Cited by 1Ancient Near East HistoryBiblical Studies and InterpretationEurasian Exchange Networks

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 14 of the 14 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 3 of the 34 sources its claims cite were checked for support.

The Day Before Cyrus Entered Babylon

Open access
Waerzeggers, Caroline·2021·Individuals and Institutions in the Ancient Near East

Abstract

Horizon 2020(H2020): 682241

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

Waerzeggers edits two new cuneiform tablets, BM 60916 and BM 101100, from Sippar during the two weeks between Sippar’s surrender and Cyrus’s entry into Babylon in 539 BCE. The texts show Sippar’s scribes quickly recognized Cyrus and, by 02-VIII, adopted the Assyrian-derived title “king of the lands” for him before he entered Babylon.

Key findings

  • BM 60916 was written in Sippar one day before Cyrus entered Babylon (03-VIII), and BM 101100 was written on 20-VII; together they raise the known corpus of tablets drafted between Sippar’s surrender (14-VII) and Cyrus’s entry (03-VIII) from five to seven.
  • Sippar’s Ebabbar scribes did not yet recognize Cyrus on 15-VII, but did by 19-VII (CT 57:717), the earliest evidence of Cyrus’s recognition as ruler anywhere in Babylonia; BM 101100 on 20-VII confirms this recognition.
  • Uruk continued dating after Nabonidus at least until 17-VII, one day after Ugbaru secured Babylon, showing uneven local responses.
  • The royal title for Cyrus shifted from “king of Babylon” to “king of the lands” from 02-VIII onward; BM 60916 confirms CT 57:697, and the title’s Assyrian origins (first used under Esarhaddon, continued under Ashurbanipal) suggest Cyrus was presented as heir to Assyrian world dominance.

Methods

  • Philological edition and historical analysis of two previously unpublished cuneiform tablets, BM 60916 and BM 101100, with transliteration, translation, and comments.
  • Contextualization against the Nabonidus Chronicle and contemporary archival texts; a table lists seven texts dated between 14-VII and 03-VIII with date, place, and royal title.
  • Analysis of royal titulary, especially the switch to “king of the lands,” and its Assyrian background.

Limitations

  • Stated: the reason for the title change remains unknown; how much longer Uruk remained loyal to Nabonidus or ignorant is unknown; no records from Babylon dated to the critical period are preserved; some readings/restorations are uncertain (e.g., BM 101100’s royal title, damaged month/day in Cyr 1, a problematic line in BM 101100).
  • Stated: the historicity of the massacre at Opis can be doubted because reports of mass murder are rare and patterned in Babylonian chronicles.
  • Evident: the corpus is very small (seven tablets) and geographically uneven, so conclusions about the “situation on the ground” rest on limited, damaged, and retrospectively interpreted evidence.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1515/9781501514661-002

Cites

14 of 14 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

17 Sources not found · 13 Own interpretation · 8 Own result · 7 No basis given · 3 Couldn’t confirm · 2 Not checked yet · 1 No full text of the sources · accuracy not yet measured

Show all 35 claims

  • Probably not a substantial claim. 8
  • It may state two separate claims as one. 10
  • The quote only partly states this claim. 1
16 of 16
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The local custom was for a new king to adopt the title 'king of Babylon' immediately upon claiming power, without waiting for the first Akitu festival.

    “The local custom was for a new king to adopt the title”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Dating a tablet after a king indicates recognition of that king as royal authority.

    “On 15-VII, scribes at the Ebabbar temple of Sippar did not yet recognize Cyrus as royal authority, 7 despite the fact that their city is reported to have surrendered the previous day.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The title 'king of the lands' had an explicit universalist ambition.

    “The history of the title, its explicit universalist ambition, and its almost immediate application after the siege of Babylon, all suggest that Cyrus was seen (or made himself to be seen) as heir to Assyria's world dominance very early in his reign.”
3 of 3

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

2 of 2

Citations

Cites

Show all 11 references

Research works printed but not linked: 4

  1. Jursa, Michael, and Klaus Wagensonner. 2014. The Estates of Šamaš on the Hābūr. Pp. 109- 130 in Extraction & Control: Studies in Honor of Matthew W. Stolper, ed. M. Kozuh, et al. SAOC 68. Chicago: The Oriental Institute.
  2. Michalowski, Piotr. 2014. Biography of a Sentence: Assurbanipal, Nabonidus, and Cyrus. Pp. 203-210 in Extraction & Control: Studies in Honor of Matthew W. Stolper, ed. M. Kozuh, et al. SAOC 68. Chicago: The Oriental Institute.
  3. B.C. -A.D. 75. Brown University Studies 19. Providence: Brown University Press.
  4. Redford, Douglas W. 1998. Quest for the Crown Jewel: The Centrality of Egypt in the Foreign Policy of Esarhaddon. PhD dissertation, Hebrew Union College.

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Metadata

Authors
Waerzeggers, C.
Affiliations
Leiden University (NL)
Corresponding author
Waerzeggers, Caroline
Venue
Individuals and Institutions in the Ancient Near East
Publisher
De Gruyter
Published
2021-10-11
Pages
79-88
OpenAlex
W3206159111
Cited by
1
References
11
Citations by year
2022: 1
FWCI
2.95
Type
book chapter
Language
en
Locations
  • De Gruyter eBooks (publishedVersion)
  • Leiden Repository (Leiden University) (submittedVersion)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Archeology (arts and humanities) › Ancient Near East History
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Religious studies › Biblical Studies and Interpretation
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History › Eurasian Exchange Networks
Keywords
Cyrus the Great, Sippar, cuneiform tablets, Uruk, royal titles, political rhetoric, Babylonian inscriptions

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