AD -261C (X102613)
Astronomical Diary, Hellenistic, Babylon · c. 330 BCE–141 BCE
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| Designation | AD -261C |
|---|---|
| ID | X102613 |
| Museum no. | BM 41615 + 41913 |
| Language | Akkadian |
| Period | Hellenistic · c. 330 BCE–141 BCE |
| Genre | Astronomical Diary |
| Find spot | Babylon |
| Coordinates | 32.5434, 44.4222 |
English translation
By ORACC project adsd/adart1 · Via Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus (ORACC) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (ORACC)
| Line | English |
|---|---|
| Obverse [0:1] o 1o 1–o 1o 1 | [...] last part of the night, Jupiter was 2 fingers above Venus [... Ni]ght of the 2nd, the moon was 1/2 cubit in front of α Scorpii [...] |
| Obverse [1:2] o 22–o 22 | [...] ... The 3rd, [equinox? ... Ni]ght of the 6th, beginning of the night, the moon was 2 1/2 cubits below β Capricorni, the moon [having passed] 2/3 cubit to [the east ...] |
| Obverse [2:3] o 33–o 33 | [...] 1/2 cubit. The 12th, 2° [...] rising of Venus to sunrise: 8°. Night of the 13th, moonrise to sunset: 7° 50'; beginning of the night, the moon was [...] behind α Arietis [...] |
| Obverse [3:4] o 44–o 44 | [...] behind η Tauri ... Mercury was 2 cubits above α Virginis; on the 13th or 14th, Venus’ [last appearance] in the east [in Libra ...] |
| Obverse [4:5] o 55–o 55 | [... Night of the 17th, last part of the night, the moon was] 4 1/2 cubits [above] γ Geminorum, the moon being 1/2 cubit back to the west; Mars was 8 fingers above α Leonis. Night of the 18th, last part of the night, the moon was [...] below [α Geminorum ...] |
| Obverse [5:6] o 66–o 66 | [... Night of the 2]1st, last part of the night, the moon was 1 1/2 cubits in front of α Leonis, it stood 2 1/2 cubits in front of Mars to the west. Night of the 22nd, last part of the night, the moon was [...] behind ρ Leo[nis ...] |
| Obverse [6:7] o 77–o 77 | [... Night of the 23rd, last part of the night, the moon was] 2 1/2 cubits behind β Virginis. Night of the 24th, last part of the night, the moon was 2 2/3 cubits in front of γ Virginis. Night of the 25th, [...] |
| Obverse [7:8] o 88–o 88 | [... Night of the 28th, last part of the night, Mars was] 10 fingers [above] ρ Leonis. That month, the equivalent for 1 shekel of silver was: barley, 4 pānu 4 sūtu; dates, 2 pānu 1 sūtu [...] |
| Obverse [8:9] o 99–o 99 | [...] At that time, Jupiter was in the end of Virgo; around the 14th, Venus’ last appearance in the east in Libra; Mercury ... [...] |
| Obverse [9:10] o 1010–o 1010 | [... the n]a (gauge); from the 15th to the end of the month, it rose 4 fingers, 32+[x was the na (gauge). That mo]nth, the 25th day, in Seleucia [...] |
| Obverse [10:11] o 1111–o 1111 | [...] ... was impaled. Night of the 27th, ... [...] |
| Obverse [11:13] o 1212–o 1313 | [...] (holes) |
| Obverse [12:13] o 1313–o 1313 | [Month VIII, (the 1st of which was identical with) the 30th (of the preceding month), ...] cubits. Night of the 5th, beginning of the night, the moon was [...] in front of γ Capri[corni ...] |
