The Two Babylons, written by Alexander Hislop in 1858, is a controversial work that argues the origins of Roman Catholicism trace back to ancient Babylonian paganism. Hislop claims that the Catholic Church’s rituals, practices, and beliefs were derived from the worship of Nimrod, an ancient Mesopotamian king, and his wife Semiramis. Hislop presents his case by drawing parallels between Catholic practices such as the veneration of Mary, the Mass, and various other elements of Church doctrine, and ancient Babylonian religious customs. Although widely discredited for its speculative nature, the book was influential in certain religious circles, particularly among Protestant groups critical of the Catholic Church. The leather-bound edition offers a historical artifact of 19th-century anti-Catholic sentiment and provides a lens through which to study the religious polemics of the time.