Inscriptions of Nebuchadnezzar II from Babylon

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There are numerous clay cylinders that were unearthed (and subsequently photographed) during R. Koldewey's excavations at Babylon (1899–1917) that have not been previously published or have been just recently published by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft-funded project The Cuneiform Documents in the Babylon Collection of the Istanbul Archaeological Museums (Eski Şark Eserleri Müzesi), directed by N. Heeßel and D. Schwemer. This material, which was distributed between the Vorderasiatisches Museum (Berlin) and the Eşki Şark Eserleri Müzesi of the Arkeoloji Müzeleri (Istanbul), includes duplicates of already-known inscriptions (Nbk. 12–37 and a few texts to be edited in RINBE 1/2) and hitherto unknown inscriptions. Moreover, one new text in the British Museum (London) is included here; that piece was worked on by G. Frame in 1990. Nineteen new texts of Nebuchadnezzar II commemorating his building activities at Babylon are included in the present volume. Texts recording his construction projects at Borsippa, Kish, and Sippar, however, will be presented in RINBE 1/2. For the reader's convenience, a concordance of the unpublished cylinders edited as Nbk. 38–56 is included below.

Concordance of unpublished cylinder inscriptions

As mentioned above, additional cylinders discovered at Babylon will be edited in RINBE 1/2, with the texts from Borsippa, Kish, and Sippar, and as 1000-number texts. Although many of the inscriptions provisionally regarded as uncertain attribution might ultimately prove to be Nebuchadnezzar texts, they are edited with the 1000-numbers since their association with Nebuchadnezzar, rather than to some other Neo-Babylonian king, could not be confidently confirmed at the present time, principally due to their poor states of preservation. A catalogue of those cylinder fragments is provided here for the convenience of the reader.

Unpublished cylinder inscriptions to appear in rinbe 1/2

This Akkadian inscription of Nebuchadnezzar II, which is written in contemporary Neo-Babylonian script, is known from a small fragment of a two-column clay cylinder found at Babylon. Little of the text survives today, but part of the inscription in col. i records the king's work on the city's embankment walls. The main building report in col. ii is not sufficiently preserved to be able to identify which construction project it describes.

Access Nebuchadnezzar II 38 [ /ribo/babylon7/Q009275/].

Source

Annotated plan of the Kasr, especially the South Palace, showing the general find spots of clay cylinders with previously unpublished inscriptions of Nebuchadnezzar II. Adapted from Koldewey, WEB⁵ fig. 256.

A fragment of a two-column clay cylinder preserves part of an Akkadian inscription of Nebuchadnezzar II that is written in contemporary Neo-Babylonian script. The contents of col. i duplicate Nbk. 15 (C26) i 9–15, which record the construction of Babylon's new outer city wall, but the traces in col. ii deviate from that text and break off immediately before the inscription's main building report. This previously unpublished text was collated by D. Schwemer.

Access Nebuchadnezzar II 39 [ /ribo/babylon7/Q009924/].

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Bibliography

This fragment of a multi-column clay cylinder bears an Akkadian inscription recording Nebuchadnezzar II's work on Babylon's inner city walls Imgur-Enlil and Nēmetti-Enlil, the processional street Ay-ibūr-šabû, and the Ištar Gate Ištar-sākipat-tēbîša. D. Schwemer collated this previously unpublished text.

Access Nebuchadnezzar II 40 [ /ribo/babylon7/Q009925/].

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Bibliography

This fragment of a multi-column clay cylinder preserves part of an Akkadian inscription of Nebuchadnezzar II that commemorates his construction and decoration of the Ištar Gate at Babylon; the script is contemporary Neo-Babylonian. D. Schwemer collated this previously unpublished text.

Access Nebuchadnezzar II 41 [ /ribo/babylon7/Q009926/].

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Bibliography

Bab ph 558, which shows fragments of ten clay cylinder, including those with Nbk. 18 ex. 1, Nbk. 21 ex. 7, Nbk. 30 ex. 3, Nbk. 41, Nbk. 54, and Nbk. 56. © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Vorderasiatisches Museum, Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft. Photo: Robert Koldewey, 1904.

