NEBUCHADREZZAR II

(NABU-KUDURRU-USUR in babylonian; reigned 605–562 B.C.)

   Babylonian king, son of Nabopolassar. Before his father’s death, he had managed to defeat the Egyptians at Charchemish. He went to Babylon to be crowned but quickly returned to Syria. He fought there for some eight years to enforce Babylonian dominion over the Levant and Syria, including Damascus, Tyre, and Jerusalem. He also campaigned in the east, against Elam, and had to repress rebellions within Babylonia. Eventually, he managed to secure Babylonia’s succession over most of the territories once held by Assyriaand began to reap the economic benefits. Much of the enormous revenue was spent on beautifying and protecting the capital, Babylon. He built new city walls, double in construction and with a moat, a new bridge over the Euphrates, new palaces, and the splendidly decorated Processional Street, which was used for the ceremonies of the New Year festival (see AKITU). He also rebuilt and enlarged the precinct and temple of Mardukand began work on the huge ziggurat Etemenanki. Nebuchadrezzar’s royal inscriptions contained primarily detailed descriptions of his architectural projects. According to biblical records, he went mad in his later years, but there are no Babylonian sources to deny or substantiate this claim.