Images of Nebuchadnezzar: The Emergence of a LegendImages of Nebuchadnezzar attempts to probe the diversity of cultural attitudes reflected in the characterizations of this famous king through an examination of both the original cuneiform sources as well as the accounts of chronographers written in Greek, Roman, and medieval times. Included in this revised and expanded second edition are two new chapters that examine both Nebuchadnezzar's administrative policies and the impact that his death had on both contemporary and later cultures. Both the positive and negative images of the king are explored, with conclusions being developed as to what the authors of the various surviving accounts actually thought the king really was. In the process, the whole nature of historiography in the ancient world is analyzed, and a number of broad conclusions are developed. Anyone who has ever read Second Kings or the books of Daniel and Jeremiah of the Old Testament is familiar with the name of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon who conquered the kingdom of Judah and destroyed Solomon's temple. As the second member of the Chaldean dynasty of Mesopotamia (626-539 B.C.), he ruled for forty-three years (605-562 B.C.), during which time he also led military campaigns into Syria and Lebanon. He also organized a number of building projects that were to transform Babylon into one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Among his noteworthy achievements were the construction of massive fortification walls around Babylon, the refurbishing of Marduk's temple in the city, and the building of huge palaces that served as the king's residences. Tales of these legendary achievements, as well as those of his father, Nabopolassar (626-605 B.C.), also found their way into the narratives of a number of Greek, Roman, and medieval historians and chronographers many centuries later. Unfortunately, much of the record of Nebuchadnezzar's achievements that was written in his own time has not survived. Instead, only secondary accounts of his military campaigns or his construction projects in Babylon written in Greek, Latin, Hebrew, or Arabic are available for analysis. These stories vary greatly in content and emphasis and, in many cases, distort much of what we know from Nebuchadnezzar's own sources. The Hebrews, for example, described Nebuchadnezzar's siege of Jerusalem in such a way as to consider it something that should never again be repeated. The Greeks, on the other hand, saw the building projects in Babylon as evidence of almost superhuman achievements, as monuments that were the result of efforts by a king who was almost godlike. Why, then, is there such diversity in the characterizations of Nebuchadnezzar? This book proposes answers to these questions. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
The Cuneiform Sources | 13 |
The Classical Medieval and Hebrew Sources | 21 |
Copyright | |
6 other sections not shown
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
administrative Akkad Alexander Amel-Marduk Ancient Near East Apion Arabic army Assyrian and Babylonian Babylonian Captivity Babylonian Chronicles Belshazzar Berossus Berossus's Book of Daniel campaign century B.C. chadnezzar Chaldean dynasty characterization classical commentary conquest contract tablets cuneiform cuneiform sources Cyrus Diodorus discussion Eanna Egypt empire Erech Esagila Euphrates Eupolemus Eusebius Evil Merodach father folklore folkloristic gods Greek Hebrew sources Hellenistic Herodotus Ibid included Jehoiachin Jeremiah Jerusalem Jewish Antiquities Jews Josephus Josephus's Judah king of Babylon king's kingdom Labashi-Marduk later Lord Marduk Medes Megasthenes mention Merodach Mesopotamia Midrash Rabbah midrashim monarch Nabonidus's Nabopolassar Nebu Nebuchad Nebuchadnez Nebuchadnezzar II Neo-Babylonian Empire Neo-Babylonian period Neriglissar nezzar Old Testament oral palace Persian preserved prison prophet rabbinic reign of Nabonidus reign of Nebuchadnezzar royal inscriptions scribes Seleucid Semiramis Sumerian surviving Syria Talmud Tanhuma Tema temple throne tion tradition University Press Uruk walls Wayikra Rabbah Wiseman writings