Bel-Shalti-Nanna

Bel-Shalti-Nanna, or Bel-Shalti-Nannar named also Ennigaldi-Nanna was a Babylonian princess who flourished around 554 B.C.E.. She was the daughter of Nabonidus and sister of Belshazzar. She served as a high priestess in Ur. She was called the "priestess of Sin" (the god of the moon).

While excavating in Ur, Sir Leonard Woolley discovered a room built for Bel-Shalti-Nannar around 550 B.C.E. The room is known as the Palace of the High Priestess Bel-Shalti-Nannar. The palace shares some design features with the South palace at Babylon, but on smaller scale. It is located on a trapezoidal plot by North Harbor of Ur.

It contained objects dating back to 1400 B.C.E., 1700 B.C.E., and 2050 B.C.E. A clay tablet bore copies of very ancient inscriptions together with another inscription explaining that the earliest ones had been found and copied out “for the marvel of the beholders.” These clay tablets are considered the oldest museum catalogue. The room was a museum, and Bel-Shalti-Nannar was a collector of antiquities. Statue fragments from a diorite statue dedicated by Sulgi to the goddess Ninsuna of Ur were also found, as well as clay dog figurines. Her name, and the dedication of the palace, is mentioned by Nabonidus in several inscriptions on clay cylinders: “I built anew the house of Bel-shalti-Nannar, my daughter, the priestess of Sin. I purified my daughter and offered her to Sin..." and "May Bêl-shalti-Nannar the daughter, the beloved of my heart, be strong before them; and may her word prevail.”

Along with her father, Nabonidus, Bel-Shalti-Nannar is known for being responsible for first controlled excavation and museum display. It is believed she help found a series of museums related to the discoveries made by Nabonidus. She is memorialized in The Dinner Party by Judy Chicago.

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