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Nebuchadnezzar IV ( Babylonian cuneiform: ''Nabû-kudurri-uṣur'', meaning "
Nabu Nabu (, ) is the Babylonian patron god of literacy, scribes, wisdom, and the rational arts. He is associated with the classical planet Mercury in Babylonian astronomy. Etymology and meaning The Akkadian means 'announcer' or 'authorised pe ...
, watch over my heir"; ), alternatively spelled Nebuchadrezzar IV and also known by his original name Arakha ( ), was a nobleman of
Urartu Urartu was an Iron Age kingdom centered around the Armenian highlands between Lake Van, Lake Urmia, and Lake Sevan. The territory of the ancient kingdom of Urartu extended over the modern frontiers of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Armenia.Kleiss, Wo ...
's Satrapy of Armenia of Urartian (
Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...
) descentEncyclopedia Iranic
ARMENIA AND IRAN ii. The pre-Islamic period
:
At Babylon an Armenian named Arxa, son of Haldita, passed himself off as a son of Nabunaita (Nabonidus), causing a new rebellion there.
who in 521 BCE seized power in
Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...
, becoming the city's king and leading a revolt against the Persian Achaemenid Empire. His revolt began less than a year after the unsuccessful revolt of Nebuchadnezzar III. Like his predecessor, Arakha assumed the name Nebuchadnezzar and claimed to be a son of
Nabonidus Nabonidus (Babylonian cuneiform: ''Nabû-naʾid'', meaning "May Nabu be exalted" or "Nabu is praised") was the last king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, ruling from 556 BC to the fall of Babylon to the Achaemenian Empire under Cyrus the Great in 53 ...
, Babylon's last independent king. Most of the cuneiform tablets recognising the rule of Nebuchadnezzar IV are from Babylon itself, but there are further documents mentioning him from other cities like
Uruk Uruk, the archeological site known today as Warka, was an ancient city in the Near East, located east of the current bed of the Euphrates River, on an ancient, now-dried channel of the river in Muthanna Governorate, Iraq. The site lies 93 kilo ...
and
Borsippa Borsippa (Sumerian language, Sumerian: BAD.SI.(A).AB.BAKI or Birs Nimrud, having been identified with Nimrod) is an archeological site in Babylon Governorate, Iraq, built on both sides of a lake about southwest of Babylon on the east bank of th ...
and he might have been accepted as king in much of middle and southern
Babylonia Babylonia (; , ) was an Ancient history, ancient Akkadian language, Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Kuwait, Syria and Iran). It emerged as a ...
. Cities in the north, such as
Sippar Sippar (Sumerian language, Sumerian: , Zimbir) (also Sippir or Sippara) was an ancient Near Eastern Sumerian and later Babylonian city on the east bank of the Euphrates river. Its ''Tell (archaeology), tell'' is located at the site of modern Tell ...
, continued to recognise Persian rule throughout Nebuchadnezzar IV's brief reign. Following a siege of the city by the Persian general Intaphrenes, Babylon was recaptured by the Persians on 27 November 521 BC, whereafter Nebuchadnezzar IV and his supporters were executed.


