ABC 7: The Nabonidus Chronicle

Nabonidus' chronicle. British Museum, London (Britain). Photo Marco Prins.

Nabonidus Chronicle, reverse (British Museum)

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

Column iii-iv

This web-edition is based on A.K. Grayson, Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles (1975, repr.2000), but there are modifications, that are explained here.

Reverse (column iii-iv)

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Column iii
Lacuna	Lacuna
1 [...] GAZ^? íd x [...]	[...] killed/defeated. The river ... [...]
2 [...] še ^dIštar(mùš) Uruk^ki [...]	[...] ... Ishtar Uruk [...]
3 [...] x^meš šá ^kurPa[r-su^? ...]	[...] of Per[sia...]
4 [...]^meš ni [...]	[...] ... [...]
--------------------------------------	--------------------------------------
5 [MU X^kám ... ^dN]abû ultu Bar-sip^ki ana asê^e [^dBēl illiku^ku^dBēl ūsâ^a]	[The seventeenth year (539/538): ... N]abu [came] from Borsippa for the procession of Bel. Bel came out.]
6 [... ^iti] Tebētu šarru ana É-tùr-kalam-ma īrub ina É^?-[...]	[... In the month] Tebetu the king entered Eturkalamma. In the temple [...]
7 [...] x-ut-tim maqqītu(bala)^tu₄ karāni iqqi(bala)^qí tum x x x [...]	[...] ... He made a libation of wine ... [...]
8 [... ^dB[ēl ūsâ^a isinnu a-ki-tú ki šal-mu īpušū^šú ina ^iti[x ...]	[... B]el came out. They performed the Akitu festival as in normal times. In the month [...]
9 [... ilāni]^meš šá Marad-da^ki dZa-ba₄-ba₄ u ilāni^meš šá Kiš^ki dNin-líl x [...]	[... the gods] of Marad, Zababa, and the gods of Kish, Ninlil [and the gods of]
10 [x] /Hur\-sag-kalam-ma ana Bābìli^ki īrubū^meš-ni adi qīt(til) ^itiUlūli ilāni^meš šá ^kurAkkadî^ki	Hursagkalamma entered Babylon. Until the end of the month Ululu the gods of Akkad [...]
11 šá elān(ugu) IM u šaplān(ki.ta) IM ana Bābili₅^ki irrubū^meš-ni ilāni^meš šá Bar-sip^ki Kutê[^ki]	from everywhere were entering Babylon. The gods of Borsippa, Cuthah,
12 u Sip-par^ki úl īrubū^meš-ni ina ^itiTašrīti ^mKu-raš sal-tum ina Upê^ki ina muhhi [...]	and Sippar did not enter (Babylon). When¹³ Cyrus did¹³ battle at Opis on the [bank of]
13 ^ídÌ-diq-lat ana libbi ummāni^{ni kur}Akkadî^ki ki īpušū^šú (erasure) nišū^{meš kur} Akkadî^ki	the Tigris against the army of Akkad, the people of Akkad
14 BALA.KI hubta(sar) ihbut(sar) nišē^meš idūk UD XIV Sippar^ki ba-la sal-tum sa-bit	retreated. He carried off the plunder (and) slaughtered the people. On the fourteenth day Sippar was captured without a battle.
15 ^mdNabû-nā'id ihliq UD XVI ^m/Ug\-ba-ru ^lúpāhāt(nam) ^kurGu-ti-um u ummāni^{meš m}Ku-raš ba-la sal-tum	Nabonidus fled. On the sixteenth day, Ugbaru, governor of Gutium, and the army of Cyrus, without battle
