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'''Nabonidus''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|n|æ|b|ə|ˈ|n|aɪ|d|ə|s}}; {{lang-akk|[[𒀭]]𒀝𒉎𒌇}} {{transl|akk|^[[Dingir|d]]Nabû-naʾid}}, "[[Nabu]] is praised") was the [[List of Kings of Babylon|last king]] of the [[Neo-Babylonian Empire]], reigning from 556–539 BC. He seized power in a coup, toppling King [[Labashi-Marduk]]. Although his origins are not clear, it is understood that he was not [[Chaldea|Chaldean]], like previous kings, but was a proud [[AssyriaChaldean people|AssyrianCaldean]], from Babylon’s rival to the north, making him unpopular during his reign. He also angered the priests and commoners of Babylon by neglecting the city’s chief god, [[Marduk]], and elevating the moon god, [[Sin (mythology)|Sin]], to the highest status. In fact, Nabonidus left the capital for ten years to build and restore temples – mostly to Sin – leaving his son in charge. While leading excavations for the restoration effort, he initiated the world’s first archaeological work.

Modern perceptions of Nabonidus' reign have been heavily colored by accounts written well after his reign as king of Babylon, most notably by the [[Achaemenid Empire|Persians]] and the [[Ancient Greece|Greeks]]. As a result, Nabonidus has often been described in very negative terms in both modern and contemporaneous scholarship. However, an accumulation of evidence and a reassessment of existing material has caused opinions on Nabonidus and the events that happened during his reign to alter significantly in recent decades.<ref>See for example in W. von Soden, “Kyros und Nabonid: Propaganda und Gegenpropaganda”, in H. Koch and D.N. MacKenzie (eds.), ''Kunst, Kultur und Geschichte der Achämenidenzeit und ihr Fortleben'' (Berlin: Dietrich Reimer 1983), 61–8; [[Paul-Alain Beaulieu|P.-A. Beaulieu]], ''The reign of Nabonidus king of Babylon 556-539 B.C.'' (New Haven CT: Yale University Press 1989); A. Kuhrt, “Nabonidus and the Babylonian priesthood”, in M. Beard and J. North (eds.), ''Pagan priests: Religion and power in the ancient world'' (London: Duckworth), 117-55; F. Grant, “Nabonidus, Nabû-šarra-uṣur, and the Eanna temple”, in ''Zeitschrift für Assyriologie'' 81 (1991:37–86); T.G. Lee, “The jasper cylinder seal of Aššurbanipal and Nabonidus’ making of Sîn’s statue”, in Revue d’Assyriologie 87 (1993:131-6); P. Machinist and H. Tadmor, “Heavenly wisdom”, in M.E. Cohen, D.C. Snell and D.B. Weisberg (eds.), ''The tablet and the scroll: Near Eastern studies in honour of William W. Hallo'' (Bethesda MD: CDL Press 1993), 146–51; H. Schaudig, ''Die Inschriften Nabonids von Babylon und Kyros’ des Großen samt den in ihrem Umfeld entstandenen Tendezschriften: Textausgabe und Grammatik'' (Münster: Ugarit-Verlag 2001); P.-A. Beaulieu, “Nabonidus the mad king: A reconsideration of his steles from Harran and Babylon”, in M. Heinz and M.H. Feldman (eds.), ''Representations of political power: Case histories from times of change and dissolving order in the ancient Near East'' (Winona Lake IN: Eisenbrauns 2007), 137–66.</ref>

{{Quote|"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 times of war. Assyrian and Babylonian sources of the first millennium frequently allude to the removal of divine statues from the temples as the result of a city being conquered. Spoliated statues were usually carried off to the land of the victorious power (Assyria in most known cases) where they remained in captivity until a turn of events would allow them to be restored to their shrines. (...) Rather than incur the capture of their gods and the resulting implications of such capture, namely, that the gods were abandoning the city and calling for its destruction, cities often tried to prevent the transfer of the statues to enemy territory, since continued possession of them in the face of adversity proved that the 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 Sumer and Akkad into the capital. Unlike previous attempts, the gathering ordered by Nabonidus is documented by a number of historical and archival sources." [after this, Beaulieu goes on to discuss these sources in detail]|[[Paul-Alain Beaulieu|P.-A. Beaulieu]] 1993:241-2}}

It is not clear yet why Nabonidus stayed in Tayma for so long. His reason for going there seems clear: Tayma was an important oasis, from where lucrative [[Arabian Peninsula|Arabian]] [[trade route]]s could be controlled. The Assyrians Chaldeans before him had already attempted to do the same.<ref>Beaulieu 1989:149–205. On Tayma's importance for trade: C. Edens and G. Bawden, "History of Tayma' and Hejazi trade during the first millennium B.C.", ''Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient'' 32 (1989:48–103).</ref> However, why Nabonidus stayed for so long (probably about ten years, perhaps from 553–543 BC) and why he returned when he did remain unresolved questions. It has been proposed that this was because he did not feel at home in Babylon, which was opposed to his emphasis on Sîn. Regarding his return, this 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 come back, along with a number of administrators.<ref>Beaulieu 1989:149–205.</ref> During his stay, Nabonidus adorned Tayma with a complex of royal buildings, most of which have come to light during recent excavations.<ref>An overview of the history of Tayma, current archaeological work, as well as bibliographical references, are given in {{cite web | title=Deutsches Archäologisches Institut: Tayma | url=http://www.dainst.org/index_3258_en.html | accessdate=2007-10-16 | deadurl=yes | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071023032453/http://www.dainst.org/index_3258_en.html | archivedate=2007-10-23 | df= }} Also: H. Hayajneh, "First evidence of Nabonidus in the Ancient North Arabian inscriptions from the region of Tayma", ''Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies'' 31 (2001:81–95).</ref>

This left the Babylonian army in an untenable position and it soon surrendered. In the meantime, [[Gubaru|Ugbaru]], the commander of the Persian forces that had captured Babylon, had taken good care that his men should not plunder or otherwise harm the city. He had even made sure that the temple rites continued to be observed. Nonetheless, it still took Cyrus almost a month before he proceeded towards the city. 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 time was spent on negotiations with representatives from the city;<ref>J. Wiesehöfer, "Kontinuität oder Zäsur? Babylon under den Achaimeniden", in J. Renger (ed.), ''Babylon: Focus Mesopotamischer Geschichte, Wiege früher Gelehrsamheit, Mythos in der Moderne'' (Saarbrücken: SDV 1999), 167–88; M. Jursa, "The transition of Babylonia from the Neo-Babylonian empire to Achaemenid rule", in H. Crawford (ed.), ''Regime change in the ancient Near East and Egypt: From Sargon of Agade to Saddam Hussein'' (New York: Oxford University Press 2007), 73–94.</ref> this is similar to what happened when the Neo-Assyrian king [[Sargon II]] and later [[Alexander the Great]] took the city.<ref>Kuhrt 2007 ("'Ex oriente lux'...").</ref>

[[Category:Assyrian AChaldean kings]]