Difference between revisions of "Babylon"

<p> Although its boundaries varied from one era to the next, the land of [[Babylon]] was always centred on Mesopotamia, the region of the rivers [[Euphrates]] and Tigris. This was the region where the biblical story of early human history is centred and where the [[Garden]] of Eden was located (Genesis 2:10-14). In ancient times the northern part was often known as [[Akkad]] (or Accad; [[Genesis]] 10:10), and the southern part as Sumer, then Shinar, and later [[Chaldea]] (Genesis 10:10; Genesis 11:2; Genesis 11:28; Ezekiel 12:13; Ezekiel 23:15). The land was named after its chief city, Babylon, which earlier was known as [[Babel]] (Genesis 11:9; Jeremiah 51:31; see BABEL). </p> <p> <p> Copyright Statemen </p> </p>

<p> Nimrod's BABELwas doubtless in some way connected with the renowned city ofBabylon and of the kingdom of which it was the capital. The [[Hebrew]] is <i> Babel, </i> the same for Babel and Babylon. In Genesis 11:2 , it speaks of Babel being built in a plain in the land of Shinar, whichthey reached by travellingfrom the east; this reads in the <i> margin </i> travelling 'eastward,' a reading preferred by many and by the Revisers. This direction agrees well with the locality of Babylon on the river Euphrates. </p> <p> Historians speak of the great size of the city, though they are not agreed as to its dimensions. It had 25 gates on each side, and from the gates were streets which crossed one another at right angles. The houses were not built close together, so that there was ample room inside the city for gardens and even fields and vineyards. The walls were said to be 75 feet thick and 300 feet in height; and the gates were of brass. The river Euphrates ran through the city; but on the banks of the river strong walls were built with gates of brass; there was also a bridge from side to side near the centre of the city. A lake was formed outside the city into which the waters of the rivercould be turned when the water rose too high, and deep ditches filled with water surrounded the walls of the city. </p> <p> We also read of 'hanging gardens' which Nebuchadnezzar built for his wife Amyitis, or Amyhia, daughter of a [[Median]] king,to give the place a measure of resemblance to the mountains and wooded hills of her native country. These gardens are supposed to have been built in terraces of different heights. </p> <p> In several particulars scripture corroborates the statements of the historians. In Jeremiah 50:11 of Babylon it is said, 'O ye destroyers of mine heritage, because ye are grown fat as the heifer at grass, and bellow as bulls;' its broad walls are mentioned, Jeremiah 51:12,58; its gates of brass and bars of iron, Isaiah 45:2; and Nebuchadnezzar boasted of the 'great Babylon' which he had built by the might of his power and for the honour of his majesty. Daniel 4:30 . </p> <p> Among the relies recovered from the various mounds of ruins are some bricks with the names of the kings Neriglissar and Labynetus stamped upon them, but the great majority of those found bear the name of Nebuchadnezzar. Babylon was built with bricks, there being no stone at all near, and in later years the mounds were ransacked for bricks for other cities. </p> <p> Of the early governments in Babylon but little is known with certainty. Berosus, as arranged by Rawlinson, gives from B.C. 2458 to 625 various dynasties of Medes, Chaldaeans, Arabs, and Assyrians; and lastly Babylonians from B.C. 625 to 538. </p> <p> Babylon and Assyria are much blended together in history, sometimes being independent one of the other, and at other times being tributary to one another. In B.C. 745 Tiglath-pileser may be said to have founded the later kingdom of Assyria, and among his victories he became master of Babylonia, as the kingdom of Babylon was called. About 721Merodachbaladan became king of Babylon, and in 712 he sent ambassadors to [[Hezekiah]] on hearing of his sickness. This is recorded in 2 Kings 20:12 , where he is called Berodach-baladan. In B.C. 702Sennacherib king of Assyria expelled Merodach, and Babylon was governed by viceroys from Assyria. In B.C. 681Esar-haddon became king of Assyria but held his court at Babylon, to which place [[Manasseh]] king of [[Judah]] was carried prisoner about B.C. 677. 2 Chronicles 33:11 . About B.C. 625 Nabo-polassar revolted from the king of Assyria and established the later kingdom of Babylon. He with [[Cyaxares]] (the [[Ahasuerus]] of Daniel 9:1 ) founder of the Median kingdom, attacked and took Nineveh, and put an end to the [[Assyrian]] rule. Nebuchadnezzar, co-regent with Nabo-polassar, took Jerusalem, and carried many captives and the holy vessels to Babylon, about B.C. 606. In B.C. 604Nabo-polassar died and Nebuchadnezzar reigned alone. In B.C. 603Jehoiakim revolted and in 599 Nebuchadnezzar again took Jerusalem, and Ezekiel was carried to Babylon: this is called <i> the great captivity. </i> 2 Kings 24:1-16 . [[Mattaniah]] was left as king in Jerusalem, his name being changed to Zedekiah: he reigned 11 years. 2 Kings 24:17-20 . Having rebelled against Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, after a siege of eighteen months, once more took Jerusalem, destroyed the city and burnt the house of the Lord, bringing <i> the kingdom </i> of <i> Judah to an end: </i> B.C. 588. 2 Kings 25:1-26 . For the personal history of the king see NEBUCHADNEZZAR. In B.C. 561Nebuchadnezzar died. He was the 'head of gold' in Daniel's great image. The glory of the later Babylonian [[Empire]] virtually began and ended with him. The succession of kings was somewhat as follows: </p> <p> KINGS OF BABYLON. </p> <p> B.C. </p> <p> 625 Nabo-polassar. </p> <p> 606 Nebuchadnezzar, co-regent. </p> <p> 604 Nabo-polassar dies. Nebuchadnezzar reigns alone. </p> <p> 561 [[Evil-Merodach]] succeeds. He raises up [[Jehoiachin]] in the 37th year of his captivity. </p> <p> 2 Kings 25:27 . </p> <p> 559 Neriglissar succeeds. Perhaps the same as one of the princes called Nergal-sharezer in </p> <p> Jeremiah 39:3,13 . </p> <p> 556 Laborosoarchod succeeds. Reigned 9 months and is slain. </p> <p> 555 [[Nabonidus]] or Nabonadius (also called Labynetus), a usurper : [[Belshazzar]] his son </p> <p> afterwards reigning with him. </p> <p> 538 Babylon taken, and Belshazzar slain. <i> End </i> of <i> the Empire of Babylon. </i> </p> <p> Babylon has a large place in the O.T. with reference to its intercourse with Israel, in nearly every chapter of Jeremiah, from 20 - 52, Babylon is mentioned. Babylon is also of note as being the first of the four great empires prophesied of by Daniel. The kingdom of the Lord, established in the house of David, and maintained in Judah, had for the time come to an end because of iniquity, and the 'times of the Gentiles' had begun.