1 During the years that King Nebuchadnezzar ruled Assyria from the capital city of Nineveh, King Arphaxad ruled over Media Province from his capital city of Ecbatana.In the twelfth year of Nebuchadnezzar's rule,
2 Arphaxad began fortifying Ecbatana by building a wall around it that was over 31 meters high and 22 meters thick. The wall was made out of cut stones, each one of them 1.3 meters wide and 2.6 meters long.
3 Beside each gate into the city, he built a tower 44.5 meters tall with a base that was 27 meters wide.
4 Each gate had an opening 31 meters high and 18 meters wide—big enough for his powerful army to march out in rows on its way into battle.
5 In that same year, Nebuchadnezzar went to war against Arphaxad in the large valley near the city of Ragau.
6 Many other nations sent their armies to help Nebuchadnezzar fight Arphaxad, including those from the mountains south of Ecbatana, those living along the Euphrates, the Tigris, and the Hydaspes Rivers, as well as those from the valley ruled by King Arioch of Elam. This large and powerful army went with Nebuchadnezzar into battle against Arphaxad.
7 Nebuchadnezzar sent messengers to ask the people of nearby regions and cities to join him in this battle. His messengers went to the Persians and to regions west of Assyria, including Cilicia, Damascus, Lebanon, and Anti-Lebanon. They also went to the people who lived along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea