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186 In Babylon the expectations were mostly religious—a messianic revival by Marduk through his son Nabu. Great efforts were undertaken to resume, circa 960 B.C.E., the sa- cred Akitu ceremonies in which the revised Enuma elish— appropriating to Marduk the creation of Earth, the reshaping of the Heavens (the Solar System), and the fashioning of Man—was publicly read. The arrival of Nabu from his shrine in Borsippa (just south of Babylon) to play a crucial role in the ceremonies was an essential part of the revival. Accord- ingly, the Babylonian kings who reigned between 900 B.c.k. and 730 B.c.E. resumed bearing Marduk-related names and, in great numbers, Nabu-related names. The changes in Assyria were more geopolitical; historians consider the time—circa 960 B.c.E.—as the start of the Neo- THE END OF DAYS FIGURE 86a FIGURE 86b