Parts of the second half of an Akkadian inscription of Nebuchadnezzar II recording his work on the Ištar Gate at Babylon are known from two clay cylinder fragments, both originating from R. Koldewey's excavations at Babylon. The text, when complete, would have been inscribed over two columns. The script of both exemplars of this previously unpublished inscription is contemporary Neo-Babylonian.

Access the composite text [/ribo/babylon7/Q009927/] or the score [/ribo/bab7scores/Q009927/score] of Nebuchadnezzar II 42.

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Commentary

Ex. 2 (VA Bab 607) was examined by F. Weiershäuser in the Vorderasiatisches Museum (Berlin), while ex. 1 (B 5) was collated by D. Schwemer in the Eşki Şark Eserleri Müzesi (Istanbul). The two pieces are tentatively edited together since both seem to have a text whose main building report was identical: it recorded the installation of statues of wild bulls and mušḫuššu-dragons in the Ištar Gate. B 5 i´ 1´–4´ overlap with VA Bab 607 i´ 20´–23´. That description is only known from these two pieces and, therefore, these fragments are provisionally regarded as two different exemplars of one and the same text. Of course, this cannot be proven since col. i is not preserved in both pieces. Because neither exemplar is fully preserved, the edition is a composite of both exemplars: the master text is ex. 1 in ii 1–9, 20´–30´ and ex. 2 in ii 1´–19´. A partial score (ii 20´–23´) is presented on Oracc and the minor (orthographic) variants are given at the back of the book.

Bibliography

This badly-preserved Akkadian inscription of Nebuchadnezzar II is known from a fragment of a multi-column clay cylinder that was discovered during R. Koldewey's excavations at Babylon. The extant text, which is written in contemporary Neo-Babylonian script, records the king's work on Imgur-Enlil and Nēmetti-Enlil, the inner city walls of Babylon, together with the rebuilding of the Ištar Gate.

Access Nebuchadnezzar II 43 [ /ribo/babylon7/Q009928/].

Source

Part of an Akkadian inscription of Nebuchadnezzar II written in contemporary Neo-Babylonian script is preserved on a fragment of a multi-column clay cylinder acquired by the British Museum (London) from Sir E.A.T. Wallis Budge in 1889. The piece, based on its contents, is assumed to have come from Babylon, not Sippar (as stated by E. Leichty), since it describes work on part of a city gate at Babylon, possibly the Ištar Gate, whose rebuilding is also described in several other inscriptions of this king, including Nbk. 42 (B 5/VA Bab 607).

Access Nebuchadnezzar II 44 [ /ribo/babylon7/Q009929/].

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Commentary

BM 78954 was collated by G. Frame in the British Museum (London), in June 1990. The edition presented in this volume is based on his unpublished transliteration. The attribution of this inscription to Nebuchadnezzar II is based on parallels with Nbk. 42 (B 5/VA Bab 607), a text of this Neo-Babylonian king commemorating the rebuilding of the Ištar Gate at Babylon. Compare ii´ 2´–10´ of the present text to Nbk. 42 ii 24´–30´; compare also Nbk. 56 (B 18) i´ 3´–5´.

Bibliography

This small fragment from a two-column clay cylinder, which was discovered at Babylon, is inscribed with an Akkadian inscription of Nebuchadnezzar II; the script is contemporary Neo-Babylonian. The text, as far as it is extant, is similar to Nbk. 27 (C41) and mentions the king's work on Etemenanki, the ziggurat of the god Marduk at Babylon.

Access Nebuchadnezzar II 45 [ /ribo/babylon7/Q009930/].

