Nabonassar

Nabû-nāṣir, inscribed in cuneiform as ^dAG-PAB or ^dAG-ŠEŠ-ir, Greek: Ναβονάσσαρος, whence "Nabonassar", and meaning "Nabû (is) protector", was the king of Babylon 747–734 BC. He deposed a foreign Chaldean usurper named Nabu-shuma-ishkun, bringing native rule back to Babylon after 23 years of Chaldean rule. His reign saw the beginning a new era characterized by the systematic maintenance of chronologically precise historical records. Both the Babylonian Chronicle and the Ptolemaic Canon begin with his accession to the throne. He was contemporary with the Assyrian kings Aššur-nirarī V (755–745 BC) and Tiglath-Pileser III, the latter under whom he became a vassal, and the Elamite kings Humban-Tahrah I (–743 BC) and Humban-Nikaš I (742–717 BC).