Nitocris of Babylon

Who is Nitocris of Babylon?

Nitocris of Babylon is an otherwise unknown queen of Babylon described by Herodotus in his Histories.

She is credited by him with various building projects in Babylon. She is said to be the mother of the last king of the city, Labynetus, and to have tricked Darius I by placing her tomb above a gate so that the Persian could not pass below. According to the account, she also left a mysterious inscription that served as a trap for greedy kings.

As there is no historical figure matching this description, various hypothesis have been proposed to link her with one or several known persons:

Naqi'a, wife of Sanherib, known for building activities

Adad-happe, mother of Nabonidus, last king of Babylon

an otherwise unknown wife of Nebuchadnezzar II or a daughter of his.