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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.
Nebopolassar, however, does not go to the extent of endeavoring to make Nabu supersede Marduk. He contents himself with manifesting his partiality for the former, and it is probably no accident that both his official name and that of his son contain the god Nabu as one of their elements, and not Marduk.
Nebopolassar, indeed, accords to Nabu an equal share, and he does not hesitate at times to place the name Nabu before that of Marduk. He does not speak of Nabu as the son of Marduk, and seems to be at particular pains to emphasize the equality of Nabu with Marduk. In this respect Nebopolassar presents a contrast to Hammurabi, who, it will be recalled, made an attempt to suppress the Nabu cult.
Nebopolassar and his successors are fond of giving themselves the title of 'beautifier of E-Sagila and E-zida. In these great temples sacred to Marduk and Nebo, there were shrines to Sarpanitum, Tashmitum, Nusku, Ea and others, which also engaged the energies of the rulers.
Ninus inherited the spirit of his father, and the history of his empire, until it was overthrown by the Babylonians and Medes, is a history of absolute Assyrian despotism. The Babylonian Empire was no better from the revolt of Nebopolassar to its destruction by Cyrus. Egypt and Persia were also equally deprived of the blessings of civil liberty.
Nebopolassar sets the example in this respect, which is considerably improved upon by Nebuchadnezzar. Over forty temples and shrines are mentioned in the latter's inscriptions as having been improved, enlarged, or restored by him; and the last king of Babylonia, Nabonnedos, endeavors to continue this royal policy of temple-building.
He is once more the great god, lord of gods, supreme king of the Igigi, the father of the Anunnaki all titles that the Assyrians were fond of heaping upon Ashur. One feels the anxiety of Nebopolassar to emphasize the new order of things by attributing once more to Marduk what was formerly claimed for Ashur.
The successor of Nebopolassar, the great Nebuchadnezzar, continues the policy of his father. He neglects no opportunity for exalting Marduk as the king, the creator, the leader of the gods, the lord of everything, the merciful one, the light of the gods, the all-wise. Nabu shares the honors with Marduk.
In the eyes of the Babylonians such a haughty assumption on the part of the Assyrians must have been regarded as humiliating to Marduk, Nabu, and their associates. The state of affairs changed when Nebopolassar at the end of the seventh century once more claimed independent control over Babylonia. Marduk triumphs over Ashur.
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