AD -281B (X102812)
Astronomical Diary, Hellenistic, Babylon · c. 330 BCE–141 BCE
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| Designation | AD -281B |
|---|---|
| ID | X102812 |
| Museum no. | BM 32329 |
| 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 [1:2] o 2'2'–o 2'2' | [...] 27 [...] |
| Obverse [2:3] o 3'3'–o 3'3' | [... x]+2 pānu 1 sūtu; d[ates?, ...] |
| Obverse [3:6] o 4'4'–o 6'6' | [...] At that time, Jupiter was in Capricorn, Venus [was in Scorpius, ...] |
| Obverse [4:5] o 5'5'–o 5'5' | [Month IX, the 1st (of which followed the 30th of the preceding month), ...] Night of the 3rd, the moon was [...] fingers behind δ Capricorni. Night of the 8th, beginning of the night, [the moon was] |
| Obverse [5:6] o 6'6'–o 6'6' | [... behind η Piscium ... ra]in, PISAN DIB. Night of the 10th, clouds were in the sky. Night of the 11th, cl[ouds crossed the] sky. Night of the 12th, first part of the night, the moon was [... in front of] |
| Obverse [6:7] o 7'7'–o 7'7' | [β Tauri ... Ni]ght of the 13th, beginning of the night, the moon was 3 cubits behind ζ Tauri. [The 14th,] moonset to sunrise: [...], measured (despite) mist. Night of the 15th, [moonrise to sunset: ...] |
| Obverse [7:8] o 8'8'–o 8'8' | [... Night of the 16th, sunset to moonrise: ...;] I did not watch. The 16th, overcast; in the afternoon, lightning, thunder, rain [shower?.] Night of the 17th, clouds crossed the sky; beginning [of the night,] |
| Obverse [8:9] o 9'9'–o 9'9' | [...] crossed [the sky]. Night of the 18th (and) the 18th, clouds crossed the sky. Night of the 19th, [clouds] were in the sky. Night of the 20th, first part of the night, Venus was above |
| Obverse [9:10] o 10'10'–o 10'10' | [... Ni]ght of the 21st, last part of the night, the moon was [...] in front of α Virginis. Night of the 22nd, cold; last part of the night, the moon |
| Obverse [10:11] o 11'11'–o 11'11' | [... Night of the 23rd, last part of the night, the moon was] 4 cubits below β Librae. The 23rd, cold. Night of the 24th (and) the 24th, [clouds] crossed the sky. The 24th, around noon, rain shower. |
| Obverse [11:12] o 12'12'–o 12'12' | [...] around the 25th, solstice; I did not watch; clouds crossed the sky. Night of the 26th, last part of the night, the moon was 1/2 cubit [...] the four front stars of Sagittarius. |
| Obverse [12:13] o 13'13'–o 13'13' | [...] barley, 5 sūtu; dates, 2 pānu; mustard, 1 kur 2 pānu 3 sūtu; cress, 4 sūtu 3 qa; sesame, 5 sūtu; |
