<sod>  {{Template:Ancient Mesopotamia}}
 
'''Chaldea''' was a [[kingdom]] in the southern portion of [[Babylonia]] lying chiefly on the right bank of the Euphrates. The name was commonly used to refer to the whole of the Mesopotamian plain. The [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] name is &#1499;&#1513;&#1491;&#1497;&#1501; (Kasdim).
 
==Geography==
Chaldea was a vast plain formed by the deposits of the [[Euphrates]] and the [[Tigris]], extending to about four hundred miles along the course of these rivers, and about a hundred miles in average width.
 
 ==People==
The '''Chaldeans''' settled in southern Mesopotamia in the early part of the first millennium BC.  Their language was [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] and settled much further to the south than the [[Arameans]], whom settled in northern Mesopotamia and [[Aramea|Aram]]. They were one of the later tribes to leave the [[Arabian Peninsula|"Arabian" Peninsula]] and to settle in the [[Fertile Crescent]].
 
 ==Politics==
 The Chaldean influence was felt in Babylonian politics. Several 9th and 8th century BC Babylonian kings were of Chaldean origin. The Chaldeans formed some of the strongest resistance to Assyrian rule. King [[Marduk-apal-iddina II]] resisted the Assyrians in the times of [[Sargon II]] and the early years of [[Sennacherib]]. King [[Mushezib-Marduk]] was king just before Sennacherib's sack of Bayblon in [[689 BC]].
 When Babylonia finally reestablished its independence, it was under the [[Chaldean Dynasty]] of king [[Nabopolassar]].  After the conquest of Babylonia by the [[Persians]], the Chaldeans disappear as an independent nation.
 
==Title of Nobility==
 Roman and later authors used the name Chaldeans in particular for [[astrology|astrologers]] and [[mathematics|mathematicians]] from Babylonia.
 
 In modern times, roughly one million [[Iraq|Iraqi]] [[Christians]] refer to themselves [[Chaldeans]]. 
 <eod> <sod> {{Template:Ancient Mesopotamia}}
'''Chaldea''', "the [[Chaldees]]" of the [[King James Version]] of the [[Old Testament]], was a [[Hellenistic]] designation for a part of [[Babylonia]].   One early such reference is to the impending sack of [[Jerusalem]] by [[Nebuchadnezzar II]] ([[Book_of_Habakkuk|Hab]] 1:6).
 
The 11th dynasty of the [[Kings of Babylon]] ([[6th century BC]]) is conventionally known to historians as the [[Chaldean Dynasty]]. Their kingdom in the southern portion of [[Babylonia]] lay chiefly on the right bank of the Euphrates. Though the name came to be commonly used to refer to the whole of  Mesopotamia, Chaldea proper was the vast plain in the south formed by the deposits of the [[Euphrates]] and the [[Tigris]], extending to about four hundred miles along the course of these rivers, and about a hundred miles in average width.
 
 
The [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] name is &#1499;&#1513;&#1491;&#1497;&#1501; (Kasdim).
 
 ==People==
The '''Chaldeans''' settled in southern Mesopotamia in the early part of the first millennium BC.  Their language was [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]], and theysettled much further to the south than the [[Arameans]], who settled in northern Mesopotamia and [[Aramea|Aram]]. They were one of the later tribes to leave the [[Arabian Peninsula|"Arabian" Peninsula]] and to settle in the [[Fertile Crescent]].
 
 ==Politics==
 The Chaldean influence was felt in Babylonian politics. Several 9th and 8th century BC Babylonian kings were of Chaldean origin. The Chaldeans formed some of the strongest resistance to Assyrian rule. King [[Marduk-apal-iddina II]] resisted the Assyrians in the times of [[Sargon II]] and the early years of [[Sennacherib]]. King [[Mushezib-Marduk]] was king just before Sennacherib's sack of Bayblon in [[689 BC]].

 When Babylonia finally reestablished its independence, it was under the [[Chaldean Dynasty]] of king [[Nabopolassar]].  After the conquest of Babylonia by the [[Persians]], the Chaldeans disappear as an independent nation.
 
=="Chaldean" astrologers and magicians==
 Roman and later authors used the name Chaldeans in particular for [[astrology|astrologers]] and [[mathematics|mathematicians]] from Babylonia.
 
 In modern times, roughly one million [[Iraq|Iraqi]] [[Christians]] refer to themselves [[Chaldeans]]. 
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