Nabu-balatsu-iqbi

Nabu-balatsu-iqbi (Akkadian:   Nabû-balātsu-iqbi) was the father of the Neo-Babylonian king Nabonidus (r. 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 in the northern parts of the empire (formerly an 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 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 theorised that Nabu-balatsu-iqbi was a son of the Assyrian king Esarhaddon (r. 681–669 BC), but there is no concrete evidence for this relation.

References

Bibliography

• Beaulieu, Paul-Alain (1989). Reign of Nabonidus, King of Babylon (556-539 BC). Yale University Press. doi:10.2307/j.ctt2250wnt. ISBN 9780300043143. JSTOR j.ctt2250wnt. OCLC 20391775.
• Dougherty, Raymond Philip (2008) [1929]. Nabonidus and Belshazzar: A Study of the Closing Events of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Wipf & Stock. ISBN 978-1556359569.
• Gruenthaner, Michael J. (1949). "The Last King of Babylon". The Catholic Biblical Quarterly. 11 (4): 406–427. JSTOR 43720153.
• Lambert, Wilfred G. (1972). "Nabonidus in Arabia". Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies. 2: 53–64. JSTOR 41222956.
• Lewy, Julius (1945–1946). "The Late Assyro-Babylonian Cult of the Moon and its Culmination at the Time of Nabonidus". Hebrew Union College Annual. 19: 405–489. JSTOR 23503682.
• Weiershäuser, Frauke; Novotny, Jamie (2020). The Royal Inscriptions of Amēl-Marduk (561–560 BC), Neriglissar (559–556 BC), and Nabonidus (555–539 BC), Kings of Babylon (PDF). Eisenbrauns. ISBN 978-1646021079.
• Wiseman, Donald J. (2003) [1991]. "Babylonia 605–539 B.C.". In Boardman, John; Edwards, I. E. S.; Hammond, N. G. L.; Sollberger, E.; Walker, C. B. F. (eds.). The Cambridge Ancient History: III Part 2: The Assyrian and Babylonian Empires and Other States of the Near East, from the Eighth to the Sixth Centuries B.C. (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-22717-8.