Nebuchadrezzar II
Nebuchadrezzar II (also Nebuchadnezzar; reigned 605 B.C.E. - 562 B.C.E.), is perhaps the best known ruler of Babylon in the Chaldean Dynasty.
He is famous for his conquests of Judah and Jerusalem, his forcing the citizens of Jerusalem into exile, his monumental building projects within his capital of Babylon, his role in the biblical books of Daniel and Jeremiah, and his construction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, which he reportedly created for his wife because she was homesick for the mountain springs where she grew up.
He is traditionally called "Nebuchadnezzar the Great" and was referred to by the prophet Jeremiah as "God's servant." However, his destruction of Temple of Jerusalem and his forcing the citizens of Judah into exile in Babylon caused his vilification in Judaic tradition and in other parts of the Bible. This has caused him to be interpreted very differently by Judeo-Christians in the west compared to contemporary Iraq, where he is glorified as a historic leader.
Biography
Name and Family
His name in Akkadian Nabû-kudurri-uṣur, is interpreted as "O Nebo, defend..." (either) "my offspring", "my empire", or "my work" — Nebo being the Babylon diety of wisdom and son of the priamry god Marduk. In an inscription he styles himself "Nebo's favorite." The Hebrew form is נבוכדנאצר Nəbūkadnệzzar, (the presence of the א (aleph) may indicate an earlier Hebrew pronunciation Nəbūkadenʾeṣṣar), and sometimes (in Jeremiah and Ezekiel) נבוכדראצר, Nəbūkadrệṣṣar. The Septuagint and Vulgate Bibles have Ναβουχοδονοσορ, Nabuchodonosor (perhaps reflecting an earlier Hebrew pronunciation Nabūkudunʾuṣur) but the KJV re-introduces the Hebrew variants as Nebuchadnezzar vs. Nebuchadrezzar.
Nebuchadnezzar was the oldest son and successor of Nabopolassar, who delivered Babylon from its dependence on Assyria and laid Nineveh in ruins. According to Berossus, he married the daughter of Cyaxares, and thus the Median and Babylonian dynasties were united.
Military Exploits
Necho II, the king of Egypt, had gained a victory over the Assyrians at Carchemish. This secured Egypt the possession of Phoenician provinces of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, including parts of Palestine. The remaining Assyrian provinces were divided between Babylonia and Media. Nabopolassar was intent on reconquering from Necho the western provinces of Syria, however, and to this end dispatched his son with a powerful army westward. In the ensuing Battle of Carchemish in 605 B.C.E., the Egyptian army was defeated and driven back, and Syria and Phoenicia were brought under the sway of Babylon. Nabopolassar died on August 15, 605 B.C.E. and Nebuchadnezzar quickly returned to Babylon to ascend to the throne.
After the defeat of the Cimmerians and Scythians, all of Nebuchadrezzar's expeditions were directed westwards, although a powerful neighbour lay to the North; the cause of this was that a wise political marriage with Amuhia, the daughter of the Median king, had insured a lasting peace between the two empires.
Nebuchadrezzar engaged in several military campaigns designed to increase Babylonian influence in Syria and Judah. An attempted invasion of Egypt in 601 B.C.E. met with setbacks, however, leading to numerous rebellions among the states of the Levant, including Judah. Nebuchadrezzar soon dealt with these rebellions, capturing Jerusalem in 597 B.C.E., and bringing King Jehoiachin to Babylon. When Pharaoh Apries attempted an invasion of Palestine again, in 589 B.C.E., Judah and other states of the region once again rebelled. Another siege of Jerusalem occurred in 587/586 B.C.E., ending in the destruction of both the city and the Temple and the deportation of many prominent citizens to Babylon. These events are described in the Bible. After the destruction of Jerusalem, Nebuchadrezzar engaged in a 13 year long siege of Tyre (585-572 B.C.E.), which ended in a compromise, with the Tyrians accepting Babylonian authority.
