Kings of the Neo-Babylonian Empire

The Neo-Babylonian Empire (626–539 BC), also known as the Chaldean Empire due to its Chaldean founders, emerged as a powerful state in the ancient southern Mesopotamian city of Babylon. In 626 BC, King Nabopolassar established the Babylonian Empire and, in alliance with the Medes, destroyed the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Under the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II, its power reached its zenith. The Neo-Babylonian Empire was finally conquered by the Persians in 539 BC.

Nebuchadnezzar II

Nebuchadnezzar II reigned approximately from 605–562 BC. He appears multiple times in the Bible and is a significant figure in the Books of Kings, Daniel, and Jeremiah.

Nebuchadnezzar’s father was Nabopolassar, the founder of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. His wife was Amytis, a princess of the Median Kingdom, and the alliance between their two kingdoms greatly increased their power. Nebopolassar liberated Babylon from its vassal status under Assyria, defeated the Assyrians, and razed Nineveh, the capital of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, to the ground. Nebuchadnezzar, as the eldest son and heir, joined his father in a campaign against the northern Assyrian mountains in 607 BC and later commanded operations independently. Ancient Egypt had defeated the Assyrians and occupied the Carchemish region in the former Assyrian Empire’s western territories, leading to the division of former Assyrian lands between the Chaldeans and Medes. In 606 BC, Nebuchadnezzar led his troops as commander-in-chief, decisively defeating the Egyptian army and recovering the former Assyrian territories.

In 605 BC, Nebuchadnezzar II defeated the combined forces of Egypt and Assyria in the Battle of Carchemish, leading to the fall of the Assyrian Empire. In August of the same year, Nabopolassar died, and Nebuchadnezzar rushed back to Babylon to succeed to the throne. After his accession, Nebuchadnezzar pursued his advantage, driving the Egyptian pharaoh back to Egypt and seizing control of the Levant region. Nebuchadnezzar entered Jerusalem, subdued King Jehoiakim, and took Daniel and others captive to Babylon (this was the First Deportation). Judah also shifted from being a vassal state of Egypt to a vassal state of the Babylonian Empire.

In 604 BC, Nebuchadnezzar II dispatched troops to conquer parts of Syria and Palestine, subsequently employing Greek mercenaries in battle. In 601 BC, King Nebuchadnezzar again campaigned against Egypt, confronting Pharaoh Necho’s army, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides. The Babylonian army retreated home for a year to reorganize. Seeing an opportunity, Jehoiakim, disregarding the warnings of the prophet Jeremiah, seized the chance to rebel (Jeremiah 27:9-11). Consequently, in 598 BC, the Babylonian army returned to Palestine and, with the help of allied vassal armies, invaded Judah. By this time, Jehoiakim had died, and Jehoiachin succeeded him. Egypt, Judah’s hoped-for ally, was unable to provide assistance. Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem and took King Jehoiachin of Judah and Ezekiel captive back to Babylon (this was the Second Deportation) (2 Kings 24:10-16).

Subsequently, Nebuchadnezzar appointed Jehoiachin’s uncle, Josiah’s son, as king of Judah, changing his name to Zedekiah (2 Kings 24:17). In 588 BC, Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon (2 Kings 25:1). On the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar’s grand army besieged Jerusalem for two years, during which the city suffered a severe famine and rampant plague. In 586 BC, Jerusalem was breached. Zedekiah attempted to escape by digging through the wall at night (Ezekiel 12) (2 Kings 25) but was captured on the plains of Jericho. His sons were killed before his eyes, and finally, Zedekiah’s eyes were gouged out, and he was bound with bronze chains and taken to Babylon (2 Kings 25:1-7).

In 586 BC, Nebuzaradan, Nebuchadnezzar’s commander of the guard, arrived in Jerusalem. He burned the Temple of the LORD and the royal palace, and also burned all the great houses of Jerusalem and tore down its surrounding walls. The remaining people in the city, along with those who had surrendered to the king of Babylon, and the remaining common people, were all taken captive along with the articles from the Temple (this was the Third Deportation). Only the poorest people were left in the land, and Jeremiah was among them. The Southern Kingdom of Judah fell (2 Kings 25:11). Additionally, the Bible records Nebuchadnezzar’s siege of Tyre and his conquest of Egypt, among other campaigns.

Nebuchadnezzar II died in 562 BC, and his son Evil-Merodach succeeded him. In 539 BC, less than 25 years after Nebuchadnezzar’s death, Babylon was conquered by Cyrus the Great of the Persian Empire.

King Belshazzar

Belshazzar was the last ruler of the Neo-Babylonian Kingdom (strictly speaking, a co-regent). In 562 BC, King Nebuchadnezzar died, and his son Evil-Merodach succeeded him, treating the exiled King Jehoiachin kindly (Jeremiah 52:31). In 560 BC, Evil-Merodach was murdered and usurped by his brother-in-law, Nergal-Sharezer (Jeremiah 39:3). In 556 BC, Nergal-Sharezer’s son, Labashi-Marduk, succeeded him but was assassinated in the same year, with Nabonidus taking over. Nabonidus left Babylon in 553 BC, retreating to the oasis of Tema in northern Arabia to focus on worshipping the moon god Sin, and appointed his eldest son, Belshazzar, as co-regent.

In 539 BC, Persia conquered the city of Babylon, Belshazzar was killed, and Nabonidus was captured. The Book of Daniel records Belshazzar as the last king of Babylon. This claim was long criticized and questioned by liberal biblical scholars, who argued it didn’t align with historical fact, as historical accounts stated Nabonidus was the last king of Babylon and never mentioned Belshazzar by name. It wasn’t until 1854 when archaeologists discovered some small clay cylinders with cuneiform inscriptions in the ruins of the ancient Babylonian city of Ur. One of these cylinders contained a prayer by King Nabonidus for his “eldest son Bel-shar-usur [i.e., Belshazzar].” Later archaeological discoveries provided more evidence, confirming that “for more than half his reign, [Belshazzar’s] father reigned jointly with [Belshazzar], and during their co-regency, Belshazzar’s status was equivalent to that of a king.”

On the night Babylon was breached by Persia, during King Belshazzar’s feast for a thousand nobles, human fingers suddenly appeared and wrote on the plaster wall opposite the lampstand in the royal palace. The king was terrified when he saw the writing hand (Daniel 5:7). He loudly commanded that the enchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers be brought in, telling the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing and tells me its interpretation shall be clothed in purple and have a chain of gold around his neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” Daniel, who was already eighty years old at this time, had no interest in Belshazzar’s rewards. However, he promised to interpret the writing because he knew these rewards would soon vanish. Daniel also did not thank Belshazzar for the promise of being “third in the kingdom.” Instead, he unreservedly condemned the king’s pride and blasphemy, for he knew this was precisely the testimony God wanted him to deliver before the king of Babylon. Daniel declared that God had numbered Babylon’s days and brought them to an end, and that Babylon would be divided among the Medes and Persians.

Hearing such bad news, Belshazzar still feigned composure and honored his promised rewards, for he did not know that “that very night” his reign would “come to an end.” Belshazzar believed the war had not yet truly begun. Babylon had high, thick walls and the Euphrates River as a natural barrier, and the city had enough food stored for many years. Neither side knew who could outlast the other (Herodotus, The Histories, Book 1, Chapter 190). Yet, under God’s control, that very night, the combined Medo-Persian forces easily entered the city in the middle of the night and killed Belshazzar. All the glory of the Neo-Babylonian Empire vanished in an instant, and the once-mighty Babylonian Empire turned to dust, disappearing into the annals of history.