Babylonia was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq). A small Amorite-ruled state emerged in 1894 BC, which contained at this time the minor city of Babylon. Babylon greatly expanded during the reign of Hammurabi in the first half of the 18th century BC, becoming a major capital city. During the reign of Hammurabi and afterwards, Babylonia was called Māt Akkadī “the country of Akkad” in the Akkadian language.
It was often involved in rivalry with its older fellow Akkadian-speaking state of Assyria in northern Mesopotamia. Babylonia briefly became the major power in the region after Hammurabi (fl. c. 1792 – 1752 BC middle chronology, or c. 1696 – 1654 BC, short chronology) created a short-lived empire, succeeding the earlier Akkadian Empire, Third Dynasty of Ur, and Old Assyrian Empire; however, the Babylonian empire rapidly fell apart after the death of Hammurabi.
The Babylonian state, like Assyria to the north, retained the written Akkadian language for official use (the language of its native populace), despite its Northwest Semitic-speaking Amorite founders and Kassite successors, who spoke a language isolate. It retained the Sumerian language for religious use (as did Assyria), but by the time Babylon was founded, this was no longer a spoken language, having been wholly subsumed by Akkadian. The earlier Akkadian and Sumerian traditions played a major role in Babylonian and Assyrian culture, and the region would remain an important cultural center, even under protracted periods of outside rule.
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Author: Wikipedia
Keywords: Babylonia, Babylon
Bible reference(s): Gen 10:10, Gen 11:2, 2 Kgs 17:24, 2 Kgs 17:30, 2 Kgs 20:12, 2 Kgs 20:14, 2 Kgs 20:17, 2 Kgs 20:18, 2 Kgs 24:1, 2 Kgs 24:7, 2 Kgs 24:10, 2 Kgs 24:11, 2 Kgs 24:12, 2 Kgs 24:15, 2 Kgs 24:16, 2 Kgs 24:17, 2 Kgs 24:20, 2 Kgs 25:1, 2 Kgs 25:6, 2 Kgs 25:7, 2 Kgs 25:8, 2 Kgs 25:11, 2 Kgs 25:13, 2 Kgs 25:20, 2 Kgs 25:21, 2 Kgs 25:22, 2 Kgs 25:23, 2 Kgs 25:24, 2 Kgs 25:27, 2 Kgs 25:28, 1 Chr 9:1, 2 Chr 32:31, 2 Chr 33:11, 2 Chr 36:6, 2 Chr 36:7, 2 Chr 36:10, 2 Chr 36:18, 2 Chr 36:20, Ezra 1:11, Ezra 2:1, Ezra 6:1, Ezra 7:6, Ezra 7:9, Ezra 7:16, Ezra 8:1, Ezra 5:12, Ezra 5:13, Ezra 5:14, Ezra 5:17, Ezra 6:5, Neh 7:6, Neh 13:6, Est 2:6, Ps 87:4, Ps 137:1, Ps 137:8, Isa 13:1, Isa 13:19, Isa 14:4, Isa 14:22, Isa 21:9, Isa 39:1, Isa 39:3, Isa 39:6, Isa 39:7, Isa 43:14, Isa 47:1, Isa 48:14, Isa 48:20, Jer 20:4, Jer 20:5, Jer 20:6, Jer 21:2, Jer 21:4, Jer 21:7, Jer 21:10, Jer 22:25, Jer 24:1, Jer 25:1, Jer 25:9, Jer 25:11, Jer 25:12, Jer 25:26, Jer 27:6, Jer 27:8, Jer 27:9, Jer 27:11, Jer 27:12, Jer 27:13, Jer 27:14, Jer 27:16, Jer 27:17, Jer 27:18, Jer 27:20, Jer 27:22, Jer 28:2, Jer 28:3, Jer 28:4, Jer 28:6, Jer 28:11, Jer 28:14, Jer 29:1, Jer 29:3, Jer 29:4, Jer 29:10, Jer 29:15, Jer 29:20, Jer 29:21, Jer 29:22, Jer 29:28, Jer 32:2, Jer 32:3, Jer 32:4, Jer 32:5, Jer 32:28, Jer 32:36, Jer 34:1, Jer 34:2, Jer 34:3, Jer 34:7, Jer 34:21, Jer 35:11, Jer 36:29, Jer 37:1, Jer 37:17, Jer 37:19, Jer 38:3, Jer 38:17, Jer 38:18, Jer 38:22, Jer 38:23, Jer 39:1, Jer 39:3, Jer 39:5, Jer 39:6, Jer 39:7, Jer 39:9, Jer 39:11, Jer 39:13, Jer 40:1, Jer 40:4, Jer 40:5, Jer 40:7, Jer 40:9, Jer 40:11, Jer 41:2, Jer 41:18, Jer 42:11, Jer 43:3, Jer 43:10, Jer 44:30, Jer 46:2, Jer 46:13, Jer 46:26, Jer 49:28, Jer 49:30, Jer 50:1, Jer 50:2, Jer 50:8, Jer 50:9, Jer 50:13, Jer 50:14, Jer 50:16, Jer 50:17, Jer 50:18, Jer 50:23, Jer 50:24, Jer 50:28, Jer 50:29, Jer 50:34, Jer 50:35, Jer 50:39, Jer 50:42, Jer 50:43, Jer 50:45, Jer 50:46, Jer 51:1, Jer 51:2, Jer 51:6, Jer 51:7, Jer 51:8, Jer 51:9, Jer 51:11, Jer 51:12, Jer 51:24, Jer 51:29, Jer 51:30, Jer 51:31, Jer 51:33, Jer 51:34, Jer 51:35, Jer 51:37, Jer 51:41, Jer 51:42, Jer 51:44, Jer 51:47, Jer 51:48, Jer 51:49, Jer 51:53, Jer 51:54, Jer 51:55, Jer 51:56, Jer 51:58, Jer 51:59, Jer 51:60, Jer 51:61, Jer 51:64, Jer 52:3, Jer 52:4, Jer 52:9, Jer 52:10, Jer 52:11, Jer 52:12, Jer 52:15, Jer 52:17, Jer 52:26, Jer 52:27, Jer 52:31, Jer 52:32, Ezek 12:13, Ezek 17:12, Ezek 17:16, Ezek 17:20, Ezek 19:9, Ezek 21:19, Ezek 21:21, Ezek 24:2, Ezek 26:7, Ezek 29:18, Ezek 29:19, Ezek 30:10, Ezek 30:24, Ezek 30:25, Ezek 32:11, Dan 1:1, Dan 2:12, Dan 2:14, Dan 2:18, Dan 2:24, Dan 2:48, Dan 2:49, Dan 3:1, Dan 3:12, Dan 3:30, Dan 4:6, Dan 4:29, Dan 4:30, Dan 5:7, Dan 7:1, Mic 4:10, Zech 2:7, Zech 6:10, Matt 1:11, Matt 1:12, Matt 1:17, Acts 7:43, 1 Pet 5:13, Rev 14:8, Rev 16:19, Rev 17:5, Rev 18:2, Rev 18:10, Rev 18:21
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