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Taken from his home while just a young man, Daniel was thrust into a pagan culture 500 miles to the East. Babylon. The center of the Chaldean empire.
Babylon was a city vastly different from Jerusalem. Instead of an old, comfortable city with narrow winding streets, Daniel found himself in a metropolis that stretched as far as the eye could see with streets like modern-day highways, straight as an arrow.
The walls of Babylon were legendary, difficult to imagine even in today's world. According to the historian Herodotus they towered more than 300 feet into the sky, close to the height of a 30-story building. Over 200 watchtowers scattered along the entire length of the city wall thrust even further into the air, some as high as 450 feet!
Herodotus records that there were actually two walls, with a deep moat between them; any army that breached the first wall would have to attack the second from inside the river. One wall was wide enough to run chariot races four-abreast. Because of this incredible wall, the city was considered militarily unconquerable. Babylon straddled the Euphrates river at a location roughly 60 miles southwest of modern-day Baghdad.
The Processional Way formed the main gateway into the city, leading to the Ishtar Gate. This road was as wide as a modern-day freeway, remarkable considering that the most sophisticated vehicle using it would have been a chariot. After entering the metropolis, you would see the king's palace on your right, and beside it his museum where he kept artifacts from nations he had conquered. Further in the distance, just beyond the palace, were the famed "hanging gardens" of Babylon, a masterpiece of engineering and one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Below the gardens, hundreds of slaves turned giant Archimedes-type screws to bring irrigation to the height of the garden level.
Chaldean Religious Practices
Throughout Babylon were temples to the chief god of the empire, the dragon-shaped god named Marduk. Its image graced the glazed royal blue bricks of the Ishtar Gate. Many other gods were also honored, including gods related to the sun, the moon and the goddess of fertility (Ishtar). The people of Babylon were devout and regularly offered sacrifices to their favorite gods. Into this environment came Daniel and the thousands of other Jews, honoring not a plethora of gods but One True God.
According to one historical report, women were required to serve as temple prostitutes at least once in their lifetime. During that time of service to the fertility goddess, they would not be allowed to leave the temple. The report claimed that attractive women would quickly finish their duty and go home within a few days but some women might be there for months or even years. In general, women were treated quite respectfully.
Nebuchadnezzar, the Great King
The king of Babylon at the time that Jerusalem was besieged was Nabopolassar. His son Nebuchadnezzar was a military general who had just swept away the remains of the huge Assyrian empire, though his father who was quite ill remained in Babylon. Assyria had been assisted by Egypt, and Egypt controlled Jerusalem, so Nebuchadnezzar turned his attention on the Jews. As Jerusalem surrendered to him, he learned that his father had died and that he was now the king of the Chaldean empire.
Most of what we know about Nebuchadnezzar comes from the Bible. We know that he had a huge ego like many other ancient kings, driven to impulsive decisions and quick to fly into a murderous rage. He couldn't stand being in a position where he was not completely in control. He would roast his officers over a slow fire when they displeased him. He, like his father before him, treated the military officers of enemy nations with horrible cruelty, even lining part of the city wall with their skins. After Judah's king Zedekiah rebelled against him, Nebuchadnezzar had his sons killed while forcing him to watch and then gouged out his eyes so the last thing the Jewish king saw was his family being executed.
Language and Culture
Babylon was a trading center, a busy city, constantly filled with travellers from around the world. People would take out loans in the form of goats or cattle and pay back with animals as well. Interest was outrageously high, often as much as 50%! Spurred on by a letter of encouragement by Jeremiah, the Jewish people took advantage of the setting to become quite prosperous. It was a remarkably advanced economic climate. You could even buy insurance.
Scientifically, the Chaldeans were one of the most sophisticated cultures in the world. Their knowledge of astronomy, mathematics and physics was rich and detailed. They practiced many pagan arts related to fortune telling. Dreams were important to them and seen as messages from the gods, so a great many people were involved in the interpretation of dreams.
The language of the Chaldeans was called Chaldean. Also known as Aramaic, the written letters were the same as Hebrew letters and written on scrolls with ink. Akkadian was another Babylonian language, now called "cuneiform" writing that involved triangular shapes drawn into clay tablets with a stylus. The clay would be baked to become a permanent document. A complex language, special education was required to learn Akkadian, and formed some of the special training of Daniel and his Hebrew friends.
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