ABC 7: The Nabonidus Chronicle

The Nabonidus Chronicle is a historiographical text from ancient Babylonia. It describes the reign of Nabonidus, the last king of the Babylonian Empire, who lost his realm to the Persian king Cyrus the Great in 539 BCE. These pages present a scholarly edition; an easy-to-read version can be found here.

General Introduction

Colum Column Comment Literature i-ii iii-iv

Nabonidus Chronicle, reverse This web-edition is based on A.K. Grayson, Assyrian and (British Museum) Babylonian Chronicles (1975, repr.2000), but there are modifications, that are explained here. Reverse (column iii-iv) Column iii Lacuna 1 [...] GAZ? d x [...] 2 [...] e dItar(m) Urukki [...] 3 [...] xme kurPa[r-su? ...] 4 [...]me ni [...] -------------------------------------5 [MU Xkm ... dN ]ab ultu Bar-sipki ana ase [dBl illikuku dBl sa] Lacuna [...] killed/defeated. The river ... [...] [...] ... Ishtar Uruk [...] [...] of Per[sia...] [...] ... [...] -------------------------------------[The seventeenth year (539/538): ... N]abu [came] from Borsippa for the procession of Bel. Bel came out.]

6 [... iti] Tebtu arru ana -tr-kalam- [... In the month] Tebetu the king entered Eturkalamma. In the temple [...] ma rub ina ?-[...] 7 [...] x-ut-tim maqqtu(bala)tu4 karni iqqi(bala)q tum x x x [...] 8 [... dB[l sa isinnu a-ki-t ki almu pu ina iti[x ...] 9 [... ilni]me Marad-daki dZaba4-ba4 u ilnime Kiki dNin-ll x [...] [...] ... He made a libation of wine ... [...] [... B]el came out. They performed the Akitu festival as in normal times. In the month [...] [... the gods] of Marad, Zababa, and the gods of Kish, Ninlil [and the gods of]

10 [x] /Hur\-sag-kalam-ma ana Bbliki Hursagkalamma entered Babylon. Until the end of the rubme -ni adi qt(til) itiUlli month Ululu the gods of Akkad [...] ilni me kurAkkadki 11 eln(ugu) IM u apln(ki.ta) IM from everywhere were entering Babylon. The gods of

ana Bbili5ki irrubme -ni ilnime Borsippa, Cuthah, Bar-sipki Kut[ki] 12 u Sip-parki l rubme -ni ina itiTarti mKu-ra sal-tum ina Upki ina muhhi [...] 13 d-diq-lat ana libbi ummnini kurAkkadki ki pu (erasure) nime kur Akkadki and Sippar did not enter (Babylon). When13 Cyrus did13 battle at Opis on the [bank of] the Tigris against the army of Akkad, the people of Akkad

14 BALA.KI hubta(sar) ihbut(sar) retreated. He carried off the plunder (and) slaughtered me ki ni idk UD XIV Sippar ba-la the people. On the fourteenth day Sippar was captured without a battle. sal-tum sa-bit 15 mdNab-n'id ihliq UD XVI m/Ug\-ba-ru lp h t(nam) kurGu-ti-um u ummnime mKu-ra ba-la sal-tum 16 ana Bbili5ki rub arki
mdNab-n 'id

Nabonidus fled. On the sixteenth day, Ugbaru, governor of Gutium, and the army of Cyrus, without battle they entered Babylon. Afterwards, after Nabonidus retreated, he was captured in Babylon. Until the end of the month, the shield-(bearing troops)

ki

ihhisasa ina

sa-bit adi qt(til) arhi

Bbili5ki ku tuk-ume

17 kurGu-ti-um bbtime -sagfrom Gutium surrounded the gates of Esagil. (But) gl ilm(nigin) bat-la mim-ma ina interruption (of rites) in Esagil or the (other) temples sag-gl u kurrtime DI 18 ul i--kin si-ma-nu ul innitiq(dib)iq itiArahsamnu UD IIIkm mKu-ra ana B bili ki rub 5 19 ha-ri-ni-e ina pni- umall(diri)me u-lum ana li -kin mKu-ra u-lum ana B bli ki there was not, and no date (for a performance) was missed. On the third day of the month Arahsamna, Cyrus entered Babylon. The har-vessels were filled before him. There was peace in the city while Cyrus, (his) greeting to

20 gab-bi- qi-bi mGu-ba-ru lp hta(nam)- Babylon in its entirety spoke. Gubaru, his district officer, lp h(at)ti (nam)me ina B bili ki ip- appointed the district officers in Babylon. 5 te-qid 21 ultu itiKislmi adi itiAddari ilni me kurAkkadki mdNabn'id ana Bbili5ki -e-ri-du-/ni\ 22 a-na ma-/ha\-zi--nu itrme itiArahsamnu ma(gi ) UD XIkm 6
mUg-ba-ru

From the month Kislimu to the month Addaru, the gods of Akkad which Nabonidus had brought to Babylon returned to their places. On the night of the eleventh of the month Arahsamna, Ugbaru died. In the mon[th Addaru] the king's wife died. From the twenty-seventh of the month Addaru to the third of the month Nisannu [there was] (an official) mourning period in Akkad.

mt ina it[iAddari]

23 /aat\ arri mtatat ultu XXVII itiAddari adi UD III itiNisanni bi-kitum ina Akkad[ki aknatat]

24 /ni\me gab-bi qaqqad-su-nu All of the people bared their heads. On the fourth day ipattar(du8)me UD IVkm mKm-buwhen Cambyses, son of C[yrus], zi-ia mru mK[u-ra] 25 a-/na\ -gidri(ng.pa)-kalam-mawent to Egidrikalammasummu the ...-official of Nabu,

25 a-/na\ -gidri(ng.pa)-kalam-masum-mu ku illik l.PA dNab PA x [...] 26 /ki\ illikku a-u lu-bu-u-bi Elamtiki qtII dNab [...] x [...] 27 [gi as-m]a-re-e u ku i-patme ultu [...] x /mr arri?\ ana du[l-li? ...]

went to Egidrikalammasummu the ...-official of Nabu, who ... [...] When he came, because of the Elamite dress! the hand of Nabu [...] ... [...] [sp]ears and quivers from [...] ... crown prince to the wo[rk ...]

28 [...] dNab ana -sag-gl NIGIN x ki [...] Nabu to Esagil ... before Bel and the son of B[el ...] x ina pn dBl u mr dB[l ...] Column iv 1' [...] x en 2' [...] x Bbili5ki mme 3' [...] xme iq-ta-tur 4' [...] ka gan ITI bbu na-pi-il 5' [...] -an-na EZEN-x-KASki 6' [... b]t mu-um-mu s 7' [...] ZI 8' [...] x ina Bbili5ki x hi 9' [...] Bbli[ki] is-rim-ma [...] [...] Babylon, water [...] ... clouded over [...] ... the gate was ruined [...] Eanna of Ezen-x-kas [...] bit mummu, he went out [...] ... [...] in Babylon ... [...] Babylon he strove.