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95-544: Bozrah means sheepfold or enclosure in Hebrew and was a pastoral city in Edom southeast of the Dead Sea . According to the biblical narrative, it was the home city of one of Edom's kings, Jobab son of Zerah ( Genesis 36:32–33 ) and the homeland of Jacob 's twin brother, Esau . The prophets Amos , Isaiah , and Jeremiah predicted Bozrah's destruction: According to Isaiah 63:1 –6,

190-470: A corral , a term borrowed from the Spanish language . Groups of pens that are part of a larger complex may be called a stockyard , where a series of pens hold a large number of animals, or a feedlot , which is a type of stockyard used to confine animals that are being fattened. A large pen for horses is called a paddock (Eastern US) or a corral (Western US). In some places, an exhibition arena may be called

285-477: A round pen , sometimes referred to as an exercise pen. Pen mating means that, ideally, a cohort of females is brought into the male's pen and he services them all while they are in the pen. This is the least labor-intensive mating system because the females are just left to mate at will. This mating is also the most efficient in terms of male power and efficiency as they do not need to do much in terms of exercising their power. [REDACTED]   One or more of

380-688: A show pen . A small pen for horses (no more than 15–20 feet on any side) is only known as a pen if it lacks any roof or shelter, otherwise, it is called a stall and is part of a stable . A large fenced grazing area of many acres is called a pasture , or, in some cases, rangeland . Several notable corrals are known in the United States, including many listed on the National Register of Historic Places , either in intact form or in ruins. Primitive pens in South Africa are called kraals . Keddah

475-535: 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

570-631: A 19th-century linguist and archaeologist in Palestine, postulated that the valley directly adjacent to this landslide is Azal , the location mentioned in Zechariah 14:5 to which the remnant in Jerusalem is to flee supposedly. This location accords with the LXX reading of Zechariah 14:5, which states that the valley will be blocked up as far as Azal. If Clermont-Ganneau is correct, the notion of people fleeing east through

665-519: A buffer state between his own kingdom and the Babylonian and Median kingdoms. After the fall of Harran, Psamtik's successor, Pharaoh Necho II , personally led a large army into former Assyrian lands to turn the tide of the war and restore the Neo-Assyrian Empire , even though it was more or less a lost cause as Assyria had already collapsed. As Nabopolassar was occupied with fighting Urartu in

760-445: A builder, rather than a warrior. There are very few cuneiform sources for the period between 594 BC and 557 BC, covering much of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II, and the reigns of his three immediate successors; Amel-Marduk , Neriglissar and Labashi-Marduk . This lack of sources has the unfortunate effect that even though Nebuchadnezzar had the longest reign of all of them, less is confidently known of Nebuchadnezzar's reign than of

855-458: A dangerously vague title. Despite these possible fears, there were no attempts made at usurping his throne at this time. One of Nebuchadnezzar's first acts as king was to bury his father. Nabopolassar was laid in a huge coffin, adorned with ornamented gold plates and fine dresses with golden beads, which was then placed within a small palace he had constructed in Babylon. Shortly thereafter, before

950-482: A few weeks after Nebuchadnezzar's victory at Carchemish. At this point in time, Nebuchadnezzar was still away on his campaign against the Egyptians, having chased the retreating Egyptian forces to the region around the city of Hamath . The news of Nabopolassar's death reached Nebuchadnezzar's camp on 8 Abu (late July), and Nebuchadnezzar quickly arranged affairs with the Egyptians and rushed back to Babylon, where he

1045-486: A fragmentary Babylonian inscription, given the modern designation BM 33041, from that year records the word "Egypt" as well as possibly traces of the name "Amasis" (the name of the then incumbent Pharaoh, Amasis II , r.   570–526 BC). A stele of Amasis, also fragmentary, may also describe a combined naval and land attack by the Babylonians. Recent evidence suggests that the Babylonians were initially successful during

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1140-560: A huge number of casualties. Though Egypt was not conquered, the campaign did result in momentarily curbing Egyptian interest in the Levant, given that Necho II gave up his ambitions in the region. In 599 BC, Nebuchadnezzar marched his army into the Levant and then attacked and raided the Arabs in the Syrian desert. Though apparently successful, it is unclear what the achievements gained in this campaign were. In 598 BC, Nebuchadnezzar campaigned against

