Territory.
History.
The religion.
Current conditions.
Babylon city.
Ur.
biblical interest.
Territory.
Babylon originally consisted of the territory extending from the Persian Gulf to latitude 34° north, and was situated between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
To the north its borders were Assyria and Mesopotamia, to the east Elam, from which it was separated by mountains; to the south by the Persian Gulf, and to the west by the Syrian or Arabian desert.
From time to time Babylon ruled almost the entire world. He conquered Nineveh and all of Northern Assyria, and in rapid succession Southern Assyria, and the vassal states of Armenia, Palestine, Syria, and Egypt, fell to his power. It was covered by a network of canals that gave great fertility to the land, gave wonderful prosperity to the country, made it possible to maintain a very large population.
History.
At one time or another, and by different people, Babylon was designated by three names.
In the oldest biblical references it was called Shinar, Gen 10:10; Gen 14:1.
The name was probably derived from Sungir or Sugir. In this territory were Babel, Erech, Acad and Calneh, the cities that were the beginning of the kingdom of Nimrod (Gen 10:10). The name Babylon was taken from the main city, Babylon, and is the Greek form of the Hebrew Babel and the Semitic Bab-ilu meaning “Gate of God.” This place was also known to the Hebrews as Erez Kasin. A variation of Kaldu, from which comes the Greek word Chaldea, the name by which the whole land was known during the Greek period.
Ancient Babylon is said to have been founded by Nimrod, a descendant of Ham (Gen 10:10), probably a short time after the flood. Skipping some scattered dates going back 6000 to 8000 B.C. JC, its history can be divided into four well-defined periods.
(1) The small city-state period, about 4500 B.C. BC There were six cities in the north inhabited by non-Semitic people, and six in the south made up of Semitic people.
(2) Expansion Period, 3800 to 2100 BC. BC The greatest king Sargon of Argade (Akkad, as it is now more commonly used), who conquered most of western Asia including Palestine, and founded the great library of Babylon. It was the first civilization that became a victorious force in the entire Semitic world.
(3) The period of supremacy, from 2100 to about 1700 BC. JC Amurabi was thought to be the Amraphel of Gen 14:1-9. It is now denied that it was, as Amurabi is believed to have lived later (1728-1686 BC). Amurabi was the greatest king of the he period. He developed the country’s trade, built a canal connecting the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and did many other remarkable things. He is best known for his extraordinary code of laws.
(4) The period of decline, from 1700 a. of JC until the defeat of Belsasar in 538 a. by JC
This last period is marked by many rebellions, declines and revivals. It was defeated by the Kassites and later conquered by the Assyrians around 1100 BC. AD It later gained enough strength by uniting with the Medes to defeat Nineveh, and became the strongest empire in the east. Temples were built, cities were fortified, and the territory so enlarged that it was considered sovereign as far as the southern border of Palestine.
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, made three raids during the years 607, 597 and 587 a. JC, leading Judah into captivity, where the Jews remained until Cyrus defeated Babylon in 538 BC. by JC
In those early times Babylon stood out as representative of culture, civilization and literature and had absolute power in religion.
The religion.
Babylonian religion at first appears to have been an animistic belief. They believed that everything that moved had life or spirit. Along with this belief there was another in the spirits, which for them were related to the dead, and they became nocturnal demons and exerted a terrible influence on men, for which they had to be expelled with all kinds of magic. Naturally every center and city soon had its deity, usually associated with some great natural phenomenon. The sun and the moon were the most prominent among these gods.
The Babylonians never abandoned polytheism. They had no idea of a personal, just and holy God who loved justice and hated sin. They had a world god, or king of the earth; a god of the deep; a god of the skies; a god of hell; including plague and fever; a god of vegetation, health and wars; a god of fertility and love, and countless other gods.
Everyone worshiped some idol. They believed in an existence after death, which for the most part was a very sad life. The souls of the dead dwelt in dark rooms amid dust and bats, and their room was called “the land of no return.”
Current Conditions.
Today there is nothing of importance left of this ancient and mighty civilization. However, there are many ruins that archaeologists have sought to identify with the tower of Babel from Genesis 11. Further exploration will no doubt shed more light on many issues of interest. Now it cannot be said that there is civilization there; Nor does it have a connection with today’s world.
Babylon city.
From the time of Amurabi (1728-1686 BC), the capital of the Babylonian empire was Babylon. The name means †œGate of God† or †œgate of the gods† . It was built on both sides of the Euphrates river, about 321 km before joining the Tigris; 483 km from the Persian Gulf; and 96 km southwest of the modern city of Baghdad. The two sections of the city were connected by a tunnel under the river and by a bridge. Currently has the river at that location near ms. wide, with a depth of 5 ms.
