Changes
The Babylonians were now left in possession of much of Chaldea, with the northern reaches being held by the Medes, however they appear to have made no attempt to occupy it, preferring to concentrate on rebuilding southern Mesopotamia.
===Chaldean King Nebuchadnezzar II 605 BC – 562 BC===[[File:Nebukadnessar II.jpg|right|thumb|200px|An engraving on an eye stone of onyx with an inscription of Chaldean King Nebuchadnezzar II]] [[Nebuchadnezzar II]] became Chaldean king after the death of his father.
Chaldean king Nebuchadnezzar II was a patron of the cities and a spectacular builder. He rebuilt all of Babylonia's major cities on a lavish scale. His building activity at Babylon of Chaldeans was what turned it into the immense and beautiful Chaldean city of legend. His city of Babylon covered more than three square miles, surrounded by moats and ringed by a double circuit of walls. The [[Euphrates]] flowed through the center of the city, spanned by a beautiful stone bridge. At the center of the city rose the giant [[ziggurat]] called [[Etemenanki]], "House of the Frontier Between Heaven and Earth," which lay next to the [[Marduk|Temple of Marduk]].
A capable Chaldean leader, King Nabuchadnezzar II, conducted successful military campaigns in Syria and [[Phoenicia]], forcing tribute from Damascus, Tyre and Sidon. He conducted numerous campaigns in Asia Minor, in the "land of the Hatti". Like the Chaldeans, the Babylonians had to campaign yearly in order to control their colonies.
In 601 BC, Nebuchadnezzar II was involved in a major, but inconclusive battle, against the Egyptians. In 599 BC, he invaded [[Arabia]] and routed the [[Arabs]] at Qedar. In 597 BC, he invaded [[Kingdom of Judah|Judah]] and captured [[Jerusalem]] and deposed its king [[Jehoiachin]]. Egyptian and Chaldean Babylonian armies fought each other for control of the near east throughout much of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, and this encouraged king [[Zedekiah]] of Judah to revolt. After an 18-month siege, Jerusalem was captured in 587 BC, and thousands of Jews were deported to Babylon, and [[Solomon's Temple]] was razed to the ground.
By 572 Nebuchadnezzar was in full control of Babyloniaall of Mesopotamia, Babylonia Chaldea, Phoenicia, Israel, Philistinia, northern Arabia, and parts of Asia Minor. Nebuchadnezzar fought the Pharaohs [[Psammetichus II]] and [[Apries]] throughout his reign, and in 568 BC during the reign of Pharaoh [[Amasis II|Amasis]], invaded Egypt itself.<ref>"Nebuchadnezzar." ''Encyclopedia of World Biography''. 2004. Encyclopedia.com.</ref>
===Amel-Marduk 562 BC – 560 BC===
