Nabopolassar of Babylon has gathered another army,…

Nabopolassar of Babylon has gathered another army, which camps at Qurumati on the Euphrates.

However, Nabopolassar's poor health forces him in 605 BCE to return to Babylon.

The Egyptians respond in 606 BCE by attacking the leaderless Babylonians (probably at this time led by the crown prince), who flee their position.

The aged Nabopolassar at this point passes command of the army to his son, who, as Nebuchadrezzar II, leads them to a decisive victory over the Egyptians at Carchemish, and pursues the fleeing survivors to Hamath.

Necho's dream of restoring the Egyptian Empire in the Middle East as had occurred under the New Kingdom is destroyed as Nebuchadrezzar conquers Egyptian territory from the Euphrates to the Brook of Egypt (Jeremiah 46:2; 2 Kings 23:29) down to Judea.

Nebuchadrezzar will spend many years in his new conquests on continuous pacification campaigns, but Necho will be unable to recover any significant part of his lost territories.

When, for example, Ashkalon rises in revolt, the Egyptians send no help despite repeated pleas, and are barely able to repel a Babylonian attack on their eastern border in 601 BCE.

When he does repel the Babylonian attack, …