Nebuchadnezzar II spent over four decades building Babylon into the most magnificent city of the ancient world, yet he is remembered mainly for destroying Jerusalem. This deep dive draws on cuneiform tablets, the Babylonian Chronicles and biblical texts to separate the historical architect from the biblical monster.

We trace his path from priest at Uruk to crown prince at the Battle of Carchemish, his race home to claim the throne, a failed invasion of Egypt, and the brutal campaigns against Judah and the 13-year siege of Tyre. We then explore the Etemenanki ziggurat linked to the Tower of Babel, the Ishtar Gate, his fear of the Medes, a messy succession, and how the madness story in the Book of Daniel likely belonged to Nabonidus.

• Why his own inscriptions barely mention his wars
• Carchemish, the Egypt disaster and the paper tiger problem
• Deportation as calculated brain drain and the fall of Jerusalem
• The Etemenanki ziggurat, the Ishtar Gate and the Median Wall
• How historical identity theft shaped his biblical reputation