Inscriptions of Nebuchadnezzar II from Babylon

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A plan of Babylon showing the general find spots of the published clay cylinders and prisms with inscriptions of Nebuchadnezzar II. Adapted from Koldewey, WEB⁵ fig. 256.

Twenty-six inscriptions of Nebuchadnezzar II written on clay cylinders found at or (based on their main building reports) assumed to have come from Babylon have been published, referred to, or catalogued in previous scholarly publications. For the convenience of the reader, a concordance of the published cylinders is included below.

Concordance of published cylinder inscriptions

Seven two-column clay cylinders are inscribed with an Akkadian inscription describing Nebuchadnezzar II's work at Babylon on the inner city walls Imgur-Enlil and Nēmetti-Enlil, the reinforcement of the embankment walls, the stationing of copper(-plated) statues of wild bulls and raging mušḫuššu-dragons in the city gates, and the construction of a new fortification wall (the so-called "West Fortification") that protected the northwest corner of East Babylon, especially the (old) South Palace, from water damage; the latter undertaking might have been one of the first steps in constructing the (new) North Palace. The script of all known exemplars is contemporary Neo-Babylonian. Unlike the other texts commemorating work on defensive constructions at and near Babylon, this inscription records the decoration of Babylon's principal temple Esagil (without specifically mentioning any of its holy rooms) and the completion and adornment of the Ezida temple at Borsippa. Previous publications sometimes call this text "[Nebuchadnezzar Cylinder] C27" or "Nebuchadnezzar Cylinder II, 7."

Access the composite text [/ribo/babylon7/Q005483/] or the score [/ribo/bab7scores/Q005483/score] of Nebuchadnezzar II 12.

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Commentary

In addition to being known from one completely-preserved clay cylinder and four cylinder fragments, this text is also known from two plaster casts, both of whose current whereabouts are unknown. The first cast was sent to G.F. Grotefend before 1840 by F.C.C.H. Münter, while the second was displayed in the "Assyrian Room" of the British Museum (London) in the 1880s. With regard to the former, it was made from an original that had been the possession J. Raimond before he sold it. P.-R. Berger (NbK p. 254) has tentatively suggested that this no-longer accessible cylinder might be in the Louvre (Paris). The authors of the present volume have not been able to confirm or refute Berger's proposal, so the current location of that two-column cylinder remains a mystery.

J. Novotny collated ex. 2 (BM 91135) from the original in the British Museum, while N. Heeßel and D. Schwemer examined exs. 5 (B 53), 6 (B 11), and 7 (B 22) firsthand from the fragments in the Eşki Şark Eserleri Müzesi. There is a possibility that exs. 5 and 7 could belong to one and the same cylinder, but this has not been confirmed from the originals in Istanbul, so the two fragments are edited separately in the present volume. The master text is based on ex. 2, principally since it is fully intact and has been collated; this follows the model of all previous editions of the inscription. A score of the inscription is presented on Oracc and the minor (orthographic) variants are given in the critical apparatus at the back of the book. Note that exs. 1 and 3 are omitted in the score transliteration since they were not accessible to the authors.

