Nebuchadnezzar II

An engraving inside an onyx-stone-eye in a Marduk statue that depicts Nebuchadnezzar II Nebuchadnezzar II ( Aramaic ): ( ܢܵܒܘܼ ܟܲܕܲܪܝܼ ܐܲܨܲܪ ) Listen (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 . Anton Nyström, Allmän kulturhistoria eller det mänskliga lifvet i dess utveckling , bd 2 (1901)

Nebuchadnezzar II ( / n ɛ b j [invalid input: 'u-'] k ə d ˈ n ɛ z ər / ; ; Nəḇūḵaḏneṣṣar ; Ancient Greek : Ναβουχοδονόσωρ Naboukhodonósôr ; Arabic : نِبُوخَذنِصَّر nibūḫaḏniṣṣar ; c. 634 – 562 BC) was an Assyrian king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire , who reigned c. 605 BC – 562 BC. Both the construction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the destruction of Jerusalem 's temple are ascribed to him. He is featured in the Book of Daniel and is mentioned in several other books of the Bible . The Akkadian name, Nabû-kudurri-uṣur , means "O god Nabu , preserve/defend my firstborn son". Nabu, son of the god Marduk , is the Babylonian deity of wisdom. In an inscription , Nebuchadnezzar styles himself as Nabu's "beloved" and "favourite". His name has previously been mistakenly interpreted as "O Nabu, defend my kudurru ", in which sense a kudurru is an inscribed stone deed of property. However, when contained in a ruler's title, kudurru approximates to "firstborn son" or "oldest son". Variations of the Hebrew form include and ( Nəḇuḵaḏreṣṣar ). He is also known as Bakhat Nasar , which means "winner of the fate", or literally, "fate winner". Anton Nyström, Allmän kulturhistoria eller det mänskliga lifvet i dess utveckling , bd 2 (1901) Harper, R. F. quoted in Peet, Stephen Denison (editor). 1900. The Cuneiform Inscriptions and the Old Testament .

Nebuchadnezzar II ( / ˌ n ɛ b j ʊ k ə d ˈ n ɛ z ər / ), also Nebuchadrezzar II ( Akkadian : 𒀭𒀝𒆪𒁺𒌨𒊑𒋀 – Nabû-kudurri-uṣur , meaning "O god Nabu , preserve/defend my firstborn son"; Biblical Hebrew : – Nəḇūḵaḏreʾṣṣar or – Nəḇūḵaḏneʾṣṣar ; Biblical Aramaic : – Nəḇūḵaḏneṣṣar ), king of Babylon c. 605 BC – c. 562 BC, was the longest-reigning and most powerful monarch of the Neo-Babylonian Empire . His father Nabopolassar was an official of the Neo-Assyrian Empire who rebelled in 626 BC and established himself as the king of Babylon . Nebuchadnezzar ascended the throne in 605 BC and subsequently fought several campaigns in the West, where Egypt was trying to organize a coalition against him. His conquest of Judah is described in the Bible's Books of Kings , Books of Chronicles and Book of Jeremiah . His capital, Babylon , is the largest archaeological site in the Middle East . The Bible remembers him as the destroyer of Solomon's Temple and the initiator of the Babylonian captivity . He is an important character in the Book of Daniel , a collection of legendary tales and visions dating from the 2nd century BC. Giuseppe Verdi 's opera Nabucco was inspired by him. He is presented (at the start) as brutal, hawkish and despotic. There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ).

