The Neo-Babylonian Empire, also called the Chaldean Empire, was the last native Mesopotamian empire. It arose when the Babylonian governor Nabopolassar rebelled against Assyrian rule and, together with the Medes, helped to destroy the Assyrian capital Nineveh in 612 BCE. His son Nebuchadnezzar II made Babylon one of the greatest cities of the ancient world, with the Ishtar Gate, the processional way and its ziggurat, and he captured Jerusalem and deported many of its people to Babylonia. The classical writers also credited him with the Hanging Gardens, though their existence is uncertain. The empire fell when the Persian king Cyrus the Great took Babylon, in the reign of Nabonidus.
Before and after
- c. 660 BCEImperial House of Japan (traditional date)
- c. 657 BCEFounding of Byzantium (Istanbul)
- 642 BCEBirth of Nebuchadnezzar II
- 628 BCEBirth of Zoroaster
- from 626 BCE to 539 BCENeo-Babylonian Empire
- 625 BCEBirth of Thales
- 620 BCEBirth of Aesop
- 7th century BCEIntroduction of tetradrachm
- 7th century BCEConstruction of Hanging Gardens of Babylon
More in Civilizations & archaeology
- c. 1,274 BCEConstruction of Abu Simbel
- from 351 BCE to 1494Construction of Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
- from 323 BCE to 30 BCEHellenistic period
- 323 BCEConstruction of Temple of Ephesian Artemis
- 248 BCEConstruction of Terracotta Army
- from 375 CE to 568 CEMigration Period
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 7th century BCE.