AD -324A (X103241)
Astronomical Diary, Hellenistic, Babylon · c. 330 BCE–141 BCE
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| Designation | AD -324A |
|---|---|
| ID | X103241 |
| Museum no. | BM 35024 + 35064 + 35087 + 35618 + 35632 + 45955 |
| 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 | [Year 12 of A]lexander the king, month I, the 1st (of which followed the 30th of the preceding month), the moon became visible in a cloud; sunset to moonset: 20° ;clouds, I did not watch. Night of the 1st, clouds crossed the sky. The 1st, very overcast, rain shower. Night of the 2nd, the moon was 1 1/2 cubits behind Jupiter, 1 cubit below Venus [...] |
| Obverse [1:2] o 22–o 22 | [Night of the 3rd, the moon was] 20 fingers [...] ζ Tauri, it stood 1 cubit in front of Saturn to the west; very overcast. <The 3rd,> in the morning, a little rain shower. Night of the 4th, beginning of the night, the moon was 3 cubits above γ Geminorum; very overcast, gu[sty] south wind; [...] |
| Obverse [2:3] o 33–o 33 | [...] a little PISAN DIB. The 5th, very overcast, slow rain PISAN DIB; in the afternoon, a little thunder. Night of the 6th, first part of the night, the moon was 2 cubits in front of δ Cancri; Venus was [...] below β Tauri [...] |
| Obverse [3:4] o 44–o 44 | [Night of the 7th, beginning of the night, the moon was] 2 cubits [in front of ε] Leonis; Mars was 2/3 cubit above α Leonis; very overcast, a little thunder, gusty wind, rain DUL. The 7th, in the afternoon, overcast, lightning, thunder, rain a little PISAN DIB [...] |
| Obverse [4:5] o 55–o 55 | [...] cubit, the moon being 8 fingers [... in] the afternoon, lightning flashed, thunder [...] |
| Obverse [5:6] o 66–o 66 | [... rain, but the sandal was no]t? removed; first part of the night, the moon was [...] below ϑ Leonis [...] in the afternoon, clouds crossed the sky. Night of the 10th, beginning of the night, the moon was [...] above β Virginis [...] |
| Obverse [6:7] o 77–o 77 | [... Night of the 11th, beginning of the night,] the moon was 18 fingers above γ Virginis; clouds were in the sky. Night of the [12th, beginning of the night, the moo]n was 1 2/3 cubits above α Virginis, the moon having passed 1/2 cubit to the east; very overcast, light[ning ...] |
| Obverse [7:8] o 88–o 88 | [... Night of the 1]3th, clouds crossed the sky. The 13th, sunrise to moonset: 20' ; clouds, I did not watch; in the morning, [...] Night of the 14th, moonrise to sunset: 4°, measured (despite) clouds; first part of the night, Venus was 1 cubit above Saturn, Venus being 5 [...] |
| Obverse [8:9] o 99–o 99 | [... Night of the 15th, ...] last part of the night, the moon was 2 1/2 cubits behind α Scorpii. The 15th, in the morning, clou[ds ...] gusty wind, rain DUL. Night of the 16th, very overcast, rain so that the sandal was removed. Ni[ght of the 17th ...] |
| Obverse [9:10] o 1010–o 1010 | [... The 1]7th, very overcast. Night of the 18th, clouds were in the sky; last part of the night, the moon was [...] in front of β Capricorni. Night of the 20th, last part of the night, the moon was 2 cubits behind δ Capricorni. Night [...] |
| Obverse [10:11] o 1111–o 1111 | [... Mars ... ρ] Leonis 20 fingers; last part of the night, the moo[n was 2/3 cubit [... h/m] Geminorum. The 23rd, in the afternoon, clouds crossed the sky. Night of the 24th, [...] |
| Obverse [11:12] o 1212–o 1212 | [... The 2]6th, moonrise to sunrise: 15°?. [...] in the afternoon, overcast. Night of the 27th(28th ?), clouds [...] The 27th(28th ?), clouds were in the sky [...] |
| Obverse [12:18] o 1313– | [... but the san]dal was not removed. That month, the equi[valent ...] |
| Reverse [1:2] r 2'2'–r 2'2' | [...] Night of the 16th, beginning of the night, [...] a little [rain] shower; last part of the night, the moon was above [...] |
| Reverse [2:3] r 3'3'–r 3'3' | [Night of the 21st, last part of the night, the moon was] 2 cubits? 8 fingers [... α Geminorum], 20 fingers above Saturn, the moon having [passed] 4 fingers to the east, it stood 2 cubits [behind] Jupiter to the east. The 21st, in the mor[ning, ...] |
| Reverse [3:4] r 4'4'–r 4'4' | [...] Night of the 22nd, clouds were in the sky; last part of the night, the moon was 2 1/2 cubits behind β Geminorum [...] Night of the 23rd, clouds were in the sky. The 23rd, cl[ouds ... a rainbow] stretched from the south and the east [side ...] |
| Reverse [4:5] r 5'5'–r 5'5' | in the afternoon, a little rain shower. Night of the 25th, clouds crossed the sky; last part of the night, the moon was 2 cubits above ρ Leonis, the moon having passed 2/3 cubit to the east. The 25th, [... Night of the 26th, last part of the night, the moon was] |
| Reverse [5:6] r 6'6'–r 6'6' | 2 1/2 cubits in front of β Virginis. