AD -289 (X102890)
Astronomical Diary, Hellenistic, Babylon · c. 330 BCE–141 BCE
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| Designation | AD -289 |
|---|---|
| ID | X102890 |
| Museum no. | BM 32320 + 32370 + 32387 + 32568 |
| 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 1'o 1'–o 1'o 1' | [Month II, ...] sunset to moonset: [...]; the moon was [...] below Mercu[ry ...] |
| Obverse [1:2] o 2'2'–o 2'2' | [Night of the 3rd, beginn]ing of the night, the moon was [...] below [β] Geminorum [...] |
| Obverse [2:3] o 3'3'–o 3'3' | [...] The 5th, gusty wind. Night of the 6th, [...] |
| Obverse [3:4] o 4'4'–o 4'4' | [Jupit]er’s first appearance in the east in "Bull of Heaven" ... [...] Night of the 9th, beginning of the night, the moon was] |
| Obverse [4:5] o 5'5'–o 5'5' | 1/2 cubit [behind γ] Virginis. Night of the 10th, beginning [of the night, ...] |
| Obverse [5:6] o 6'6'–o 6'6' | [...] Night of the 12th, beginning of the night, the moon was [...] in [front of δ Scorpii ... Night of the 14th,] |
| Obverse [6:7] o 7'7'–o 7'7' | [last part of the ni]ght, the moon was [...] behind ϑ Ophiuchi [...] |
| Obverse [7:8] o 8'8'–o 8'8' | [Night] of the 16th, last part of the night, the moon was [...] in front of β Capricorni [... Night of the 22nd,] |
| Obverse [8:9] o 9'9'–o 9'9' | [last part of the night,] the moon was 1+[x ...] in front of η Piscium [... Night] |
| Obverse [9:10] o 10'10'–o 10'10' | of the 25th, last part of the night, the moon was 3 cubits below η Tauri. Ni[ght of the 26th, last part of the night,] the moon was 2 cubits below Jupiter. The 27th, [moonrise to sunrise:] 10+[x ...] gusty wind ... [...] |
| Obverse [10:11] o 11'11'–o 11'11' | in the middle, 2 pānu 3 sūtu, at the end of the month, 2 pānu 5 sūtu; dat[es, in the beg]inning of the month, 2 pānu 2 sūtu, at the end of the month, 2 pānu 1 sūtu; [...] ... [...] |
| Obverse [11:12] o 12'12'–o 12'12' | At that time, Jupiter was in Taurus; Venus and Mercury in the beginning of the month in Gemini, in the middle in Cancer; Saturn was [in Leo; Mars, which] had set, was not visible. That month, on the 6th, [...] |
| Obverse [12:13] o 13'13'–o 13'13' | ... of iron and a ... broke. That month, on the 7th, [...] ... [...] |
| Obverse [13:15] o 14'14'–o 15'15' | Antiochos went from [...] That month, from the 1st to the end of the month, the river [level ...] receded 20 fingers; total: the na (gauge) was at 22. |
| Obverse [14:15] o 15'15'–o 15'15' | Month I[II], the 1st (of which followed the 30th of the preceding month), sunset to moonset: 22°; the moon was [nn cubi]ts in front of Mercury. Night of the 2nd, beginning of the night, the moon was 1 1/2 cubits in front of Venus. [Night of the 3rd], beginning of the night, α Leonis entered the moon. Night of the 4th, be[ginning of the night, ...] |
