The Chaldean dynasty, also known as the Neo-Babylonian dynasty and enumerated as Dynasty X of Babylon, was the ruling dynasty of the
Neo-Babylonian Empire
The Neo-Babylonian Empire or Second Babylonian Empire, historically known as the Chaldean Empire, was the last polity ruled by monarchs native to Mesopotamia. Beginning with the coronation of Nabopolassar as the King of Babylon in 626 BC and bei ...
, ruling as
kings of Babylon
The king of Babylon (Akkadian: ''šakkanakki Bābili'', later also ''šar Bābili'') was the ruler of the ancient Mesopotamian city of Babylon and its kingdom, Babylonia, which existed as an independent realm from the 19th century BC to its fall ...
from the ascent of
Nabopolassar in 626 BC to the
fall of Babylon in 539 BC. The dynasty, as connected to Nabopolassar through descent, was deposed in 560 BC by the
Aramean
The Arameans ( oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; syc, ܐܪ̈ܡܝܐ, Ārāmāyē) were an ancient Semitic-speaking people in the Near East, first recorded in historical sources from the late 12th century BCE. The Aramean ...
official
Neriglissar
Neriglissar (Babylonian cuneiform: ''Nergal-šar-uṣur'' or ''Nergal-šarra-uṣur'', meaning "Nergal, protect the king") was the fourth king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, ruling from his usurpation of the throne in 560 BC to his death in 556 B ...
(560–556 BC), though he was connected to the Chaldean kings through marriage and his son and successor,
Labashi-Marduk (556 BC), might have reintroduced the bloodline to the throne. The final Neo-Babylonian king,
Nabonidus (556–539 BC), was genealogically unconnected to the previous kings, but might, like Neriglissar, also have been connected to the dynasty through marriage.
History
The term "Chaldean dynasty", and the corresponding "Chaldean Empire", an alternate
historiographical
Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians hav ...
name for the
Neo-Babylonian Empire
The Neo-Babylonian Empire or Second Babylonian Empire, historically known as the Chaldean Empire, was the last polity ruled by monarchs native to Mesopotamia. Beginning with the coronation of Nabopolassar as the King of Babylon in 626 BC and bei ...
, derives from the assumption that the dynasty's founder, Nabopolassar, was of
Chaldean origin. Though contemporary sources suggest an origin in southern
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...
, such as the Uruk prophecy text describing Nabopolassar as a "king of the sea" (i.e. southernmost Babylonia) and a letter from the Assyrian king
Sinsharishkun
Sinsharishkun or Sin-shar-ishkun ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: or ''Sîn-šarru-iškun'',' meaning " Sîn has established the king")' was the penultimate king of Assyria, reigning from the death of his brother and predecessor Ashur-etil-ilani in 6 ...
describing him as "of the lower sea" (also southernmost Babylonia), there is no source that ascribes him a specific ethnic origin. Since the Chaldeans lived in southernmost Mesopotamia, many historians have identified Nabopolassar as Chaldean, but others have referred to him as
Assyrian or
Babylonian.
The issue is compounded by the fact that Nabopolassar never wrote of his ancestry, going as far as identifying himself as a "son of a nobody". This is almost certainly a lie since an actual son of a nobody, i.e. an obscure figure, would have been unable to gather enough influence to become king of Babylon. There is several pieces of evidence that links Nabopolassar and his dynasty to the city of
Uruk
Uruk, also known as Warka or Warkah, was an ancient city of Sumer (and later of Babylonia) situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates River on the dried-up ancient channel of the Euphrates east of modern Samawah, Al-Muthannā, Iraq.Harm ...
(which was located south of Babylon), prominently that several of Nabopolassar's descendants lived in the city and that his son and successor,
Nebuchadnezzar II, worked as a priest there before becoming king. In 2007, the Assyriologist Michael Jursa identified Nabopolassar as the son of
Nebuchadnezzar (or Kudurru), a governor of Uruk who had been appointed by the Neo-Assyrian king
Ashurbanipal. This Nebuchadnezzar belonged to a prominent
political family in Uruk, which would explain how Nabopolassar could rise to power, and the names of his relatives correspond to names later given to Nabopolassar's descendants, possibly indicating a familial relationship through
patronymics
A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor.
Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, alt ...
. As Nabopolassar spent his reign fighting the Assyrians, calling himself a "son of a nobody" instead of associating himself with a pro-Assyrian governor might have been politically advantageous.
Nabopolassar's descendants ruled Babylonia until his grandson,
Amel-Marduk
Amel-Marduk (Babylonian cuneiform: ''Amēl-Marduk'', meaning "man of Marduk"), also known as Awil-Marduk, or under the biblical rendition of his name, Evil-Merodach (Hebrew: , ''ʾÉwīl Mərōḏaḵ''), was the third king of the Neo-Babylonian E ...