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Commentary

As far as it is preserved, this text parallels two other inscriptions of Nebuchadnezzar II: for col. i´ 1´–3´, compare Nbk. 27 (C41) ii 9–18 and, for col. i´ 4´–7´, compare Nbk. 23 (C35) i 38–43 (which describes work on Etemenanki, the ziggurat of Babylon, and Eurmeiminanki, the ziggurat of Borsippa). The restorations are generally based on the two aforementioned inscriptions. It is clear from the extant text (as well as the script), that this inscription, like the following text (Nbk. 46), was composed earlier than Nbk. 27 (C41) and 28 (CTMMA 4 170), both of whose main building reports were significantly longer than the one included in this text. This inscription, however, might have been earlier than the Nbk. 46 (VA Bab 1922), which was written on three-column cylinders, although this cannot be proven.

This Akkadian inscription of Nebuchadnezzar II, which is a shorter version of Nbk. 27 (C41) and which is written in contemporary Neo-Babylonian script, is known only from a fragment of a three-column clay cylinder from Babylon. The text commemorates Nebuchadnezzar's work on Etemenanki, the ziggurat of Babylon, a project that was initiated when his father Nabopolassar was king. As far as the text is preserved, this inscription duplicates (with deviation) the contents of Nbk. 27 cols. ii and iv. Because the present text is shorter, it is assumed that it was composed before Nbk. 27, an inscription not only written over four columns of text, but also in archaizing Neo-Babylonian script.

Access Nebuchadnezzar II 46 [ /ribo/babylon7/Q009931/].

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Commentary

P.-R. Berger (NbK pp. 295–297) and R. Da Riva (GMTR 4 p. 121) regarded VA Bab 1922 (BE 14819) as an exemplar of Nbk. 27 (C41). Because the inscription on this fragment was written in contemporary Neo-Babylonian script, rather than in an archaizing Neo-Babylonian script, and since this text appears to be shorter than the C41 text, as is clear from the distribution of the preserved contents, which is distributed over three columns (instead of four), the authors of the present volume have tentatively edited VA Bab 1922 separately from the better-known C41 inscription; compare also Nbk. 28 (CTMMA 4 170), which is also edited independently from Nbk. 27. This inscription is assumed to have been composed earlier in Nebuchadnezzar II's reign than Nbk. 27 (C41), although this cannot yet be proven conclusively give this text's incomplete state of preservation. However, it is likely to have been written sometime after Nbk. 45 (VA Bab 623) had been composed; see the commentary of that text for details.

As far as the inscription is preserved, it generally duplicates Nbk. 27 (C41) ii 6–16a and iv 19–37; i´ 10´–15´, however, deviate from that text. The restorations are based on that text.

Bibliography

A fragment of a two-column clay cylinder preserves part of an Akkadian inscription of Nebuchadnezzar II written in contemporary Neo-Babylonian script. Like Nbk. 29 (C21) and 30 (C39), this text commemorates the rebuilding of Emaḫ, the temple of the goddess Ninmaḫ in the Ka-dingirra district of Babylon.

Access Nebuchadnezzar II 47 [ /ribo/babylon7/Q009932/].

Source

Commentary

Like Nbk. 29 (C21), this text is inscribed on a two-column clay cylinder(s); both inscriptions are written in contemporary Neo-Babylonian script. Compare Nbk. 30 (C39), which is written on three-column clay cylinders and in an archaizing script. The present text is assumed to have been composed between Nbk. 29 and Nbk. 30 since it combines elements of both inscriptions. Its preserved contents have more in common with the latter, principally since it includes more epithets of the goddess Ninmaḫ than the former (although it does exclude the epithet ša qí-bí-sà ṣi-ir-tim i-gi₄-gu la i-in-nu-ú "the one whose exalted command the Igīgū gods do not change") and since the concluding address seem to be more or less identical. Like the C21 inscription, this text appears to have begun with Nebuchadnezzar II's name and titulary; the C39 inscription, however, began with an opening dedication to the goddess Ninmaḫ.

