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Merodach-Baladan II
Merodach-Baladan II (diedc.694bc) was theking ofBabylonia 721–710 and for nine months in 703, who maintained Babylonian independence in the face of Assyrian militarysupremacy for more than a decade.
Commencing in 728 the king ofAssyria also officially held the title of king of Babylonia. During that time Merodach-Baladan, a member of the Yakin tribe, was a district ruler inChaldea. During the unrest surrounding the accession ofSargon II of Assyria in 722, Merodach-Baladan entered Babylon and claimed the Babylonian throne, which had belonged to his forebear Eriba-Marduk. An attack by the Elamites two years later so weakened the Assyrians—though both sides claimed victory—that, as king of Babylonia, Merodach-Baladan remained unmolested by Assyria for the next 10 years.
Sargon’s inscriptions portray Merodach-Baladan as a usurper who oppressed Babylonia and relied on Elamite military power. On the other hand, Merodach-Baladan claimed to be thelegitimate heir who had driven the Assyrians from Babylonia. Contemporary Babylonian documents indicate that temples were repaired, irrigation projects were carried out, and life was normal during his reign.
- Babylonian:
- Marduk-apal-iddina Ii (“Marduk Has Given Me an Heir”)
- Died:
- c.694bc
According to Assyrian accounts, Sargon marched south against Babylonia in 710. After defeating the Elamites and Merodach-Baladan’s other allies, he turned toward Babylon. Merodach-Baladan fled, and the leading citizens of Babylon brought Sargon unopposed into the city, where he officially became king of Babylonia. The next year Sargon captured and destroyed Merodach-Baladan’s capital, Dur-Yakin. Sometime after the death (705) of Sargon, Merodach-Baladan sent an embassy toHezekiah of Judah in an attempt tofoment unrest against the new Assyrian monarch,Sennacherib. In 703 he again seized the Babylonian throne. Before the end of the year, however, Sennacherib marched south and defeated the Babylonian forces. In 700 Sennacherib marched to Bit-Yakin in pursuit of Merodach-Baladan, who again fled, this time to southernElam, where he died sometime before 694.