Chapter 1: Nebuchadnezzar's Wars

Rise of Nebuchadnezzar

The Egyptian Holocaust

In 564 B.C. a foreign army invaded Egypt, laying waste the country. Tens of thousands died. Thousands more, primarily the skilled and educated elite, priests and artisans alike, were taken captive and deported. A minority escaped into the surrounding desert, among them the ruling pharaoh. Only a small remnant survived.

The physical structures of the country were also decimated. Temples and tombs were destroyed and looted. Cities were burned. From Migdol in the eastern Delta to Syene near Elephantine south of Thebes, 500 miles upriver on the Nile, the country was ravaged.

It was, quite literally, a holocaust.

Twenty years passed as the land languished, raped of its treasure by garrisons left behind by the foreigners. No pharaoh ruled to restore order. Another twenty years saw limited rebuilding and the gradual renewal of religious and political life. Temples were repaired. Training began for a new generation of priests and artisans.

The few traumatized survivors of the exile, now old, had only a vague recollection of the days when the priests were taken away and the population vanished. They told tales about the nšn, “the devastation”.

The name of the invader, familiar to even the most casual student of ancient history, was Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, at the time the dominant power in the ancient Near East.

Only one problem surfaces in connection with this unprecedented act of genocide and material destruction. With few exceptions, historians categorically deny it ever happened.[1]

But they are mistaken. This book, and those which follow, are dedicated to proving the historicity of the event. It will not be an easy task. The denial by historians is based on the accepted chronology of 6th century Egypt, what we consistently call the “traditional history”. Proving our case will necessitate altering that chronology. It will be no minor revision. When all is said and done, in three lengthy books filled with closely reasoned argument, a “revised history” will emerge which bears little resemblance to the story of Egypt told in the textbooks. Entire dynasties will be dislodged and displaced, often by as much as six hundred years.

The argument will be difficult to follow, though charts and diagrams are provided to illuminate the way. The reader will be challenged to master two histories, both the errant traditional history and the revised alternative. It will be toilsome work, especially for those not well versed in ancient history. This is not light reading.

Our story begins fifty years before the Egyptian invasion of which we speak, in the final days of Nabopolassar, the father of the famed Babylonian king. The nation he ruled, then known as Akkad, at the time a tributary of the Assyrian Empire, is fighting to free itself from its suzerain. Soon it will emerge as the short-lived, but powerful kingdom known to the modern world as the neo-Babylonian Empire.

Fall of Assyria; Rise of Babylon

The recently published Chronicles[2] of the kings of Akkad waste few words describing the fall of Assyria in 612 B.C. In short terse sentences the text of tablet BM 21901 describes how, in the 14th year of Nabopolassar, the army of Akkad (Babylon) crossed the Tigris River and joined forces with Cyaxares of Media. Together the two armies advanced on Nineveh. For two months, from Sivan (May/June) to Ab (July/August) the battle raged, then ended abruptly. The narrative is garbled, the result of considerable damage to the 2600-year-old cuneiform tablets, but there is no mistaking the outcome. The city was ransacked; its army routed. Its king Sinsharishkun was deposed and likely killed. The treasures of the city were divided, and Cyaxares returned to his homeland. Nabopolassar used the ruined city as a base of operations as he continued his military assault on Assyrian lands.

If Sinsharishkun did not die in the assault, then he certainly died within the year. According to the Chronicle, at the end of the fourteenth year (612/611 B.C.) a new king, Ashuruballit, ruled in Harran, a provincial capital near the Euphrates on the extreme western fringe of the kingdom. Nineveh was lost, its king had been killed, but Assyria survived. At least for the moment.

The fall of Nineveh was not immediately followed by an assault on Harran. Nabopolassar tarried. For two years he continued to conquer and plunder largely undefended Assyrian territory. The delay results, in part at least, from Nabopolassar’s reluctance to attack Harran alone, without the help of the Medes.[3] The alliance between the two aggressors was renewed only in the latter part of the sixteenth year. In the month Marcheswan (October/November) the united armies moved to unseat Ashuruballit.

Figure 1: End of the Assyrian Empire (612 & 609 B.C.)

Why were Nabopolassar and Cyaxares unwilling to pursue their advantage after the fall of Nineveh, and immediately attack the remnant Assyrian army in Harran? Why the two-year delay before they resumed their aggression against the Assyrian king? The Chronicler hints at one possible answer. He notes, almost in passing, that an Egyptian army was present in Harran.