* Of Nebuchadnezzar it was said, "Thou, [[O]] king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength and glory . . . . Thou art this head of gold." Daniel 2:37,38 . Babylon was God's instrument by which Judah was punished; and then because of the pride and wickedness of the king of Babylon he also was brought under the rod of the Almighty. </p> <p> * The times of the [[Gentiles]] will end when the power returns to Judah, the house of David, in the person of the Lord Jesus. </p> <p> The destruction of Babylon was fully foretold in scripture, though some of these prophecies may refer also to still future events, namely, the overthrow by the Lord (typified by Cyrus) of the last holder of Nebuchadnezzar-like authority, namely, the beast, the last head of the revived [[Roman]] empire. Isaiah 13:6-22; Isaiah 14:4-23; Isaiah 21:2-9; Isaiah 47:1-11; Jeremiah 25:12-14 and Jeremiah 50,51 . Its downfall was unexpected. For 24 years after the death of Nebuchadnezzar Babylon continued the seat of the imperial court. In B.C. 538 the city was taken in a remarkable way. A night was chosen when the inhabitants were about to hold a festival, when the whole city would be given up to drunkenness and debauchery. The water of the river was diverted from its bed so as to render it shallow enough to let the troops pass along. The gates were found open, and the city was taken. </p> <p> This also was prophesied of in scripture: it specifies that Cyrus was God's shepherd, and He had holden him to subdue nations: God would loose the loins of kings to open before him the two-leaved gates; and the gates should not be shut: the gates of brass should be broken, and the bars of iron be cut asunder. Isaiah 45:1,2 . Again the suddenness and unexpectedness of the attack is also mentioned: "evil shall come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know." Isaiah 47:11 . We also find that it was on the night of the revelry of Belshazzar's feast that the king was slain. Daniel 5:30 . </p> <p> The monuments show that Babylon was taken by Gobryas the general of Cyrus, and that the capture of the city was, as some think, aided by treachery among its inhabitants. Daniel 5:31 says, "Darius the Median took the kingdom." This king has not been found mentioned by name on the monuments, but he is well accredited as king in Daniel. He was probably ASTYAGES, who was a Median king. He had been conquered by Cyrus, who may have found it to his advantage to let him reign at Babylon as long as he lived. [[Astyages]] being a [[Mede]] and Cyrus a Persian agree with the second great empire being called by the two names. Persia gained the ascendancy, and Babylon was a royal residence during part of the year. There were occasional revolts, in the putting down of which the city was more and more destroyed. In the year B.C. 478 Xerxes returning from his inglorious invasion of [[Greece]] passed through the city, robbed the temple of [[Belus]] of its wealth and left its lofty towers a heap of ruins. In B.C. 324Alexander the Great attempted to rebuild that edifice, and employed 10,000 men; but his sudden death, before the ruins had been cleared away, left it still in desolation. </p> <p> [[Scripture]] is very decisive as to the utter destruction of the city: "Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there: but wild beasts of the desert shall lie there, and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces." Isaiah 13:19-22 . </p> <p> Now vast mounds extend for miles. If Hillah (about 44 25' E 32 27' N ) be taken as a centre, the mounds extend northward about 3 miles. About 6 miles S.W. of Hillah stands the celebrated heap known as <i> Birs Nimrood, </i> supposed to be the site of the ancient temple of Belus. There are three large piles on the east of the river: the Mujelibe or Mukallibe, the <i> Kasr </i> or palace, and the Amran. </p> <p> The moral features of Babylon were idolatrous corruption and worldliness, which will be seen in full manifestation in Babylon the Great. It is the place where the people of God get into captivity through dalliance with the world. </p> <p> In the N.T. Babylon is mentioned in 1 Peter 5:13 . There is evidence in [[Josephus]] that there were many [[Jews]] in the district forty years after Christ. On the occasion of the gathering at [[Jerusalem]] in Acts 2:9-11 mention is made of the Parthians, Medes and Elamites; and when Peter commences his epistle, supposing he was in the district of Babylon, he naturally puts [[Pontus]] first and then passes on to Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. There can be no reason therefore to doubt that the ancient district of Babylon is alluded to by Peter, where, through God's grace, there were some of the 'elect.' </p>

Jeremiah 51:7 <p> Origin Information about Babylon's origin has been lost in antiquity, but it did not rank among the leading Mesopotamian cities before 3000 B.C., such as Erech, Kish, Nippur, Ur, Sippar, or Akkad. Among such great cities it alone bore a Semitic name. Such names first appeared near 2200 B.C. It became a provincial and cult center, later to become the grand capital of the eighteenth century B.C. King Hammurabi. Thereafter, it remained a great center of culture and religion. It was sacked in 689 B.C. by the Assyrian King Sennacherib, who destroyed much of it. Later, Babylonian kings aligned themselves with the Medes to conquer Assyria in 612 B.C., and then the Neo-Babylonian rulers dedicated themselves to reconstructing Babylon's ancient temples and walls. Its main significance lies in these times. [[Due]] largely to Sennacherib's deliberate destruction of the city, very little of pre-Sargonid Babylon (before 721 B.C.) remained. Esarhaddon, Ashurbanipal, and [[Nabopolassar]] undertook a rebuilding, but [[Nebuchadrezzar]] II (605-562 B.C.) brought Babylon to her glory, making it “the [[Palace]] of Heaven and Earth, the [[Seat]] of Kingship.” His work appears everywhere, so with justification the author of Daniel 4:30 could attribute to this king, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?” Cyrus the Persian took Babylon in 539 B.C. and permanently ended her dominance in Near Eastern affairs, but later in the time of Alexander the Great (c. 330 B.C.) some great structures of old Babylon were still wonders. </p> <p> Location Traditionally, a mound called Babil, near the Euphrates River and some six miles northeast of Hillah (southwest