Chaldea, Chaldeans

Chaldea was an ancient region in southeastern Mesopotamia. The Chaldeans were the people who lived there.

The name “Chaldea” comes from the Chaldean, or Kaldu, tribes. They lived in Babylonia in southeastern Mesopotamia with several other peoples, especially the Sumerians and Akkadians.

After the old Babylonian Empire became part of the Assyrian Empire, the Chaldeans gained control under Nebuchadnezzar. They built the Neo-Babylonian Empire, which ruled much of the Near East for nearly a century.

Chaldea is also connected with the biblical patriarch Abraham, an important ancestor of the people of Israel. His home in Mesopotamia was “Ur of the Chaldeans” (Genesis 11:28).

Until the end of the eighth century BC, Chaldea was a small area in southern Babylonia. Within 100 years, the Chaldeans gained power, and Chaldea came to include all of Babylonia.

At that time, Chaldea extended from Baghdad on the Tigris River south to the Persian Gulf. It also extended along the Euphrates River as far as the city of Hit. Chaldea was mainly between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. However, it also included the flat land between the Tigris River and the Zagros Mountains to the east. Some of its territory was west of the Euphrates River. The Arabian Desert formed its western border.

Chaldea was rarely more than 64.4 kilometers (40 miles) wide. It covered an area of about 12,872 square kilometers (8,000 square miles). On a modern map, most of Chaldea would be within Iraq, with its southwestern edge reaching Kuwait.

The first known mention of the Chaldeans appears in the Assyrian records of Ashurnasirpal II, who ruled from 885 to 860 BC. Because of this, some scholars suggest that the Chaldeans entered Babylonia around 1000 BC.

The Chaldeans are often connected with the Semitic Aramean tribes, though they were not the same people. The Arameans were groups who moved from the western deserts into Mesopotamia. The Chaldeans settled mainly in the southern part of Babylonia, near the northern end of the Persian Gulf. They may have lived there for centuries before Assyrian records first mentioned them.

Job 1:17 mentions three groups of Chaldeans who attacked Job’s servants and stole his camels. This probably happened near Edom or northern Arabia. However, this does not necessarily mean that the Chaldeans lived in that area. Centuries earlier, armies from Babylonia, also called Shinar, and from Elam traveled as far as Palestine (Genesis 14:1–2).

The Chaldeans lived among the marshes and lakes in the far south. This location helped them remain largely independent, even when Assyria ruled the region. Invading armies found it difficult to move through the Chaldean marshes.

Because of this, the Chaldeans often resisted paying taxes or serving the Assyrian government. When the Assyrians tried to limit their freedom, the Chaldeans used small, irregular attacks and political schemes. They also ignored treaties or changed allies when it helped them.

Many people in the Babylonian cities accepted Assyrian rule. The Chaldeans, however, became leaders of a movement for national independence. For about 250 years, the Assyrians repeatedly had to defend their rule against Chaldean efforts to remain independent and increase their influence.

In 721 BC, the Chaldean leader Marduk-apla-iddina II entered Babylon and declared himself king of Babylonia. He is called Merodach-baladan in 2 Kings 20:12 and Isaiah 39:1. He also sent messengers to Hezekiah, king of Judah. The Assyrian king had long controlled who became king of Babylonia. However, Marduk-apla-iddina II kept his claim to the throne for ten years. Then Sargon II of Assyria forced him back into his territory in the south.

After Sargon II died in 705 BC, Marduk-apla-iddina II declared himself king again. The new Assyrian king, Sennacherib, defeated him. Sennacherib then destroyed Babylon as a warning to the Chaldeans and their allies.

Sennacherib’s son Esarhaddon became the next king of Assyria. He tried to make peace with the Babylonians and rebuilt Babylon, their capital city. This helped reduce Chaldean resistance and began a period of peace that lasted more than 30 years.

The last unsuccessful revolt took place during the reign of Ashurbanipal. His brother started the revolt. Ashurbanipal had appointed him as king of Babylon. The Chaldeans joined the rebellion, but Assyria defeated it in 648 BC.

About 20 years later, Ashurbanipal died, and Assyrian power quickly became weaker. Nabopolassar, a Chaldean governor, used this opportunity to drive the Assyrians out of Babylonia. He became king of Babylon in 625 BC.

The Babylonians then joined with the Medes to defeat the Assyrian Empire. They captured the Assyrian capital cities of Asshur in 614 BC and Nineveh in 612 BC. The Babylonians and Medes divided the conquered lands between them. The Babylonians took control of the Assyrian territories west and south of the Tigris River and formed a new Babylonian Empire.