| Obverse [15:16] o 16'16'–o 16'16' | when [...] culminated, Saturn entered the [northern?] horn of the moon. Night of the 5th, beginning of the night, the moon was [...] above β Virginis; Venus was ... below ε Leonis. Night of the 6th, beginning of the night, the m[oon was ...] |
| Obverse [16:17] o 17'17'–o 17'17' | [...] ... [... Night of the 7th, beginning of the ni]ght, the moon was 1 1/2 cubits above α Virginis. Night of the 8th, begi[nning of the night,] the moon was 3 cubits in front of α Librae. Night of the 9th, beginning of the ni[ght, ...] |
| Obverse [17:18] o 18'18'–o 18'18' | [... Jupiter was] 2 cubits above α Tauri. Night of the 10th, beginning of the night, the moon was 1 1/2 cubits behind β Scorpii. Night of the 11th, beginning of the night, [...] |
| Obverse [18:19] o 19'19'–o 19'19' | [... first part of the night,] Venus was 5/6 cubit above α Leonis. The 12th, moonset to sunrise: 8° 40'. The 12th, Mercury’s last appearance in the west in Cancer. The 13th, moonrise to sunset: 10° 40'. 10+[x ...] |
| Obverse [19:20] o 20'20'–o 20'20' | [Night of the 14th, the moon was] 1 5/6 cubits [... β] Capricorni. Night of the 15th, last part of the night, the moon was 1 cubit 8 fingers above [γ/δ] Capricorni. Ni[ght ...] |
| Obverse [20:21] o 21'21'–o 21'21' | [... Night] of the 20th, last part of the night, the moon was 2? [cubits] below η Piscium. Night of the 21st, last part of the night, the moon was [...] below α [Arietis ...] |
| Obverse [21:22] o 22'22'–o 22'22' | [...] ... [...] ... [Night of the 24th, last part of the night, the moon stood] 1 1/2 cubits behind Jupiter to the west. [...] |
| Obverse [22:23] o 23'23'–o 23'23' | [... Night of the 26rd, first part of the night, Saturn was 1 finger above Venus], it came close; last part of the night, the moon was [...] above γ Gemi[norum ...] |
| Obverse [24:25] o 25'25'–o 25'25' | [...] month [...] |
| Reverse [0:1] r 1r 1–r 1r 1 | [...] the river level receded 8 fingers, total: 25 [...] on the 19th, there were ... in the land. On the 29th, ... [...] |
| Reverse [1:2] r 22–r 22 | [Month IV, ... Night of the 2nd, beginning of the night, the moon was] 3 cubits in front of Saturn. Night of the 3rd, begi[nning of the night, the moon was nn] fingers [above Venus], 2 cubits in front of β Virginis. Night of the 4th, [...] |
| Reverse [2:3] r 33–r 33 | [... Night] of the 5th, beginning of the night, the moon was [nn cub]its in front of α [Virginis.] Night of the 6th, beginning of the night, the moon was [...] in front of α Librae [...] |
| Reverse [3:4] r 44–r 44 | [...] fingers; first part of the night, Venus was 5/6 cubit below β Virginis. The 7th, Mer[cury's] first appearance in the east in Cancer; rising of Mercury to sunrise: 18° 30'; [(ideal) first appearance] on the 5th [...] |
