BAB 



BAB 



BABOUIN A MusEAu de Chien, in Sonnini (edit.Buf- 

 fon), in ZQob':y, the Simia hamadryas, Linn. ; and dog- 

 faced ape, Pcnn.' Sie Simia Hamadryas. 



BABRA, in Geography, a town of North America, in 

 the country of New Navarre ; 205 miles fouth of Cafa 

 Grand. 



BABUCO, a fmall town of Italy, in the Campagoa of 

 Rome. 



BABUL, a town of the Eaft. Indies, in an ifland of the 

 river Indus, fuppofed by fome to be Cambaya, and by 

 pthers Patan, tlretching out towards the iflands Formofa 

 and Lcquios. 



BABUYANES, a cluaer of fix or feven fmall iflands, 

 about nineteen leagues north of the ifle of Lu^on, in the 

 Pacific ocean ; one of them contains about 500 inhabitants ; 

 and the chief produce is wax, ebony, bananas, cocoas, and 

 plantains. 



BABUYEA, a town of North America, in the province 

 of Culiacan ; 65 miles north-ealt: of Culiacan. 



BABYLAS, in Biography, a celebrated martyr of the 

 Chrillian church, was choft-n bifliop of the fee of Antioch, 

 A. D. 23H, u:ider the emperor Gordian ; and after govern- 

 ing this church for thirteen years, he cither died in prifon, 

 or was put to death, in the perfecntion of Decius. Chry- 

 foftom applauds his courage for rf fullng admiffion into the 

 church to an emperor who had killed the fon of a king, 

 whom he had received as an hoftage ; and this emperor is 

 fuppofed to have been Philip, who put his colleague, the 

 young Gordian, to death. This is laid to have been the 

 caufe of the bifliop's death. But there are feveral circum- 

 itances that invalidate the truth of this ftory. However 

 this be, the remains of Babylas were tranfported about 

 one hundred years after his death, by order of the Casfar 

 Gallus, into'the midll of the grove of Daphne, where was 

 a temple of Apollo ; a magnificent church was erefted over 

 them ; a portion of the facred lands was appropriated to the 

 maintenance of the clergy, and the burial of the Chriftians 

 at Antioch ; and the heathen oracle was filenced, as it was 

 fuppofed, by the prefence of the faint's dull, but more pro- 

 bably, as Van Dale fuggcfts (De Oraculio, p. 392.), by an 

 apprehenfion of the priefts, that the Chrillians, who daily 

 vifited the tomb of the martyr, would deleft their impof- 

 iiire. Julian foon after demolifhed this church ; and the 

 Chriftians removed the relics of St. Babylas, with acclama- 

 tions of triumph, to their former habitation within the 

 walls of Antioch. On this occafion, Julian exerted his 

 pride to diffemble his refentment ; but during the night which 

 terminated this proceffion, the temple of Daphne was in 

 flames, the ftatue of Apollo was confumed, and the walls 

 of the edifice were left a naked and awful monument of 

 ruin. The Chriftians of Antioch confidently aflerted, that 

 the pov/erful interctlFion of St. Babylas had pointed the 

 lightnings of heaven againft the devoted roof. Julian, 

 however, could difguife and reftrain his indignation no 

 longer. Imputing the fire of Daphne to the revenge of the 

 Chriftians, whom he opprobrioufly denominated Galilasans, 

 he ordered the doors of the catliedral at Antioch to be fhut, 

 and its wealth to be confifcated. For the purpofe of difco- 

 vering the criminals, leveral ecclefiaftics were tortured, and 

 a preihyter of the name of Theodoret was beheaded. Eu- 

 feb. E. H. 1. vi. c. 29. c. 39. Julian in Mifopogon, p. 361. 

 Ammianus Marc. 1. xxii. c. 13. Gen. Dicl. Gibbon's Hift. 

 vol. iv. p. 121, &c. 



