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Nebuchadnezzar II

 
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Nebuchadrezzar II
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(born c. 630 — died c. 561BC) Second and greatest king of the Chaldean dynasty of Babylonia. He began his military career as an administrator (c. 610 BC) and ascended the throne on his father's death, just after winning Syria from the Egyptians (605 BC). He attacked Judah, capturing Jerusalem in 597 and recapturing it in 587/586, and deporting prominent citizens to Babylon. He devoted time and energy to restoring Babylon, by paving roads, rebuilding temples, and digging canals. At least in folk tradition, he is credited with building the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

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Biography: Nebuchadnezzar
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Nebuchadnezzar (reigned 605-562 B.C.) was a king of Babylon during whose long and eventful reign the Neo-Babylonian Empire attained its peak and the city of Babylon its greatest glory.

Nebuchadnezzar - more properly Nebuchadrezzar - is the biblical form of the name Nabukudur-utsur (Nabu has set the boundary). He was the son of Nabopolassar, a Chaldean chief who in 626 B.C. led a revolt against Assyrian rule, proclaimed himself king of Babylon, and, in alliance with the Medes and Scythians, succeeded in overthrowing the vast Assyrian Empire and destroying Nineveh in 612 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar, as crown prince, was given command of the Babylonian army harrying the remainder of the Assyrians in northern Syria. Early in 605 B.C. he met Necho, the king of Egypt, in battle and defeated him at Carchemish. A few months later Nabopolassar died, and Nebuchadnezzar hastened home to claim his throne. He soon returned to the west in order to secure the loyalty of Syria and Palestine and to collect tribute; among those who submitted were the rulers of Damascus, Tyre, Sidon, and Judah.

Nebuchadnezzar's Conquests

In 601 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar attempted the invasion of Egypt but was repulsed with heavy losses. Judah rebelled, but Jerusalem fell in March 597 B.C., and the ruler, Jehoiakim, and his court were deported to Babylon. Eight years later another Jewish rebellion broke out; this time Jerusalem was razed and the population carried into captivity. Expeditions against the Arabs in 582 B.C. and another attempt at invading Egypt in 568 B.C. receive brief mention in Nebuchadnezzar's later records.

Nebuchadnezzar built temples in many of the cities of his kingdom, but the main achievement of his reign was the rebuilding of Babylon, on a scale and with a magnificence never before envisaged. The city covered some 500 acres and was protected by massive double fortifications. The Euphrates River, which bisected it, was spanned by a bridge. In the great palace, built to replace Nabopolassar's, he created the terraced cloister known to the Greeks as the Hanging Gardens and reckoned among the Seven Wonders of the World. It was said that he built it to please his mountain-born wife, Amytis, daughter of Cyaxares, the Median king.

The last years of Nebuchadnezzar's life were clouded by family strife, and he left no strong successor: his son was overthrown by a usurper after reigning only 2 years. Babylon, however, survived and was seen by the Greek historian Herodotus, who described its marvels.

Further Reading

Tablets containing new information about Nebuchadnezzar's military activities were translated by D. J. Wiseman in Chronicles of Chaldaean Kings (1956). These texts supplement the account of R. Campbell Thompson in J. B. Bury and others, eds., The Cambridge Ancient History (12 vols., 1923-1939). For a description of Babylon in Nebuchadnezzar's time see James G. Macqueen, Babylon (1964), based on Robert Koldewey's excavations before World War I.