Geopolitical background

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 ancient Mesopotamia. Beginning with the coronation of Nabopolassar as the King of Babylon in 626 BC a ...
, the last great king
Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...
n empire to be ruled by monarchs native to Mesopotamia itself and the final and most spectacular era in
Babylonia Babylonia (; , ) was an Ancient history, ancient Akkadian language, Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Kuwait, Syria and Iran). It emerged as a ...
n history, was ended through the Persian Achaemenid conquest of Babylon under
Cyrus the Great Cyrus II of Persia ( ; 530 BC), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Achaemenid dynasty (i. The clan and dynasty) Hailing from Persis, he brought the Achaemenid dynasty to power by defeating the Media ...
in 539 BC. After its conquest,
Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...
would never again rise to become the single capital of an independent kingdom, much less a great empire. The city, owing to its prestigious and ancient history, continued to be an important site, however, with a large population, defensible walls and a functioning local cult for centuries. Though the city did become one of the Achaemenid Empire's capitals (alongside
Pasargadae Pasargadae (; ) was the capital of the Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great (559–530 BC), located just north of the town of Madar-e-Soleyman and about to the northeast of the city of Shiraz. It is one of Iran's UNESCO World Heritage Site ...
,
Ecbatana Ecbatana () was an ancient city, the capital of the Median kingdom, and the first capital in History of Iran, Iranian history. It later became the summer capital of the Achaemenid Empire, Achaemenid and Parthian Empire, Parthian empires.Nardo, Do ...
and
Susa Susa ( ) was an ancient city in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris, between the Karkheh River, Karkheh and Dez River, Dez Rivers in Iran. One of the most important cities of the Ancient Near East, Susa served as the capital o ...
), retaining some importance through not being relegated to just a provincial city, the Persian conquest introduced a ruling class which was not absorbed by the native Babylonian culture, instead maintaining their own additional political centers outside of Mesopotamia. Since the new rulers did not rely on Babylon's significance for their continued rule (partly due to two large uprisings centered within the city- see below), the city's prestige had been irreversibly diminished. Although the Persian kings continued to stress Babylon's importance through their titulature, using the royal title ''King of Babylon and King of the Lands'',' the Babylonians became less and less enthusiastic in regards to Persian rule as time went on. That the Persians were foreigners probably had very little to do with this resentment; none of the traditional duties and responsibilities of the Babylonian kings required them to be ethnically or even culturally Babylonian; many foreign rulers had enjoyed Babylonian support in the past and many native kings had been despised.' More important than a king's origin was whether they fulfilled their royal duties in line with established Babylonian royal tradition. The Persian kings had capitals elsewhere in their empire, rarely partook in Babylon's traditional rituals (meaning that these rituals could not be celebrated in their traditional form since the presence of the king was typically required) and rarely performed their traditional duties to the Babylonian cults through the construction of temples and giving of cultic gifts to the city's gods. As such, the Babylonians might have interpreted them as failing in their duties as kings and thus not having the necessary divine endorsement to be considered true kings of Babylon. Babylon would revolt several times against Persian rule, the earliest revolt being the 522 BC revolt of Nebuchadnezzar III, originally named Nidintu-Bēl, who claimed to be a son of
Nabonidus Nabonidus (Babylonian cuneiform: ''Nabû-naʾid'', meaning "May Nabu be exalted" or "Nabu is praised") was the last king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, ruling from 556 BC to the fall of Babylon to the Achaemenian Empire under Cyrus the Great in 53 ...
, Babylon's final independent king before the Persian conquest. The late 520s BC was a tumultuous time in the Achaemenid Empire, with numerous regions rebelling against the newly crowned
Darius I Darius I ( ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his death in 486 BCE. He ruled the empire at its territorial peak, when it included much of West A ...
. It is probable that many of the revolts had originally been intended towards Darius I's predecessor,
Bardiya Bardiya or Smerdis ( ; ; possibly died 522 BCE), also named as Tanyoxarces (; ) by Ctesias, was a son of Cyrus the Great and the younger brother of Cambyses II, both Persian kings. There are sharply divided views on his life. Bardiya eithe ...
(widely accepted to have been an impostor), who had been overthrown by Darius. After failing to prevent the Persians from crossing the
Tigris The Tigris ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the eastern of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian Desert, Syrian and Arabia ...
river on 13 December 522 BC, the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar III were decisively defeated near Zazana by the
Euphrates The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...
river on 18 December, whereafter Babylon was captured by Darius and Nebuchadnezzar III was executed.


