Modern perceptions of Nabonidus' reign have been heavily colored by accounts wri

tten well after his reign as king of Babylon, most notably by the Persians and t
he Greeks. As a result, Nabonidus has often been described in very negative term
s in both modern and contemporaneous scholarship. However, an accumulation of ev
idence and a reassessment of existing material has caused opinions on Nabonidus
and the events that happened during his reign to alter significantly in recent d
ecades.[1]
Biography[edit]
Ascent[edit]
Terracotta cylinder by Nabonidus concerning repairs on the temple of Sn, British
Museum
Nabonidus' background is not clear. He said in his inscriptions that he was of u
nimportant origins.[2] Similarly, his mother Addagoppe, who lived to an old age
and may have been connected to the temple of the moon-god Sn in Harran, does not
mention her family background in her inscriptions. There are two arguments for a
n Assyrian background: repeated references in Nabonidus' royal propaganda and im
agery to Ashurbanipal, the last great Neo-Assyrian king; and Nabonidus' originat
ing from, and his special interest in Harran, an Assyrian city and the last stro
nghold of the Neo-Assyrians after the fall of Nineveh, their main capital.[3] Ho
wever, it has been pointed out that Nabonidus' royal propaganda was hardly diffe
rent from his predecessors, while his Persian successor, Cyrus the Great, also r
eferred to Ashurbanipal in the Cyrus cylinder.[4] He certainly did not belong to
the previous ruling dynasty, the Chaldeans, of whom Nebuchadnezzar II was the m
ost famous member. He came to the throne in 556 BC by overthrowing the young kin
g Labashi-Marduk.
Reign[edit]
Nabonidus took an interest in Babylon's past, excavating ancient buildings and d
isplaying his archeological discoveries in a museum. In most ancient accounts, h
e is depicted as a royal anomaly. Nabonidus is supposed to have worshiped the mo
on-god Sn beyond all the other gods, to have paid special devotion to Sn's temple
in Harran, where his mother was a priestess, and to have neglected the Babylonia
n primary god, Marduk. He left the capital for the desert oasis of Tayma in Arab
ia early in his reign, from which he only returned after many years. In the mean
time, his son Belshazzar ruled from Babylon.
Contributions[edit]
Nabonidus is most revered and is known as the first archaeologist.[5] Not only d
id he lead the first excavations which were to find the foundation deposits of t
he temples of ama the sun god, the warrior goddess Anunitu, (both located in Sippa
r), and the sanctuary of Naram-Sin, the moon god, located in Harran, but he also
had them restored to their former glory.[6] He was also the first to date an ar
chaeological artifact in his attempt to date Naram-Sin's temple during his searc
h for it.[7] Even though his estimate was inaccurate by about 1500 years, it was
still a very good one considering the lack of accurate dating technology at the
time.[8]).
Religious policy[edit]
Although Nabonidus' personal preference for Sn is clear, the strength of this pre
ference divides scholars. While some claim that it is obvious from his inscripti
ons that he became almost henotheistic,[9] others consider Nabonidus to have bee
n similar to other Babylonian rulers, in that he respected the other cults and r
eligions in his kingdom.[10]His negative image could then be blamed on the Mardu
k priesthood, that resented Nabonidus' long absence from Babylon during his stay
in Tayma, during which the important, Marduk-related New Year (Aktu-)Festival co
uld not take place, and his emphasis on Sn. In any case, there is no sign of the
civil unrest during his reign that would have been indicative of trouble.
Granite stele of the Babylonian king Nabonidus. Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul
Archeological Museums,Turkey.

