Information about Nebuchadnezzar's military activities mainly comes from Babylonian chronicles and the Bible. This is because Babylonian royal inscriptions, unlike their Assyrian counterparts, do not provide detailed information on military campaigns. The Chronicle Concerning the Early Years of Nebuchadnezzar II (see the Chronicles section below for a translation) documents some of the events took place during of Nebuchadnezzar's first eleven years (604–594) as king. Presumably, additional, now-missing tablets would have recorded details about his twelfth to forty-third regnal years and, thus, would fill large gaps in our knowledge. During his first decade as king, Babylonian armies frequently marched to the west, especially to the land of Ḫatti (northern Syria and the Levant);[[55]] this started already his accession year (see above).[[56]]
In his first full year as king (604), Nebuchadnezzar is reported to have marched west of the Euphrates without facing any resistance from Egypt and to have received tribute from the rulers of Ḫatti. In Kislīmu (IX), he marched to the Phoenician city of Ashkelon, captured it and its ruler, and plundered and destroyed that important trading center on the Mediterranean coast.[[57]] During Nebuchadnezzar's second (603) and third (602) regnal years, Babylonian armies also campaigned in Ḫatti, but it is unclear what actually took place during those two years since the primary source of information about that period of time is badly damaged.[[58]] Late in 601, in Kislīmu (IX), after spending some time in Ḫatti, Nebuchadnezzar led his troops towards Egypt.[[59]] The Egyptian pharaoh caught wind of this, mustered his armies, and met the Babylonian forces head on. There was no clear winner of that pitched battle since both sides suffered heavy losses;[[60]] this is evident from the fact that Nebuchadnezzar did not go on campaign in the following year (600), but spent it at home conscripting men, chariots, and horses.[[61]]
In 599, during his sixth year, Nebuchadnezzar decided not to confront Egypt again, but turned his attention to the tribes living in the Arabian desert. Babylonian troops, without the king at the head of the army, set out from Ḫatti, marched south, and plundered the people living in northern Arabia.[[62]]
The events of Nebuchadnezzar's seventh regnal year (598) are among the best-known and most-discussed, principally because these military successes are also described in the Bible. The sources for this year record that the Judean capital Jerusalem was besieged and captured and that that city's ruling elite (including its king Jehoiakin) and skilled craftsmen were deported to Babylonia (the so-called "Babylonian Exile").[[63]] The events that took place early in the year 597 are described as follows in the Chronicle Concerning the Early Years of Nebuchadnezzar II:
Before discussing the campaigns of 597 and 596, let us first provide some additional background on the events of 598/597. In 609, Judah, which had been a decades-long Assyrian client, became a vassal of the Egyptian pharaoh Necho II, an ally of the last Assyrian ruler Aššur-uballiṭ II (r. 611–609); at that time, Jehoiakim was installed as the new king in Jerusalem.[[65]] Starting in 608, Babylonia and Egypt vied for control over Ḫatti, now that it was no longer under Assyrian domination. Nebuchadnezzar, just like his father, had a vested interest in making that large region west of the Euphrates loyal to and reliant on Babylon. Some Levantine rulers, including Jehoiakim of Judah (despite the fact that he had been installed as king by Necho), affirmed allegiance to Nebuchadnezzar soon after he had ascended the throne (604).[[66]] This defection to Babylon might have been (in part) due to the fact that Babylonian forces inflicted major defeats on Necho's troops the year before (605) at Carchemish and Hamath. However, after the aforementioned bloody pitched battle in 601, Judah decided to break with Babylon and support Egypt instead. Three years later, in 598/597, when Nebuchadnezzar's armies again directed their attention on the Levantine coast, Judah and its capital Jerusalem were their main targets. The king of Babylon wanted to make an example out of Jehoiakim for his disloyalty, but he did not get the chance since the king of Judah died during the siege and was succeeded by his son Jehoiakin. On 2-XII (= March 16th 597), Jerusalem was captured, but not destroyed, and Jehoiakin, his family, and other nobles were deported.[[67]] Before departing Judah with the rich spoils of war, Jehoiakin's uncle Mattaniah, who from that time onward went by the name Zedekiah, was installed as king; his principal duty was to ensure that Judah's heavy (annual) payment was paid in full and on time. Zedekiah and Judah were loyal to Babylon for about ten years, but, in 588, that changed and Nebuchadnezzar was forced to put an end to Judean disobedience once and for all; see below for further details.
