Nimrod


Nimrod (; Hebrew: נִמְרוֹד, Modern: Nīmrōd, Tiberian: Nīmrōḏ; Imperial Aramaic: ܢܡܪܘܕ; Arabic: نُمْرُود, romanized: Numrūd) is a biblical figure mentioned in the Book of Genesis and Books of Chronicles. The son of Cush and therefore a great-grandson of Noah, Nimrod was described as a king in the land of Shinar (Lower Mesopotamia). The Bible states that he was "a mighty hunter before the Lord [and] ... began to be mighty in the earth". Later extra-biblical traditions identified Nimrod as the ruler who commissioned the construction of the Tower of Babel, which led to his reputation as a king who was rebellious against God. Nimrod has not been attested in any historic, non-biblical registers, records or king lists, including those of Mesopotamia itself which are both considerably older and more diverse than the later biblical texts. Historians have failed to match Nimrod with any historically attested figure, or find any historical, linguistic or genetic link between Mesopotamia and the kingdom of Cush, although one recent suggestion among the exclusively Mesopotamian figures is Naram-Sin of Akkad, grandson of Sargon.Several ruins of the Middle East have been named after him during the Islamic Era.