The Harran Stela was discovered in 1956 in the ruins of Harran, in what is now southeast Turkey. It consists of two parts, both of which show, at the top, Nabonidus worshipping symbols of the Sun,

Ishtar Inanna, also sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒀭𒈾, nin-an-na, label=none is an ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, divine justice, and political power. She was originally worshiped in S ...

, and the moon-god Sin. The stela is significant as a genuine text from Nabonidus that demonstrates his adoration of these deities, especially of Sin, which was a departure from the traditional Babylonian exaltation of Marduk as the chief god of the heavenly pantheon. According to

Paul-Alain Beaulieu Paul-Alain Beaulieu is a Canadian Assyriology, Assyriologist, a Professor of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations at the University of Toronto. Beaulieu earned a master's degree from the Université de Montréal in 1980 under the supervision of M ...

, the Stela was composed in the latter part of his reign, probably the fourteenth or fifteenth year, i.e. 542–540 BC.

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The following excerpts from the Harran Stela are from the translation of C. J. Gadd, as given in Pritchard's ''Ancient Near Eastern Texts''. The first quote shows Nabonidus's devotion to Sin, and also shows that Nabonidus was “one who has nobody,” i.e. he was not of any royal house, and yet he became king. Other sources relate that he was a co-conspirator in the coup that executed

Labashi-Marduk Labashi-Marduk (Babylonian cuneiform: or , meaning "O Marduk, may I not come to shame") was the fifth and penultimate king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, ruling in 556 BC. He was the son and successor of Neriglissar. Though classical authors suc ...

, after which his co-conspirators elected him as king.

(This is) the great miracle of Sin that none of the (other) gods and goddesses knew (how to achieve), that has not happened in the country from the days of old, that the people of the country have (not) observed nor written down on clay tables to be preserved for eternity, that (you), Sin, the lord of all the gods and goddesses residing in heaven, have come down from heaven to (me) Nabonidus, king of Babylon! For me, Nabonidus, the lonely one who has nobody, in whose (text: my) heart was not thought of kingship, the gods and goddesses prayed (to Sin) and called me to kingship. At midnight, he (Sin) made me have a dream and said (in the dream) as follows: “Rebuild speedily Ehulhul, the temple of Sin in Harran, and I will hand over to you all the countries.

In the third year of his reign, Nabonidus left Babylon to carry out his commission of rebuilding the Ehulhul temple to Sin in Harran, and apparently also to fight the hostile Arabs in the area. At that time, he installed his oldest son

Belshazzar Belshazzar (Babylonian cuneiform: ''Bēl-šar-uṣur'', meaning " Bel, protect the king"; ''Bēlšaʾṣṣar'') was the son and crown prince of Nabonidus (556–539 BC), the last king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Through his mother he might ...

as regent in Babylon.Pritchard, ed., ''Ancient Near Eastern Texts'', 313b. During the time in

Tayma Tayma (Taymanitic: , vocalized as: ; ar, تيماء, translit=Taymāʾ) or Tema Teman/Tyeman (Habakkuk 3:3) is a large oasis with a long history of settlement, located in northwestern Saudi Arabia at the point where the trade route between M ...

, the Stela describes Nabonidus’s interactions with the enemies of Babylonia:

Upon the command of Sin <> Ishtar, the Lady-of-Battle, without whom neither hostilities nor reconciliation can occur in the country and no battle can be fought, extended her protection (lit.: hand) over them, and the king of Egypt, the Medes and the land of the Arabs, all the hostile kings, were sending me messages of reconciliation and friendship. As to the land of the Arabs which s the eternal enemyof Babylonia nd whichwas (always) ''ready'' to rob and carry off its possession, Nergal broke their weapons upon the order of Sin, and they all bowed down at my feet.

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