of Iraq's capital city Baghdad), has been identified as the location of ancient Babylon. However, the city's location proved to be represented by a number of mounds downstream on the Euphrates 1 1/2-2 1/2 miles south of Babil, the main ones being Qasr, Amran ibn Ali, Merkes, and Homera. </p> <p> [[Archaeology]] Regrettably, the ruins of Babylon have long served as a quarry for building materials. Before 1811, the few antiquities coming from Babylon were mostly surface finds recovered casually or by random digging by the natives. The first planned and organized excavation came in 1811 with C. J. Rich making a careful survey and hiring ten men to aid him in exploration at Babil and Qasr. A second visit followed in 1817. </p> <p> Babylon was one of a number of Mesopotamian sites excavated seriously from 1842 onwards. A.H. Layard was prevented by national disturbances from opening more than a few trial trenches in 1850 at Babil, Qasr, and Amran ibn Ali. Between 1852-1854 the Frenchmen F. Fresnel and J. Oppert achieved very little. For 45 years nothing of real value was undertaken. The major excavations of ancient Babylon began in 1899 led by the German architect Robert Koldewey and lasted year-round until 1917 when British occupation caused cessation of his projected labors far from their completion. </p> <p> Ancient Babylon was divided in two by the Euphrates river. The eastern section with the “Summer Palace” to the north was enclosed by a triangular defensive system of walls running over eight miles from the Euphrates about one and one half miles north of the city southeast to turn southwest to rejoin the river about 750 feet south of the city. Nebuchadnezzar first built this awesome defense network. </p> <p> In reality this outer wall system involved three walls. The innermost, about 22 feet thick, was made of sun-dried mud-brick. Beyond this by 39 feet was a second slightly thicker wall of baked bricks. [[Outside]] this wall was another some 10 feet thick of baked bricks forming the scarp of a moat perhaps as wide as 330 feet. Evidence of projecting towers was found at regular intervals along the inner wall, but no such indication remains for the outer one although there probably were towers there as well. The space between the walls was filled with rubble, perhaps for a base for a protected roadway wide enough to allow Herodotus' “four-horse chariot to turn around.” </p> <p> Just inside the outer wall system at the north and along the Euphrates was the mound Babil, some 1 1/2-2 1/2 miles north of the other mounds. It covered Nebuchadrezzar's “Summer Palace,” and perhaps the [[Bit]] Akitu, the [[Temple]] of the New York Festival. </p> <p> Sprawling ancient Babylon covered an area of nearly 1000 acres, making it the largest ancient settlement in Mesopotamia, some fifteen percent larger than Nineveh. According to records, it contained 1,179 temples of varying sizes. Its normal population was near 100,000, but the walls could have sheltered at least 250,000 persons. The area east of the river comprised the city's older section where most excavations were carried out and where most of the principal buildings were located. The smaller western area constituted Babylon's “new” city about which little is known. </p> <p> [[Greater]] Babylon, excluding its western suburb, was a triangular fortified island with one-third of its area being an inner, elaborately defended fortress which contained the royal palace, the ziggurat, the temple of Marduk, and a vast residential area. </p> <p> [[Processional]] Way [[Access]] to the city was provided by ramps bridging the moat and by eight gates named after gods in the inner walls. The streets of the magnificent city layout were roughly parallel to the river, meeting others at right angles and terminating in great bronze gates. Ancient Babylon's most famous street was the Processional Way, Aibur-shabu (“the enemy shall never pass”) along which the images of the gods were transported from the Euphrates into Babylon during the New Year Festival. Perhaps Isaiah 46:1 satirizes such a procession involving the god [[Marduk]] and his son Nabu. From the Euphrates along this street the distance was about 2000 feet to the northern side of the rectangular wall system. </p> <p> The magnificent and 63-foot wide Aibur-shabu gently sloped upwards as it led southward toward the city walls. The east 225 feet of the roadway outside the city walls lay between two thick walls hardly less impressive than the gate itself. The eastern wall was that of the Northern [[Fortress]] (sometimes called the Museum because of finds there) and the eastern that of the eastern outer bastion. Each of these walls was lined with 60 lions, symbols of Ishtar, molded of bricks of blue ceramic and having red or yellow manes. </p> <p> The Processional Way passed through the most famous of the city gates, the [[Ishtar]] Gate. Its original height was some 70 feet and had an arched opening 15 feet wide. On the earlier gate are still visible alternate rows of some 150 bulls and dragons, symbols of [[Adad]] and Marduk, in plain molded bricks. The latest gate was colorfully decorated with similar animals, now of bricks glazed a vivid blue with the animals alternately yellow and white. [[Inside]] the gate the Processional Way, sloping downward, extends some 4000 feet southward to turn west between the ziggurat enclosure and the Marduk temple toward the Euphrates bridge built by either Nabopolassar or his son Nebuchadnezzar. </p> <p> Babylon's principal palace was on the right upon passing through the Ishtar Gate, lying between a canal at its south and the city walls at its north. Its dimensions were expansive, 1020 feet east to west and 660 feet north to south. In it was the king's throne room, perhaps the scene of Belshazzar's feast and the death of Alexander the Great. On the west Nebuchadnezzar built a huge fortified citadel which was 85 feet thick, apparently to keep out dampness from the adjacent river. In this palace the excavators found an underground “crypt” consisting of a series of 14 vaulted rooms surrounded by a mysteriously thick wall, the vaults clearly constructed as supports for an enormous weight. Nearby was a unique water system with three shafts tied together in a manner suggesting a hydraulic lifting system with an endless chain of buckets drawn up in continuous rotation. These may be the remains of the famous [[Hanging]] Gardens. Here the four clay tablets were found listing the rations of grain and oil for King Jehoiachin of Judah and his sons. [[Across]] the road from this Southern Palace was the temple