It would appear that following the pacification of Tyre, Nebuchadrezzar turned again to Egypt. A clay tablet, now in the British Museum, bears the following inscription referring to his wars:
"In the 37th year of Nebuchadrezzar, king of the country of Babylon, he went to Mitzraim (Egypt) to make war. Amasis, king of Egypt, collected [his army], and marched and spread abroad."
Building Projects
Having completed the subjugation of Phoenicia, and inflicted chastisement on Egypt, Nebuchadrezzar now set himself to rebuild and adorn the city of Babylon, and constructed canals, aqueducts and reservoirs.
Nebuchadnezzar made Babylon into one of the wonders of the ancient world. He ordered the complete reconstruction of the imperial grounds, including rebuilding the Etemenanki ziggurat and the construction of the Ishtar Gate — the most spectacular of eight gates that ringed the perimeter of Babylon. The Ishtar Gate survives today in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin. Nebuchadnezzar is also credited with the construction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon (one of the seven wonders of the ancient world), said to have been built for his homesick wife Amyitis. Whether the gardens did exist is a matter of dispute. Although excavations by German archaeologist Robert Koldewey are thought to reveal its foundations, many historians disagree about the location, and some believe it may have been confused with gardens in Nineveh.
Nebuchadrezzar seems to have prided himself on his constructions more than on his victories. During the last century of Niniveh's existence, Babylon had been greatly devastated, not only at the hands of Sennacherib and Assurbanipal, but also as a result of her ever renewed rebellions. Nebuchadrezzar, continuing his father's work of reconstruction, aimed at making his capital one of the world's wonders. Old temples were restored; new edifices of incredible magnificence were erected to the many gods of the Babylonian pantheon (Diodorus of Sicily, 2.95; Herodotus, 1.183) to complete the royal palace begun by Nabopolassar, nothing was spared, neither "cedar-wood, nor bronze, gold, silver, rare and precious stones"; an underground passage and a stone bridge connected the two parts of the city separated by the Euphrates; the city itself was rendered impregnable by the construction of a triple line of walls. Nor was Nebuchadrezzar's activity confined to the capital; he is credited with the restoration of the Lake of Sippar, the opening of a port on the Persian Gulf, and the building of the famous Median wall between the Tigris and the Euphrates to protect the country against incursions from the North: in fact, there is scarcely a place around Babylon where his name does not appear and where traces of his activity are not found. These gigantic undertakings required an innumerable host of workmen: from the inscription of the great temple of Marduk , we may infer that most probably captives brought from various parts of Western Asia made up a large part of the labouring force used in all his public works.
From Nebuchadrezzar's inscriptions and from the number of temples erected or restored by this prince we gather that he was a very devout man. What we know of his history shows him to have been of a humane disposition, in striking contrast with the display of wanton cruelty of most Assyrian rulers. It was due to this moderation that Jerusalem was spared repeatedly, and finally destroyed only when its destruction became a political necessity; rebel princes easily obtained pardon, and Zedekiah himself, whose ungratefulness to the Babylonian king was particularly odious, would, had he manifested less stubbornness, have been treated with greater indulgence (Jeremiah 38:17, 18); Nebuchadrezzar showed much consideration to Jeremiah, leaving him free to accompany the exiles to Babylon or to remain in Jerusalem, and appointing one of the Prophet's friends, Godolias, to the governorship of Jerusalem; he granted likewise such a share of freedom to the exiled Jews that some rose to a position of prominence at Court and Baruch thought it a duty to exhort his fellow-countrymen to have the welfare of Babylon at heart and to pray for her king. Babylonian tradition has it that towards the end of his life, Nebuchadrezzar, inspired from on high, prophesied the impending ruin to the Chaldean Empire (Berosus and Abydenus in Eusebius, Praep. Evang., 9.41).
Nebuchadrezzar died in Babylon between the second and sixth months of the forty-third year of his reign.
