Significance of Babylon
Synonyms: Euphrates, Mesopotamia, Ancient city, Civilization, Historical site, Biblical city
The below excerpts are indicatory and do represent direct quotations or translations. It is your responsibility to fact check each reference.
The concept of Babylon in local and regional sources
Babylon is an ancient civilization, the birthplace of culture, where cuneiform was inscribed on bricks and tiles, and inhabited by the Semitic race.
From: The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda
(1) This is an ancient civilization that is the birthplace of culture, and where cuneiform characters were inscribed on bricks and tiles, and where the Semitic race inhabited.[1]
The concept of Babylon in scientific sources
Babylon is significant in two ways: first, as a place connected to scribal culture and religious vision alongside Judea; and second, as a location referenced in the title of the First Epistle.
From: Religions Journal (MDPI)
(1) According to the text, "Babylon" in Rabbi Yosef’s words can mean narrowly the remnants of the tower of Babylon or broadly the land of Babylon, both implying a place that induces forgetting.[2] (2) It is a place, along with Egypt, and Herod, that would be considered in relation to an oppressive power that led to the destruction of a significant structure.[3] (3) It is a place whose expansion is mentioned, and it is associated with empires that sought to maximize tribute, bringing excessive violence to their colonies.[4] (4) A geographical destination mentioned in the title of the First Epistle.[5] (5) From Adapa to Enoch: Scribal Culture and Religious Vision in Judea and Babylon.[6]
Classical concept of 'Babylon'
From: The History of Herodotus
(1) Babylon is mentioned as a city that had been taken before the march of Dareios against the Scythians, marking a point in time for subsequent events.[7] (2) Dareios valued Zopyros more than twenty Babylons, and he granted Zopyros Babylon to rule without tribute for his lifetime as a reward.[8] (3) An ancient city that was besieged by Dareios and eventually captured through the cunning actions of Zopyros, after a prolonged period of resistance.[9] (4) Babylon, along with the rest of Assyria, contributed a thousand talents of silver and five hundred boys for eunuchs as tribute.[10] (5) A city that was well-provisioned for a long siege, eventually captured by Cyrus through a strategic maneuver involving diverting the river Euphrates, leading to its downfall and subsequent tributes.[11]
From: Egypt Through The Stereoscope
(1) It was a town of some sort during the Greek domination in Egypt, with a Roman garrison stationed in a fortress.[12] (2) Babylon is an ancient civilization that may be older than Egypt, but its career as a nation ended much earlier, making its history shorter.[13]
From: Egyptian Magic
(1) Babylon was a place where the magical practices of the Egyptians had found a congenial home among the Jews who lived in and about it.[14]