of the mother-goddess Ninmakh. </p> <p> Babylon's most significant temple was Esagila (“The Temple that raises it head”), the home of the city god Marduk. Located about five-eights of a mile south of the royal palaces, its paved floor had inscriptions stating that it had been laid by the Assyrian Kings [[Ashurbanipal]] and Esarhaddon. Esagila was surrounded by an enclosure of about 1410 by 720 feet which, according to cuneiform documents, housed more than 50 other temples and shrines, many of which have been excavated. Jeremiah's comment on Babylon is remembered: “It is the land of graven images, and they are mad upon their idols (Jeremiah 50:38 ). Over 6,000 figures were uncovered, and ten street altars were found from the period from [[Esarhaddon]] to Nabonidus (681-539 B.C.) In addition to the temples there were “300 daises of the Igigi gods and 1200 daises of the Anunanki gods,” as well as “180 open-air shrines for Ishtar” and 200 places for other deities. </p> <p> Adjacent to Esagila was the great staged tower or ziggurat named Etemenanki, “the foundation house of heaven and earth.” It was of considerable age, but first mention of it is in the 7th century B.C. It has been plundered for building materials in more recent times, but it was partially dismantled near the end of the fourth century B.C. by Alexander the Great to prepare for a proposed building. It measured about 298 feet square at the base and rose in seven stages to at least a height of 200 feet. The inner core of unbaked bricks was enclosed in a shell of baked bricks 49 feet thick. This was apparently the model for the “Tower of Babel.” On its southern side a triple flight of steps led to the second story, the rest of the tower being ascended by means of ramps. On the top was a shrine called sahuru in which rested a bed on which a god was thought to lie at times with a native woman. </p> <p> Karen Joines </p>

<p> 1. A celebrated city situated on the Euphrates, the original foundation of which is described under the word Babel. [[Wit]] this coincide many ancient traditions, while some speak of [[Semiramis]] as the founder, and others of Nebuchadnezzar. These accounts may all be reconciled, by supposing that Semiramis rebuilt the ancient city, and the Nebuchadnezzar. These accounts may all be reconciled, by supposing that Semiramis rebuilt the ancient city, and that Nebuchadnezzar afterwards greatly enlarged and adorned it. </p> <p> Babylon lay in a vast and fertile plain watered by the Euphrates, with flowed through the city. Its walls are described as 60 miles in circumference, 300 feet high, and 75 feet wide, Jeremiah 51:44 - 58 . A deep trench ran parallel with the walls. In each of the four sides were 25 brazen gates, from which roads crossed to the opposite gates. On the squares thus formed countless houses and gardens were made. Nebuchadnezzar's palace was in an inclosure six miles in circumference. Within this were also "the hanging gardens," an immense artificial mound 400 feet high, sustained by archers upon arches, terraced off for trees and flowers, the water for which was drawn from the river by machinery concealed in the mound, Daniel 4:29,30 . </p> <p> Under Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon reached the summit of her greatness and splendor. She was renowned for learning especially in astronomy, and for skill in various arts, as the making of carpets and cloths, of perfumes, jewelry, etc. Her location gave her to a great extent the control of the traffic, by the Euphrates and by caravans, between Central Asia and [[Arabia]] and Egypt. She was "a city of merchants," Isaiah 43:14 Ezekiel 17:4; and into her lap flowed, either through conquest or commerce, the wealth of almost all known lands. [[Justly]] therefore might the prophets call her "the great," Daniel 4:20; "the praise of the whole earth," Jeremiah 51:41; "the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency," Isaiah 13:19; "the lady of kingdoms," Isaiah 47:5; but also "the tender and delicate," and "given to pleasures," Isaiah 47:1,8 . In consequence of the opulence and luxury of the inhabitants, corruptness and licentiousness of manners and morals were carried to a frightful extreme. Bel, Nebo, Nergal, Merodach, Succoth-benoth, and other idols, were there worshipped with rites in which impurity was made a matter of religion. Well might we expect [[Jehovah]] to bring down vengeance on her crimes. Indeed, the woes denounced against Babylon by the prophets constitute some of the most awfully splendid and sublime portions of the whole Bible, Isaiah 13:1-22 14:22 21:9 47:1-15 Jeremiah 25:1-38 50:1-46 51:1-64 , etc. </p> <p> The city did not long remain the capital of the world. Under the reign of Nebuchadnezzar's grandson. Nabonnidus, the Belshazzar of the Scriptures, it was besieged and taken by Cyrus. The accounts of Greek historians harmonize here with that of the Bible: that Cyrus made his successful assault on a night when the whole city, relying on the strength of the walls, had given themselves up to the riot and debauchery of a grand public festival, and the king and his nobles were reveling at a splendid entertainment. Cyrus had previously caused a canal, which ran west of the city, and carried off the superfluous water of the Euphrates into the lake of Nitocris, to be cleared out, in order to turn the river into it; which, by this means, was rendered so shallow, that his soldiers were able to penetrate along its bed into the city, Daniel 5:1-31 . 538 B.C. From this time its importance declined, for Cyrus made [[Susa]] the capital of his kingdom. It revolted against Darius Hystapis, who again subdued it, broke down all its gates, and reduced its walls to the height of fifty cubits. According to Strabo, Xerxes destroyed the tower of Belus. Under the Persians, and under Alexander's successors, Babylon continued to decline, especially after [[Seleucus]] Nicator had founded Selencia, and made it his residence. A great portion of the inhabitants of Babylon removed thither; and in Strabo's time, that is, under [[Augustus]] Babylon had become so desolate, that it might be called a vast desert. There was a town on its site until the fourth century, and many Jews dwelt there, 1 Peter 5:13 . But from this time onward, Babylon ceases almost to be mentioned; even its ruins have not been discovered until within the last two centuries; and it is only within the present century that these ruins have been traced and described. These consist of numerous mounds, usually of brick, deeply furrowed and decayed by time, strewn with fragments of brick, bitumen, pottery, etc. One of these is described above. See Isaiah 13:14 . </p> <p> The name of Babylon is used symbolically in Revelation 14:8 16:1-21 17:1-18 18:1-24 , to mark the idolatry, superstition, lewdness luxury, and persecution of the people of God, which characterized heathen Rome and modern Antichrist. Some thus interpret 1 Peter 5:13 2 . There was also a Babylon in Egypt, a city not far from Heliopolis. Some suppose this to be the Babylon mentioned 1 Peter 5:13; but this is not probable. </p>

