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Nabonidus, King of Babylon

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Nabonidus, King of Babylon CLOSE UP 125 Nabonidus, King of Babylon Giulia Francesca Grassi William Blake (1757-1827), Nebuchadnezzar (Tate impression), ca 1795-1805. Color print, ink and watercolor on paper (543 x 725 mm; frame: 661 x 829 x 50 mm). © Tate Gallery, London 2014 (Reference N05059). It may seem anomalous to devote this col- Austen Henry Layard,5 Robert Koldewey,6 the past for ideological purposes is unde- umn, which should contain the portrait of and Ernest Renan7 are just some of the niable; as object, he—or rather his acts, at- someone who contributed to the issue’s many possible illustrious candidates. titudes, and dispositions—were reinter- main topic, to the last Neo-Babylonian There is basically one reason for the choice preted and transmitted to modern times king, having at disposal a considerable of Nabonidus: he is one of the very few through different literary testimonies. number of renowned scholars, explorers, characters involved with cultural heritage philologists, and archaeologists who could as both agent and object. As agent, he has Keywords: Nabonidus; Neo-Babylonian well have deserved this attention: Pietro been considered the first archaeologist Dynasty; Biblical and Parabiblical Litera- Della Valle,1 Carsten Niebuhr,2 Georg ever, and—even if his description as “ar- ture; Greek Historians; Archaeology; An- Friedrich Grotefend,3 Paul-Émile Botta,4 chaeologist” may be extreme—his use of cient Near East in Modern Culture Middle East – Topics & Arguments #03–2014 CLOSE UP 126 Nabonidus and the Neo-Babylonian Dy- Upon the latter’s death, in 556 BC, his very detriment of Marduk, the main deity of nasty young and weak son Lābāši-Marduk be- Babylon, and for his extended stay in the Before turning to these testimonies, a came the victim of a conspiracy after just Arabian oasis of Tayma11 following a mili- short history of his reign and that of his a few months of rule. One of the conspira- tary campaign to Lebanon, Transjordan, predecessors is necessary. It must be kept tors, Nabonidus (Akkad. Nabû-naʾid), as- and Arabia. in mind that this brief historical introduc- cended to the throne, apparently with no The reasons for his voluntary “exile”—stra- tion does not aim to evaluate the historical claim to legitimacy. Despite a number of tegic, religious, economic, or possibly a character of Nabonidus, nor to shed new arguments to the contrary (see e.g. mixture of all these explanations—have light on the evidence we already have.8 Dougherty 51-63; Mayer), Nabonidus’ kin- been long debated, but ultimately remain There are many open questions about his ship with the Babylonian royal line re- unclear. reign and his personality which will not be mains far from proven and does not in fact Somewhat clearer are the consequences discussed here, because they are beyond seem to be likely (see Beaulieu, The Reign that such a prolonged absence from the the scope of this paper. 67-86). Nabonidus’ father was a certain Babylonian capital entailed. In the first Nabû-balāṭsu-iqbi, otherwise unknown to place, Nabonidus aroused the hostility of The Neo-Babylonian Empire is conven- historical sources (68);9 his mother, who the priests of Marduk and the Babylonian tionally understood to begin with King Na- was far more relevant for Nabonidus’ ca- intellectual milieu, who kept repeating bopolassar (Akkad. Nabû-apla-uṣur), who reer, was Adda-guppi, probably an Ara- sharp criticisms of his absence, his malfea- in 612 BC was able to take Nineveh, thus maean priestess from Harran, and specifi- sance, and his “impiety” (in reference to inheriting a considerable part of the Neo- cally a devotee of the moon god Sin. the loss of centrality of the Babylonian Assyrian Empire. His son Nebuchadnezzar Adda-guppi claimed, in her well-known god Marduk) in a remaining literary docu- (or Nebuchadrezzar; Akkad. Nabû- “autobiographical” inscription that was ment concerning his reign known as Verse kudurrī-uṣur) expanded the reign and af- actually promoted by her son after her Account.12 Secondly, he was forced to ap- firmed his control over the Levant in its death,10 to have introduced her son to the point a substitute in Babylon; his choice entirety: in Jewish tradition, this monarch court (no mention is made of her hus- fell upon his son Belshazzar (Akkad. Bēl- became famous for the siege and capture band). If she had, as claimed, been born šarra-uṣur), who became governor of Bab- of Jerusalem in 587 BC, and for the ensu- under the last major Assyrian King Ashur- ylon and co-regent at the same time (the ing deportation of the city’s ruling class banipal, she was ninety-five years of age Belshazzar of the Book of Daniel). (see e.g. Sack 53-59). when her son became ruler, and it is On October 