Part of the propaganda issued by both the Marduk priesthood and Cyrus is the sto
ry of Nabonidus taking the most important cultic statues from southern Mesopotam
ia hostage in Babylon. This seems to be correct: a great number of contemporary
inscriptions shows that these statues and their cultic personnel were indeed bro
ught to Babylon just before the Persian attack:
"In the month of [bu?] Lugal-Marada and the other gods of the town Marad, Zabada
and the other gods of Kish, the goddess Ninlil and the other gods of Hursagkalam
a visited Babylon. Till the end of the month Ullu all the gods of Akkad -those fr
om above and those from below- entered Babylon. The gods of Borsippa, Cutha, and
Sippar did not enter."
"Babylonian Chronicles on the 17th year of the reign of Nabonidus".
However, modern scholarship has provided an explanation for this action. In Meso
potamia, gods were supposed to be housed inside their statues, from where they t
ook care of their cities. But this only happened if they received the right kind
of attention. So Nabonidus took special care of these statues and made sure tha
t their cultic personnel had to come along with him.[11] This was a long-standin
g tradition, too:
"One of the most powerful illustrations of the strength and conviction of image
worship in ancient Mesopotamia is probably the treatment of cult statues in time
s of war. Assyrian and Babylonian sources of the first millennium frequently all
ude to the removal of divine statues from the temples as the result of a city be
ing conquered. Spoliated statues were usually carried off to the land of the vic
torious power (Assyria in most known cases) where they remained in captivity unt
il a turn of events would allow them to be restored to their shrines. (...) Rath
er than incur the capture of their gods and the resulting implications of such c
apture, namely, that the gods were abandoning the city and calling for its destr
uction, cities often tried to prevent the transfer of the statues to enemy terri
tory, since continued possession of them in the face of adversity proved that th
e gods were still protecting and supporting their people and native land. (...)
[D]uring the months which preceded the invasion and conquest of Babylonia by the
Persians in 539 BC, King Nabonidus ordered a massive gathering of the gods of S
umer and Akkad into the capital. Unlike previous attempts, the gathering ordered
by Nabonidus is documented by a number of historical and archival sources." [af
ter this, Beaulieu goes on to discuss these sources in detail]
P.-A. Beaulieu 1993:241-2
But this exposed him to criticism by his enemies, notably Cyrus, who was trying
to show why he was a better king than Nabonidus had been, and took this as an ex
ample of Nabonidus lack of fitness to rule.[12] In the words of, again, Beaulieu
:
"The returning of the statues to their sanctuaries provided Cyrus with one of hi
s many propagandistic anti-Nabonidus themes. Not content with re-establishing th
e gods in their residence, he charged the deposed king with having brought them
to the capital against their will."
P.-A. Beaulieu 1993:243
And in the words of Cyrus himself, as recorded on the Cyrus Cylinder, found in B
abylon in 1879:
"As for the gods of Sumer and Akkad which Nabonidus, to the wrath of the lord of
the gods, brought to Babylon, at the command of Marduk, the great lord, I (Cyru
s) caused them to dwell in peace in their sanctuaries, (in) pleasing dwellings.
May all the gods I brought (back) to their sanctuaries plead daily before Bel an
d Nabu for the lengthening of my days, may they intercede favorably on my behalf
."
Cyrus Cylinder, 3034
This is confirmed by the Babylonian Chronicles:
"From the month of Kislmu to the month of Addaru, the gods of Akkad which Nabonid
us had made come down to Babylon, were returned to their sacred cities."
"Babylonian Chronicles on the 17th year of the reign of Nabonidus".
Nabonidus' stay in Tayma[edit]
It is not clear yet why Nabonidus stayed in Tayma for so long. His reason for go
ing there seems clear: Tayma was an important oasis, from where lucrative Arabia