With regard to this inscription's date of composition, especially relative to the other texts dealing with Babylon's walls, it is difficult to propose a firm chronological sequence, since these texts deal with different defensive structures; this text principally deals with a fortification wall, Nbk. 13 (C28) and 16 (C25) with the new city wall that surrounded East Babylon, Nbk. 14 (C213/C200) with an embankment wall that ran outside the circuit of the inner city wall Imgur-Enlil, and Nbk. 15 (C26) and 17 (C11) with the so-called "cross-country" walls. Because Nbk. 14 specifically deals with embankment walls and since it is shorter than the present text, it might have been composed slightly earlier than the present one, although this cannot be proven. Comparisons with other inscriptions recording the lavish adornment of Esagil and completion and decoration of Ezida might provide some insight into the text's dating, although no firm conclusions can be drawn at this time. For example, i 24–ii 2 are duplicated verbatim in Nbk. 21 (C013/C016/C025) i 13–16 and, since the latter text records work on Imgur-Enlil and Nēmetti-Enlil in its prologue, the present text might have been composed (slightly) earlier than Nbk. 21. If this proves true, then this chronological sequence might support O. Pedersén's suggestion that the construction of the so-called "West Fortification" was (one of) the first step(s) in constructing the (new) North Palace; see Pedersén, Babylon pp. 131–132. Note that the contents of i 24–ii 2 are also known from Nbk. 54 (B 21) i 4´–10´ and it is clear from the mention of the ziggurats Etemenanki and Eurmeiminanki in that text that Nbk. 54 was written later in Nebuchadnezzar's reign than the present text, so one cannot place too much emphasis on the fact that i 24–ii 2 and Nbk. 21 (C013/C016/C025) i 13–16 duplicate one another. Alternatively, when comparing i 24–ii 2 to Nbk. 18 (C29) i 4–7, one could tentatively suggest that the C29 text was composed earlier in Nebuchadnezzar's reign than the present inscription since the prologue of that text provides far less information about the decoration of Esagil and Ezida and does not include mention of work on Babylon's walls and embankments. This proposal, however, is not concrete as the brevity of the passage dealing with Babylon's and Borsippa's principal temples and the lack of mention of Imgur-Enlil and Nēmetti-Enlil in Nbk. 18 might have been due to space considerations. The same is true for Nbk. 33 (C014), a text recording the rebuilding of Eniggidrukalamasuma. At the present time, there are few certainties about this text's date of composition.

Bibliography

Like Nbk. 16 (C25), this inscription states that Nebuchadnezzar II constructed a new outer city wall outside of East Babylon. The text is known from a few original two-column clay cylinders (exs. 6–7, 9), as well as numerous casts (exs. 1–5, 8, 10–15); the script is contemporary Neo-Babylonian. Nebuchadnezzar mentions that this building project was initiated by his father Nabopolassar and that he simply continued and expanded on that work. The present inscription was composed after his third round of work on these city walls and their embankments. The text is referred to as "[Nebuchadnezzar Cylinder] C28" or "Nebuchadnezzar Cylinder II, 8" in earlier scholarly literature.

Access the composite text [/ribo/babylon7/Q005484/] or the score [/ribo/bab7scores/Q005484/score] of Nebuchadnezzar II 13.

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Commentary

This text is known principally from casts (exs. 1–5, 8, 10–15, 17), but also from a few Neo-Babylonian Period originals (exs. 6–7, 9, 18); it is uncertain if ex. 16 is a cast or an original cylinder. The casts have errors and are generally hollow (see the on-page notes). Regarding ex. 8, it comprises nine casts in the Boulaq Museum (Cairo); see Berger, NbK pp. 256–262. F. Weiershäuser collated the cylinders in the British Museum (London) and the Vorderasiatisches Museum (Berlin), as well as the pieces in the Penn Museum (Philadelphia) from high-resolution digital photographs; and G. Frame examined firsthand the cylinder in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York). The other exemplars, however, were not collated from the objects themselves or from photographs, so the transliterations of them in the score are based on the published hand-drawn facsimiles of them. The master text of this inscription is ex. 6 (BM 33088), which is one of the original Neo-Babylonian exemplars. A score is presented on Oracc and the minor (orthographic) variants are given in the critical apparatus at the back of the book. Note that exs. 8–9, 11–12, and 16 are omitted in the score since those exemplars of the text were not accessible to the authors. IMJ 90.24.51 (ex. 10) was formerly in Clark Collection of Near Eastern Antiquities in Jerusalem (CCA 67/Y21). The objects in that collection were purchased by the Israel Museum (Jerusalem) in 1990; the authors that L. Peri for this information.

