the revolt of _Syria_, the name _Sardanapalus_ being derived from
_Asserhadon-Pul_. _Sardanapalus_ was the [373] son of _Anacyndaraxis_,
_Cyndaraxis_, or _Anabaxaris_, King of _Assyria_; and this name seems to
have been corruptly written for _Sennacherib_ the father of _Asserhadon_.
_Sardanapalus_ built _Tarsus_ and _Anchiale_ in one day, and therefore
Reigned over _Cilicia_, before the revolt of the western nations: and if he
be the same King with _Asserhadon_, he was succeeded by _Saosduchinus_ in
the year of _Nabonassar_ 81; and by this revolution _Manasseh_ was set at
liberty to return home and fortify _Jerusalem_: and the _Egyptians_ also,
after the _Assyrians_ had harrassed _Egypt_ and _Ethiopia_ three years,
_Isa._ xx. 3, 4. were set at liberty, and continued under twelve
contemporary Kings of their own nation, as above. The _Assyrians_ invaded
and conquered the _Egyptians_ the first of the three years, and Reigned
over them two years more: and these two years are the interregnum which
_Africanus_, from _Manetho_, places next before the twelve Kings. The
_Scythians_ of _Touran_ or _Turquestan_ beyond the river _Oxus_ began in
those days to infest _Persia_, and by one of their inroads might give
occasion to the revolt of the western nations.
In the year of _Nabonassar_ 101, _Saosduchinus_, after a Reign of twenty
years, was succeeded at _Babylon_ by _Chyniladon_, and I think at _Nineveh_
also, for I take _Chyniladon_ to be that _Nabuchodonosor_ who is mentioned
in the book of _Judith_; for the history of that King suits best with these
times: for there it is said that __Nabuchodonosor_ King of the _Assyrians_
who Reigned at _Nineveh_, that great city, in the twelfth year of his Reign
made war upon _Arphaxad_ King of the _Medes__, and was then left alone by a
defection of the auxiliary nations of _Cilicia_, _Damascus_, _Syria_,
_Phœnicia_, _Moab_, _Ammon_, and _Egypt_; and without their help routed the
army of the _Medes_, and slew _Arphaxad_: and _Arphaxad_ is there said to
have built _Ecbatane_ and therefore was either _Dejoces_, or his son
_Phraortes_, who might finish the city founded by his father: and
_Herodotus_ [374] tells the same story of a King of _Assyria_, who routed
the _Medes_, and slew their King _Phraortes_; and saith that in the time of
this war the _Assyrians_ were left alone by the defection of the auxiliary
nations, being otherwise in good condition: _Arphaxad_ was therefore the
_Phraortes_ of _Herodotus_, and by consequence was slain near the beginning
of the Reign of _Josiah_: for this war was made after _Phœnicia_, _Moab_,
_Ammon_, and _Egypt_ had been conquered and revolted, _Judith_ i. 7, 8, 9.
and by consequence after the Reign of _Asserhadon_ who conquered them: it
was made when the _Jews_ were newly returned from captivity, _and the
Vessels and Altar and Temple were sanctified after the profanation_,
_Judith_ iv. 3. that is soon after _Manasseh_ their King had been carried
captive to _Babylon_ by _Asserhadon_; and upon the death of that King, or
some other change in the _Assyrian_ Empire, had been released with the
_Jews_ from that captivity, and had repaired the Altar, and restored the
sacrifices and worship of the Temple, 2 _Chron._ xxxiii. 11, 16. In the
_Greek_ version of the book of _Judith_, chap. v. 18. it is said, that _the
Temple of God was cast to the ground_; but this is not said in _Jerom_'s
version; and in the _Greek_ version, chap. iv. 3, and chap. xvi. 20, it is
said, that _the vessels, and the altar, and the house were sanctified after
the prophanation_, and in both versions, chap. iv. 11, the Temple is
represented standing.
