Reign ca. 562 – 560 BC Parents Nebuchadnezzar II Father Nebuchadnezzar II Successor Neriglissar Name Amel Marduk | Role Nebuchadnezzar II's son Predecessor Nebuchadnezzar II Died 560 BC Grandparents Nabopolassar | |
Similar People Nebuchadnezzar II, Nabopolassar, Zedekiah, Amytis of Media | ||
A4 when ancient jerusalem was destroyed amel marduk nergal sharezer labashi marduk
Amel-Marduk (Akkadian: spelled Amēl-Marduk/Amil-Marduk but pronounced Awēl-Marduk/Awîl-Marduk; Biblical Hebrew: אֱוִיל מְרֹדַךְ ʔĕwîl-mĕrodak; English: Evil-Merodach), 'man of Marduk' (died c. 560 BC) was the son and successor of Nebuchadnezzar II, king of Babylon.
Contents
- A4 when ancient jerusalem was destroyed amel marduk nergal sharezer labashi marduk
- Biography
- References
Biography
His name, along with the length of his reign, are recorded in the 'Uruk King List' and the Canon of Ptolemy, however no surviving cuneiform document records anything concerning his life or deeds. Berossus writes that he was murdered in a plot orchestrated by Nergal-sharezer, his successor and brother-in-law. Berossus also notes that "he governed public affairs after an illegal and impure manner," possibly an allusion to actions that infuriated the priestly class, including reforms made to the policies of Nebuchadnezzar.
One such reform is recorded in the Hebrew Bible, where Evil-Merodach (Heb.: אֱוִיל מְרֹדַךְ, ˒ĕwı̂l merōdak) is remembered for releasing the Jewish king Jehoiachin from prison after thirty seven years in captivity.
Later Jewish and Christian texts expand the Biblical account. Josephus and the Avot of Rabbi Natan state that the king believed that Jehoiachin was held by his father without cause, and thus decided to release him upon the latter's death. Originally, Josephus assigned eighteen years to his reign, but in a later work, Josephus states that Berossus assigned a reign of two years. Seder Olam Rabbah assigned twenty-three years to his reign. Leviticus Rabbah 18:2 states that Evil-Merodach was made king while Nebuchadrezzar was still living, and was punished for this act of rebellion by his father, who had him imprisoned. In Esther Rabbah, Evil-Merodach, owing to his father's actions before his death, is heir to a bankrupt treasury.