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With <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mu%C5%A1%E1%B8%ABu%C5%A1%C5%A1u#Cryptozoology" class="extiw" title="wp:Mušḫuššu" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Mušḫuššu#Cryptozoology">dinosaurs</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup>, apparently.</div></div></div> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>How many miles to Babylon?<br />Three score miles and ten.<br />Can I get there by candle-light?<br />Yes, and back again.<br />If your heels are nimble and light,<br />You may get there by candle-light<br /></div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Anon.</cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p><b>Babylon</b> (<a href="/wiki/Arab" title="Arab">Arabic</a>: بابل‎, Bābil; Akkadian: Bābili(m); Sumerian: KÁ.DINGIR.RA<sup>KI</sup>; <a href="/wiki/Hebrew" title="Hebrew">Hebrew</a>: בָּבֶל, Bāḇel; Ancient <a href="/wiki/Greek" class="mw-redirect" title="Greek">Greek</a>: Βαβυλών Babylṓn; Old Persian: Babiru), and its associated territory, <b>Babylonia</b>, was a Semitic city-state in <a href="/wiki/Mesopotamia" title="Mesopotamia">Mesopotamia</a><sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1">[note 1]</a></sup>, located in the fertile wetlands of the Euphrates River. It was the location of the <i>Hanging Gardens of Babylon</i>, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. </p> <div id="toc" class="toc" role="navigation" aria-labelledby="mw-toc-heading"><input type="checkbox" role="button" id="toctogglecheckbox" class="toctogglecheckbox" style="display:none" /><div class="toctitle" lang="en" dir="ltr"><h2 id="mw-toc-heading">Contents</h2><span class="toctogglespan"><label class="toctogglelabel" for="toctogglecheckbox"></label></span></div> <ul> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="#History"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">History</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2"><a href="#A_symbol_of_evil"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">A symbol of evil</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-3"><a href="#The_Tower_of_Babel"><span class="tocnumber">2.1</span> <span class="toctext">The Tower of Babel</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-4"><a href="#The_Whore_of_Babylon"><span class="tocnumber">2.2</span> <span class="toctext">The Whore of Babylon</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-5"><a href="#Rastafari"><span class="tocnumber">2.3</span> <span class="toctext">Rastafari</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-6"><a href="#In_other_news"><span class="tocnumber">2.4</span> <span class="toctext">In other news</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-7"><a href="#See_also"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">See also</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-8"><a href="#External_links"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">External links</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-9"><a href="#Notes"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">Notes</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-10"><a href="#References"><span class="tocnumber">6</span> <span class="toctext">References</span></a></li> </ul> </div> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="History">History</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Babylon&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: History">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <table class="infobox" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="float: right; margin: 0 0 0.5em 0.5em; text-align:left; border: 1px solid #440055; width:175px;"> <tbody><tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center; color:White; background-color:#440055"><b>Tomorrow is a mystery,<br />but yesterday is</b><br /><a href="/wiki/History" title="History"><font size="5" color="White"><b>History</b></font></a> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="background-color:#ccbeda;" align="center"><a href="/wiki/Category:History" title="Category:History"><img alt="Icon history.svg" src="/w/images/thumb/c/cb/Icon_history.svg/100px-Icon_history.svg.png" decoding="async" width="100" height="100" srcset="/w/images/thumb/c/cb/Icon_history.svg/150px-Icon_history.svg.png 1.5x, /w/images/thumb/c/cb/Icon_history.svg/200px-Icon_history.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="200" data-file-height="200" /></a> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; color:White; background-color:#440055; text-align:center;"><b>Secrets of times gone by</b> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; background-color:#ccbeda;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Prohibition" title="Prohibition">Prohibition</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Homo_ergaster" title="Homo ergaster">Homo ergaster</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/War_on_Terror" title="War on Terror">War on Terror</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tucson_artifacts" title="Tucson artifacts">Tucson artifacts</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Neolithic_Revolution" title="Neolithic Revolution">Neolithic Revolution</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mercenary" title="Mercenary">Mercenary</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Native_American_genocides" title="Native American genocides">Native American genocides</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Niccol%C3%B2_Machiavelli" title="Niccolò Machiavelli">Niccolò