(Nebuchadnezzar II, Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

Nebuchadnezzar was the name of several Babylonian kings. Of Akkadian origin, the name Nabu-kudurri-usur derives from Nebu/Nabu (the Babylonian deity of wisdom, son of Marduk) and kudurru (an inscribed stone deed of property, a clay copy serving as a boundary marker; contained in a ruler's title it also means "firstborn son" or "oldest son") and thus either means "Nebo, protect my eldest son" or "Nebo, protect the border".

Nebuchadnezzar I is considered the greatest king of the Dynasty of Pashe (second Isin dynasty), a line that ruled Babylon from about 1146 BC to 1010 BC. Driving out the Elamite invaders, he re-established the Babylonian lands and then expanded and solidified its borders, thus engaging Babylon into conflict with Assyria.

Nebuchadnezzar II was king of Babylon in the Chaldaean Dynasty (605 BC - 562 BC), second son and successor of Naboplassar, and is famous for his monument building within the capital and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. According to Berossus, he married Amytis of Media, daughter or granddaughter of Cyaxeres, King of the Medes, thus uniting the Median and Babylonian dynasties.

Nebuchadnezzar IV was an Armenian by the name of Arakha, the son of Haldita, who claimed to be the son of the last king of Babylon, Nabonidus, and renamed himself Nebuchadnezzar IV. In 521 BC his short-lived rebellion was squashed by Intaphrenes, Darius' bow carrier.

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