Nebuchadnezzar and the consolidation of diplomatic relations
In addition to being a brilliant tactical and strategic planner, Nebuchadnezzar was also famous in the field of international politics, as evidenced by his sending an ambassador to mediate between the Medes and Lydians in Asia Minor.
The main activity that Nebuchadnezzar practiced was the reconstruction of the city of Babylon, as he completed and expanded the fortifications that his father had begun to build, built a large moat and an external defensive wall, and paved with limestone the procession street designated for celebrations.
He married a Median princess, and her longing for her native land prompted him to build gardens for her that resembled hills, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
Despite the tragic role that Nebuchadnezzar played in the history of the Kingdom of Judah, the Jewish narratives viewed him in a mostly laudatory light. It was said that he was ordered to protect Jeremiah, whom he considered the Lord’s tool to punish the disobedient. The Prophet Ezekiel expressed a similar point of view regarding the attack on the city of Tyre.
In the first chapter of the Book of Ezra, there is a similar position regarding Nebuchadnezzar, where he was considered the Lord’s instrument against sinners, and in the Book of Baruch he was considered the protector for whom one must pray. In the Book of Daniel (in the Old Testament), in the story of Bel and the dragon, Nebuchadnezzar appears as a man who favors the victory of truth and the defense of the Lord.
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