Machiavelli</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fraktur" title="Fraktur">Fraktur</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Protestant_Reformation" title="Protestant Reformation">Protestant Reformation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Imperial_China" title="Imperial China">Imperial China</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Yugoslav_Wars" title="Yugoslav Wars">Yugoslav Wars</a></li></ul> <div class="vte plainlinks" style="font-size:smaller; text-align:center;"><a href="/wiki/Template:Historynav" title="Template:Historynav">v</a> - <a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Historynav" title="Template talk:Historynav">t</a> - <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Historynav&action=edit">e</a></div> </td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="thumb tleft"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:302px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Hammurabi%27s_Babylonia_1.svg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/12/Hammurabi%27s_Babylonia_1.svg/300px-Hammurabi%27s_Babylonia_1.svg.png" decoding="async" width="300" height="261" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/12/Hammurabi%27s_Babylonia_1.svg/450px-Hammurabi%27s_Babylonia_1.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/12/Hammurabi%27s_Babylonia_1.svg/600px-Hammurabi%27s_Babylonia_1.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="655" data-file-height="570" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Hammurabi%27s_Babylonia_1.svg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Babylon and its environs at the time of Hammurabi.</div></div></div> <p>According to Diodorus Siculus, Babylon was founded in 2286 <a href="/wiki/BCE" class="mw-redirect" title="BCE">BCE</a> by Bel or Belus, who reigned as king there for 55 years. It was briefly the capital of a Babylonian Empire in the 1800s BCE, founded by the lawgiver Hammurabi; his <a href="/wiki/Empire" class="mw-redirect" title="Empire">empire</a> dissolved after his death, and the city fell into Assyrian hands, though its loyalty to the Assyrian state was perpetually in some doubt. Later, from 628 to 539 BCE, the city once again achieved independence and became the capital of a Neo-Babylonian Empire whose most widely remembered <a href="/wiki/Monarch" class="mw-redirect" title="Monarch">monarch</a> was Nebuchadnezzar I. </p><p>Eventually, the city was conquered and became a part of the empire of Alexander the Great, who died there in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar. After Alexander's empire collapsed, the city was fought over by his surviving generals and their heirs. Exhausted by the constant warfare over the city, it went into decline, and was mostly empty by 275 BCE, though occasional glimpses of activity can be found after that. </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="A_symbol_of_evil">A symbol of evil</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Babylon&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: A symbol of evil">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <p>In the minds of <a href="/wiki/Bible" title="Bible">Biblical</a> writers, Babylon became the type or model of a wicked <a href="/wiki/Pagan" class="mw-redirect" title="Pagan">pagan</a> city, surpassing its chief competitors - Nineveh (a real and standing city), the destroyed <a href="/wiki/Sodom_and_Gomorrah" title="Sodom and Gomorrah">Sodom and Gomorrah</a>, and the nation of <a href="/wiki/Egypt" title="Egypt">Egypt</a>. All of these cities and nations held up as examples of evil were at one time enemies or captors of the <a href="/wiki/Jew" class="mw-redirect" title="Jew">Jews</a> in the Biblical narrative. </p><p>Babylon decisively influenced <a href="/wiki/Judaism" title="Judaism">Judaism</a> during the Babylonian captivity,<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2">[1]</a></sup> a period when, according to the Bible, Nebuchadnezzar of the Neo-Babylonian empire deported the remaining Hebrew people (those not already deported by the Assyrians as the <a href="/wiki/Ten_Lost_Tribes" title="Ten Lost Tribes">Ten Lost Tribes</a> in the 8th century BCE) from the Kingdom of Judah to Babylon. This "Babylonian Captivity" period traditionally lasted from 598 until 532 BCE, when Cyrus the Great of <a href="/wiki/Persia" class="mw-redirect" title="Persia">Persia</a>, who had conquered Babylon in 539 BCE, gave the Jews leave to return to <a href="/wiki/Palestine" title="Palestine">Palestine</a>. As a result of their contacts with Babylonia, the Judeans picked up and developed (syncretized) some exotic ideas, such as <a href="/wiki/Zoroastrianism" title="Zoroastrianism"> Zoroastrian</a> <a href="/wiki/Monotheism" title="Monotheism">monotheism</a> and <a href="/wiki/Eschatology" title="Eschatology">eschatology</a> and Mesopotamian <a href="/wiki/Creation_myths" title="Creation myths"> creation-mythology</a>. </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/New_Testament" title="New Testament">New Testament</a> portrays Babylon as the pre-eminent example of a wicked city or capital; this use of Babylon is almost always considered to be a metaphor for the city of <a href="/wiki/Rome" class="mw-redirect" title="Rome">Rome</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Roman_Empire" title="Roman Empire">Roman Empire</a>. A "<a href="/wiki/Prostitution" title="Prostitution">Whore</a> of Babylon" figures strongly as an <a href="/wiki/Apocalyptic" class="mw-redirect" title="Apocalyptic">apocalyptic</a> figure in the <a href="/wiki/Book_of_Revelation" title="Book of Revelation">Book of Revelation</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3">[2]</a></sup> </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="The_Tower_of_Babel">The Tower of Babel</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Babylon&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: The Tower of Babel">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div role="note" class="hatnote">See the main article on this topic: <a href="/wiki/Tower_of_Babel" title="Tower of Babel">Tower of Babel</a></div> <p>Babylon is the location of the <a href="/wiki/Tower_of_Babel" title="Tower of Babel">Tower of Babel</a> story, one of many <a href="/wiki/Myth" title="Myth">myths</a> told about the origin of <a href="/wiki/Language" title="Language">language</a>, this one also a moral fable about human hubris among the locals. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="The_Whore_of_Babylon">The Whore of Babylon</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Babylon&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: The Whore of Babylon">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p><a href="/wiki/Roman_Empire" title="Roman Empire">The Whore of Babylon</a> is a doomed figure from the <a href="/wiki/Book_of_Revelation" title="Book of Revelation">Book of Revelation</a> associated with the <a href="/wiki/End_Times" class="mw-redirect" title="End Times">End Times</a>, and her pals the <a href="/wiki/Antichrist" title="Antichrist">Antichrist</a> and <a href="/wiki/Number_of_the_Beast" title="Number of the Beast">Beast 666</a>. <a href="/wiki/Augustus_Caesar" class="mw-redirect" title="Augustus Caesar">She makes her debut in Chapter 17</a>: </p> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:<br /> With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.<br /> So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.<br /> And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:<br /> And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.<br /> And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.<br />And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.<br />The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.<br />And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.<br />And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.<br />And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.<br />And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.<br />These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.<br />These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.<br />And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.<br />And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.<br />For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.<br />And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.</div> </td></tr> </tbody></table> <p>This is somewhat obscure, as apocalyptic <a href="/wiki/Prophesy" class="mw-redirect" title="Prophesy">prophecies</a> in allegories tend to be. As such, the identity of the Whore of Babylon has been a subject for <a href="/wiki/Shoehorning" title="Shoehorning">lively speculation</a> throughout <a href="/wiki/Christian" class="mw-redirect" title="Christian">Christian</a> history. Because several <a href="/wiki/Old_Testament" title="Old Testament">Old Testament</a> prophets used prostitution or fornication as a metaphor for <a href="/wiki/Idol" class="mw-redirect" title="Idol">idolatry</a> or the following of other gods besides <a href="/wiki/Yahweh" class="mw-redirect" title="Yahweh">Yahweh</a>, a historical consensus makes the Whore of Babylon represent a false, evil, but tempting religious system.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4">[3]</a></sup> </p> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:322px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Whore_of_Babylon.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/51/Whore_of_Babylon.jpg/320px-Whore_of_Babylon.jpg" decoding="async" width="320" height="195" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/51/Whore_of_Babylon.jpg/480px-Whore_of_Babylon.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/51/Whore_of_Babylon.jpg/640px-Whore_of_Babylon.jpg 2x" data-file-width="694" data-file-height="422" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Whore_of_Babylon.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div><s>The angel Dumah</s>The Whore of Babylon, riding <s>Fluffy</s>her seven-headed <a href="/wiki/Dragon" title="Dragon">dragon</a>. Stay away from her!</div></div></div> <p>Since Babylon is generally agreed to represent Rome, and the seven hills of Rome are alluded to in the text (albeit as seven mountains), one perennial interpretation identifies the <a href="/wiki/Roman_Catholic_Church" title="Roman Catholic Church">Roman Catholic Church</a> as the Whore of Babylon. This identification, though strongly associated with the <a href="/wiki/Protestant" title="Protestant">Protestant</a> reformers,<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5">[4]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6">[5]</a></sup> of the 16th century, in fact precedes them; for example, it appears in Dante's <i><a href="/wiki/The_Divine_Comedy" title="The Divine Comedy">Divine Comedy</a></i><sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7">[6]</a></sup> (written between 1308 and 1320). The Roman Catholic Church officially denies being the Whore of Babylon. A shocking position for them to take, we know. </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/Protestant_Reformation" title="Protestant Reformation">Reformation</a> <a href="/wiki/Rhetoric" title="Rhetoric">rhetorical</a> tradition of identifying the Roman Catholic Church with the Whore of Babylon persisted quite a long time, and appears in <a href="/wiki/Dispensationalism" title="Dispensationalism">dispensationalist</a> sources such as the <i><a href="/wiki/Scofield_Reference_Bible" title="Scofield Reference Bible">Scofield Reference Bible</a></i>, but the rhetorical tradition tended to die back a bit during the 20th century, though figures such as <a href="/wiki/Ian_Paisley" title="Ian Paisley">Ian Paisley</a> still remember it. </p><p>In fact, it seems certain that the author of the Book of Revelation intended the Whore of Babylon to represent the <a href="/wiki/Roman_Empire" title="Roman Empire">Roman Empire</a> specifically, not necessarily the Roman church. In fact, the entire Book of Revelation presupposes the existence of a pagan Roman Empire. That Empire was the superpower and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/hegemony" class="extiw" title="wp:hegemony" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: hegemony">hegemon</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> of New Testament times; in the first century <a href="/wiki/CE" class="mw-redirect" title="CE">CE</a>, its decline and fall seemed unimaginable. This is in fact the source of daffy dispensationalist beliefs that the <a href="/wiki/European_Union" title="European Union">European Union</a> represents a revived Roman Empire, whose destiny is to impose "Mystery Babylon" as its state religion and to start persecuting Christians in its name.<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8">[7]</a></sup> I would have expected more... efficiency from Romans. So it goes. </p><p>Occultist <a href="/wiki/Aleister_Crowley" title="Aleister Crowley">Aleister Crowley</a>, personally identifying himself with the Beast 666, named several of his girlfriends the "Scarlet Woman", an allusion to the Whore of Babylon. These lucky ladies included Rose Edith Crowley, his first wife, Mary d'Este Sturges, Jeanne Robert Foster, Roddie Minor, Marie Rohling, Bertha Almira Prykryl, Leah Hirsig, and Leila Waddell; these last two proved to be the most permanent of Crowley's confidantes.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9">[8]</a></sup> Crowley preferred the spelling "Babalon" for obscure <a href="/wiki/Kabbalah" title="Kabbalah">kabbalistic</a> reasons. </p><p>In other words, it's the Roman Empire, specifically before the reign of <a href="/w/index.php?title=Roman_Emperor&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Roman Emperor (page does not exist)">Trajan</a>, since, naturally, the Optimus <s>Prime</s> Princeps was a <a href="/wiki/Liberalism" title="Liberalism">liberal</a> (by Roman standards... which is more liberal than American standards). </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Rastafari">Rastafari</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Babylon&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Rastafari">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>By contrast, <a href="/wiki/Rasta" class="mw-redirect" title="Rasta">Rastas</a> use "Babylon" as a contemptuous term for <a href="/wiki/Caucasian" class="mw-redirect" title="Caucasian">White</a> or <a href="/wiki/Europe" title="Europe">European</a> society, or any "aspects of a society seen as degenerate or oppressive, especially the <a href="/wiki/Police" class="mw-redirect" title="Police">police</a>...."<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10">[9]</a></sup><br /> References to Babylon can be found in a lot of Rastafari media, such as reggae music. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="In_other_news">In other news</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Babylon&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: In other news">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Several other people believe that the U.S. is Mystery Babylon as well.<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-11">[10]</a></sup> </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="See_also">See also</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Babylon&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: See also">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Mesopotamia" title="Mesopotamia">Mesopotamia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nimrod" title="Nimrod">Nimrod</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Semiramis" title="Semiramis">Semiramis</a></li></ul> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="External_links">External links</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Babylon&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: External links">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.ancient.eu.com/babylon/">Babylon</a> - Ancient History Encyclopedia</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://foreverandaday.biz/Pages_info/AleisterWomen.html">Aleister Crowley's Scarlet Women</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.catholic.com/tracts/hunting-the-whore-of-babylon">Hunting the Whore of Babylon</a> - Catholic Answers</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.chick.com/information/religions/catholicism/sevenhills.asp">A Woman Rides the Beast</a> - <a href="/wiki/Jack_Chick" title="Jack Chick">Jack Chick</a> Publications. You've got to hand it to Jack. This has to be one of the most fetching titles for a work of literature to come out of the twentieth century.