Bible Guide: Nebuchadnezzar
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King of Babylon. The Hebrew name Nebuchadnezzar is an alternate form of the name Nebuchadrezzar appearing in Jeremiah and Ezekiel which is closer to the original Akkadian form of the name, Nabû-kudurriusur, meaning "Nabu, protect my boundary" (on the Babylonian god Nabu see NEBO). The biblical Nebuchadnezzar was the second ruler by that name in the history of Babylon; and is referred to in history books as Nebuchadrezzar II. The son of Nabopolassar (626-605 B.C.), the Chaldean ruler who liberated Babylonia from Assyria, Nebuchadnezzar ruled from 605 to 562 B.C. He expanded the neo-Babylonian empire so that it extended from the frontier of Egypt in the west to Elam in the east. He rebuilt temples throughout Babylonia, and enhanced the fortifications and public buildings of Babylon. As a consequence of Nebuchadnezzar's military campaigns in the west, beginning in 605 B.C. when he was still crown prince, King Jehoiakim of Judah paid tribute to Nebuchadnezzar and thereby acknowledged the Babylonian ruler as overlord (II Kgs 24:1). However, at the end of his reign in 598 B.C. Jehoiakim withheld tribute. Nebuchadnezzar marched against Judah and laid siege to Jerusalem. According to the Babylonian Chronicle, on the second day of Adar i.e., March 16, 597 B.C. Jerusalem fell to Nebuchadnezzar. Jehoiachin, who meanwhile had succeeded to the throne in Judah, was taken captive along with many of the most prominent citizens (II Kgs 24:14). Nebuchadnezzar installed Jehoiachin's uncle Zedekiah as king of Judah. When the latter rebelled against Babylon (Jer chap. 37), Nebuchadnezzar, who had been engaged in war against Elam, again marched against Judah. On the tenth day of the tenth month 588 B.C. he laid siege to Jerusalem. After holding out for more than a year and a half, the city fell on the seventh day of the fifth month 586/587 B.C. The Temple was destroyed, and most of Judah's population was exiled to Babylonia. Nebuchadnezzar made Judah a Babylonian province, over which he appointed as governor a Judean noble named Gedaliah son of Ahikam. Nebuchadnezzar is the king of Babylonia, at whose court Daniel served as interpreter of dreams (Dan chaps. 1-4). According to Daniel 5:2 Nebuchadnezzar was the father of Belshazzar.

Concordance
II Kgs 24:1,10-11; 25:1, 8,22. I Chr 6:15. II Chr 36:6-7,10, 13, Ezra 1:7; 2:1; 5:12,14; 6:5. Neh 7:6. Est 2:6. Jer 21:2, 7; 22:25; 24:1; 25:1, 9; 27:6,8, 20; 28:3,11, 14; 29:1,3, 21; 32:1,28; 34:1; 35:11; 37:1; 39:1, 5, 11; 43:10; 44:30; 46:2, 13, 26; 49:28, 30; 50:17; 51:34; 52:4, 12, 28-30. Ezek 26:7; 29:18-19; 30:10. Dan 1:1, 18; 2:1,28, 46; 3:1-3,5, 7, 9, 13-14,16, 19, 24, 26,28; 4:1, 4, 18,28, 31, 33-34,37; 5:2, 11, 18

Archaeology Dictionary: Nebuchadnezzar
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(Nebuchadrezzar, Nebuchodonosor) [Na]

The most famous of the kings of Babylon, the second of that name, ruling from c.605 bc through to 562 bc. His father, Nabopolassar, ejected the Assyrians to restore Babylon's independence and to found the Neo-Babylonian kingdom. During his father's reign Nebuchadnezzar defeated the Egyptian Pharaoh Necho at Carchemish in 605 bc, thus giving him control over a wide area of western Asia. It was also the start of intensified conflict between Babylonia and Egypt that eventually led to the defeat of Nebuchadnezzar's army three years later. This defeat may have stimulated further trouble for Nebuchadnezzar in the form of a revolt in Judaea which was finally crushed in 597 bc when Zedekiah was installed as a puppet king. Further revolts over the following decade led Nebuchadnezzar to lay siege to Jerusalem, finally destroying it in 586 bc. Nebuchadnezzar was responsible for building a great palace and the hanging gardens in Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
 