1235-536: A large, fenced grazing area of many acres, not to be confused with the American English use of paddock as interchangeable with corral or pen , describing smaller, confined areas. In British English, a sheep pen is also called a folding , sheepfold or sheepcote . Modern shepherds more commonly use terms such as closing or confinement pen for small sheep pens. Most structures today referred to as sheepfolds are ancient dry stone semicircles. Kraal term

1330-514: A prominent official in Uruk who served as its governor under the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal ( r.   669–631 BC) in the 640s BC. In Assyrian tradition, the desecration of a dead body showed that the deceased individual and their surviving family were traitors and enemies of the state, and that they had to be completely eradicated, serving to punish them even after death. The name of the son whose name

1425-399: A provincial capital, dates from the 1500s. The last roundup of wild elephants was in 1903. In the United States, the term pen usually describes outdoor small enclosures for holding animals. These may be for encasing livestock or pets that cannot be kept indoors. Pens may be named by their purpose, such as a holding pen , used for short-term confinement. A pen for cattle may also be called

1520-469: A result, historical reconstructions of this period generally follow secondary sources in Hebrew , Greek and Latin to determine what events transpired at the time, in addition to contract tablets from Babylonia. Though use of the sources written by later authors, many of them created several centuries after Nebuchadnezzar's time and often reflecting their own cultural attitudes to the events and figures discussed, presents problems in and of itself, blurring

1615-570: A single (Egyptian) man [did not return] home. At that time Nebuchadnezzar conquered all of Ha[ma]th. The story of Nebuchadnezzar's victory at Carchemish reverberated through history, appearing in many later ancient accounts, including in the Book of Jeremiah and the Books of Kings in the Bible. It is possible to conclude, based on subsequent geopolitics, that the victory resulted in all of Syria and Israel coming under

1710-692: A valley will be blocked up as it was blocked up during the earthquake during King Uzziah 's reign. Jewish historian Flavius Josephus mentions in Antiquities of the Jews that the valley in the area of the King's Gardens was blocked up by landslide rubble during Uzziah's earthquake. Israeli geologists Wachs and Levitte identified the remnant of a large landslide on the Mount of Olives directly adjacent to this area. Based on geographic and linguistic evidence, Charles Clermont-Ganneau ,

1805-415: Is a growing body of evidence that Nabopolassar's family originated in Uruk, for instance that Nebuchadnezzar's daughters lived in the city. In 2007, Michael Jursa advanced the theory that Nabopolassar was a member of a prominent political family in Uruk, whose members are attested since the reign of Esarhaddon ( r.   681–669 BC). To support his theory, Jursa pointed to how documents describe how

1900-419: Is frequently used by modern historians for the royal family he founded, and the term "Chaldean Empire" remains in use as an alternate historiographical name for the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Nabopolassar appears to, regardless of his ethnic origin, have been strongly connected to the city of Uruk , located south of Babylon. It is possible that he was a member of its ruling elite before becoming king and there

1995-445: Is no concrete evidence for this idea. Van Selms believed that a nickname like that could derive from Nebuchadnezzar's early reign, which was plagued by political instability. Nebuchadnezzar II's name, Nabû-kudurri-uṣur , was identical to the name of his distant predecessor, Nebuchadnezzar I ( r.   c. 1125–1104 BC), who ruled more than five centuries before Nebuchadnezzar II's time. Like Nebuchadnezzar II, Nebuchadnezzar I

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2090-419: Is no longer mentioned in any sources after 602 BC. The damage to the text however makes this idea speculative and conjectural. In the 601 BC campaign, Nebuchadnezzar departed from the Levant and then marched into Egypt. Despite the defeat at Carchemish in 605 BC, Egypt still had a great amount of influence in the Levant, even though the region was ostensibly under Babylonian rule. Thus, a campaign against Egypt

2185-459: Is often attested under the nickname "Kudurru". Nebuchadnezzar must have been made high priest at a very young age, considering that his year of death, 562 BC, is 64 years after 626 BC. The original Kudurru's second son, Nabu-shumu-ukin, also appears to be attested as a prominent general under Nabopolassar, and the name was also used by Nebuchadnezzar II for one of his sons, possibly honoring his dead uncle. Nebuchadnezzar's military career began in

2280-466: Is on the bank of the Euphrates. He crossed the river at Carchemish. [...] They did battle together. The army of Egypt retreated before him. He inflicted a [defeat] upon them (and) finished them off completely. In the district of Hamath the army of Akkad overtook the remainder of the army of [Egypt which] managed to escape [from] the defeat and which was not overcome. They inflicted a defeat upon them (so that)

