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	'''Nebuchadnezzar II''' is perhaps the best known ruler of ] in the ], who reigned ca. ]-]. He is famous for his conquests of ] and ], his monumental building within his capital of Babylon, his role in the ], and his construction of the ], which as legend has it, he made for his wife because she was homesick for the mountain springs where she grew up.

	He is traditionally called "Nebuchadnezzar the Great", but his destruction of temples in Jerusalem and the conquest of Judah caused his vilification in Judaic tradition and in the Bible,{{fact}} causing him to be interpreted very differently by western Christians{{fact}} and Jews than in contemporary Iraq, where he is glorified as a historic leader.

	==Name==
	His name in ] '''Nabû-kudurri-uṣur''', is variously interpreted as "O ], defend my ]" -- Nebo being the Babylonian deity of wisdom who is the son of the major god Marduk. In an ] he styles himself "Nebo's favourite." The ] form is '''נבוכדנאצר''' '''{{Unicode\|Nəvūkhadnệzzar}}''', (the presence of the א (]) may indicate an earlier Hebrew pronunciation ''{{Unicode\|Nəbūkadenʾezzar}}''), and sometimes (in ] and ])
	'''נבוכדראצר''', '''{{Unicode\|Nəbūkadrệṣṣar}}'''. The ], ], and ] Bibles have Ναβουχοδονοσορ, '''Nabuchodonosor''' (perhaps reflecting an earlier Hebrew pronunciation '''Nabūkudunʾuṣur''') but the ] re-introduces the Hebrew variants as ''Nebuchadnezzar'' vs. ''Nebuchadrezzar''.

	==Biography==
	Nebuchadnezzar was the oldest son and successor of ], who delivered Babylon from its dependence on ] and laid ] in ruins. According to ], he married the daughter of ], and thus the ] and Babylonian dynasties were united.

	], the king of ], had gained a victory over the Assyrians at ]. This secured Egypt the possession of ]n provinces of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, including parts of Syria. The remaining Assyrian provinces were divided between Babylonia and Media. ] was intent on reconquering from Necho the western provinces of Syria, however, and to this end dispatched his son with a powerful army westward. In the ensuing ] in ], the Egyptian army was defeated and driven back, and Syria and Phoenicia were brought under the sway of Babylon. Nabopolassar died on ], ] and Nebuchadnezzar quickly returned to Babylon to ascend to the throne.

	After the defeat of the ] and ], all of Nebuchadrezzar's expeditions were directed westwards, although a powerful neighbour lay to the North; the cause of this was that a wise political marriage with ], the daughter of the ] king, had insured a lasting peace between the two empires.

	Nebuchadrezzar engaged in several military campaigns designed to increase Babylonian influence in Syria and Judah. An attempted invasion of Egypt in ] was met with setbacks, however, leading to numerous rebellions among the states of the Levant, including Judah. Nebuchadrezzar soon dealt with these rebellions, capturing ] in ] and bringing King ] to Babylon. When Pharaoh ] attempted another invasion of the Levant in ], Judah and other states of the region once again rebelled. Another siege of Jerusalem began in ], ending in ] with the destruction of both the city and the Temple and the deportation of many prominent citizens to Babylon. These events are described in the ]. After the destruction of Jerusalem, Nebuchadrezzar engaged in a 13 year long siege of ] (]-]), which ended in a compromise, with the Tyrians accepting Babylonian authority.

	It would appear that following the pacification of Tyre, Nebuchadrezzar turned again to Egypt. A ], now in the ], bears the following inscription referring to his wars:

	"In the 37th year of Nebuchadrezzar, king of the country of Babylon, he went to ] (Egypt) to make war. ], king of Egypt, collected , and marched and spread abroad."

	Having completed the subjugation of Phoenicia, and inflicted chastisement on Egypt, Nebuchadrezzar now set himself to rebuild and adorn the city of Babylon, and constructed canals, aqueducts and reservoirs.

	From Nebuchadrezzar's inscriptions and from the number of temples erected or restored by this prince we gather that he was a very devout man. What we know of his history shows him to have been of a humane disposition, in striking contrast with the display of wanton cruelty of most Assyrian rulers. It was due to this moderation that Jerusalem was spared repeatedly, and finally destroyed only when its destruction became a political necessity; rebel princes easily obtained pardon, and ] himself, whose ungratefulness to the Babylonian king was particularly odious, would, had he manifested less stubbornness, have been treated with greater indulgence (Jeremiah 38:17, 18); Nebuchadrezzar showed much consideration to ], leaving him free to accompany the exiles to Babylon or to remain in Jerusalem, and appointing one of the Prophet's friends, Godolias, to the governorship of Jerusalem; he granted likewise such a share of freedom to the exiled Jews that some rose to a position of prominence at Court and ] thought it a duty to exhort his fellow-countrymen to have the welfare of Babylon at heart and to pray for her king. Babylonian tradition has it that towards the end of his life, Nebuchadrezzar, inspired from on high, prophesied the impending ruin to the Chaldean Empire (] and ] in ], ''Praep. Evang.'', 9.41).

	Nebuchadrezzar died in Babylon between the second and sixth months of the forty-third year of his reign.

