Nebuchadnezzar III

Nebuchadnezzar III
Nebuchadnezzar III and associated inscription in Darius I's Behistun Inscription[a]
King of Babylon
ReignSeptember/October – December 522 BC
Coronation3 October 522 BC (?)[2]
PredecessorBardiya
(Achaemenid Empire)
SuccessorDarius I
(Achaemenid Empire)
DiedDecember 522 BC
Babylon
AkkadianNabû-kudurri-uṣur
HouseZazakku[b]
DynastyChaldean dynasty (claimed)
FatherMukīn-zēri or Kîn-Zêr (actual)
Nabonidus (claimed)

Nebuchadnezzar III (Babylonian cuneiform: Nabû-kudurri-uṣur,[4] meaning "Nabu, watch over my heir",[5] Old Persian: Nabukudracara),[1] alternatively spelled Nebuchadrezzar III[6] and also known by his original name Nidintu-Bêl (Old Persian: Naditabaira[1] or Naditabira),[2][c] was a rebel king of Babylon in late 522 BC who attempted to restore Babylonia as an independent kingdom and end the rule of the Persian Achaemenid Empire in Mesopotamia. A Babylonian noble of the Zazakku family[b] and the son of a man by the name of Mukīn-zēri or Kîn-Zêr, Nidintu-Bêl took the regnal name Nebuchadnezzar upon his accession to the Babylonian throne and claimed to be a son of Nabonidus, Babylon's last independent king.

The earliest record of Nebuchadnezzar III is a document mentioning him as the king of Babylon on 3 October 522 BC, possibly the day of his accession to the throne. His revolt had probably originally been aimed at throwing off the rule of the unpopular Persian king Bardiya, but Bardiya had been overthrown by Darius I by the time the revolt began. Nebuchadnezzar III quickly established his rule in Babylonia, seizing control of not only Babylon itself but also the cities of Borsippa, Sippar and Uruk. It is possible that he successfully gained control of all of Babylonia. On 13 December, Nebuchadnezzar III and his army failed to prevent the Persians from crossing the Tigris river and on 18 December, he was decisively defeated in battle near Zazana by the Euphrates river. After this defeat, Nebuchadnezzar III fled to Babylon which was quickly captured by Darius, whereafter Nebuchadnezzar III was executed.

  1. ^ a b c Livius – Behistun, minor inscriptions.
  2. ^ a b Livius – Nidintu-Bêl.
  3. ^ Jursa 2007, p. 81.
  4. ^ Porten, Zadok & Pearce 2016, p. 4.
  5. ^ Saggs 1998.
  6. ^ Peters 1896, p. 113.
  7. ^ Buccellati 1997, p. 80.


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