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.

Introduction

Part I: Babylon as Political Metaphor

Chapter One: The Political Image of Babylon in Antiquity

Chapter Two: Political Babylon in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages

Chapter Three: Political Babylon from the Great Schism to the Present

Part II: Babylon as Degenerate Archetype

Chapter Four: The Medieval Genealogy of Babylonian Degeneracy: The Cursed Race

Chapter Five: The Post-Medieval Genealogy of Babylonian Degeneracy and the Cursed Race Archetype

Part III: Babylon as Sublime Topos

Chapter Six: City of Ruins

Chapter Seven: Babylon and the Coordinates of Romance

Conclusion