Introduction
Nabu is the god of writing, wisdom, and scribes, son of Marduk and Sarpanit, whose cult grew especially prominent in the later Neo-Babylonian period.
Family
- Father: Marduk
- Mother: Sarpanit
Rising Prominence
By the first millennium BCE, Nabu's cult had grown significantly in importance, at times rivaling his father Marduk's own preeminence in Babylonian state religion; several Neo-Babylonian kings, including Nabonidus and the several kings bearing his name as a prefix (Nabopolassar, Nebuchadnezzar), reflect Nabu's elevated standing as patron of scribal learning and royal record-keeping.
Mesopotamian religion spans Sumerian, Akkadian, and Babylonian sources composed and recopied across nearly three thousand years, so names, genealogies, and even a deity's role often shift between traditions (Sumerian An/Enki/Inanna alongside their Akkadian/Babylonian forms Anu/Ea/Ishtar); the account above follows the most widely attested version, usually as consolidated in the Babylonian Enuma Elish or the standard Akkadian Epic of Gilgamesh.