In Nebuchadnezzar's eighth year (597), Babylonian troops again marched to Carchemish, but due to the fragmentary state of preservation of the Babylonian chronicle recording the events of that year, it is unclear what took place during the one month that the king and his armies were in Ḫatti. In the following year (596), Babylonian forces marched east, to the Tigris River, and then south to meet the king of Elam and his army.[[68]] Before engaging in battle, the Elamite forces retreated; the king of Elam clearly had second thoughts about invading Babylonia. Despite the fact that Elam did not pose a significant military threat, Nebuchadnezzar took the necessary precautions to ensure that his country was well protected and started constructing two large cross-country walls; the northern one stretched from Sippar to the Tigris River and the southern one from Babylon to Kār-Nergal via Kish.[[69]]
Nebuchadnezzar started his tenth year (595) at home[[70]] and, towards the end of that year, in Kislīmu (IX) and Ṭebētu (X), a rebellion broke out in Babylonia. After putting down that insurrection and executing the main perpetrators, Nebuchadnezzar quickly marched to Ḫatti to reaffirm the loyalty of the Levantine rulers. The Babylonian Chronicle records that his vassals brought their payment at that time. Given the laconic nature of that document and the fact that a complete record for the events of 594 is not preserved in the textual record, because that information is recorded on a now-missing tablet,[[71]] it is not known if any ruler of Ḫatti had withheld his tribute at the very end of 595. The king's expedition to Ḫatti in the following year (594) might have been because one or more clients in the Levant had defected in his tenth year, changing their allegiance to Egypt; note that this cannot be confirmed at the present time from cuneiform sources.
In Ḫatti, the Babylonians did not encounter any major difficulties in rebuilding and reusing the imperial administrative structures created by the Assyrians, nor in collecting tribute.[[72]] In present-day Lebanon, Nebuchadnezzar demonstrated his influence over the region by creating at least four large rock reliefs, together with long Akkadian inscriptions, at several strategically important locations.[[73]]
From 594 until 562, very little is known about Nebuchadnezzar's military activities. Without the Babylonian Chronicle to provide a chronological framework, scholars have had to rely on other sources to reconstruct some of the events that took place during that time, namely the Bible and a few classical sources, which provide limited information on Judah and Tyre. It is clear from those later, non-cuneiform sources that Nebuchadnezzar's grip on the west began to slip after 595. This seems to have been the case for Judah since its ruler Zedekiah formed an anti-Babylonian alliance that comprised the kingdoms of Ammon, Edom, and Moab, as well as the Phoenician city-states of Tyre and Sidon.[[74]] This defection might have been influenced by a new pharaoh coming to power in Egypt, Psammetichus II (r. 595–589), a man who appears to have had a greater interest in the Levant than his immediate predecessor.[[75]] Psammetichus, despite his efforts, was not able to reclaim territory held by Nebuchadnezzar and Judah seems to have remained a (reluctant) client of Babylon, at least for a few more years.
In 588, Zedekiah rebelled.[[76]] Although it is uncertain why he broke his ties with Nebuchadnezzar, it might have had something to do with Apries (r. 589–570) becoming pharaoh; that Egyptian ruler likely encouraged Zedekiah to cast off the heavy yoke of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar mustered his forces, as he had done in 597, marched to Jerusalem, and laid siege to it. Unlike a decade earlier, when Jerusalem fell quickly, this siege of Judah's capital was long: it started in early 588 and lasted one and a half years, until the middle of 587; during that time, Egyptian and Babylonian forces clashed on at least one occasion. As the city fell, Zedekiah, together with his entourage, fled the capital. His efforts to avoid capture and punishment, however, were short lived since he was apprehended at Jericho and brought before Nebuchadnezzar in the city Riblah, where he was forced to watch the execution of his sons, before being blinded, deported, and imprisoned in Babylon for the rest of his life. A month after Jerusalem's capture, Nebuchadnezzar gave the fateful order to plunder and destroy it, including its temple, palace, and walls.[[77]] Judean nobles were once again deported to Babylonia.[[78]]
The Phoenician port of Tyre also threw off the yoke of Babylonian domination around this time. This city, which was significantly better protected than Jerusalem, took thirteen years to capture. Although exactly when this long siege took place is still a matter of scholarly debate, current textual evidence strongly points to it starting in Nebuchadnezzar's 17th year (588/587) and ending in his 30th year (575/574).[[79]] The years after the siege saw an increased Babylonian presence at Tyre, as demonstrated by the frequent mention of Tyre (Akkadian Ṣurru) in archival texts dating to 574–562;[[80]] Tyre's royal family lived in Babylon at that time.
