Chaldean dynasty

The Chaldean dynasty, also known as the Neo-Babylonian dynasty, Nebuchadnezzar's dynasty, the Bit-Yakin dynasty[1][n 1] or the Third Sealand dynasty,[1] was the ruling dynasty of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, ruling as kings of Babylon from the ascent of Nabopolassar in 626 BC to the Fall of Babylon in 539 BC, though the kings from 560 BC to 539 BC were connected to the ruling dynasty through marriage rather than through blood.

Chaldean dynasty
Royal family
CountryBabylonia
Founded626 BC
FounderNabopolassar
Final rulerNabonidus (through marriage)
Amel-Marduk (bloodline)
TitlesKing of Babylon
King of Sumer and Akkad
King of the Universe
TraditionsAncient Mesopotamian religion
Deposition539 BC

Background and relations

The term "Chaldean dynasty", and the corresponding "Chaldean Empire", an alternate historiographical name for the Neo-Babylonian Empire, derives from the assumption that the dynasty's founder, Nabopolassar, was of Chaldean origin.[3] Though contemporary sources suggest an origin in southern Mesopotamia, 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 describing him as "of the lower sea" (also southernmost Babylonia), there is no source that ascribes him a specific ethnic origin.[4] Since the Chaldeans lived in southernmost Mesopotamia, many historians have identified Nabopolassar as Chaldean,[3][5][6] but others have referred to him as Assyrian[7] or Babylonian.[8]

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.[9] There is several pieces of evidence that links Nabopolassar and his dynasty to the city of Uruk (which was located south of Babylon), prominently that several of Nabopolassar's descendants lived in the city[10] 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. 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.[11]

Nabopolassar's descendants ruled Babylonia until his grandson, Amel-Marduk, was deposed by the general and official Neriglissar 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 origin, probably of the Puqudu clan.[12][3] 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 Kashshaya.[13][14][15] 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.[16] Labashi-Marduk was replaced by Nabonidus, an aged official of Assyrian and possibly also Aramean origin.[17][18] 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 the son of Nabonidus, Belshazzar, was a descendant of Nebuchadnezzar II.[19]

Family tree of the Chaldean dynasty

Follows Wiseman (1983).[20] The reconstruction of Nabopolassar's ancestry follows Jursa (2007),[21] Neriglissar's ancestry follows Wiseman (1991)[14] and the children of Nebuchadnezzar II follow Beaulieu (1998).[22]

  Blood relatives of Nabopolassar
  Puqudu clan (Arameans)

Nabu-nasir
NebuchadnezzarNabu-usabsiBel-uballit
Nabu-epir-la'aNabopolassar
r. 626 – 605 BC		Nabu-shumu-ukin
Bel-shum-ishkunAmytisNebuchadnezzar II
r. 605 – 562 BC		Nabu-shum-lishirNabu-zer-ushabshiAddagoppeNabu-balatsu-iqbi
Neriglissar
r. 560 – 556 BC		KashshayaInnin-etiratBa'u-asituAmel-Marduk
r. 562 – 560 BC		Marduk-shum-usurMarduk-nadin-ahiMushezib-MardukNitocris (?)Nabonidus
r. 556 – 539 BC
Labashi-Marduk
r. 556 BC		GigitumNabu-shuma-ukinBelshazzarBel-shalti-nannaOthers (?)
[n 2]

Notes
  1. The Bit-Yakin were a powerful Chaldean tribe in southern Babylonia. Though there is no evidence that connects them to the Chaldean dynasty, the tribe had supplied Babylonian kings previously, such as Marduk-apla-iddina II (r. 722–710 BC and 703 BC).[2]
  2. The two later Babylonian rebels Nebuchadnezzar III and Nebuchadnezzar IV both claimed to be sons of Nabonidus, but this was not true for either rebel. Nebuchadnezzar III was actually the son of a man called Mukīn-zēri and Nebuchadnezzar IV was of Urartian (Armenian) origin.[23]