<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12">[note 2]</a></sup></li></ul> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Notes">Notes</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Babylon&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Notes">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="references-small" style="font-size:90%;"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-1">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Six or eight thousand years ago, they laid down the law.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-12">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">The titles of Christian fundamentalist screeds are frequently made of the purest awesome, and credit is due to them for that much. Consider <a href="/w/index.php?title=Cotton_Mather&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Cotton Mather (page does not exist)">Cotton Mather</a>'s <i>Wonders of the Invisible World</i>, John Knox's <i>The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women</i>, or even <a href="/wiki/Hal_Lindsey" title="Hal Lindsey">Hal Lindsey</a>'s <i>The Late Great Planet Earth</i>.</span> </li> </ol></div></div> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="References">References</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Babylon&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: References">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="references-small" style="-moz-column-count:2; -webkit-column-count:2; column-count:2; font-size:90%;"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-2">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylonian_captivity" class="extiw" title="wp:Babylonian captivity" rel="nofollow">Babylonian captivity</a>. </span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-3">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">L. Michael White, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/apocalypse/revelation/white.html">Understanding the Book of Revelation</a>, <a href="/wiki/PBS" title="PBS">PBS</a> Frontline</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-4">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See, e.g. <a href="/wiki/Ezekiel" class="mw-redirect" title="Ezekiel">Ezekiel</a>, <i>passim</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-5">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r2708880">/* Errors processing stylesheet [[:Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css]] (rev 2708880): • Invalid or unsupported value for property ⧼code⧽background⧼/code⧽ at line 44 character 14. • Invalid or unsupported value for property ⧼code⧽background⧼/code⧽ at line 50 character 14. • Invalid or unsupported value for property ⧼code⧽background⧼/code⧽ at line 55 character 14. • Invalid or unsupported value for property ⧼code⧽background⧼/code⧽ at line 64 character 14. • Invalid or unsupported value for property ⧼code⧽color⧼/code⧽ at line 96 character 9. • Invalid or unsupported value for property ⧼code⧽color⧼/code⧽ at line 100 character 9. • Invalid media query at line 138 character 8. */ .mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFBilhartz" class="citation book cs1">Bilhartz, Terry D. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://books.google.com/books?id=pK_DqHjUfg4C&printsec=frontcover#PPA115,M1"><i>Urban Religion and the Second Great Awakening</i></a>. Madison, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. p. 115. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-8386-3227-0" title="Special:BookSources/0-8386-3227-0"><bdi>0-8386-3227-0</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Urban+Religion+and+the+Second+Great+Awakening&rft.place=Madison%2C+NJ&rft.pages=115&rft.pub=Fairleigh+Dickinson+University+Press&rft.isbn=0-8386-3227-0&rft.aulast=Bilhartz&rft.aufirst=Terry+D.&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DpK_DqHjUfg4C%26printsec%3Dfrontcover%23PPA115%2CM1&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Frationalwiki.org%3ABabylon" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-6">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r2708880"/><cite id="CITEREFEdwards.2C_Jr." class="citation book cs1">Edwards, Jr., Mark. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/apocalypse/explanation/martinluther.html"><i>Apocalypticism Explained: Martin Luther, PBS.org</i></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Apocalypticism+Explained%3A+Martin+Luther%2C+PBS.org&rft.aulast=Edwards%2C+Jr.&rft.aufirst=Mark&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pbs.org%2Fwgbh%2Fpages%2Ffrontline%2Fshows%2Fapocalypse%2Fexplanation%2Fmartinluther.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Frationalwiki.org%3ABabylon" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-7">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><i>Inferno</i>, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://it.wikisource.org/wiki/Divina_Commedia/Inferno/Canto_XIX">canto 19</a>: <i>Di voi pastor s'accorse il Vangelista, quando colei che siede sopra l'acque puttaneggiar coi regi a lui fu vista; quella che con le sette teste nacque, e da le diece corna ebbe argomento, fin che virtute al suo marito piacque.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-8">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.raptureready.com/abc/Roman_Empire.html">Revived Roman Empire</a>, <a href="/w/index.php?title=Raptureready.com&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Raptureready.com (page does not exist)">raptureready.com</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-9">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Aleister Crowley, <i>The Law Is For All</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-10">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/american_english/Babylon--2">Babylon</a>, OED</span> </li> <li 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