U9 



Necho King of Egypt. Nebuchadnezzar routed the Egyptian 

 army at Carchemish ''and took all that pertained to the King 

 of Egypt from the riv^er of Egypt unto the river Euphrates " 

 (2 Kings xxiv. 7). At this time Jehoiakim, king of Judah, 

 submitted to Nebuchadnezzar and served him as a tributary 

 for three years. About B.C. 598 Nebuchadnezzar marched 

 against Palestine, deposed Jehoiachin, son of Jehoiakim and 

 set up Zedekiah in his stead. Zedekiah, according to the 

 custom of the Israelitish kings (even though the King of 



Babylon had made him swear by D'^nT'i^), rebelled, ''stiffened 

 his neck, and hardened his heart." Meanwhile Nebuchad- 

 nezzar was away quelling a revolt in Media, but, about B.C. 

 589, he came to Riblah, in Hamath, and sent his general 

 Nebuzaradan* to besiege Jerusalem. The siege lasted about 

 a year and a half, and Jerusalem was taken, B.C. 587. t 

 The sackage and pillage of the temple is familiar to all from 

 the Bible history. Zedekiah fled by night " by the way of 

 the gate between two walls which is in the king's garden,'' 

 but he was overtaken in the plains of Jericho and brought 

 before the King of Babylon at Riblah, whei'e his sons were 

 slain before him, and his eyes made blind ("^1^). 



From B.C. 58G to B.C. 573, Nebuchadnezzar besieged 

 Tyre % with very doubtful success. He had left Gedaliah in 

 charge of Judah, but the new ruler was slain by Ishmael, the 

 son of Nethaniah. Again came the King of Babylon to take 

 vengeance, and carried off the Jews to Babylon. He now 

 turned his attention to the capture of Egypt, whose king, 

 Pharaoh Hophra, had incited Palestine to rebellion. Nebu- 

 chadnezzar defeated and deposed him, routed his army, 

 over-ran Egypt, and installed a king, a tributary to Babylon. 

 This was in the year B.C. 572. After this war the King of 

 Babylon appears to have devoted his attention to the bean- 

 tification of his city. He had thousands of captives to work 

 for him, and indeed his buildings attest the enormous quantity 

 of human labour that must have been at his disposal. Sacred 

 and profane writers alike give testimony to the glory of his 



* The Biblical n^.TJ^? = T ^*f ^I-T- ^<^ fcly ^^T I>-1'- Nabu- 

 zir-idinna, i.e., " Nebo gave a seed." 



t See Jeremiah xxxix. 1, 2 ; 2 Kings xxv. 



X According to Mr. Grote, History of Greece, vol. iL p. 500), the Tyrians 

 submitted, and he quotes the following : — " Les Tyriens furcnt euiport^s 

 d'assaut par le roi de Baby lone." — Volney, Eec'herchcs snr VHistoire 

 Anciennc, vol. ii. ch. 14, p. 250. 'Etti ElOiojiaXov rov /3nfiiXfwc iTroXwpKijat 

 'SalSovxoSordaopoQ Ti'ivTvpov tir' trn SfKarpia. — Menander ap. Joseph,, Antiq. J., 

 ix. 14, 2. 



