A Biographical Dictionary of the Celebrated Women of Every Age and Country/Nitocris (of Babylon)
Neroglissar and Labarosoarchad usurped the throne. But in 555, Nabonidas and Belshazzar began to reign. This last was the son of Evil Merodac and Nitocris, and grandson of Nebuchadnezzar: he was an impious and pleasure loving prince, neglecting his subjects and kingdom; but Nitocris, a woman of great understanding and masculine spirit, took the main burden of the government upon herself; and whilst her son was following his pleasures, exerted her utmost effort to preserve the state. Herodotus ascribes to her the construction of the bridge, river banks, and artificial lake, for the preservation of the city from the overflowing of the Euphrates. Most probably she only completed the unfinished work of Nebuchadnezzar. Whilst the river was turned, for thus finishing its banks, and the walls of the city, she caused a wonderful vault or gallery to be made underneath it, leading from the old palace to the new, 12 feet high and 15 wide; and having covered it with a strong arch, and over that a layer of bitumen 6 feet thick, she turned the river again over it; for, as it is the nature of that bitumen to petrify when water comes over it, and become as hard as stone, it preserved the vaulted gallery from being penetrated by the water. This preserved the communication of the two palaces, between which the river flowed, both of them being strongly fortified; that, in case one of them should be taken, the other might serve to escape unto. A necessary precaution, as the Babylonian empire had been some time before invaded by the united forces of Cyaxares and Cyrus; though they proved in vain, the city being taken by surprize, on the night of an annual festival. God at that time manifesting his vengeance in an extraordinary manner, by sending a miracle to denounce the fall of the empire. The king and nobles, banqueting in the palace, saw the appearance of a hand writing an unknown sentence on the wall. Struck with terror, they sent for the wise men, magicians, and astrologers, but none of them could explain the writing and appearance. Nitocris, hearing of the matter, went to the banqueting house, and informed the king of the wisdom of Daniel; for though Daniel was unknown to the king, Nitocris, holding the regency of the kingdom during his minority, had constantly employed him in public affairs, and knew him well; and though Belshazzar had then reigned 17 years, he had been so immersed in pleasure, as entirely to have left the welfare and direction of the nation to his mother, whose superior wisdom eminently fitted her for that high station, and she certainly did the utmost to save the state from ruin. Her name was for some time after so great in the East, that Herodotus speaks of her as sovereign, in the same manner as Semiramis.