Marduk & Nabû, Gods of Babylon
As Babylon conquered, so did its god — Marduk made king of heaven, with Nabû his scribe holding the stylus of fate.
As Babylon rose to dominate Mesopotamia, its city-god Marduk rose with it — promoted in myth and cult to king of the gods, the victor over chaos in Enuma Elish, master of the fifty names that gather all divine powers to himself. His son Nabu, god of Borsippa, became the patron of the scribal art, of writing, wisdom, and the recording of destinies. Together father and son anchored Babylonian religion in the first millennium: Marduk the sovereign, Nabu the keeper of the stylus, whose annual procession to Babylon was a high point of the religious year.
Key passages(20)
A hymn to Marduk for Abī-Ešuḫ (Abī-Ešuḫ A)
King who gathers up the divine powers of heaven and earth, foremost son of Enki, Marduk, mighty lord, perfect hero, foremost of the Great Princes , strong one of the Anuna, the great gods who have giv
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For the god Marduk, the ex [ alte ] d lord, king of the gods, supreme one, pre-eminent o [ ne... ], one of exa [ l ] ted strength, foremost of all the lords, [... ], all-powerful one, foremost in heav
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For the god Marduk, the exalted lord, [ king of the gods, supreme one, pre-eminent one... ], one of exalted strength, [ foremost of all the lords,... ], all-powerful one, foremost in heaven and nether
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Esarhaddon, king of the world, king of Assyria, governor of Babylon, king of Sumer and Akkad, pious prince, who reveres the gods Nabû and Marduk — Before my time, in the reign of a previous king, bad
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[ Incantation: ] Strong one, resplendent one, lord of Eridu, Exalted [ prince ], son of Nudimmud, Wise Marduk, one who gives the Bit-Engur cause for rejoicing, [ Lord ] of the Esaggil, trust of Babylo
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Lacuna I placed (the bed) [... ]... [... which ] is laden [ with sexual charm ]. I presented the god Marduk, the one who loves my reign, with [ a b ] ed of ebony, a dur [ able ] wood, (and) which is c
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ASARE, bestower of arable land, who [... ] a plan, creator of barley and flax, who makes vegetation grow. ASARALIM, who is honoured in the council hall, whose advice is supreme, whom the gods attend t
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Lacuna th [ ey (the gods) allowed my mind to learn all of the scribal arts ]. They glorified the men [ tion of m ] y [ name ] (and) made my lordship g [ reater ] t [ han (those of all other) king ] s
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I, Ashurbanipal, great king, strong king, king of the world, king of Assyria, king of the four quarters (of the world), offspring of Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, governor of Babylon, king of the land
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I, Ashurbanipal, great king, [ strong king ], king of the world, king of Assyria, king of [ the four quarters (of the world) ], creation of the hands of (the god) Aššur (and) the goddess Mullissu; one
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Lacuna [... ] the god Marduk, the sage of the god [ s, granted me a broad mind ] (and) extensive knowledge [ as a gift ]; the god Nabû, the scribe of everything, bestowed on me the pr [ ecepts of his
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For the god Marduk, supreme lord, exalted hero, lord of lords, exalted, wh (ose) figure is splendid (and who) is vastly superior to all of the (other) gods, bearer of the awe-inspiring, terrible radia
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[... ] of rulership, [... ] he (Marduk) took up residence [... ] sovereignty. (The gods said to Marduk:)' [... ] the great gods, ' [... ], your speech is Anu. ' [... ] among the great gods, ' [... ] i
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[... ]... [... ] [... ] mankind, he imposed the gods' work (on them) and set the gods free. [... ] the wise Ea [... ] (and) imposed the work of the gods on them, [... not ] suitable for understanding
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[ I, Ashurbanipal, great king, strong king, king of the world, king of Assyria, king of the four quarters (of the world), off ] spring [ of Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, gov ] ernor of B [ abylon, kin
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Esarhaddon, king of the world, king of Assyria, governor of (i 5) Babylon, king of Sumer and Akkad, pious prince who reveres the gods Nabû and Marduk — Before my time the great lord, the god Marduk, b
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[... ] the land, [... ] abundance. They shall invoke him secondly [... ]... [... ]... desolation, [... ] Underworld, establisher of the furrow, [... ] established [... ] in the open country, who keeps
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I, Ashurbanipal, great king, [ strong ] ki [ ng ], king of the world, king of Assyria, king of the [ four ] quarters (of the world), offspring of Esarhaddon, kin [ g of Assyria ], governor of Babylon,
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For the god Nabû, the exalted lord who dwells in Ezida — which is inside Nineveh — his lord: Ashurbanipal, king of Assyria, the one requested (and) required by his (Nabû’s) great divinity, who, at the
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