2375-641: Is recorded in the Bible, but also in the Babylonian Chronicle, which describes it as follows: The seventh year [of Nebuchadnezzar], in the month of Kislimu, the king of Akkad mustered his troops, marched to the Levant, and set up quarters facing the city of Judah [Jerusalem]. In the month of Addaru [early in 597 BC], the second day, he took the city and captured the king. He installed there a king of his choice. He colle[cted] its massive tribute and went back to Babylon. Jehoiakim had died during Nebuchadnezzar's siege and been replaced by his son, Jeconiah , who

2470-754: Is the term used in India for the enclosure constructed to entrap elephants, in Ceylon the word employed in the same meaning is corral . In Indonesia it called kandang . For pets, specialized folding fencing referred to as an exercise pen , x-pen , or ex-pen , is used to surround an area, usually outdoors but not always, in which the animals can freely move around. They are commonly used for dogs, such as to give puppies or adult dogs more space than dog crates , but can also be used for rabbits and other animals. Exercise pens are usually made of sturdy wire, but can also be plastic or wood. Horses, during training, are often exercised in

2565-573: Is unclear how the Egyptian navy would have defeated the superior navies of the Phoenician cities, and even if some cities had been taken, they must have shortly thereafter fallen into Babylonian hands again. Tyre had rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar at around the same time as Judah, and Nebuchadnezzar moved to retake the city after his successful subduing of the Jews. The biblical Book of Ezekiel describes Tyre in 571 BC as if it had been recently captured by

2660-472: Is unpreserved in the letter ended with either ahi , nâsir or uṣur , and the remaining traces can fit with the name Nabû-apla-uṣur , meaning that Nabopolassar could be the other son mentioned in the letter and thus a son of Kudurru. Strengthening this connection is that Nebuchadnezzar II is attested very early during his father's reign, from 626/625 to 617 BC, as high priest of the Eanna temple in Uruk, where he

2755-532: Is used for an elephant enclosure, as for jailing an elephant who had injured two villagers in Kanha Tiger Reserve in 2020. Panamure was an enclosure and associated town founded in 1896 within a forest owned by Francis Molamure , where 10 roundups of wild elephants occurred, the last in 1950. The term kraal referred to the enclosure and to a roundup/hunt. The Elephant Kraal of Ayutthaya , in Ayutthaya ,

2850-692: 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,

2945-535: The Mount of Olives (east of Jerusalem ), and splits the Mount in two as a valley, so that the remnant of Israel trapped in Jerusalem can escape those who would kill them. If so, Micah 2:12–13 would not relate to the locale of Bozrah. The notion of a remnant in Jerusalem fleeing through a split Mount of Olives derives from the Masoretic reading of Zechariah 14:5. The Septuagint (LXX) translation states in Zechariah 14:5 that

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3040-407: The "first" or "chief son" of Nabopolassar, and as Nabopolassar's "true" or "legitimate heir". The Neo-Babylonian Empire was founded through Nabopolassar's rebellion, and later war , against the Neo-Assyrian Empire , which liberated Babylonia after nearly a century of Assyrian control. The war resulted in the complete destruction of Assyria, and the Neo-Babylonian Empire, which rose in its place,

3135-449: The 'heir' interpretation over the 'boundary' interpretation in terms of this name. There is no reason to believe that the Babylonians intended the name to be difficult to interpret or to have a double meaning. Nabû-kudurri-uṣur is typically anglicised to 'Nebuchadnezzar', following how the name is most commonly rendered in Hebrew and Greek , particularly in most of the Bible . In Hebrew,

3230-582: The Babylonian Empire. The outcome of these efforts was Zedekiah's open revolt against Nebuchadnezzar's authority. Unfortunately, no cuneiform sources are preserved from this time and the only known account of the fall of Judah is the biblical account. In 589 BC, Zedekiah refused to pay tribute to Nebuchadnezzar, and he was closely followed in this by Ithobaal III , the king of Tyre. In 587 BC, Ammon, Edom and Moab likewise rebelled. In response to Zedekiah's uprising, Nebuchadnezzar conquered and destroyed

3325-596: The Babylonian army. The supposed length of the siege, 13 years, is only given by Flavius Josephus, and is subject to debate among modern scholars. Josephus's account of Nebuchadnezzar's reign is obviously not entirely historic, as he describes Nebuchadnezzar as, five years after the destruction of Jerusalem, invading Egypt, capturing the Pharaoh and appointing another Pharaoh in his place. A stele from Tahpanhes uncovered in 2011 records that Nebuchadnezzar attempted to invade Egypt in 582 BC, although Apries' forces managed to repel