Because the main building reports of the present text (C28) and Nbk. 16 (C25) both commemorate the construction of the new outer wall that surrounded East Babylon, one could tentatively suggest that this inscription (the C28 text) is the earliest of the two, despite being longer, since it is concerned with the earlier stages of construction, while the C25 inscription records some details of the later phases of building, specifically the construction of the wall's gates and the installation of bronze-plated wooden doors; compare i 6–ii 12 of this text with Nbk. 16 (C25) i 6–16. The chronological relationship to Nbk. 12 (C27), 14 (C213/C200), 15 (C26), and 17 (C11) is unclear since those inscriptions deal with different defensive structures. The C11 and C26 texts are assumed to have been composed later than the present text; see the commentary of Nbk. 15 (C26) for further details. Moreover, it is clear from the prologues of inscriptions recording the construction of the new outer wall that those texts were written later in Nebuchadnezzar's reign than this inscription and Nbk. 16 (C25). From Babylon, these are: Nbk. 2 (East India House), 19 (C34), 21 (C013/C016/C025), 23 (C35), 31 (C33), 32 (C36), and 36 (C031).

Bibliography

VA 163, VA 279, and VA 280 (Nbk. 13 exs. 1–3), three casts of a two-column clay cylinder that is inscribed with a text stating that Nebuchadnezzar II constructed a new outer city wall surrounding Babylon. © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin – Vorderasiatisches Museum. Photo: Olaf M. Teßmer.

Two more-or-less complete two-column clay cylinders are inscribed with an Akkadian text that records Nebuchadnezzar II's work on the embankment walls that protected the entire circuit of Babylon's inner city walls Imgur-Enlil and Nēmetti-Enlil; it is recorded that this work was a direct continuation and extension of what his father began while he was king. The script of both exemplars is contemporary Neo-Babylonian. In earlier scholarly literature, this text is called "[Nebuchadnezzar Cylinder] C213/C200" and "Nebuchadnezzar Cylinder II, U."

Access the composite text [/ribo/babylon7/Q005485/] or the score [/ribo/bab7scores/Q005485/score] of Nebuchadnezzar II 14.

Source

Commentary

F. Weiershäuser collated ex. 2 (VA Bab 637) from the original in the Vorderasiatisches Museum (Berlin). Ex. 1 (A Babylon —), unfortunately, was not available for study and, therefore, the transliteration of it in the score is based entirely on F.N.H. Al-Rawi's hand-drawn facsimile of it (ARRIM 9 [1991] p. 6 fig. 3). Because neither exemplar is fully preserved, the edition is a conflation of both. The line and column divisions, however, follow ex. 1. A score of the inscription is presented on Oracc and the minor (orthographic) variants are given at the back of the book, in the critical apparatus.

For comments about this text's date of composition, including its relationship to other inscriptions commemorating defensive structures at or connected to Babylon, see the commentary to Nbk. 12 (C27).

Bibliography

This Akkadian inscription, which is known from two complete two-column clay cylinders and three fragmentarily-preserved ones, records that Nebuchadnezzar II constructed two long "cross-country" walls; this was done to provide greater security to his capital. According to the text, which is written in contemporary Neo-Babylonian script, the first wall stretched from Babylon to Kār-Nergal (via Kish) and the second wall between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, just north of Sippar; the northern wall is sometimes called the "Median Wall" since its purpose was to protect Babylon from the Medes, who had attempted to invade Babylonia in 596 (Nebuchadnezzar's ninth regnal year). The inscription, which was composed sometime after 595 (see the commentary below), is generally called "[Nebuchadnezzar Cylinder] C26" or "Nebuchadnezzar Cylinder II, 6" by scholars.

Access the composite text [/ribo/babylon7/Q005486/] or the score [/ribo/bab7scores/Q005486/score] of Nebuchadnezzar II 15.

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Commentary

Exs. 1 and 3–5 were collated by F. Weiershäuser from the originals in the British Museum (London), Iraq Museum (Baghdad), and Vorderasiatisches Museum (Berlin). Ex. 2 was not available for firsthand examination in the Iraq Museum in November 2018, so the transliteration of IM 51923 in the score is based on S.J. Levy's copy of it (Sumer 3 [1947] pp. 7–8). Because none of the exemplars are fully preserved, the master text is a conflation of exs. 2 (IM 51923) and 3 (IM 51924), with preference given to ex. 2. A score of the text is presented on Oracc and the minor (orthographic) variants are given in the critical apparatus at the back of the book.

