During the late 7th century BC, as the Iron Age drew closer to an end in the Near East, the mighty Assyrian Empire was finally defeated and replaced by the Babylonians under the leadership of King Nabopolassar. Although Nabopolassar founded the Neo-Babylonian Empire, it was his son, Nebuchadnezzar the Second, who succeeded in expanding the new empire and returning Babylon to its former glory. This was the first time in a thousand years, since the reign of Hammurabi, that Babylon rose to dominate Mesopotamia.
Following his portrayal in the Bible, Nebuchadnezzar would come to be regarded as an oppressive and cruel enemy of the Jewish people. Thank you to CuriosityStream for sponsoring this video! CuriosityStream is a subscription streaming service that offers thousands of documentaries and non-fiction titles from some of the world's best filmmakers, including exclusive originals.
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Nebuchadnezzar the Second, the eldest son of King Nabopolassar was born in 642 BC and was likely named after his grandfather, who was a governor in the city of Uruk under the rule of King Ashurbanipal. The name Nebuchadnezzar is derived from his traditional Akkadian name ‘Nabu-kudurri-uṣur’, which translates to “O Nabu, protect my first-born son”. Nabu being the Mesopotamian patron-god of scribes, literacy and wisdom who gained great prominence during the 1st millennium BC after being identified as the son of the most powerful god of the Babylonian pantheon, Marduk.
As Crown Prince of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar took part in his father’s campaign to conquer the city of Harran in 609 BC, where the final Assyrian ruler, Ashur-uballit the Second, had gathered the remainder of his forces. The Battle of Harran led to the ultimate defeat of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Subsequently, Nebuchadnezzar was promoted and began taking charge of troops alongside his father.
Together they led an army into a mountainous region north of Assyria in 607 BC. After his father returned to Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar continued to lead independent operations, serving as Commander-in-Chief and securing major victories that solidified Babylon’s status as the new superpower in the region. The Egyptian pharaoh at the time, Necho the Second, attempted to restore the fallen Neo-Assyrian Empire by leading a large army into former Assyrian territories and establishing a base of operations in the city of Carchemish.
Nebuchadnezzar faced Necho and his forces in 605 BC at the Battle of Carchemish and dealt the Egyptians a devastating defeat. Nebuchadnezzar's victory over the Egyptians at Carchemish echoed throughout history, appearing in several later accounts, such as the Book of Jeremiah and the Book of Kings in the Hebrew Bible. When King Nabopolassar died in July of 605 BC, Nebuchadnezzar rushed back home to Babylon to stake his claim to the throne before his younger brother, Nabu-shum-lishir, had a chance to steal it.
Nabu-shum-lishir was never mentioned in documents again after this point, leading historians to speculate that he probably led an unsuccessful revolt which resulted in his demise. Upon becoming ruler, Nebuchadnezzar spoke directly to the patron god of Babylon in his inaugural speech, saying: “O merciful Marduk, may the house that I have built endure forever, may I be satiated with its splendor, attain old age therein, with abundant offspring, and receive therein tribute of the kings of all regions, from all mankind. ” After burying his father, Nebuchadnezzar returned to the front lines in Syria to continue expanding what was now his empire.
In 604 BC, Nebuchadnezzar and his men conquered the city of Ashkelon in the Levant and proceeded to capture its king, plunder its treasures and leave it in ruins. Over the next three years, other states including the Kingdom of Judah submitted to the surging Babylonian empire and, with the help of Greek mercenaries, the empire was extended into Palestine. Progress was halted abruptly in 601 BC, when Nebuchadnezzar chose to march against Egypt.
Despite having defeated the Egyptians at Carchemish, the attempted invasion of Egypt was a complete and utter failure. There were heavy casualties on both sides, but the failure resulted in a loss of confidence for the Babylonians. Vassal states started to doubt the power of Babylon, referring to the infant empire as a “paper tiger”.
At home, Babylonians began to disobey Nebuchadnezzar's direct orders and even organized rebellions against him. Turning his attention away from Egypt and back towards the Levant, Nebuchadnezzar led his army into the Syrian desert in 599 BC, attacking and raiding Arabs along the way. One year later, the Babylonians captured the city of Jerusalem in a campaign against the Kingdom of Judah.
Hoping that Egypt would lend support, Judah’s King Jehoiakim challenged Nebuchadnezzar’s authority and ultimately suffered greatly as a result. King Jehoiakim died during the siege and his uncle Zedekiah was subsequently installed as ruler of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar. Further campaigns into the Levant followed, including the capture of the Phoenician city of Tyre.
