11:28; &nbsp;Acts 7:4). About 2000 BC [[Babylonians]] of [[Amorite]] descent overthrew the dynasty in Ur and established a new capital at the city of Babylon. (For a map of the region and further details of Babylon’s history see &nbsp;BABYLON.) </p> <p> Many centuries later, during the period covered by the biblical books of Kings, a Babylonian of Chaldean descent seized the throne in Babylon (about 720 BC). [[Chaldeans]] continued to rule till Babylon was overthrown by [[Persia]] in 539 BC. As a result of this Chaldean domination, the practice arose of using ‘Chaldea’ as a name for the land of Babylon as a whole, and ‘Chaldeans’ as a name for Babylonians in general (&nbsp;Isaiah 13:19; &nbsp;Isaiah 47:1; &nbsp;Isaiah 48:14; &nbsp;Isaiah 48:20; &nbsp;Jeremiah 25:12; &nbsp;Daniel 5:30; &nbsp;Daniel 9:1). </p> <p> The word ‘Chaldeans’ had also a more technical meaning, which had passed down from ancient times when certain Chaldeans became famous as astrologers, priests and wise men. This is the sense in which the [[Bible]] uses the name in the expression ‘magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans and astrologers’ (&nbsp;Daniel 4:7; &nbsp;Daniel 5:7; &nbsp;Daniel 5:11). </p>

<p> &nbsp;Chalde'a. More correctly &nbsp;Chaldae'a, the ancient name of a country of Asia bordering on the Persian Gulf. [[Chaldea]] proper was the southern part of Babylonia, and is used, in Scripture, to signify that vast alluvial plain which has been formed by the deposits of the Euphrates and the Tigris. This extraordinary flat, unbroken except by the works of man, extends for a distance of 400 miles along the course of the rivers, and is, on an average, about 100 miles in width. </p> <p> In addition to natural advantages, these plains were nourished by a complicated system of canals, and vegetation flourished bountifully. Chaldea is said to be the only country in the world where wheat grows wild. [[Herodotus]] declared, (i. 193), that grain commonly returned two hundred fold to the sower, and occasionally, three hundred fold. </p> <p> &nbsp;Cities. - Babylonia has long been celebrated for the number and antiquity of its cities. The most important of those which have been identified are Borsippa (&nbsp;Birs-Nimrun), Sippara or [[Sepharvaim]] (&nbsp;Mosaib), [[Cutha]] (&nbsp;Ibrahim), [[Calneh]] (&nbsp;Niffer), [[Erech]] (&nbsp;Warka), Ur (&nbsp;Mugheir), [[Chilmad]] (&nbsp;Kalwadha), Larancha (&nbsp;Senkereh), Is (&nbsp;Hit), Durabe (&nbsp;Akkerkuf); but besides these, there were a multitude of others, the sites of which have not been determined. </p> <p> &nbsp;Present condition. - This land, once so rich in corn and wine, is to-day, but a mass of mounds, "an arid waste; the dense population of former times is vanished, and no man dwells there." The Hebrew prophets applied the term, "land of the Chaldeans," to all Babylonia and, "Chaldeans," to all the subjects of the Babylonian empire. </p>

<p> or Babylonia, the country lying on both sides of the Euphrates, of which Babylon was the capital; and extending southward to the Persian Gulf, and northward into Mesopotamia, at least as far as Ur, which is called Ur of the Chaldees. This country had also the name of Shinar. See &nbsp;BABYLON . </p>