Columbia Encyclopedia: Nebuchadnezzar
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Nebuchadnezzar (nĕb'əkədnĕz'ər), d. 562 B.C., king of Babylonia (c.605-562 B.C.), son and successor of Nabopolassar. In his father's reign he was sent to oppose the Egyptians, who were occupying W Syria and Palestine. At Carchemish he met and defeated (605 B.C.) Pharaoh Necho, thus becoming the undisputed master of Western Asia. The sudden death of his father caused Nebuchadnezzar to return home to safeguard his inheritance, permitting Necho to escape to Egypt with part of his army. Three years later (601 B.C.) Necho defeated Nebuchadnezzar in battle. This event may have encouraged the Judaean revolt under Jehoiakim. Jehoiakim died shortly after the siege began and was succeeded by his son, Jehoiachin. In Mar., 597 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar crushed the revolt and carried off the young Jehoiachin and many of his nobles to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar then placed the puppet king Zedekiah on the throne of Judaea. A new revolt occurred (588-587 B.C.) in Judaea. After a siege of about a year, Jerusalem was finally destroyed in 586 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar was a splendid builder, and Babylon with its hanging gardens was then the greatest city of the ancient world. However, Babylon was shortly to fall under conquest when Nabonidus was king. The book of Daniel depicts Nebuchadnezzar as a conceited and domineering king and tells of his going mad and eating grass. He is also called Nebuchadrezzar or Nebuchodonosor.

Bibliography

See G. R. Tabouis, Nebuchadnezzar (1977).

Wikipedia: Nebuchadnezzar II
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"Nebuchadnezzar" redirects here. For other uses, see Nebuchadnezzar (disambiguation).
An engraving inside an onyx-stone-eye in a Marduk statue that depicts Nebuchadnezzar II[1]

Nebuchadnezzar II En-us-Nebuchadnezzar.ogg Listen (help·info) (c 634 – 562 BC) was a ruler of Babylon in the Chaldean Dynasty, who reigned c. 605 BC – 562 BC. According to the Bible, he conquered Judah and Jerusalem, and sent the Jews into exile. He is credited with the construction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. He is featured in the Book of Daniel and is also mentioned in several other books of the Bible. In contemporary Iraq and some other parts of the Middle East, he is glorified as a historic leader.

Contents

Name

The Akkadian name, Nabû-kudurri-uṣur, means "Oh god Nabu, preserve/defend my firstborn son". Nabu is the Babylonian deity of wisdom, and son of the god Marduk. In an inscription, Nebuchadnezzar styles himself as Nabu's “beloved” and “favourite”.[2][3]

The name is often mistakenly interpreted as "O Nabu, defend my kudurru",[4] in which sense a kudurru is an inscribed stone deed of property. However, when contained in a ruler's title, kudurru approximates to "bad indigestion" or "possible liver problem".[5]

The Hebrew form is נְבוּכַדְנֶצַּר (Nəḇūḵaḏneṣṣar or Nevuchadnetsar), but is also found as נְבוּכַדְנֶאצַּר and נְבוּכַדְרֶאצַּר (Nəḇuḵaḏreṣṣar). The Greek form was Ναβουχοδονόσωρ. He is also known as Bakhat Nasar, which means "winner of the fate", or literally, "fate winner".

Biography

Nebuchadnezzar II was the eldest son, and successor, of Nabopolassar, who delivered Babylon from its dependence on Assyria and laid Nineveh in ruins. According to Berossus, some years before he became king of Babylon, he married Amytis of Media, the daughter or granddaughter of Cyaxares, king of the Medes, and thus the Median and Babylonian dynasties were united.

Nabopolassar was intent on annexing the western provinces of Syria from Necho II (who was still hoping to restore Assyrian power), and to this end dispatched his son westward with a powerful army. In the ensuing Battle of Carchemish in 605 BC, the Egyptian army was defeated and driven back, and Syria and Phoenicia were brought under the control of Babylon. Nabopolassar died in August of that year, and Nebuchadnezzar returned to Babylon to ascend to the throne.

After the defeat of the Cimmerians and Scythians, all of Nebuchadnezzar's expeditions were directed westwards, although the powerful Median empire lay to the north. Nebuchadnezzar's political marriage to Amytis of Media, the daughter of the Median king, had ensured peace between the two empires.

Nebuchadnezzar faces off against Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, who holds a plan of Jerusalem, in this Baroque-era depiction in Zwiefalten Abbey in Germany

Nebuchadnezzar engaged in several military campaigns designed to increase Babylonian influence in Syria and Judah. An attempted invasion of Egypt in 601 BC was met with setbacks, however, leading to numerous rebellions among the states of the Levant, including Judah. Nebuchadnezzar soon dealt with these rebellions, capturing Jerusalem in 597 BC and deposing King Jehoiakim, then in 587 BC due to rebellion, destroying both the city and the temple, and deporting many of the prominent citizens along with a sizable portion of the Jewish population of Judea to Babylon.[6] These events are described in the Prophets (Nevi'im) and Writings (Ketuvim), sections of the Hebrew Bible. After the destruction of Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar engaged in a thirteen year siege of Tyre (585-572 BC), which ended in a compromise, with the Tyrians accepting Babylonian authority.

