| Nabû-nāṣir | |
|---|---|
| King of Babylon | |
 Nabonassar written inAkkadian | |
| Reign | 747–734 BC |
| Predecessor | Nabû-šuma-iškun |
| Successor | Nabû-nādin-zēri |
| House | Dynasty ofE (Mixed Dynasties) |
Nabû-nāṣir was the king ofBabylon from 747 to 734 BC. He deposed a foreignChaldean usurper namedNabu-shuma-ishkun, bringing native rule back to Babylon after twenty-three years of Chaldean rule. His reign saw the beginning of a new era characterized by the systematic maintenance of chronologically precise historical records. Both theBabylonian Chronicle[i 1] and thePtolemaic Canon begin with his accession to the throne. He was contemporary with theAssyrian kingsAššur-nirarī V (755–745 BC) andTiglath-Pileser III (745–727 BC), under the latter of whom he became a vassal, and the Elamite kingsHumban-Tahrah I (reigned until 743 BC) andHumban-Nikaš I (742–717 BC).[i 1]: 9–10
Nothing is known of his provenance or origin, although it appears he was a nativeMesopotamian. His three predecessors were from the migrantChaldean tribes settled in the far south east of Babylonia since the 9th century BC. TheDynastic Chronicle[i 2] may have been composed during his reign as it records the succession of kings from the antediluvian era down to his immediate predecessor,Nabû-šuma-iškun.[1] It records that the "dynasty ofChaldea was terminated" (with Nabû-šuma-iškun) and "its kingship was transferred," but the remainder is lost. He may also have commissioned a vituperative chronicle[i 3] which vilifies his predecessor for his sacrilegious actions and theChronicle of the Market Prices[i 4] which mentions the volatile costs of various commodities in reigns up until that of his predecessor. His name appears in theEclectic Chronicle[i 5] but the context has not been preserved.
His reign marks the reform of the Babylonian calendar, introducing regular calculated intercalary months, the eighteen-year cycle texts (the 223-monthSaros Cycle, named forEdmund Halley’s misreading of a passage inPliny[2]) and perhaps even the zodiac.[3]: 187, 189 Berossus of Kos reported, in an account preserved bySyncellus, that it was from the reign of Nabû-nāṣir onward that the movements and duration of the stars were recorded. He noted in his workBabyloniaca that: "He gathered the records of his predecessors and destroyed them, thus ensuring that the history of the Chaldean kings began with him."[4]
According toClaudius Ptolemy in his workAlmagest, this gave rise to an era beginning at noon on 26 February 747 BC, when theAnno Nabonassari began, but prior to theHellenistic period there is no trace of this era.[5]The Babylonian Chronicle,[i 1] covering the years 747 to 668 BC, the best preserved exemplar of this genre, was possibly collated fromBabylonian astronomical diaries,[6] although the earliest exemplar of these dates to 652 BC.[3]: 188 The lists of celestial phenomena[i 6] started with thelunar eclipse of 747–746 BC[7] (6 February 747 BC according to Britton[2]: 90 and others[8]), a spectacular conjunction of the moon and theplanets which may have inspired the commencement of recording of accurate astronomical observations.[9]: 227
The country regained from Nabû-šuma-iškun was one riven by internal divisions and conflicts with the immigrant tribes ofArameans andChaldeans, where the central authority was greatly diminished.
In Nabû-nāṣir's third year, the Assyrian generalTukultī-apil-Ešarra, better known under theHebraic rendition "Tiglath-Pileser III", came to power in theNeo-Assyrian Empire,[i 1]: 1–2 overthrowing the existing regime, and in the first of two campaigns to secure his southern and eastern frontiers invaded Babylonia. During the first of these (745 BC) he sacked Rabbilu and Hamranu, abducted the gods of Šapazza,[i 1]: 3–5 subjugated the numerous Aramean and Chaldean tribes, and destroyed the capital of the Chaldean tribe the Bit-Shilani, Sarrabanu, impaling its leader, Nabû-ušabši. His forces skirted the metropolitan areas ofDur-Kurigalzu andSippar and may have reached as far as the region ofNippur.[10]: 41
Whether or not he actually solicited military aid from the Assyrians, Nabû-nāṣir seems to have been the main beneficiary of these actions as his regime was stabilized and he was subsequently able to put down a revolt inBorsippa.[i 1]: 6–8 His hold overUruk remained tenuous, as two local dignitaries complained of the neglect of the Akītu temple in their inscription[i 7] commemorating their own restorations, usurping monarchic privilege.[11]
Twenty-three tablets[12] survive dealing with agricultural production, animal husbandry, weaving and sales from his first to his fourteenth year[5] and these seem to represent a recovery in economic activity.[10]: 40 A letter archive excavated in 1973 in Nippur contains the correspondence between Kudurru thešandabakku, or governor, ofNippur and an individual of this name who is greeted as "brother", which may be him.[13]
He is recorded as having succumbed to illness and died in his palace during the fourteenth year of his reign.[i 1]: 11 He was succeeded by his son,Nabû-nādin-zēri, the only known hereditary succession in Babylonia in a period from 810 BC to the rise of theNeo-Babylonian Empire in 626 BC.[10]: 16
Inscribed incuneiform asdAG-PAB ordAG-ŠEŠ-ir, Greek: Ναβονάσσαρος, whence "Nabonassar", and meaning "Nabû (is) protector".[9]: 226
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