Chaldea

Ancient Mesopotamia
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Babylon · Chaldea
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Chronology
Mesopotamia
Sumer (king list)
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Mythology
Enûma Elish · Gilgamesh
Assyro-Babylonian religion
Language
Sumerian · Elamite
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Chaldea or Chaldaea (from Greek Χαλδαία, Chaldaia; Akkadian māt Kaldu, Hebrew כשדים, Kaśdim^[1]; Arabic كلدان‎, Kāldān^[2][3]), "the Chaldeans" of the KJV Old Testament, was a Hellenistic designation for a part of Babylonia, which became an independent kingdom under the Chaldees. It pursued military campaigns against the foreign ruling dynasties ruling southern Mesopotamia, mainly the Akkadians and the Babylonians. It became a Babylonian colony in the early days of Hammurabi, but retained special status in relation to other cities ruled by Babylon in the region. One early such reference is to the impending invasion of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar II (Habakkuk 1:6). Tribes of settlers who arrived in the region became known as the Chaldeans. Quite where they originally came from is a mystery.

The 11th dynasty of the Kings of Babylon (6th century BC) is conventionally known to historians as the Chaldean Dynasty. Their kingdom in the southern portion of Babylonia lay chiefly on the right bank of the Euphrates. Though the name came to be commonly used to refer to the whole of Mesopotamia, Chaldea proper was the vast plain in the south formed by the deposits of the Euphrates and the Tigris, extending to about four hundred miles along the course of these rivers, and about a hundred miles in average width.

The Land

Chaldea was an ancient name for the marshy lands in the far south of Mesopotamia, at the head of the Persian Gulf – present day Iraq and Kuwait. It is called in Chaldean mat Kaldi—that is, "land of Chaldea"—but there is also used, apparently synonymously, the expression mât Bit Yakin. It would appear that Bit Yakin was of the land; and the king of Chaldea is also called the king of Bit Yakin, just as the kings of Bab the estuaries of the Tigris and Euphrates, which then discharged their waters through narrow bonds and obtained the ascendency over all Babylonia.

In 652 BC a series of wars broke out in the Assyrian Empire over who should rule. These wars greatly weakened the empire. Sensing this weakness, the Chaldeans (kal-Dee-unz) a group from the Syrian desert, led other peoples in attacking the Assyrians. In 612 BC they destroyed Nineveh and the Assyrian empire. In its place, the Chaldeans set up a new empire of their own. Nebuchadnezzar, the most famous Chaldean king, rebuilt Babylon into a beautiful city.

History

Important Kaldu cities were Bit-Yâkin (the original homeland at the Persian Gulf), Bit-Dakuri, Bit-Adini, Bit-Amukkani, and Bit-Shilani. King Ukinzir (Greek: Chinzeros) conquered Babylonia, ruling 731-729, but was again defeated by Tiglath-Pileser III. During the reign of Tiglath-Pileser III (745-727), Babylonia saw a significant influx of Kaldu settlers.

Merodach-Baladan of Bit-Yâkin gained the support of the Elamites and was king of Babylonia several times between 721 and 710, being deposed by the Assyrians, but always succeeding in seizing the reins of power again. In 702, he once more campaigned against Sennacherib before being finally defeated at Kish. King Mushezib-Marduk was king just before Sennacherib's sack of Babylon in 689 BC.

It was only under Nabopolassar in 625 that the Kaldu attained lasting control over Babylon, after having defeated Assyria and Egypt at Karchemish, founding the Chaldean dynasty, which lasted until 539 and the rise of the Achaemenid Empire.

When the Chaldean empire was absorbed into the Achaemenid, the name Chaldean lost its meaning as the name of an ethnic group, and came to be applied to a class. The Persians found the Chaldeans masters of reading and writing, and especially versed in all forms of incantation, in sorcery, witchcraft, and the magical arts. Thus, in Greek, "Chaldean" came to acquire the meaning of "astrologer" (e.g. in Strabo). In this sense it is also used in the Book of Daniel (Dan. 1:4, 2:2ff.).

The Chaldean settlement ties the Middle East to early European history as Chaldean colonists led by Aschenez are thought to have been the founders^[4] of the city now known as Reggio Calabria, on the east side of the straight between Sicily and Calabria, Italy. The city was founded at the end of the 8th century BCE, making it one of the oldest cities of Europe, according to local historians.^[5]

See also

• Chaldean Catholic Church
• Chaldean Oracles

References

External links

• Chaldeans Online
• Study Light: Kasidy
• Magic of the Egyptians and Chaldeans
• Chaldean and Assyrian Community Discussion

This article incorporates text from the 1901–1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, a publication now in the public domain.