BABYLON, in Ancient Geography, the capital of the 

 ancient Babylonia, or Chaldcea, fuppofed to have been fitu- 

 ated in N. lat. ^3°. E. long. 42° 46' 30" ; or according to 

 the tobfervatioHs of M. Beauchamp (Mem. Ac. So. Parisj 



2 



1787), N. lat. 32* 34', and E. long. 44* 12* 30". This an- 

 cient city, reckoned for many ages one of the wonders of 

 the world, was fituated on the Euphrates ; and its ruins, of 

 which few veftiges now remain, are placed by geograpliical 

 writers at a town called Hilla, or Elugo, about fifteen 

 leagues to the fouth-weft of Bagdad. It was feated on a 

 plain, and furrouiided by water; and hence appears the 

 propriety of the fcripture exprcffion (If. xxi. i.) " the bur- 

 den of the defert of the fea," or rather " of the plain of 

 the fea ;" and befides, the places about Babylon, as Aby- 

 denus informs us from Megafthencs (Euftb. Prrep. Evang. 

 1. ix. c. 41. p. 457.) are faid from the beginning to have Ik en 

 overwhelmed with waters, and to have been called " the 

 fea." Nevertl'.elefs, it is no lefs properly denominated " a 

 mountain" (Jer. li. 25.) on account of the great height of 

 its walls and towers, its palaces and temples ; and accord- 

 ingly Berofus cited by Jolephus (ubi infra) , fays of fome of 

 the buildings, that they refembled mountains. It was 

 founded, as fome fay, by Semiramis, and according to others, 

 by Bcius, who is thought by many to be the fame with 

 Nimrod. But whoever was the firft founder of it, it was 

 in procefs of time much improved ; and Ncbnchadntzzar, 

 in particular, repaired, enlarged, and beautified it to fucli 

 a degree, that he may be faid to have built it, according 

 to his own vain-glorious boaft (Dan. iv. 30.) ; " Is not this 

 great Babylon, tliat I have built for the houfe of the king- 

 dom, by the might of my power, and for the honour of 

 my majefty ?" Nor is this aflerted only in fcripture, but it is 

 likcwile attefted by heathen authors, Megafthenes, Berofus, 

 and -'^bydcnus, whofe v/ords are quoted by Jofephus (An- 

 tiq. 1. X. c. II. § I. t. i. p.536. ed. Haverc.) and Eufebius 

 (Pra;p. Evangel, l.ix. c. 41. p. 457. cd. Vigeri). By one 

 means or other Babylon became a city fo great and famous, 

 that it gave name to a very large empire ; and it is deno- 

 minated by a variety of juft and appropriate terms in 

 fcripture, fuch as " great Babylon" (Dan. iv. 40.) ; " the 

 glory of kingdoms," and " the beauty of the Chaldees 

 excellency" (If. xiii. 19.); " the golden city" (If. xiv. 4.) ; 

 "the lady of kingdoms" (If. xlvii. 5.) ; "abundant in 

 treafures" (Jer. li. 13.) ; and " the praife of the whole 

 earth" (Jer. li. 41.) 



The moft famous works in and about this ancient city, 

 as they are enumerated and defcribed by Prideaux from an- 

 cient authors, were the walls, the temple of Belus, the pa- 

 lace of Nebuchadnezzar, the hanging gardens, the banks of 

 the river, the artificial lake, and the canals. 



This city was furrounded with walls, which, according to 

 the account of Herodotus (l.i.), the moft ancient author who 

 mentions them, and who himftlf had been at Babylon, were 

 87 feet thick, 350 feet high, and in compafs 480 furlongs, or 

 60 miles. Other writers, who differ from Herodotus in fome 

 particulars, give nearly the fame account of the dimeniions of 

 the walls. Diodorus Siculus indeed (1. ii.) has very confide- 

 rably diminilhed the circumference of thefe walls, and fome- 

 ■what reduced their height as ftated by Herodotus, but he has 

 enlarged their breadth by faying that fix chariots might 

 drive upon them abreaft ; whereas the former obferves, that 

 one chariot only might turn upon them : but then he places 

 buildings on each fide of the top of thefe walls, which, ac- 

 cording to him, were only one ftory high ; and thus thefe 

 two writers may be tolerably reconciled. As for thofe who 

 affign fifty cubits as the heig'nt of thefe walls, they repre- 

 fent them as they vvere after the time of Darius Hyftafpes, 

 who had caufed them to be beaten down to that level. See 

 Strabo, 1. 16. p. 743. Fliny H.N. 1. vi. c. 26. Philoftrat. 

 l.i. c. 18. 



Thefe walls formed an cxaft fquare, each fide of which 



wa» 