The date of composition of this text and Nbk. 17 (C11) appear to have been later in Nebuchadnezzar's reign than many of the texts edited in this two-part volume. This is evident from the fact that most of the attested inscriptions do not mention or refer to the "cross-country" walls. Apart from the present text, only Nbk. 17 (C11), B31, NeK, and WBC record this massive undertaking. It is clear that the rock relief inscriptions in Lebanon (Nahr el-Kalb and Wadi Brisa) are later in date than this text and that Nbk. 17 is earlier than the present inscription; on the nature of the C11 text, which might be a scribal exercise, see the commentary of Nbk. 17. It is generally assumed that the idea of building fortification walls that stretched from the Tigris to the Euphrates did not occur until after the failed Median attempt to invade Babylonia in 596, Nebuchadnezzar's ninth regnal year; see the introduction for further details. As already pointed out by R. Da Riva (Studies Watson pp. 16–17), the "surprising omission" of these two long walls in many texts is because work on them was later than the dates of composition of those inscriptions. A group of administrative texts from the Ebabbar temple at Sippar appear to mention building materials for the northern wall, the one that stretches five leagues (ca. 54 km) from Sippar to Opis. The work, although it is not specifically named in the texts, was carried out in connection with the King's Canal (Nār-šarri), which flowed parallel to the wall (on both sides of it) and which is first attested in archival documents dating to Nebuchadnezzar's third decade on the throne. Documents recording its construction are dated to the king's 27th year (578) and later. It is clear from archival sources that construction on the northern wall continued throughout the rest of Nebuchadnezzar's reign and into Nabonidus'. Based on material from the Ebabbar archive, the present text and Nbk. 17 (C11) could not have been written until sometime in the second half of Nebuchadnezzar's tenure as king. Given the late start to the construction of the two "cross-country" walls, it should not come as a surprise that this text is not mentioned in many of this king's inscriptions.

The southern wall stretched from Babylon to Kish and then from Kish to Kār-Nergal and on to the Tigris. Texts record that the wall was four and two-thirds leagues (ca. 50.4 km) long. The northern wall — which has been partial excavated and surveyed — was built north of Sippar and it also ran the entire stretch between the Tigris and Euphrates, from Sippar to Opis. That wall was five leagues (ca. 54 km) long. The King's Canal, which is not mentioned by name in Nebuchadnezzar's inscriptions, ran parallel on both sides of the northern wall and is said to have been twenty leagues (ca. 216 km) long. That number is rounded up from two times nine and two-thirds leagues, the distance covered by the canals on both sides of the southern and northern walls. For the King's Canal and Ebabbar's agricultural estates along the canal(s) that ran beside the northern wall, see Jursa, Economic History p. 326–334; and Kleber, Tempel und Palast p. 140. For the archaeological remains of the northern wall, see Ḥabl aṣ-Ṣaḫr 1983–85; and Ḥabl aṣ-Ṣaḫr 1986.

Bibliography

A complete, two-column cylinder of Nebuchadnezzar II is inscribed with an Akkadian text that commemorates this king's work on the new outer city wall of Babylon, work begun while his father Nabopolassar was king; the script is contemporary Neo-Babylonian. In addition to stating that the new wall was constructed from baked bricks and bitumen, as well as protected by an adjoining embankment wall, the inscription also records that Nebuchadnezzar had cedar doors plated with bronze installed in the wall's gates and had the entrances of the culverts that ran beneath/through it fitted with iron bars. Scholarly publications sometimes refer to this text as "[Nebuchadnezzar Cylinder] C25" or "Nebuchadnezzar Cylinder II, 5."

Access Nebuchadnezzar II 16 [ /ribo/babylon7/Q005487/].

