Babylon

"The Greek form of BABEL; Semitic form Babilu, meaning "The Gate" "of God." In the Assyrian tablets it means "The city of the" "dispersion of the tribes." The monumental list of its kings" "reaches back to B.C. 2300, and includes Khammurabi, or Amraphel" "(q.v.), the contemporary of Abraham. It stood on the Euphrates," "about 200 miles above its junction with the Tigris, which flowed" through its midst and divided it into two almost equal parts. "The Elamites invaded Chaldea (i.e., Lower Mesopotamia, or" "Shinar, and Upper Mesopotamia, or Accad, now combined into one)" and held it in subjection. At length Khammu-rabi delivered it "from the foreign yoke, and founded the new empire of Chaldea" "(q.v.), making Babylon the capital of the united kingdom. This" "city gradually grew in extent and grandeur, but in process of" time it became subject to Assyria. On the fall of Nineveh (B.C. "606) it threw off the Assyrian yoke, and became the capital of" the growing Babylonian empire. Under Nebuchadnezzar it became one of the most splendid cities of the ancient world. "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." "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; Jer. 25:12; "50:2, 3; Dan. 2:31-38)." "The Babylon mentioned in 1 Pet. 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. "In Rev. 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)."

"Called "the land of the Chaldeans" (Jer. 24:5; Ezek, 12:13), was" an extensive province in Central Asia along the valley of the Tigris from the Persian Gulf northward for some 300 miles. It was famed for its fertility and its riches. Its capital was the "city of Babylon, a great commercial centre (Ezek. 17:4; Isa." 43:14). Babylonia was divided into the two districts of Accad in "the north, and Summer (probably the Shinar of the Old Testament)" in the south. Among its chief cities may be mentioned Ur (now "Mugheir or Mugayyar), on the western bank of the Euphrates;" "Uruk, or Erech (Gen. 10:10) (now Warka), between Ur and Babylon;" "Larsa (now Senkereh), the Ellasar of Gen. 14:1, a little to the" "east of Erech; Nipur (now Niffer), south-east of Babylon;" "Sepharvaim (2 Kings 17:24), "the two Sipparas" (now Abu-Habba)," "considerably to the north of Babylon; and Eridu, "the good city" "(now Abu-Shahrein), which lay originally on the shore of the" "Persian Gulf, but is now, owing to the silting up of the sand," "about 100 miles distant from it. Another city was Kulunu, or" Calneh (Gen. 10:10). "The salt-marshes at the mouths of the Euphrates and Tigris were "called Marratu, "the bitter" or "salt", the Merathaim of Jer." "50:21. They were the original home of the Kalda, or Chaldeans." "The most famous of the early kings of Babylonia were Sargon of "Accad (B.C. 3800) and his son, Naram-Sin, who conquered a large" "part of Western Asia, establishing their power in Palestine, and" even carrying their arms to the Sinaitic peninsula. A great Babylonian library was founded in the reign of Sargon. Babylonia "was subsequently again broken up into more than one state, and" at one time fell under the domination of Elam. This was put an "end to by Khammu-rabi (Amraphel), who drove the Elamites out of" "the country, and overcame Arioch, the son of an Elamite prince." From this time forward Babylonia was a united monarchy. About "B.C. 1750 it was conquered by the Kassi, or Kosseans, from the" "mountains of Elam, and a Kassite dynasty ruled over it for 576" years and 9 months. "In the time of Khammu-rabi, Syria and Palestine were subject to Babylonia and its Elamite suzerain; and after the overthrow of "the Elamite supremacy, the Babylonian kings continued to" "exercise their influence and power in what was called "the land" "of the Amorites." In the epoch of the Kassite dynasty, however," Canaan passed into the hands of Egypt. "In B.C. 729, Babylonia was conquered by the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III.; but on the death of Shalmaneser IV. it was "seized by the Kalda or "Chaldean" prince Merodach-baladan (2" "Kings 20:12-19), who held it till B.C. 709, when he was driven" out by Sargon. "Under Sennacherib, Babylonia revolted from Assyria several "times, with the help of the Elamites, and after one of these" "revolts Babylon was destroyed by Sennacherib, B.C. 689. It was" "rebuilt by Esarhaddon, who made it his residence during part of" "the year, and it was to Babylon that Manasseh was brought a" "prisoner (2 Chr. 33:11). After the death of Esarhaddon," "Saul-sumyukin, the viceroy of Babylonia, revolted against his" "brother the Assyrian king, and the revolt was suppressed with" difficulty. "When Nineveh was destroyed, B.C. 606, Nabopolassar, the viceroy "of Babylonia, who seems to have been of Chaldean descent, made" "himself independent. His son Nebuchadrezzar (Nabu-kudur-uzur)," "after defeating the Egyptians at Carchemish, succeeded him as" "king, B.C. 604, and founded the Babylonian empire. He strongly" "fortified Babylon, and adorned it with palaces and other" "buildings. His son, Evil-merodach, who succeeded him in B.C." "561, was murdered after a reign of two years. The last monarch" "of the Babylonian empire was Nabonidus (Nabu-nahid), B.C." "555-538, whose eldest son, Belshazzar (Bilu-sar-uzur), is" mentioned in several inscriptions. Babylon was captured by "Cyrus, B.C. 538, and though it revolted more than once in later" "years, it never succeeded in maintaining its independence."

"A robe of rich colours fabricated at Babylon, and hence of great" value (Josh. 7:21).

Definition of Babylon:
"same as Babel"

Related Bible Dictionary Terms:
Babylon kingdom of    Rivers of Babylon