, was deposed by the general and official
Neriglissar
Neriglissar (Babylonian cuneiform: ''Nergal-šar-uṣur'' or ''Nergal-šarra-uṣur'', meaning "Nergal, protect the king") was the fourth king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, ruling from his usurpation of the throne in 560 BC to his death in 556 B ...
in 560 BC. Neriglissar was powerful and influential prior to becoming king, but was not related to the dynasty by blood, instead likely being of
Aramean
The Arameans ( oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; syc, ܐܪ̈ܡܝܐ, Ārāmāyē) were an ancient Semitic-speaking people in the Near East, first recorded in historical sources from the late 12th century BCE. The Aramean ...
origin, probably of the
Puqudu clan. He was not completely unconnected to the Chaldean dynasty, however, having secured his claim to the throne through marriage to one of Nebuchadnezzar II's daughters, possibly
Kaššaya. Neriglissar was succeeded by his son,
Labashi-Marduk, who was deposed shortly thereafter. Why Labashi-Marduk was deposed is not known, but it is possible that he was the son of Neriglissar and a wife other than Nebuchadnezzar II's daughter, and thus completely unconnected to the Chaldean dynasty.
The leader of the coup to depose Labashi-Marduk was likely the courtier
Belshazzar
Belshazzar (Babylonian cuneiform: ''Bēl-šar-uṣur'', meaning "Bel, protect the king"; ''Bēlšaʾṣṣar'') was the son and crown prince of Nabonidus (556–539 BC), the last king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Through his mother he might h ...
, who in Labashi-Marduk's place proclaimed
Nabonidus, Belshazzar's father, as king. The sources suggest that while he was part of the conspiracy, Nabonidus had not intended, nor expected, to become king himself and he was hesitant to accept the nomination. Nabonidus's rise to the throne put Belshazzar first in the line of succession (it would not have been suitable for him to have become king himself while his father was still alive) and also made him one of the wealthiest men in Babylonia as he inherited Labashi-Marduk's family's estates. It is probable that Nabonidus, like Neriglissar, was also married to a daughter of Nebuchadnezzar II and that this was the method in which he had secured a claim to the throne. This would also explain later traditions that Belshazzar was a descendant of Nebuchadnezzar II. Nabonidus appears to have been a devotee of the god
Sîn, though the extent to which he might have attempted to elevate Sîn over Babylon's national deity Marduk is disputed. Subsequent Babylonians appear to have remembered Nabonidus as unorthodox and misguided, though not insane or necessarily a bad ruler. Belshazzar never became king and Babylon ultimately fell under Nabonidus's leadership, as Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid Empire invaded Babylonia in 539 BC and put an end to the Neo-Babylonian Empire. The fates of Nabonidus and Belshazzar are not known. Nabonidus may have been allowed to live and retire but it is typically assumed that Belshazzar was killed.
Family tree of the Chaldean dynasty
Broadly follows Wiseman (1983). The reconstruction of Nabopolassar's ancestry follows Jursa (2007), Neriglissar's ancestry follows Wiseman (1991) and the children of Nebuchadnezzar II follow Beaulieu (1998) and Wiseman (1983). It is not clear whether Labashi-Marduk and Gigitum were Neriglissar's children by Kashshaya, or by another wife unrelated to the ruling dynasty. It is also not certain that Nabonidus actually married one of Nebuchadnezzar's daughters, which puts some uncertainty on the assumption that Belshazzar and his siblings were descendants of Nebuchadnezzar. The birth order of any of the children, besides Nebuchadnezzar being Nabopolassar's oldest son and
Nabu-shum-lishir being Nabopolassar's second son, is uncertain.
Timeline of Neo-Babylonian rulers
ImageSize = width:1200 height:auto barincrement:20
PlotArea = top:10 bottom:30 right:150 left:20
AlignBars = justify
DateFormat = yyyy
Period = from:-626 till:-539
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:10 start:-626
Colors =
id:canvas value:rgb(0.97,0.97,0.97)
id:PP value:blue
Backgroundcolors = canvas:canvas
BarData =
barset:Rulers
PlotData=
width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till
barset:Rulers
from: -626 till: -605 color:PP text:" Nabopolassar (626–605 BC)"
from: -605 till: -562 color:PP text:" Nebuchadnezzar II (605–562 BC)"
from: -562 till: -560 color:PP text:"Amel-Marduk
Amel-Marduk (Babylonian cuneiform: ''Amēl-Marduk'', meaning "man of Marduk"), also known as Awil-Marduk, or under the biblical rendition of his name, Evil-Merodach (Hebrew: , ''ʾÉwīl Mərōḏaḵ''), was the third king of the Neo-Babylonian E ...
(562–560 BC)"
from: -560 till: -556 color:PP text:"Neriglissar
Neriglissar (Babylonian cuneiform: ''Nergal-šar-uṣur'' or ''Nergal-šarra-uṣur'', meaning "Nergal, protect the king") was the fourth king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, ruling from his usurpation of the throne in 560 BC to his death in 556 B ...
(560–556 BC)"
from: -556 till: -556 color:PP text:" Labashi-Marduk (556 BC)"
from: -556 till: -539 color:PP text:" Nabonidus (556–539 BC)"
barset:skip
Notes
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{{s-end
Babylonian dynasties
Neo-Babylonian Empire
7th-century BC people
6th-century BC people
Chaldean dynasty