Source

Commentary

BM 33074 was purchased by the British Museum (London) from the antiquities dealer J.M. Shemtob in 1879. Based on its contents, the cylinder is assumed to have come from Babylon. J. Novotny collated the inscription from the original in London. For comments about this text's date of composition, including its relationship to the earlier Nbk. 13 (C28), see the commentary to Nbk. 13.

Bibliography

A small, one-column clay cylinder (length: 6.7 cm; dia.: 2.4 cm) — the smallest Neo-Babylonian cylinder known to date — is inscribed with a seventeen-line Akkadian inscription that is written in contemporary Neo-Babylonian script. The badly-damaged text is a significantly-shorter version of Nbk. 15 (C26), an inscription recording that Nebuchadnezzar II constructed two cross-country walls (one of which was the so-called "Median wall"). It is uncertain if one should regard this text as a true royal inscription or as a scribal exercise (see the introduction for further details). In previous editions and studies, this inscription is called "[Nebuchadnezzar Cylinder] C11."

Access Nebuchadnezzar II 17 [ /ribo/babylon7/Q005488/].

Source

Commentary

This small cylinder was collated by both J. Novotny F. Weiershäuser from the original in the British Museum (London). Due to its unusual size and format, R. Da Riva (Studies Watson p. 16) noted that the inscription written on BM 67405 could be (1) a scribal exercise, (2) a draft of a building inscription, or (3) an actual inscription (specifically a shorter version of Nbk. 15 [C26]). As the find spot of the object is uncertain, its original function is unknown; note that the British Museum Collection website, as well as Leichty, Sippar 2 (p. 204), report that the cylinder comes from Sippar, stemming from H. Rassam's excavations of that site. Thus, there is the possibility that it was used as a scribal exercise or a draft of the main building report of an inscription produced by scribes in that city. This would not be unexpected since the northern "cross-country" wall stretched from Sippar to the Tigris River. With regard to the unusual nature of this piece, compare the four small, fragmentary 'triangular' prisms from Nineveh that are inscribed with a short inscription of Sennacherib (r. 704–681) that consisted only of the king's titles and epithets and a statement about the god Aššur supporting this Assyrian king as his earthly representative. It is also not known if these curious 'prisms' had some functional purpose (foundation deposit, site marker, etc.) or if they were merely scribal exercises written on practice prisms. For further details, see Grayson and Novotny, RINAP 3/1 pp. 211–213 Senn. 27.

With regard to the date of composition of this unique inscription, see the commentary of Nbk. 15 (C26).

Bibliography

This Akkadian inscription, which is written in contemporary Neo-Babylonian script, is known from three two-column clay cylinders and it commemorates Nebuchadnezzar II's work on the old palace (now commonly referred to as the "South Palace"), which was in the Ka-dingirra district of Babylon and which was renovated by his father Nabopolassar. Nebuchadnezzar claims to have built that royal residence using baked bricks and bitumen to be "an object of wonder for the people," roofed it with beams of cedar transported from Mount Lebanon, and installed heavy wooden doors in its (principal) gateways. Unlike other texts, this inscription does not record why Nebuchadnezzar had to rebuild that palace: its (sundried-)brick structure had become weak due to the rising ground water, so that its gates were then lower than the level of Babylon's main streets; see, for example, Nbk. 2 (East India House) vii 34–56. Some publications refer to this inscription as "[Nebuchadnezzar Cylinder] C29" or "Nebuchadnezzar Cylinder II, 9."

Access the composite text [/ribo/babylon7/Q005489/] or the score [/ribo/bab7scores/Q005489/score] of Nebuchadnezzar II 18.

Sources

Commentary

F. Weiershäuser collated ex. 3 (VA Bab 1971 + VA Bab 1972) in the Vorderasiatisches Museum (Berlin), while ex. 1 (B 14) was examined firsthand by D. Schwemer in the Eşki Şark Eserleri Müzesi (Istanbul). The authors of the present volume were not able to collate ex. 2 (MNK C 2 1652), the best preserved of the three known exemplars of this inscription, so the transliteration in the score is based on the hand-drawn facsimile (Zablocka and Berger, Orientalia NS 38 [1969] pl. VI). Although it is not fully intact, ex. 2 is generally used as the master text, with help from the other two exemplars. A score of this inscription is presented on Oracc and the minor (orthographic) variants are given at the back of the book, in the critical apparatus.

