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the affairs in Egypt and the rest of the country, and having ordered some of his friends to bring back to Babylonia the captives of the Jews and Phoenicians and Syrians of the nations throughout Egypt, with the heaviest force and the rest of the booty, he himself, setting out with a small company, arrived through the desert to Babylon. And finding the affairs being managed by the Chaldeans and the kingdom being preserved by the best of them, having taken possession of his father's entire dominion, he assigned dwellings to the captives. But Nebuchadnezzar himself, from the spoils, lavishly adorned both the temple of Bel and 263 the rest, and added to the original city another outside of it, and made it so that besiegers could no longer turn the river against the city; he surrounded it with three walls for the inner city and three for the outer, some of these of baked brick and asphalt, and others of brick itself. And having walled the city in a noteworthy manner and having adorned the gates in a manner befitting a temple, he also built another palace adjoining his father's palace, concerning which, its height and the rest of its luxury, it would perhaps be a long story if one were to recount it, however, being exceedingly large and magnificent, it was completed in 15 days. And in this palace, having built up high stone terraces and having given it an appearance very similar to mountains, he elaborated it by planting it with all kinds of trees; and he constructed the so-called hanging garden because his wife, having been raised in the regions of Media, desired a mountainous setting. Berossus relates these things about Nebuchadnezzar and many other things in the third book of his Chaldaean history, blaming the Greek historians who falsely wrote that Babylon and its wonders were built by Semiramis of Assyria. Nebuchadnezzar slew Pharaoh Necho in the second year of his reign near the Euphrates in a mighty battle in the beginning of the 5th year of Jehoiakim, and coming against Jehoiakim and Judaea, he enslaved Jehoiakim for 3 years, as is said in the 4th book of Kings and the 2nd of Chronicles. and after 3 years he rebelled against him, and the Lord sent against him bands of Chaldeans and bands of Syria and Moab and the sons of Ammon, and they prevailed in the land of Judah according to the word of the Lord which he spoke by the hand of his servants the prophets. Prophesying these things among them during these times was Urijah son of Shemaiah, whom Jehoiakim brought back after he fled to Egypt and killed, and Jeremiah also, who began, as has been previously shown, his prophecy from the 13th year of Josiah. 264

Megasthenes in the 4th book of his Indica declares Nebuchadnezzar to be more valiant than Heracles, who with great courage subjugated most of Libya and Iberia. And Philostratus agrees with him in his histories, where also concerning the siege of Tyre and the Phoenicians of old, which histories are reported concerning Nebuchadnezzar, that he subjugated Syria and Egypt and all Phoenicia by wars. Nebuchadnezzar, having subdued Jehoiakim in the beginning of the 11th year of his reign, led him captive to Babylon with many of the Jews and the holy vessels, having bound him in bronze fetters, as is written in the 2nd book of Chronicles. And Jehoiachin his son, also called Jeconiah, an eight-year-old boy, he made a tributary king; after three months and ten days, coming again to Judaea in the same year, he besieged Jerusalem; to whom Jehoiachin went out, and his children and his mother with him and his princes and his eunuchs. And the king of Babylon took them in the eighth year of his reign, and he entered the city and brought out all the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king's house and cut in pieces all the golden vessels, which he had made