Portrayal in the Bible
Nebuchadrezzar is most widely known through his portrayal in the Bible, especially the books of Jeremiah Daniel.
The prophet Jeremiah was argued ardently against those in Judah who sought to oppose Nebuchadrezzar, a stance that put him into direct opposition to both kings and other prophets speaking in God's name. He believed that Nebuchadrezzar was "God's servant" who had been raised up to chastise Judah for her sins. He spoke against those who wanted Judah to ally herself with Egypt against Babylon, and he urged the kings of Judah to act as Nebuchadrezzar's loyal vassals. Jeremiah urged a policy of submission, even writing to those who had already been taking into exile to ignore those prophets who promised the God would soon break the Babylonian yoke. Jeremiah urged the exiles to settle down, marry, and to pray for Nebuchadrezzar. Such activities resulted in Jeremiah's encountering the emnity of Judah's political and religious elites. He narrowly avoided capital punishment, was banned from the Temple, endured beatings, and nearly starved to death in prison for speaking out in support of cooperation with Nebuchadrezzar. As a result, when the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem, they showed Jeremiah great respect and unusual liberty.
A very different attitude toward Nebuchadrezzar is evident in the Book of Daniel. In this book, Nebuchadrezzar is the archetypal idol worshipper. Although Daniel wins his favor be interpreting his dreams (Chapter 2), when the three youn Hebrew noblemen Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse to participate in Nebuchadrezzar's idolatry, he arrogantly throws them fiery furnance, where they are protected by God's angel. (Chapter 3) Because of his arrogance, Nebuchadrezzar loses his sanity and lives in the wild like an animal for seven years.
Some scholars think that Nebuchadrezzar's portrayal by Daniel is a mixture of traditions about Nebuchadrezzar — he was indeed the one who conquered Jerusalem — and about Nabonidus (Nabuna'id), the last king of Babylon. For example, Nabonidus was the real father of Belshazzar, and the seven years of insanity could be related to Nabonidus' sojourn in Tayma in the desert. Evidence for this view was actually found on some fragments from the Dead Sea Scrolls that reference Nabonidus (N-b-n-y) being smitten by God with a fever for seven years of his reign while his son Belshazzar was regent.
Successors
After his death in October, 562 B.C.E., having reigned 43 years, he was succeeded by his son Amel-Marduk, who, after a reign of two years, was succeeded by Neriglissar (559 - 555), who was succeeded by Nabonidus (555 - 538), at the close of whose reign (less than a quarter of a century after the death of Nebuchadrezzar) Babylon fell under Cyrus as the head of the combined armies of Media and Persia.
Named after Nebuchadrezzar
- There is a type of daylily named "Nebuchadnezzar's Furnace".
- In the popular The Matrix film trilogy, the hovercraft of the character 'Morpheus' is named the Nebuchadnezzar.
- A bottle of champagne which contains the same amount as 20 bottles (15 litres) is called a Nebuchadnezzar.
- Opera Nabucco
- Saddam Hussein named one of his Republican Guards divisions after Nebuchadnezzar.
- A Legend card in the Magic: The Gathering card game is named Nebuchadnezzar.
- The VeggieTales character Nebby K. Nezzer is a play off of Nebuchadnezzar.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Chapter 23, "The Chaldaean Kings" in George Roux, Ancient Iraq (3rd ed.). London: Penguin Books, 1992. ISBN 014012523-X
- ABC 5: Chronicle Concerning the Early Years of Nebuchadnezzar
- Nabuchodonosor on the Catholic Encyclopedia
This entry incorporates text from the public domain Easton's Bible Dictionary, originally published in 1897.
This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913.
External links
- Inscription of Nabuchadnezzar. Babylonian and Assyrian Literature - old translation
- Nabuchadnezzar Ishtar gate Inscription
| Preceded by: Nabopolassar |
King of Babylon 605–562 B.C.E. |
Succeeded by: Amel-Marduk |
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