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Nebuchadnezzar I (r. 1125-1104) was one of the more significant and
successful kings to rule Babylonia in the intervening period
between the demise of the Kassite Dynasty in the 12th century at
the end of the Late Bronze Age, and the emergence of a new,
independent Babylonian monarchy in the last quarter of the 7th
century. His dynamic reign saw Nebuchadnezzar active on both
domestic and foreign fronts. He tended to the needs of the
traditional cult sanctuaries and their associated priesthoods in
the major cities throughout Babylonia and embarked on military
campaigns against both Assyria in the north and Elam to the east.
Yet later Babylonian tradition celebrated him for one achievement
that was little noted in his own royal inscriptions: the return of
the statue of Marduk, Babylon's patron deity, from captivity in
Elam. The Reign of Nebuchadnezzar reconstructs the history of
Nebuchadnezzar I's rule and, drawing upon theoretical treatments of
historical and collective memory, examines how stories of his reign
were intentionally utilized by later generations of Babylonian
scholars and priests to create an historical memory that projected
their collective identity and reflected Marduk's rise to the place
of primacy within the Babylonian pantheon in the 1st millennium
BCE. It also explores how this historical memory was employed by
the urban elite in discourses of power. Nebuchadnezzar I remained a
viable symbol, though with diminishing effect, until at least the
3rd century BCE, by which time his memory had almost entirely
faded. This study is a valuable resource to students of the Ancient
Near East and Nebuchadnezzar, but is also a fascinating exploration
of memory creation and exploitation in the ancient world.
Nebuchadnezzar I (r. 1125-1104) was one of the more significant and
successful kings to rule Babylonia in the intervening period
between the demise of the Kassite Dynasty in the 12th century at
the end of the Late Bronze Age, and the emergence of a new,
independent Babylonian monarchy in the last quarter of the 7th
century. His dynamic reign saw Nebuchadnezzar active on both
domestic and foreign fronts. He tended to the needs of the
traditional cult sanctuaries and their associated priesthoods in
the major cities throughout Babylonia and embarked on military
campaigns against both Assyria in the north and Elam to the east.
Yet later Babylonian tradition celebrated him for one achievement
that was little noted in his own royal inscriptions: the return of
the statue of Marduk, Babylon's patron deity, from captivity in
Elam. The Reign of Nebuchadnezzar reconstructs the history of
Nebuchadnezzar I's rule and, drawing upon theoretical treatments of
historical and collective memory, examines how stories of his reign
were intentionally utilized by later generations of Babylonian
scholars and priests to create an historical memory that projected
their collective identity and reflected Marduk's rise to the place
of primacy within the Babylonian pantheon in the 1st millennium
BCE. It also explores how this historical memory was employed by
the urban elite in discourses of power. Nebuchadnezzar I remained a
viable symbol, though with diminishing effect, until at least the
3rd century BCE, by which time his memory had almost entirely
faded. This study is a valuable resource to students of the Ancient
Near East and Nebuchadnezzar, but is also a fascinating exploration
of memory creation and exploitation in the ancient world.
The period between the accession of Nabonasser, in 747 B.C.E., and
the accession of Nabopolasser, in 625 B.C.E., was a period of
significant stability for the city of Babylon, due in large part to
the projection of Assyrian power in the region. During this
transitional period, increased economic activity throughout
Babylonia resulted in an increase in the amount of written
evidence. And the legal and administrative texts that have thus far
come to light are, in the words of J. A. Brinkman, "a mine of
information for researchers interested in demography, social
institutions, economic history, and even ancient technology." In
this volume, John Nielsen provides an index of the personal names
found on texts from this period. As such, the index is a valuable
supplement to the Prosopography of the Neo-Assyrian Empire project
(Helsinki). Information presented in the book is modeled on the
Helsinki project's publications. The index includes comprehensive
cross-references to the CAD, Stamm's Namengebung, the Helsinki PNAE
indexes, Hoelscher's Personennamen, and Knut Tallqvist's
Neubabylonisch Namenbuch. Nielsen's prosopographical index adds a
major new resource to the study of the Neo-Babylonian period.
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