World History

Chaldeans
Took Over
the Assyrians
CATHERINE GUINTO | BSED SOCIAL STUDIES 2
CHALDEAN EMPIRE (626BC - 539BC)
Chaldean Empire encompasses
the period between the capture Lahiru ?
Haradu SUHU

of the Babylonian throne by Anat Itu'u

la
ya
Di
Nabopolassar in the year 626 and Idu
Rapiqu ? Dur-Kurigalzu

the fall of the city to the Persians

Opis ?
Dur-Sharruku ? Der
Sippar
Tig ELAM

in the fall of 539. Bit Sha'alli Kutha re

Babylone Puq
udu
Borsippa KARDUNIASH

Also known as the Neo- Bit Dakkuri Larak ?

Dilbat Nippur
Marad Bit Shilani Gambulu
KA

Babylonian Empire
LD Bit Amukani
Eu U
ph
rat Uruk Larsa
e
The Chaldeans, a Semitic- Bit Yakin PAYS DE LA MER
Ur
Eridu

speaking tribe, migrated to a

Mesopotamian region next to
the Persian Gulf.
 KINGS OF THE CHALDEAN
EMPIRE
NABOPOLASSAR | 625–605 B.C.

The founder and first king of the Neo-

Babylonian Empire.

Beginning with the coronation of

Nabopolassar as the King of Babylon in
626 BC and being firmly established
through the fall of the Neo-Assyrian
Empire in 612 BC.
By 616, the Mesopotamian chronicles indicate two important
developments.
First, Nabopolassar moves along the bank of the Euphrates to
attack Assyrian held-territories, likely indicating that by this
point he had gained control of Babylonia. This advance begins a
series of successful attacks upon important Assyrian cities due in
part to the aid of the Medes.
Second, it is confirmed that Egypt has allied with Assyria to
march against Nabopolassar.

Important events under Nabopolassar:

The Fall of Nineveh
The Fall of Harran
Battle of Carchemish
KINGS OF THE CHALDEAN
EMPIRE

NEBUCHADNEZZAR II: 604–562 B.C.

eledest son of Nabopolassar

The reign of Nebuchadnezzar
represents a time of remarkable
political success for the Neo-
Babylonian empire.
Nebuchadnezzar was a warrior-king,
often described as the greatest military
leader of the Neo-Babylonian empire.
He expanded his empire along the
Mediterranean Sea to the border of
Egypt.
He was a patron of the cities and a spectacular builder,
rebuilding all of Babylonia's major cities on a lavish scale.

Nebuchadrezzar is also known for rebuilding the temple of

Marduk in Babylon. Marduk was the main god of Babylonia.
The temple was a huge ziggurat—a tower shaped like a
pyramid with
large steps.

Etemenanki/ Tower of Babel

Nebuchadnezzar frequently led processions to this temple and
used religion to legitimize his reign. He also built smaller
temples, as well as the Ishtar Gate, which was built to honor the
Mesopotamian goddess of war.

Esagila/ Temple of Marduk

Ishtar Gate
KINGS OF THE CHALDEAN EMPIRE

AMEL-MARDUK: 561–560 B.C.

was the third king of the Neo-

Babylonian Empire, ruling from 562
BC until his overthrow and murder
in 560 BC.
Biblical name; Evil-Merodach
Amel-Marduk was the successor of
his father, Nebuchadnezzar II
only ruled for two years
One of his inscriptions suggests that he renovated the Esagila
in Babylon, and the Ezida in Borsippa, but no concrete
archaeological or textual evidence exists to confirm that
work was actually done at these temples. Some bricks and
paving stones in Babylon bear his name, indicating that some
building work was completed at Babylon during his brief
tenure as king.
In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of
Judah, in the year Evil-Merodach became king of Babylon, he
released Jehoiachin from prison on the twenty-fifth day of
the twelfth month. He spoke kindly to him and gave him a
seat of honour higher than those of the other kings who were
with him in Babylon.

Amel-Marduk's reign abruptly ended in August 560 BC, after

barely two years as king, when he was deposed and
murdered by Neriglissar, his brother-in-law, who then
claimed the throne.
KINGS OF THE CHALDEAN EMPIRE

NERIGLISSAR: 559–556 B.C.

third king of the Chaldean Empire

Neriglissar was powerful and influential
prior to becoming king, but was not
related to the dynasty by blood.
Neriglissar was a prominent official and
general in the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II
(r. 605–562 BC) and became even more
influential through marrying one of
Nebuchadnezzar's daughters, Kashshaya.
The most well documented event of Neriglissar's reign is his
successful 557–556 BC campaign in Anatolia against
Appuwashu, king of a small kingdom in Cilicia. Neriglissar
successfully captured Appuwashu's capital, Ura, as well as
another city, Kirshu, before conducting an amphibious attack
against a nearby island and then laying waste to mountain
passes on the western border to Lydia. Shortly after returning
home to Babylonia victorious, Neriglissar died in April 556 BC.
KINGS OF THE CHALDEAN EMPIRE

LABASHI-MARDUK: 556 B.C.

