Cylinders of Nabonitis
Discovered: Sippar, Babylonia (1854)
From: (c. 539 BC)
Current Home: British Museum
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The Cylinders of Nabonidus are cuneiform inscriptions of king Nabonidus of Babylonia (556-539 BC). They were made on clay cylinders and include the Nabonidus Cylinder from Sippar, and the Nabonidus Cylinders from Ur, four in number.
The Nabonidus Cylinder from Sippar describes how he repaired three temples: the sanctuary of the moon god Sin in Harran, the sanctuary of the warrior goddess Anunitu in Sippar, and the temple of Šamaš in Sippar. The Nabonidus Cylinders from Ur contain the foundation text of a ziggurat called E-lugal-galga-sisa, which belonged to the temple of Sin in Ur. He describes how he repaired the structure.
Nabonidus cylinders from Ur are also noteworthy because they mention a son named Belshazzar, who is mentioned in the Book of Daniel. The cylinders state:
"As for me, Nabonidus, king of Babylon, save me from sinning against your great godhead and grant me as a present a life long of days, and as for Belshazzar, the eldest son -my offspring- instill reverence for your great godhead in his heart and may he not commit any cultic mistake, may he be sated with a life of plenitude."[
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