Chronicles of Chaldaean Kings (626-556 B.C.) in the British Museum, “Transliteration and translation of B.M. 21946, obverse lines 9-11”
“For twenty-one years Nabopolassar had been king of Babylon. On the 8th of the month of Ab he died (lit. 'the fates'); in the month of Elul Nebuchadrezzar returned to Babylon and on the first day of the month of Elul he sat on the royal throne in Babylon.”
The chronicle itself states the length of Nabopolassar's reign and the day on which Nebuchadnezzar II took the throne, immediately before describing his accession-year campaign.
Scan of original (opens in new tab)
Provenance and verification note for Chronicles of Chaldaean Kings (626-556 B.C.) in the British Museum, Transliteration and translation of B.M. 21946, obverse lines 9-11
Confidence note. Read in the ETANA PDF on 19 September 2026; running head 'TRANSLITERATION AND TRANSLATION 69'. Wiseman's note to line 11 compares this date with dated contract tablets from Sippar.
Scan provenance. Full scan of the British Museum volume hosted by ETANA (Electronic Tools and Ancient Near Eastern Archives), an academic digital-library consortium. Copyright the Trustees of the British Museum, 1956.
Corroborated by. src-chr-e-oracc-adadguppi-i29, src-chr-e-pd-1942-p9-10-transitions
Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-chr-e-wiseman-1956-p69-accession