Babylonian Chronicles

The Babylonian Chronicles are a loosely-defined series of about 45 tablets recording major events in Babylonian history.

Babylonian Chronicles
Early Years of Nebuchadnezzar chronicle, dated 590 BCE (ABC 05)
L. W. King’s line-art for a fragment (K. 8532) of the Dynastic Chronicle

They represent one of the first steps in the development of ancient historiography. The Babylonian Chronicles are written in Babylonian cuneiform and date from the reign of Nabonassar until the Parthian Period. The tablets were composed by Babylonian astronomers ("Chaldaeans") who probably used the Astronomical Diaries as their source.

Almost all of the tablets were identified as chronicles once in the collection of the British Museum, having been acquired via antiquities dealers from unknown excavations undertaken during the 19th century. All but three of the chronicles are unprovenanced.

The Chronicles provide the "master narrative" for large blocks of current Babylonian history.

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