[German version]

In its lexical meaning, the term B., as used by Greek and Latin writers, (also expanded by γῆ, gê, μοῖρα, moîra or rather χώρα, chṓra) refers to the territory of the city of  Babylon (its wider surroundings); however, its use in that sense is frequently not unambiguous. In derivation, the term is nowadays generally taken to refer to the entire southern part of Mesopotamia, between the Persian Gulf and roughly the 34th northern parallel. Ancient oriental sources, though, do not use an equivalent regional descripti…