12th, 539 BC, Babylon was Nebuchadnezzar was succeeded by his therefore likely that Nabonidus himself conquered by Persian troops, apparently son Evil-Merodach (Akkad. Amēl- or Awīl- was rather advanced in years at the time without any resistance. Cyrus entered the Marduk), who was murdered after only of his accession to the throne. city seventeen days later, putting an end two years of reign by his brother-in-law Nabonidus is famous for his attempts to to the Neo-Babylonian Empire, and to Na- Neriglissar (Akkad. Nergal-šarra-uṣur). bolster the cult of the moon god Sin to the bonidus’ reign. Belshazzar was possibly Middle East – Topics & Arguments #03–2014 CLOSE UP 127 killed,13 while Nabonidus, no more in Tay- tesque picture of the king was immortal- motivation;17 but they were also related to ma, apparently escaped death.14 ized in a movie which is a milestone of the a desire to legitimate his rule, and to build silent era, David Griffith’s Intolerance his authority upon the past, as suggested The Archaeologist/Antiquarian (1916). The main character during the fall by many scholars (cp. e.g. Beaulieu, The As stressed by Beaulieu (The Reign 139- of Babylon is Belshazzar, while Nabonidus Reign 138-43; Roaf; Garrison 46, with fur- 43), Nabonidus is the only Neo-Babylo- is shown announcing the discovery of the ther literature). nian monarch who makes references in his foundation stone of King Narām-Sîn (third Moreover, historical interest is not absent inscriptions to both Assyrian and Babylo- millennium BC). Griffith (1875-1948), who from Nabonidus’ reports, as admitted also nian monarchs, tracing an ideal royal line depicted Belshazzar in an unusually posi- by Goossens. In this context, it may be use- in which some kings are overlooked. This tive way, as the champion of tolerance, ful to have a look at some of Nabonidus’ practice testifies to his willingness to inter- had studied the most recent discoveries reports on his excavations, which could pret the past through a historical perspec- about Babylonian civilization before mak- have been taken, mutatis mutandis, from a tive, and to use it for political purposes. His ing this episode of his movie, and this was nineteenth century archaeological report. interest in the past is also manifested by evidently the picture of Nabonidus he got The episode of Narām-Sîn quoted in Intol- the excavations he undertook in several from his readings.15 erance is taken from an inscription of Na- cities, from Ur to Larsa, and to Sippar and This image of Nabonidus as Romantic an- bonidus, possibly known by Griffith Harran, in order to restore/rebuild tem- tiquarian was corrected by Goossens in through the summary of Morris Jastrow ples. It is true that other kings before him 1948. Goossens rightly pointed out that (Drew 43; Jastrow 295; for the text, see reported identifying previous building the finding of the oldest foundations was now Schaudig, Die Inschriften 422, 438). phases in temples, and mentioned the necessary in order to properly rebuild the In this text, Nabonidus tries to date the kings involved in them—but his descrip- temples, and that Nabonidus was more foundations of the temple of the sun god tions are far more accurate and complete, engaged than his predecessors because in Sippar, which were laid by king Narām- and in some cases he even tries to date he was very religious. However, pietas Sîn who he thought reigned 3,200 years the monarchs who reigned before him alone is hardly responsible for the accu- before him. That timespan is overestimat- and whose buildings and artefacts he un- rateness and the interest in the past ed, since Narām-Sîn ruled in the twenty- earthed in his excavations. shown by the king, and for his archaeo- third century BC (according to the middle In nineteenth century literature, Naboni- logical activity, which were considered al- chronology), and he was not the son of dus’ interest for archaeology was overes- most maniacal in the nineteenth century16 Sargon of Akkad, as stated by Nabonidus, timated: depicted as completely ab- and are still described as “bordered on but rather his grandson. However, this ef- sorbed in his diggings and antiquarian the obsessive” (Oates 131). Nabonidus’ fort of dating a predecessor is uncommon studies, he with this attitude was nearly concerns about the past, his predeces- for his time, and it does not seem to be accused of facilitating the conquest of sors, and the restoration of temples and connected with a religious explanation. Babylon by Cyrus (Hommel 779). This gro- cultic traditions certainly had religious Middle East – Topics & Arguments #03–2014 CLOSE UP 128 In another report, Nabonidus narrates that ed the head of this statuette, and res- terested in his discoveries, and tried to he assembled many workers (the compe- tored its face.
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