Chaldea -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia

<!doctype html> <html lang="en"> <head> <meta charset="utf-8"> <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=Edge"/> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /> <meta name="robots" content="noindex" /> <title>Chaldea -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia</title> <link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/"> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/" > <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/icon?family=Material+Icons"> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/dist/mendel-css.css?v=3.130.14" /> <script type="text/javascript"> function init() { setTimeout( function() { window.print(); }, 1000 ); } </script> </head> <body onload="init()" class="md-print-page topicPage topic-print-page"> <div class=""> <div> <h1>Chaldea</h1> <span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref150737"></span>Chaldea</strong>, land in southern Babylonia (modern southern Iraq) frequently mentioned in the Old Testament. Strictly speaking, the name should be applied to the land bordering the head of the Persian Gulf between the Arabian desert and the Euphrates delta.</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Chaldea is first mentioned in the annals of the Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II (reigned 884/883–859 <span class="text-smallcaps">bce</span>), though earlier documents referred to the same area as the “Sealand.” In 850 <span id="ref150738"></span>Shalmaneser III of Assyria raided Chaldea and reached the Persian Gulf, which he called the “Sea of Kaldu.” On the accession of <span id="ref150739"></span>Sargon II to the Assyrian throne (721), the Chaldean Marduk-apla-iddina II (the biblical <span id="ref150740"></span>Merodach-baladan), ruler of <span id="ref150741"></span>Bit-Yakin (a district of Chaldea), seized the Babylonian throne and, despite Assyrian opposition, held it from 721 to 710. He finally fled, however, and Bit-Yakin was placed under Assyrian control.</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><firstImage><asm id="282559" filename="/51/241551-050-6938855E/Locator-map-Chaldea.jpg" alttext="Neo-Babylonian (Chaldean) empire, c. 6th century bce"><title>Neo-Babylonian (Chaldean) empire, c. 6th century <span class="text-smallcaps">bce</span></title><caption></caption></asm></firstImage></div><p class="topic-paragraph">With this decline of Assyrian power, a native governor, <span id="ref150742"></span>Nabopolassar, was able, in 625, to become king of Babylon by popular consent and to inaugurate the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Neo-Babylonian empire</a> under a possibly Chaldean dynasty that lasted until the Persian invasion of 539 <span class="text-smallcaps">bce</span>. The prestige of his successors, <span id="ref150743"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Nebuchadnezzar II</a> (reigned 605–562) and <span id="ref150744"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Nabonidus</a> (reigned 556–539), was such that “Chaldean” became synonymous with “Babylonian.”</p><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">“Chaldean” also was used by several ancient authors to denote the priests and other persons educated in the classical Babylonian literature, especially in traditions of astronomy and astrology.</p><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="md-signature"><a href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</a></span> <span class="md-signature">This article was most recently revised and updated by <a href="/editor/teagan-wolter/13004946">Teagan Wolter</a>.</span><span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div style="clear:both"></div> <div class="print-citations"> <div class="text-uppercase font-weight-bold">Citation Information</div> <div> <span class="text-uppercase font-weight-bold">Article Title:</span> Chaldea</div> <div> <span class="text-uppercase font-weight-bold">Website Name:</span> Encyclopaedia Britannica </div> <div> <span class="text-uppercase font-weight-bold">Publisher:</span> Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. </div> <div> <span class="text-uppercase font-weight-bold">Date Published:</span> 09 August 2024</div> <div> <span class="text-uppercase font-weight-bold">URL:</span> <a href="https://www.britannica.comhttps://www.britannica.com/place/Chaldea">https://www.britannica.comhttps://www.britannica.com/place/Chaldea</a> </div> <div> <span class="text-uppercase font-weight-bold">Access Date:</span> November 29, 2024</div> </div></div> </body> </html>

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Chaldea -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia