Batman vppon Bartholome his booke De proprietatibus rerum, newly corrected, enlarged and amended: with such additions as are requisite, vnto euery seuerall booke: taken foorth of the most approued authors, the like heretofore not translated in English. Profitable for all estates, as well for the benefite of the mind as the bodie. 1582.

¶Of Babilonia. chap. 22.

BAbilonia is a Prouince of As••a in Chaldea. In the head thereof is the Citie Babylon, of whom the lande hath the name, and is called Babylonia: and was so noble that Chaldea, Assiria, and Mesopotamia passed into the name ther of sometime, as Isidore saith li. 15. Most noble riuers run thereby, among whom the chiefe riuers are Tigris and Eufra∣tes, that spring out of Paradise. And it is the best lande to beare all manner of Corne and fruite, and wine, and it is ful of swéete spices, hearbes, and trées, and most rich of precious stones, and of di∣uers mettalls, with most plentie of Ca∣mells, Horses, Asses, and Mules, & other beasts. Therin is plentie of wild beasts and wonderfull, & wonderfully shapen, and namely in Desart place. The chiefe Citie thereof, was called sometime Ba∣bylon, that is to vnderstand, confusion: for the language was confounded of them; that buylded the tower Babel, as it is sayd, Ge. 11. Ierome super Esay. 11. describeth the greatnesse thereof, & saith, that Babylon is the chiefe Citie of the Chaldes, the walls thereof were xvi. M. paces in square from corner to corner, that maketh in all lxiii. M. paces, and so the wals were accounted for two leages and an halfe. Also there was a Tower, of thrée thousand paces high, which con∣taineth of high two leages batred in bredth. The matter thereof was made of vurnt tyle, that may not be departed nor vndound, & therfore it might not be destroied with fire nor with water: & for there was confusion of language, it was called Babel in Hebrew, and Babylon in Gréeke: and thereof all the lande a∣bout hath the name, and is called Babi∣lon. And there raigned somtime y^e most mightie King Nabuchodonosos, among other nations of the world, that is made subiect to the Empire of Chaldes, hée made also Iewry thrall, and therefore in his Neuewes time Balthasar, Babylon was all destroyed by Cyrus and Darius Kings of Persia and Medes, and it was neuer buylded againe, but of the spoyle thereof were two Cities buylded, that one was called Sephon, as Ier. sayth. And the place that Babylon was in, is desart, and norisheth nothing but beasts wonderfully shapen. Looke afterward, in Chaldea.

(* 1.1Babilonia, the Countrey wher the Citie of Babylon stoode, on the North it is bounded with Mesopatamia: on the West, with Arabie the Desart: on the East, with Susian: on the South, with the Red sea. In this Countrie is Chal∣dea, on the which standeth the great Ci∣tie

Babylon, and signifieth confusion or mixture. It was the name of a To∣wer builded by Nemroth, before the in∣carnation .2741. yeres. At the building héereof, was y^e first confusion of tongues. This was done in the land of Sennaar, in the countrey of Chaldea. The Tow∣er was in height fiue miles, one hundred seauentie paces. Afterwarde the Citie was inlarged by Semiramis. It contai∣ned in compasse sixtie miles. The wals were in height thrée hundred féete, in thicknesse of breadth seuentie fiue féete, and had an hundred gates of Brasse.

There ranne through the middle of it, the famous Riuer Euphrates. D. Coo∣per in Thesaurus.)

Notes

• * 1.1

  Additiō.