| Obverse [13:14] o 1414–o 1414 | [...] cubits; last part of the night, Mars was 3 fingers above Saturn. Ni[ght ...] |
| Obverse [14:15] o 1515–o 1515 | [...] 1 cubit [...] α Tauri. The 13th, ... [...] |
| Obverse [15:16] o 1616–o 1616 | [...] clouds were in the sky. Night of the 10+[xth, ...] |
| Obverse [16:18] o 1717– | [... x]+1 cubits [...] |
| Reverse [0:1] r 1'r 1'–r 1'r 1' | [... Night of] the 14th?, first part of the night, Mercury was [...] below η [Tauri ...] |
| Reverse [1:2] r 2'2'–r 2'2' | [...] Night of the 17th, clouds were in the sky; last part of the night, the moon was [...] in front of α Scorpii [...] |
| Reverse [2:3] r 3'3'–r 3'3' | [...] gusty north wind. Night of the 18th, clouds were in the sky, rain shower; last part of the night, the moon was [...] behind ϑ Ophiuchi [...] |
| Reverse [3:4] r 4'4'–r 4'4' | [... Night of the 21st, last] part of the night, the moon was 2 1/2 cubits below β Capricorni. The 21st, in the afternoon, overcast; at sunset, [...] |
| Reverse [4:5] r 5'5'–r 5'5' | [... first part of the night, Ve]nus was 1 1/2 cubits above β/ζ Tauri; first part of the night, Mercury was 4 cubits above α Tauri [...] |
| Reverse [5:6] r 6'6'–r 6'6' | [...] ... The 27th, moonrise to sunrise: 18°; I did not watch. Night of the 30th, first part of the night, Venus was [...] above η Ge[minorum ...] |
| Reverse [6:7] r 7'7'–r 7'7' | [... x]+2 qa; sesame, 1 pānu 1 sūtu; wool, 3 1/2 minas for [1 shekel of silver ...] |
| Reverse [7:8] r 8'8'–r 8'8' | [... Mercury’s] first appearance [in the west in Ari]es; Saturn and Mars were in Leo. That month, the river level, from the 1st to the 15th, receded 1/2 cubit; 31 was the na (gauge); from the 15th to [...] |
| Reverse [8:9] r 9'9'–r 9'9' | [...] stood, of Terunu, the satrap of Babylonia, and the people who were appointees who were in Babylonia ... [...] |
| Reverse [9:10] r 10'10'–r 10'10' | [...] from month X to the end of the year, women and men of the servants of the king, the ... [...] |
| Reverse [10:11] r 11'11'–r 11'11' | [...] of Babylon they made. That year, silver, gold, garments and linen [...] |
| Reverse [11:13] r 12'12'– | [...] was placed in the royal palace in Babylon for protection against the enemy. [That] year, [...] |
| Top [0:1] t.e. 1t.e. 1–t.e. 1t.e. 1 | [...] year? [...] |
| Top [1:2] t.e. 22–t.e. 22 | [...] not [...] |
| Top [2:3] t.e. 33–t.e. 33 | [...] the same?, son of [...] |
Transliteration (ATF)
From Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus (ORACC) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (ORACC default); per-file JSON license fields say: This data is released under the CC0 license (133618)
| Line | ATF | Machine English (draft) |
|---|---|---|
| o | ||
| 1 | [...] ⸢ina⸣ ZALAG₂ MUL₂.BABBAR e dele-bat 2 ⸢SI⸣ [x x] ⸢GE₆⸣ 2 sin ina IGI SI₄ 1/2 ⸢KUŠ₃⸣ [...] | |
| 2 | [...] ⸢x⸣ 3 [LAL₂-tim ...] ⸢GE₆⸣ 6 SAG GE₆ sin SIG SI-MAŠ₂ 2 1/2 KUŠ₃ sin 2/3 KUŠ₃ ana [NIM DIB ...] | |
| 3 | [...] 1/2 KUŠ₃⸣ 12 2 [x (x)] 8 na ša₂ dele-bat GE₆ 13 7.50 ME SAG GE₆ sin ar₂ MUL₂-ar₂-ša₂-⸢SAG⸣-[HUN ...] | |
| 4 | [...] ar₂ MUL₂-KUR-ša₂-MUL₂.MUL₂ [x] ⸢x⸣ GU₄.UD e SA₄-ša₂-ABSIN 2 KUŠ₃ in 13 ki 14 dele-bat ina ⸢NIM⸣ [ina RIN₂ ŠU₂ ...] | |