Regarding the date of composition, the present text is probably the earliest of the known inscriptions whose main building report records the rebuilding of the (old) South Palace. This would imply that it was composed before Nbk. 11 (Prism) and 19 (C34). This is clear, for example, from the fact that this text is significantly shorter than Nbk. 11 and 19; the present inscription is only 223 words long, while the C34 text has 635 words. Moreover, the prologue of the present inscription limits its description of Nebuchadnezzar's other achievements to brief statements about the decoration of Esagil and the completion and adornment of Ezida; for example, compare i 4–9 to Nbk. 19 (C34) i 16–iii 17, which not only mentions these two deeds (in more detail), but also refers to numerous other accomplishments, including the completion of the ziggurat Etemenanki, the construction of Babylon's new outer wall, and the renovation of six temples in major Babylonian cult centers (including the Ebabbar temples at Sippar and Larsa). Given that Nbk. 11 (Prism) is (slightly) earlier in date than Nbk. 19 (C34) and based on the mention of Nebuchadnezzar's seventh regnal year (598) in Prism iv 25´, it is clear that the present inscription was written in or (shortly) before 598. It is less certain if Nbk. 20 (C011) was composed after or before this text. Based on a comparison of the king's titulary, Nbk. 20 is tentatively regarded as being (slightly) later in date, although this cannot be proven; see the on-page notes to Nbk. 20 for more details.

Bibliography

Like the previous text (Nbk. 18 [C29]), this Akkadian inscription was commissioned in order to commemorate Nebuchadnezzar II's renovation of the old palace (South Palace). It is presently known from a single three-column cylinder; the script is contemporary Neo-Babylonian. The prologue not only describes some of the king's building activities at Babylon (especially Marduk's temple Esagil and ziggurat Etemenanki, the inner wall Imgur-Enlil, and the new outer wall) and Borsippa (namely Ezida), but also details what was given as regular daily offerings to the deities Marduk, Zarpanītu, Nabû, Nanāya, Nergal, and Laṣ in Babylon, Borsippa, and Cutha. Moreover, this inscription mentions that Nebuchadnezzar built anew the Ebabbar temples of the god Šamaš at Sippar and Larsa, the Ekišnugal temple of the god Sîn at Ur, the E-ibbi-Anum temple of the god Uraš at Dilbat, the Edurgina temple of the god Bēl-ṣarbi at Bāṣ, and the Eanna temple of the goddess Ištar at Uruk, as well as provided sumptuous offering to those deities, especially for their New Year's festivals. Based on the information provided in the text, it is sometimes assumed that this inscription was composed in the later part of the king's long reign. Earlier scholarly literature often refers to this text as "[Nebuchadnezzar Cylinder] C34" or "Nebuchadnezzar Cylinder III, 4"; it is also occasionally called the "Middle Hill Cylinder."

Access Nebuchadnezzar II 19 [ /ribo/babylon7/Q005490/].

Source

Commentary

The edition given here is based on the published copy of the inscription (1 R pls. 65–66), as well as R. Da Riva's careful transliteration (ZA 103 [2013] pp. 221–226). The reliance on the 1861 facsimile is due to the fact that the present whereabouts of this completely-intact clay cylinder are unknown and no complete and legible photographs of it have been published; as pointed out by Da Riva (ibid. p. 221 n. 52), the only photograph of the cylinder is in Robinson, Catalogue 77 (p. 133), but it is not sufficient for collating the inscription. There have been suggestions that it is in the collection of Martin Bodmer in Geneva, but this has not been confirmed by the authors or by Da Riva, who investigated the matter over a decade ago. It is clear from Robinson, Catalogue 77 pp. 132–134 no. 127, that the three-column Nebuchadnezzar II cylinder published in 1 R (pls. 65–66) had been in the Thomas Phillipps Library, until it was broken up and sold. The assumption that it was purchased (via the bookseller H. Eisemann) by Bodmer between 1948 and 1954 is not unfounded since Bodmer is reported to have purchased a Neo-Babylonian cylinder from the Phillipps collection. The cylinder presently known in the Bodmer Collection (CDLI no. P427638), however, is not the so-called "Middle Hill Cylinder," since that object is a two-column cylinder inscribed with a text recording Nebuchadnezzar's rebuilding of Ebabbar. Prior to Sir T. Phillipps owning it, the cylinder belonged to J. de Beauchamps, the Catholic-Armenian Vicar-General of the bishopric of Ispahan, and R. Mignan. For further details on the early history of the cylinder, see Da Riva, ZA 103 p. 221.