<p> Babylon (băb'by-lon), Greek form of Babel. The noted capital of the Chaldæan and Babylonian empires, situated on both sides of the Euphrates river, about 200 miles above its junction with the Tigris, 300 miles from the Persian Gulf. The valley is broad, and the river Euphrates is now about 600 feet wide and 18 feet deep at this place. Babylon, according to Herodotus, was a vast square on both sides of the Euphrates, enclosed by a double line of walls, about 56 miles in circuit and including about 200 square miles. [[Ctesias]] and others make the circuit about 42 miles, enclosing about 106 square miles. The walls, according to Herodotus, were about 335 feet high and 75 feet broad. Ctesias, quoted by Diodorus, states that they were 200 feet high and built by 2,000,000 men. Later writers, regarding these measurements as incredible, give the circuit of the walls at about 40 miles, their height at 75 to 190 feet, and their width at 32 feet, or wide enough to allow four chariots to drive abreast on the top. M. Oppert and Rawlinson, as explorers, hold that the ruins warrant the statement of Herodotus as to the extent of Babylon. The wall of Babylon was surmounted by 250 towers, and it had 100 gates of brass. Jeremiah 51:58; Isaiah 45:2. Babylon is described as cut into squares—some say 676—by straight streets crossing each other at right angles, those at the river being closed by brazen gates, as the banks of the river were fortified by high walk; the river was crossed by drawbridges and lined with quays; the two palaces on opposite sides of the river were connected by a bridge, and also by a tunnel under the river. Among the wonderful buildings were: 1. Nebuchadnezzar's palace, an immense pile of buildings, believed to be nearly six miles in circumference. 2. The hanging-gardens, one of the seven wonders of the world, built by Nebuchadnezzar to please his Median queen, Amytis, who longed for her native mountains. These gardens were 75 feet high and covered three and a half acres, enclosed in an area of larger extent, some say 1000 feet on each side. Upon this mountain was soil of depth to support the largest trees, and the water was drawn up from the river by means of a screw. 3. The temple of Belus, a vast pyramid or tower, 600 feet square, having eight stages or stories, and according to Rawlinson 480 feet high, with a winding ascent passing around it, and a chapel of a god at the top. Babylon is named over 250 times in the Bible. It was founded by Nimrod, Genesis 10:10; its builders were dispersed, Genesis 11:9. Then, except some allusion to Shinar, Genesis 14:1, the Chaldæans, Job 1:17, and the [[Babylonish]] garment (R. V. "mantle"), Joshua 7:21, it drops out of Scripture history until the era of the captivity. It was often subject to Assyria, 2 Chronicles 33:11, and was the residence of at least one Assyrian king. After the fall of Nineveh, b.c. 625, it became an independent kingdom, and under Nebuchadnezzar was enlarged, beautified, and reached the height of its magnificence. In Isaiah 13:19; Isaiah 14:4, it is called "the glory of kingdoms," "the golden city," and in Jeremiah 51:41 "the praise of the whole earth," etc. It was the home of the chief of the captive Jews. Daniel 1:1-4. Its desolation was frequently foretold. Isaiah 13:4-22; Jeremiah 25:12; Jeremiah 50:2-3; Jeremiah 51:1-64; Daniel 2:31-38; Habakkuk 1:5-10. Even before Babylon reached the summit of its glory, Isaiah prophesied: "Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah: It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation; neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there; but wild beasts of the desert shall lie there." Isaiah 13:19-22; Isaiah 14:22. This prophecy has been literally fulfilled. It describes Babylon as it has been for many centuries and is now. Cyrus took it; Darius afterwards rifled it; Xerxes stripped its temples; and Alexander died in attempting its restoration. The modern town of Hillah now occupies a portion of the space covered by the ruins of ancient Babylon, and a telegraph connects it with the city of Bagdad. See Chaldæa and Assyria. </p> <p> Babylon, in Revelation 14:8; Revelation 16:19; Revelation 17:5; Revelation 18:2; Revelation 18:21, is a symbolical name for heathen Rome, which took the place of ancient Babylon as a persecuting power. This is also the sense given to Babylon in 1 Peter 5:13 by the fathers and many commentators; but others refer it to Babylon in Asia, since it is quite possible that Peter labored for a while in that city, where there was at that time a large [[Jewish]] colony; still others maintain that Babylon in Egypt, now called Old Cairo, is meant. </p>

<p> <strong> BABYLON </strong> . <em> Bâbel </em> is the Hebrew form of the native name <em> Bâb-ili </em> , ‘Gate of God.’ It was also <em> Tin-tir </em> or ‘Seat of life,’ and <em> E </em> or <em> E-ki </em> . It is likely that these names once denoted separate towns gradually incorporated. Other quarters of Babylon were Shu-anna, Tç, Shuppatu, and Litamu. According to the Heb. tradition ( Genesis 10:10 ), it was as old as Erech, Akkad, and Calneh. Native tradition makes it as old as [[Erech]] and Nippur, the latter being proved by excavations to date back to prehistoric times. Babylon is from <em> Bâb-ilani </em> . It lay on the E. bank of the Euphrates, part of its site being now occupied by Hillah, about 50 miles S. of Baghdad. The ruins extend for 5 miles N. to S. Bâbil, the N. ruin, covers 120,000 sq. ft. and is still 90 ft. high. It covers the remains of the celebrated Esagila temple. The Mujellibeh is not much less in area, and 28 ft. high. </p> <p> The Kasr contains the ruins of Nebuchadrezzar’s palace, along whose E. side ran the sacred procession street, decorated with enamelled tiles representing the dragon and the <em> re’çm </em> , to the Istar-gate at the S.E. corner. The whole was enclosed within an irregular triangle, formed by two lines of ramparts and the river, an area of about 8 sq. miles. The city crossed the river to the W., where are remains of a palace of Neriglissar. In later times