Eclectic Chronicle | |
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Created | c. 705 BC |
Discovered | before 1899 |
Present location | London, England, United Kingdom |
Language | Akkadian |
The Eclectic Chronicle, referred to in earlier literature as the New Babylonian Chronicle, is an ancient Mesopotamian account of the highlights of Babylonian history during the post-Kassite era prior to the 689 BC fall of the city of Babylon. It is an important source of historiography from the period of the early iron-age dark-age with few extant sources to support its telling of events.
Although its provenance is unknown, it is thought to originate from Babylon itself as it is written in standard Babylonian in the late cuneiform script of the region. It was acquired by the British Museum in 1898 and given the accession number 98,0711.124, subsequently the Museum reference BM 27859. Approximately two-thirds of the text has survived with the top part of the tablet broken off, losing the beginning and end of the narrative. The work is written in a single column on a small tablet in the format of an administrative or economic text, suggesting it was for private use, in marked contrast to the official histories that were typically inscribed in two or more columns on a much larger object. [2]
In many respects, this chronicle shares the characteristics of Chronicle P, as an episodic and laconic summary of the significant events of Babylonian history, but without the errors of that other work. It seems to have been a continuation, covering the post-Kassite period beginning prior to the reign of Marduk-šāpik-zēri (c. 1082–1069 BC) through to sometime after that of Salmānu-ašarid V (727–722 BC). [3]
The narrative is divided into twenty two extant sections, each focusing on the events of the reign of a different Babylonian monarch (listed below) in chronological order with only a small number of omissions:
Marduk-apla-iddina I, contemporarily written in cuneiform as 𒀭𒀫𒌓𒌉𒍑𒋧𒈾dAMAR.UTU-IBILA-SUM-na and meaning in Akkadian: "Marduk has given an heir", was the 34th Kassite king of Babylon c. 1171–1159 BC. He was the son and successor of Meli-Shipak II, from whom he had previously received lands, as recorded on a kudurru, and he reigned for 13 years. His reign is contemporary with the Late Bronze Age collapse. He is sometime referred to as Merodach-Baladan I.
Nebuchadnezzar I, reigned c. 1121–1100 BC, was the fourth king of the Second Dynasty of Isin and Fourth Dynasty of Babylon. He ruled for 22 years according to the Babylonian King List C, and was the most prominent monarch of this dynasty. He is best known for his victory over Elam and the recovery of the cultic idol of Marduk.
Erība-Adad II, inscribed mSU-dIM, “Adad has replaced,” was the king of Assyria 1056/55–1054 BC, the 94th to appear on the Assyrian Kinglist. He was the son of Aššur-bēl-kala whom he briefly succeeded and was deposed by his uncle Šamši-Adad IV.
Aššūr-bēl-kala, inscribed maš-šur-EN-ka-la and meaning “Aššur is lord of all,” was the king of Assyria 1074/3–1056 BC, the 89th to appear on the Assyrian Kinglist. He was the son of Tukultī-apil-Ešarra I, succeeded his brother Ašarēd-apil-Ekur who had briefly preceded him, and he ruled for 18 years He was the last king of the Middle Assyrian Empire, and his later reign was preoccupied with a revolution against his rule led by one Tukulti-Mer, which, by the end of his reign, allowed hordes of Arameans to press in on Assyria's western borders. He is perhaps best known for his zoological collection.
Ninurta-apal-Ekur, inscribed mdMAŠ-A-é-kur, meaning “Ninurta is the heir of the Ekur,” was a king of Assyria in the early 12th century BC who usurped the throne and styled himself king of the universe and priest of the gods Enlil and Ninurta. His reign overlaps the reigns of his Babylonian contemporaries Adad-šuma-uṣur and Meli-Šipak.
Marduk-nādin-aḫḫē, inscribed mdAMAR.UTU-na-din-MU, reigned c. 1095–1078 BC, was the sixth king of the Second Dynasty of Isin and the 4th Dynasty of Babylon. He is best known for his restoration of the Eganunmaḫ in Ur and the famines and droughts that accompanied his reign.
Marduk-zâkir-šumi, inscribed mdAMAR.UTU-za-kir-MU in a reconstruction of two kinglists, “Marduk pronounced the name,” was a king of Babylon from 855 to 819 BC during the mixed dynastic period referred to in antiquity as the dynasty of E. He was a contemporary of the Assyrian kings, Salmānu-ašarēdu III) and Šamši-Adad V with whom he was allied.
Nabû-apla-iddina, inscribed mdNábû-ápla-iddinana or mdNábû-apla-íddina; reigned about 886–853 BC, was the sixth king of the dynasty of E of Babylon and he reigned for at least thirty-two years. During much of Nabû-apla-iddina's reign Babylon faced a significant rival in Assyria under the rule of Ashurnasirpal II. Nabû-apla-iddina was able to avoid both outright war and significant loss of territory. There was some low level conflict, including a case where he sent a party of troops led by his brother to aid rebels in Suhu. Later in his reign Nabu-apla-iddina agreed to a treaty with Ashurnasirpal II’s successor Shalmaneser III. Internally Nabu-apla-iddina worked on the reconstruction of temples and something of a literary revival took place during his reign with many older works being recopied.
