Neo-Babylonian empire was one of the most powerful kingdoms under the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar.The legendary hanging garden of Babylon that is considered as one of the ancient seven wonders of the world has been known to be built by him. The Neo Babylonian king had a significant role in Jewish history.Nebuchadnezzar II conquered the jews and reformed his kingdom of Babylon to its former glory. here we will look at all the aspects of the life of King Nebuchadnezzar II from his early life and rise to power up until his death. Continue reading to find out more about the greatest king of the Neo-Babylonian empire.Read on to know more about Babylonian captivity, archaeological evidence of Nebuchadnezzar’s palace and his overthrowing the Assyrian empire after defeating the Assyrian King. Afterwards, also check Cleopatra children and facts about King Tut.Early Life & Rise To PowerThe king of the Neo Babylonian empire, Nebuchadnezzar was born in 634 BC to his father Nabopolassar was the then king of the Babylonian empire. The year of his birth is not confirmed but in all probability wasn’t before 630 BC.Nebuchadnezzar grew up to be the prince of Babylonia and was the eldest son of his father. Most of what we know about the king of the Neo Babylonian empire is through Bible, inscriptions, and Jewish sources. In his early years, Nebuchadnezzar II learned about the laws of Babylonia, about the Babylonian gods, and also how to be the leader of an army.Nebuchadnezzar’s name means ‘O Nabu, watch over my heir’. However, at the time of Nebuchadnezzar’s birth, the empire was under the Assyrian empire. Nebuchadnezzar was still a boy when his father revolted against and defeated the Assyrian army. He won by finding allies in the Medes and successfully defeated the Assyrian empire. His father was Nabopolassar, the king of Babylon who founded the Chaldean dynasty. Even though his father did not claim his royal descent Nebuchadnezzar II claimed the Akkadian King Naram-Sin of the third millennia as his ancestor.Nebuchadnezzar began his military career when he was very young. He became the administrator of the military by the year 610. The first time we know that his father mentions him is when he worked as a laborer to help with restoring the Marduk temple. Marduk was the supreme god of the Babylonian empire and Babylonia’s national god. He is first mentioned by his father as working as a laborer in the restoration of the temple of Marduk, the chief god of the city of Babylon and the national god of Babylonia in the ancient world.Accession To The ThroneAfter Nebuchadnezzar’s victory in Carchemish Nabopolassar’s death followed quickly. At this time Nebuchadnezzar was in the middle of military campaigns that he was leading against Egyptians making them retreat to the areas around the city of Hamath.When Nebuchadnezzar II heard of his father’s death at the end of July he immediately struck up a deal with the Egyptians and quickly returned to the powerful kingdom of Babylon wherein he claimed the title of King of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar rushed to Babylon as he feared that one of his two brothers, Nabshmurishil and Nabzelshabsi, would try to usurp him and claim the title of king.It was quite possible as one of his brothers was considered to be his equal even though everyone knew he was the crown prince from the beginning. All of Nebuchadnezzar’s fears were in vain as there were no attempts made by his brothers to take over his throne. The first thing that Nebuchadnezzar did when he returned to Babylon was to bury Nabopolassar. He placed his father in a big casket that was adorned with gold pearls and plates and the casket was placed in a small palace built especially for him.After he was crowned king he returned to Syria shortly after the month ended to move forward with his unfinished campaign. According to the Babylonian Chronicles, he did not encounter any resistance and returned back to his kingdom of Babylon. Although the Syrian campaign led to looting, it was not completely successful because it failed to secure Nebuchadnezzar’s influence over the region. He failed to instill fear in people as none of the westernmost states of Levant swore allegiance to him or paid him tribute.Conquests And AchievementsNebuchadnezzar II is known to have built the magnificent palace that housed one of the ancient seven wonders of the world, the hanging gardens. However, if the hanging gardens are just a part of a legend or if they really existed or not is something that archeologists are not completely sure of.It is said that he built the hanging gardens for his wife who had been homesick. Nebuchadnezzar’s wife was the daughter of the king of Media in order to seal an alliance