Editing Chaldea (section)

{{Short description|Small Semitic nation of ancient Mesopotamia}}
{{Distinguish|Chaldia|Chaldean Catholic Church}}
{{redirect|Ancient Chaldeans|other uses|Chaldeans (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Babylonie chaldeens.svg|thumb|350px|The Chaldean tribes in Babylonia during the 1st millennium BC.]]

'''Chaldea''' ({{IPAc-en|k|æ|l|ˈ|d|iː|ə}}) refers to a region probably located in the marshy land of southern [[Mesopotamia]]. It is mentioned, with varying meaning, in [[Neo-Assyrian]] cuneiform, the [[Hebrew Bible]], and in classical Greek texts. The [[Hebrew Bible]] uses the term {{lang|he|כשדים}} (''Kaśdim'') and this is translated as ''Chaldaeans'' in the [[Greek Old Testament]].

During a period of weakness in the [[East Semitic languages|East Semitic]]-speaking kingdom of Babylonia, new tribes of [[West Semitic languages|West Semitic]]-speaking migrants<ref>Nordhoff, Sebastian; Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). "West Semitic". Glottolog 2.2. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.</ref> arrived in the region from [[the Levant]] between the 11th and 9th centuries BC. The earliest waves consisted of [[Suteans]] and [[Arameans]], followed a century or so later by the Kaldu, a group who became known later as the Chaldeans or the Chaldees. These migrations did not affect the powerful kingdom and empire of [[Assyria]] in [[Upper Mesopotamia]], which repelled these incursions.

These nomadic Chaldeans settled in the far southeastern portion of Babylonia, chiefly on the left bank of the [[Euphrates]]. Though for a short time the name commonly referred to the whole of southern Mesopotamia in Hebraic literature, this was a geographical and historical misnomer as Chaldea proper was in fact only the plain in the far southeast formed by the deposits of the [[Euphrates]] and the [[Tigris]], extending about {{convert|400|mi|km|order=flip}} along the course of these rivers and averaging about {{convert|100|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on}} in width.
{{anchor|Etymology|Names}} There were several kings of Chaldean origins who ruled Babylonia.<ref name=Beaulieu>{{Cite book|last=Beaulieu|first=Paul-Alain|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yMhQDwAAQBAJ&q=%22Dynasty+of+E%22|title=A History of Babylon, 2200 BC – AD 75|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|year=2018|isbn=978-1405188999|location=Hoboken}}</ref>{{rp|178}} From 626 BC to 539 BC, a ruling dynasty in later times referred to as the "[[Chaldean dynasty]]", named after their possible Chaldean origin,{{r|Beaulieu|p=4}} ruled the kingdom at its height under the [[Neo-Babylonian Empire]], although the final ruler of this empire, [[Nabonidus]] (556–539 BC) (and his son and regent [[Belshazzar]]) was a usurper of [[Assyrian people|Assyrian]] ancestry.

Despite the similarity in name, Chaldea is not to be confused with the modern [[Chaldean Catholic Church]] or its adherents, who are predominantly ethnic [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]]. Members of the Assyrian community have noted that [[Mandaeans]] hold a stronger connection to the region, while the theory of Chaldean origin arose around the time of a rise of Chaldean nationalism within the Assyrian community.<ref>{{cite web |last=Kasha |first=Jibrail |date=2021 |title=The Mandaeans: The Legitimate Heirs of the Chaldean Heritage |url=https://www.academia.edu/46899363/The_Mandaeans_The_Legitimate_Heirs_of_the_Chaldean_Heritage#:~:text=The%20Mandaeans%20are%20a%20small,traditionally%20been%20gold%2D%20and%20silversmiths. |website=academia.edu |location= |publisher= |access-date=12 February 2025}}</ref>