We have received various descriptions of the city, some of them by those who claim they were eyewitnesses to the glory of Babylon. According to Herodotus, the plan of the city was a square of 22 km per side. He says that a wall 95 meters high, 26 ms. thick and 90 km long, it surrounded the entire city, and that this great wall was surrounded by wide and deep moats, filled with water to prevent access routes to any enemy.
The city was famous for its grand buildings; notable among them were: (1) Nebuchadnezzar’s palace. This was an immense group of buildings, popularly believed to be over 9,656 ms. of circumference. (2) The Hanging Gardens, whose renown has been proclaimed throughout the world. They were built by Nebuchadnezzar to please Queen Amitis, who yearned for her native mountains. They were 23 meters high, with enough depth of soil to support the largest trees. Each garden measured just over ms. and all together they covered 13 hectares, but the surface that contained these gardens was even larger.
The water to irrigate the gardens was taken from the river by means of a screw-shaped device. (3) Two great Temples. The first, the Esag-ila or Belus temple, but better known as the Marduk temple, was situated on the bank of the Euphrates river. This temple was an immense pyramid or tower, and measured 183 ms. 2 base for 146 ms. High. It had a winding rise around it, and at the top was a chapel dedicated to a god. The second was the temple of Nebo, called by the inhabitants “the house of eternity”. The temple was located at Borsippa. Some of its ruins still exist, under the name of Biro-Nimrod, or Nimrod’s tower.
Both temples were seven stories high.
Some think that these temples already existed before the tower of Babel (Gen 11:1-9). These and other things made Babylon the center of the glory and wickedness of the whole world.
Ur of the Chaldeans.
Ur comes from Uru, an ancient city in the extreme southern part of Babylonian Chaldea. The name he bears today is Mugayyer, and it is not of much importance.
It was situated on the west side of the Euphrates River, about 135 miles southwest of Babylon. It was a large and prosperous city, a center of land and sea routes.
Its history can be traced back to 3,000 to 4,000 years BC. JC In those days it was a famous center for the worship of the moon goddess, Sin, also called Nanna.
The ruins were discovered by Taylor in 1853. It is now under the rule of an Arab sheikh. In recent years extensive research has been done on the ruins of the city, and much has been discovered to support the biblical account. Without a doubt, there are still many treasures to be discovered.
It interests us for two reasons: it was the first place where Abraham lived, which Stephen said was in Mesopotamia (Acts 7:2-4); and it was the place where Abraham with Terah, his father, and other members of his family left to find a new home in Canaan. Genesis 11:28-32; Gen 12:1; Genesis 15:7; Neh 9:7. It was the center of idolatry at that time.
Biblical interest.
The main biblical interest regarding Babylon is based on two facts:
(1) the origin of Abraham, which is traced to Ur, one of the oldest cities in Babylon;
(2) the fact that it was the land of Israel’s captivity and thus became Israel’s second home where many settled permanently.
Babylon is mentioned 250 times in the Bible. There are many references to it in the historical books, and it is often the subject of prophecies, especially in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, and Habakkuk. The following references will show something of the importance of place in the biblical chronicles.
Started by Nimrod, Gen 10:10.
The tower of Babel, Gen 11:1-9.
Amraphel, king of Shinar, helped capture Lot, Gen 14:1ff.
Famous for its manufacture (Jos 7:21); as a center of wisdom (Daniel 2.12; Jos 4:6); as a shopping mall (Isa 43:14; Eze 17:4); for his greatness (Dan 4:30).
Hezekiah showed his treasures to the ambassadors of the king of Babylon (2Ki 20:12-18; 2Ch 32:27-31).
The Babylonians put idols in Israel after the captivity (2Ki 17:30, 2Ki 17:34).
They led Judah into captivity – three invasions spanning twenty years (2 Kings 24-25; 2 Chronicles 36; Jeremiah 39, 52; Mat 1:11-12, Mat 1:17; Acts 7:43).
The prophets spoke against it (Isaiah 13, 14, 47; 21:1-10; 48:14, 20; Jeremiah 50-51).
Defeated by Darius (Dan 5:31).
Judah returns from the prophesied captivity (Isa 48:20ff), carried out under Zerubbabel (Ezra 1-2), under Ezra (Ezra 7-8), under Nehemiah (Nehemiah 1-2).
Used in a mystical or symbolic sense (1Pe 5:13; Rev 14:8; Rev 16:19; Rev 16:17-18).
Shinar used as equivalent to Babylon (Isa 11:11; Dan 1:2; Zec 5:11; Mic 5:6).
Source: Biblical Geography