Chaldea

A land in southern Babylonia (modern southern Iraq) frequently mentioned in the Old Testament and first described by Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II (reigned 884/883-859 BC). Its more important rulers were Nabopolassar, Nebuchadnezzar, and Nabonidus, who ruled an empire from the Persian Gulf between the Arabian desert and the Euphrates delta. Nabopolassar in 625 became king of Babylon and inaugurated a Chaldean dynasty that lasted until the Persian invasion of 539 BC. The prestige of his successors, Nebuchadrezzar II (reigned 605-562) and Nabonidus (reigned 556-539), was such that Chaldean became synonymous with Babylonian and Chaldea replaced Assyria as the main power in the Near East. Chaldean also was used by several ancient authors to denote the priests and other persons educated in the classical Babylonian astronomy and astrology and to the Aramaean tribe named for Kaldu which first settled in this area in the 10th century BC.

The Chaldean (Kaldu) tribes occupied the swamp area of the lower courses of the Tigris and Euphrates in southern Babylonia. They were controlled by sheikhs who assumed the kingship of Babylonia in the 7th century bc. The Chaldean Dynasty was founded in 625 bc by Nabopolassar and continued with his son Nebuchadnezzar II. During this period Babylonia became known as Chaldea, and replaced Assyria as the main power in the Near East. In 539 bc, in the reign of Nabonidus, the Empire fell to the Persians under Cyrus.