Babylonia Empire

After the fall of Nineveh, the Babylonians once again took control of Mesopotamia, establishing a new empire called the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Neo means “new.”

The new empire's most famous king was Nebuchadnezzar II (neh-byuh-kuhd-NEH-zehr). A ruthless military leader, he reigned from 605 to 561 B.C.E.

Nebuchadnezzar expanded his empire whenever possible.  He drove the Egyptians out of Syria and also conquered part of Canaan (present-day Israel), the home of the Israelites, or Jews.  When the Israelites rebelled, he took most of them captive and brought them to Babylonia.  Many of them were never able to return to their homeland.

As a military leader, Nebuchadnezzar knew that it was essential to keep the capital city of Babylon safe, so he had inner and outer walls built around it.  These walls were so thick that two chariots could pass each other on top of them.

Towers, for archers to stand on, were placed on the walls.  Finally, a moat was dug around the outer wall and filled with water.  During peacetime, people used bridges to cross the moat and enter the city.  In times of war, however, the bridges were dismantled.