4. The difference of sixteen years in the reign of Amel-Marduk.
AuldSoul to Scholar: There is no difference of 16 years in the reign of Amel-Marduk (Evil-Merodach). I have asked you repeatedly to demonstrate your proofs to that effect and am still waiting. You seem to assume that such proof must exist because without it your celebrated scholar's chronology falls on its face, but the fact is there is no proof of Amel-Marduk having a reign any longer than two years. PLEASE prove me wrong.
AuldSoul ---
Not only is there no proof of Amel-Marduk having a reign longer than two years, there is actually cuneiform evidence that he reigned only two years.
The first contract dated to Amel Marduk is from 8 October 562, and the last is August 7, 560. Within 4 days of the last contract dated to Amel-Marduk, there were contracts dated to Neriglissar, his successor.
The Cambridge Ancient History, Volume III, Part 2, second edition, 1991, pp. 242-243.... the last contract dated by Nebuchadrezzar’s forty-third regnal year was written at Uruk (8 October 562) and the first to be dated by his son and successor Amel-Marduk was written that same day
... Any hiatus was of short duration, for the same contract datings show that Amel-Marduk was acknowledged as king in all the major Babylonian cities by mid-October. ... The latest contract dated to Amel-Marduk in Babylon was written on 7 August 560,and within four days other texts recognized Neriglissar as king there, at Uruk, and elsewhere.
Furthermore, there have now been four different scholars, Ronald H. Sack, G. Van Driel, K. R. Nemet-Nejat, and Stefan Zawadzki, who have published articles on cuneiform tablet NBC 4897, which is an accounting text showing records of a herd from the temple at Eanna. The accounts run from year 37 of Nebuchadnezzar to year 1 of Neriglissar.
Here is a link and an excerpt from a previous message I wrote about NBC 4897:
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/10/85117/1402144/post.ashx#1402144
The Journal of Cuneiform Studies recently had another article on tablet NBC 4897 (this is a text which has records of a herd from the temple at Eanna, with accounts running from year 37 of Nebuchadnezzar to year 1 of Neriglissar).
Text NBC 4897 covers the following years: Nebuchadnezzar 37
Nebuchadnezzar 38
Nebuchadnezzar 39
Nebuchadnezzar 40
Nebuchadnezzar 41
Nebuchadnezzar 42
Nebuchadnezzar 43
Amel Marduk 1
Amel Marduk 2
Neriglissar 1
It has lines of information on:
Rams, ewes, male lambs, female lambs, total animals;
He-goats, she-goats, male kids, female kids, total animals;
Grand total: sheep and goats, the property of the Lady of Uruk and Nanaya
Hides, wages, wool, goat hair
"Balanced account which Enlil-sar-usur, the resident of Eanna and Zeriya, the administrator of Eanna, settled with the herdsmen. The month of Simanu, the 28th day, the 1st year of Nergal-sar-usur, king of Babylon."
Stefan Zawadzki, "Bookkeeping Practices at the Eanna Temple in Uruk in the Light of the Text NBC 4897," Journal of Cuneiform Studies, Volume 55, 2003, pp. 99 - 123.
Several things to note:
Articles on this text have now been published by four scholars: R. H. Sack, G. Van Driel, K. R. Nemet-Nejat, and Stefan Zawadzki. While there has been some discussion regarding the method of reckoning used by the accountant, no one has questioned the sequence of kings' years (Nebuchadnezzar 37 - 43, Amel Marduk 1- 2, Neriglissar 1).
This text is important because it shows an unbroken chain of kings with no room between Nebuchadnezzar/Amel-Marduk or between Amel-Marduk/Neriglissar for an unknown king.
Regards,
Marjorie