The ancient Neo-Babylonian kingdom existed from 626 to 539 BC. BC e. During its heyday under Nebuchadnezzar II, it occupied the territory of all Mesopotamia and Judea up to the border with Egypt. Babylon became the center of world culture and scientific knowledge. And this is despite the fact that the state regularly fought with its neighbors. In 539 B. C. e. Babylon was captured by the Persians and lost its independence.
Rise of Nabopolassar
The second Babylonian kingdom, or otherwise the Neo-Babylonian kingdom, was the reincarnation of the old state, once conquered by Assyria. In 626 B. C. e. Viceroy Nabopolassar (a Chaldean by nationality) decided to secede from the empire and become an independent ruler. He succeeded in capturing Babylon and making it his capital.
The success of the uprising became possible due to the fact that the formerly powerful and great Assyrian Empire in the 7th century. BC e. suffered from internecine strife and clan wars. In fact, it had already broken up into several political centers and simply could not control Babylonia. All that was needed was a leader who could organize a coup d'état. They became Nabopolassar. He managed to capture important cities in the middle reaches of the Euphrates -fertile and economically developed region of the empire. These centers were Uruk and Nippur.
The final defeat of Assyria
Nabopolassar was a skilled diplomat. He enlisted the support of Media, which acted as an ally of Babylon in its war against Assyria. In 614 B. C. e. one of the largest cities of the empire, Ashur, was captured. It was looted and destroyed. Local residents were sold into slavery or became refugees. The history of the Ancient East is known for its cruelty, and in this sense the Babylonian kings were just typical representatives of their era.
Assyria still had the capital of Nineveh in its hands, surpassing even Babylon in we alth and grandeur. In this city there was a famous library with clay tablets, the discovery of which allowed modern archaeologists to find many unique documents and codify ancient dead languages.
In 612 B. C. e. Nineveh fell after a three-month siege and assault, undertaken by the allied forces of the Babylonians and Medes. The city was destroyed just like Ashur. In its place, only ashes and ruins remained. The last Assyrian king set himself on fire in his own palace so as not to fall into the hands of enemies. In fact, his empire was destroyed. Assyria never recovered again, and its memory was buried under the sands of the Middle East. Babylon and Media divided the territory of the captured state. In the future, these countries also successfully fought the invasions of wild Scythians.
The beginning of the conflict with the pharaohs
At Nabopolassarwas the son of Nebuchadnezzar, who was to become his heir on the throne. He was destined to become the greatest king of Babylon and the most famous symbol of this entire lost civilization. During his lifetime, his father tried to accustom his successor to power, taking him with him on military campaigns. So, in 607 BC. e. The Neo-Babylonian kingdom came to the rescue of a faithful ally, Media. The two powers fought together in modern Armenia against the state of Urartu. Here, the future Babylonian king received valuable military experience, which was useful to him in adulthood.
After a couple of years, in 605 BC. e., Nabopolassar declared war on Egypt, whose forces disturbed the border fortresses of the king on the Euphrates. At that time, the pharaohs owned not only the Nile Valley, but all of Palestine, where Israel is now located. The Neo-Babylonian kingdom could not exist quietly while the Egyptians were in this Asian region.
First victories in Palestine
Nabopolassar was already old and sick, so Nebuchadnezzar led the army. Pharaoh Necho opposed the enemy with an army, which also included his allies, Nubians and mercenaries from all over the world, including from Greece. May 605 B. C. e. a decisive battle took place near the city of Carchemish. The Babylonians won the victory, although it came at the cost of great loss of life. The battle turned out to be so important for contemporaries that it was even mentioned in the Bible.
After that, the vassal Palestinian and Phoenician kings began to pay tribute not to Egypt, butBabylon. But the pharaoh was lucky. He would have been completely defeated if Nebuchadnezzar had not received news of the death of his aged father. The war stopped for a while.
Conquest of the District
Nebuchadnezzar II ruled Babylon from 605-562. BC e. The history of the Ancient East does not know a greater king than he. From the very beginning of his reign, the pharaoh pursued an active foreign policy, taking turns cracking down and subjugating his neighbors.
Death stopped his military campaign against Egypt. In the first two years on the throne, Nebuchadnezzar II made up for lost time. Due to the fact that the Babylonians left the District (the region between the Euphrates and the Mediterranean Sea), the local princes tried to restore their alliance with the pharaoh. The first to pay for this was the city of Ascalon, in which the ancient people of the Philistines lived.
This Mediterranean port was one of the richest in Palestine. Probably the most ancient international trade route went through it, connecting Egypt with Syria, Mesopotamia, Greece and Rome. The route was called the "road of the sea". The owners of the city received huge profits from trade. The former Assyrian Empire also tried to control it.
The King of Ascalon Adon, having learned that the army of the Babylonians was approaching him, sent a messenger to Egypt to ask for help from Necho II. The pharaoh never sent reinforcements, and in 603 BC. e. the city was taken by storm.