3420-564: The Bible, and the 1st-century AD Jewish historian Flavius Josephus , Zedekiah attempted to flee after resisting the Babylonians, but was captured at Jericho and suffered a terrible fate. According to the narrative, Nebuchadnezzar wanted to make an example out of him given that Zedekiah was not an ordinary vassal, but a vassal directly appointed by Nebuchadnezzar. As such, Zedekiah was supposedly taken to Riblah in northern Syria, where he had to watch his sons being executed before having his eyes gouged out and sent to be imprisoned in Babylon. Per

3515-637: The Books of Kings in the Bible, the campaign against Judah was longer than typical Mesopotamian wars, with the siege of Jerusalem lasting 18–30 months (depending on the calculation), rather than the typical length of less than a year. Whether the unusual length of the siege indicates that the Babylonian army was weak, unable to break into the city for more than a year, or that Nebuchadnezzar by this time had succeeded in stabilising his rule in Babylonia and could thus wage war patiently without being pressured by time to escalate

3610-506: The Euphrates. The following year, Nebuchadnezzar marched his army along the Tigris river to do battle with the Elamites, but no actual battle happened as the Elamites retreated out of fear once Nebuchadnezzar was a day's march away. In 595 BC, Nebuchadnezzar stayed at home in Babylon but soon had to face a rebellion against his rule there, though he defeated the rebels, with the chronicle stating that

3705-685: The Harran campaign and the defeat of Ashur-uballit in 609 BCE marked the end of the ancient Assyrian monarchy, which would never be restored. According to the Babylonian Chronicles , Nebuchadnezzar also commanded an army in an unspecified mountainous region for several months in 607 BC. In the war against the Babylonians and Medes, Assyria had allied with Pharaoh Psamtik I of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt , who had been interested in ensuring Assyria's survival so that Assyria could remain as

3800-504: The Kingdom of Judah in 586 BC, one of the great achievements of his reign. The campaign, which probably ended in the summer of 586 BC, resulted in the plunder and destruction of the city of Jerusalem, a permanent end to Judah, and it led to the Babylonian captivity , as the Jews were captured and deported to Babylonia. Archaeological excavations confirm that Jerusalem and the surrounding area

3895-410: The Kingdom of Judah, succeeding in capturing the city of Jerusalem . Judah represented a prime target of Babylonian attention given that it was at the epicenter of competition between Babylon and Egypt. By 601 BC, Judah's king, Jehoiakim , had begun to openly challenge Babylonian authority, counting on that Egypt would lend support to his cause. Nebuchadnezzar's first, 598–597 BC, assault on Jerusalem

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3990-417: The Levant, though little information survives beyond that a "vast" amount of booty was brought from the Levant to Babylonia in 602 BC. On account of the entry for 602 BC also referring to Nabu-shum-lishir, Nebuchadnezzar's younger brother, in a fragmentary and unclear context, it is possible that Nabu-shum-lishir led a revolt against his brother in an attempt to usurp the throne in that year, especially since he

4085-500: The Lord will come from Edom (modern-day Jordan) and Bozrah in blood-stained clothing on "the day of vengeance" and "the year of My redeemed" (cf. Revelation 19:13 : He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood ). According to one Christian interpretation of Micah 2:12–13 , Bozrah, (or a place the Bible cryptically refers to as Bozrah), will also be the scene of a magnificent "break-out" of God's covenant people. According to this interpretation,

4180-569: The Medes were beginning to be seen as "enemies". By 594 BC, the failure of the Egyptian invasion, and the lacklustre state of Nebuchadnezzar's other campaigns, loomed high. According to the Assyriologist Israel Ephʿal, Babylon at this time was seen by its contemporaries more like a " paper tiger " (i. e. an ineffectual threat) than a great empire, like Assyria just a few decades prior. From his appointment as king of Judah, Zedekiah waited for

4275-551: The Mount of Olives to Azal is impossible because the valley he identified (which is now known as Wady Yasul in Arabic, and Nahal Etzel in Hebrew) lies south of both Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives. Excavation of the site began in the 1970s, and the finds were dated first to the 8th century BCE. However, later studies indicated that the main excavated Edomite sites from the area, including Umm el-Biyara , Tawilan and Buseirah, do not pre-date

