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

Summary and Significance The Nabonidus Chronicle documents the reign of the last king of Babylonia, Nabonidus. During his first regnal years, he campaigns in the west (e.g. i.7), and then settles in Tema, an oasis in the western desert (e.g. ii.5); no explanation is offered (this never happens in chronicles) but the consequence is repeatedly stressed - the Akitu Festival could not be celebrated (e.g., ii.6). As the bottom of the tablet is missing, we do not know under which circumstances he returned to Babylon, but on the reverse of the tablet, we find the king at home again (iii.5-8). The tablet also describes the rise of Cyrus the Great, who is first presented as the ruler of Anan who subdued the Median leader Astyages (550; ii.1); we also learn that Cyrus -now called king of Persia- conquered Urartu in 547 (ii.16); and on the reverse, we read how -in October 539- he outmaneuvered the Babylonians in a battle at Opis (iii.12), which was followed by the killing of citizens (iii.14). Babylon is captured, Nabonidus is taken captive (iii.16), and Cyrus enters a peaceful city (iii.19). The final remarks of the tablet deal with Cambyses, who appears to have made a mistake during the Akitu Festival (iii.26), and the destruction of a gate (iv.4'). The tablet is important because it offers the chronology of the main events in the third quarter of the sixth century; this is discussed here. About this Web Edition Although this web edition is based on A.K. Grayson, Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles (1975, repr.2000), it is not an exact copy of pp.104-111 of that splendid book. I have inserted the "Addenda et Corrigenda" on page 282-283. Together with several other updates, they have been indicated in the text (yellow); in the commentary, you can find who is responsible for this change - Grayson himself, Bert van der Spek, or Jona Lendering.

Nabonidus Chronicle, reverse (British Museum)

Too often have I seen historians misquoting information from this chronicle because they had no access to the book (and therefore, the full text), or, if they did consult the main text, forgetting to check the corrigenda. It is, for example, time and again stated that the Nabonidus Chronicle dates Cyrus' conquest of Lydia to 547; Grayson already corrected this mistake, and it has recently been established that the text in fact mentions Urartu. (The consequences for the chronology of Greece and Anatolia are discussed here.) I like to thank Bert van der Spek, co-editor of the Babylonian Chronicles of the Hellenistic Period, for his help in preparing this web-version. Description of the Tablet The text of Chronicle 7 is inscribed on a large tablet, BM 35832 (Sp II 964). The tablet measures 140 mms wide and 140 mms long. Besides some surface breaks, the bottom and most of the left-hand side of the tablet is missing.