Babylon, Babylonian

Facts:

The city of Babylon was the capital of the ancient region of Babylonia, which was also part of the Babylonian Empire.

Babylon was located along the Euphrates River, in the same region where the Tower of Babel had been built hundreds of years before.
Sometimes the word "Babylon" refers to the entire Babylonian Empire. For example, the "king of Babylon" ruled the entire empire, not just the city.
The Babylonians were a powerful people group who attacked the kingdom of Judah and kept the people in exile in Babylonia for 70 years.
Part of this region was called "Chaldea" and the people living there were the "Chaldeans." As a result, the term "Chaldea" was often used to refer to Babylonia. (See: synecdoche)
In the New Testament, the term "Babylon" is sometimes used as a metaphor to refer to places, people, and thinking patterns that are associated with idol-worship and other sinful behaviors.
The phrase "Babylon the Great" or "great city of Babylon" refers metaphorically to a city or nation that was large, wealthy, and sinful, just as the ancient city of Babylon was. (See: Metaphor)

20:06 About 100 years after the Assyrians destroyed the kingdom of Israel, God sent Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Babylonians, to attack the kingdom of Judah. Babylon was a powerful empire.
20:07 But after a few years, the king of Judah rebelled against Babylon. So, the Babylonians came back and attacked the kingdom of Judah. They captured the city of Jerusalem, destroyed the Temple, and took away all the treasures of the city and the Temple.
20:09 Nebuchadnezzar and his army took almost all of the people of the kingdom of Judah to Babylon, leaving only the poorest people behind to plant the fields.
20:11 About seventy years later, Cyrus, the king of the Persians, defeated Babylon.