Nabonidus Cylinder

The cylinders of Nabonidus are cuneiform inscriptions on clay cylinders commissioned by Nabonidus, king of Babylonia from 556 to 539 BC, recording his restoration of temples. The Sippar cylinder, dated to after his return from Arabia in his thirteenth regnal year, describes repairs to the moon god Sin's shrine at Harran, the goddess Anunitu's sanctuary at Sippar and the sun god Shamash's temple at Sippar. Cylinders from Ur commemorate the reconstruction of a ziggurat dedicated to Sin and mention his eldest son Belshazzar by name. The inscriptions corroborate the Book of Daniel's reference to Belshazzar and preserve rare direct evidence of late Babylonian royal religious practice and building activity.