The text, as far as it is preserved, duplicates Nbk. 30 (C39) i 1–10, 15–18, and iii 18–31. The restorations are based on that inscription. For the reading of the name as Ninmaḫ, rather than as Bēlet-ilī, see the commentary of Nbk. 29. This text, which has not been previously published before, was collated from the original by D. Schwemer.

Bibliography

Part of this Akkadian inscription of Nebuchadnezzar II is known from a fragment of a multi-column clay cylinder discovered during R. Koldewey's excavations at Babylon (Amran); the script is contemporary Neo-Babylonian. The text, as far as it is intact, preserves the very end of the prologue and the beginning of the main building report, which most likely describes the rebuilding of Eḫursagsikila, the temple of the goddess Ninkarrak (Gula) located in the sacred Eridu district of East Babylon. This inscription, unlike Nbk. 31 (C33), states that the temple's wall collapsed not only because it was old, but also because it was made of (sundried) bricks.

Access Nebuchadnezzar II 48 [ /ribo/babylon7/Q009933/].

Source

Commentary

D. Schwemer collated the original in the Eşki Şark Eserleri Müzesi (Istanbul) and the edition presented here is based on his hand-drawn facsimile of B 32.

The present text appears to record Nebuchadnezzar II's rebuilding of Eḫursagsikila, an accomplishment of the king also recorded in Nbk. 31 (C33) iii 5–37. Although one cannot be absolutely certain, this inscription might be earlier in date than Nbk. 31. This is based on the presumably-shorter prologue, which likely only stated that Nebuchadnezzar decorated Esagil and completed and adorned Ezida, and the less-verbose description of the work on Ninkarrak's temple. For further information about the date of the C33 text and on Eḫursagsikila, see the commentary of Nbk. 31.

Bibliography

A fragment of a multi-column clay cylinder discovered at Babylon preserves part of an Akkadian inscription of a Neo-Babylonian king, almost certainly Nebuchadnezzar II. The text, which is written in contemporary Neo-Babylonian script, commemorates the restoration of Eḫursagsikila (the temple of the goddess Ninkarrak) or Esabad (the temple of the goddess Gula) at Babylon. Given the object's recorded provenance (Amran), the main building report of this inscription more likely described work on the former, since it was located in the Eridu district of East Babylon and since other inscriptions recording the rebuilding of Eḫursagsikila are presently known (see Nbk. 31 [C33] and 48 [B 32]); Esabad was situated in the Tuba district of West Babylon so it is less likely that the present text records that temple's rebuilding. If the association with Eḫursagsikila proves correct, then this inscription provides one new detail about its construction: it was roofed with beams of pine.

Access Nebuchadnezzar II 49 [ /ribo/babylon7/Q009934/].

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Commentary

Contrary to the statement made about VA Bab 611 in Weiershäuser and Novotny, RINBE 2 (p. 14), the inscription preserved on this cylinder fragment should be regarded as a certain text of Nebuchadnezzar II. This assessment is based on a closer evaluation of the extant contents, which seem to very closely match other known inscriptions of this Neo-Babylonian king. See the on-page notes for further details. At the present time, given its poor state of preservation, it is uncertain if the present text and the previous text (Nbk. 48 [B 32]) belong to one and the same inscription or if they are parts of two different inscriptions. Because the matter cannot be decided with certainty, it is best to edit the inscriptions written on B 32 and VA Bab 611 separately; this follows RINBE editorial practices. J. Novotny collated VA Bab 611 from high-resolution photographs kindly provided by R. Da Riva.

Although the name of the temple whose rebuilding is described in the main building report is no longer preserved, as only part of two lines of it survive (i´ 1–2), it is likely that that passage commemorated Nebuchadnezzar's work on Eḫursagsikila, rather than that on Esabad. This is tentatively based on the fact that VA Bab 611 was found within Amran, whose location corresponds with the southern half of the Eridu district, where Eḫursagsikila is said to have been located, and because other inscription describing the rebuilding of that temple are known; see Nbk. 31 (C33) and 48 (B 32). For further information, see the commentary of Nbk. 31.

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/Texts38-49Babylon/]