After this war _Nabuchodonosor_ King of _Assyria_, in the 13th year of his
Reign, according to the version of _Jerom_, sent his captain _Holofernes_
with a great army to avenge himself on all the west country; because they
had disobeyed his commandment: and _Holofernes_ went forth with an army of
12000 horse, and 120000 foot of _Assyrians_, _Medes_ and _Persians_, and
reduced _Cilicia_, _Mesopotamia_, and _Syria_, and _Damascus_, and part of
_Arabia_, and _Ammon_, and _Edom_, and _Madian_, and then came against
_Judæa_: and this was done when the government was in the hands of the
High-Priest and Antients of _Israel_, _Judith_ iv. 8. and vii. 23. and by
consequence not in the Reign of _Manasseh_ or _Amon_, but when _Josiah_ was
a child. In times of prosperity the children of _Israel_ were apt to go
after false Gods, and in times of affliction to repent and turn to the
Lord. So _Manasseh_ a very wicked King, being captivated by the
_Assyrians_, repented; and being released from captivity restored the
worship of the true God: So when we are told that _Josiah in the eighth
year of his Reign, while he was yet young, began to seek after the God of
_David_ his father, and in the twelfth year of his Reign began to purge
_Judah_ and _Jerusalem_ from Idolatry, and to destroy the High Places, and
Groves, and Altars and Images of Baalim_, 2 _Chron_. xxxiv. 3. we may
understand that these acts of religion were occasioned by impending
dangers, and escapes from danger. When _Holofernes_ came against the
western nations, and spoiled them, then were the _Jews_ terrified, and they
fortified _Judæa_, and _cryed unto God with great fervency, and humbled
themselves in sackcloth, and put ashes on their heads, and cried unto the
God of _Israel_ that he would not give their wives and their children and
cities for a prey, and the Temple for a profanation: and the High-priest,
and all the Priests put on sackcloth and ashes, and offered daily burnt
offerings with vows and free gifts of the people_, _Judith_ iv. and then
began _Josiah_ to seek after the God of his father _David_: and after
_Judith_ had slain _Holofernes_, and the _Assyrians_ were fled, and the
_Jews_ who pursued them were returned to _Jerusalem_, _they worshipped the
Lord, and offered burnt offerings and gifts, and continued feasting before
the sanctuary for the space of three months_, _Judith_ xvi. 18, and then
did _Josiah_ purge _Judah_ and _Jerusalem_ from Idolatry. Whence it seems
to me that the eighth year of _Josiah_ fell in with the fourteenth or
fifteenth of _Nabuchodonosor_, and that the twelfth year of
_Nabuchodonosor_, in which _Phraortes_ was slain, was the fifth or sixth of
_Josiah_. _Phraortes_ Reigned 22 years according to _Herodotus_, and
therefore succeeded his father _Dejoces_ about the 40th year of _Manasseh_,
_Anno Nabonass._ 89, and was slain by the _Assyrians_, and succeeded by
_Astyages_, _Anno Nabonass._ 111. _Dejoces_ Reigned 53 years according to
_Herodotus_, and these years began in the 16th year of _Hezekiah_; which
makes it probable that the _Medes_ dated them from the time of their
revolt: and according to all this reckoning, the Reign of _Nabuchodonosor_
fell in with that of _Chyniladon_; which makes it probable that they were
but two names of one and the same King.
Soon after the death of _Phraortes_ [375] the _Scythians_ under _Madyes_ or
_Medus_ invaded _Media_, and beat the _Medes_ in battle, _Anno Nabonass._
113, and went thence towards _Egypt_, but were met in _Phœnicia_ by
_Psammitichus_ and bought off, and returning Reigned over a great part of
_Asia_: but in the end of about 28 years were expelled; many of their
Princes and commanders being slain in a feast by the _Medes_ under the
conduct of _Cyaxeres_, the successor of _Astyages_, just before the
destruction of _Nineveh_, and the rest being soon after forced to retire.
In the year of _Nabonassar_ 123, [376] _Nabopolassar_ the commander of the
forces of _Chyniladon_ the King of _Assyria_ in _Chaldæa_ revolted from
him, and became King of _Babylon_; and _Chyniladon_ was either then, or
soon after, succeeded at _Nineveh_ by the last King of _Assyria_, called
_Sarac_ by _Polyhistor_: and at length _Nebuchadnezzar_, the son of
_Nabopolassar_, married _Amyite_ the daughter of _Astyages_ and sister of
_Cyaxeres_; and by this marriage the two families having contracted
affinity, they conspired against the _Assyrians_; and _Nabopolasser_ being
now grown old, and _Astyages_ being dead, their sons _Nebuchadnezzar_ and
_Cyaxeres_ led the armies of the two nations against _Nineveh_, slew
_Sarac_, destroyed the city, and shared the Kingdom of the _Assyrians_.
