Battle of Carchemish

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The Battle of Carchemish was fought between an allied armies of Egyptians and Assyrians and the Babylonian army. It was fought at Carchemish about 605 BC.

Background

When the Assyrian capital Nineveh was overrun by the Babylonians in 612 BC, the Assyrians moved their capital to Harran. When Harran was captured by the Babylonians in 608 BC, the capital was once again moved, this time to Carchemish. Egypt was allied with the Assyrians, and marched in 605 BC to their aid against the Babylonians.

The Egyptian army of Pharaoh Necho II was delayed at Megiddo by the forces of King Josiah of Judah. Josiah was killed and his army was defeated.

Battle

The Egyptians were further delayed at Riblah (2 Kings 23:31), and when Necho finally approached Carchemish, it was too late. Nebuchadnezzar had surprised the Assyrians and had captured Carchemish. He then turned on the Egyptians and thoroughly defeated them in a cruel and bloody battle. The Egyptians met the full might of the Babylonian army led by Nebuchadrezzar II, and their forces were destroyed. After a brief period of resistance, the Egyptian and Libyan mercenaries surrendered. Some were massacred; others ran away so quickly that no one could catch them. Assyria ceased to exist as an independent power, and Egypt retreated and was no longer a significant force in the Middle East.

Aftermath

Before the battle of Carchemish, Egypt was known to have one of the greatest armies out of all the dynasties in northern Africa and was a threat to the Middle East, but this soon changed due to defeat in the battle of Carchemish when the Chaldean Dynasty destroyed the power of Egypt and the independent existence of Assyria. Babylon would later campaign aggressively in the Middle East, emulating their Assyrian predecessors and deporting thousands of their enemies, most notably the Jews of Jerusalem.

Records of the battle

The Jerusalem Chronicle, part of the Babylonian Chronicles, now housed in the British Museum, claim that Nebuchadnezzar "crossed the river to go against the Egyptian army which lay in Carchemish. The armies fought with each other and the Egyptian army withdrew before him. He accomplished their defeat and beat them to nonexistence. As for the rest of the Egyptian army which had escaped from the defeat so quickly that no weapon had reached them, the Babylonians overtook and defeated them in the district of Hamath so that not a single man escaped to his own country. At that time Nebuchadnezzar conquered the whole of Hatti-land." The battle is also mentioned and described in the Bible (Jer. 46:3-12).

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Last updated on Tuesday February 26, 2008 at 06:58:11 PST (GMT -0800)
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