4370-407: 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

4465-493: The aforementioned rebellion in Babylonia itself, as well as records of a man being executed in 594 BC at Borspippa for "breaking his oath to the king". The oath-breaking was serious enough that the judge in the trial was Nebuchadnezzar himself. It is also possible that Babylonian–Median relations were becoming strained, with records of a "Median defector" being housed in Nebuchadnezzar's palace and some inscriptions indicating that

4560-624: The archaeological site and raise awareness among local residents of the area's rich ancient history. Archaeologists believe that the site suffered irreversible damage after Nebuchadnezzar II invaded it. It was later occupied by the Nabateans, who expelled the Edomites to the Levant . Sheepfold A pen is an enclosure for holding livestock . It may also perhaps be used as a term for an enclosure for other animals such as pets that are unwanted inside

4655-452: The chronicle excuses the king by stating that he stayed in Babylon to "refit his numerous horses and chariotry". Some of the years when Nebuchadnezzar was victorious can also hardly be considered real challenges. Raiding the Arabs in 599 BC was not a major military accomplishment and the victory over Judah and the retreat of the Elamites were not secured on the battlefield. It thus appears that Nebuchadnezzar achieved little military success after

4750-472: The city of Ascalon . According to the Babylonian Chronicle, Ascalon's king was captured and taken to Babylon, and the city was plundered and levelled to the ground. Modern excavations at Ascalon have confirmed that the city was more or less destroyed at this point in time. The Ascalon campaign was preceded by a campaign in Syria, which was more successful than Nebuchadnezzar's first, resulting in oaths of fealty from

4845-513: The city withstood numerous sieges, it would not be captured until Alexander the Great 's siege in 332 BC. In the end, the siege was resolved without a need of battle and did not result in the Tyre being conquered. It seems Tyre's king and Nebuchadnezzar came to an agreement for Tyre to continue to be ruled by vassal kings, though probably under heavier Babylonian control than before. Documents from Tyre near

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4940-511: The city's religious buildings, including the Esagila and Etemenanki , renovated its existing palace, 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

5035-466: The control of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, a feat which the Assyrians under Tiglath-Pileser III ( r.   745–727 BC) only accomplished after five years of protracted military campaigns. The defeat of Egypt at Carchemish ensured that the Neo-Babylonian Empire would grow to become the major power of the ancient Near East, and the uncontested successor of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Nabopolassar died just

5130-605: The deliverance will come at an Edomite controlled place of exile and incarceration in the end times . This epic event referred to in Micah 2:12–13 has been referred to by Dr Gavin Finley as "the Bozrah deliverance". Bozrah is in Hebrew, but most translators render it as "fold"—sheep in the fold . This "break-out" could be tied to Zechariah 14:1–5 , when Yahweh fights against the nations, stands on

5225-403: The end of Nebuchadnezzar's reign demonstrate that the city had become a centre for Babylonian military affairs in the region. According to later Jewish tradition, it is possible that Ithobaal III was deposed and taken as a prisoner to Babylon, with another king, Baal II, proclaimed by Nebuchadnezzar in his place. It is possible that Nebuchadnezzar campaigned against Egypt in 568 BC, given that

5320-435: The end of the month in which he had been crowned, Nebuchadnezzar returned to Syria to resume his campaign. The Babylonian Chronicle records that "he marched about victoriously", meaning that he faced little to no resistance, returning to Babylon after several months of campaigning. The Syrian campaign, though it resulted in a certain amount of plunder, was not a complete success in that it did not ensure Nebuchadnezzar's grasp on

5415-503: The failure of his invasion of Egypt. Nebuchadnezzar's poor military record had dangerous geopolitical consequences. According to the Bible, in Zedekiah's fourth year as king of Judah (594 BC), the kings of Ammon , Edom , Moab , Sidon and Tyre met in Jerusalem to deal with the possibility of throwing off Babylonian control. Evidence that Babylonian control was beginning to unravel is also clear from contemporary Babylonian records, such as

5510-402: 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 lackluster 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

5605-401: The grave and body of "Kudurru", a deceased governor of Uruk, was desecrated due to the anti-Assyrian activities of Kudurru's two sons, Nabu-shumu-ukin and a son whose name is mostly missing. The desecration went so far as to drag Kudurru's body through the streets of Uruk. Kudurru can be identified with Nebuchadnezzar ( Nabû-kudurri-uṣur , "Kudurru" simply being a common and shortened nickname),

5700-411: The house. The term describes types of enclosures that may confine one or many animals. Construction and terminology vary depending on the region of the world, purpose, animal species to be confined, local materials used and tradition. Pen or penning as a verb refers to the act of confining animals in an enclosure. Similar terms are kraal , boma , and corrals. Encyclopædia Britannica notes usage of

5795-471: The invasion and gained a foothold in Egypt, but they were repelled by Amasis' forces. If Nebuchadnezzar did campaign against Egypt again, he was unsuccessful again, given that Egypt did not come under Babylonian rule. Nebuchadnezzar's campaigns in the Levant, most notably those directed towards Jerusalem and Tyre, completed the Neo-Babylonian Empire's transformation from a rump state of the Neo-Assyrian Empire to

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5890-408: The invasion. Josephus states that Nebuchadnezzar besieged Tyre in the seventh year of "his" reign, though it is unclear whether "his" in this context refers to Nebuchadnezzar or to Ithobaal III of Tyre. If it refers to Nebuchadnezzar, a siege begun in 598 BC and lasting for thirteen years, later simultaneously with the siege of Jerusalem, is unlikely to have gone unmentioned in Babylonian records. If

5985-410: The king "put his large army to the sword and conquered his foe." Shortly thereafter, Nebuchadnezzar again campaigned in the Levant and secured large amounts of tribute. In the last year recorded in the chronicle, 594 BC, Nebuchadnezzar campaigned in the Levant yet again. There were several years without any noteworthy military activity at all. Notably, Nebuchadnezzar spent all of 600 BC in Babylon, when

6080-453: The line between history and tradition, it is the only possible approach to gain insight into Nebuchadnezzar's reign. Nebuchadnezzar II's name in Akkadian was Nabû-kudurri-uṣur , meaning " Nabu , watch over my heir". The name was often interpreted in earlier scholarship as "Nabu, protect the boundary", given that the word kudurru can also mean 'boundary' or 'line'. Modern historians support

6175-636: The most impressive efforts was the work done surrounding the city's northern ceremonial entrance, the Ishtar Gate . These projects included restoration work on the South Palace, inside the city walls, the construction of a completely new North Palace, on the other side of the walls facing the gate, as well as the restoration of Babylon's Processional Street, which led through the gate, and of the gate itself. The ruins of Nebuchadnezzar's North Palace are poorly preserved and as such its structure and appearance are not entirely understood. Nebuchadnezzar also constructed

6270-402: The name is rendered in the books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel , נְבוּכַדְרֶאצַּר ( Nəḇūḵaḏreʾṣṣar ), a more faithful transliteration of the original Akkadian name. The Assyriologist Adrianus van Selms suggested in 1974 that the variant with an "n" rather than an "r" was a rude nickname, deriving from an Akkadian rendition like Nabû-kūdanu-uṣur , which means 'Nabu, protect the mule ', though there

6365-472: The name was rendered as נְבוּכַדְנֶאצַּר ( Nəḇūḵaḏneʾṣṣar ) and in Greek it was rendered as Ναβουχοδονόσορ ( Nabouchodonosor ). Some scholars, such as Donald Wiseman , prefer the anglicisation "Nebuchadrezzar", with an "r" rather than an "n", following the assumption that "Nebuchadnezzar" is a later, corrupted form of the contemporary Nabû-kudurri-uṣur . The alternate anglicisation "Nebuchadrezzar" derives from how

6460-453: The new dominant power of the ancient Near East. Still, Nebuchadnezzar's military accomplishments can be questioned, given that the borders of his empire, by the end of his reign, had not noticeably increased in size and that he had not managed to conquer Egypt. Even after a reign of several decades, Nebuchadnezzar's greatest victory remained his victory over the Egyptians at Carchemish in 605 BC, before he even became king. The Babylonian king

6555-474: 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

6650-434: The north, the Egyptians took control of the Levant largely unopposed, capturing territories as far north as the city of Carchemish in Syria, where Necho established his base of operations. Nebuchadnezzar's greatest victory from his time as crown prince came at the Battle of Carchemish in 605 BC, which put an end to Necho's campaign in the Levant by inflicting a crushing defeat on the Egyptians. Nebuchadnezzar had been

6745-424: The opportune moment to throw off Babylonian control. After Pharaoh Necho II's death in 595 BC, Egyptian intervention in affairs in the Levant increased once again under his successors, Psamtik II ( r.   595–589 BC) and Apries ( r.   589–570 BC), who both worked to encourage anti-Babylonian rebellions. It is possible that the Babylonian failure to invade Egypt in 601 BC helped inspire revolts against

