View source for Amel-Marduk

{{Infobox monarch
| name = Amel-Marduk
| title = [[List of kings of Babylon|King of Babylon]]
| image = 
| caption =
| reign = ca. 562 – 560 BC
| coronation =
| predecessor = [[Nebuchadnezzar II]]
| successor = [[Nergal-sharezer|Neriglissar]]
| spouse  =
| royal house = 
| father = [[Nebuchadnezzar II]]   
| mother = 
| birth_date =  ?
| birth_place = 
| death_date =  ca. 560 BC
| death_place =
| buried =}}

'''Amel-Marduk''' ([[Akkadian language|Akk.]]: (''Amēl-Marduk'') (''Evil-Merodach'') (''Awil-Marduk'') (''Amil-Marduk''), 'man of [[Marduk]]'<ref name=sack>Sack, 1992.</ref><ref>Me'moires de  la mission archeologique de Susiane, by V. Scheil, Paris 1913, vol XIV</ref> (died 560 BC) was the son and successor of [[Nebuchadnezzar II]], king of [[Neo-Babylonian Empire|Babylon]].

== Biography ==

His name, along with the length of his reign, are recorded in the 'Uruk King List' and the [[Canon of Ptolemy]], however no surviving cuneiform document records anything concerning his life or deeds.<ref name=sack /> [[Berossus]] writes that he was murdered in a plot orchestrated by [[Neriglissar|Nergal-sharezer]], his successor and brother-in-law.<ref>[[Josephus]], [[Against Apion|Apion]] 1.20</ref> Berossus also notes that "he governed public affairs after an illegal and impure manner," possibly an allusion to actions that infuriated the priestly class,<ref>Hirsch 1901-1906</ref> including reforms made to the policies of Nebuchadrezzar.<ref>Oded 2007</ref>

One such reform is recorded in the [[Hebrew Bible]],<ref>[[2 Kings]] 25:27, [[Jeremiah]] 52:31</ref> where '''Evil-Merodach''' ([[Hebrew language|Heb.]]: אֱוִיל מְרֹדַךְ, ˒ĕwı̂l merōdak) is remembered for releasing the Jewish king [[Jehoiachin]] from prison after thirty seven years in captivity.

Later Jewish and Christian texts expand the Biblical account. [[Josephus]] and the [[Avot of Rabbi Natan]] state that the king believed that Jehoiachin was held by his father without cause, and thus decided to release him upon the latter's death.<ref name=sack /> Originally, Josephus assigned eighteen years to his reign,<ref>Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus, Book X, chapter 11 pg. 216</ref> but in a later work, Josephus states that Berossus, a third century B.C. Chaldean priest of Bel in Babylon, assigned a reign of only two years.<ref>[[Against Apion]] by Flavius Josephus, Book 1, paragraph 20</ref> [[Seder Olam Rabbah]] assigned twenty three years to his reign.<ref>Transactions of the Chronological Institute of London, T. Richards 1852, pg 120...see also pg 121</ref> [[Leviticus Rabbah]] 18:2 states that Evil-Merodach was made king while Nebuchadrezzar was still living, and was punished for this act of rebellion by his father, who had him imprisoned.<ref name=sack /> In [[Esther Rabbah]], Evil-Merodach, owing to his father's actions before his death, is heir to a bankrupt treasury.<ref name=sack />

== See also ==
* [[Babylonia]]
* [[Kings of Babylonia]]

== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}

== References ==
* Hirsch, E.G. ''et al.'' ''Evil-Merodach'' in Singer, Isidore; Adler, Cyrus; (eds.) et al. (1901–1906) [[Jewish Encyclopedia|The Jewish Encyclopedia]]. Funk and Wagnalls, New York. LCCN 16-014703
* Oded, B. ''Evil-Merodach'' in Skolnik, F., & Berenbaum, M. (2007). ''[[Encyclopaedia Judaica]]'', vol. 6, Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA in association with the Keter Pub. House.
* Sack, R.H. ''Evil-Merodach'' in Freedman, ''et al.'' (1992). ''[[Anchor Bible Dictionary]]'', vol. 2,  New York: Doubleday.

==  External links ==
* [http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=532&letter=E Evil-Merodach] - The Jewish Encyclopedia
* [http://www.livius.org/k/kinglist/uruk.html The Uruk King List] - Livius.org

{{s-start}}
{{succession box|title=[[Kings of Babylon|King of Babylon]]|before=[[Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon|Nebuchadnezzar]]|after=[[Neriglissar]]|years=562&ndash;560 BC}}
{{s-end}}

{{Authority control|VIAF=46230886}}

{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
| NAME              = Amel-Marduk
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = Babylonian king
| DATE OF BIRTH     =
| PLACE OF BIRTH    =
| DATE OF DEATH     =
| PLACE OF DEATH    =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amel-Marduk}}
[[Category:Babylonian kings]]
[[Category:Monarchs of the Hebrew Bible]]
[[Category:Biblical murder victims]]
[[Category:560 BC deaths]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:6th-century BC rulers]]