it became coterminous with many other large cities, and Herodotus ascribes to it a circuit of 55 miles. The German excavations now being carried on may be expected to solve the many problems connected with the site. </p> <p> From the very earliest times the kings and rulers of Babylonia worked at the building of its temples, palaces, walls, bridges, quays, etc. [[Hammurabi]] first raised it to be the capital of all Babylonia. It was sacked by [[Sennacherib]] in b.c. 689, the chief palaces, temples, and city walls levelled with the ground, and the waters of the Euphrates turned over it. Esarhaddon began to rebuild it, and it stood another long siege under his son, Ashurbanipal. Nabopolassar began its restoration; Nebuchadrezzar raised it to its height of glory. Cyrus took it without resistance, and held his court there. Darius Hystaspis besieged, took it, and destroyed its walls. Xerxes plundered it. Alexander the Great planned to restore it. Antiochus [[Soter]] actually began the restoration of its great temple. The foundation of Seleucia robbed it of its population, but the temple services continued to b.c. 29, at least. See, further, Assyria and Babylonia. </p> <p> C. H. W. Johns. </p> <p> <strong> BABYLON </strong> (in NT). Babylon was apparently used by the early Church as a symbol for Rome. <strong> 1 </strong> . In Rev. ( Revelation 14:8; Revelation 16:19; Revelation 17:5; Revelation 18:2; Revelation 18:10; Revelation 18:21 ) its destruction is foretold, because of its sins, and particularly because of its persecution. Such identification is, however, somewhat uncertain, and rests ultimately on the Improbability that the word in the connexion in which it appears can refer to the city of [[Mesopotamia]] (the word is so used in Matthew 1:11; Matthew 12:17 , Acts 7:43 ). This basal probability is supported by the fact that Babylon is called ‘mystery’ in Revelation 17:5 , is said to be seated on seven mountains ( Revelation 17:9 ), and to be a centre of commerce and authority ( Revelation 18:3-19; Revelation 18:17; Revelation 14:8 ). Rome is apparently called Babylon in <em> Sib. Or </em> . V. 143, 158; 2 Es.; Apoc. [Note: Apocalypse, Apocalyptic.] Baruch. </p> <p> This identification of Babylon in Revelation with Rome dates at least from the time of Jerome. The attempt to identify it with an apostate Judah and Jerusalem can hardly be taken seriously. The fact that Revelation utilized the Jewish apocalyptic material further makes it imperative that the term symbolize a power which stood related both to [[Christians]] and Jews, in a way parallel with the relation of Babylon to the ancient Hebrew nation. </p> <p> <strong> 2 </strong> . The reference to Babylon in 1 Peter 5:13 has had three interpretations: ( <em> a </em> ) Babylon in Egypt, mentioned by [[Strabo]] and Epiphanius; ( <em> b </em> ) Babylon on the Euphrates; and ( <em> c </em> ) Rome. In view of the symbolic use of the word ‘Babylon,’ as mentioned in the foregoing, the last seems the most probable. [[Eusebius]] ( <em> HE </em> ii. 15) so interprets the reference, and, in view of the ancient and persistent tradition, there is nothing improbable in St. Peter’s having been in Rome. This probability is strengthened by the reference to the persecution to which Christians were being subjected. Assyrian Babylon in the second half of the 1st elm was in decay, and 1Peter would be particularly appropriate if sent out from the seat of a persecution, such as that of Nero, or possibly of Domitian. </p> <p> Shailer Mathews. </p>

<p> [[Capital]] of the Neo-Babylon Empire of the mid-first millennium b.c. Babylon has both a historic role and a theological role in the Bible. [[Certain]] themes become associated with it. In the Book of Revelation, these themes culminate in the image of the whore of Babylon. As a result of this biblical imagery, Babylon has transcended its historical significance to become synonymous with sin and pride in [[Western]] art and literature. </p> <p> Babylon first appears in the [[Bible]] under the guise of the tower of Babel (Genesis 11 ). The Hebrew word for "confused" in verse 9 is <i> babal </i> , which sounds like <i> babel </i> [בָּבֶל] (Babylon). The great evil of the tower builders is their sinful pride against the rule of God. This theme will reappear in the prophetic writings against the city. </p> <p> During the reign of Hezekiah, envoys from Babylon came to Jerusalem (2 Kings 20:12-19 ). The prophet Isaiah chastised the king for showing off the treasures of Judah and predicted that Babylon would some day carry these riches off. This was a startling revelation, for Assyria was the great power of the day and seemingly unassailable. The visit was probably an attempt by Babylon to foment problems for Assyria in the west, thereby diverting attention from Babylon. The postexilic reader would have seen the roots of the destruction of Jerusalem in the foolish pride of Hezekiah and in the greed of Babylon. </p> <p> The prophets describe Babylon as a city of pride and idolatry. Yet the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon presents the prophets with a dilemma. If God is sovereign and makes use of Babylon to punish Judah, can Babylon—as a tool in the hand of its Masterbe blamed for its behavior? Isaiah addresses this problem by portraying Babylon as a woman, the queen of kingdoms (47:5), who should be tender and delicate but is not. God gave his people over into her power, but rather than caring for them she has shown them no mercy. This is a result of her overweening pride, evidenced in her statement that "I am, and there is none besides me" (v. 8). Although the conquest of Jerusalem is in keeping with the will of God, the brutality and greed of the conquerorsthe fruit of Babylon's idolatry and failure to recognize the kingship of Godare not. Because of Babylon's pride, she will be destroyed. Psalm 137 personifies Babylon as a woman who is doomed to destruction and whose infant children will be savagely killed. </p> <p> Jeremiah sees the future destruction of Babylon as a punishment because the Babylonians rejoiced at the destruction of Judah and ruthlessly plundered the people of God (50:11). Babylon herself will become a "heap of ruins" (51:37). Daniel reinforces the picture of Babylon as full of pride and defiance toward God. