Puṭu-ia-a-man. Cyrene Between Babylon, Egypt, and Libya — According to Mazzarino: A Reassessment

Abstract

This article revisits Mazzarino’s identification of the toponym ^URU Buṭujaman in the cuneiform tablet BM 33041 with the polis of Cyrene. New evidence and new research confirm Mazzarino’s thesis, making it possible to reassess Nebuchad­nezzar’s war against Egypt and to gain a clearer understanding of Amasis’ alliance with Cyrene against Apries, while simultaneously substantiating the reliability of the story of Amasis’ marriage to Ladice, the daughter of the Cyrenaean king Battus II, as narrated by Herodotus. Furthermore, the chro­nology of the kings of Cyrene can be more accurately defined. In broader historical terms, the history of Cyrene during the 6th century bce appears indeed defined, as Mazzarino had argued, by its relationship with Egypt, the Eastern Mediterranean, and the Near East.