It is assumed that it was 50 ft. long by 70 ft. broad and 50 ft. in height. (Daniel 4:30), was, according to his own records and the Greek writers, enormous, and the claim he made fully justified. The roads which ran through the city were straight, and apparently intersected each other at right angles, like the great cities of America.
The temple E-makh was close to the east side of the gate. 606) it threw off the Assyrian yoke, and became the capital of the growing Babylonian empire.
The pavement was laid with blocks of stone brought from the mountains. ... /.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/chapter 7 that the king.htm, The Angel Announcing the Fall of Babylon. It is defined as simply meaning “confusion.” The word Babylon in this context refers to an evil and persecuting city that is destroyed for its wickedness (Revelation 18).
729, Babylonia was conquered by the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III. The Greek form of BABEL; Semitic form Babilu, meaning "The Gate of God." (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV), Psalms 87:4I will record Rahab and Babylon among those who acknowledge me. For your judgment has come in one hour.
Description of the Ruins-The Eastern Walls:The ruins of Babylon lie between 80 and 90 kilometers (50 miles or less) from Bagdad. What is the literal meaning and origin of the word Babylon? In the book of Revelation, the word Babylon is used as a symbol of a wicked city. Bel, Nebo, Nergal, Merodach, Succoth-benoth, and other idols, were there worshipped with rites in which impurity was made a matter of religion. (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV), 2 Kings 25:21The king of Babylon struck them, and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV), Isaiah 14:4that you will take up this parable against the king of Babylon, and say, "How the oppressor has ceased!
Under the Persians, and under Alexander's successors, Babylon continued to decline, especially after Seleucus Nicator had founded Selencia, and made it his residence. Over the centuries the Neo-Babylonian Empire gradually lost more of its importance. He whom Yahweh loves shall perform his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall be on the Chaldeans. (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV), Jeremiah 20:4For thus says Yahweh, Behold, I will make you a terror to yourself, and to all your friends; and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and your eyes shall see it; and I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive to Babylon, and shall kill them with the sword. There is no tradition that connects Peter' in any way with Egypt. A few interpreters have believed that Jerusalem was the city that was designated as Babylon, but most scholars hold that Rome was the city that was meant. (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV), Jeremiah 25:1The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (the same was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon),(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV), Jeremiah 25:9behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, says Yahweh, and I will send to Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against its inhabitants, and against all these nations around; and I will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and a hissing, and perpetual desolations. He answered, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the engraved images of her gods are broken to the ground. Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. The construction of these, which protected the inner city only, on the eastern and western sides of the Euphrates, he attributes to his father Nabonidus, as well as the digging of the moat, with the two "strong walls" on its banks, and the embankment of the Arabtu canal. One of these is described above. In the time of Dungi we learn that the place was sacked. (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV), Ezra 5:14The gold and silver vessels also of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that was in Jerusalem, and brought into the temple of Babylon, those did Cyrus the king take out of the temple of Babylon, and they were delivered to one whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor;(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV), Ezra 5:17Now therefore, if it seem good to the king, let there be search made in the king's treasure house, which is there at Babylon, whether it be so, that a decree was made of Cyrus the king to build this house of God at Jerusalem; and let the king send his pleasure to us concerning this matter.
See Clay, LOTB, Babel, 121, and the article on BABEL, TOWER OF. Daniel tells of Nebuchadnezzar strolling the roof of his palace, boasting about his own glory, when the voice of God came from heaven, promising insanity and humiliation until the king recognized God as supreme: The prophets mention Babylon as both a warning of punishment for Israel and an example of what displeases God. The reason why the tern “Babylon” is used as opposed to another is due to the fact that for the most part the Bible was the only reference point available to most enslaved Africans and since they were stripped of cultural identity and their children were forbidden from learning to read, biblical terminology proved to be the best way of communication between rastas and bald heads. This palace was defended by three walls, the outermost being 60 furlongs or 7 miles in circuit; the second, a circular wall, 40 furlongs (4 1/2 miles), and the third 20 furlongs (2 1/2 miles). Reckoning the cubit at 18 2/3 inches, this would mean that Babylon's walls were no less than 311 ft. high; and regarding the royal cubit as being equal to 21 inches, their thickness would be something like 87 ft. In Babylonian, the word “Babylon” is divided into two separate words: Bab–ilu which means “gate of the gods.” However, in Hebrew the word is associated with Balal. About the middle, and close to each other, are two Moslem domed tombs, the first called Ibrahim al-Khalil ("Abraham the Friend" (of God)-probably a late addition to the name of another Abraham than the Patriarch), and the other Areran ibn `Ali, from which the ruin receives its modern name.21. While marriage was monogamous, a man could have one or more concubines. However, it was partly destroyed by Xerxes, a Persian king.