From available sources documenting Nebuchadnezzar's military achievements during his long reign, it might be concluded that he firmly secured the empire that he had inherited from his father, succeeded in keeping Egypt out of the Levant, and strengthen his dominion over different Levantine polities. He did not, however, conquer large territories.[[81]]
55 See, for example, Da Riva, Brisa p. 16.
56 Chronicle Concerning the Early Years of Nebuchadnezzar II lines 12–13.
57 The capture of Ashkelon (together with the cities Gaza and Ekron) is also recorded in the predictions of Jeremiah (Jer 25:20) in the Old Testament; see Beaulieu, HeBAI 9 (2020) p. 8. D.M. Master (HeBAI 7 [2018] pp. 79–92), when discussing the archaeology of Ashkelon, has shown that the massive destruction of the site caused by the Babylonian army gives valuable insight into the city at the time it was destroyed since that abrupt ending to Ashkelon has preserved many late-seventh-century material remains. As A. Fantalkin (Studies Ussishkin pp. 87–111) has demonstrated, the conquest and destruction of Ashkelon so early in Nebuchadnezzar's reign can be explained with his desire to eliminate the Egyptian garrison stationed in the city, with the goal of diminishing Egyptian influence in the region.
58 Chronicle Concerning the Early Years of Nebuchadnezzar II lines 21–4´.
59 Chronicle Concerning the Early Years of Nebuchadnezzar II lines 5´–7´.
60 For the military achievements of Nebuchadnezzar in Egypt, see Fantalkin, AoF 44 (2017) pp. 201–208 (with references to earlier literature).
61 Chronicle Concerning the Early Years of Nebuchadnezzar II line 8´.
62 Chronicle Concerning the Early Years of Nebuchadnezzar II lines 9´–10´.
63 The fall of Jerusalem is a popular topic discussed in scholarly literature; see, for example, Lipschits, Jerusalem; and Vanderhooft, HSM 59. Given the complexity of the topic and following the editorial aims of the RINBE series, only a brief overview of events is presented in the introduction of the present volume.
64 Chronicle Concerning the Early Years of Nebuchadnezzar II lines 11´–13´.
65 2 Kgs 23:33–35.
66 The ruler of Ashkelon did not become a Babylonian client and Ashkelon was captured and destroyed as a result; see above for details. On the other hand, the kings of Tyre, Gaza, Sidon, Arwad, Ashdod, and Mir-[...] (name not fully preserved), who are mentioned in the so-called "Hofkalender" (Nbk. 11 [Prism] viii 23´–28´), did submit to Nebuchadnezzar, certainly by the year 598/597, if not already in 604.
67 2 Kgs 24:10–17; and 2 Chr 36:9–11. The exiled Judean king and five of his sons are mentioned in a ration text from the South Palace as recipients of a monthly share of sesame oil; see Cogan, Bound for Exile pp. 140–144; and Beaulieu, HeBAI 9 (2020) p. 10.
68 Chronicle Concerning the Early Years of Nebuchadnezzar II lines 16´–20´.
69 The walls from Babylon to Kish and then on to Kār-Nergal are mentioned in Nbk. 15 (C26) i 14–23. Short references to these walls can also be found in Nbk. 17 (C11) lines 5–10a. For further details, see Da Riva, Brisa pp. 19–20. Nebuchadnezzar might have started constructing these protective walls as a result of the encounter with the Elamite army in his ninth regnal year (596). As R. Da Riva (Brisa p. 20) has already stated, the proposed dating for the beginning of the work on these walls is just an assumption, but it is fairly certain that the extensive work on them was not completed before the final years of Nebuchadnezzar's long reign.
