Changes

Nothing is known for certain about his father except his name. An inscription of his mother tells of her being born in the twentieth year of [[Ashurbannipal]], 648/47 BC. She died in April of 547, at an age of 101 or 102. During her life she was devoted to the worship of the moon-god [[Sin (god)|Sin]], so much so that some have thought she was a priestess of [[Sin (god)|Sin]].

Nothing is known for certain about his father except his name. An inscription of his mother tells of her being born in the twentieth year of [[Ashurbannipal]], 648/47 BC. She died in April of 547, at an age of 101 or 102. During her life she was devoted to the worship of the moon-god [[Sin (god)|Sin]], so much so that some have thought she was a priestess of [[Sin (god)|Sin]].

This background helps explain what is regarded as the chief mistake of Nabonidus’s career: his apparent abandonment of the worship of Babylon’s chief god, [[Marduk]], choosing instead to spend most of his years as king in the desert of Arabia, worshipping [[Sin (god)|Sin]]. [[Cyrus II the Great|Cyrus]] was able to use this neglect of worship of [[Marduk]] to claim that [[Marduk]], displeased with Nabonidus, rejected him and chose [[Cyrus II the Great|Cyrus]] to rule over [[Babylon]] in his place, a narrative that [[Cyrus II the Great|Cyrus]] realized would appeal to the people of [[Babylon]] and which he greatly exploited in the [[Propaganda|propaganda]] texts that he produced after his conquest of [[Babylon]].

This background helps explain what is regarded as the chief mistake of Nabonidus’s career: his apparent abandonment of the worship of Babylon’s chief god, [[Marduk]], choosing instead to spend most of his years as king in the desert of Arabia, worshipping [[Sin (god)|Sin]]. [[Cyrus II the Great|Cyrus]] was able to use this neglect of worship of [[Marduk]] to claim that [[Marduk]], displeased with Nabonidus, rejected him and chose [[Cyrus II the Great|Cyrus]] to rule over [[Babylon]] in his place, a [[narrative]] that [[Cyrus II the Great|Cyrus]] realized would appeal to the people of [[Babylon]] and which he greatly exploited in the [[Propaganda|propaganda]] texts that he produced after his conquest of [[Babylon]].

If Nabonidus’s mother bore him before the age of 40 his birth year would be 607 BC or earlier, making him 51 years of age or older when he became king in 556 BC. He went to the [[Oasis|oasis]] of [[Tema]], nestled amidst the sands of [[Arabia]] in his third year (553 BC) and spent most of his time there from that point on. In that same third year he appointed his son [[Belshazzar]] as king to reign in [[Akkad]] (in effect [[Babylon]]) .<ref>''ANET'', 313b</ref>.

If Nabonidus’s mother bore him before the age of 40 his birth year would be 607 BC or earlier, making him 51 years of age or older when he became king in 556 BC. He went to the [[Oasis|oasis]] of [[Tema]], nestled amidst the sands of [[Arabia]] in his third year (553 BC) and spent most of his time there from that point on. In that same third year he appointed his son [[Belshazzar]] as king to reign in [[Akkad]] (in effect [[Babylon]]) .<ref>''ANET'', 313b</ref>.