Arakha – The Last Babylonian King – Armenian Rebel

The last independent Babylonian king was an Armenian named Arakha, also known as Nebuchadnezzar IV. After the conquest of Babylon by the Achaemenid Empire in 539 BC, Babylonians attempted to rebel against their Persian conquerors several times. The first rebellion was led by Nidintu-Bêl, but it was violently suppressed by Darius the Great. The very last resistance was led by Arakha.

Ancient Iranian town Behistun houses several ancient monuments, including the famous inscriptions of Darius I. They contain records of Arakha’s rebellion, as well as the subsequent suppression by Darius. The accounts read as follows:

A certain man named Arakha, an Armenian, son of Haldita, rebelled in Babylon. At a place called Dubâla, he lied unto the people, saying: ‘I am Nebuchadnezzar, the son of Nabonidus.’ Then did the Babylonian people revolt from me and they went over to that Arakha. He seized Babylon, he became king in Babylon.

Then did I send an army unto Babylon. A Persian named Intaphrenes, my servant, I appointed as their leader, and thus I spoke unto them: ‘Go, smite that Babylonian host which does not acknowledge me.’

Then Intaphrenes marched with the army unto Babylon. Ahuramazda brought me help; by the grace of Ahuramazda Intaphrenes overthrew the Babylonians and brought over the people unto me.

On the twenty-second day of the month Markâsanaš [27 November] they seized that Arakha who called himself Nebuchadnezzar, and the men who were his chief followers.

Then I made a decree, saying: ‘Let that Arakha and the men who were his chief followers be crucified in Babylon!’

As we already mentioned, this was the last rebellion against Persians.

Apart from the fact that an Armenian tried to liberate Babylon from Persian control, his and also his father’s name are quite remarkable. Clearly being an Armenian name, Arakha means “crown prince” in Armenian. Today, the name’s variant Ara is a quite popular name in Armenia.

As for his father’s name, Haldita, it clearly bears the name of Haldi, the chief deity of Urartu. The suffix –ta could be derived from Armenian word “tal”, meaning give. Today, Armenians say “Astvats-ta”, meaning “God give”, so it is entirely possible that Armenians said “Haldi-ta” back in the days when they worshiped Haldi. This makes “Haldita” a “God’s gift”, a common name in many languages, like the Slavic Bogdan (God given) or the Armenian Astvatsatur.

Hereby, we once again observe an Armenian-Urartian connection. The accounts of Arakha’s deeds clearly support it. Additionally, we have recently examined the toponyms of Armenia and Urartu, as well as recent genetic evidence discovered in the bones of ancient Urartians, which matches the genetic profile of modern Armenians.

According to: PeopleOfAr