The first Babylonian Empire, which is associated with Hammurabi, had existed more than 1,000 years earlier. During this later period, the names Chaldea and Babylonia came to be used for the same region throughout the Near East.

During the long reign of Nabopolassar’s son Nebuchadnezzar II, also called Nebuchadrezzar II, the Babylonian Empire reached the height of its power. Before he became king, Nebuchadnezzar defeated the Egyptians at Carchemish in 605 BC (2 Chronicles 35:20). This victory helped establish Babylon as the leading power in the Near East. In that same year, the southern kingdom of Judah came under Babylonian rule.

Nebuchadnezzar forced King Jehoiakim to submit to Babylon. He also took valuable objects from the temple in Jerusalem and carried them to his temple in Babylon. In addition, he took some of Judah’s leading men and young people as captives (2 Kings 24:1; 2 Chronicles 36:5–7; Daniel 1:1–4).

Several years later, Judah rebelled with support from Egypt. The Babylonian army captured Jerusalem in 597 BC. Judah’s new king, Jehoiachin, was removed from the throne, and more of Judah’s leaders were taken away (2 Kings 24:8–16). A second revolt took place in 594 BC under Zedekiah, the king appointed by Babylon. This led to another Babylonian invasion. Jerusalem was destroyed in 586 BC, and most of the people of Judah were taken into exile (2 Kings 24:20–25:12; 2 Chronicles 36:11–21).

Nebuchadnezzar used wealth taken from his conquests to make Babylon one of the most impressive cities of the ancient world. His building projects included the Hanging Gardens, traditionally counted among the seven wonders of the ancient world, the Ishtar Gate, and a defensive outer wall about 27 kilometers (17 miles) long. The book of Daniel says that Nebuchadnezzar became proud of what he had built. Because of this pride, he came under God’s judgment (Daniel 4:30–33).

Nebuchadnezzar was followed as king by his son Amel-marduk. He is called Evil-merodach in 2 Kings 25:27 and Jeremiah 52:31. These passages remember him for showing special kindness to Jehoiachin, the exiled king of Judah. After two years, Amel-marduk was killed in an armed revolt led by his brother-in-law, Nergal-shar-usur. He is called Nergal-sharezer in Jeremiah 39:3. Nergal-shar-usur then became king and tried to establish his own family line as rulers.

After ruling for four years, Nergal-shar-usur was followed by his son. His son ruled for only a few months before Nabonidus made himself king.

Nabonidus was the last Chaldean king. Many Babylonian officials supported him when he became king. They saw that the Medes, who had once been their allies, were becoming a rival power. They believed Nabonidus was strong enough to face this threat.

However, Nabonidus tried to change Babylonian religious practices, and these changes were very unpopular. His efforts to improve the economy also failed. Because of these problems, Nabonidus spent long periods away from Babylon. During one long absence, he appointed his son Belshazzar to rule with him.

This helps explain why the Old Testament book of Daniel calls Belshazzar the king of Babylon. It also explains why Belshazzar could offer to make Daniel only “the third ruler in the kingdom” (Daniel 5:7).

While Belshazzar was governing Babylon, the famous event known as the “writing on the wall” took place. The message warned that Babylon would soon fall (Daniel 5). At that time, the Elamites were already attacking the eastern part of the empire. Reports of growing Persian power in the north brought Nabonidus back to Babylon. Soon afterward, Cyrus the Great, king of Persia, invaded.

Cyrus took Babylon without a battle. This ended both Chaldean rule and the Neo-Babylonian Empire.

Long after the Chaldean Empire ended, people in Hellenistic Egypt, Greece, and Rome continued to use the name “Chaldeans.” They used it for magicians, astrologers, and diviners (people who tried to predict the future). The book of Daniel uses the term in a similar way. It connects the Chaldeans with magicians, enchanters, and astrologers (Daniel 2:2, 10; 4:7; 5:7).

The Babylonians had long been known for their advanced knowledge of astronomy, the study of stars and other objects in the sky. They also looked to the stars to help them predict the future. One Babylonian text from about 700 BC described the zodiac, a group of constellations along the path of the sun. It named 15 constellations. Several of these names are still used by astrologers today, including the Bull, the Twins (Gemini), the Scorpion, and Capricorn.

In Daniel 2:2 and 4:7, one term connected with the Chaldeans comes from a Babylonian word for a group of priests who used incantations (spoken words believed to have special power). Excavated tablets show that these priests received special training. This shows that they had an important role in society. The most outstanding young men of Judah, including Daniel, were chosen for a similar program of education (Daniel 1:4).

See also Assyria, Assyrians; Astrology; Babylon, Babylonia; Book of Daniel; Dispersion of the Jews, Diaspora; Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadrezzar; Ur (Place).