Following the pacification of Tyre, Nebuchadnezzar turned again to Egypt. A clay tablet,[7] now in the British Museum, states: "In the 37th year of Nebuchadnezzar, 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." Having completed the subjugation of Phoenicia, and a campaign against Egypt, Nebuchadnezzar set himself to rebuild and adorn the city of Babylon, and constructed canals, aqueducts, temples and reservoirs.

According to Babylonian tradition, Nebuchadnezzar, towards the end of his life, prophesied the impending ruin of the Chaldean Empire (Berosus and Abydenus in Eusebius, Praeparatio Evangelica, 9.41). Nebuchadnezzar died in Babylon between the second and sixth months of the forty-third year of his reign.

Construction activity

Building Inscription of King Nebuchadnezar II at the Ishtar Gate. An abridged excerpt says: "I (Nebuchadnezzar) 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 bulls and dragons and thus I magnificently adorned them with luxurious splendour for all mankind to behold in awe."

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. Nebuchadnezzar, 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";[8] 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. The bridge across the Euphrates is of particular interest, in that it was supported on asphalt covered brick piers that were streamlined to reduce the upstream resistance to flow, and the downstream turbulence that would otherwise undermine the foundations. Nebuchadnezzar's construction activity was not 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 Mede wall between the Tigris and the Euphrates to protect the country against incursions from the north. These undertakings required a considerable number of laborers; an inscription at the great temple of Marduk suggests that the labouring force used for his public works was most likely made up of captives brought from various parts of western Asia.

Nebuchadnezzar is credited with the construction of the Hanging Gardens, for his wife Amyitis (or Amytis) to remind her of her homeland, Medis (Media).[9] However, some scholars argue that they may have been constructed by a ruler from Ninevah.[10]

Portrayal in the books of Daniel and Jeremiah

Nebuchadnezzar is most widely known through his portrayal in the Bible, especially the Book of Daniel as נְבוּכַדְנֶאצַּר. This book discusses several events of his reign, in addition to his conquest of Jerusalem.

The second chapter of Daniel relates an account attributed to the second year of his reign, in which Nebuchadnezzar dreams of a huge image made of various materials (gold, silver, bronze, iron, etc). The prophet Daniel tells him God's interpretation, that it stands for the rise and fall of world powers, starting with Nebuchadnezzar's own as the golden head.

In Daniel chapter 3, Nebuchadnezzar erects a large idol made completely of gold for worship during a public ceremony on the plain of Dura. When three Jews, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (respectively renamed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego by their captors, to facilitate their assimilation into Babylonian culture), refuse to take part, he has them cast into a fiery furnace. They are protected by the Son of God (Daniel 3:25) and emerge unscathed without even the smell of smoke.

Daniel chapter 4 contains an account of another of Nebuchadnezzar's dreams, this time of an immense tree, which Daniel interprets.

Nebuchadnezzar, by William Blake

While boasting over his achievements, Nebuchadnezzar is humbled by God. The king loses his sanity and lives in the wild like an animal for seven years (by some considered as an attack of the madness called clinical lycanthropy or alternately porphyria). After this, his sanity and position are restored and he praises and honors God.

A clay tablet in the British Museum (BM34113) describes Nebuchadnezzar's behavior during his insanity: "His life appeared of no value to him... then he gives an entirely different order... he does not show love to son or daughter... family and clan does not exist."[11] There is no record of acts or decrees by the king during 582 to 575 BC.[12] Based on descriptions of Nebuchadnezzar's actions and physical traits, psychologist Henry Gleitman claims that Nebuchadnezzar's descent into insanity was a result of syphilis infection. Gleitman believes his odd behavior was actually general paresis or paralytic dementia seen in advanced cases of syphilitic infection.[13]

Some scholars[who?] think that Nebuchadnezzar's portrayal by Daniel is a mixture of traditions about Nebuchadnezzar — he was indeed the one who conquered Jerusalem — and about Nabonidus (Nabuna'id). For example, Nabonidus was the natural, or paternal father of Belshazzar, and the seven years of insanity could be related to Nabonidus' sojourn in Tayma in the desert. Fragments from the Dead Sea Scrolls, written from 150 BCE to 70 CE[14] state that it was Nabonidus (N-b-n-y) who was smitten by God with a fever for seven years of his reign while his son Belshazzar was regent.

