The details of the fulfillment are amazing. But years after the prophecy, Cyrus, king of the Medo-Persian Empire, mounted a huge force of many different nations and marched southward against Babylon. In Jeremiah 50:9, the prophet declared that God would “raise and cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north country.” This prediction probably seemed unfounded at the time it was made, because none of the countries in the north came close to having enough strength to defeat Babylon. Yet in spite of the strong military and defensive strength of the city, God’s prophets foretold its destruction. This wall/moat combination appeared to make the city unconquerable. The Euphrates River surrounded the city, making a perfect moat that ranged anywhere from 65 to 250 feet across. But the wall was not the only form of defense. Not only were the walls long and high, but in some places they also were 75-feet thick. In fact, ancient writers described walls that were 14 miles long on all four sides of the city and that reached heights of over 300 feet-taller than most building today. Babylon gained its reputation because of its high, massive walls and its strong defensive battlements.
It was located between the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers-a strip of land so agriculturally productive that today it is known as the “fertile crescent.”īut its agriculture and well-watered plains were not the reason it was famous. During these “glory days,” the city prospered like it had the Midas touch everything it touched seemed to turn to gold. Babylon was one of the richest cities in the world during the years 740 B.C.