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Dennis Fish

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Nebuchadnezzar

Son of Nabopolassar, king of Babylon and Daughter of Rustam Husband of Neitaqert (Nitokris) and Amyitis of Medea Father of Neitaqert (Nitocris), Queen of Babylon; Amel-Marduk; Kashshaya (Kashshaia) of Babylon; Amel-Marduk King of Babylon; Eanna-shar-usur Prince of Babylon, Prince of Babylonand 2 others Brother of Unknown Princess of Babylone ? and Nabu-suma-lisir Half brother of Prince Nn Son of Nabopolassar II Babylon

Nebuchadnezzar II was a Chaldean king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, who reigned c. 605 BCE – c. 562 BCE. Both the construction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the destruction of Jerusalem's temple are ascribed to him.

Nebuchadnezzar (also known as Nebuchadrezzar) was the son of Nabopolassar and King of Babylon from 605 to 562 BC. The name means "Nabu, protect my boundary". Nebuchadnezzar expanded the neo-Babylonian empire so that it extended from Egypt in the west to Elam in the east. He rebuilt temples and public buildings throughout Babylonia. He laid siege to Jerusalem twice. In 586 BC, the city fell, the Temple was destroyed, and a large part of Judah's population was exiled to Babylonia.

Nebuchadnezzar II (reigned 605-562 bc), greatest king of the neo-Babylonian, or Chaldean, dynasty, who conquered much of southwestern Asia; known also for his extensive building in the major cities of Babylonia.

The eldest son of Nabopolassar, Nebuchadnezzar commanded a Babylonian army late in his father's reign and in 605 bc triumphed over Egyptian forces at the decisive Battle of Carchemish in Syria, which made Babylonia the primary military power in the Middle East. After his father's death, Nebuchadnezzar returned to Babylon and ascended the throne on September 7, 605 bc. During the next eight years he campaigned extensively in the west against Syria, Palestine, and Egypt and against the Arabs. On March 16, 597 bc, he captured Jerusalem and took Jehoiachin, king of Judah, and many of his people captive to Babylonia. He was subsequently troubled by major revolts in Babylonia (595 bc) and in Judah (588-587 bc), which were vigorously punished; many more Jews were exiled to Babylonia. Nebuchadnezzar also conducted a 13-year siege of the Phoenician city of Tyre and launched an invasion of Egypt in 568 bc. During the latter part of his reign, as the empire of the Medes increased in power to the north and east, Nebuchadnezzar built a wall, known as the Median Wall, in northern Babylonia to keep out the potential invader.

n In 581 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar again took captives from Judah.

Nebuchadnezzar's conquests brought in much booty and tribute, creating an age of prosperity for Babylonia. He undertook an ambitious construction program, rebuilding the temples in the major cult cities and refurbishing his capital at Babylon with a splendid ziggurat (pyramid temple) as well as other shrines, palaces, fortification walls, and processional ways. Later legend credited him with building one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, for his Median wife Amyitis. Nebuchadnezzar died in early October 562 bc and was succeeded by his son Amel-Marduk (the biblical Evil-Merodach).

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, Nebuchadnezzar II married Amytis of Media, the daughter or granddaughter of Cyaxares, king of the Medes, and thus the Median and Babylonian dynasties were united. There are also conflicting account of Nitocris of Babylon either being his wife or daughter. 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 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 (in the books 2 Kings and Jeremiah, and 2 Chronicles, respectively). 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 (Berossus 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, and was succeeded by Amel-Marduk.

Nebuchadnezzar is most widely known through his portrayal in the Bible, especially the Book of Daniel as ????????????????. The Bible discusses events of his reign and in addition 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 and clay). 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 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 what Nebuchadnezzar describes as "the son of God" () and emerge unscathed without even the smell of smoke.[11]

Daniel chapter 4 contains an account of another of Nebuchadnezzar's dreams, this time of an immense tree, which Daniel interprets that Nebuchadnezzar will go insane for seven years because of his pride. This chapter was either written by Nebuchadnezzar himself in the first person, or at the least, was constructed to appear that way.

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. After this, his sanity and position are restored and he praises and honors God. There has been some speculation on what the organic cause of this insanity might have been. Some consider it to be an attack of clinical lycanthropy or alternatively porphyria, or an advanced case of syphilis.[12]

Some scholars [13] 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 BC to 70 AD[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 (),[15] as well as an account of Nebuchadnezzar's siege of Jerusalem and looting and destruction of the temple ().

[edit] Interpretations of Nebuchadnezzar's actionsRoger 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.[16]

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

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