42 OLD BABYLONIAN INSCRIPTIONS 



3. Nebuchadrezzar I bears titles which differ entirely from those at that time 

 characteristic of the rulers of Babylonia. He calls himself, in the manner of the 

 Egyptians, Shamash mdtishu, "tbe Sun of his land;" or musliammiliu nisMshu, "he 

 who makes prosperous his people;" ndsir kudureti, muhinu able, 1 "he who protects 

 the boundaries, establishes (measured) tracts of land ; " shar kindti sha din mishari 

 idinu, "the king of the right, he who judges a righteous judgment;" all are titles 

 which probably refer to the fact that just before the reign of Nebuchadrezzar I there 

 was in Babylonia a time of profound misery, when the land did not enjoy sunshine, 

 and when the peaceful possession of well-defined property was impossible, as the 

 violence of the stronger superseded law and order, while, at the same time, the boun- 

 daries of the empire were constantly invaded by powerful enemies ; in other words, 

 anarchy as we know it existed in Babylonia at the close of the reign of Belshum- 

 iddina. The significant title, sMlilu Kaslishi, "the conqueror of the Cassites," 

 acquires doubtless, in this connection, the significance of an allusion to the circum- 

 stance that it was he who had achieved the restoration of the Semitic element through 

 the overthrow of the Cassite dynasty. 2 



4. The boundary stone IV R. 2 , 38, which is dated in the time of Merodachbala- 

 dan I, mentions the house (I, 10) and the son (II, 34, 35) of a certain Nazi-Shikhu, 

 while in the "Freibrief " of Nebuchadrezzar I, a certain Nazi-Shikhu is named as a 

 high dignitary, ~kalu AkTcad. In view of the rare occurrence of this name in Baby- 

 lonian literature 3 it is natural to regard the tv/o bearers of the same name as identi- 

 cal. This identification, however, is possible only if Nebuchadrezzar I reigned not 

 long after Merodachbaladan I, 4 i. e., if he, as founder of the Pashe dynasty, came 

 into power some four years after the latter's death. 



1 1 formerly transliterated this word aple (as Peiser still does in Schrader's K. B. Ill, Part 1, p. 164). But since 

 1886 I have changed my view and substituted the above. As the word stands parallel to kudiireti, it must have a 

 similar meaning. In spite of nalifialu, II R. 22, 29, b. c, able is to be compared with the Hebrew, 'San which, in view 

 of the Ethiopic and Arabic habl has h. Cf. also Delitzsch, Worterbach, p. 37, no. 30. In view of the title above 

 quoted it does not seem improbable that Nebuchadrezzar I assumed his highly significant name, " Nebo, protect the 

 boundary," only after his usurpation. Another interpretation of the name, "Nebo, protect (thy) servant," has 

 recently been offered by Jiiger (B. A. I, 471, note*). But where is the "thy"? The proper names kudurru and 

 kidinnu, quoted by Jager, (I.e.), are not to be regarded as exclamations but as abbreviations of originally longer names. 

 As the middle part of the name of Nebuchadrezzar is written either kudurru or kicdurri (Bezold, Babylorusch-Assyrische 

 Literatur, p. 126), or kudurra (PI. 32, col. II, 7, of the present volume), it cannot mean "my boundary," as I 

 formerly interpreted (Freibrief, p. viii, note 1), but "the boundary." Cf. my remarks in 27(6 Sunday School Times, 

 February 20, 1892, p. 115, note 3. 



2 Cf. Hommel, Gesch., p. 451. 



3 Cf. col. VI, 18 of the boundary stone (published by Belser in B. A. II, pp. 171-185), which furnishes us data 

 from the time of the kings Ninib-kuduri-umr and Nabu-mukiii-aplu. For my transliteration and the formation of the 

 name, cf. above, p. 33 and note 5. 



4 For as the son of Nazi-Shikhu who appears as a witness under Merodachbaladan I, was already in possession of 

 the important office of a sukallu, his father must have been advanced in years. 



