jan 1, 556 BC - Nabonidus (Babylon)

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Nabonidus was the last king of Babylon, remembered for promoting the moon god Sin over Marduk and for spending roughly a decade at the oasis of Tayma in Arabia while his son Belshazzar governed in Babylon. His absence and religious innovations alienated the priesthood, which helps explain why Babylon fell to Cyrus with little resistance. He was also an antiquarian who excavated and restored ancient temples, arguably the first archaeologist known by name. A Dead Sea Scroll fragment called the Prayer of Nabonidus tells of a Babylonian king healed after seven years, closely paralleling the story told of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel.

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