The Nabonidus Chronicle tells the story of the rule of Nabonidus, the last king of independent Babylonia. The text is badly damaged and contains many lacunas. However, it makes clear that the rise of Cyrus was not unexpected. We meet him for the first time in Nabonidus' sixth year (=550 BCE), when he defeats the Median leader Astyages. A second reference can be found in year nine, when he defeats the king of a country that cannot be identified (547 BCE).

In addition, we learn that Nabonidus was not in Babylon for ten years. Instead, he seems to have tried to subject Arabia. In year three he conquered the kingdom Edom, which controls the direct road from Babylon to the Gulf of Aqaba. From year seven until year sixteen, Nabonidus stayed in the oasis of Tayma in the Arab desert, from where he could easily go as far south as the oasis Yatrib (modern Medina).

The events of year seventeen look rather desperate: although the New Year's festival (Akitu) could be celebrated, several divine guests fail to attend, which suggests that their home towns were under siege. We also learn about a short invasion by soldiers from the Sea Land.

Throughout this text, "Akkad" means Babylonia; the first years show Babylonian military activity in Syria and the southeast of modern Turkey.

The translation below was made by A.K. Grayson, with some changes based on more recent research.