| Reverse [4:5] r 55–r 55 | [...] 5/6 cubit. Night of the 8th, beginning of the night, the moon was 2 1/2 [cubits in front of] α Scorpii. The 8th, Mars’ [first appearance] in the east in Cancer 1 cubit 8 fingers above Mer[cury ...] |
| Reverse [5:6] r 66–r 66 | [... Night of the 10th, begi]nning of the night, the moon was 2 cubits behind ϑ Ophiuchi. Night of the 12th, [beginn]ing of the night, the moon was 1 cubit 8 fingers in front of β Capricorni. [... Night of the 13th, beginning of the night,] |
| Reverse [6:7] r 77–r 77 | [the moon was] 3 cubits [in front of γ Ca]pricorni; clouds were in the sky. The 13th, moonset to sunrise: 4°; Sirius’ first appearance; rising of Sirius to sunrise: 13°; (ideal) first appearance on the 12th. The 13th, [...] |
| Reverse [7:8] r 88–r 88 | [...] ... Night of the 14th, sunrise to moonset: 13°. Night of the 18th, last part of the night, the moon was 2 cubits in front of η Piscium. Night of the 19th, [...] |
| Reverse [8:9] r 99–r 99 | [...] last part of the night, the moon was 4 1/2 cubits below α Arietis. Night of the 21st, last part of the night, the moon was 2 cubits 8 fingers below η Tauri. ... [...] |
| Reverse [9:10] r 1010–r 1010 | [Night of the 22nd, last part of the night, the moo]n was 4 fingers behind α Tauri. Night of the 23rd, last part of the night, the moon was 5/6 cubit in front of ζ Tauri, 1 1/2 cubits behind Jupiter. Ni[ght of the 24th, last part of the night, the moon was] |
| Reverse [10:11] r 1111–r 1111 | 20 fingers [... η/μ] Geminorum. The 24th, Saturn’s last appearance in the west in Leo. Night of the 25th, last part of the night, the moon was 4 1/2 cubits below α Geminorum. The 25th, ... [...] |
| Reverse [11:12] r 1212–r 1212 | in the afternoon, [... fir]st part of the night, Venus was [...] above α [Virginis ... That month, the equivalent (of 1 shekel of silver was): |
| Reverse [12:13] r 1313–r 1313 | barley, 2 pānu 3 sūtu [...] 2 pānu 2 sūtu 4 qa; d[ates, ...] 2 1/2 minas. [...] |
| Reverse [13:15] r 1414–r 1515 | was in Leo, in the middle [...] ... [...] |
| Reverse [14:15] r 1515–r 1515 | Month V, the 1st (of which followed the 30th of the preceding month), sunset to moonset: 20°; ... [...] |
| Reverse [15:16] r 1616–r 1616 | Night of the 5th, beginning of the night, [...] |
| Reverse [16:17] r 1717–r 1717 | 1 5/6 cubits; last part of the night, [...] |
| Reverse [17:18] r 1818–r 1818 | The 12th, moonset to sunrise: 11°. [...] |
| Reverse [18:19] r 1919–r 1919 | 1 cubit. Night of the 10+[xth, ...] |
| Reverse [19:20] r 2020–r 2020 | Night of the 19th, last part of the night, [...] |
| Reverse [20:21] r 2121–r 2121 | ... 4 [...] |