| Obverse [13:18] o 14'14'– | [...] Saturn ... Jupiter and Mars, which had set, were [not] visible. That month, the river level [...] |
| Bottom [0:2] b.e. 1b.e. 1– | Year 30, kings Seleucus and Antiochus. |
| Reverse [0:1] r 1r 1–r 1r 1 | [Month X, (the 1st of which was identical with) the 30th (of the preceding month), ...] the 1st, Sirius’ acronychal rising. The 3rd, Mercury’s [last appearance] in the west in Capricorn; overcast, rain, much PISAN DIB. Ni[ght? ...] |
| Reverse [1:2] r 22–r 22 | [... Night of the 6th,] beginning of the night, the moon was 1 cubit [nn fingers] in front of η Piscium. The 6th, thin clouds were in the sky. Night of the 7th, begi[nning of the night,] |
| Reverse [2:3] r 33–r 33 | [the moon was ... in front of α Arietis ... Night of the 9th, beginning of the ni]ght, the moon was 1/2 cubit above η Tauri, the moon having passed 8 fingers to the east; last [part of the night,] Venus was 1 1/2 cubits above Saturn. Night of the 10th, |
| Reverse [3:4] r 44–r 44 | [... Night of the 11th, beginning] of the night, the moon was 2/3 cubit behind β Tauri. Night of the 12th, beginning of the ni[ght, the m]oon was 2 cubits above μ Geminorum. |
| Reverse [4:5] r 55–r 55 | [... The 1]4th, moonset to sunrise: 11°. Night of the 15th, moonrise to sunset: 15°; clouds, I did not watch; first [part of the night, the moon was] 1 1/2 cubits in front of ε Leonis. The 15th, sunrise to moonset: 3° 20'; clouds, I did not watch; lunar eclipse which was omitted. |
| Reverse [5:6] r 66–r 66 | [... Mercury's] first appearance [in the east in Capricorn]; rising of Mercury to sunrise: 16°; in the morning, fog. Night of the 17th, last part [of the night, the m]oon was 2 2/3 cubits in front of β Virginis. Night of the 18th, |
| Reverse [6:7] r 77–r 77 | [...] ... Night of the 19th, last part of the night, the moon was [1] 1/2 cubits in front of α [Virginis.] Night of the 21st, last part of the night, the moon was [...] behind α Librae. |
| Reverse [7:8] r 88–r 88 | [... Night of the 2]4th, last part of the night, the moon was 3? cubits behind ϑ Ophiuchi. [Night] of the 25th, last part of the night,the moon was 2 1/2 cubits in front of Venus |
| Reverse [8:9] r 99–r 99 | [... Jupite]r’s first appearance in the end of Capricorn; rising of Jupiter to sunrise: 14°. The 29th, [solar] eclipse; when the sun came out, 2 fingers were obscured on the south side; at 6° daytime, |
| Reverse [9:10] r 1010–r 1010 | [...] 20° daytime onset and clearing; during its eclipse, the north wind which was slanted to the [...] blew; during its eclipse, |