The Book of Jeremiah contains a prophecy about the arising of a "destroyer of nations", commonly regarded as a reference to Nebuchadnezzar (Jer. 4:7), as well as an account of Nebuchadnezzar's siege of Jerusalem and looting and destruction of the temple (Jer. 52).

Interpretations of Nebuchadnezzar's actions

Roger Williams, a Baptist minister and founder of Rhode Island, interpreted several passages in the Old and New Testament to support limiting government interference in religious matters. Williams published The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution describing his analysis of why a civil government should be separate from religion according to the Bible. Williams believed that Israel was a unique covenant kingdom and not an appropriate model for New Testament Christians who believed that the Old Testament covenant had been fulfilled. Therefore, the more informative Old Testament examples of civil government are kings such as Nebuchadnezzar, a pagan (not one of the covenant kings), who provides an example of a "bad" king that forces his subjects to worship the official state religion or be thrown in the furnace.[15]

Voltaire interprets the legacy of Nebuchadnezzar and his relationship with Amasis in a short story entitled The White Bull.

Named after Nebuchadnezzar

Notes and references

Notes

  1. ^ Anton Nyström, Allmän kulturhistoria eller det mänskliga lifvet i dess utveckling, bd 2 (1901)
  2. ^ Harper, R.F. quoted in Peet, Stephen Denison (editor). 1900. “Editorial Notes,” The American Antiquarian and Oriental Journal. New York: Doubleday, vol. XXII, May and June. p. 207.
  3. ^ Lamb, Harold. 1960. Cyrus the Great. New York: Doubleday, p. 104.
  4. ^ Schrader, Eberhard. 1888. The Cuneiform Inscriptions and the Old Testament. London: Williams and Norgate, p. 48 (footnote).
  5. ^ Chicago Assyrian Dictionary sub Kudurru Ca5'
  6. ^ Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book VIII, ch. 6-8
  7. ^ Elgood, Percival George. 1951. Later Dynasties of Egypt. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. p. 106.
  8. ^ Smith, William and Fuller, J.M. 1893. A Dictionary of the Bible: Comprising Its Antiquities, Biography, Geography, and Natural History. London: John Murray, vol. I, p. 314.
  9. ^ Foster, Karen Polinger (1998). "Gardens of Eden: Flora and Fauna in the Ancient Near East". Transformations of Middle Eastern Natural Environments: Legacies and Lessons. New Haven: Yale University. pp. 320-329. http://environment.yale.edu/documents/downloads/0-9/103foster.pdf. Retrieved 2007-08-11. 
  10. ^ "How the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World Work". Stuff You Missed in History Class. 8.04.08
  11. ^ Kendall K. Down, Daniel: Hostage in Babylon, p.30
  12. ^ Gleason Archer, Vol 7 Expositor's Bible Commentary.
  13. ^ Henry Gleitman, Psychology (New York: W W Norton, 2007), 219.
  14. ^ Bruce, F. F. "The Last Thirty Years". Story of the Bible. ed. Frederic G. Kenyon Retrieved June 19, 2007
  15. ^ James P. Byrd, The challenges of Roger Williams: religious liberty, violent persecution, and the Bible (Mercer University Press, 2002)[1] (accessed on Google Book on July 20, 2009)
  16. ^ Fontenot, Gregory; Degen, E.J.; Tohn, David. 2005. On point: the United States Army in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, p. 263. ISBN 978-1-5911-4279-9
  17. ^ Encyclopedia of the Developing World, Edited by Thomas M. Leonard, p.793.
  18. ^ Archeology Under Dictatorship, Michael L. Galaty and Charles Watkinson, p.203.

References

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Preceded by
Nabopolassar		 King of Babylon
605 BC–562 BC		 Succeeded by
Amel-Marduk

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