Nabû-mukin-zēri, inscribed mdAG-DU-NUMUN, also known as Mukin-zēri, was the king of Babylon 731–729 BC. The Ptolemaic Canon gives his name as Χινζηρος. His reign was brought to its eventual end by the capture of the stronghold of Šapia by the forces of the Assyrian king Tukultī-apil-Ešarra III. The chief of the Chaldean Amukanu tribe in southern Babylonia, he took advantage of the instability which attended the revolt against Nabû-nādin-zēri and deposed its leader, Nabû-šuma-ukîn II.
Nabû-šuma-ukîn II, inscribed m[d]Nabû-šuma-úkîn or mŠuma-[úkîn], whose complete name is only known from the Kinglist A, was a usurper and briefly king of Babylon for one month and two days during 732 BC before he was swept aside by his successor, Nabû-mukin-zēri.
Adad-šuma-uṣur, inscribed dIM-MU-ŠEŠ, meaning "O Adad, protect the name!," and dated very tentatively c. 1216–1187 BC, was the 32nd king of the 3rd or Kassite dynasty of Babylon and the country contemporarily known as Karduniaš. His name was wholly Babylonian and not uncommon, as for example the later Assyrian King Esarhaddon had a personal exorcist, or ašipu, with the same name who was unlikely to have been related. He is best known for his rude letter to Aššur-nirari III, the most complete part of which is quoted below, and was enthroned following a revolt in the south of Mesopotamia when the north was still occupied by the forces of Assyria, and he may not have assumed authority throughout the country until around the 25th year of his 30-year reign, although the exact sequence of events and chronology remains disputed.
Marduk-šāpik-zēri, inscribed in cuneiform dAMAR.UTU-DUB-NUMUN or phonetically -ša-pi-ik-ze-ri, and meaning “Marduk (is) the outpourer of seed”, reigned c. 1077–1065 BC, was the 7th king of the 2nd dynasty of Isin and 4th dynasty of Babylon and he ruled for thirteen years. His relationship with his predecessor, Marduk-nādin-aḫḫē is uncertain. His reign overlapped that of the Assyrian king Aššur-bēl-kala and his immediate predecessor(s) as the Synchronistic King List places him alongside both Tukultī-apil-Ešarra and Aššur-bēl-kala.
Eulmaš-šākin-šumi, inscribed in cuneiform as É-ul-maš-GAR-MU, or prefixed with the masculine determinative m, “Eulmaš (is) the establisher of offspring”, c. 1000–984 BC, was the founder of the 6th Dynasty of Babylon, known as the Bῑt-Bazi Dynasty, after the Kassite tribal group from which its leaders were drawn. The Dynastic Chronicle tells us that he ruled for fourteen years, the King List A, seventeen years.
Marduk-zer-X was the 10th and penultimate king of the 2nd Dynasty of Isin, the 4th Dynasty of Babylon. The last part of his name is unknown, as the principal sources of information, the King List A and the Synchronistic King List are both damaged at this place in the sequence, hence the “x”. The reading of “zer” in his name by Poebel is almost as uncertain, as the character may be MU which would correspond to šuma or similar. His Assyrian contemporary was Aššur-nasir-apli I.
Mār-bῑti-aḫḫē-idinna, mdMār-bῑti-áḫḫē-idinna (mdDUMU-E-PAP-AŠ), meaning Mār-bītihas given me brothers, became king of Babylonia c. 939 BC, succeeding his brother, Ninurta-kudurrῑ-uṣur II, and was the 3rd king of the Dynasty of E to sit on the throne. He is known only from king lists, a brief mention in a chronicle and as a witness on a kudurru from his father, Nabû-mukin-apli's reign.
Erība-Marduk, inscribed mri-ba [dAMAR.UTU], was the king of Babylon, very speculatively ca. 769 – 761 BC. He was one of three Chaldaean tribal leaders to occupy the Babylonian throne during the course of the 8th century and would be looked back as the ancestor figure during future reigns of members of this group. A member of the Bīt-Yakin tribe, who was later to be given the title "re-establisher of the foundation(s) of the land," he was credited with restoring stability to the country after years of turmoil.
Marduk-apla-uṣur, inscribed dAMAR.UTU-A-ŠE[Š], or mdŠID-A-[x], meaning “O Marduk, protect the heir” was an 8th century BC Chaldean tribal leader who ruled as King of Babylon after the reign of Marduk-bēl-zēri. He is known only from three inscriptions and ruled during a period of chaos. He should not be confused with the Marduk-apla-uṣur who ruled Suḫi on the middle Euphrates and paid tribute to Salmānu-ašarēdu III a generation or so earlier.
The office of šandabakku, inscribed 𒇽𒄘𒂗𒈾 (LÚGÚ.EN.NA) or sometimes as 𒂷𒁾𒁀𒀀𒂗𒆤𒆠, the latter designation perhaps meaning "archivist of Enlil," was the name of the position of governor of the Mesopotamian city of Nippur from the Kassite period onward. Enlil, as the tutelary deity of Nippur, had been elevated in prominence and was shown special veneration by the Kassite monarchs, it being the most common theophoric element in their names. This caused the position of the šandabakku to become very prestigious and the holders of the office seem to have wielded influence second only to the king.
Chronicle P, known as Chronicle 22 in Grayson’s Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles and Mesopotamian Chronicle 45: "Chronicle of the Kassite Kings" in Glassner's Mesopotamian Chronicles is named for T. G. Pinches, the first editor of the text. It is a chronicle of the second half of the second millennium BC or the Kassite period, written by a first millennium BC Babylonian scribe.