The most illustrious of Babylonian kings, was the son of Nabopolassar, the general of the Babylonian garrison at the time the Assyrian empire fell to pieces after the death of Assur-bani-pal. The Babylonians then thre off the hated yoke...

A city plan of Babylon in the Chaldean Age or Neo-Babylonian Empire, at the time of Nebuchadnezzar II (605-562 BC). The plan shows the city walls, canals, roads, the Euphrates River, the Palace of Nebuchadnezzar, and the Ishtar Gate.

Bisotun is located along the ancient trade route linking the Iranian high plateau with Mesopotamia and features remains from the prehistoric times to the Median, Achaemenid, Sassanian, and Ilkhanid periods. The principal monument of this...

In heraldry, the griffin is a fabulous animal, with the head and forefeet of an eagle, and the body, hind legs, and tail of a lion. The head is represented with pricked ears, symbolical of its vigilance. In mythology, the griffin was a...

Sphinx is a Greek word signifying 'strangler,' applied to certain symbolical forms of Egyptian origin, having the body of a lion, a human or an animal head, and two wings. Various other combinations of animal forms have been called by...

This site from The Bible Tutor provides a very brief but factual background to the apocryphal book of 1 Esdras. Links are provided throughout this paragraph long entry for additional information on related subjects.

This site from The Bible Tutor provides a very brief but factual summary of the contents of 2 Esdras, from the Apocrypha. Links are provided throughout for additional information on related subjects.