This victory the _Jews_ refer to the _Chaldæans_; the _Greeks_ to the
_Medes_; _Tobit_, _Polyhistor_, _Josephus_, and _Ctesias_ to both. It gave
a beginning to the great successes of _Nebuchadnezzar_ and _Cyaxeres_, and
laid the foundation of the two collateral Empires of the _Babylonians_ and
_Medes_; these being branches of the _Assyrian_ Empire: and thence the time
of the fall of the _Assyrian_ Empire is determined, the conquerors being
then in their youth. In the Reign of _Josiah_, when _Zephaniah_ prophesied,
_Nineveh_ and the Kingdom of _Assyria_ were standing, and their fall was
predicted by that Prophet, _Zeph._ i. 1, and ii. 13. and in the end of his
Reign _Pharaoh Nechoh_ King of _Egypt_, the successor of _Psammitichus_,
went up against the King of _Assyria_ to the river _Euphrates_, to fight
against _Carchemish_ or _Circutium_, and in his way thither slew _Josiah_,
2 _Kings_ xxiii. 29. 2 _Chron._ xxxv. 20. and therefore the last King of
_Assyria_ was not yet slain. But in the third and fourth year of
_Jehoiakim_ the successor of _Josiah_, the two conquerors having taken
_Nineveh_ and finished their war in _Assyria_, prosecuted their conquests
westward, and leading their forces against the King of _Egypt_, as an
invader of their right of conquest, they beat him at _Carchemish_, and
[377] took from him whatever he had newly taken from the _Assyrians_: and
therefore we cannot err above a year or two, if we refer the destruction of
_Nineveh_, and fall of the _Assyrian_ Empire, to the second year of
_Jehoiakim_, _Anno Nabonass._ 140. The name of the last King _Sarac_ might
perhaps be contracted from _Sarchedon_, as this name was from _Asserhadon_,
_Asserhadon-Pul_, or _Sardanapalus_.
While the _Assyrians_ Reigned at _Nineveh_, _Persia_ was divided into
several Kingdoms; and amongst others there was a Kingdom of _Elam_, which
flourished in the days of _Hezekiah_, _Manasseh_, _Josiah_, and _Jehoiakim_
Kings of _Judah_, and fell in the days of _Zedekiah_, _Jer._ xxv. 25, and
xlix. 34, and _Ezek._ xxxii. 24. This Kingdom seems to have been potent,
and to have had wars with the King of _Touran_ or _Scythia_ beyond the
river _Oxus_ with various success, and at length to have been subdued by
the _Medes_ and _Babylonians_, or one of them. For while _Nebuchadnezzar_
warred in the west, _Cyaxeres_ recovered the _Assyrian_ provinces of
_Armenia_, _Pontus_, and _Cappadocia_, and then they went eastward against
the provinces of _Persia_ and _Parthia_. Whether the _Pischdadians_, whom
the _Persians_ reckon to have been their oldest Kings, were Kings of the
Kingdom of _Elam_, or of that of the _Assyrians_, and whether _Elam_ was
conquered by the _Assyrians_ at the same time with _Babylonia_ and
_Susiana_ in the Reign of _Asserhadon_, and soon after revolted, I leave to
be examined.
* * * * *
CHAP. IV.
_Of the two Contemporary Empires of the _Babylonians_ and _Medes_._
By the fall of the _Assyrian_ Empire the Kingdoms of the _Babylonians_ and
_Medes_ grew great and potent. The Reigns of the Kings of _Babylon_ are
stated in _Ptolemy's_ Canon: for understanding of which you are to note
that every King's Reign in that Canon began with the last _Thoth_ of his
predecessor's Reign, as I gather by comparing the Reigns of the _Roman_
Emperors in that Canon with their Reigns recorded in years, months, and
days, by other Authors: whence it appears from that Canon that _Asserhadon_
died in the year of _Nabonassar_ 81, _Saosduchinus_ his successor in the
year 101, _Chyniladon_ in the year 123, _Nabopolassar_ in the year 144, and
_Nebuchadnezzar_ in the year 187. All these Kings, and some others
mentioned in the Canon, Reigned successively over _Babylon_, and this last
King died in the 37th year of _Jechoniah_'s captivity, 2 _Kings_ xxv. 27.
and therefore _Jechoniah_ was captivated in the 150th year of _Nabonassar_.
This captivity was in the eighth year of _Nebuchadnezzar_'s Reign, 2
_Kings_ xxiv. 12. and eleventh of _Jehoiakim_'s: for the first year of
_Nebuchadnezzar_'s Reign was the fourth of _Jehoiakim_'s, _Jer._ xxv. i.
and _Jehoiakim_ Reigned eleven years before this captivity, 2 _Kings_
xxiii. 36. 2 _Chron._ xxxvi. 5, and _Jechoniah_ three months, ending with
the captivity; and the tenth year of _Jechoniah_'s captivity, was the
eighteenth year of _Nebuchadnezzar_'s Reign, _Jer._ xxxii. 1. and the
eleventh year of _Zedekiah_, in which _Jerusalem_ was taken, was the
nineteenth of _Nebuchadnezzar_, _Jer._ lii. 5, 12. and therefore
_Nebuchadnezzar_ began his Reign in the year of _Nabonassar_ 142, that is,
two years before the death of his father _Nabopolassar_, he being then made
King by his father; and _Jehoiakim_ succeeded his father _Josiah_ in the
year of _Nabonassar_ 139; and _Jerusalem_ was taken and the Temple burnt in
the year of _Nabonassar_ 160, about twenty years after the destruction of
_Nineveh_.
The Reign of _Darius Hystaspis_ over _Persia_, by the Canon and the consent
of all Chronologers, and by several Eclipses of the Moon, began in spring
in the year of _Nabonassar_ 227: and _in the fourth year of King _Darius_,
in the 4th day of the ninth month, which is the month _Chisleu_, when the
_Jews_ had sent unto the house of God, saying, should I weep in the fifth
month as I have done these so many years? the word of the Lord came unto
_Zechariah_, saying, speak to all the people of the Land, and to the
Priests, saying; when ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month
even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me?_ _Zech._ vii. Count
backwards those seventy years in which they fasted in the fifth month for
the burning of the Temple, and in the seventh for the death of _Gedaliah_;
and the burning of the Temple and death of _Gedaliah_, will fall upon the
fifth and seventh _Jewish_ months, in the year of _Nabonassar_ 160, as
above.
As the _Chaldæan_ Astronomers counted the Reigns of their Kings by the
years of _Nabonassar_, beginning with the month _Thoth_, so the _Jews_, as
their Authors tell us, counted the Reigns of theirs by the years of
_Moses_, beginning every year with the month _Nisan_: for if any King began
his Reign a few days before this month began, it was reckoned to him for a
whole year, and the beginning of this month was accounted the beginning of
the second year of his Reign; and according to this reckoning the first
year of _Jehojakim_ began with the month _Nisan_, _Anno Nabonass._ 139,
tho' his Reign might not really begin 'till five or six months after; and
the fourth year of _Jehoiakim_, and first of _Nebuchadnezzar_, according to
the reckoning of the _Jews_, began with the month _Nisan_, _Anno Nabonass._
142; and the first year of _Zedekiah_ and of _Jeconiah_'s captivity, and
ninth year of _Nebuchadnezzar_, began with the month _Nisan_, in the year
of _Nabonassar_ 150; and the tenth year of _Zedekiah_, and 18th of
_Nebuchadnezzar_, began with the month _Nisan_ in the year of _Nabonassar_
159. Now in the ninth year of _Zedekiah_, _Nebuchadnezzar_ invaded _Judæa_
and the cities thereof and in the tenth month of that year, and tenth day
of the month, he and his host besieged _Jerusalem_, 2 _Kings_ xxv. 1.
_Jer._ xxxiv. 1, xxxix. 1, and lii. 4. From this time to the tenth month in
the second year of _Darius_ are just seventy years, and accordingly, _upon
the 24th day of the eleventh month of the second year of _Darius_, the word
of the Lord came unto _Zechariah_,--and the Angel of the Lord said, Oh Lord
of Hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on _Jerusalem_, and on the
cities of _Judah_, against which thou hast had indignation, these
threescore and ten years_, _Zech._ i. 7, 12. So then the ninth year of
_Zedekiah_, in which this indignation against _Jerusalem_ and the cities of
_Judah_ began, commenced with the month _Nisan_ in the year of _Nabonassar_
158; and the eleventh year of _Zedekiah_, and nineteenth of
_Nebuchadnezzar_, in which the city was taken and the Temple burnt,
commenced with the month _Nisan_ in the year of _Nabonassar_ 160, as above.
By all these characters the years of _Jehoiakim_, _Zedekiah_, and
_Nebuchadnezzar_, seem to be sufficiently determined, and thereby the
Chronology of the _Jews_ in the Old Testament is connected with that of
later times: for between the death of _Solomon_ and the ninth year of
_Zedekiah_ wherein _Nebuchadnezzar_ invaded _Judæa_, and began the Siege of
_Jerusalem_, there were 390 years, as is manifest both by the prophesy of
_Ezekiel_, chap. iv, and by summing up the years of the Kings of _Judah_;
and from the ninth year of _Zedekiah_ inclusively to the vulgar _Æra_ of
_Christ_, there were 590 years: and both these numbers, with half the Reign
of _Solomon_, make up a thousand years.
