BABY 
Pilefer refided at Nineveh, the original feat of the A (Tyrian 
empire; while Nabonalfer, who was the younger brother, 
held his reiidcnce at Babylon. As the two kingdoms were 
governed by princes of the fame family, we may well fup- 
pofe a perfect harmony to have reigned between them, the 
younger branch, at Babylon acknowledging a kind of fub- 
je'dlion to the elder at Nineveh. That the Babylonian 
empire was of Aifynan origin, we are allured by the pro¬ 
phet Ifaiah, in the'following words: s-.Behold the land 
of the Chaldeans: this people was not till the A (Tyrian 
founded it for them that dwelt in the witl'erneis; they let 
up ihe towers thereof: they 'built the palace thereof.” 
As to the kingdom of Aflyria, the Scripture mentions on¬ 
ly five kings, viz. Pul, Tiglath-Pilefer, Shalmanafer, 
Sennacharib, and Efarhaddon ; whofe hiftory, as related 
by the (acred writers, it is needlefs to mention here. From 
the days of Nabonalfer to Nabopolaflev, that is, from the 
year before Chrift 747 to 626, the kings of Babylon made 
no figure, and were therefore probably in a (late of de- 
pendance on the .kings of Aflyria; but at that time, in 
the reign of Chyniladan, the Sardanapalus of the Greeks, 
Nineveh was taken and deftroyed bv the Medes and Baby¬ 
lonians, and the feat of the empire transferred to Baby¬ 
lon. This Nabopolaffer was the father of the famous Ne¬ 
buchadnezzar, for whofe hiftory we. muft refer to the la- 
cred writers : and from his time to that of the Bellhazzar 
of Daniel, and Nabonadius of other authors, the hiftory 
of Babylon is little better than a mere blank. Of the re¬ 
duction of Babylon by Cyrus, which happened at tins 
time, we have the following account. 
War ha'd been begun betwixt the Medes, Perfians, and 
Babylonians, in the reign of Neriglifiar the father of Na¬ 
bonadius, which had been carried on with very bad fuc- 
cefs on the fide of the Babylonians. Cyrus, who com¬ 
manded the Median and Perfian army, having fubdued 
tire feveral nations inhabiting the great continent from the 
Aegean fea to the Euphrates, bent his march towards Ba¬ 
bylon. Nabonadius, hearing of his march, immediately 
■advanced againft him with an army. In the.engagement 
which enfued, the Babylonians were defeated; and the 
king, retreating to his metropolis, was blocked up and 
clofely befieged by Cyrus. The reduction of this city 
was no eafy enterprife; The walls were of a prodigious 
height, the number of men to defend them very great, 
and the place ftored with all forts of provilions for twenty 
years. Cyrus, defpairing of being able to take Inch a 
city by ftorm, caufed a line of circumvallation to be 
drawn quite round it, with a. large and deep ditch ; rec¬ 
koning, that, if all communication with the country were 
cut off, the befieged would be obliged to furrender through 
famine. That his troops might not be too much fatigued, 
lie divided his army into twelve bodies, appointing each 
body its month to guard the trenches j but the befieged, 
looking upon themfelves to be out of all danger by rea- 
fon G*f their high walls and magazines, infulted him from 
the ramparts, and looked upon all the trouble he gave 
himfeif as fo much unprofitable labour. 
After Cyrus had fpent two whole years before Babylon, 
without making any progrefs in the liege, he at laft thought 
of the following ftratagem, which put him in poffefiion of 
it. He was informed, that a great annual folemnity was 
fo be held at Babylon : and that the inhabitants on that 
occafion were accuftomed to fpend the whole night in 
drinking and debauchery. This lie thought a proper time 
for furprifing them ; and accordingly fent a ftrong detach¬ 
ment to the head of the canal leading:to the great lake; 
with orders, at a certain time, to break down the great 
bank which was between the lake and the canal, and to 
turn the whole current into the lake. At the fame time 
lie appointed one body of troops at the place where the 
river entered the city, and another where it came out; or¬ 
dering them to march in by the bed of the river as foon 
as they fliould find it fordable. Towards the evening he 
opened the head of the trenches on both Tides the river 
above the city, that the water might difcharge itfelf in- 
j O N I A. 
