We can say that the written prehistory was full of legends. Many of them are stories turned into legends by the dreamers of the time. Even if some of them are mentioned in holy books such as the Torah and the Bible, we cannot look at every story as true because it is believed that they have been tampered with. II. The king known as Nebuchadnezzar and said to have built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is one of these legends.
Of course, there are many stories about King Nebuchadnezzar that were transmitted by oral history and later transferred to written sources. Therefore, we cannot say that it is purely fictional, but it is clear that there are some exaggerations in the stories told. Even if you are not very good with history, we are sure that you remember this name from The Matrix movie. Let’s take a closer look at who is King Nebuchadnezzar.
A powerful commander: II. Who is Nebuchadnezzar?
The founder of the state, which was founded by the Chaldean Dynasty and known as the New Babylonian Empire, is Nebuchadnezzar’s father, Nabopolassar. Nebuchadnezzar, who was probably born in 634 BC, was one of the most powerful commanders of the state during his father’s health.
The armies under the command of Nebuchadnezzar were fighting against the Assyrian state. Nebuchadnezzar and his army, who turned the route to Egypt as a result of the Assyrians’ alliance with the Egyptians, Pharaoh II. They were victorious in the Battle of Carchemish against Necho. Nebuchadnezzar, who did not stop after this great victory, took the Syrian and Palestinian lands under the rule of the Babylonian state.
King II. He ascends the throne under the name of Nebuchadnezzar:
Nebuchadnezzar, while advancing with his army, received the news of his father’s death and returned to Babylon and King II. He ascended the throne as Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar, who ascended the throne in 601 BC, began to make expeditions to Egypt, which had quickly become one of his greatest enemies.
Meanwhile, rebellions had started in the Kingdom of Judah. Nebuchadnezzar, who turned his course in that direction, conquered the city of Jerusalem in 597 BC. Lost after the uprisings, Jerusalem was re-conquered in 586 BC. This time, Nebuchadnezzar had the Temple of Solomon destroyed, which was the starting point of the rebellions.
Nebuchadnezzar, who completely destroyed the Kingdom of Judah, annexed the city of Tyre in 574 BC. Nebuchadnezzar, who made another Egypt expedition in 567 BC, died in 562 BC, and his son Amel-Marduk ascended the throne instead. With the attacks of the Persians after Nebuchadnezzar, the empire quickly disintegrated.
According to the rumor, he had the Hanging Gardens of Babylon built for his wife:
Nebuchadnezzar, who wanted to take the power of neighboring states after his accession to the throne, was the king of the Medes. He married his daughter Amytis. Although strong ties between kingdoms were thus established, Amytis was not very pleased that she had come to the Mesopotamian steppe from her green country. Nebuchadnezzar started a project that would make all ladys jealous.
According to the Greek geographer Strabo, this structure, called the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, consisted of terraces and went up to the tops of the sky. Each terrace had cavities in which huge plants grew. A continuous flow of water was provided between the terraces with a special system, that is, artificial rivers were created.
This wonderful garden was so large that it had created its own mini ecosystem in the middle of the steppe. Seen as a true oasis, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon are today considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Of course, since it was an artificial garden, there is no trace of it, but there are many legends.
It made him lose his mind: Nebuchadnezzar’s dream
Nebuchadnezzar is considered the second greatest king who ever lived. It was not because he was so large that he spread his empire over such vast lands that had never been seen before. What made him great was his work to turn every piece of land he conquered into a true paradise. So Nebuchadnezzar was not only chasing after his ambition but also to be a good leader.
According to a rumor, Nebuchadnezzar had a bad dream near his death. In this dream there was a huge statue in the middle of the city and its face was that of Nebuchadnezzar. The head of the statue was made of gold, the body of silver, the waist of bronze, legs of iron and feet of clay. Most of the oracles were afraid to interpret this dream.
An oracle named Daniel, who is also mentioned in the Bible and the Torah, interpreted this dream and said that this state founded by Nebuchadnezzar would perish. It is rumored that Nebuchadnezzar, who heard this comment, first fell into depression, then completely lost his mind and started to graze in the garden of the palace.
Nebuchadnezzar in the movie The Matrix:
Those who watched the movie The Matrix will remember that the name of the ship used by Morpheus is Nebuchadnezzar. This name is both a reference to the holy books and a connection between Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and Neo’s experiences. Because Nebuchadnezzar was a god-king, he shows the importance of the ark much more clearly.
Considered one of the greatest kings of the world, II. Answering the question of who is Nebuchadnezzar, we talked about what you need to know about this legendary figure. You can share your thoughts about the place of historical characters like Nebuchadnezzar in popular culture in the comments.
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