Babylon
Ancient zigzurat city
Babylon was an ancient city in Mesopotamia, capital of the Babylonian empire, located near present-day Baghdad.
The name evokes grandeur and decadence—the Hanging Gardens, the Tower of Babel.
In Rastafarian usage, Babylon refers to Western society viewed as corrupt and oppressive: Babylon system is the vampire.
More broadly, any place of sin, materialism, or exile from spiritual home: escaping Babylon for simpler living.
Tigris-Euphrates river region
- NebuchadnezzarChaldean dynasty monarch
- HammurabiAncient Babylonian king-legislator
- zigguratStepped ancient temple mound
- cuneiformStylus-impressed ancient script
Euphrates · Tigris · Chaldean · Akkadian · Sumerian · Marduk · clay tablets · astronomy
Middle Eastern republic
- BaghdadIraqi seat of government
- excavationAct of unearthing
- ruinsDecayed structural remains
- siteDesignated location
desert · Middle East · Fertile Crescent · artifact · reconstruction · Saddam Hussein · looting · preservation
Banishment from homeland
- captivityState of being confined
- DanielHebrew prophet's name
- JeremiahOld Testament major prophet
- RevelationProphetic biblical finale
fall · judgment · pride · hubris · dispersion · languages · confusion · prophecy
Moral decline through excess
- corruptionDishonest abuse of power
- excessSurplus beyond need
- empireDomain under unified control
- downfallSudden loss of power
wealth · luxury · sin · materialism · hedonism · opulence · decline · moral decay
Biblical promised homeland
- oppressionUnjust exercise of power
- systemConnected parts forming whole
- resistanceCapacity to withstand force
- reggaeJamaican offbeat music style
Bob Marley · Jah · Haile Selassie · repatriation · colonialism · materialism · spiritual exile · liberation
Mesopotamia
Tigris-Euphrates river region
- NebuchadnezzarChaldean dynasty monarch
- HammurabiAncient Babylonian king-legislator
- zigguratStepped ancient temple mound
cuneiform · Euphrates · Tigris · Chaldean · Akkadian · Sumerian · Marduk · clay tablets · astronomy · astrology
Iraq
Middle Eastern republic
- BaghdadIraqi seat of government
- excavationAct of unearthing
- ruinsDecayed structural remains
site · desert · Middle East · Fertile Crescent · artifact · reconstruction · Saddam Hussein · looting · preservation · UNESCO
exile
Banishment from homeland
Revelation · fall · judgment · pride · hubris · dispersion · languages · confusion · prophecy · apocalypse
decadence
Moral decline through excess
- corruptionDishonest abuse of power
- excessSurplus beyond need
- empireDomain under unified control
downfall · wealth · luxury · sin · materialism · hedonism · opulence · decline · moral decay · greed
Zion
Biblical promised homeland
- oppressionUnjust exercise of power
- systemConnected parts forming whole
- resistanceCapacity to withstand force
reggae · Bob Marley · Jah · Haile Selassie · repatriation · colonialism · materialism · spiritual exile · liberation · roots
Seven Wonders
Celebrated ancient structures
- terracesRaised flat outdoor areas
- irrigationArtificial water supply for agriculture
- legendaryFamous beyond ordinary measure
paradise · lush · exotic · oasis · marvel · engineering · beauty · splendor · mystery
- Ancient MesopotamiaAssyria, cuneiform, Nineveh, Sumer, Akkadian
- Hebrew BibleTanakh, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers
- MesopotamiaSumer, Tigris, Mesopotamia, Euphrates, cuneiform
- Alexander the GreatAlexander the Great, Bucephalus, Darius, Alexandria, Gordian knot
- Ancient CapitalsConstantinople, Persepolis, Thebes, Memphis, Nineveh
- ancient citiesAthens, Rome, Jerusalem, Sparta, Damascus
BabylonZion
Biblical promised homeland
Jerusalem · New Jerusalem · Heaven · Eden · Paradise
- Babylonian captivityJudean deportation to Mesopotamia
- Whore of BabylonBiblical embodiment of depravity
- Babylonian mathematicsAncient Iraqi number science
- Babylonian EmpireAncient Iraqi kingdom, twice-dominant
- Babylonian astronomyAncient Mesopotamian study of heavens
- Babylonian exileJudean deportation to Mesopotamia