Either during or immediately following the fall of Nineveh, Egypt must have sent troops to assist Ashuruballit. Nabopolassar and Cyaxares, perhaps intimidated by the allied armies of the defenders, broke off their attack. By the 16th year of Nabopolassar conditions had apparently changed. The Egyptian/Assyrian alliance remained but was reduced in strength. We don’t know why. Media and Akkad responded. Ashuruballit’s army and the remaining Egyptian troops were taken by surprise. For a time they defended, then fled the city, finding sanctuary west of the Euphrates. The Medes and Babylonians overran and plundered the city, then returned to their respective homelands, leaving Harran defended by a garrison of troops.

Ashuruballit made only one futile attempt to retake his city. In the seventeenth year of Nabopolassar (609/608 B.C.) his remaining forces, fortified by the arrival of "a great Egyptian army”[4] laid siege to Harran. The garrison of Median and Babylonian troops held out long enough for Nabopolassar to march to its relief. Though critical parts of the Chronicle are "broken and uncertain" sufficient text remains to confirm that the Babylonians repelled the counter-attack.

Figure 2: Timeline - Siege of Nineveh & Harran[5]

There is no further mention of the Egyptian army. Ashuruballit is never heard from again. When the Chronicle continues the historical record on another tablet (BM 22047) with the eighteenth year of Nabopolassar, the king of Akkad has turned his attention to Urartu.

Babylon and Egypt

Who was the pharaoh who led the “great Egyptian army” to assist Ashuruballit in 609 B.C.? Surprisingly, scholars have determined it was not the same pharaoh who aided the Assyrian king in 612 B.C., whose presence had deterred the aggression of the combined armies of Media and Babylon? Historians have identified both pharaohs, but the identification is not based on the narrative of the Chronicle. The Chronicle in both instances refers to an Egyptian army; it fails to name the Egyptian king.

The identification of the two Egyptian pharaohs is based instead on the accepted chronology of 7th century Egypt, wherein the country was ruled by a sequence of 26th dynasty kings with capital in Sais, a town on a Nile tributary in the western Delta.[6] The regnal years of these Saite dynasty kings have been precisely determined. According to this chronology Egypt was ruled in 612 B.C. by Wahibre Psamtik I, the first king of this dynasty, at the time into the 52nd year of his 54-year long kingship. Psamtik must have been the pharaoh whose fame intimidated the armies of Cyaxares and Nabopolassar.[7] But according to this same traditional history Psamtik died in 610 B.C. A son named Wahemibre Necao succeeded him. It must have been the neophyte king Necao who came to the aid of Ashuruballit in 609 B.C.

This identification receives support from an incident described in the Hebrew Bible. The garrison of Egyptian and Assyrian troops in Harran abandoned the city in the final months of the sixteenth year of Nabopolassar, possibly January/February 609 B.C. The counterattack by Ashuruballit and the "great Egyptian army" which had arrived in the interim took place in the two-month period between Tammuz (June/July) and Elul (August/September) of that same year (now the seventeenth of Nabopolassar). In the spring of that year, according to Jewish historians, Josiah king of Judah had an unfortunate and fatal encounter with an Egyptian army moving northward from Egypt along the Mediterranean coast.

While Josiah was king, Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt went up to the Euphrates River to help the king of Assyria. King Josiah marched out to meet him in battle, but Neco faced him and killed him at Megiddo. (2 Kings 23:29)[8]

It is clear that the biblical text is describing the movement of the “great Egyptian army” en route to assist Ashuruballit. Pharaoh Necho is impatient, consistent with the urgency of his mission.

But Neco sent messengers to him saying, "What quarrel is there between you and me, O king of Judah? It is not you I am attacking at this time, but the house with which I am at war. God has told me to hurry; so stop opposing God, who is with me ... (2 Chron. 35: 20,21)

The temporary delay at Megiddo was inconsequential. Necho soon arrived to support the Egyptian garrison at Carchemish, whence he joined forces with Ashuruballit and his surviving army. Together they attempted to retake Harran but within two months of engagement the counter siege was lifted. The attempt had failed. The details are unknown. Necho returned to Egypt.

With some certainty we can date the Megiddo encounter and Josiah's death to June, 609 B.C. Three months later Necho, en route to Egypt, passed through Judah. There he deposed Jehoahaz[9], the son of Josiah, who had assumed the kingship of Judah at his father's death. "He installed as king Eliakim, another son of Josiah, and carried Jehoahaz off to Egypt." (2 Chron. 36:4) Necho changed the name of Eliakim to Jehoiakim.

