Neo-Babylonian Empire

Nebuchadnezzar II ruled the Neo-Babylonian Empire from approximately 605 to 562 BC and is considered its greatest king, presiding over a period of massive cultural and architectural achievement. He is credited with constructing the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and is also known for the military campaigns that resulted in the Babylonian captivity of the Jewish people.

The Neo-Babylonian Empire fell in 539 BC when the Persian king Cyrus the Great captured Babylon, ending Mesopotamian political independence permanently. The city of Babylon was absorbed into the Achaemenid Persian Empire and never again served as the capital of an independent state.

The Neo-Babylonian Empire was founded by Nabopolassar, who rebelled against Assyrian rule and seized Babylon in 626 BC. He subsequently formed an alliance with the Medes and helped destroy the Assyrian capital of Nineveh in 612 BC, establishing Babylonia as the dominant power in Mesopotamia.

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were described by classical authors such as Herodotus and Strabo as an extraordinary terraced garden built by Nebuchadnezzar II, but no definitive archaeological evidence has been found at Babylon. Some scholars have proposed alternative locations such as Nineveh, while others believe the gardens may have been a literary exaggeration.