As far as it is possible to tell, the present text appears to be the latest-known of the inscriptions of Nebuchadnezzar whose main building accounts record the construction of the (old) South Palace: Nbk. 11 (Prism), 18 (C29), this text, and 20 (C011). In the case of Nbk. 11, this is evident from the fact that that text's prologue does not mention that the king had rebuilt E-ibbi-Anum (the temple of the god Uraš at Dilbat) or that he had laid the foundations of Eanna (the temple of the goddess Ištar at Uruk). Presumably, there would have been other clues, but these are now lost given Nbk. 11's incomplete state of preservation. The present text also appears to have been composed earlier than Nbk. 31 (C33). This is based on the following: (1) the C33 inscription records the rebuilding of the Ebabbar temples at Sippar and Larsa, Edurgina at Bāṣ, E-ibbi-Anum at Dilbat, Eanna at Uruk, and Ekišnugal at Ur as a group, rather than individually; (2) work on the Eanna temple is regarded as being completed (or in the advanced stages) in Nbk. 31, whereas the present text mentions only that that temple's foundations had been laid; and (3) the C33 text records numerous other accomplishments of the king, including the renovation of four temples at Babylon and the completion of Ṭābi-supūršu (the city wall of Borsippa). Of course, this is not concrete proof of the chronological sequence of these two inscriptions since one could argue that the prologue of this text follows the model of Nbk. 11 (Prism), a text also commissioned to commemorate work on the South Palace, while Nbk. 31 (C33) uses a different prologue written for inscriptions composed for texts intended to be deposited in temples. Tentatively, Nbk. 31 is regarded as being the later of the two texts. Without question, Nbk. 2 (East India House), 23 (C35), and 36 (C031) were composed much later than the present text since those two inscriptions include descriptions of the rebuilding of the old palace in their prologues.

Bibliography

A small fragment from the left side of a multi-column clay cylinder is inscribed with an Akkadian text that is written in contemporary Neo-Babylonian script and commemorates one of Nebuchadnezzar II's many building activities in his imperial capital, possibly the old palace (South Palace). Previous editions and studies sometimes refer to this text as "[Nebuchadnezzar Cylinder] C011" or "Nebuchadnezzar Cylinder-fragment I, 1."

Access Nebuchadnezzar II 20 [ /ribo/babylon7/Q005491/].

Source

Commentary

F. Weiershäuser collated the inscription from the excavation photograph (Bab ph 1302). The provisional edition was improved by N. Heeßel's firsthand examination of B 7 in the Eski Şark Eserleri Müzesi (Istanbul).

The inscription is not sufficiently preserved to be able to establish with certainty its compositional relationship to Nbk. 18 (C29) and 19 (C34). From what little of the main building report is preserved, the present inscription could be composed after Nbk. 18 and before Nbk. 19 or (a little) earlier than Nbk. 18; see the on-page notes for additional details.

Bibliography

Jamie Novotny & Frauke Weiershäuser

Jamie Novotny & Frauke Weiershäuser, 'Inscriptions of Nebuchadnezzar II from Babylon', RIBo, Babylon 7: The Inscriptions of the Neo-Babylonian Dynasty, The RIBo Project, a sub-project of MOCCI, 2024 [/ribo/babylon7/Rulers/NebuchadnezzarII/Texts12-20Babylon/]