Neriglissar

Neriglissar (Babylonian cuneiform:   Nergal-šar-uṣur or Nergal-šarra-uṣur, meaning "Nergal, protect the king") was the fourth king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, ruling from his usurpation of the throne in 560 BC to his death in 556 BC. Though unrelated to previous Babylonian kings, possibly being of Aramean ancestry, Neriglissar was a prominent official and general in the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II (r. 605–562 BC) and became even more influential through marrying one of Nebuchadnezzar's daughters, possibly Kashshaya.

Nebuchadnezzar was initially succeeded by his son, Amel-Marduk, but Amel-Marduk's reign only lasted for two years before Neriglissar usurped the Babylonian throne and put him to death. Through his marriage to Nebuchadnezzar's daughter, possibly significantly older than any of the old king's sons, Neriglissar might have represented a less legitimate but more wealthy and well-established faction of the royal family, even if he himself was not part of this family.

The most well documented event of Neriglissar's reign is his successful 557–556 BC campaign in Anatolia against Appuwashu, king of a small kingdom in Cilicia. Neriglissar successfully captured Appuwashu's capital, Ura, as well as another city, Kirshu, before conducting an amphibious attack against a nearby island and then laying waste to mountain passes on the western border to Lydia. Shortly after returning home to Babylonia victorious, Neriglissar died in April 556 BC. He was succeeded as king by his son, Labashi-Marduk, whose reign would only last for two or three months before being deposed and killed in favour of Nabonidus.