18. Chronicles and Canons

The Chronicles specify several kings of Babylon - foreign and domestic - and the number of years they ruled. The list drawn from these names has much in common with the Royal Canon employed by Ptolemy. Both begin with Nabonassar, or Nabu-nasir, and they include many of the same kings down to Seleucid times. Yet there are differences. Consequently, even if the current study substantiates the astronomical chronology of late Babylonian times, the historical chronology remains controversial.