Neriglissar, whose name means "O Nergal, protect the king" (Akk. Nergal-šarru-uṣur), was not in the direct line of succession, as he was not the son of Nebuchadnezzar or of his immediate predecessor Amēl-Marduk.[[6]] Instead, he was the son of the Aramaean tribal leader Bēl-šum-iškun[[7]] and an influential and wealthy landowner[[8]] who became the important simmagir-official[[9]] of Nebuchadnezzar and later married one of the king's daughters (possibly Kaššaya) .[[10]] By the time he deposed Amēl-Marduk and seized control of the Babylonian throne, Neriglissar appears to have had ample political and military experience and, therefore, was regarded by the court, nobles, and prominent Babylonian families as a better choice of king than Nebuchadnezzar's own flesh and blood; perhaps, his marriage to Kaššaya helped seal the deal. As far as we can tell, Neriglissar's claim to the throne was not contested during the three years and eight months that he was king of Babylon.
During his short reign, Neriglissar sponsored several building activities in important Babylonian cult centers and undertook at least one military campaign. During his third regnal year (557), he marched west with his army to Cilicia, defeated king Appuašu of the land Pirindu, and captured, looted, and destroyed several royal cities of his, including the island fortress Pitusu; Appuašu, however, managed to avoid capture.[[11]]
Inscriptions record that Neriglissar oversaw projects at or near Babylon and at Sippar.[[12]] At Babylon, he sponsored renovation of parts of Marduk's temple Esagil ("House whose Top Is High"), especially one of its enclosure walls;[[13]] restored the Lībil-ḫegalla canal ("May It Bring Abundance"; Babylon's eastern canal) and reinforced its banks; and he repaired a wing of the royal palace that had collapsed into the Euphrates River. At Sippar, his workmen made repairs to the ziggurat of the sun-god Šamaš, Ekunankuga ("House, Pure Stairway of Heaven").
6 For studies on his reign, see, for example, Da Riva, GMTR 4 pp. 15–16; Sack, Neriglissar; and van Driel, RLA 9/3–4 (1999) pp. 228–229.
7 Bēl-šum-iškun is probably identical with the Aramaean tribal leader of the Puqūdu tribe who is mentioned in the Hofkalender inscription of Nebuchadnezzar II (Da Riva, ZA 103 [2013] p. 271 EŞ 7834 v´ 23´). The evidence will be presented in a forthcoming book chapter by R. Da Riva; see also D'Agostino, Alle soglie della classicità p. 121; and van Driel, RLA 9/3–4 (1999) p. 228.
8 Neriglissar had close connections with the wealthy and influential Egibi merchant family. See van Driel, JEOL 29 (1987) pp. 50–67; and Sack, Neriglissar pp. 23–25.
9 The precise function/sphere of influence of the simmagir-official remains largely unknown today, but it is clear that he was an important official at the king's court, as well as the governor of a large province in the trans-Tigridian area (the bīt-simmagir province). For studies about this Babylonian official, see Jursa, Achämenidenhof pp. 96–97; Jursa, Paszkowiak, and Waerzeggers, AfO 50 (2003–04) pp. 255–268; and von Soden, ZA 62 (1971) pp. 84–90. The simmagir-official mentioned in the Hofkalender inscription of Nebuchadnezzar II (Da Riva, ZA 103 [2013] p. 271 EŞ 7834 v´ 21´) and in the Bible (Jeremiah 39:3) in connection with the capture of Jerusalem is presumably none other than the future king Neriglissar; for details, see, for example, Jursa, Achämenidenhof pp. 85–88; and Vanderhooft, Neo-Babylonian Empire p. 151.
10 According to Berossos, Neriglissar married one of Nebuchadnezzar's daughters. P.-A. Beaulieu (Orientalia NS 67 [1998] pp. 199–200) proposes that this princess was most likely Kaššaya.
11 The events are recorded in the Chronicle of the Third Year of Neriglissar; see Grayson, Chronicles pp. 103–104 for a translation of that text. Neriglissar 7 probably also refers to this campaign.
12 Neriglissar 1–3 and 6 respectively. In brick inscriptions (Neriglissar 4–5), Neriglissar refers to himself as muddiš esagil u ezida "the one who renovates Esagil and Ezida." This is probably true in the case of the former, as inferred from Neriglissar 1 (Esagil Inscription). However, there is no concrete textual or archaeological proof that he actually undertook construction on Ezida at Borsippa. The epithet might simply be an honorific title, rather than one that is based on historical reality.
13 He also manufactured eight copper mušḫuššu-dragons and had them placed in the Ka-Utu-e, Ka-Lamma-arabi, Ka-ḫegal, and Ka-ude-babbar gates of Esagil.
Frauke Weiershäuser & Jamie Novotny
Frauke Weiershäuser & Jamie Novotny, 'Neriglissar', RIBo, Babylon 7: The Inscriptions of the Neo-Babylonian Dynasty, The RIBo Project, a sub-project of MOCCI, 2022 [http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/ribo/babylon7/rinbe2introduction/neriglissar/]