Nebuchadrezzar II
Nebuchadrezzar's campaign was interrupted by news of his father's death, necessitating a brief return to Babylon to be crowned. He then conducted a winter campaign in the Levant—an unusual action. Over the following four years he fought annually in the Levant where his main opponent was Egypt. By 601, Nebuchadrezzar had driven out the Egyptians; they were unable thereafter to confront the Babylonians directly but continued to incite rebellion among the Levantine states. A revolt by Judah in 598-597 was put down; ten years later Judah, encouraged by the mirage of Egyptian support, again revolted and was again defeated. Jerusalem fell after an eighteen-month siege; the temple was destroyed and the city put to the torch. Further unrest occurred the following year. The prophet Jeremiah, who had warned successive kings against contesting the might of Babylonia, claimed that 4,600 people were deported from Judah in the aftermath of these risings (Jeremiah 52:28-30). Tyre also resisted the Babylonians and withstood a thirteen-year siege, falling around 571.
Most of the lands formerly under Assyrian control were now ruled by Babylonia. Nebuchadrezzar conducted other campaigns, gaining control of Cilicia and possibly invading Elam in 596. In 595 he put down an internal revolt; otherwise it appears that he reigned over a peaceful and contented king-
Babylonians under Nebuchadrezzar II breach the walls at Tyre around 571 B. C.E. The prosperous Phoenician trading city was situated on an island off the Levant coast. (Ridpath, John Clark, Ridpath’s History of the World, 1901)
Dom. This impression may be false, however, since the Chronicles for the latter part of his reign are missing and only building records survive. These extol the major works that the king was undertaking in many cities of Babylonia, especially Babylon.
Nebuchadrezzar sponsored a complete refurbishment of the city, rebuilding the shrine and ziggurat of Marduk, constructing palaces, defending the city with magnificent walls, creating the majestic Ishtar Gate (see photo p. 34) and Processional Way, and possibly commissioning the legendary Hanging Gardens.
The Medes had been firm allies of the Babylonians at the start of Nebuchadrezzar's reign, but their increasing power may later have made him uneasy. He constructed two massive defensive walls, ostensibly to keep out the barbarians; these stretched between the Tigris and Euphrates, one just north of Babylon, the other between Sippar and Opis, which became known as the Median Wall.
The Writing on the Wall
Nebuchadrezzar died in 562 after a long and glorious reign. His son and successor, Amel-Marduk (Evil-Merodach in the Bible), was not popular; after two years, he was overthrown by his brother-in-law, Nergal-shar-usur (Neriglissar). After three years Neriglissar also died and was succeeded by his young son in 555 b. c.e. Within at most three months, he, too, was dead, victim of a conspiracy possibly led by a prominent courtier, Bel-shar-usur (Belshazzar). The leaders of the revolt invited Nabu-na'id (Nabonidus), Belshazzar's father, to become king. Although his selection was initially opposed by some cities, within a few months he had been generally accepted.
Nabonidus, by his own account a "nobody," was the son of a provincial governor and Adad-guppi, a devotee and possibly a priestess of the moon god, Sin (Nanna), patron of their hometown, Harran. She was perhaps related to the Assyrian royal house; during the reigns of Nebuchadrezzar and his successors, she and her son had been prominent members of the court. In 555 Nabonidus was already at least fifty and possibly in his sixties; his mother was to die eight years later at the remarkable age of 104.
Nabonidus was a learned man, steeped in Babylonian traditions, and he sought to uphold and revive ancient ways and practices. This frequently led him to investigate ancient structures, often by excavating them, and he and his daughter En-nigaldi-Nanna both created "museums" in which they treasured ancient objects they had uncovered. (See chapter 3.) In 554 Nabonidus appointed his daughter to the ancient office of entu-priestess of Nanna in Ur, which had lapsed many centuries earlier. Nabonidus was deeply religious and placed much reliance on dreams and portents. In a dream early in his reign, he claimed that Marduk or Sin had commanded him to rebuild the temple of Sin in Harran, at that time in territory controlled by the Medes; the god promised Nabonidus that this situation would soon change. Two years later, Cyrus king of the Persians began his revolt against his overlord, Astyages king of the Medes, and by 550 Cyrus was king of both Medes and Persians. It is possible he was allied with Nabonidus at this stage. Nabonidus now began restoring the temple in Harran although it was not completed until 543.
In the interim, however, Nabonidus had taken up residence in Taima, an oasis in northwest Arabia, where he remained for ten years. He had campaigned in Cilicia and the Levant in the opening years of his reign, reaching northern Arabia in 552. Here he remained, leaving Belshazzar as his regent in Babylonia. The reason for his decision to stay in Taima is much debated. One theory is that Nabonidus's adherence to Sin (whom he later made supreme deity in place of Marduk) had caused widespread opposition, particularly among the priesthood. Belshazzar, however, was an orthodox adherent of Marduk and may have been more acceptable. However, how much hostility Nabonidus's devotion to Sin aroused cannot be gauged: The texts claiming this postdate his fall and may have been Persian propaganda.
An alternative view is that Nabonidus was extending and enriching the empire, bringing under Babylonian control the gateway to the lucrative trade
A nineteenth-century engraving depicting the Persian king Cyrus the Great who in 550 B. C.E. became king also of Media, an event regarded as the founding of the Persian Empire. (Ridpath, John Clark, Ridpath’s History of the World, 1901)
Routes that carried northern Arabian gold and southern Arabian incense and linked Mesopotamia with Egypt, the Levant, and the Gulf, where Babylonia also controlled Dilmun.
During the decade of Nabonidus's absence the international situation changed dramatically. Under Cyrus the Persians had expanded their domains from an Iranian kingdom subject to the Medes into an empire stretching from western Anatolia to northern India. Now Babylonia lay in their path. Belshazzar had already become uneasy about Persian ambitions, leading the army north to defend his borders from potential attack in 547, when, however, Cyrus's objective proved to be Lydia. In 543 Nabonidus returned to Babylon, making it possible to resume the all-important New Year celebrations, which
Nineteenth-century engraving depicting the capture of Babylon by the Persian king Cyrus the Great in 539 B. C.E. (Ridpath, John Clark, Ridpath’s History of the World, 1901)
Required the king's presence; the ten-year suspension of the festival must have been a major source of dissatisfaction. According to the later, hostile documents, Nabonidus now became more fanatical in his worship of Sin. Rising inflation and, in some places, catastrophes like plague and famine also struck Babylonia, and these can have done nothing for the popularity of the ruler, responsible to the gods for the well-being of his state. Furthermore, Cyrus was a superb propagandist and laid the political groundwork for his invasion many months in advance.
Whatever the reason, it seems many welcomed the Persians when they invaded in 539. The governor of Gutium joined Cyrus and together they defeated Babylonian forces at Opis. Cyrus apparently then took Sippar and Babylon without further opposition; he was welcomed as a deliverer rather than a conqueror—and he took care in his merciful treatment of his enemies to reinforce this impression. Nevertheless, the fierce battle at Opis shows that
Cyrus's invasion was not unopposed, and the account of subsequent events is colored by his propaganda, so it is impossible to be sure how widespread was the acceptance of his seizure of power.
Cyrus proved a clement and benevolent ruler. According to one account, he did not kill Nabonidus, but installed him as governor of Carmania in southern Iran. Belshazzar's fate is unknown: He may have died at Opis. Babylonia was no longer an independent state, but in many respects life continued little changed under Persian rule. Cyrus encouraged Babylonian religion, claiming Marduk's sanction and support for his invasion. The administration was maintained as before. Cyrus's son Cambyses also looked favorably on Babylonia. But after more than three thousand years of preeminence, Mesopotamia was no longer the center of civilization.
World History