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, is punished with madness because he denied God's control over "Babylon the Great" (4:30). </p> <p> Centuries after the destruction of the Neo-Babylonian state by Cyrus of Persia, Babylon reappears in a dramatic role in the Book of Revelationa role marked by numerous references to Old [[Testament]] imagery. Pride, idolatry, cruelty, and greed are associated with the city. </p> <p> The dominant image of Babylon in Revelation is the city's personification of a rich woman, the "mother of prostitutes" (17:5). Babylon is a great city that rules over the earth. </p> <p> Babylon, the historic oppressor of God's people, represents the new oppressor of Christ's church. Like the Mesopotamian city, the "great city" (Rome) will be judged and will become a desolate wilderness. The metaphor extends beyond the physical Rome to the entire world, "intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries" (17:2). The people of God, however, will be delivered from the grasp of the prophetic Babylon just as Ezekiel foretold for the exiles held captive in the historic Babylon. </p> <p> [[Thomas]] W. Davis </p> <p> <i> Bibliography </i> . J. M. Ford, <i> Revelation </i> ; R. E. Clemens, <i> Jeremiah </i> ; G. E. Wright, <i> The Book of Jonah </i> . </p>

<p> After passing through various vicissitudes the city was occupied by Cyrus, "king of Elam," B.C. 538, who issued a decree permitting the Jews to return to their own land (Ezra 1 ). It then ceased to be the capital of an empire. It was again and again visited by hostile armies, till its inhabitants were all driven from their homes, and the city became a complete desolation, its very site being forgotten from among men. </p> <p> On the west bank of the Euphrates, about 50 miles south of Bagdad, there is found a series of artificial mounds of vast extent. These are the ruins of this once famous proud city. These ruins are principally (1) the great mound called Babil by the Arabs. This was probably the noted Temple of Belus, which was a pyramid about 480 feet high. (2) The Kasr (i.e., "the palace"). This was the great palace of Nebuchadnezzar. It is almost a square, each side of which is about 700 feet long. The little town of Hillah, near the site of Babylon, is built almost wholly of bricks taken from this single mound. (3) A lofty mound, on the summit of which stands a modern tomb called Amran ibn-Ali. This is probably the most ancient portion of the remains of the city, and represents the ruins of the famous hanging-gardens, or perhaps of some royal palace. The utter desolation of the city once called "The glory of kingdoms" (Isa.13:19) was foretold by the prophets (Isa.13:4-22; Jeremiah 25:12; 50:2,3; Daniel 2:31-38 ). </p> <p> The Babylon mentioned in 1 Peter 5:13 was not Rome, as some have thought, but the literal city of Babylon, which was inhabited by many Jews at the time Peter wrote. </p> <p> In Revelation 14:8; 16:19; 17:5; and 18:2, "Babylon" is supposed to mean Rome, not considered as pagan, but as the prolongation of the ancient power in the papal form. Rome, pagan and papal, is regarded as one power. "The literal Babylon was the beginner and supporter of tyranny and idolatry...This city and its whole empire were taken by the Persians under Cyrus; the Persians were subdued by the Macedonians, and the [[Macedonians]] by the Romans; so that Rome succeeded to the power of old Babylon. And it was her method to adopt the worship of the false deities she had conquered; so that by her own act she became the heiress and successor of all the Babylonian idolatry, and of all that was introduced into it by the immediate successors of Babylon, and consequently of all the idolatry of the earth." Rome, or "mystical Babylon," is "that great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth" (17:18). </p>

<p> This eminent city, which was once the most noble and magnificent in the whole earth, the capital of the Chaldean empire: and concerning which the Scriptures themselves speak so highly, (See Daniel 4:30) is now so totally overthrown, that not a vestige remains. By Isaiah the prophet, the Lord declared this ruin, (Isaiah 13:19 to the end;) (Isaiah 13:19-22) and every traveller that hath seen the ground it stood on confirms it. The approach to the ruins, on account of the venomous creatures which inhabit it, is so dangerous, that no man durst venture, and many parts for ages have not been explored. Who that considers this, and connects with it what the prophets declared concerning it, years before the event took place, but must be struck with wonder and praise! I beg the reader to look again at Isaiah's prophecy, chap. 13:19 to the end. (Isaiah 13:19-22) And when the reader hath duly pondered the subject, concerning the natural history of Babylon, thus desolated as the enemy of Christ and his church; he will do well to consider the subject in the spiritual sense of it, according to what the Scriptures have declared of mystical Babylon. Let him turn to the Revelations of John, and hear what the Spirit saith, concerning the awful close to all the enemies of Christ and his church. (See Revelation 17:1-18 and Revelation 18:1-24) </p>

<p> Jeremiah 50:14 (b) Throughout chapters 50,51of this book, the actual city of Babylon is directly in view, but what is said about that city indicates clearly that it refers to the great religions and idolatries of the world which seek to depose GOD and enthrone their own philosophies. This is particularly true of Jeremiah 51:6 and Jeremiah 51:8 which evidently refer to the same situation that we find in the New Testament. </p> <p> Revelation 17:5 (b) This is plainly a type of the great false religious systems of the world, particularly Romanism, which knew nothing of the grace of GOD, nor the [[Blood]] of CHRIST, nor the personal ministry of the [[Holy]] Spirit. It refers to those religious sects and heresies which deny the faith of our fathers, and reject the truth of GOD. This Babylon is represented as a woman. </p> <p> Revelation 18:2 (b) As in the above Scripture we see the religious side of false religions So in this verse we find the political aspect of those great apostate religions, the political religious world. Under this description we see the wickedness of the merchants, the politics of the church, and the filthiness of her society which are all to be brought under the judgment of GOD. We should note that in Revelation 18:13, the last two items of merchandise of this great apostate religious group consists of slaves (bodies and souls of men). This is particularly true of the Romish church, whose members are slaves in body, soul and spirit to their religious leaders. This Babylon is described as a city in Revelation 18:16. </p>