16 ana Bābili₅^ki īrubū arki ^mdNabû-nā'id ki ihhisa^sa ina Bābili₅^ki sa-bit adi qīt(til) arhi ^kuštuk-šu^me	they entered Babylon. Afterwards, after Nabonidus retreated, he was captured in Babylon. Until the end of the month, the shield-(bearing troops)
17 šá ^kurGu-ti-um bābāti^meš šá É-sag-gíl ilmû(nigin) bat-la šá mim-ma ina É-sag-gíl u ēkurrāti^meš DIŠ	from Gutium surrounded the gates of Esagil. (But) interruption (of rites) in Esagil or the (other) temples
18 ul iš-šá-kin ù si-ma-nu ul innitiq(dib)^{iq iti}Arahsamnu UD III^{kám m}Ku-raš ana Bābili₅^ki īrub	there was not, and no date (for a performance) was missed. On the third day of the month Arahsamna, Cyrus entered Babylon.
19 ha-ri-ni-e ina pāni-šú umallû(diri)^meš šu-lum ana āli šá-kin ^mKu-raš šu-lum ana Bābìli^ki	The harû-vessels were filled before him. There was peace in the city while Cyrus, (his) greeting to
20 gab-bi-šú qi-bi ^mGu-ba-ru ^lúpāhta(nam)-šú ^lúpāh(at)ūti(nam)^meš ina Bābili₅^ki ip-te-qid	Babylon in its entirety spoke. Gubaru, his district officer, appointed the district officers in Babylon.
21 ultu ^itiKislīmi adi ^itiAddari ilāni^meš šá ^kurAkkadî^ki šá ^mdNabû-nā'id ana Bābili₅^ki ú-še-ri-du-/ni\	From the month Kislimu to the month Addaru, the gods of Akkad which Nabonidus had brought to Babylon
22 a-na ma-/ha\-zi-šú-nu itūrū^me itiArahsamnu mūša(gi₆) UD XI^{kám m}Ug-ba-ru mît ina ^it[ⁱAddari]	returned to their places. On the night of the eleventh of the month Arahsamna, Ugbaru died. In the mon[th Addaru]
23 /aššat\ šarri mîtat^at ultu XXVII šá ^itiAddari adi UD III šá ^itiNisanni bi-ki-tum ina Akkadî[^ki šaknat^at]	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.
24 /ni\šū^meš gab-bi qaqqad-su-nu ipattarū(du₈)^meš UD IV^{kám m}Kám-bu-zi-ia māru šá ^mK[u-raš]	All of the people bared their heads. On the fourth day when Cambyses, son of C[yrus],
25 a-/na\ É-gidri(níg.pa)-kalam-ma-sum-mu ku illikū ^lúÉ.PA ^dNabû šá PA x [...]	went to Egidrikalammasummu the ...-official of Nabu, who ... [...]
26 /ki\ illikū^ku aš-šu lu-bu-uš-bi Elamti^ki qātē^{II d}Nabû [...] x [...]	When he came, because of the Elamite dress^! the hand of Nabu [...] ... [...]
27 [^gišas-m]a-re-e u ^kušiš-pat^meš ultu [...] x /mār šarri^?\ ana du[l-li^? ...]	[sp]ears and quivers from [...] ... crown prince to the wo[rk ...]
28 [...] ^dNabû ana É-sag-gíl NIGIN x ki x ina pān ^dBēl u mār ^dB[ēl ...]	[...] Nabu to Esagil ... before Bel and the son of B[el ...]
Column iv
1' [...] x en	[...]
2' [...] x Bābili₅^ki mê^meš	[...] Babylon, water
3' [...] x^mešiq-ta-tur	[...] ... clouded over
4' [...] ka gan ITI bābu na-pi-il	[...] ... the gate was ruined
5' [...] É-an-na šá EZEN-x-KAS^ki	[...] Eanna of Ezen-x-kas
6' [... b]īt mu-um-mu ūsâ	[...] bit mummu, he went out
7' [...] ZI	[...] ...
8' [...] x ina Bābili₅^ki x hi	[...] in Babylon ...
9' [...] Bābìli[^ki] is-rim-ma	[...] Babylon he strove.