In the [378] end of the Reign of _Josiah_, _Anno Nabonass._ 139, _Pharaoh
Nechoh_, the successor of _Psammitichus_, came with a great army out of
_Egypt_ against the King of _Assyria_, and being denied passage through
_Judæa_, beat the _Jews_ at _Megiddo_ or _Magdolus_ before _Egypt_, slew
_Josiah_ their King, marched to _Carchemish_ or _Circutium_, a town of
_Mesopotamia_ upon _Euphrates_, and took it, possest himself of the cities
of _Syria_, sent for _Jehoahaz_ the new King of _Judah_ to _Riblah_ or
_Antioch_, deposed him there, made _Jehojakim_ King in the room of
_Josiah_, and put the Kingdom of _Judah_ to tribute: but the King of
_Assyria_ being in the mean time besieged and subdued, and _Nineveh_
destroyed by _Assuerus_ King of the _Medes_, and _Nebuchadnezzar_ King of
_Babylon_, and the conquerors being thereby entitled to the countries
belonging to the King of _Assyria_, they led their victorious armies
against the King of _Egypt_ who had seized part of them. For
_Nebuchadnezzar_, assisted [379] by _Astibares_, that is, by _Astivares_,
_Assuerus_, _Acksweres_, _Axeres_, or _Cy-Axeres_, King of the _Medes_, in
the [380] third year of _Jehoiakim_, came with an army of _Babylonians_,
_Medes_, _Syrians_, _Moabites_ and _Ammonites_, to the number of 10000
chariots, and 180000 foot, and 120000 horse, and laid waste _Samaria_,
_Galilee_, _Scythopolis_, and the _Jews_ in _Galaaditis_, and besieged
_Jerusalem_, and took King _Jehoiakim_ alive, and [381] bound him in chains
for a time, and carried to _Babylon_ _Daniel_ and others of the people, and
part of what Gold and Silver and Brass they found in the Temple: and in
[382] the fourth year of _Jehoiakim_, which was the twentieth of
_Nabopolassar_, they routed the army of _Pharaoh Nechoh_ at _Carchemish_,
and by pursuing the war took from the King of _Egypt_ whatever pertained to
him from the river of _Egypt_ to the river of _Euphrates_. This King of
_Egypt_ is called by _Berosus_, [383] the _Satrapa_ of _Egypt_,
_Cœle-Syria_, and _Phœnicia_; and this victory over him put an end to his
Reign in _Cœle-Syria_ and _Phœnicia_, which he had newly invaded, and gave
a beginning to the Reign of _Nebuchadnezzar_ there: and by the conquests
over _Assyria_ and _Syria_ the small Kingdom of _Babylon_ was erected into
a potent Empire.
Whilst _Nebuchadnezzar_ was acting in _Syria_, [384] his father
_Nabopolassar_ died, having Reigned 21 years; and _Nebuchadnezzar_ upon the
news thereof, having ordered his affairs in _Syria_ returned to _Babylon_,
leaving the captives and his army with his servants to follow him: and from
henceforward he applied himself sometimes to war, conquering _Sittacene_,
_Susiana_, _Arabia_, _Edom_, _Egypt_, and some other countries; and
sometimes to peace, adorning the Temple of _Belus_ with the spoils that he
had taken; and the city of _Babylon_ with magnificent walls and gates, and
stately palaces and pensile gardens, as _Berosus_ relates; and amongst
other things he cut the new rivers _Naarmalcha_ and _Pallacopas_ above
_Babylon_ and built the city of _Teredon_.
_Judæa_ was now in servitude under the King of _Babylon_, being invaded and
subdued in the third and fourth years of _Jehoiakim_, _and _Jehoiakim_
served him three years, and then turned and rebelled_, 2 _King._ xxiv. 1.
While _Nebuchadnezzar_ and the army of the _Chaldæans_ continued in
_Syria_, _Jehojakim_ was under compulsion; after they returned to
_Babylon_, _Jehojakim_ continued in fidelity three years, that is, during
the 7th, 8th and 9th years of his Reign, and rebelled in the tenth:
whereupon in the return or end of the year, that is in spring, he sent
[385] and besieged _Jerusalem_, captivated _Jeconiah_ the son and successor
of _Jehoiakim_, spoiled the Temple, and carried away to _Babylon_ the
Princes, craftsmen, smiths, and all that were fit for war: and, when none
remained but the poorest of the people, made [386] _Zedekiah_ their King,
and bound him upon oath to serve the King of _Babylon_: this was in spring
in the end of the eleventh year of _Jehoiakim_, and beginning of the year
of _Nabonassar_ 150.