n trade routes could be controlled. The Assyrians before him had already attempt
ed to do the same.[13] However, why Nabonidus stayed for so long (probably about
ten years, perhaps from 553543 BC) and why he returned when he did remain unreso
lved questions. It has been proposed that this was because he did not feel at ho
me in Babylon, which was opposed to his emphasis on Sn. Regarding his return, thi
s may have had to do with the mounting threat of Cyrus and growing disagreements
with Belshazzar, who was relieved of his command directly after Nabonidus had c
ome back, along with a number of administrators.[14] During his stay, Nabonidus
adorned Tayma with a complex of royal buildings, most of which have come to ligh
t during recent excavations.[15]
The Persian conquest of Babylonia[edit]
Different accounts of the fall of Babylon survive. According to the Cyrus Cylind
er, the people opened their gates for Cyrus and greeted him as their liberator.
Isaiah 4055 prophesied that the Persians would carry off Babylonian women and cul
tic statues. Herodotus said that Cyrus defeated the Babylonians outside their ci
ty, after which a siege began. When this took too long, Cyrus diverted the Euphr
ates, so that his troops could march into the city through the river bed.[16] Xe
nophon had a similar view, but he did not mention the battle.[17] Finally, Beros
sus claimed that Cyrus beat the Babylonian army, but this time, Nabonidus was su
pposed to have fled to nearby Borsippa. There he hid, while Cyrus took Babylon a
nd demolished its outer walls. When Cyrus turned towards Borsippa, Nabonidus soo
n surrendered.[18]
As these accounts contradict each other, (the Cyrus Cylinder and Isaiah; for the
latter, see Cyrus in the Judeo-Christian tradition), oral traditions (Herodotus
and Xenophon) and conflicting records (Berossus), they are quite confusing. The
Nabonidus Chronicle is more helpful. This is a part of the Babylonian Chronicle
s, which are concise, factual accounts of historical events, and are therefore c
onsidered to be very reliable, although not very informative.[19] Regarding the
capture of Babylon by Cyrus, this text says:
"In the month of Tartu, when Cyrus attacked the army of Akkad in Opis [i.e., Baghd
ad] on the Tigris, the inhabitants of Akkad revolted, but he [Cyrus or Nabonidus
?] massacred the confused inhabitants. The fifteenth day [12 October], Sippar wa
s seized without battle. Nabonidus fled. The sixteenth day, Gobryas [litt: Ugbar
u], the governor of Gutium, and the army of Cyrus entered Babylon without battle
. Afterwards, Nabonidus was arrested in Babylon when he returned there. Till the
end of the month, the shield carrying Gutians were staying within Esagila but n
obody carried arms in Esagila and its buildings. The correct time for a ceremony
was not missed. In the month of Arahsamna, the third day [29 October], Cyrus en
tered Babylon, green twigs were spread in front of him the state of peace was im
posed upon the city. Cyrus sent greetings to all Babylon. Gobryas, his governor,
installed subgovernors in Babylon."
"Babylonian Chronicles on the 17th year of the reign of Nabonidus".
Additionally, a building inscription has been found which mentions the restorati
on of the Enlil Gate of Babylon shortly after its capture. Based on this informa
tion, the following reconstruction has been proposed:[20] When Cyrus attempted t
o march into southern Mesopotamia, he was met by the Babylonians near Opis. In t
he ensuing battle, the Persians were victorious. This in turn led to the nearby
city of Sippar surrendering. Meanwhile, the Babylonians had withdrawn south to e
stablish a line of defence near the Euphrates that was intended to prevent Cyrus
from advancing too far. However, Cyrus' forces did not challenge the Babylonian
army. Rather, he sent a small force south along the Tigris to try to take the c
apital by surprise. This plan worked: the Persian troops reached Babylon undetec
ted and caught it unawares, meeting only minor resistance near one of its gates.
Thus, they were not only able to capture Babylon, but also King Nabonidus.
This left the Babylonian army in an untenable position and it soon surrendered.
In the meantime, Ugbaru, the commander of the Persian forces that had captured B
abylon, had taken good care that his men would not plunder or otherwise harm the
city. He had even made sure that the temple rites continued to be observed. Non
etheless, it still took Cyrus almost a month before he proceeded towards the cit
y. As many Babylonian officials as well as the Babylonian administrative system

stayed in place after the transition of power, it has been surmised that this ti
me was spent on negotiations with representatives from the city;[21] this is sim
ilar to what happened when the Neo-Assyrian king Sargon II and later Alexander t
he Great took the city.[22]
Death[edit]
The final fate of Nabonidus is uncertain. Cyrus was known to spare the lives of
some kings he had defeated, for example King Croesus of Lydia, who, after his de
feat, was allowed to live at King Cyrus's court as an advisor. This is according
to Herodotus, who also states that Croesus was first sentenced to death by burn
ing and was only allowed to live after showing his wisdom.[23] Bacchylides tells
us that Apollo snatched up Croesus just before the flames were about to burn hi
m, and took him to the Hyperboreans. In the reference in the Nabonidus Chronicle
to a campaign by Cyrus in (possibly) 547 BC, during which a country was taken a
nd its king killed, the text showing the name of the country is damaged, althoug
h it may be Urartu.[24] Accounts by Berossus and the retrospective Hellenistic B
abylonian dynastic prophecies state that he was allowed to retire to live in Car
mania.
In popular culture[edit]

Nabonidus is portrayed by Carl Stockdale in D. W. Griffith's classic 191

6 silent film Intolerance.