Neriglissar
| Neriglissar, King of Babylon |
|
| predecessor | Evil-Merodach |
| successor | Labashi-Marduk |
| reign | August 560 - April 556 BC |
| birth | ? BC |
| death | 556 BC |
| spouse | Kashshaya (?), daughter of Nebuchadnezzar II |
| father | ? |
| mother | unknown |
Neriglissar, Neriglissoorus[1], Niglissar[2], Neriglisares [3], Nergalsharezeror[4] Nergal-sharezer, he reigned as King of Babylon from 560-556 BC after participating in a coup to deliver the people from the disasterous reign of Evil-Merodach in which he murdered his brother-in-law.[5] As a noble he married the previous King Nebuchadnezzar's daugher supposed to be Kashshaya and had possibly been groomed for the throne early on. He was succeeded by his young son Labashi-Marduk after he possibly ended his own life after battle with Cyrus II the Great and Cyaxares II.
Reign
Josephus claimed he reigned 40 years[6], while the generally accepted position is that he reigned for only 4 years. This may be possible by the ancient tradition sometimes practiced by the Jews of counting time from their elevation to effectively 'apprentice/lesser king'. Considering he was married to Evil-Merodach's older sister, this remains quite plausible and meaning that he was possibly being groomed as a potential successor during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar.
Death
Traditionally nothing is known regarding Neriglissar's death save that the last known documents dated to his reign are a contract from 12 April 556 BC at Babylon and a contract from 16 April that same year at Uruk.[7] This data is consistent with the Uruk King List leading to the general belief without explanation that he died in late April of 556 BC.
Alternatively, of "Niglissar" Josephus simply records that he "then ended his life".[8] Meanwhile Xenophon's Cyropaedia leaves Neriglissar as the only possible candidate when he alleges that "the King of Assyria" was defeated in a decisive battle while being supported by Croesus of Lydia against the yet unascend Cyrus and Cyaxares, King of Media. Therein the Medo-Persian assault was so brutal before a tactical retreat was called that the Assyrian allied forces were utterly demoralized (leaving their "general"[9] and / or "monarch"[10] dead); consequentially Croesus (without reference to "the King of Assyria") with the remaining forces fled overnight[11] allowing Cyrus & Cyaxares II to seize the battlements and enter the camp in the morning without restraint[12].[13] Therefore a possible correlation of these two original sources is happily possible: for history is littered with kings who have either unintentionally[14] mortally wounded themselves upon the battlefield or intentionally done so there or shortly thereafter when things haven't gone so well.
In conclusion, it is possible for all original sources to harmonize: The traditional position of no official record being know, Josephus' unqualified claim that he ended his life and Xenophon's implication that he died in some way due to the outcome of battle through the medium of either deliberate or unitentional suicide during or shortly after battle. But Megasthenes assertion that the entire line from Evil-Marduk to Labassoarascus "suffered death by violence"[15] implies that it may have been a forced suicide.
References
- ↑ Berossus the Chaldean, Babylonika, from Alexander Polyhistor, of Chaldean kings after Nebuchadnezzar
from I.P. Cory The Ancient Fragments', 1873, London, UK - ↑ Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 10.11.2; https://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/josephus/ant-10.htm
- ↑ Megasthenes, from Abydenus, of Nebuchadnezzar,
from I.P. Cory, the Ancient Fragments - ↑ Jeremiah 39,3
https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/jer/39/3/s_784003 - ↑ Berossus the Chaldean, Babylonika, from Alexander Polyhistor, of Chaldean kings after Nebuchadnezzar
from I.P. Cory The Ancient Fragments', 1873, London, UK - ↑ Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 10.11.2; https://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/josephus/ant-10.htm
- ↑ Wiseman, Donald, The Cambridge Ancient History, III Part 2, Chapter 27, Cambridge University Press, 1991, p.243
- ↑ Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 10.11.2; https://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/josephus/ant-10.htm
- ↑ Xenophon, Cyropaedia, 4.1.8
- ↑ XenophonCyropaedia, 4.2.3
- ↑ Xenophon, Cyropaedia, 4.1.8
- ↑ Xenophon, Cyropaedia, 4.2.3
- ↑ Xenophon, Cyropaedia, end of Book 3 through early Book 4
- ↑ Example: Cambyses II who cut himself as he jumped upon his horse and died of Gangrene later, see The New Loud Cry, Understanding the prophecy of Daniel 11:2, https://www.bitchute.com/video/0tMVCzzdoZkO/
- ↑ Megasthenes, from Abydenus, of Nebuchadnezzar,
I.P. Cory The Ancient Fragments, London, UK, 1873