Labashi-Marduk ascended the throne as a child and was

murdered 9 months after taking the throne by a coup
d'état by a powerful Babylonian nobleman named
Belshazzar and several officers.
The reason for this coup may have been that Neriglissar
and his son were commoners - rich, certainly, and well-
connected, but without noble blood.
KINGS OF THE CHALDEAN

EMPIRE

NABONIDUS: 555–539 B.C

last king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire,

ruling from 556 BC to the fall of Babylon
to the Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus
the Great in 539 BC.
father of Belshazzar
The origins of Nabonidus, his connection
to previous royalty, and subsequently
what claim he had to the throne remain
unclear, given that Nabonidus made no
genealogical claims of kinship to
previous kings.
Throughout his reign, inscriptions and later sources suggest
that Nabonidus worked to increase the status of the moon
god Sîn and decrease the status of Babylon's traditional
national deity Marduk. While some have suggested that
Nabonidus wished to go as far as to completely replace
Marduk with Sîn as the head of the Mesopotamian pantheon.

Nabonidus was in self-imposed exile in Tayma, Arabia. This

exile is assumed to have been due to disagreements with the
Babylonian clergy and oligarchy.
 When Nabonidus returned to Babylonia in 543/542 BC, he
escalated his religious efforts and rebuilt the Ekhulkhul, the
temple dedicated to Sîn in the major northern city of Harran.
He escalated his religious reforms by rebuilding a temple
devoted to Sîn known as Ekhulkhul. This temple was
constructed in Nabonidus’s place of birth, the city of Harran,
which was located to the north
of Babylon (in what is now modern
day Turkey). This city quickly rose to
prominence as the center of Sîn
(moon god) worship following
Nabonidus’s rebuilding of the temple.
 Battle of Opis
was the last major military engagement between the
Achaemenid Persian Empire and the Neo-Babylonian
Empire, which took place in September 539 BC, during the
Persian invasion of Mesopotamia. At the time, Babylonia
was the last major power in Western Asia that was not yet
under Persian control. The battle was fought in or near the
strategic riverside city of Opis, located north of the capital
city of Babylon in modern-day Iraq, and resulted in a
decisive victory for Persia.
Decline of the Chaldean Empire

After Nebuchadnezzar II’s death in 562 B.C, there was

a seven year power struggle,.
With the end of the Neo-Babylonians the
Mesopotamian age came to an end. The focal point of
the Middle East and the Mediterranean switched to
Persia and then Greece and then Rome.
The Chaldean Empire was overthrown by the Persian
Empire which wasled by Cyrus the Great of Persia.
ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE CHALDEAN EMPIRE

The Neo-Babylonians made great contributions to science, astronomy

01 and mathematics, which were later passed on to the Greeks. Many of the
achievements in these fields credited to the Babylonians were actually
accomplished by the Neo-Babylonians.

Nebuchadnezzar returned Babylon to it place as the greatest city in the

world. He built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven
02 Wonders of the World; a stone bridge across the Euphrates; and the
Ishtar gate, a huge monumental structure guarded by stone bulls and
dragons. Processions honoring the god Marduk marched between the
Ishtar gates and the Temple of Marduk, the chief Babylonian deity.
 Reference
Babylonia and Assyria - Kids | Britannica Kids | Homework Help.
Retrieved from ttps://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/Babylonia-and-
Assyria/352812
Nebuchadnezzar II | Biography, Accomplishments, & Facts |
Britannica. Retrieved from
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nebuchadnezzar-II
NEO-BABYLONIANS (CHALDEANS) | Facts and Details. Retrieved from
https://factsanddetails.com/world/cat56/sub402/item1527.html#chapt
er-7
Neo-Babylonian Empire - Wikipedia
Chaldean dynasty - Wikiwand
Neo-Babylonian Empire – A Critical Timeline of Mesopotamia for
Biblical Studies (baylor.edu). Retrieved from
https://sites.baylor.edu/deirdre_fulton/neo-babylonian-empire/
Archaeologists Find Inscribed Stone Honoring Babylonian King
Nabonidus | Ancient Origins (ancient-origins.net)