Babylon Under Western Eyes

Babylon Under Western Eyes
Author: Andrew Scheil
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Total Pages: 360
Release: 2016-01-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 1442637331

Babylon under Western Eyes examines the mythic legacy of ancient Babylon, the Near Eastern city which has served western culture as a metaphor for power, luxury, and exotic magnificence for more than two thousand years. Sifting through the many references to Babylon in biblical, classical, medieval, and modern texts, Andrew Scheil uses Babylon's remarkable literary ubiquity as the foundation for a thorough analysis of the dynamics of adaptation and allusion in western literature. Touching on everything from Old English poetry to the contemporary apocalyptic fiction of the "Left Behind" series, Scheil outlines how medieval Christian society and its cultural successors have adopted Babylon as a political metaphor, a degenerate archetype, and a place associated with the sublime. Combining remarkable erudition with a clear and accessible style, Babylon under Western Eyes is the first comprehensive examination of Babylon's significance within the pantheon of western literature and a testimonial to the continuing influence of biblical, classical, and medieval paradigms in modern culture.

Babylon Under Western Eyes

Babylon Under Western Eyes
Author: Andrew Scheil
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Total Pages: 360
Release: 2016-05-09
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1442625139

Babylon under Western Eyes examines the mythic legacy of ancient Babylon, the Near Eastern city which has served western culture as a metaphor for power, luxury, and exotic magnificence for more than two thousand years. Sifting through the many references to Babylon in biblical, classical, medieval, and modern texts, Andrew Scheil uses Babylon’s remarkable literary ubiquity as the foundation for a thorough analysis of the dynamics of adaptation and allusion in western literature. Touching on everything from Old English poetry to the contemporary apocalyptic fiction of the “Left Behind” series, Scheil outlines how medieval Christian society and its cultural successors have adopted Babylon as a political metaphor, a degenerate archetype, and a place associated with the sublime. Combining remarkable erudition with a clear and accessible style, Babylon under Western Eyes is the first comprehensive examination of Babylon’s significance within the pantheon of western literature and a testimonial to the continuing influence of biblical, classical, and medieval paradigms in modern culture.

Under Western Eyes

Under Western Eyes
Author: Balachandra Rajan
Publisher:
Total Pages: 288
Release: 1999
Genre: History
ISBN:

Analysis of the consolidation of British imperialist discourse about India from the seventeenth century to the 1830s.

History and Salvation in Medieval Ireland

History and Salvation in Medieval Ireland
Author: Elizabeth Boyle
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 202
Release: 2020-12-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 0429879601

History and Salvation in Medieval Ireland explores medieval Irish conceptions of salvation history, using Latin and vernacular sources from c. 700–c. 1200 CE which adapt biblical history for audiences both secular and ecclesiastical. This book examines medieval Irish sources on the cities of Jerusalem and Babylon; reworkings of narratives from the Hebrew Scriptures; literature influenced by the Psalms; and texts indebted to Late Antique historiography. It argues that the conceptual framework of salvation history, and the related theory of the divinely-ordained movement of political power through history, had a formative influence on early Irish culture, society and identity. Primarily through analysis of previously untranslated sources, this study teases out some of the intricate connections between the local and the universal, in order to situate medieval Irish historiography within the context of that of the wider world. Using an overarching biblical chronology, beginning with the lives of the Jewish Patriarchs and ending with the Christian apostolic missions, this study shows how one culture understood the histories of others, and has important implications for issues such as kingship, religion and literary production in medieval Ireland. This book will appeal to scholars and students of medieval Ireland, as well as those interested in religious and cultural history.

Alas, Babylon

Alas, Babylon
Author: Pat Frank
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 354
Release: 2005-07-05
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0060741872

The classic apocalyptic novel that stunned the world.

Babylon's Ark

Babylon's Ark
Author: Lawrence Anthony
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 268
Release: 2007-03-06
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1429981431

The astonishing story of the soldiers, conservationists, and ordinary Iraqis who united to save the animals of the Baghdad Zoo When the Iraq war began, conservationist Lawrence Anthony could think of only one thing: the fate of the Baghdad Zoo, caught in the crossfire at the heart of the city. Once Anthony entered Iraq he discovered that hostilities and uncontrolled looting had devastated the zoo and its animals. Working with members of the zoo staff and a few compassionate U.S. soldiers, he defended the zoo, bartered for food on war-torn streets, and scoured bombed palaces for desperately needed supplies. Babylon's Ark chronicles Anthony's hair-raising efforts to save a pride of Saddam's lions, close a deplorable black-market zoo, run ostriches through shoot-to-kill checkpoints, and rescue the dictator's personal herd of Thoroughbred Arabian horses. A tale of the selfless courage and humanity of a few men and women living dangerously for all the right reasons, Babylon's Ark is an inspiring and uplifting true-life adventure of individuals on both sides working together for the sake of magnificent wildlife caught in a war zone.

By the Waters of Babylon

By the Waters of Babylon
Author: Stephen Vincent Benet
Publisher: CreateSpace
Total Pages: 38
Release: 2015-08-24
Genre:
ISBN: 9781517031244

The north and the west and the south are good hunting ground, but it is forbidden to go east. It is forbidden to go to any of the Dead Places except to search for metal and then he who touches the metal must be a priest or the son of a priest. Afterwards, both the man and the metal must be purified. These are the rules and the laws; they are well made. It is forbidden to cross the great river and look upon the place that was the Place of the Gods-this is most strictly forbidden. We do not even say its name though we know its name. It is there that spirits live, and demons-it is there that there are the ashes of the Great Burning. These things are forbidden- they have been forbidden since the beginning of time.

Babylonia

Babylonia
Author: Trevor Bryce
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 161
Release: 2016
Genre: History
ISBN: 0198726473

Exploring key historical events as well as the day-to-day life of the ancient Babylonians. A comprehensive guide to one of history's most profound civilizations.

Babylon

Babylon
Author: Paul Kriwaczek
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 470
Release: 2012-03-27
Genre: History
ISBN: 1429941065

Civilization was born eight thousand years ago, between the floodplains of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, when migrants from the surrounding mountains and deserts began to create increasingly sophisticated urban societies. In the cities that they built, half of human history took place. In Babylon, Paul Kriwaczek tells the story of Mesopotamia from the earliest settlements seven thousand years ago to the eclipse of Babylon in the sixth century BCE. Bringing the people of this land to life in vibrant detail, the author chronicles the rise and fall of power during this period and explores the political and social systems, as well as the technical and cultural innovations, which made this land extraordinary. At the heart of this book is the story of Babylon, which rose to prominence under the Amorite king Hammurabi from about 1800 BCE. Even as Babylon's fortunes waxed and waned, it never lost its allure as the ancient world's greatest city. Engaging and compelling, Babylon reveals the splendor of the ancient world that laid the foundation for civilization itself.