Click here for the city of Babylon itself.
The Babylonians came twice into power enough to exercise great influence, both imperial and cultural, over the Ancient Near East in its history. Historians identity these two periods of Babylonian history by referring to them as the 'Old Babylonian Empire' and the "Neo-Babylonian Empire.'
The Old Babylonian, as Middle-Eastern goes, came late in history, beginning to show signs of influence only about 19th Cent BC, when the Third Dynasty of Ur collapsed, but came into its own at the time of Hammurabi (1792-50 BC) when, from its capital in Babylon, it cast its imperial shadow over southern Mesopotamia and parts of Assyria (i.e. most of what is modern Iraq). Though not referenced specifically in the Bible, many biblical commentators believe that it is within the historical context of this period that we are to read the Patriarchal Narratives.
The wealth and prestige of the empire naturally made it the envy of its neighbours and invited competitors. In 1595 it was raided by the Hittites, and it soon passed into the control of the Kassites for—with two short hiatus under the Assyrian and the Elamites—the next four centuries before it as swamped by the Assyrians until Nabopolassar re-established the "Neo-Babylonian" Empire about 626 BC. In the years that followed his son, Nebuchadnezzar finally vanquished the Assyrians and made Babylon suzerain over the entire Fertile Crescent, including Judah, beginning with Jehoiakim. However, these later kings of Judah, with their political appetite leaning towards Egypt, were unreliable vassals, and twice— in 601 BC, and then 586 BC—they rebelled against their suzerain lord. Babylonian response on the latter occasion was particularly severe: Jerusalem was sacked and the temple razed, and the most important of her citizens exiled (see Babylonian Exile).
Open list of Babylonian Kings.
The Neo-Babylonian itself, however, did not last long, and was brought to an end in 539 BC when Babylon was taken, unopposed, by an alliance of Median and Persian forces. Thus did the Persian Empire come to occupy her spot on the stage of world history.
Long before she became a great empire, Babylonia (as represented by the city of Babylon) was already a subject of Isaiah's oracles of judgment (see, e.g., 13:19). And though the Babylonian Empire lasted less than a century, her impact on the history and spirituality of the Jews was particularly felt. She was the subject of probably one of the most problematic verses in the Bible; Psm 137:8-9 ("Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is the one who repays you according to what you have done to us. Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks"). Israel, e.g., was infamous, as a nation, for her idolatry; so acute was her experience in Babylon idolatry ceased to be an issue with Judah after her exile. And long after they were gone from the stage of history, Babylon, the city that represented her power, remained a symbol of enimity to God and an object of His wrath. Though Egypt is mentioned more than twice as often in the entire Bible, even she received some leniency (see, e.g., Deut 23:7) but not Babylon. Babylon is "THE GREAT THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH" (Rev 17:5; capitalized in most English versions).
You may also wish to see TimeLine: From Josiah to Exile - 650-560 BC ☰
Further Reading & Resources:
Joshua J. Mark, "Babylon," World History Encyclopedia, 2011. This article is also available in French, Spanish & Greek.
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Robert I. Bradshaw, "The Babylonian Exile of Israel
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E. L. Ellison, "The Spiritual Effect of the Babylonian Exile," Chap 2 of From Babylon to Bethlehem (London: Paternoster, 1976), 3-7.
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David F. Payne, "Babylon," being Chap 19 of Kingdoms of the Lord: A History of the Hebrew Kingdoms from Saul to the Fall of Jerusalem (London: Paternoster, 1981).
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Harry Goehring, "The Fall of Babylon - Historical or Future?" Grace Journal 2.1 (1961): 23-34.
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Theophilus G. Pinches, "Babylon in the Days of Nebuchadnezzar," Journal of the Transactions of the Victoria Institute LII (1920):178-208.
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Eugene Merrill, "Isaiah 40-55 as Anti-Babylonian Polemic," Grace Theological Journal 8.1 (1987): 3-18.
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