King of Babylon from 605 to 562 BC "Nebuchadnezzar" redirects here. Nebuchadnezzar II ( Babylonian cuneiform : Nabû-kudurri-uṣur , meaning " Nabu , watch over my heir"; Biblical Hebrew : נְבוּכַדְנֶאצַּר ‎ Nəḇūḵaḏneʾṣṣar ), also spelled Nebuchadrezzar II , was the second Neo-Babylonian emperor , ruling from the death of his father Nabopolassar in 605 BC to his own death in 562 BC. Historically known as Nebuchadnezzar the Great , he is typically regarded as the empire's greatest king. Nebuchadnezzar remains famous for his military campaigns in the Levant , for his construction projects in his capital, Babylon , including the Hanging Gardens of Babylon , and for the role he plays in Jewish history . Ruling for 43 years, Nebuchadnezzar was the longest-reigning king of the Chaldean dynasty . By the time of his death, he was among the most powerful rulers in the world. Possibly named after his grandfather of the same name , or after Nebuchadnezzar I ( r. c. 1125–1104 BC), one of Babylon's greatest ancient warrior-kings, Nebuchadnezzar II already secured renown for himself during his father's reign, leading armies in the Medo-Babylonian conquest of the Assyrian Empire . At the Battle of Carchemish in 605 BC, Nebuchadnezzar inflicted a crushing defeat on an Egyptian army led by Pharaoh Necho II , and ensured that the Neo-Babylonian Empire would succeed the Neo-Assyrian Empire as the dominant power in the ancient Near East . Shortly after this victory, Nabopolassar died and Nebuchadnezzar became king. Despite his successful military career during his father's reign, the first third or so of Nebuchadnezzar's reign saw little to no major military achievements, and notably a disastrous failure in an attempted invasion of Egypt. These years of lacklustre military performance saw some of Babylon's vassals, particularly in the Levant , beginning to doubt Babylon's power, viewing the Neo-Babylonian Empire as a " paper tiger " rather than a power truly on the level of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The situation grew so severe that people in Babylonia itself began disobeying the king, some going as far as to revolt against Nebuchadnezzar's rule. After this disappointing early period as king, Nebuchadnezzar's luck turned. In the 580s BC, Nebuchadnezzar engaged in a successful string of military actions in the Levant against the vassal states in rebellion there, likely with the ultimate intent of curbing Egyptian influence in the region. In 587 BC, Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the Kingdom of Judah , and its capital, Jerusalem . The destruction of Jerusalem led to the Babylonian captivity as the city's population, and people from the surrounding lands, were deported to Babylonia. The Jews thereafter referred to Nebuchadnezzar, the greatest enemy they had faced until that point, as a "destroyer of nations" (משחית גוים, Jer. 4:7). The biblical Book of Jeremiah paints Nebuchadnezzar as a cruel enemy, but also as God 's appointed ruler of the world and a divine instrument to punish disobedience. Through the destruction of Jerusalem, the capture of the rebellious Phoenician city of Tyre , and other campaigns in the Levant, Nebuchadnezzar completed the Neo-Babylonian Empire's transformation into the new great power of the ancient Near East. In addition to his military campaigns, Nebuchadnezzar is remembered as a great builder king. The prosperity ensured by his wars allowed Nebuchadnezzar to conduct great building projects in Babylon, and elsewhere in Mesopotamia. The modern image of Babylon is largely of the city as it was after Nebuchadnezzar's projects, during which he, among other work, rebuilt many of the city's religious buildings, including the Esagila and Etemenanki , repaired its current palace and constructed a brand new palace, and beautified its ceremonial centre through renovations to the city's Processional Street and the Ishtar Gate . As most of Nebuchadnezzar's inscriptions deal with his building projects, rather than military accomplishments, he was for a time seen by historians mostly as a builder, rather than a warrior. There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ).

King of Babylon from 605 to 562 BC "Nebuchadnezzar" redirects here. Nebuchadnezzar II , also Nebuchadrezzar II , meaning " Nabu , watch over my heir", was the second king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire , ruling from the death of his father Nabopolassar in 605 BC to his own death in 562 BC. Often titled Nebuchadnezzar the Great , he is regarded as the empire's greatest king, famous for his military campaigns in the Levant and their role in Jewish history , and for his construction projects in his capital of Babylon , including the Hanging Gardens of Babylon . Ruling for 43 years, Nebuchadnezzar was the longest-reigning king of the Babylonian dynasty . By the time of his death, he was among the most powerful rulers in the world. Possibly named after his grandfather of the same name , or after Nebuchadnezzar I ( r. c. 1125–1104 BC), one of Babylon's greatest ancient warrior-kings, Nebuchadnezzar II had already secured renown for himself during his father's reign, leading armies in the Medo-Babylonian conquest of the Assyrian Empire . At the Battle of Carchemish in 605 BC, Nebuchadnezzar inflicted a crushing defeat on an Egyptian army led by Pharaoh Necho II , and ensured that the Neo-Babylonian Empire would succeed the Neo-Assyrian Empire as the dominant power in the ancient Near East . Shortly after this victory, Nabopolassar died and Nebuchadnezzar became king. Despite his successful military career during his father's reign, Nebuchadnezzar's early reign saw few achievements, and witnessed a disastrous failed invasion of Egypt. This performance led some of Babylon's vassals to doubt Babylon's power and was the cause of brewing rebellion across his empire. After first putting down some insurrections in the east, Nebuchadnezzar turned his attention to the Levant and in the 580s BC engaged in a string of campaigns against his rebellious vassal states. In 587 BC, Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem and destroyed it and the Kingdom of Judah , deporting much of its population in what became known as the Babylonian captivity . This episode earned Nebuchadnezzar a position of notoriety in Jewish history. Through this conquest, the subsequent capture of the Phoenician city of Tyre , and other campaigns in the Levant, Nebuchadnezzar restored the Neo-Babylonian Empire's fortunes in the ancient Near East. Beyond his military campaigns, Nebuchadnezzar is remembered as a great builder who erected many of Babylon's religious buildings, including the Esagila and Etemenanki , embellished its palaces and beautified its ceremonial centre through renovations to the city's processional street and the Ishtar Gate . He is also accredited with the construction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon . As most of Nebuchadnezzar's inscriptions deal with his building projects rather than military accomplishments, he was for a time seen by historians mostly as a builder rather than a warrior.