ISB ~ Revelation 17 v18

dominion:The language of political sovereignty points to a corruptive spiritual influence that leads other nations into deception (18:23). (1) If the city is Jerusalem, this could refer to the effort of official Judaism to slander the Christian movement and turn the Gentile world against it. (2) If the city is Rome, its political dominance over the Mediterranean world is in view, along with the spread of spiritual corruption through the cult of the emperors. See note on Rev 13:11.