70 Chronicle Concerning the Early Years of Nebuchadnezzar II lines 21´–24´.
71 The tablets recording the events following Nebuchadnezzar's eleventh year are still missing. The Chronicle Concerning the Early Years of Nebuchadnezzar II (lines 25´–26´) does preserve the first part of the report of the eleventh year. That passage states that the king of Babylon mustered his troops and marched to Ḫatti. The next tablet in the series would have included the full account of the events of that year.
72 Beaulieu, HeBAI 9 (2020) p. 7.
73 The four sites are Wadi Brisa, Wadi es-Saban, Shir es-Sanam, and Nahr el-Kalb. Their inscriptions will be published in RINBE 1/2; the sites, reliefs, and inscriptions will be discussed in more detail in that volume. For inscriptions at Wadi Brisa, see Da Riva, Brisa (with an edition and discussion of the text). The iconography of these rock reliefs showing the king as a lion-hunter, as a devout worshiper in front of divine symbols, and standing piously in front of a tree is discussed in Da Riva, Studies on War pp. 165–191. The ritual aspects connected with the production and placement of these rock reliefs are discussed in Da Riva, HeBAI 7 (2020) pp. 17–41.
74 Jer 27:3.
75 For Psammetichus II's Levantine policy, see Kahn, JEH 1 (2008) pp. 139–157. As D. Kahn (HeBAI 7 [2020] p. 71) has already stated, it is unclear if Psammetichus actually hoped to regain territory lost to Babylonia or if he mainly intended to destabilize Babylonian rule and instigate rebellion in the area. In any event, he conducted campaigns in the Levant.
76 2 Kgs 24:20–25:1; 2 Chr. 36:11-13; and Jer. 52:3–5.
77 The destruction of a temple was not a standard Babylonian policy. After this rebellion, Nebuchadnezzar destroyed this holy building in order to destabilize Judah on both a political and religious level; see Beaulieu, HeBAI 9 (2020) p. 12.
78 2 Kgs 25:1–21; Jer 34:1–7, 37:7–8, 39:1–10, and 52:4-30. The situation and conditions of living of the deportees in Babylonia have been the subject of recent studies; see especially Pearce, Religion Compass 10/9 (2016) and Alstola (CHANE 109), which demonstrate that the deportees were able to acquire wealth and rise within the ranks of Babylonian society. In a recent paper, R. Zadok (HeBAI 11 [2022] pp. 113–147) has discusseed deportation and counter-deportation in Judah and Samaria, not only in the time of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, but also in the Neo-Assyrian and the late Achaemenid Periods.
79 For a discussion of the chronology of the siege of Tyre, see van der Brugge and Kleber, Dynamics of Production pp. 203–208.
80 In earlier scholarly research, the geographic name Ṣurru was interpreted as a settlement of deportees from Tyre in Babylonia; see, for example, Joannès RA 81 (1987) pp. 147–158. More recent scholarly literature, however, favors the interpretation that Ṣurru refers to the city of Tyre itself; see, for example, Zawadzki, AoF 42 (2015) pp. 276–287; and van der Brugge and Kleber, Dynamics of Production pp. 187–222.
81 Ephʿal, IEJ 53 (2003) pp. 178–191. As Y. Levavi (JANEH 7 [2020] pp. 59–84) has argued, the first part of Nebuchadnezzar's reign was mainly an exploitative system that aimed to collect booty and tribute, without caring too much about the political and economic long-term effects in the Levant, a system that changed around 585 to a more sustainable rule, aiming at a possibility to extract that region's wealth for a much longer period of time.
Jamie Novotny & Frauke Weiershäuser
Jamie Novotny & Frauke Weiershäuser, ' Military Campaigns', RIBo, Babylon 7: The Inscriptions of the Neo-Babylonian Dynasty, The RIBo Project, a sub-project of MOCCI, 2024 [/ribo/babylon7/RINBE11Introduction/NebuchadnezzarII/MilitaryCampaigns/]