Nebuchadnezzar

Nebuchadnezzar II was king of Babylon approximately 605–562 BCE and the most powerful ruler of the ancient Near East in his era. He conquered Jerusalem three times—in 605, 597, and 586 BCE—ultimately destroying the Temple and deporting much of Judah's population in what became the defining catastrophe of Old Testament history. He appears prominently in the books of Jeremiah, Daniel, and Ezekiel; Daniel served in his court and interpreted his dreams, including the famous dream of the great statue and the seven years of madness that humbled the proud king until he acknowledged God's sovereignty (Daniel 4). His building projects, recorded both in Scripture and in Babylonian chronicles, included the legendary Hanging Gardens and a massive ziggurat in Babylon.