Wonder of the Day #2644
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SOCIAL STUDIES — History
Have You Ever Wondered...
- What was the Neo-Babylonian Empire?
- Who was Nebuchadnezzar II?
- When did the Neo-Babylonian Empire end?
Tags:
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- Social Studies,
- History,
- Babylon,
- Empire,
- Neo-Babylonian Empire,
- Old Babylonian Empire,
- Neo,
- Prefix,
- Assyria,
- Assyrian Empire,
- Nabopolassar,
- King,
- Nebuchadnezzar Ii,
- Judaism,
- Christianity,
- Jerusalem,
- Architecture,
- Ishtar Gate,
- Hanging Gardens Of Babylon,
- Amytis,
- Cyrus The Great,
- Persian Empire,
- Alexander The Great,
- Iraq,
- Ruins
Today’s Wonder of the Day was inspired by Nora. Nora Wonders, “What was the Neo Babylonian empire” Thanks for WONDERing with us, Nora!
Can you name any ancient empires? Perhaps the Maya come to mind. You might think of those built by Genghis Khan or Alexander the Great. Or maybe your mind jumps to the topic of today’s Wonder of the Day—the Neo-Babylonian Empire.
Are you WONDERing why it’s called the NEO-Babylonian Empire? The prefix “neo-” means “new.” It sets this empire apart from the Old Babylonian Empire. Yes, there were two of them—and they were about a thousand years apart!
Babylon was one of the largest cities in the ancient world. In the mid-7th century B.C.E., it was ruled by the Assyrians. However, the Assyrian Empire was in decline. In 627 B.C.E., Babylon took up arms against the Assyrian king. The next year, they crowned a general named Nabopolassar as their king. This began the Neo-Babylonian Empire.
The Neo-Babylonian Empire’s most famous king was crowned in 604 B.C.E. His name was Nebuchadnezzar II. Does that ring a bell? It might if you know much about the Jewish or Christian religions. Nebuchadnezzar is written about in the religious texts of both traditions.
Nebuchadnezzar grew the empire until it covered all the land once ruled by the Assyrians. He also destroyed Jerusalem in the early 6th century B.C.E. He forced many Jewish people from Jerusalem to come with him to Babylon. They were held captive there for about 50 years.
The empire continued to grow in power and size. It also became known for its architecture. Nebuchadnezzar II built large ornate walls around the capital city of Babylon. He also built the Ishtar Gate. It was made from blue-glazed bricks and covered in pictures of fierce animals.
Nebuchadnezzar II is also credited with building a WONDER of the ancient world. His wife, Amytis, had moved to Babylon from Media. Nebuchadnezzar II supposedly created the Hanging Gardens of Babylon to remind her of her home. However, experts today are unsure whether the Hanging Gardens were actually in Babylon. Some think they never existed at all.
Nebuchadnezzar II died in 562 B.C.E. The Neo-Babylonian Empire came to an end only 23 years later in 539 B.C.E. That year, troops led by Cyrus the Great took over the city of Babylon. It would be part of the Persian Empire until it was taken by Alexander the Great.
Today, the ruins of Babylon sit in the region many call Iraq. Efforts were once made to restore parts of the ancient site. However, the U.S. military damaged the ruins while building a base there in 2003. Babylon was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2019.
Today, people can still visit parts of the ancient city. Would you like to see the ruins of Babylon one day? As an important city to so many ancient empires, it’s a valuable piece of history.
Standards: C3.D2.His.2, CCRA.L.3, CCRA.L.6, CCRA.R.1, CCRA.R.2, CCRA.R.4, CCRA.R.10, CCRA.SL.1, CCRA.SL.2, CCRA.W.2, CCRA.W.9, CCRA.L.1, CCRA.L.2
Wonder What's Next?
We hope you’re ready to DIGEST another great Wonder of the Day tomorrow!
Try It Out
Keep learning with help from an adult and the activities below:
- What do you think it was like to live in the Neo-Babylonian Empire? Spend some time doing more research. Then, imagine you’re a person living in ancient Babylon. Write a short story about what your life is like. Be as creative as you want!
- Check out Babylon’s UNESCO World Heritage page. Read more about the ruins, and be sure to scroll through the picture gallery. Would you like to visit this ancient city one day? What would you most like to see? Explain what you learned to a friend or family member.
- Learn more about the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Do you think this Wonder of the World ever existed? Write a letter or email to a friend or family member explaining why or why not. Be sure to support your explanation with evidence from the article you read.
Wonder Sources
- https://smarthistory.org/neo-babylonian/(accessed 12 Sept. 2020)
- https://www.ancient.eu/Nebuchadnezzar_II/ (accessed 12 Sept. 2020)
- https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-middle-east/babylonia (accessed 12 Sept. 2020)
- https://www.ancient.eu/babylon/ (accessed 12 Sept. 2020)
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Wonder Contributors
We’d like to thank:
Landon, Maya and Noah
for contributing questions about today’s Wonder topic!
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Wonder Words
- captive
- prefix
- glazed
- empires
- decline
- restore
- architecture
- ornate
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