This corroborative evidence provided by the Hebrew Bible convinces scholars absolutely that the pharaoh whose army came to assist Ashuruballit in his struggle with Nabopolassar, who deposed and established kings in vassal states at will, was Wahemibre Necao, the second king of the Saite dynasty, who ruled Egypt for sixteen years from 610-595 B.C. The name is right. The time is right. The identity is considered a certainty.

It is unfortunate that Necao/Necho left no written record of his wars.[10]

Figure 3: Timeline – Psamtik & Necho Alliance with Assyria

Rise of Nubuchadnezzar

The eighteenth year of Nabopolassar not only begins a new tablet (BM 22047) but a new era. Babylon is now in control of all former Assyrian territory east of the Euphrates.[11] The aging king campaigned extensively and successfully that year in the mountains of Urartu and then, in his nineteenth year, divided the army and shared leadership with his son. Nebuchadrezzar[12] enters history.

Later in his nineteenth year Nabopolassar, flush from victory in the northern mountains, began to challenge Egyptian dominance west of the Euphrates. He moved to take possession of the city of Kimuhu on the western bank of the Euphrates, south of Carchemish. The city was presumably an Egyptian possession. From Tisri (September/October) to Kislev (November/December) he laid siege to the city, until it fell. Two months later, in the month Sebat (January/February), he returned home with prisoners, leaving behind a garrison to defend the city.

This aggression prompted a response from Necho. Early in the 20th year of Nabopolassar, only months after that king had departed for Babylon, Egyptian troops arrived to retake the city. The Egyptian army battled the Babylonian garrison at Kimuhu for four months, most likely from May through August. The Chronicle records the event, but provides no specific dates. The city fell and once more became an Egyptian possession.

Nabopolassar responded. In the month Tisri (September/October) he moved once again up the Euphrates toward its western bend. He may well have been destined for Kimuhu, but en route he stopped at Quramati, a Babylonian city on the eastern bank, and sent troops across to attack the towns of Shunadiri, Elammu and Dahammu, defeating those cities. Four months later, in the month Sebat (January/February) he returned to Babylon.

Figure 4: Nabopolassar & Necho Battle at the Euphrates

Again Necho acted quickly. Although the main Egyptian army had long since departed for Egypt, a garrison of troops remained at Carchemish. These troops quickly crossed the Euphrates and proceeded southward to attack Quramati. The Babylonian army withdrew. We assume the three cities on the western bank returned to Egyptian control at this time. It was still within the 20th year of Nabopolassar.

"In the twenty-first year the king of Akkad stayed in his own land. Nebuchadrezzar his eldest son, the crown prince, mustered the Babylonian army and…".[13] The damaged conclusion to the Chronicle tablet leaves us guessing why the king stayed home and where the prince went with the army. But since Nabopolassar died the next year, we can surmise that he was ill.

The Battle of Carchemish (605 B.C.)

BM 21946 continues the Chronicle with a terse description of one of the most famous battles of antiquity. In his 21st year Nebuchadrezzar replaced his ailing father at the helm of the army and returned to the western bend of the Euphrates, ostensibly to avenge his father’s recent defeats. He crossed the Euphrates at Carchemish and thoroughly routed the Egyptian garrison. The survivors fled toward Egypt, but were overtaken at Hamath. All were killed. Nebuchadrezzar proceeded to take possession of the whole of northern Syria east of the Orontes, a land mass that the Chronicler calls the “Hatti-lands”. What had once belonged to Egypt now belonged to Babylon. Movement further south was delayed by the untimely death of Nabopolassar in the month of Ab (July/August). Nebuchadrezzar briefly interrupted his campaign in Elul (August/September), the month following, and returned to Babylon for his coronation. Within the month he was back in the Hatti lands, gathering tribute. The year’s campaign ended in Sebat (January/February). It was the conclusion of his father’s 21st year, what the Babylonians called the “accession year” of the new king.

The defeat of the Egyptian army in 605 B.C. was cause for celebration in Judah. The death of Josiah and the deposition and deportation of Jehoahaz had left the Judaeans with bitter feelings toward Necho. The prophet Jeremiah expressed the sentiments of the nation in a lengthy diatribe:

This is the message against the army of Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: Prepare your shields, both large and small, and march out for battle! Harness the horses, mount the steeds! Take your positions with helmets on! Polish your spears, put on your armour! What do I see? They are terrified, they are retreating; their warriors are defeated. They flee in haste without looking back, and there is terror on every side, declared the Lord. The swift cannot flee nor the strong escape In the north by the River Euphrates they stumble and fall... (Jer. 46:2-5)

The loss of Carchemish significantly changed the balance of power in the region. Following the battle Nebuchadrezzar roamed freely throughout Syria. In his first official year (604-603 B.C.) "All the kings of the Hatti-land came before him and he received their heavy tribute. He marched to the city of Ashkelon and captured it in the month of Kislev."[14] Ashkelon was only a day’s march from the border of Egypt. Phoenicia and the kingdom of Judah changed allegiance.