_Zedekiah_ notwithstanding his oath [387] revolted, and made a covenant
with the King of _Egypt_, and therefore _Nebuchadnezzar_ in the ninth year
of _Zedekiah_ [388] invaded _Judæa_ and the cities thereof, and in the
tenth _Jewish_ month of that year besieged _Jerusalem_ again, and in the
eleventh year of _Zedekiah_, in the 4th and 5th months, after a siege of
one year and an half, took and burnt the City and Temple.
_Nebuchadnezzar_ after he was made King by his father Reigned over
_Phœnicia_ and _Cœle-Syria_ 45 years, and [389] after the death of his
father 43 years, and [390] after the captivity of _Jeconiah_ 37; and then
was succeeded by his son _Evilmerodach_, called _Iluarodamus_ in
_Ptolemy_'s Canon. _Jerome_ [391] tells us, that _Evilmerodach_ Reigned
seven years in his father's life-time, while his father did eat grass with
oxen, and after his father's restoration was put in prison with _Jeconiah_
King of _Judah_ 'till the death of his father, and then succeeded in the
Throne. In the fifth year of _Jeconiah_'s captivity, _Belshazzar_ was next
in dignity to his father _Nebuchadnezzar_, and was designed to be his
successor, _Baruch_ i. 2, 10, 11, 12, 14, and therefore _Evilmerodach_ was
even then in disgrace. Upon his coming to the Throne [392] he brought his
friend and companion _Jeconiah_ out of prison on the 27th day of the
twelfth month; so that _Nebuchadnezzar_ died in the end of winter, _Anno
Nabonass._ 187.
_Evilmerodach_ Reigned two years after his father's death, and for his lust
and evil manners was slain by his sister's husband _Neriglissar_, or
_Nergalassar_, _Nabonass._ 189, according to the Canon.
_Neriglissar_, in the name of his young son _Labosordachus_, or
_Laboasserdach_, the grand-child of _Nebuchadnezzar_ by his daughter,
Reigned four years, according to the Canon and _Berosus_, including the
short Reign of _Laboasserdach_ alone: for _Laboasserdach_, according to
_Berosus_ and _Josephus_, Reigned nine months after the death of his
father, and then for his evil manners was slain in a feast, by the
conspiracy of his friends with _Nabonnedus_ a _Babylonian_, to whom by
consent they gave the Kingdom: but these nine months are not reckoned apart
in the Canon.
_Nabonnedus_ or _Nabonadius_, according to the Canon, began his Reign in
the year of _Nabonassar_ 193, Reigned seventeen years, and ended his Reign
in the year of _Nabonassar_ 210, being then vanquished and _Babylon_ taken
by _Cyrus_.
_Herodotus_ calls this last King of _Babylon_, _Labynitus_, and says that
he was the son of a former _Labynitus_, and of _Nitocris_ an eminent Queen
of _Babylon_: by the father he seems to understand that _Labynitus_, who,
as he tells us, was King of _Babylon_ when the great Eclipse of the Sun
predicted by _Thales_ put an end to the five years war between the _Medes_
and _Lydians_; and this was the great _Nebuchadnezzar_. _Daniel_ [393]
calls the last King of _Babylon_, _Belshazzar_, and saith that
_Nebuchadnezzar_ was his father: and _Josephus_ tells us, [394] that the
last King of _Babylon_ was called _Naboandel_ by the _Babylonians_, and
Reigned seventeen years; and therefore he is the same King of _Babylon_
with _Nabonnedus_ or _Labynitus_; and this is more agreeable to sacred writ
than to make _Nabonnedus_ a stranger to the royal line: for all _nations
were to serve _Nebuchadnezzar_ and his posterity, till the very time of his
land should come, and many nations should serve themselves of him_, _Jer._
xxvii. 7. _Belshazzar_ was born and lived in honour before the fifth year
of _Jeconiah_'s captivity, which was the eleventh year of
_Nebuchadnezzar_'s Reign; and therefore he was above 34 years old at the
death of _Evilmerodach_, and so could be no other King than _Nabonnedus_:
for _Laboasserdach_ the grandson of _Nebuchadnezzar_ was a child when he
Reigned.