| 5 | [... GE₆ 17 ina ZALAG₂ sin e] ⸢MAŠ⸣.MAŠ-ša₂-SIPA 4 1/2 ⸢KUŠ₃ sin⸣ 1/2 KUŠ₃ ana ŠU₂ LAL AN e LUGAL 8 SI GE₆ 18 ina ZALAG₂ sin SIG [MAŠ.MAŠ-IGI ...] | |
| 6 | [... GE₆] 21 ina ZALAG₂ sin ina IGI LUGAL 1 1/2 KUŠ₃ ⸢ina IGI⸣ AN 2 1/2 KUŠ₃ ana ŠU₂ GUB GE₆ 22 ina ZALAG₂ sin ar₂ MUL₂-TUR-ša₂-4-KUŠ₃-ar₂-LUGAL ...] | |
| 7 | [... GE₆ 23 ina ZALAG₂ sin] ⸢ar₂⸣ GIR₃-ar₂-ša₂-A 2 1/2 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 24 ina⸣ ZALAG₂ sin ina IGI DELE-ša₂-IGI-ABSIN 2 2/3 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 25 [...] | |
| 8 | [... GE₆ 28 ina ZALAG₂ AN e] MUL₂-TUR-ša₂-4-KUŠ₃-ar₂-LUGAL 10 SI ITU [BI] ⸢KI⸣.LAM še-im 4(BARIG) 4(BAN₂) ZU₂.LUM.MA 2(BARIG) 1(BAN₂) [...] | |
| 9 | [... ana] 1 GIN₂ KU₃.BABBAR ep₂-šu₂ i-nu-šu₂ MUL₂.BABBAR ina TIL ⸢ABSIN in⸣ 14 dele-bat ina NIM ina RIN₂ ŠU₂ GU₄.UD ⸢x⸣ [...] | |
| 10 | [...] ⸢na⸣ TA 15 EN TIL ITU 4 SI GIN 32+[x na ITU] ⸢BI⸣ U₄ 25.KAM₂ ina {uru}se-lu-⸢ke⸣-[ʾa-a ...] | |
| 11 | [...] ⸢x⸣ ina ga-ši-šu₂ a-lil GE₆ 27 ⸢x⸣ [...] | |
| 12 | [...] | |
| 13 | [APIN 30 ...] KUŠ₃ GE₆ 5 SAG GE₆ sin ina IGI MUL₂-IGI-⸢ša₂⸣-[SUHUR-MAŠ₂ ...] | |
| 14 | [...] ⸢x⸣ KUŠ₃ ina ZALAG₂ AN e GENNA 3 SI ⸢GE₆⸣ [...] | |
| 15 | [...] ⸢is⸣-le₁₀ 1 KUŠ₃ 13 ⸢x⸣ [...] | |
| 16 | [...] ⸢DIR⸣ AN ZA GE₆ 10+[x ...] | |
| 17 | [... x]+1 KUŠ₃ [...] | |
| r | ||
| 1' | [...] 14 USAN GU₄.UD ⸢SIG⸣ [MUL₂.MUL₂ ...] | |
| 2' | [...] ⸢GE₆ 17 DIR AN ZA ina ZALAG₂ sin ina IGI SI₄ [...] | |
| 3' | [...] SI ŠAR₂ GE₆ 18 DIR AN ZA AN UTAH ina ZALAG₂ sin ar₂ šil-⸢PA⸣ [...] | |
| 4' | [... GE₆ 21 ina] ZALAG₂ sin SIG SI-MAŠ₂ 2 1/2 KUŠ₃ 21 ina KIN.SIG ŠU₂ ki ŠU₂ šamaš₂ [...] | |
| 5' | [... USAN dele]-bat e ŠUR-[GIGIR] 1 1/2 ⸢KUŠ₃⸣ USAN GU₄.UD e is-le₁₀ 4 KUŠ₃ [...] | |
| 6' | [...] ⸢x⸣ 27 18 ⸢KUR⸣ NU PAP GE₆ 30 USAN dele-bat e MUL₂-IGI-[ša₂-še-pit₂-MAŠ.MAŠ ...] | |
| 7' | [... x]+2 qa ŠE.GIŠ.I₃ 1(BARIG) 1(BAN₂) SIG₂{hi.a} 3 1/2 MA.NA a-na 1 GIN₂ KU₃.BABBAR ep₂-šu₂ ...] | |
| 8' | [... GU₄.UD ina ŠU₂ ina] ⸢HUN⸣ IGI GENNA u AN ina A ITU BI ILLU TA 1 EN 15 1/2 ⸢KUŠ₃ LAL 31 na TA 15 EN⸣ [...] | |
| 9' | [...] ⸢GUB⸣-zu ša₂ {m}te-ru-nu {lu₂}GAL.UKKIN KUR URI{ki} u {lu₂}UN{meš} {lu₂}paq-du{meš} ša₂ ina KUR URI{ki} [...] | |
| 10' | [...] TA {itu}AB EN TIL MU.AN.NA MI₂{meš} u NITA{meš} ša₂ {lu₂}IR₃{meš} LUGAL {lu₂}⸢x⸣ [...] | |
| 11' | [...] ⸢MEŠ⸣ E{ki} DU₃-uš-uʾ MU BI KU₃.⸢BABBAR KU₃⸣.GI {tug₂}lu-bu-šu₂ u GADA ⸢ne⸣ [...] | |
| 12' | [...] E₂.GAL LUGAL ša₂ ina E{ki} ina ni-⸢ṣir⸣-tu₄ la-pan₃ {lu₂}KUR₂ ša₂-kin MU [BI ...] | |
| t.e. | ||
| 1 | [...] 1 MU⸣ [...] | |
| 2 | [...] NU [...] | |
| 3 | [... {m]}⸢KI⸣.MIN A ša₂ ⸢x⸣ [...] | |
Sources & licences
- Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus (ORACC) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (ORACC default); per-file JSON license fields say: This data is released under the CC0 license (133618) · ORACC project editions, https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/ ; cite the individual project (see texts.extra_json.project)
Cite the original edition and translator. Page generated by Unread Atlas from the public corpus export of 2026-10-11.