Throughout history, the concept of the family, which forms the foundation of societies, has continued to influence the roles of individuals despite changing conditions over time. This influence begins within the family through teachings imparted to children from an early age, shaping their future thoughts and behaviours to a significant degree. In early periods, these teachings were intertwined with faith and shaped individuals’ ways of perceiving and making sense of the world. Thus, whenever humans recognised their limitations, they sought divine protection and support. The concrete reflections of this need for support have a long history. From antiquity to the present, faith and religious belief have profoundly shaped individuals and societies, and this influence has been transmitted in diverse forms as part of civilisational heritage. In this transmission, mothers -often central figures in early socialisation- have helped shape the continuity and quality of family life through the children they raise. Throughout the historical process, rulers who governed countries reflected the traces of their upbringing and especially their families in their policies. In this context, one of the most striking examples comes from the Neo-Babylonian Empire, which ruled the lands of Ancient Mesopotamia. Nabonidus, a king of the Neo-Babylonian period, has often been described as a religious reformer who introduced radical changes to Babylon’s traditional belief system. This change began when the god Marduk and his priests, the means of legitimizing the political power of his predecessors, were confronted with Nabonidus’s unexpected move. This policy of Nabonidus, which caused an echo in its time, bears the traces of his mother’s devout character.
Tuğçe Horunlu (Wed,) studied this question.