Mer'odach-baradan(Heb.jVe?of7a^'-jBa/o(7«H', ""ixba T^lXl*:, Mars [oxJupiter'\ is his lord [see Me- itoDAciiJ ; Bohlen less well compares the Persian mar- duk balaudaun, Imnori'd man; .Sept. "SXapiucax \ia\a- cav v. r. !Mniwf(ix ' .Wacai>,\u\^. Merodach Jiahidan), a king of Babylonia, the son of B.iladan, and contempo- rary of Ilezckiah (B.C. 711), with whom he cherished friendly relations (Isa. xxxix, 1; 2 Kings xx, 12; 2 Chron. xx, 31; in which latter two passages the name is written BiiUOi>A(ii-BAi,Ai)AX, by an interchange of letters). He is unipiestionably the Mardiikempad (M«- doKenTraSog) of Ptolemy's Cation (comp. Ewald, Isr,
Gesch. iii, 344), who reigned at Babylon for twelve years, B.C. 721-709. Josephus {Ant. x, 2, 2) calls him simply Baladas (B«\ac«c), apparently identifying his name with that of his fatlier. He is usually identilicd (Gese- nius, Comment, on Isa. ad loc.) with the ^lerodach-Ba- ladan mentioned by Berosus (in Eusebius, Chron. Armen. i, 42, ed. Aucher) as a viceroy of the king of Assyria, who rebelled and seized the kingdom of Babylon for himself (see Knobel, Comment, on Isa. p. 282) ; but this person is probably one who fell in a part of the two years' interregnum some years later (B.C. 702 -OUP"), since he is said to have been slain by Elibus (the Ikli- bus of Ptolemy's Canon) after a reign of only six months (see Hitzig, Comment. on Isa.p.450). iSIeroiiach- Baladan is mentioned in the Assyrian inscriptions at Khorsabad, deciphered by Dr. Hincks and Col. Kawlin- son, according to which he was conquered by Sennach- erib in the first year of the latter's reign. Merodach- Baladan is there called king of Kar-Duniyas, a city and country frequently mentioned in the Assyrian inscrip- tions, and comprising the southernmost part of Mesopo- tamia, near the contluence of the Tigris and Euphrates, together with the districts watered by these two rivers, to the borders of Susiana. This king, with the hel]) of his Susianian allies, had recently recovered Babylon, from which Sargon, Sennacherib's father, had expelled him in the twelfth year of his reign. The battle seems to have been fought considerably to the north of that city. The result was that Sennacherib totally defeated iSIerodach-Baladan.whofledto save his life, leaving be- hind him all his military equipments. In the cuneiform annals of the fourth year of Sennacherib's reign, ^lero- I dach-Baladan is further mentioned as having escajied to an island, where himself and all his family were finally captured by Semiacherib (Layard's Nineveh and Bahi/- lon, p. 140, 14o). The dates of these notices would seem to identify the jMerodach-Baladan of the monu- ments with the temporary usurper of the same name alluded to by Berosus, rather than with the one of Scripture; possibly future investigations may show that they were all three identical, as also the jMardokempa- dus of the Canon, since the records of the inscriptions appear to speak of an occupancy of Babylon by him at two distinct periods, the first during the reign of Sargon (being probably that referred to in the Scriptures and the Canon), and the second for a shorter space and after a considerable interval, in the first of Sennacherib (be- ing that alluded to by Berosus). A different but anal- ogous solution of the above difliculty is to suppose two kings of the same name at the two periods in question (II. Browne, in Kitto's Ci/clop. s. v.). See Hezkkiaii. "Putting all our notices together, it becomes appar- ent that Merodach-Baladan was the head of the popular party, which resisted the Assyrian monarchs, and strove to maintain the independence of the country. It is un- certain whether he was self-raised or was the son of a former king. In the second book of Kings he is styled 'the son of Baladan;' but the inscriptions call him 'the son of Yariin ;' whence it is to be presumed that Bala- dan was a more remote ancestor. Yagin, the real father of Merodach-Baladan, is possibly represented in Ptole- my's Canon by the name Juganis — which in some copies replaces the name Eluhvus, as the apjiellation of the im- mediate predecessor of Jlerodach-Baladan. At any rate, from the time of Sargon, IMerodach- Baladan and his family were the champions of Babylonian independence, and fought with spirit the losing battle of their conntr}-. The king of whom we are here treating sustained two contests with the jiower of Assyria, was twice defeated, and twice compelled to fiy his country. His sons, sup- liorted by the king of Elam, or Susiana, continued the struggle, and arc found among the adversaries of Esar- \ Haiidon, Sennacherib's son and successor. His grand- , sons contende<l against Asshur-bani-pal, the son of Esar- I Haddon. It is ncit till the fourth generation that the I family seems to bi^come extinct, and tlie Babylonians, I having no champion to maintain their cause, content-
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edly acquiesce in the yoke of the stranger. The in- creasing power of Assyria was at this period causing alarm to her neighbors, and the circumstances of tlie time were such as would tend to draw Judtea and Bab- j-lonia together, and to give rise to negotiations between them. The astronomical marvel, whatever it was, which accompanied the recovery of Hezekiah, would doubtless have attracted the attention of the Babyloni- ans ; but it was probably rather the pretext than the motive for the formal embassy which the Chaldsean king despatched to Jerusalem on the occasion. The real object of the mission was most likely to effect a league between Babylon, Judiea, and Egifpt (Isa. xx, 5, 6), in order to check the growing power of the Assyri- ans. Hezekiah's exhibition of ' all his precious things' (2 Kings XX, 13) would thus have been, not a mere dis- play, but a mode of satisfying the Babylonian ambassa- dors of his ability to support the expenses of a war. The league, however, though designed, does not seem to have taken effect. Sargon, acquainted probably with the intentions of his adversaries, anticipated them. He sent expeditions both into Syria and Babylonia— seized the stronghold of Ashdod in the one, and completely defeated Merodach-Baladan in the other. That mon- arch sought safety in flight, and lived for eight years in exile. At last he found an opportunity to return. In B.C. 703 or 702 Babylonia was plunged in anarchy — the Assyrian yoke was thrown off, and various native lead- ers struggled for the master}-. Under these circum- stances the exiled monarch seems to have returned, and recovered his throne. His adversary, Sargon, was dead or dying, and a new and untried prince was about to rule over the Assyrians. He might hope that the reins of government would be held by a weaker hand, and that he might stand his ground against the son, though he had been forced to yield to the father. In this hope, however, he was disappointed. Sennacherib had scarcely established himself on the throne when he proceeded to engage his people in wars, and it seems that his very first step was to invade the kingdom of Babylon. ]\Ie- rodach-Baladan had obtained a body of troops from his ally, the king of Susiana ; but Sennacherib defeated the combined armj' in a pitched battle ; after which he rav- aged the entire country, destroying 79 walled cities and 820 to^vns and villages, and carrying vast numbers of the people into captivity. Merodach-Baladan fled to 'the islands at the mouth of the Euphrates' (Fox Tal- bot's Assyrian Texts, p. 1) — trads probably now joined to the continent — and succeeded in eluding the search which the Assyrians made for him. If we may believe Polyhistor, however, this escape availed him little. That writer relates (ap. Euseb. Chron. Can. i, 5) that he was soon after put to death by Ellbus, or Belibus, the vice- roy whom Sennacherib appointed to represent him at Babylon. At any rate, he lost his recovered crown after wearing it for about six months, and spent the remain- der of his days in exile and obscurity" (Smith). See Babylonia.