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κατὰ τὴν Αἴγυπτον πράγματα καὶ τὴν λοιπὴν χώραν, καὶ τοὺς αἰχμαλώτους Ἰουδαίων τε καὶ Φοινίκων καὶ Σύρων τῶν κατὰ τὴν Αἴγυπτον ἐθνῶν συντάξας τισὶ τῶν φίλων μετὰ τῆς βαρυτάτης δυνάμεως καὶ τῆς λοιπῆς ὠφελείας ἀνακομίζειν εἰς τὴν Βαβυλωνίαν, αὐτὸς ὁρμήσας ὀλιγοστὸς παρεγένετο διὰ τῆς ἐρήμου εἰς Βαβυλῶνα. καταλαβὼν δὲ τὰ πράγματα διοικούμενα ὑπὸ Χαλδαίων καὶ διατηρουμένην τὴν βασιλείαν ὑπὸ τοῦ βελτίστου αὐτῶν, κυριεύσας ὁλοκλήρου τῆς πατρικῆς ἀρχῆς, τοῖς αἰχμαλώτοις ἔταξε τὰς κατοικίας. Αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ Ναβουχοδονόσωρ ἐκ τῶν λαφύρων τό τε Βήλου ἱερὸν καὶ 263 τὰ λοιπὰ φιλοτίμως κοσμήσας, τήν τε ὑπάρχουσαν ἐξ ἀρχῆς πόλιν καὶ ἑτέραν ἔξωθεν προσκαταχαρισάμενος καὶ ἀναγκάσας πρὸς τὸ μηκέτι δύνασθαι τοὺς πολιορκοῦντας τὸν ποταμὸν ἀναστρέφοντας ἐπὶ τὴν πόλιν κατασκευάζειν, ὑπερεβάλλετο τρεῖς μὲν τῆς ἔνδον πόλεως περιβόλους, τρεῖς δὲ τῆς ἔξω, τούτων δὲ τοὺς μὲν ἐξ ὀπτῆς πλίνθου καὶ ἀσφάλτου, τοὺς δὲ ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς πλίνθου. καὶ τειχίσας ἀξιολόγως τὴν πόλιν καὶ τοὺς πυλῶνας κοσμήσας ἱεροπρεπῶς προσκατεσκεύασε τοῖς πατρικοῖς βασι λείοις ἕτερα βασίλεια ἐχόμενα ἐκείνων, ὑπὲρ ὧν τὸ μὲν ἀνάστημα καὶ τὴν λοιπὴν πολυτέλειαν μακρὸν ἴσως ἔσται ἐάν τις ἐξηγῆται, πλὴν ὄντα ὑπερβολῇ μεγάλα καὶ ὑπερήφανα συνετελέσθη ἡμέραις ιεʹ. ἐν δὲ τοῖς βασιλείοις τούτοις ἀναλήμματα λίθινα ὑψηλὰ ἀνοικοδομήσας καὶ τὴν ὄψιν ἀποδοὺς ὁμοιοτάτην τοῖς ὄρεσι, καταφυτεύσας δένδρεσι παντοδαποῖς ἐξειργάσατο· καὶ κατεσκεύασε τὸν καλούμενον κρεμαστὸν παράδεισον διὰ τὸ τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ ἐπιθυμεῖν τῆς ὀρείας διαθέσεως, τεθραμμένην ἐν τοῖς κατὰ Μήδειαν τόποις. Ταῦτα ὁ Βήρωσσος ἱστορεῖ περὶ τοῦ Ναβουχοδονόσωρ καὶ ἕτερα πλεῖστα ἐν τρίτῃ τῶν Χαλδαϊκῶν βίβλῳ, μεμφόμενος τοῖς ψευδῶς γράψασιν Ἑλλήνων ἱστορικοῖς ὑπὸ τῆς Ἀσσυρίας Σεμιράμεως κτισθῆναι Βαβυλῶνα καὶ τὰ κατ' αὐτὴν θαυμάσια. Τὸν Φαραῶ Νεχαῶ Ναβουχοδονόσωρ δευτέρῳ ἔτει τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ ἀνεῖλε κατὰ τὸν Εὐφράτην ἐπὶ μάχῃ κρατερᾷ εʹ ἔτει Ἰωακεὶμ ἀρχομένῳ, καὶ ἐλθὼν ἐπὶ Ἰωακεὶμ καὶ τὴν Ἰουδαίαν κατεδουλώσατο τὸν Ἰωακεὶμ γʹ ἔτη, ὥς φησιν ἡ δʹ τῶν βασιλειῶν καὶ ἡ βʹ τῶν Παραλειπο μένων. καὶ μετὰ γʹ ἔτη ἠθέτησεν αὐτῷ, καὶ ἀπέστειλε κύριος αὐτῷ τοὺς μονοζώνους τῶν Χαλδαίων καὶ τοὺς μονοζώνους Συρίας καὶ Μωὰβ καὶ υἱῶν Ἀμμών, καὶ κατίσχυσαν ἐν γῇ Ἰούδα κατὰ τὸν λόγον κυρίου ὃν ἐλάλησεν ἐν χειρὶ δούλων αὐτοῦ τῶν προφητῶν. ταῦτα παρ' αὐτοῖς ἦν προφητεύων κατὰ τοὺς χρόνους τούτους Οὐρίας υἱὸς Ἀμαίου, ὃν φυγόντα εἰς Αἴγυπτον ἀγαγὼν ὁ Ἰωακεὶμ ἀνεῖλε, καὶ Ἱερεμίας ἀρξάμενος καὶ αὐτός, ὡς προδεδήλωται, τῆς προφητείας ἀπὸ τοῦ ιγʹ ἔτους Ἰωσίου. 264

Τὸν Ναβουχοδονόσωρ ὁ Μεγασθένης ἐν τῇ δʹ τῶν Ἰνδικῶν Ἡρακλέους ἀλκιμώτερον ἀποφαίνει, ὃς ἀνδρείᾳ μεγάλῃ Λιβύης τὸ πλεῖστον καὶ Ἰβηρίας κατεστρέψατο. συμφωνεῖ δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ Φιλόστρατος ἐν ταῖς ἱστορίαις, ἔνθα καὶ περὶ τῆς Τύρου πολιορκίας καὶ τῶν Φοινίκων πάλαι, αἵτινες ἱστορίαι φέρονται περὶ τοῦ Ναβουχοδονόσωρ, ὅτι Συρίαν καὶ Αἴγυπτον καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν Φοινίκην κατεστρέψατο πολέμοις. Ναβουχοδονόσωρ τὸν Ἰωακεὶμ χειρωσάμενος ιαʹ ἔτει τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ ἀρχομένῳ σὺν πολλοῖς τῶν Ἰουδαίων καὶ τῶν ἱερῶν σκευῶν αἰχμάλωτον εἰς Βαβυλῶνα ἀπήγαγε, δήσας αὐτὸν πέδαις χαλκαῖς, ὡς ἐν τῷ βʹ τῶν Παραλειπομένων γέγραπται. τὸν δὲ Ἰωαχεὶμ υἱὸν αὐτοῦ τὸν καὶ Ἰεχονίαν παῖδα ὀκταέτη καταστήσας βασιλέα ὑπόφορον, μετὰ τρεῖς μῆνας καὶ δέκα ἡμέρας πάλιν ἐπελθὼν τῇ Ἰουδαίᾳ κατὰ τὸ αὐτὸ ἔτος ἐπολιόρκησε τὴν Ἱερουσαλήμ· πρὸς ὃν ἐξῆλθεν Ἰωαχεὶμ καὶ οἱ παῖδες αὐτοῦ καὶ ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ σὺν αὐτῷ καὶ οἱ ἄρχοντες καὶ οἱ εὐνοῦχοι αὐτοῦ. καὶ ἔλαβεν αὐτοὺς βασιλεὺς Βαβυλῶνος ἐν ἔτει ὀγδόῳ τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ, καὶ εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὴν πόλιν καὶ ἐξήνεγκε πάντας τοὺς θησαυροὺς οἴκου κυρίου καὶ τοὺς θησαυροὺς οἴκου τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ συνέκοψε πάντα τὰ σκεύη τὰ χρυσᾶ, ἃ ἐποίησε