| Reverse [10:11] r 1111–r 1111 | [...] 2 pānu; dates, 2 pānu; mustard, 1 [kur 2 pānu] 3 sūtu; cress, 4 sūtu; sesame, 4 sūtu; wool, [nn minas.] |
| Reverse [11:13] r 1212–r 1313 | [...] Mars?. That month, the river level receded 4 fingers until the 12th; 28 was the na (gauge). From the 13th to the 20+[xth, ...] |
| Reverse [12:14] r 1313–r 1414 | [Month XI, the 1st (of which followed the 30th of the preceding month), ... from] the 24th of month X to the 3rd of m[onth XI] Mercury was 1 cubit above Mars, when ... [...] 14 [...] β Librae. The 4th, clouds were in the sky; [... the sun] was surrounded by α halo. Night of the 5th, beginning of the night, |
| Reverse [14:15] r 1515–r 1515 | [...] ... Night of the 6th, beginning of the night, the moon was 1 2/3 cubits [in front of] η Tauri [...] |
| Reverse [15:16] r 1616–r 1616 | [...] middle part of the night, overcast, rain shower, gusty wind [...] |
| Reverse [16:17] r 1717–r 1717 | [... Night of the 9th, beginning] of the night, the moon was [...] above η Geminorum [...] |
| Reverse [17:18] r 1818–r 1818 | [... clou]ds were in the sky. Night of the 11th, beginning of the night, the moon was [...] behind [β] Geminorum [...] |
| Reverse [18:19] r 1919–r 1919 | [...] ... 2/3 cubit. ... [...] |
| Reverse [19:20] r 2020–r 2020 | [... clouds] were in the sky. The 17th, [...] |
| Reverse [20:21] r 2121–r 2121 | [...] rain [...] |
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' | [...] ⸢x⸣ [...] | |
| 2' | [...] 27 [...] | |
| 3' | [...]+2(BARIG) 1(BAN₂) ⸢ZU₂⸣ [...] | |
| 4' | [...] ⸢i-nu⸣-šu₂ MUL₂.BABBAR ina MAŠ₂ dele-⸢bat⸣ [ina GIR₂.TAB ...] | |
| 5' | [GAN 1 ...] GE₆ 3 sin ar₂ MUL₂-⸢ar₂⸣-ša₂-SUHUR-⸢MAŠ₂⸣ [N KUŠ₃ N] SI GE₆ 8 SAG GE₆ [sin ar₂] | |
| 6' | [MUL₂-KUR-ša₂-DUR-nu-nu ...] ⸢AN⸣ PISAN DIB GE₆ 10 DIR ⸢AN⸣ [ZA] GE₆ 11 ⸢DIR⸣ [AN] ⸢DIB⸣ GE₆ 12 USAN sin [ina IGI] | |
| 7' | [ŠUR-GIGIR-ša₂-SI ...] ⸢GE₆⸣ 13 SAG GE₆ sin ar₂ ŠUR-ULU₃ 3 KUŠ₃ 14 N] ŠU₂ a-kam₂ muš GE₆ 15 [N ME] | |
| 8' | [... GE₆ 16 N GE₆] NU PAP 16 ŠU₂ ina KIN.SIG GIR₂ GU₃ U AN [UTAH] GE₆ 17 DIR AN DIB SAG [GE₆ (x)] | |
| 9' | [...] DIB GE₆ 18 18 DIR AN DIB GE₆ 19 [DIR AN] ZA GE₆ 20 USAN dele-bat e [(x)] | |
| 10' | [...] ⸢GE₆⸣ 21 U₄.ZAL sin ina IGI SA₄-ša₂-ABSIN [N N] GE₆ 22 ŠED₇ ina ZALAG₂ ⸢sin⸣ | |
| 11' | [... GE₆ 23 ina ZALAG₂ sin] SIG RIN₂-ša₂-SI 4 KUŠ₃ 23 ŠED₇ GE₆ 24 24 [DIR] AN DIB 24 AN.BAR₇ AN ⸢UTAH⸣ | |
| 12' | [...] ⸢in⸣ 25 šamaš₂ GUB NU PAP DIR AN DIB GE₆ 26 ina ZALAG₂ ⸢sin⸣ [x] 4.AM₃ IGI{meš} ša₂ PA 1/2 KUŠ₃ | |
