The Retrieval of Marduk’s Statue by Nebuchadnezzar I: A Historical Reappraisal

This study questions the historicity of Marduk’s return to Babylon during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar I, an event of comparable significance in modern Assyriology to its importance in ancient Mesopotamia. The paper surveys the sources pertaining to Nebuchadnezzar I’s military campaign against Elam and the retrieval of Marduk’s statue, differentiating – primarily following Nielsen’s methodology – between primary and secondary sources. The survey and examination of available evidence leads to the conclusion that Nebuchadnezzar I’s retrieval of the statue of Marduk is far less firmly grounded in primary sources than generally assumed. Consequently, the possibility cannot be ruled out that this tradition, attested predominantly in literary sources preserved in first-millennium manuscripts, is neither historical nor contemporaneous with Nebuchadnezzar I, but rather represents a later construct that originated in subsequent periods.