References
  1. Wiseman 1991, p. 229.
  2. Radner 2012.
  3. Beaulieu 2016, p. 4.
  4. Jursa 2007, pp. 131–132.
  5. Johnston 1901, p. 20.
  6. Bedford 2016, p. 56.
  7. The British Museum 1908, p. 10.
  8. Melville 2011, p. 16.
  9. Jursa 2007, pp. 130–131.
  10. Beaulieu 1998, p. 198.
  11. Jursa 2007, pp. 127–135.
  12. Beaulieu 1998, p. 199.
  13. Beaulieu 1998, p. 200.
  14. Wiseman 1991, p. 241.
  15. Lendering 2006.
  16. Gruenthaner 1949, p. 409.
  17. Dalley 2003, p. 177.
  18. Gruenthaner 1949, p. 410.
  19. Wiseman 1991, p. 244.
  20. Wiseman 1983, p. 12.
  21. Jursa 2007, p. 133.
  22. Beaulieu 1998, pp. 174–175, 199–200.
  23. Nielsen 2015, pp. 55–57.

Bibliography
  • Beaulieu, Paul-Alain (1998). "Ba'u-asītu and Kaššaya, Daughters of Nebuchadnezzar II". Orientalia. 67 (2): 173–201. JSTOR 43076387.
  • Beaulieu, Paul-Alain (2016). "Neo‐Babylonian (Chaldean) Empire". The Encyclopedia of Empire. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. ISBN 978-1118455074.
  • Bedford, Peter R. (2016). "Assyria's Demise as Recompense: A Note on Narratives of Resistance in Babylonia and Judah". In Collins, John J.; Manning, J. G. (eds.). Revolt and Resistance in the Ancient Classical World and the Near East: In the Crucible of Empire. Brill Publishers. ISBN 978-9004330184.
  • Dalley, Stephanie (2003). "The Hanging Gardens of Babylon?". Herodotus and His World: Essays from a Conference in Memory of George Forrest. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199253746.
  • Gruenthaner, Michael J. (1949). "The Last King of Babylon". The Catholic Biblical Quarterly. 11 (4): 406–427. JSTOR 43720153.
  • Jursa, Michael (2007). "Die Söhne Kudurrus und die Herkunft der neubabylonischen Dynastie" [The Sons of Kudurru and the Origins of the New Babylonian Dynasty]. Revue d'assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale (in German). 101 (1): 125–136. doi:10.3917/assy.101.0125.
  • Johnston, Christopher (1901). "The Fall of Nineveh". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 22: 20–22. doi:10.2307/592409. JSTOR 592409.
  • Melville, Sarah C. (2011). "The Last Campaign: the Assyrian Way of War and the Collapse of the Empire". In Lee, Wayne E. (ed.). Warfare and Culture in World History. New York: New York University Press. ISBN 978-0814752784.
  • Nielsen, John P. (2015). ""I Overwhelmed the King of Elam": Remembering Nebuchadnezzar I in Persian Babylonia". In Silverman, Jason M.; Waerzeggers, Caroline (eds.). Political Memory in and After the Persian Empire. SBL Press. ISBN 978-0884140894.
  • The British Museum (1908). A Guide to the Babylonian and Assyrian Antiquities (PDF). London: Britsh Museum. OCLC 70331064.
  • Wiseman, Donald J. (1983). Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon. British Academy. ISBN 978-0197261002.
  • Wiseman, Donald J. (2003) [1991]. "Babylonia 605–539 B.C.". In Boardman, John; Edwards, I. E. S.; Hammond, N. G. L.; Sollberger, E.; Walker, C. B. F. (eds.). The Cambridge Ancient History: III Part 2: The Assyrian and Babylonian Empires and Other States of the Near East, from the Eighth to the Sixth Centuries B.C. (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-22717-8.

Web sources
— Royal house —
Chaldean dynasty
Founding year: 626 BC
Preceded by
Sargonid dynasty		 Ruling House of Babylonia
626–539 BC		 Succeeded by
Achaemenid dynasty
(Achaemenid Empire)
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