<p> Bab'ylon. Babylon, in the Apocalypse, is the symbolical name by which Rome is denoted. Revelation 14:8; Revelation 17:18. The power of Rome was regarded by the later Jews as was that of Babylon by their forefathers. Compare Jeremiah 51:7 with Revelation 14:8. </p> <p> The occurrence of this name in 1 Peter 5:13 has given rise to a variety of conjectures, many giving it the same meaning as in the Apocalypse; others refer it to Babylon in Asia, and others still to Babylon in Egypt. The most natural supposition of all is that by Babylon is intended the old Babylon of Assyria, which was largely inhabited by Jews at the time in question. </p>

<p> Bab´ylon; the name in Hebrew is Babel, from the confusion of tongues (Genesis 11:1-9). In Daniel 4:27 the place is appropriately termed 'Babylon the Great.' This famous city was the metropolis of the province of Babylon and of the Babyionio-Chaldean Empire. It was situated in a wide plain on the Euphrates, which divided it into two nearly equal parts. According to the book of Genesis, its foundations were laid at the same time with those of the tower of Babel. In the revolutions of centuries it underwent many changes, and received successive reparations and additions. Semiramis and Nebuchadnezzar are those to whom the city was indebted for its greatest augmentations and its chief splendor. Its site has been ascertained to be near Hillah, about forty miles from Bagdad. </p> <p> According to Herodotus, the walls of Babylon were sixty miles in circumference, built of large bricks cemented together with bitumen, and raised round the city in the form of an exact square; hence they measured fifteen miles along each face. They were87 feet thick and 350 feet high protected on the outside by a vast ditch lined with the same material, and proportioned in depth and width to the elevation of the walls. The city was entered by twenty-five gates on each side, made of solid brass, and additionally strengthened by 250 towers, so placed that between every two gates were four towers, and four additional ones at the four corners. The whole city contained 676 squares, each two miles and a quarter in circumference. The river ran through the city from north to south; and on each side was a quay of the same thickness as the walls of the city, and 100 stadia in length. In these quays were gates of brass, and from each of them steps descending into the river. A bridge was thrown across the river, of great beauty and admirable contrivance, a furlong in length and 30 feet in breadth. The greatest circumference ascribed by the ancients to the city walls is 480 stadia, the most moderate 360. The smallest computation supposes an area for the city of which we can now scarcely form an idea. Its population however may not have been in proportion to its extent. The place was probably what in these days would be considered an enclosed district rather than a compact city. </p> <p> One or two additional facts may aid in conveying a full idea of this great and magnificent-city. When Cyrus took Babylon by turning the Euphrates into a neighboring lake, the dwellers in the middle of the place were not for some time aware that their fellow-townsmen who were near the walls had been captured. From the fallen towers of Babylon have arisen not only all the present cities in its vicinity, but others which, like itself, have long since gone down into the dust. Since the days of Alexander four capitals, at least, have been built out of its remains—Seleucia by the Greeks, Ctesiphon by the Parthians, [[Al]] Maidan by the Persians, and Kufa by the Caliphs; with towns, villages, and caravansaries without number. The necessary fragments and materials were transported along the rivers and the canals. The new palace built by Nebuchadnezzar was prodigious in size and superb in embellishments. Its outer wall embraced six miles; within that circumference were two other embattled walls, besides a great tower. Three brazen gates led into the grand area, and every gate of consequence throughout the city was of brass. </p> <p> The palace was splendidly decorated with statues of men and animals, with vessels of gold and silver, and furnished with luxuries of all kinds brought thither from conquests in Egypt, Palestine, and Tyre. Its greatest boast were the hanging gardens. They are attributed to the gallantry of Nebuchadnezzar, who constructed them in compliance with a wish of his queen Amytis to possess elevated groves such as she had enjoyed on the hills around her native Ecbatana. Babylon was all flat; and to accomplish so extravagant a desire an artificial mountain was reared, 400 feet on each side, while terraces one above another rose to a height that over-lapped the walls of the city, that is, above 300 feet in elevation. The ascent from terrace to terrace was made by corresponding flights of steps. The level of each terrace or garden was then formed in the following manner: the top of the piers was first laid over with flat stones, 16 feet in length and 4 feet in width; on these stones were spread beds of matting, then a thick layer of bitumen; after which came two courses of bricks, which were covered with sheets of solid lead. The earth was heaped on this platform; and in order to admit the roots of large trees, prodigious hollow piers were built and filled with mould. From the Euphrates, which flowed close to the foundation, water was drawn up by machinery. The whole had, to those who saw it from a distance, the appearance of woods overhanging mountains. Such was the completion of Nebuchadnezzar's work, when he found himself at rest in his house, and flourished in his palace. The king spoke and said, 'Is not this great Babylon that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and the honor of my majesty' (Daniel 4:30). Nowhere could the king have taken so comprehensive a view of the city he had so magnificently constructed and adorned as when walking on the highest terrace of the gardens of his palace. </p>

<p> The capital city of Babylonia, one of the richest and most magnificent cities of the East, the gigantic walls and hanging gardens of which were classed among the seven wonders of the world; was taken, according to tradition, by Cyrus in 538 B.C., by diverting out of their channel the waters of the Euphrates, which flowed through it and by Darius in 519 B.C., through the self-sacrifice of Zophyrus. The name was often metaphorically applied to Rome by the early Christians, and is to-day to great centres of population, such as London, where the overcrowding, the accumulation of material wealth, and the so-called refinements of civilisation, are conceived to have a corrupting effect on the religion and morals of the inhabitants. </p>