| Reverse [21:22] r 2222–r 2222 | [...] south 8 [...] |
| Reverse [22:23] r 2323–r 2323 | barley, 2 pānu [...] |
| Reverse [23:24] r 2424–r 2424 | [Jupi]ter was in [...] |
| Left [0:1] l.e. 1l.e. 1–l.e. 1l.e. 1 | [Dia]ry from month I to the end of month VI [...] |
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 N] ⸢na⸣ sin SIG GU₄.⸢UD⸣ [...] | |
| 2' | [GE₆ 3 ⸢SAG⸣ GE₆ sin SIG MAŠ.MAŠ-[ar₂ ...] | |
| 3' | [x] 5 IM ŠAR₂ GE₆ 6 [...] | |
| 4' | [MUL₂].⸢BABBAR⸣ ina NIM ina GU₄.AN IGI ⸢x⸣ [... GE₆ 9 SAG GE₆ sin ar₂] | |
| 5' | [DELE-ša₂-IGI]-ABSIN 1/2 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 10 SAG [GE₆ ...] | |
| 6' | [x] GE₆ 12 SAG GE₆ sin ina [IGI MUL₂-MURUB₄-ša₂-SAG-GIR₂.TAB ... GE₆ 14 | |
| 7' | [ina] ⸢ZALAG₂⸣ sin ar₂ MUL₂-KUR-ša₂-KIR₄-šil-PA [...] | |
| 8' | [GE₆] 16 ina ZALAG₂ sin ina IGI SI-MAŠ₂ [... GE₆ 22 | |
| 9' | [ina ZALAG₂] sin ina IGI MUL₂-KUR-ša₂-DUR-nu-nu 1+[...] | |
| 10' | 25 ina ZALAG₂ sin SIG MUL₂.MUL₂ 3 KUŠ₃ ⸢GE₆⸣ 26 ina ZALAG₂] ⸢sin⸣ SIG MUL₂.BABBAR 2 KUŠ₃ 27 10+[x x x x x] ⸢IM⸣ ŠAR₂ [...] | |
| 11' | ina MURUB₄ 2(BARIG) 3(BAN₂) ina TIL ITU 2(BARIG) 5(BAN₂) ZU₂.[LUM ina] ⸢SAG⸣ ITU 2(BARIG) 2(BAN₂) ina TIL ITU 2(BARIG) 1(BAN₂) ⸢x x x x⸣ [...] | |
| 12' | i-nu-šu₂ MUL₂.BABBAR ina MUL₂.MUL₂ dele-bat u GU₄.UD ⸢ina SAG⸣ ITU ina MAŠ.MAŠ ina MURUB₄ ina ALLA GENNA [ina A AN ša₂] ŠU₂-u₂ NU IGI ITU BI U₄.6 [...] | |
| 13' | SIK-ku-u₂ AN.BAR u SIK-ku-u₂ ⸢x x x⸣ da-a-a iš-bir ITU BI 7 [x x x] ⸢TUR⸣ DIR ŠA₃ ⸢x x x x⸣ [...] | |
| 14' | {m}an-ti-ku-us-su TA [x x (x)] GIN ITU BI TA 1 EN TIL ITU ⸢ILLU⸣ [x x] 20 SI LAL PAP 22 na | |
| 15' | ⸢SIG⸣ 1 22 na sin ina IGI GU₄.[UD N] ⸢KUŠ₃⸣ GE₆ 2 SAG GE₆ sin ina IGI dele-bat 1 1/2 KUŠ₃ [GE₆ 3 SAG GE₆ LUGAL ana ŠA₃ sin KU₄ GE₆ 4 ⸢SAG⸣ [GE₆ ...] | |
| 16' | [x] ziq-<pi> GENNA ana SI ⸢sin ša₂⸣ [SI] KU₄ GE₆ 5 SAG GE₆ sin e GIR₃-ar₂-ša₂-A [N N] dele-bat SIG SAG-A ⸢x x⸣ GE₆ 6 SAG GE₆ ⸢sin⸣ [...] | |
| 17' | [x] ⸢x x x⸣ [x x GE₆ 7 SAG] ⸢GE₆⸣ sin e SA₄-ša₂-ABSIN 1 1/2 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 8 ⸢SAG⸣ [GE₆] sin ina IGI RIN₂-ša₂-ULU₃ 3 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 9 SAG ⸢GE₆⸣ [...] | |
| 18' | [... MUL₂.BABBAR] ⸢e is⸣-le₁₀ 2 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 10 SAG GE₆ sin ar₂ MUL₂-⸢e⸣-[ša₂]-SAG-GIR₂.TAB 1 1/2 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 11 SAG GE₆ [...] | |
| 19' | [... USAN] ⸢dele-bat e⸣ LUGAL 5/6 KUŠ₃ 12 8.40 ŠU₂ 12 ⸢GU₄⸣.[UD] ina ŠU₂ ina ALLA ŠU₂ 13 10.40 ME 10+[...] | |
| 20' | [... GE₆ 14 sin ... SI]-⸢MAŠ₂⸣ 1 5/6 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 15 ina ZALAG₂ sin ⸢e⸣ [MUL₂-x]-ša₂-SUHUR-MAŠ₂ 1 KUŠ₃ 8 SI ⸢GE₆⸣ [...] | |
| 21' | [... GE₆] 20 ina ZALAG₂ sin SIG ⸢MUL₂-KUR-ša₂-DUR⸣-nu-nu 2+[x KUŠ₃] GE₆ 21 ina ZALAG₂ sin SIG MUL₂-[ar₂-ša₂-SAG-HUN ...] | |
