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Cylinder of Nabonidus |
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Tablet with part of the Nabonidus Chronicle (556-530...
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Neo-Babylonian Dynasty |
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Babylon (Iraq) |
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Key | |
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Stela of Nabonidus
Neo-Babylonian
dynasty, 555-539 BC
Possibly from Babylon, southern Iraq
The last king of
the Neo-Babylonian Empire
It is not known where
this basalt stela
was originally found, but it may come from Babylon. Comparison with other
sculptures, on which he is named, suggest that it represents King
Nabonidus. He wears the traditional dress of a Babylonian king, and holds
a standard which was possibly carried during a religious ceremony. Above
him are the divine symbols of the moon-god,
Sin, (closest to him), the planet Venus of Ishtar
and the winged disc of the sun-god Shamash.
The text celebrates the return of plenty after a drought.
Nabonidus was the last king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, which
stretched from the border of Egypt to the Gulf. He was not a member of the
royal family but came to the throne after the legitimate ruler had been
murdered. Keen to show his legitimacy, Nabonidus undertook major building
works. One of his projects was in the city of Harran where the temple of
the god Sin
was rebuilt. He appears to have been devoted to this god, and it is
probable that his mother had been a priestess of Sin at Harran. Another
text of Nabonidus records her death and explains that she lived to be over
a hundred.
Height: 58 cm
Width: 46 cm
Thickness: 25 cm
ANE 90837
(1825.5-3.99)
Room 55, Later
Mesopotamia, Un-numbered case
M. Roaf, Cultural
atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East (New York, 1990), p.
201
H.W.F. Saggs, Babylonians (London, The British Museum Press,
1995), p.168, fig. 82
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