with them. As Nebuchadnezzar II grew in age he also grew in stature. He became the commanding general of his father’s army. He marched against the Egyptians and Assyrians with his great army.He emerged victorious in the Battle of Carchemish and subsequently removed the last threat to the Babylonian empire from the middle east. After he returned he became the king of Babylon. During his reign rebuilt many temples and improved the defense system of the city of Babylon and made it two times better than it was before. The city wall he erected went around for 10 mi (16 km). Nebuchadnezzar II continued the expansion of his reach and control in Babylon. He took control of the city of Jerusalem and captivated many Hebrew people and took them to Babylon in exile. He was also successful in conquering Scythians and Cimmerians. Saddam Hussein who was the former dictator of Iraq stated that he himself was Nebuchadnezzar incarnated.King Nebuchadnezzar In The BibleIn the bible, Nebuchadnezzar II was the main figure, even more so in the Book of Daniel. Nebuchadnezzar had asked Daniel to interpret his dreams when no one else could in the Bible.Daniel interpreted dreams for the king and foretold of Babylon’s fall after the king’s death. Nebuchadnezzar also tried to burn Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego in fire because they did not bow down to him. However, they survived by a miracle. The bible also mentions how King Nebuchadnezzar was humbled by God himself for his habit of boasting but they miraculously survive. Consequently, he is struck by insanity and he lives for seven long years like an animal.Did you know that as per ancient writers, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were one of the seven wonders of the ancient world?King Nebuchadnezzar’s DreamChapter 2 of the book of Daniel talks about King Nebuchadnezzar second’s dream and his interpretation of it. The king had earlier asked others to interpret the meaning of his dream but no one couldn’t. In the dream, King Nebuchadnezzar had seen a giant statue that was made up of four metals.His head was golden and there was also a mixture of iron and clay. Then in the dream, a stone that had not been cut out by the hands of a human destroyed the statue and it subsequently filled the whole world. Daniel explained to him that the statue represented four kingdoms that would succeed Babylon. He told King Nebuchadnezzar that the stone and the mountains represented a kingdom that could even be destroyed by other people as it had been established by the divinity or God himself. King Nebuchadnezzar after hearing this praised and acknowledged the god Daniel and promoted him to the high office in the empire of Babylon.Death And SuccessionNebuchadnezzar met his death approximately in the year 562 BC. After his death, the throne went to his son Amel-Marduk. This is because the last tablet that belonged to Nebuchadnezzar rule from Uruk is dated to the same date as the first tablet of his successor Amel-Marduk’s rule.However the administrative duties of his son, the next crown prince of the Babylonian Empire Amel-Marduk supposedly started before he took the reign and became the king. This was because king Nebuchadnezzar was ill and near to his death during his last days so he undertook the kingly duties during his father’s last days. The great King Nebuchadnezzar was the longest ruler of his dynasty.Nebuchadnezzar’s rule lasted for a total of 43 years. He was also fondly remembered by the people of the Babylonian empire. The accession of Amel-Marduk to the throne was not smooth. Archeological evidence suggests that probable reasons for this could be that he wasn’t the oldest living son of Nebuchadnezzar. The reason why he was chosen as the crown prince is not yet known.It is a bit strange as well since a few sources have suggested that the bond between the father and son in question was not particularly good. There is only one text that has survived that points to this. According to the text, both of them accused each other of conspiracy and failing in completing their kingly duties by having exploited the people of the Babylonian empire and destroying its temples. There is also one instance when the king of the Babylonian empire imprisoned his son probably because the aristocracy had called his son a new king in his absence. It is also plausible that the king had wanted to replace Amel as his heir but did not live long to do it.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for facts about king Nebuchadnezzar then why not take a look at ancient Greece history facts, or ancient Greek gods and goddesses facts.
Neo-Babylonian empire was one of the most powerful kingdoms under the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar.