6840-600: The preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain :  Chisholm, Hugh , ed. (1911). " Keddah ". Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 711. Nebuchadnezzar II Nebuchadnezzar II ( / ˌ n ɛ b j ʊ k ə d ˈ n ɛ z ər / NEB -yuu-kəd- NEZ -ər ; Babylonian cuneiform : [REDACTED] Nabû-kudurri-uṣur , meaning " Nabu , watch over my heir"; Biblical Hebrew : נְבוּכַדְנֶאצַּר , romanized:  Nəḇūḵaḏneʾṣṣar ), also spelled Nebuchadrezzar II ,

6935-451: The prospering economy during Nebuchadnezzar's reign, sustained by his conquests. His building inscriptions record work done to numerous temples, notably the restoration of the Esagila , the main temple of Babylon's national deity Marduk , and the completion of the Etemenanki , a great ziggurat dedicated to Marduk. Extensive work was also conducted on civil and military structures. Among

7030-400: The region. He had seemingly failed to inspire fear, given that none of the westernmost states in the Levant swore fealty to him and paid tribute. Though little information survives concerning them, the Babylonian Chronicle preserves brief accounts of Nebuchadnezzar's military activities in his first eleven years as king. In 604 BC, Nebuchadnezzar campaigned in the Levant once again, conquering

7125-508: The reign of his father, though little information survives. Based on a letter sent to the temple administration of the Eanna temple, it appears that Nebuchadnezzar participated in his father's campaign to take the city of Harran in 610 BC. Harran was the seat of Ashur-uballit II , who had rallied what remained of the Assyrian army and ruled the Neo-Assyrian rump state . The Babylonian victory in

7220-522: The reigns of almost all the other Neo-Babylonian kings. Though the handful of cuneiform sources recovered, notably the Babylonian Chronicle , confirm some events of his reign, such as conflicts with the Kingdom of Judah , other events, such as the 586 BC destruction of Solomon's Temple and other military campaigns Nebuchadnezzar possibly conducted, are not covered in any known cuneiform documents. As

7315-532: The role he plays in Jewish history . 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 already secured renown for himself during his father's reign, leading armies in

7410-447: The rulers of Phoenicia . In 603 BC, Nebuchadnezzar campaigned in a land whose name is not preserved in the surviving copy of the chronicle. The chronicle records that this campaign was extensive, given that the account mentions the construction of large siege towers and a siege of a city, the name of which does not survive either. Anson Rainey speculated in 1975 that the city taken was Gaza, whereas Nadav Na'aman thought in 1992 that it

7505-602: The seventh century BCE (Iron II). A round of excavations was conducted in 2009 and resulted in uncovering a church, possibly Byzantine , dwellings, and some water wells. An old tomb is popular among tourists as it is said to belong to Al-Harith Bin Umair Al-Azadi, whose murder led to the 639 CE Battle of Mu'tah . A number of community-led initiatives, such as the Busayra Cultural Heritage Project , have worked in recent years to develop tourism capacity at

7600-433: The seventh year of Ithobaal is intended, the beginning of the siege may conjecturally be placed after Jerusalem's fall. If the siege lasting 13 years is taken at face value, the siege would then not have ended before 573 or 572 BC. The supposed length of the siege can be ascribed to the difficulty in besieging the city: Tyre was located on an island 800 metres from the coast, and could not be taken without naval support. Though

7695-451: The siege, is not certain. It is possible that the Egyptians took advantage of the Babylonians being preoccupied with besieging Jerusalem. Herodotus describes Pharaoh Apries as campaigning in the Levant, taking the city of Sidon and fighting the Tyrians, which indicates a renewed Egyptian invasion of the Levant. Apries is unlikely to have been as successful as Herodotus describes, given that it

7790-530: The sole commander of the Babylonian army at this battle as his father had chosen to stay in Babylon, perhaps on account of illness. Necho's forces were completely annihilated by Nebuchadnezzar's army, with Babylonian sources claiming that not a single Egyptian escaped alive. The account of the battle in the Babylonian Chronicle reads as follows: The king of Akkad stayed home (while) Nebuchadnezzar, his eldest son (and) crown prince mustered [the army of Akkad]. He took his army's lead and marched to Carchemish, which

