Nabu-balatsu-iqbi (

Akkadian Akkadian or Accadian may refer to: * Akkadians, inhabitants of the Akkadian Empire * Akkadian language, an extinct Eastern Semitic language * Akkadian literature, literature in this language * Akkadian cuneiform Cuneiform is a logo- syllabi ...

''Nabû-balātsu-iqbi'') was the father of the

Neo-Babylonian The Neo-Babylonian Empire or Second Babylonian Empire, historically known as the Chaldean Empire, was the last polity ruled by monarchs native to Mesopotamia. Beginning with the coronation of Nabopolassar as the King of Babylon in 626 BC and bein ...

king

Nabonidus Nabonidus (Babylonian cuneiform: ''Nabû-naʾid'', meaning "May Nabu be exalted" or "Nabu is praised") was the last king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, ruling from 556 BC to the fall of Babylon to the Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great in 539 ...

(556–539 BC). A mysterious figure, Nabu-balatsu-iqbi is only referenced in Nabonidus's own inscriptions, with no other record of his existence or status.

Speculation

In his inscriptions, Nabonidus refers to his father Nabu-balatsu-iqbi as a "learned counsellor", "wise prince", "perfect prince" and "heroic governor". Nabonidus never elaborates more on his father's origin and ethnicity, just maintaining that he was courageous, wise and devout. No person named Nabu-balatsu-iqbi who can reasonably be identified as Nabonidus's father appears in documents prior to Nabonidus's reign, making his father's status and position unclear. Nabonidus's mother, Addagoppe, was associated with the city of

Harran Harran (), historically known as Carrhae ( el, Kάρραι, Kárrhai), is a rural town and district of the Şanlıurfa Province in southeastern Turkey, approximately 40 kilometres (25 miles) southeast of Urfa and 20 kilometers from the border cr ...

in the northern parts of the empire (formerly an

Assyrian Assyrian may refer to: * Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia. * Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire. ** Early Assyrian Period ** Old Assyrian Period ** Middle Assyrian Empire ** Neo-Assyrian Empire * Assyrian ...

stronghold). Since Addagoppe likely married Nabu-balatsu-iqbi early in her life, per Mesopotamian custom, Nabu-balatsu-iqbi was also probably a prominent resident of that city, possibly of Assyrian or

Aramean The Arameans ( oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; syc, ܐܪ̈ܡܝܐ, Ārāmāyē) were an ancient Semitic-speaking people in the Near East, first recorded in historical sources from the late 12th century BCE. The Aramean h ...

origin. That Nabu-balatsu-iqbi is repeatedly referred to as "prince" in Nabonidus's inscriptions suggests some sort of noble status and political importance. Frauke Weiershäuser and Jamie Novotny speculated that Nabu-balatsu-iqbi could have been an Aramean chief.'

Stephen Herbert Langdon Stephen Herbert Langdon (1876May 19, 1937) was an American-born British Assyriologist. Born to George Knowles and Abigail Hassinger Langdon in Monroe, Michigan, Langdon studied at the University of Michigan, participating in Phi Beta Kappa and ...

theorised that Nabu-balatsu-iqbi was a son of the Assyrian king

Esarhaddon Esarhaddon, also spelled Essarhaddon, Assarhaddon and Ashurhaddon (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , also , meaning " Ashur has given me a brother"; Biblical Hebrew: ''ʾĒsar-Ḥaddōn'') was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from the death of his ...

(681–669 BC), but there is no concrete evidence for this relation.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{AncientNearEast-stub Babylonian people Neo-Babylonian Empire Nabonidus 6th-century BC people Post-Imperial Assyria People from Harran