Biography: Nebuchadnezzar

Do you remember the Biblical tale of the three young Jewish men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who were forced into a fiery furnace as a means of execution ? The king who ordered their punishment was Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. This is his biography.

Nebuchadnezzar II came from a tribe of warlike people in the ancient lands of the Middle East. He was born c. 630 B.C., the eldest son of Nabopolassar, a Chaldian chieftain who had freed his land from the rule of the Assyrians and declared himself king of Babylon.

As crown prince, Nebuchadnezzar was given command of the Babylonian army. His first victory occurred in 605 B.C. when he defeated the Egyptian king, Necho, in a battle at Carchemish, thus gaining control of the kingdoms of Syria and Phoenicia.

Later that year, his father died and Nebuchadnezzar returned to Babylon to claim the throne. In an astute political move, he married Amytis, the daughter of Cyaxares of Media, thus uniting the Median and Babylonian empires.

He soon returned to the west in order to secure the loyalty of Syria and Palestine and to collect taxes; among those who agreed to pay were the rulers of Damascus, Tyre, Sidon, and Judah.

In 601 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar attempted to invade Egypt, but was unsuccessful, and the defeat encouraged to a series of rebellions in neighboring areas.

In time, Judah rebelled and refused to pay tribute. In 597 B.C., the rebellion was quashed and King Jehoiakim and his court were taken to Babylon. Eight years later, another Jewish rebellion broke out. This time, Jerusalem was levelled, Solomon's temple was destroyed and most of the population were transported to Babylon.

This dark period in Jewish history is known as "The Babylonian Exile". Among the captives was a devout young man named Daniel. Because of his ability to interpret dreams, he became an advisor in the court of King Nebuchadnezzar.

In 568 B. C., Egypt was captured and Nebuchadnezzar he was able to greatly extend the Babylonian Empire, because of his military strength. He then turned his attention to improving his own kingdom and to recreating a magnificent capital city, Babylon.

No expense was spared in the restoration. There were elegant temples constructed with an abundance of gold, silver and precious stones, impressive buildings, and a splendid stone bridge across the Euphrates River, which bisected the city.

He is credited with constructing hanging gardens, judged to be one of the wonders of the ancient world, to remind his wife Amytis of Media, her homeland.

Throughout the empire he rebuilt cities, repaired temples to the gods, constructed reservoirs, canals on a scale of grandeur and magnificence which surpassed anything previously seen in the ancient world.

The Book of Daniel in the Old Testament is a source of some of the knowledge we have about King Nebuchadnezzar.

In Chapter 3 of the Book of Daniel, the author relates an incident in which the king erects a large golden idol. When Daniel's three friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refuse to worship it, they are thrown into a fiery furnace to be burned alive. However, they are protected by an angel and come out unscathed, not even tainted by the smell of smoke.

Again, because of his pride and materialism, while boasting about his achievements, Nebuchadnezzar is punished by losing his sanity. He leaves the palace to live in the wild like an animal for seven years.

After this period, he renounced the false gods of Babylon and honored the God of Daniel.

Nebuchadnezzar survived his recovery for some years, and died in 562 B.C. at about 83 years of age. He reigned for forty-three years, and was succeeded by his son, Evil-merodach.