THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
rezzar was twice defeated, though he was a warrior of great ability who carried his arms to Syria
on the west and to Elam on the east.
1 Nebu- He was followed by Bel-nadin-apal
chadrezzar and he by Marduk-nadin-ahi. The
I and his latter made a successful attack upon
Successors. Assyria which was punished later by
the capture of Babylon and subjection of the whole country by Tiglath-Pileser I, c. 1100 b.c. The King-list gives a succession of five dynasties, one that of the " Sea Lands," the place from which the Chaldeans were later to issue, a second of " Bazi," another of Elam, a fourth of Babylon, and still another of the Far South, of which the noted Merodach-baladan was a member. But all of these held the throne either by sufferance or appointment of Assyria or assumed it during the temporary quiescence of that power.
7. The Kaldu or Chaldean Period, 625-538 B.C. The many attempts made by Merodach-baladan to gain control of Babylon (see Assyria) were important, not in themselves so much, as for the foreshadowing of the rising supremacy of the Chaldeans. The kingdom of the Sea Lands had formed around the headwaters of the Persian Gulf, and its dominant people, fresh from Arabia, were feeling their way to world empire. The decay of the Assyrian power was their opportunity. Nabopolassar made himself king of Babylon. While
he was absent attacking the outskirts 1. Nabo- of his kingdom in Mesopotamia, the polassar. Assyrian Sin-shar-ishkun invaded
Babylonia, probably 610-609 b.c, and Nabopolassar was cut off from his base. The Umman-Manda, an aggregation of tribes gathered about a Median nucleus, brought about the fall of Assyria, and Nabopolassar was left free to establish himself. Already great numbers of his tribesmen had entered Babylonia, and the possession of the capital gave him the needed prestige to rally them around him. The native Babylonians were ready to receive him because of their hatred to the Assyrian oppressor, so he succeeded as the head of Semitic Asia. Another fact had doubtless much to do with the ease with which he assumed power. The religious interest of Babylonia seems to have absorbed his attention, and he acted like a son of the soil whose heart was fully in accord with Babylonian ideals. This is illustrated by the fact that though the events of his reign must have been stirring and important, the three inscriptions he left are concerned with building of temples and digging of canals. Among the great events was the defeat of the Egyptian Necho by his son and general, Nebuchadrezzar. Necho had already seized the western appanages of Assyria, against which doubtless Nabopalassar was intending to operate in his Mesopotamian campaign, and had led forth a great army in hope of gaining a still larger share of the defunct Assyrian empire. The two armies, Egyptian and Chaldean, met at Carchemish, the Egyptians were defeated and pursued to the very border of Egypt by the victorious Nebuchadrezzar. The latter there received tidings of the death of his father, and the very newness of the kingdom required his instant presence at home.
Nebuchadrezzar II (604-562 b.c.) has left many
inscriptions, which, like his father's, tell little of
battles and campaigns and much of his constructive
labors on the city of Babylon, his pride. The story
of his campaigns comes largely from
2. Nebu- 0tner sources, partly Biblical. The
chadrezzar r , r t u • i • x j. -i_ a
n refusal of Jehoiakim to pay tribute
caused Nebuchadrezzar to let loose on him the neighboring hostile tribes, and paved the way for the campaign in 597 B.C. in which Jerusalem was taken and its inhabitants in part deported. Renewed rebellion stirred up by the new Pharaoh, Hophra, led to a reoccupation of Palestine; Hophra was defeated, Jerusalem taken, and its defenses destroyed in 586 B.C. Tyre was assailed and a siege of thirteen years resulted, after which terms were made. Civil war in Egypt gave Nebuchadrezzar his opportunity, the country was invaded and plundered as a punishment for its intrigues in Palestine and Syria. There can be little doubt that the alliance of the Chaldean with the house of Media in his marriage of Amuhia, daughter of Cyaxares, did much to cement his power. It hardly seems an accident that the force of Media should have been spent in the north, westward into Asia Minor, while Nebuchadrezzar's operations covered the regions southward. Something of Nebuchadrezzar's building operations has been told in the description of Babylon (see above, IV, § 12), but how extensive these were can be appreciated only in the light of Rawlinson's statement that he examined the ruins of not less than one hundred places in the vicinity of Babylon and in very few were there not found traces of Nebuchadrezzar's activity. In a land whose kings were all builders not one of the rulers had approached him in the extent, variety, completeness, and magnificence of his buildings.
Of Nebuchadrezzar's son, Amil-Marduk (562- 560 B.C.), only II Kings xxv, 27 (where he is called Evil-merodach) and Berosus give any information. The one records an act of mercy, the other asserts that he reigned lawlessly. He was assassinated and the chief conspirator, Neriglissar (560-556 B.C.) seized the throne. Temples and canals absorbed his interest, and he was succeeded by Labashi-Marduk who reigned nine months and was assassinated. Nabonidus (555-
538 B.C.) was the last Semitic king of
3. Naboni- Babylon. He was a pietist, an anti-
dus and Bel- qUarian, ancl a temple-builder, with
The FaUof ^ut n^e aptitude for the cares of
Babylon. State and little interest in them. How
he contributed to present knowledge has been told in the section on chronology in this article and that on Assyria. He resided most of the time at Tema, a place not otherwise known. His son Belshazzar may have been associated as regent with him, though there is no authority in the inscriptions for calling him king. Between the time of Nebuchadrezzar and Nabonidus relations with the Medes had been broken off. Cyrus, the king of Anshan, had enlarged his realm, and finally, having defeated Astyages, had assumed the title, king of Persia. He had overthrown Croesus, and all Asia Minor at once fell into his hands. His