to them ; by which means, and the breaking down of the 
great dam, the river was foon drained. Then the two 
bodies of-troops, according to their orders, entered the 
channel ; the one commanded by Gobryas, and the other 
by Gadates : and, finding the gates all left open by reafon 
of, the difcrders of that riotous night, they penetrated 
into the very heart of the'city without oppofition ; and 
meeting, according to agreement, at the palace, they fur- 
prifed the guards, arid cut them in pieces. Thofe who 
were in the palace opening the gates to know the cable .of 
this confuiion, the Perfians rallied in, took the palace, 
and killed the king, who came out to meet them fword in 
hand. Thus an end was put to the Babylonian empire; 
and Cyrus took poffeflion of Babylon for one called in 
Scripture Darius the Mcde, moll probably Cyaxares II. 
uncle to Cyrus. From- this time Babylonia never was 
creeled into a diftinCt- kingdom, but hath always followed 
the fortune of thofe great conquerors who at different times 
have appeared in Alia. It is. now frequently the object of 
contention between theTurksand Perfians. See Assyria. 
Concerning the nature of the country, manners, cuf- 
tonis, &c. of the'ancient Babylonians, the. following ac¬ 
count is collected by M. Sabbathier. “ As all the nations 
under the dominion of Cyru?, belides the ordinary tribute's, 
were obliged to maintain him.and his army, the monarch 
and his troops were 1 'upporfed by all Alia. The country 
of Babylon alone was obliged to maintain him four months' 
of the year ; its fertility, therefore, yielded a third of tire 
produce of Alia. The government of this country, which 
the Perfians termed fatraphy , was richer and more exten- 
five than any of tite reft. It maintained for the king, be- 
lides the war-horfes, a ftud of 800 ftallions, and 16,000 
marts. So great a number of Indian dogs were likevvife 
bred in tills province for the king, that four of its cities 
kept thole animals ; and in return, they were exempted 
from all taxes and tributes. 
“ It rained very fe Id elm in this country, according to 
Herodotus. The earth was watered by the river, which 
was here diffufed by human induftry, as the Nile is over 
Egypt by nature ; for all the country of Babylon was di¬ 
vided by canals, the greatelt of which, was navigable, and 
flowed from loath to north, from the Euphrates to the 
Tigris. In fhort, it was one of the firieli countries for 
corn in the world ; but for producing trees, the fig-tree, 
the vine, and the olive, it was not famous. It was fo 
luxuriant in grain, that it commonly yielded a hundred 
times more than what was lown ; and in its good years it 
yielded three hundred times more than it received. The 
leaves of its wheat and barley were four inches broad. 
‘ Though I know,’ fays Herodotus, ‘ that the. millet and 
the I’efame of that country grow to the fize of trees,. I will 
not deferibe them particularly; left thofe who have not 
been in Babylonia fliould think my account t fabulous.’ 
They had no oil but what they made from Indian corn. 
Tfie-country abounded with palm-trees, which grew fipon- 
taneoully ; and molt of them bore fruit", of, which the in¬ 
habitants made bread, wine, and honey. They cultivated 
tliefe trees and their fig-trees in the lame manner. Some 
of them, as of oilier trees, the Greeks called malt ones. 
They tied the fruit of the ma.le to the trees which bore 
dates ; that the mqfqiiito, leaving the male, might caufe 
the date to ripen, by penetrating it ; for without that af- 
fiftarice it came not to maturity. Mofquitos bred in the 
male palms as in the wild fig-trees. 
“ But vve muft not here omit to give an account of the: 
peculiar and furprifing conftrudtion of their boats of Ikins, 
in which they failed along the river to Babylon. Theie. boats 
were invented by the Armenians, whole country lay north 
from Babylonia. They made them with poles of v .'.low, 
which they bent, and covered with (kins; the bare fide 
of the Ikins they put outwards ; and they made them fo 
tight, that they refembled boards. The boats had neither 
■prow nor ftern, but were of a round form like a buckler. 
They put ftraw on the bottom. Two men, each with an. 
oar, rowed them down the river, laden with different 
wares, 
