Borsippa in the Hellenistic Period (According to Cuneiform Evidence)

Ancient Borsippa was one of the primary centers for preserving Babylonian culture during the Hellenistic period. Historically, Borsippa maintained close ties with Babylon, driven by both relative geographical proximity and the ritual sphere, as Nabû, the patron deity of Borsippa, played a crucial role in the Babylonian Akitu festival. The cult center of Nabû, the Ezida temple, retained its status throughout the Hellenistic period and received significant attention from the Seleuсid kings. The most renowned evidence of this patronage is the famous Borsippa cylinder of Antiochos I (268 BC). However, cuneiform texts, originating mainly from Babylon and Uruk, generally provide limited information about Borsippa under the Macedonian dynasties and the Arsacids. This paper offers an overview of the Babylonian written tradition concerning Hellenistic Borsippa, drawing upon Babylonian chronographic documents, historical sections of astronomical diaries, and other cuneiform records (e.g. CTMMA IV, No. 148A). Based on this evidence, it is demonstrated that in the 3rd century BC, Borsippa acquired or restored its status as an autonomous “sacred city” (māḫāzu), was exempted from certain taxes (сf. ἀτέλεια), and formed a kind of confederation with Babylon and Cuthah, represented by the šatammu of the Esagila temple in Babylon. The privileged status of these cities was likely a Hellenistic reminiscence of the kidinnūtu status that Borsippa had possessed as early as the Neo-Assyrian period. Sources indicate that the Ezida temple complex maintained its position as one of the preeminent cult centers of Hellenistic Babylonia until the 1st century BC.