| 13' | [...] ⸢še-im⸣ 5(BAN₂) ZU₂.LUM 2 PI kas₃ 1 GUR 2(BARIG) 3(BAN₂) ⸢sah⸣-[le₁₀] 4(BAN₂) 3 qa ŠE.GIŠ 5(BAN₂) | |
| 14' | [...] GENNA ⸢x x x x x x x MUL₂⸣.BABBAR u AN ša₂ ŠU₂-[u₂ NU] IGI{me} ITU BI ILLU | |
| b.e. | ||
| 1 | ⸢MU⸣ 30.KAM₂ {m}se-lu-ku u {m}an-ti-ʾu-⸢uk-su⸣ LUGAL{meš} | |
| r | ||
| 1 | [AB 30 ...] ⸢x⸣ 1 {mul₂}KAK.⸢BAN⸣ ana ME E 3 GU₄.UD ina ŠU₂ ina MAŠ₂ [ŠU₂ x] ŠU₂ AN PISAN MAH DIB ⸢GE₆⸣ [x] | |
| 2 | [... GE₆ 6 SAG GE₆ sin ina IGI MUL₂-KUR-ša₂-DUR-nu-nu 1 KUŠ₃ [N SI] 6 DIR SAL AN ZA GE₆ 7 ⸢SAG⸣ [GE₆] | |
| 3 | [sin ina IGI MUL₂-ar₂-ša₂-SAG-HUN ... GE₆ 9 SAG] ⸢GE₆⸣ sin e MUL₂.⸢MUL₂⸣ 1/2 KUŠ₃ sin 8 SI ana NIM DIB ina [ZALAG₂] dele-bat e GENNA 1 1/2 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 10 | |
| 4 | [... GE₆ 11 SAG] GE₆ sin ar₂ ŠUR-GIGIR-ša₂-SI 2/3 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 12 SAG ⸢GE₆ sin⸣ e MUL₂-⸢ar₂⸣-ša₂-še-pit₂-MAŠ.MAŠ 2 KUŠ₃ | |
| 5 | [...] 14 11 ŠU₂ GE₆ 15 15 ME DIR NU PAP ⸢USAN⸣ [sin ina] IGI SAG-A 1 1/2 KUŠ₃ 15 3.20 na DIR NU PAP AN.KU₁₀ ⸢sin ša₂ DIB⸣ | |
| 6 | [... GU₄.UD ina NIM ina MAŠ₂] IGI 16 na ina še-ri₃ IM.DUGUD GE₆ 17 ina ⸢ZALAG₂ sin⸣ ina IGI GIR₃-ar₂-ša₂-A 2 2/3 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 18 | |
| 7 | [...] ⸢x x x⸣ GE₆ 19 ina ZALAG₂ sin ina IGI ⸢SA₄⸣-[ša₂-ABSIN 1 1/2 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 21 ina ZALAG₂ sin ar₂ RIN₂-ša₂-ULU₃ | |
| 8 | [... GE₆] 24 ina ZALAG₂ sin ar₂ MUL₂-KUR-ša₂-KIR₄-⸢šil⸣-[PA] 3 ⸢KUŠ₃⸣ [GE₆] 25 ina ZALAG₂ sin ina IGI dele-bat 2 1/2 KUŠ₃ | |
| 9 | [... MUL₂].⸢BABBAR⸣ ina TIL MAŠ₂ IGI 14 na 29 {d}UTU [AN.KU₁₀ ki] ⸢E⸣-a 2 SI A₂ ULU₃ a-dir ina 6 ME | |
| 10 | [...] ⸢x⸣ 20 ME GAR u ZALAG₂ ina AN.[KU₁₀]-šu₂ SI ⸢ša₂⸣ [ana x] ṣal-pu GIN ina AN.KU₁₀-šu₂ AN dele-bat ⸢x⸣ [x] | |
| 11 | [...] 2 PI ZU₂.LUM 2 PI ⸢kas₃⸣ 1 [GUR 2(BARIG) 3(BAN₂) sah-le-e 4(BAN₂) ŠE.GIŠ 4(BAN₂) SIG₂{[hi.a} N MA.NA] | |
| 12 | [...] AN ITU BI ILLU EN 12 4 SI⸣ LAL 28 na TA 13 EN 20+[x ...] | |
| 13 | [ZIZ₂ 1 ... TA] 24 ša₂ {itu}AB ⸢EN⸣ 3 ša₂ {⸢itu⸣}ZIZ₂ GU₄.UD e AN 1 KUŠ₃ ki ⸢x⸣ [...] | |
| 14 | [...] ⸢x⸣ ša₂ ⸢x 4 DIR⸣ AN ZA [x x šamaš₂] ⸢TUR₃⸣ NIGIN GE₆ 5 ⸢SAG⸣ [GE₆ ...] | |
| 15 | [...] ⸢x⸣ GE₆ 6 SAG GE₆ sin [ina IGI] ⸢MUL₂⸣.MUL₂ 1 2/3 ⸢KUŠ₃⸣ [...] | |
| 16 | [...] MURUB₄ ŠU₂ AN UTAH IM ⸢ŠAR₂⸣ [...] | |
| 17 | [... GE₆ 9 SAG] GE₆ sin e MUL₂-IGI-ša₂-še-pit₂-MAŠ.[MAŠ ...] | |
| 18 | [...] ⸢ZA⸣ GE₆ 11 SAG GE₆ sin ar₂ MAŠ.[MAŠ-ar₂ ...] | |
| 19 | [...] ⸢x⸣ 2/3 KUŠ₃ ⸢x x x x⸣ [...] | |
| 20 | [...] AN ZA 17 [...] | |
| 21 | [...] ⸢AN⸣ [...] | |
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.