Revolt against the Persians

Following Nebuchadnezzar III's defeat in December 522 BC, Darius stayed in Babylon for some time, stabilising his rule in the city. Having been recognised as its king from at least 22 December onwards, he stayed in the city until June 521 BC, when he departed for
Media Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inter ...
and
Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
. With Darius absent, Babylon revolted against his rule again on 25 August 521 BC, just two months after he left the city and less than a year after the defeat of Nebuchadnezzar III. The leader of the revolt was Arakha, the son of a man by the name of Haldita and himself not a native Babylonian, but rather a Urartian (
Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...
). His father's name referenced
Ḫaldi Ḫaldi (dingir, d,''Ḫaldi'', also known as Khaldi) was one of the three chief deities of Urartu (Urarat/Ararat Kingdom) along with Teisheba and Shivini. He was a warrior god to whom the kings of Urartu would pray for victories in battle. Ḫa ...
, one of the chief deities of the ancient Urartian kingdom. Persian documents state that Arakha was an Armenian from a region called Dubala. Like Nebuchadnezzar III before him, Arakha also claimed to be a son of Nabonidus and like his predecessor took the name Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar IV downplayed his Armenian origin and through taking the same regnal name as his predecessor intended to align his own rebellion against the Persians with that of Nebuchadnezzar III. Likewise, considering the name Arakha itself is a term meaning "crown prince" in Armenian, a land outside of Persian rule with ties to Assyria where any remaining children of Nabonidus would have likely fled to, and given the fact that many rulers of this period would often lie on royal engravings such as the Behistun inscription later transcribed by Darius in order to discredit their opponents, there are questions that remain as to the veracity of his self-purported royal parentage. Documents were dated to his first regnal year, not his accession year, signaling that Nebuchadnezzar IV's uprising was the continuation of the previous Babylonian revolt. This might have been devised by the Babylonian priesthood and the idea might have been to portray Nebuchadnezzar IV as the same person as Nebuchadnezzar III; otherwise the priesthood could have been accused of supporting a wrong pretender less than a year prior. Combining the reigns of the two Nebuchadnezzars into one might also have been seen as a practical solution as it avoided two different consecutive years from both being referred to as the "accession year of Nebuchadnezzar". According to the inscriptions of Darius, the Babylonians quickly gave their support to Nebuchadnezzar IV. Most cuneiform tablets attributable to Nebuchadnezzar IV's reign have been recovered from Babylon itself, with tablets with contemporary dates from several other Mesopotamian cities, such as
Sippar Sippar (Sumerian language, Sumerian: , Zimbir) (also Sippir or Sippara) was an ancient Near Eastern Sumerian and later Babylonian city on the east bank of the Euphrates river. Its ''Tell (archaeology), tell'' is located at the site of modern Tell ...
, recognising the rule of Darius instead. American historian Albert T. Olmstead suggested in 1938 that Nebuchadnezzar IV's rule might thus have been restricted to just Babylon itself. Contemporary records, however, write that the revolt began in Ur before spreading north to Babylon, and tablets dated to his reign have also been recovered at
Borsippa Borsippa (Sumerian language, Sumerian: BAD.SI.(A).AB.BAKI or Birs Nimrud, having been identified with Nimrod) is an archeological site in Babylon Governorate, Iraq, built on both sides of a lake about southwest of Babylon on the east bank of th ...
and
Uruk Uruk, the archeological site known today as Warka, was an ancient city in the Near East, located east of the current bed of the Euphrates River, on an ancient, now-dried channel of the river in Muthanna Governorate, Iraq. The site lies 93 kilo ...
. Other Mesopotamian cities do appear to have accepted his authority in some capacity since he was successful in summoning the statues of the gods of the cities Uruk and
Larsa Larsa (, read ''Larsamki''), also referred to as Larancha/Laranchon (Gk. Λαραγχων) by Berossus, Berossos and connected with the biblical Arioch, Ellasar, was an important city-state of ancient Sumer, the center of the Cult (religious pra ...
to Babylon for their protection in an effort to appeal to Babylon's religious authorities. It is plausible that he ruled over most of middle and southern Babylonia. The Babylonian revolt was defeated by Darius's bow carrier, Intaphrenes, on 27 November 521 BC. The lesser extent of Nebuchadnezzar IV's rule compared to that of the preceding Nebuchadnezzar III probably accounts for why Darius thought it sufficient to send one of his generals instead of leading a campaign against the rebel himself. Shortly after being captured by Intaphrenes, Nebuchadnezzar IV was killed on Darius's orders. Conflicting accounts describe Nebuchadnezzar IV as either being crucified or impaled. The Babylonian nobles who had supported the revolt, numbering 2,497 according to Persian sources, were killed alongside him.


Legacy

The ancient Greek historian
Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...
describes a long siege of Babylon by Darius being resolved through a ruse, involving self-mutilation by the general Zopyrus, and the city's gates and walls being destroyed as retribution. Chronological and historical details of Herodotus's account makes it impossible to reconcile with either of the two Babylonian revolts against Darius (notably, both sieges of the city were short and Darius was only present on one of them), though a reference to Darius impaling 3,000 prominent Babylonian citizens might be a reference to the fate of Nebuchadnezzar IV and his supporters.


Notes


References


Cited bibliography

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Cited web sources

* * * * {{Authority control Ancient Armenian people Impostor pretenders 520s BC deaths Year of birth unknown Rebellions against the Achaemenid Empire People executed by the Achaemenid Empire 6th-century BC rebels