Relations with the Jews
After this victory, the army of the Neo-Babylonian kingdom took a short break, and soonmoved towards Judea. The Jerusalem king Joachim did not want to repeat the fate of Ascalon and Nineveh. He sent an embassy to Nebuchadnezzar with expensive gifts and promised to regularly pay tribute. This saved Jerusalem from destruction. So the Babylonian king conquered the Rivers and Palestine, depriving the Egyptian pharaoh of influence in all of Asia.
When Nebuchadnezzar II went to war in Africa, the Jewish cities rebelled, not wanting to pay tribute. In 597 B. C. e. Babylonian armies were again at the walls of Jerusalem. This time the gifts did not save Joachim. He was captured and killed. Instead of the executed king, his son Jeconiah was placed on the throne. To complete the conquest of Judea and deprive her of the desire to rebel again, Nebuchadnezzar II ordered the captives of all noble Jewish families.
However, two years later, Jehoiachin also began to pursue a policy directed against Babylon. Then the army entered Jerusalem, plundered the royal palace and the Jerusalem temple, from which many sacred relics were seized. Jeconiah was taken captive to Mesopotamia, and his uncle Zedekiah was placed on the throne. In addition, ten thousand Jews were expelled from the city.
Babylonian hegemony
The first twenty years of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II were marked by wars with Egypt and its Asian allies. After Judea fell Phoenicia and its richest cities Sidon and Tyre.
The Jordanian states of Moab and Ammon were also defeated. This is the answer to the question of which countries and peoples the Neo-Babylonian kingdom conquered. The Egyptian pharaoh lost all his satellites. In 582 B. C. e. a peace treaty was signedwhich de jure consolidated the hegemony of Babylon in the Middle East.
The rise of the country
The economic heyday that the country experienced under Nebuchadnezzar made it possible to completely rebuild Babylon, which had previously been plundered several times during the Assyrian rule. A new majestic palace was built, and the legendary Hanging Gardens appeared in the north of the city. This unique complex has become one of the seven wonders of the world along with the Lighthouse of Alexandria, the Egyptian pyramids, etc.
The border of the Neo-Babylonian kingdom was reliably guarded, but Nebuchadnezzar II did not forget about the security of his capital. The walls of the city were completely rebuilt, turning it into an impregnable bastion. Construction was carried out that improved the lives of ordinary people. New roads were built throughout the kingdom. Thanks to them, merchants from all over the world could quickly cross the country and sell their goods in Babylon, which replenished the treasury.
The ancient East reached its peak thanks to the development of agriculture in the fertile valleys of Mesopotamia. Basins and canals were built in the Neo-Babylonian kingdom, allowing artificial irrigation of new areas.
Kings and priests
One of the most important ideas of Nebuchadnezzar was the completion of the construction of the majestic ziggurat of Etemenanki, which has stood in the city since the time of Hammurabi. Researchers and archaeologists consider this building the prototype of the famous Tower of Babel. The height of the structure reached 91 meters, which for those times wasan absolute record.
Ziggurat was a place of worship of the gods. In Babylon, the influence of the priests was great. This estate was the only one that had the opportunity to challenge the decisions of the monarch. How did the rulers govern the Neo-Babylonian kingdom? It is noteworthy here that the king always consulted with the priests and did nothing without their approval.
For example, Nebuchadnezzar himself was especially dependent on the religious class. In the last years of his life, he enjoyed the world, doing the improvement of his own country. The king died in 562 BC. e. After that, a period of civil strife and regular palace coups began in Babylon. The state survived only thanks to the margin of safety that was gained during the reign of Nabopolassar and Nebuchadnezzar II.
War with Persia
The Second Babylonian Kingdom perished due to the rise of a new power - Persia. This country was ruled by the Achaemenid dynasty, therefore in historiography it is often called the Achaemenid Empire. The state appeared in 550 BC. e. It was founded by Cyrus II the Great, who came to power after a successful uprising against Media.
From the very beginning, the Neo-Babylonian and Persian kingdoms became bitter opponents. This conflict is explained by the ambitions of the monarchs, as well as the religious and linguistic difference of the peoples inhabiting these countries.
At first, Babylon supported those kingdoms that got in the way of Persian expansion. Cyrus II captured Media, Lydia, Ionia, Caria and Lycia in turn. These were lands in Iran andpeninsulas of Asia Minor. After initial successes, Cyrus decided to attack Babylon itself.
Nabonid vs Cyrus
The last ruler of the Second Kingdom, Nabonidus, was in mortal danger. He received a little support from Egypt, but it did not help him much. Babylon was devoured from within by national contradictions. The biggest problem remained restless Jews who continued to resist any oppression, despite the repression and repeated fall of Jerusalem.
When Cyrus attacked the Neo-Babylonian kingdom, national uprisings were already in full swing. The frightened governors of the provinces went over to the side of the Persians in order to save their lives. An enemy army captured Babylon in 539 BC. e. After that, the city lost its political significance. Cyrus formally left the title of Babylonian king, but the country itself finally lost its independence.
Babylon even became the capital of Alexander the Great, but in the III century BC. e. finally fell into disrepair and became empty. Its ruins attracted the attention of modern archaeologists only in the 19th century.
