Nitocris of Babylon
Nitocris of Babylon (c. 550 BC) is an otherwise unknown queen of Babylon described by Herodotus in his Histories.
She is credited by him with various building projects in Babylon. She is said to be the mother of the last king of the city, Labynetus, and to have tricked Darius I by placing her tomb above a gate so that the Persian could not pass below. According to the account, she also left a mysterious inscription that served as a trap for greedy kings.[1][2]
As there is no historical figure matching this description, various hypothesis have been proposed to link her with one or several known persons:[3]
- Naqi'a, wife of Sanherib, known for building activities
- Adad-happe, mother of Nabonidus, last king of Babylon
- an otherwise unknown wife of Nebuchadnezzar II or a daughter of his[4]
See also
References
- ^ Notes and Discussions Darius and the Tomb of Nitocris Jstor.org of
- ^ Herodotus, Histories I.185
- ^ Röllig Wolfgang, Nitokris von Babylon, in Beiträge zur Alten Geschichte und deren Nachleben, Festschrift F. Altheim zum 6.10.1968, Berlin, 1969, p 128
- ^ O. E. Ravn, Herodotus' Description of Babylon. Copenhagen 1942, pg. 76.
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