Abstract
The composition known as the Verse Account is a polemical poem about Nabû-nā’id’s (Nabonidus’) evil reign composed after Cyrus’ conquest in 539 BC. In a well-known passage, the text mentions two local dignitaries by name: Zēria, the administrator (šatammu) of the Esagil temple of Marduk in Babylon, and Rēmūt, the royal secretary (zazakku). The current interpretation of this passage holds that these two men are despised by the author(s) of the Verse Account for having supported Nabû-nā’id’s heretical policies. This article challenges this interpretation and argues that Zēria and Rēmūt are pictured positively, as collaborators of Cyrus, the conqueror and liberator of Babylon.
© by Akademie Verlag, Berlin, Germany