Nebuchadnezzar IV

Nebuchadnezzar IV (Babylonian cuneiform: Nabû-kudurri-uṣur, meaning "Nabu, watch over my heir"; Old Persian: 𐎴𐎲𐎢𐎤𐎢𐎭𐎼𐎨𐎼 Nabukudracara), alternatively spelled Nebuchadrezzar IV and also known by his original name Arakha (Old Persian: 𐎠𐎼𐎧 Araxaʰ), was a nobleman of Urartian (Armenian) descent who in 521 BC seized power in Babylon, becoming the city's king and leading a revolt against the Persian Achaemenid Empire. His revolt began less than a year after the unsuccessful revolt of Nebuchadnezzar III and like his predecessor, Arakha assumed the name Nebuchadnezzar and claimed to be a son of Nabonidus, Babylon's last independent king.

Most of the cuneiform tablets recognising the rule of Nebuchadnezzar IV are from Babylon itself, but there are further documents mentioning him from other cities like Uruk and Borsippa and he might have been accepted as king in much of middle and southern Babylonia. Cities in the north, such as Sippar, continued to recognise Persian rule throughout Nebuchadnezzar IV's brief reign. Following a siege of the city by the Persian general Intaphrenes, Babylon was recaptured by the Persians on 27 November 521 BC, whereafter Nebuchadnezzar IV and his supporters were executed.