| 22' | [...] ⸢x⸣ [...] ⸢x x⸣ [GE₆ 24 ina ZALAG₂ sin] ⸢ar₂⸣ MUL₂.BABBAR 1 1/2 KUŠ₃ ana ⸢ŠU₂⸣ [GUB ...] | |
| 23' | [... GE₆ 26 GENNA e dele-bat 1 SI] TE ina ZALAG₂ sin e MAŠ.[MAŠ-ša₂-SIPA ...] | |
| 24' | [...] ⸢x x x⸣ [...] | |
| 25' | [...] ITU [...] | |
| 26' | [...] ⸢x x⸣ [...] | |
| r | ||
| 1 | [...] ILLU 8 SI LAL PAP 25 [...] 19 pa-a-ta ina KUR GAL₂ 29 AN ⸢x⸣ [...] | |
| 2 | [... GE₆ 2 SAG GE₆ sin ina] ⸢IGI⸣ GENNA 3 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 3 ⸢SAG⸣ [GE₆ sin e dele-bat N] SI ina IGI GIR₃-ar₂-ša₂-A 2 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 4 [...] | |
| 3 | [... GE₆] 5 SAG GE₆ sin ina IGI SA₄-ša₂-[ABSIN N] ⸢KUŠ₃⸣ GE₆ 6 SAG GE₆ sin ina IGI RIN₂-ša₂-⸢ULU₃⸣ [...] | |
| 4 | [...] SI USAN ⸢dele-bat SIG⸣ GIR₃-ar₂-ša₂-A 5/6 KUŠ₃ 7 ⸢GU₄⸣.[UD ina] ⸢NIM⸣ ina ALLA IGI 18.30 na-su in 5 [...] | |
| 5 | [...]+5/6 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 8 SAG GE₆ sin [ina IGI] SI₄ 2 1/2 [KUŠ₃] 8 AN ina NIM ina ALLA 1 KUŠ₃ 8 SI e ⸢GU₄⸣.[UD ...] | |
| 6 | [... GE₆ 10 ⸢SAG⸣ GE₆ sin ar₂ MUL₂-KUR-ša₂-KIR₄-šil-PA 2 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 12 ⸢SAG⸣ GE₆ sin ina IGI SI-MAŠ₂ 1 KUŠ₃ 8 ⸢SI⸣ [... GE₆ 13 SAG GE₆] | |
| 7 | [sin ina IGI MUL₂-IGI-ša₂]-⸢SUHUR⸣-MAŠ₂ 3 KUŠ₃ DIR AN ZA 13 4 ŠU₂ {mul₂}KAK.BAN IGI 13 na-su in 12 IGI 13 [...] | |
| 8 | [...] ⸢x⸣ GE₆ 14 13 na GE₆ 18 ina ZALAG₂ sin ina IGI MUL₂-KUR-ša₂-DUR-nu-nu 2 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 19 x [...] | |
| 9 | [...] ⸢x⸣ ina ZALAG₂ sin SIG MUL₂-ar₂-ša₂-SAG-HUN 4 1/2 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 21 ina ZALAG₂ sin SIG MUL₂.MUL₂ 2 KUŠ₃ 8 SI ⸢x⸣ [...] | |
| 10 | [GE₆ 22 ina ZALAG₂] ⸢sin⸣ ar₂ is-le₁₀ 4 SI GE₆ 23 ina ZALAG₂ sin ina IGI ŠUR-GIGIR-ša₂-ULU₃ 5/6 KUŠ₃ ar₂ MUL₂.BABBAR 1 1/2 KUŠ₃ ⸢GE₆⸣ 24 ina ZALAG₂ sin ...] | |
| 11 | ša₂-še-[pit₂-MAŠ.MAŠ (x x)] 20 SI 24 GENNA ina ŠU₂ ina A ŠU₂ GE₆ 25 ina ZALAG₂ sin SIG ⸢MAŠ⸣.MAŠ-⸢IGI⸣ 4 1/2 ⸢KUŠ₃⸣ 25 ⸢x⸣ [...] | |
| 12 | ⸢ina⸣ KIN.⸢SIG⸣ [...] ⸢USAN⸣ dele-bat e ⸢SA₄⸣-[ša₂-ABSIN ... ITU BI KI.LAM] | |
| 13 | še-im 2(BARIG) 3+N(BAN₂) [x x] 2(BARIG) 2(BAN₂) 4 qa ⸢ZU₂⸣.[LUM ...]+2 1/2 MA.NA [...] | |
| 14 | ina A ina MURUB₄ [x x x] ⸢x⸣ [...] | |
| 15 | NE 1 20 na ⸢x⸣ [...] | |
| 16 | GE₆ 5 SAG GE₆ [...] | |
| 17 | 1 5/6 KUŠ₃ ina ZALAG₂ [...] | |
| 18 | 12 11 ŠU₂ [...] | |
| 19 | 1 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 10+[...] | |
| 20 | GE₆ 19 ina ZALAG₂ [...] | |
| 21 | ⸢x x⸣ 4 x [...] | |
| 22 | [x] ULU₃ 8 [...] | |
| 23 | ⸢še⸣-im 2(BARIG) [...] | |
| 24 | [MUL₂].⸢BABBAR⸣ ina [...] | |
| 25 | [x] ⸢x⸣ [...] | |
| l.e. | ||
| 1 | [EN.NUN ša₂ gi-ne₂]-e ša₂ TA BAR₂ EN TIL ⸢KIN⸣ [...] | |
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.