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Nebuchadnezzar is obliged to rebuild parts of E-Babbara, and the last king of Babylonia, Nabonnedos, is so active in his building operations at Sippar that he arouses the anger of the priests of Babylon, who feel that their ruler is neglecting the sanctuaries of Marduk and Nabu.
The old temple there, was one of the many that stirred up the religious zeal of Nabonnedos; and previous to this, we find several Assyrian kings occupied in embellishing and restoring the structure. A curious feature connected with Sin, is the occurrence of the name in Mount Sinai, in the wilderness of Sin, as well as in an inscription of Southern Arabia.
See Nebuchadnezzar's Inscription, IR. 56, col v. ll. 38-54. So, e.g. during the closing years of Nabonnedos' reign. Winckler, Untersuchungen zur Altorient. On the meaning and importance of the rite, see Winckler, Zeits. f. Assyr. ii. 302-304, and Lehmann's Shamash-shumukin, pp. 44-53. Eponym List, IIR. 52, no. 1 obv. 45.
For all that, he bears a name which signifies 'attendant' or 'servitor, and which sufficiently shows the subsidiary position that he occupied in the Babylonian pantheon. One of the rulers belonging to the dynasty of Isin calls the sun-god, the offspring of Nannar, one of the names of the moon-god, and the last king of Babylonia, Nabonnedos, does the same.
Nabonnedos recognized the danger, but all his efforts to strengthen the powers of resistance to the Persian arms were of no avail. Civil disturbances divided the Babylonians. The cohesion between the various districts was loosened, and within the city of Babylon itself, a party arose antagonistic to Nabonnedos, who in their short-sightedness hailed the advance of Cyrus.
Like the Assyrian Nabu, the god places the sceptre in the king's hands, but he is, after all, only the supreme messenger of Marduk. In the closing days of the Babylonian monarchy a more serious attempt, it would appear, was made to displace Marduk. Nabonnedos formed the design of replacing both Marduk and Nabu by the cult of Shamash.
It is through Nabonnedos and Nabubaliddin, chiefly, that we learn many of the details of the history of E-Babbara during this long period. Of the other important temples that date from the early period of Babylonian history, we must content ourselves with brief indications. The temple to Shamash at Larsa, while not quite as old as that of Sippar, was quite as famous.
Much importance was attached to this rite, and the kings take frequent occasion to adjure their successors who may in the course of restoring edifices come across stones bearing the record of former builders, to anoint these stones with oil and offer sacrifices. Thus, Nabonnedos, when he finds the inscription of Ashurbanabal in the Shamash temple at Sippar, carefully obeys the injunction.
We have seen that the moon-cult at an early period enjoyed greater importance than sun-worship. The temples of Sin were centers of intellectual activity. It is in these places that we may expect some day to find elaborate astronomical and astrological records. It is Nabonnedos, again, who endeavors to restore the ancient prestige of the sanctuary at Harran.
Nebopolassar speaks of placing sweet herbs under the walls, and Nabonnedos pours oil over the bolts and doors, as well as on the thresholds of the Shamash temple at Sippar, and fills the temple with the aroma of frankincense.
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