	==Construction activity==

	Nebuchadrezzar seems to have prided himself on his constructions more than on his victories. During the last century of ]'s existence, Babylon had been greatly devastated, not only at the hands of ] and ], but also as a result of her ever renewed rebellions. Nebuchadrezzar, continuing his father's work of reconstruction, aimed at making his capital one of the world's wonders. Old temples were restored; new edifices of incredible magnificence were erected to the many gods of the Babylonian pantheon (], 2.95; ], 1.183) to complete the royal palace begun by Nabopolassar, nothing was spared, neither "cedar-wood, nor bronze, gold, silver, rare and precious stones"; an underground passage and a stone bridge connected the two parts of the city separated by the Euphrates; the city itself was rendered impregnable by the construction of a triple line of walls. The bridge across the Euphrates is of particular interest, in that it was supported on asphalt covered brick piers that were streamlined to reduce the upstream resistance to flow, and the downstream turbulence that would otherwise undermine the foundations. Nor was Nebuchadrezzar's activity confined to the capital; he is credited with the restoration of the Lake of ], the opening of a port on the Persian Gulf, and the building of the famous Median wall between the Tigris and the Euphrates to protect the country against incursions from the North. In fact, there is scarcely a place around Babylon where his name does not appear and where traces of his activity are not found. These gigantic undertakings required an innumerable host of workmen; from the inscription of the great temple of ], we may infer that most probably captives brought from various parts of Western Asia made up a large part of the labouring force used in all his public works. Nebuchadrezzar made the hanging gardens for his wife Amyitis to remind her of her homeland Medis. She was the daughter (or granddaughter) of King Cyaxares of the Medes.

	==Portrayal in the Books of Daniel and Jeremiah==
	]
	Nebuchadrezzar is most widely known through his portrayal in the Bible, especially the ], which discusses several events of his reign in addition to his conquest of Jerusalem:

	In the second year of his reign (evidently counting from his conquest of the Jews), Nebuchadrezzar dreams of a ] made of various materials (gold, copper, iron, etc). The prophet ] interprets it to stand for the rise and fall of world powers. (''Daniel'' Chapter 2)

	During another incident, Nebuchadrezzar erects a large idol 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 roaring furnace. They are protected by an angel or "the Son of God" (interpreted to be the second member of the God-head which is God the Son, later known as ]), and emerge unscathed. (''Daniel'' Chapter 3)

	Another dream, this time of an immense tree, is interpreted by Daniel the prophet. (''Daniel'' Chapter 4)

	While boasting over his achievements, Nebuchadrezzar is humbled by ]. The king loses his sanity and lives in the wild like an animal for seven years (by some considered as an attack of the madness called ] or alternately ]). After this, his sanity and position are restored. Neither the illness, nor the interregnum which it must have caused, are recorded in Babylonian annals; however, there is a notable absence of any record of acts or decrees by the king during ]–].<ref>Gleason Archer, Vol 7 Expositor's Bible Commentary.</ref> Some scholars believe that the Book of Daniel was written long after the events described, during the ], and thus are skeptical of the details of Nebuchadrezzar's portrayal by Daniel.

	Some scholars think that Nebuchadrezzar's portrayal by Daniel is a mixture of traditions about Nebuchadrezzar — he was indeed the one who conquered Jerusalem — and about ] (Nabuna'id), the last king of Babylon. For example, Nabonidus was the real father of ], and the seven years of insanity could be related to Nabonidus' sojourn in ] in the desert. Evidence for this view was actually found on some fragments from the ] that reference Nabonidus (N-b-n-y) being smitten by God with a fever for seven years of his reign while his son ] was regent.

	In the ] (Jeremiah 4:7), a prophecy about a "'''destroyer of nations'''" rising is typically regarded as a reference to Nebuchadrezzar.

	==Successors==
	After his death in October, 562 BC, having reigned 43 years, he was succeeded by his son ], who, after a reign of two years, was succeeded by ] (] - ]), who was succeeded by ] (] - ]), at the close of whose reign (less than a quarter of a century after the death of Nebuchadrezzar) Babylon fell under ] as the head of the combined armies of Media and ].

	==Named after Nebuchadrezzar==
	* There is a type of ] named "Nebuchadnezzar's Furnace".
	* A bottle of ] which contains the same amount as 20 bottles (15 litres) is called a ].
	* In the popular '']'' film trilogy, the hovercraft of the character 'Morpheus' is named the '']''.
	* Opera ]
	* Saddam Hussein named one of his Republican Guards divisions after Nebuchadnezzar.
	* A Legend card in the '']'' card game is named Nebuchadnezzar.
	* The ] character Nebby K. Nezzer is a play off of Nebuchadnezzar.

	==References==
	<references/>
	* Chapter 23, "The Chaldaean Kings" in George Roux, ''Ancient Iraq'' (3rd ed.). London: Penguin Books, 1992. ISBN 0-14-012523-X
	* : Chronicle Concerning the Early Years of Nebuchadnezzar
	* on the ]

	==External links==
	* - old translation
	*

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	{{Eastons}}<br/>
	{{Catholic}}

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Revision as of 17:05, 7 January 2007

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