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| Neriglissar | |
|---|---|
| Name | Neriglissar |
| Title | King of Babylon |
| Reign | 560–556 BC |
| Predecessor | Labashi‑Marduk |
| Successor | Nabonidus |
| Dynasty | Neo‑Babylonian |
| Birth date | c. 640s BC |
| Death date | 556 BC |
| Burial | Babylon |
Neriglissar (fl. 7th–6th century BC) was a Babylonian ruler who seized the throne of the Neo‑Babylonian Empire in 560 BC. A member of the Babylonian elite with ties to prominent Aramaean and Anatolian families, he deposed Labashi‑Marduk and ruled until 556 BC, presiding over a brief but consequential period marked by building, military action, and dynastic transition. His reign sits between the reigns of Nabonidus and Nebuchadnezzar II in the chronology of Mesopotamian history.
Born into a prominent family of Babylon, Neriglissar is often identified through administrative texts and Babylonian chronicles linking him to the elite circles of Sippar, Borsippa, and the precincts of Esagila. Contemporary cuneiform tablets and contract records mention associates from Uruk, Kish, Nippur, and merchant networks tied to Ecbatana and Tyre. Some inscriptions imply familial or political ties to Anatolian and Aramaean elites connected with Lydia and Armenia (region), and possible marriage alliances hint at relationships with families from Kurdistan and the western Mesopotamian cities of Carchemish and Gozan. His background is reconstructed from sources such as the Babylonian Chronicle and legal tablets excavated at Babylon and Borsippa.
Neriglissar emerged politically under the late reign of Amel‑Marduk and during the brief rule of Labashi‑Marduk, when palace intrigue and military factions influenced succession. Accounts in the Chronicle of the Market Prices and other Babylonian chronicles describe a palace coup where Neriglissar, allied with influential court figures and possibly officials from Kalhu and Assur sympathizers, moved against Labashi‑Marduk. His accession followed patterns seen in Near Eastern power transitions, echoing rivalries evidenced in records concerning Ashurbanipal, Cyaxares, and later interactions with Cyrus the Great. The change in kingship involved elite actors from Borsippa, Ekallatum, and the temple administration of Marduk in Esagila.
As king, Neriglissar adopted royal titulary and engaged with priesthoods at Esagila, asserting legitimacy similar to earlier rulers such as Nebuchadnezzar II and Nabonidus. His rule appears in administrative archives alongside the activities of governors in Susa, Ekron, and Kish; diplomatic correspondence indicates contacts with Egypt and Achaemenid precursors in Media. Building inscriptions attribute works at Babylon, Borsippa, and possibly provincial centers like Sippar and Nippur, reflecting royal patronage patterns comparable to those by Hammurabi and Shamash‑shum‑ukin. The chronicles register economic adjustments that affected temples at Uruk and landholdings associated with families from Dilmun and Magan.
Neriglissar’s administrative actions are attested in royal letters, building inscriptions, and legal tablets from the chancery traditions of Babylonian mathematics and record keeping similar to archives of Ashurbanipal. He appointed governors and officials documented in contracts from Borsippa, Sippar, and Nippur and confirmed privileges of cultic institutions such as the temple of Marduk and priesthoods at Esagila. Fiscal measures noted in economic texts affected landowners and temples in Ur, Larsa, and merchant houses in Tyre and Sidon. His patronage of building projects and restoration works mirrored precedents set by Nabopolassar and Nebuchadnezzar II aiming to reinforce urban infrastructure and religious legitimacy.
Neriglissar undertook military and diplomatic initiatives in the Levant and eastern provinces, with sources indicating campaigns affecting Palestine (region), Philistia, and cities allied with Egypt and Elam. Babylonian chronicles and later historians suggest confrontations with local rulers in Judah and interactions with maritime powers like Phoenicia (region). He maintained or contested control over trade routes to Gulf ports linked to Dilmun and overland corridors through Ecbatana toward Anshan. These activities intersect with the regional trajectories of Cyrus II, Astyages, and the expanding Achaemenid Empire.
Neriglissar was married into influential families; his queen, attested in donation inscriptions and seal impressions, connected him to elites in Babylon and possibly to Aramaean lineages in Harran. His son, Labashi‑Marduk (not to be confused), and other relatives feature in succession documents and epigraphic records, but his death in 556 BC led to the accession of Nabonidus, who inaugurated distinct religious and imperial policies. Later classical authors and Mesopotamian chronicles evaluate Neriglissar alongside rulers like Nebuchadnezzar II and Cyrus the Great; modern scholarship situates him within studies of late Neo‑Babylonian administration, near‑eastern chronology, and imperial transition toward Achaemenid dominance. Category:6th-century BC monarchs