Babylon

From CreationWiki, the encyclopedia of creation science

Babylon (Hebrew: בבל, "Babel") was a city in ancient Mesopotamia, located on the banks of the Euphrates river (the river ran through the center of the city), approximately 55 miles south of modern Baghdad, Iraq. The name Babylon is the Greek form of the city's name in the Akkadian language, Bab-ilu, which was in turn a translation of the Sumerian Ka-dimirra; both Akkadian and Sumerian names mean "Gate of the god", a reference to Marduk, patron god of the city.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Foundation 1.2 Tower of Babel 1.3 Early History 1.4 Imperial Babylon 2 Biblical Significance 3 Culture 3.1 Code of Hammurabi 3.2 Religion 3.3 The Hanging Gardens 4 Scientific Accomplishments 4.1 Mathematics 4.2 Astronomy 4.3 Architecture 5 References 6 See Also

History

Foundation

The region around Babylon is known to have been occupied since at least the 40^th century B.C. by the pre-Sumerian people. The Biblical book of Genesis credits the founding of the city by the hunter-warrior-king Nimrod:

⁸ Cush was the father of Nimrod, who grew to be a mighty warrior on the earth. ⁹ He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; that is why it is said, "Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the LORD." ¹⁰ The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon, Erech, Akkad and Calneh, in Shinar. Genesis 10:8-10

The first extrabiblical mention of the city is on a tablet from the reign of Sargon I of Akkad, circa 2300 B.C., ordering the construction of several temples, including one in Babylon. Some scholars have speculated that Sargon I may have been the same person as Nimrod (more details in article on Nimrod).

Tower of Babel

See main article: Tower of Babel

According to the Bible, sometime after Babylon's foundation, the people of the city and surrounding area banded together to create a tower (or ziggurat) that would reach to Heaven. This is described in Genesis 11:1-9 as the Tower of Babel. The Bible does not specify who organized the tower effort, but some extrabiblical and apocryphal texts cite Nimrod as the leader.

Although the tower story is dismissed as mythical by many secular scholars, it is interesting to note that Babylon's name, "Gate of the god", derives from its massive primary temple, a ziggurat intended to be a "stairway" for the god Marduk to descend from and ascend to heaven — a striking similarity to the purpose of the Biblical tower.

Early History

Imperial Babylon

Biblical Significance

Culture

Code of Hammurabi

Religion

The Hanging Gardens

Scientific Accomplishments

Mathematics

Astronomy

Architecture

References

• Who's Who and Where's Where in the Bible, by Stephen M. Miller, Barbour Publishing, 2004
• Wikipedia article
• Encylopaedia Britannica article

See Also

• Babylonia
• Nebuchadnezzar II