The document provides a summary of the Neo-Babylonian Empire from 626 to 539 BC. It discusses key events such as Nabopolassar founding the empire in 626 BC after the fall of Assyria. Important constructions from the empire are mentioned, including the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the Ishtar Gate. The document also summarizes the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar II, Nabonidus, and the fall of Babylon to Cyrus the Great of Persia in 539 BC.

1. HISTORY 26 Lecture Twenty-Four: The Neo-Babylonian Empire (626 - 539 BC)

2. “ Sacred Places’ Wordy Walls” The Material of Early Christian Devotional Graffiti Ann Marie Yasin Professor of History, USC Wednesday, December 1st 4:00 p.m. HMNSS 1500 This paper examines what early Christian graffiti can tell us about the lived experience of Christian sacred spaces in the late third to seventh centuries.

3. Babylonia, the Medes, and the Fall of Assyria 627: The disappearance of Kandalanu 626 - 605: The reign of Nabopolassar 616: The invasion of Assyria 615: Alliance with the Medes 610: The fall of Assyria

4. Herodotus and the Median Empire

6. The Flight of the Prisoners ( c . 1896 -1902) James Jacques Joseph Tissot The Babylonian Captivity 597: Nebuchadnezzer replaces the king of Judah with a puppet ruler and deports a large part of the population. 587: The rebellion of the Babylonian-appointed king Zedekiah and the destruction of Jerusalem; more Judeans deported. 582: The Babylonian governor is assassinated during another rebellion; more deportations.

7. Nebuchadnezzer II and Babylon The epitome of wealth and majesty The Hanging Gardens of Babylon The Ishtar Gate

8. Ishtar Gate (restoration) Pergamon Museum, Berlin

9. Ishtar Gate (model) Pergamon Museum, Berlin

10. Ishtar Gate

11. Ishtar Gate

12. Ishtar Gate and Procession Street

13. Etemenanki, ‘House of the Frontier between Heaven and Earth’ Marduk and his mushussu

14. The Tower of Babel (1563) Pieter Brueghel the Elder

15. Nabonidus (555 - 539 BC) A devotee of the moon god, Sin, the patron deity of Harran (north Syria) Restored the ziggurat of Ur and made his daughter high priestess of the moon god, Nanna

17. The Ziggurat of Ur and the Moon God, Nanna

18. The Ziggurat of Ur and the Moon God, Nanna

20. Nabonidus (555 - 539 BC) 552: Moves to the oasis of Teima; leaves his son, Belshazzar in Babylon Revival of some of the oldest cults of Babylonia Ex: Anu and Ishtar at Uruk A general interest in ancient Babylonian culture and traditions Restoration of a statue of Sargon of Akkad

21. Cyrus the Great of Persia (559 - 530 BC) October 12, 539: Babylon falls and native rule ends Babylonian culture survives Cyrus, Savior of Babylon, chosen by Marduk to restore order and justice