Nabonassar (7th century BC)

Nabonassar (Babylonian cuneiform: Nabû-nāṣir, meaning "Nabu (is) protector") was a high priest (šatammu) of the Eanna temple in Uruk in the reign of the Neo-Assyrian king Esarhaddon ((r. undefined – undefined)681–669 BC), attested as such from 678 to 675 BC. He is very likely to have been the father of Nebuchadnezzar, governor of Uruk under Esarhaddon's successor Ashurbanipal ((r. undefined – undefined)669–631 BC), and the grandfather of Nabopolassar ((r. undefined – undefined)626–605 BC), the first king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, making Nabonassar the progenitor of the Chaldean dynasty of Babylonian kings.

In addition to Nebuchadnezzar, it is probable that Nabonassar was also the father of Bēl-uballiṭ, who is recorded as high priest of the same temple in 642 BC, and of Bel-uballit's colleague and brother, Nabu-ušabši.