In the mol-ecule of the title compound, C(16)H(19)N(3)O(6), the imidazole ring is essentially planar [maximum deviation = 0.002 (2) Å] and forms a dihedral angle of 5.08 (14)° with the nitro group. In the crystal structure, adjacent mol-ecules are connected via inter-molecular C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds into columns parallel to the a axis.