Figure 5: Timeline - Battles at the Euphrates (608-605 B.C.)

Jewish historians note the transition from Egyptian to Babylonian control of Judah at the end of 604 B.C. "During Jehoiakim's reign, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded the land, and Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years." (2 Kings 24:1) During this time, "the king of Egypt did not march out from his own country again, because the king of Babylon had taken all his territory, from the Wadi of Egypt to the Euphrates River." (2 Kings 24:7).

Both Jewish historians and the Babylonian chroniclers agree that this first phase of Babylonian suzerainty over Judah ended three years after it began.

In 601 B.C. Nebuchadrezzar mistook Necho's inactivity for weakness. He moved to attack Egypt. He marched his army through the Hatti land to the border of Egypt. In the month Kislev (November/December) the two armies met in open battle. According to the Chronicle both suffered considerable losses. In the end “the king of Akkad and his troops turned back and returned to Babylon.”[15] It was the 4th year of Nebuchadrezzar.

While the Chronicle describes a standoff battle, it is clear that Nebuchadrezzar lost the war. Judah changed allegiance, falling once again under Necho’s control. Jehoiakim withheld tribute from Babylon.

It is again regrettable that Wahemibre Necao fails to mention his wars with the great Babylonian king. The lack of any memorial to the conflict in 601 B.C. is particularly disturbing. For the first time the battle was fought near the border of Egypt. And for the first time pharaoh Necho could claim a victory over Babylon.

Jewish historians do not describe this conflict. They record only the fact that after three years of paying tribute to the Babylonians, Jehoiakim "changed his mind and rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar." (2 Kings 24:1)

Nebuchadrezzar remained in Babylon the next year, his fifth, "and gathered together his chariots and horses in great numbers."[16] In years six and seven, his military strength renewed, he moved to recover what territory he had lost in his fourth year. First he re-established his base in Syria, and then he moved in year seven (598/97 B.C.) to retake Judah. Jerusalem quickly fell.

The First Jewish Captivity (598/97 B.C.)

Concerning the attack on Jerusalem the Babylonian Chronicle is brief and to the point: In his 7th year, in the month Kislev (November/December, 598 B.C.) Nebuchadrezzar moved through the Hatti land and laid siege to Jerusalem (“the city of Judah”). By the second day of Adar (February/March, 597 B.C.) the city fell, its king was captured and deposed, and a replacement installed. No names are given.

For details of this first siege of Jerusalem we rely on Jewish literature. The assault was not directed against Jehoiakim, who had died three months before it began, but against his eighteen-year-old son and successor Jehoiakin.

Figure 6: Timeline – Nebuchadrezzar’s Wars (604-597 B.C.)

At that time the officers of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon advanced on Jerusalem and laid siege to it, and Nebuchadnezzar himself came up to the city while his officers were besieging it. Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his attendants, his nobles and his officials all surrendered to him.

In the eighth year[17] of the reign of the king of Babylon, he took Jehoiachin prisoner. (2 Kings 24:10-12)

Nebuchadrezzar proceeded to remove from Jerusalem to Babylon everything transportable and of value. This included skilled labour for his numerous building projects and conscripts for his army. It was a massive deportation.

Nebuchadnezzar removed all the treasures from the temple of the Lord… He carried into exile all Jerusalem: all the officers and fighting men, and all the craftsmen and artisans - a total of ten thousand. Only the poorest people of the land were left.
Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin captive to Babylon. He also took from Jerusalem to Babylon the king's mother, his wives, his officials and the leading men of the land. The king of Babylon also deported to Babylon the entire force of seven thousand fighting men, strong and fit for war, and a thousand craftsmen and artisans. He made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin's uncle, king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah" (2 Kings 24:13-17)

The Jewish historian Josephus, a citizen of Rome writing in the first century A.D., informs us that Ezekiel, a prominent prophetic spokesman within the exiled Jewish community in Babylon, was one of the deportees in this captivity.

It is important to note the key elements of this invasion. Collectively they constitute a modus operandi repeated with few variations in Nebuchadrezzar's second assault on Jerusalem a decade later (586 B.C.), and during his invasion of Egypt three decades removed (564 B.C.) They include 1) extensive physical destruction; 2) the removal of all portable treasure; 3) the deportation of a majority of the educated elite, including artisans; 4) the removal of the king and replacement by an authority loyal to