The Babylonian army swept through the region, leaving a trail of devastation in their wake. Nebuchadnezzar took full control of all trade routes across Mesopotamia and expanded his empire in every direction. The warrior-king was persistent in his policy of expansion, believing a universal kingship to be a right granted to him by Marduk.
Following the unsuccessful invasion of Egypt, Zedekiah of Judah refused to pay tribute to Nebuchadnezzar and revolted in 589 BC. This led to Nebuchadnezzar's defining moment; the complete annihilation of the city of Jerusalem, including Solomon’s Temple. The destruction of Jerusalem prompted the permanent end of the Kingdom of Judah.
As many as 20,000 Judeans, thought to make up 25% of Jerusalem’s population at the time, were captured and deported to Babylon. The deportation of a conquered city’s citizens was a common tactic that was often employed by the Assyrians during their time in power. The destruction of Solomon’s Temple and the Babylonian Exile were seen as fulfillments of Biblical prophecies.
These events led to the strengthening of Judaic religious beliefs and began the Israelites' transition from the polytheistic beliefs of Yahwism to the monotheistic beliefs of Judaism. Yahwism’s pantheon of many gods was headed by Yahweh, the national god of the Isrealites, along with his wife, the goddess Asherah. The second-tier gods and goddesses consisted of Baal, Yarikh, Mot, and Astarte, who each had their own priests and prophets.
The Hebrew Bible would go on to refer to Nebuchadnezzar as the "destroyer of nations" and a cruel and mad ruler sent by God to punish the Israelites for their many sins. 18th Century English painter William Blake’s famous depiction of Nebuchadnezzar as a mad king is based on the Book of Daniel’s unflattering description of the ruler, which reads: “He was driven away from people and ate grass like the ox. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.
” On the other hand, Babylonian sources describe Nebuchadnezzar's reign as a golden age that transformed Babylonia into the greatest empire of its time. Among Nebuchadnezzar’s many accomplishments were the completion and expansion of fortifications initiated by his father; building a great moat and outer defense wall; constructing canals; paving the Processional Way with limestone; and renovating the city’s temples. The beautiful Ishtar Gate that led into the heart of the city was ordered by the King to be surrounded with blue tiles and adorned with images of animals representing gods.
Nebuchadnezzar was exceptionally proud of the Ishtar Gate, and added a dedication plaque inscribed in cuneiform that read: “Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, the faithful prince appointed by the will of Marduk, the highest of princely princes, beloved of Nabu, of prudent counsel, who has learned to embrace wisdom, who fathomed their divine being and reveres their majesty, the untiring governor, who is constantly concerned with the well-being of Babylon and Borsippa, the wise, the humble, the firstborn son of Nabopolassar. I laid the foundation of the gates down to the ground water level and had them built out of pure blue stone. Upon the walls in the inner room of the gate are lions, bulls and dragons, and thus I magnificently adorned them with luxurious splendor for all mankind to behold in awe.
" Lions represented the goddess of love and fertility, Ishtar. Bulls represented the god of storms, Adad. And dragons represented the central Babylonian deity, Marduk.
Behind the enormous bronze gates protecting the city were solid gold statues and an opulent grand temple. The most well-known construction associated with Nebachadnezzar are the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, which are recognized as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Legend has it that Nebuchadnezzar’s wife Amytis of Medea missed her forested homeland so much that the ruler built the extravagant gardens to remind her of home.
Supposedly, the gardens were built on a slope that consisted of a series of terraces that were supported by pillars made of baked brick and tar. A Greek historian named Diodorus Siculus described the gardens as being 400 feet wide, 400 feet long, and 80 feet high. The gardens being so high up likely meant that water was carried to the top of the gardens by a primitive water irrigation system.
The exact location of the Hanging Gardens remains a mystery to this day, but there are skeptics who believe the gardens were located elsewhere or never existed at all. After ruling for 43 years, Nebuchadnezzar died in Babylon on October 7th, 562 BC. The empire’s throne was succeeded by one of his sons named Amel-Marduk, but he was overthrown and murdered less than two years later.
The Neo-Babylonian Empire was short-lived and only lasted another 20 years before being conquered by Cyrus the Great and incorporated into the Achaemenid Empire in 539 BC. Nebuchadnezzar was the longest-reigning king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire and at the time of his death was the most powerful ruler in the world. Through his considerable military prowess and remarkable construction accomplishments, Nebuchadnezzar immortalized himself as one of the greatest rulers of the ancient world!
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