7885-466: The term "kraal" for elephant corrals in India , Sri Lanka , and Thailand . In Australia and New Zealand a pen is a small enclosure for livestock (especially sheep or cattle ), which is part of a larger construction, e.g. calf pen , forcing pen (or yard) in sheep or cattle yards , or a sweating pen or catching pen in a shearing shed . In Australian and New Zealand English, a paddock may encompass

7980-415: 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

8075-438: Was Kummuh in south-eastern Anatolia . In the second half of the 5th century BC, some documents mentioned the towns Isqalanu (the name derived from Ascalon) and Hazzatu (the name possibly derived from Gaza) near the city of Nippur, indicating that deportees from both of these cities lived near Nippur, and as such possibly that they had been captured at around the same time. In both 602 BC and 601 BC, Nebuchadnezzar campaigned in

8170-505: Was a renowned warrior-king, who appeared in a time of political upheaval and defeated the forces of Babylon's enemies, in Nebuchadnezzar I's case the Elamites . Although theophoric names using the god Nabu are common in texts from the early Neo-Babylonian Empire, the name Nebuchadnezzar is relatively rare, only being mentioned four times with certainty. Though there is no evidence that Nabopolassar named his son after Nebuchadnezzar I, Nabopolassar

8265-502: Was captured and taken to Babylon, with his uncle Zedekiah installed in his place as king of Judah. Jeconiah is recorded as being alive in Babylonia thereafter, with records as late as 592 or 591 BC listing him among the recipients of food at Nebuchadnezzar's palace and still referring to him as the 'king of the land of Judah'. In 597 BC, the Babylonian army departed for the Levant again, but appears to not have engaged in any military activities as they turned back immediately after reaching

8360-457: Was destroyed and depopulated. It is possible that the intensity of the destruction carried out by Nebuchadnezzar at Jerusalem and elsewhere in the Levant was due to the implementation of something akin to a scorched earth -policy, aimed at stopping Egypt from gaining a foothold there. Some Jewish administration was allowed to remain in the region under the governor Gedaliah , governing from Mizpah under close Babylonian monitoring. According to

8455-461: Was knowledgeable in history and actively worked to connect his rule to the rule of the Akkadian Empire , which preceded him by nearly two thousand years. The significance of his son and heir bearing the name of one of Babylon's greatest kings would not have been lost on Nabopolassar. If Jursa's theory concerning Nabopolassar's origin is correct, it is alternatively possible that Nebuchadnezzar II

8550-466: Was logical in order to assert Babylonian dominance, and also carried enormous economic and propagandistic benefits, but it was also risky and ambitious. The path into Egypt was difficult, and the lack of secure control of either side of the Sinai Desert could spell disaster. Nebuchadnezzar's invasion of Egypt failed – the Babylonian Chronicle states that both the Egyptian and Babylonian armies suffered

8645-503: Was named after his grandfather of the same name, as the Babylonians employed patronymics , rather than after the previous king. Nebuchadnezzar was the eldest son of Nabopolassar ( r.   626–605 BC), the founder of the Neo-Babylonian Empire . This is confirmed by Nabopolassar's inscriptions, which explicitly name Nebuchadnezzar as his "eldest son", as well as inscriptions from Nebuchadnezzar's reign, which refer to him as

8740-400: Was powerful, but hastily built and politically unstable. As Nabopolassar never clarified his ancestry in lineage in any of his inscriptions, his origin is not entirely clear. Subsequent historians have variously identified Nabopolassar as a Chaldean , an Assyrian or a Babylonian . Although no evidence conclusively confirms him as being of Chaldean origin, the term " Chaldean dynasty "

8835-444: Was proclaimed king on 1 Ulūlu (mid-August). The speed in which Nebuchadnezzar returned to Babylon might be due to the threat that one of his brothers (two are known by name: Nabu-shum-lishir and Nabu-zer-ushabshi) could claim the throne in his absence. Though Nebuchadnezzar had been recognised as the eldest son and heir by Nabopolassar, Nabu-shum-lishir, Nabopolassar's second-born son, had been recognised as "his equal brother",

8930-491: 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. 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

9025-416: Was traditionally a builder and restorer, and as such large-scale building projects were important as a legitimizing factor for Babylonian rulers. Nebuchadnezzar extensively expanded and rebuilt his capital city of Babylon and the most modern historical and archaeological interpretations of the city reflect it as it appeared after Nebuchadnezzar's construction projects. The projects were made possible through

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