Difference between revisions of "Chaldea"

&nbsp;Jeremiah 50:10&nbsp;51:24,35 <p> The country so named is a vast plain formed by the deposits of the [[Euphrates]] and the Tigris, extending to about 400 miles along the course of these rivers, and about 100 miles in average breadth. "In former days the vast plains of [[Babylon]] were nourished by a complicated system of canals and water-courses, which spread over the surface of the country like a network. The wants of a teeming population were supplied by a rich soil, not less bountiful than that on the banks of the [[Egyptian]] Nile. Like islands rising from a golden sea of waving corn stood frequent groves of palm-trees and pleasant gardens, affording to the idler or traveller their grateful and highly-valued shade. Crowds of passengers hurried along the dusty roads to and from the busy city. The land was rich in corn and wine." </p> <p> Recent discoveries, more especially in Babylonia, have thrown much light on the history of the [[Hebrew]] patriarchs, and have illustrated or confirmed the Biblical narrative in many points. The ancestor of the Hebrew people, Abram, was, we are told, born at "Ur of the Chaldees." "Chaldees" is a mistranslation of the Hebrew <i> Kasdim </i> , Kasdim being the Old [[Testament]] name of the Babylonians, while the [[Chaldees]] were a tribe who lived on the shores of the [[Persian]] Gulf, and did not become a part of the [[Babylonian]] population till the time of Hezekiah. [[Ur]] was one of the oldest and most famous of the Babylonian cities. Its site is now called Mugheir, or Mugayyar, on the western bank of the Euphrates, in Southern Babylonia. About a century before the birth of [[Abram]] it was ruled by a powerful dynasty of kings. Their conquests extended to [[Elam]] on the one side, and to the [[Lebanon]] on the other. They were followed by a dynasty of princes whose capital was Babylon, and who seem to have been of South [[Arabian]] origin. The founder of the dynasty was Sumu-abi ("Shem is my father"). But soon afterwards [[Babylonia]] fell under [[Elamite]] dominion. The kings of Babylon were compelled to acknowledge the supremacy of Elam, and a rival kingdom to that of Babylon, and governed by Elamites, sprang up at Larsa, not far from Ur, but on the opposite bank of the river. In the time of Abram the king of Larsa was Eri-Aku, the son of an Elamite prince, and Eri-Aku, as has long been recognized, is the Biblical "Arioch king of Ellasar" (&nbsp; [[Genesis]] 14:1 ). The contemporaneous king of Babylon in the north, in the country termed [[Shinar]] in Scripture, was Khammu-rabi. (See BABYLON; ABRAHAM; [[Amraphel]] .) </p>

<p> '''Chalde'a.''' More correctly ''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> '''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 (''Birs-Nimrun'' ), Sippara or [[Sepharvaim]] (''Mosaib'' ), [[Cutha]] (''Ibrahim'' ), [[Calneh]] (''Niffer'' ), [[Erech]] (''Warka'' ), Ur (''Mugheir'' ), [[Chilmad]] (''Kalwadha'' ), Larancha (''Senkereh'' ), Is ([[Hit]] ), Durabe (''Akkerkuf'' ); but besides these, there were a multitude of others, the sites of which have not been determined. </p> <p> '''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> The Chaldeans In Old Testament times different peoples occupied southeastern [[Mesopotamia]] at various times. One such group was the Chaldeans, whose name derives from the ancient term <i> Kaldai </i> , which refers to several [[Aramean]] tribes who moved into lower Mesopotamia between 1000,900 B.C. Their new homeland was a flat, alluvial plain of few natural resources, many marshes, spring flooding, and very hot summers. </p> <p> Relation to Babylonia At first the Chaldeans lived in tribal settlements, rejecting the urban society of the Babylonians to the northwest—so-called after the leading city-state of the region, Babylon, to which the Old Testament refers over 300 times. Babylon was once the capital city of the great King [[Hammurabi]] (ca. 1763-1750 B.C.), remembered for the empire he created, and for the famous law code which bears his name. </p> <p> As time passed, the Chaldeans gradually acquired domination in Babylonia. In the process they also took on the title “Babylonians,” or more exactly, “Neo-Babylonians.” As a result, the terms <i> Chaldea(ns) </i> and <i> (Neo-) Babylonia(ns) </i> may be used interchangeably (&nbsp; Ezekiel 1:3 , RSV, NIV; &nbsp;Ezekiel 12:13 , NIV). See [[History And [[Religion]] Of Babylon]] . </p> <p> In the eighth century B.C., the Chaldeans emerged as the champions of resistance against Assyria, a dangerous, aggressive imperial force in upper Mesopotamia. At this time the Chaldeans begin to appear in the Old Testament, first, as possible allies with Judah against Assyria, but later, as a direct threat to Judah and Jerusalem. </p> <p> Tony M. Martin </p>