Neo-Babylonian
| Neo-Babylonian Empire | ||||||||||
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 The Neo-Babylonian Empire at its greatest extent of power
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| Capital | Babylon | |||||||||
| Languages | Akkadian, Aramaic | |||||||||
| Government | Not specified | |||||||||
| King | ||||||||||
| • | 626–605 BC | Nabopolassar (first) | ||||||||
| • | 556–539 BC | Nabonidus (last) | ||||||||
| History | ||||||||||
| • | Babylonian Revolt | 626 BC | ||||||||
| • | Battle of Opis | 539 BC | ||||||||
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| Today part of |
 Iraq Kuwait Syria Turkey Egypt Saudi Arabia Jordan Iran Lebanon Israel Palestine Cyprus
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The Neo-Babylonian Empire, also known as the Chaldean Empire, was a period of Mesopotamian history which began in 626 BC and ended in 539 BC. During the preceding three centuries, Babylonia had been ruled by their fellow Akkadian speakers and northern neighbours, Assyria. A year after the death of the last strong Assyrian ruler, Assurbanipal, in 627 BC, the Assyrian empire spiralled into a series of brutal civil wars. Babylonia rebelled under Nabopolassar, a member of the Chaldean tribe which had migrated from the Levant to south eastern Babylonia in the early 9th century BC. In alliance with the Medes, Persians, Scythians and Cimmerians, they sacked the city of Nineveh in 612 BC, and the seat of empire was transferred to Babylonia for the first time since the death of Hammurabi in the mid 18th century BC. This period witnessed a general improvement in economic life and agricultural production, and a great flourishing of architectural projects, the arts and science.
The Neo-Babylonian period ended with the reign of Nabonidus in 539 BC. To the east, the Persians had been growing in strength, and eventually Cyrus the Great conquered the empire.
Babylonia was subject to and dominated by Assyria during the Neo-Assyrian period (911-616 BC), as it had often been during the Middle Assyrian Empire (1365-1020 BC). The Assyrians of Upper Mesopotamia had usually been able to pacify their southern relations through military might, installing puppet kings, or granting increased privileges.
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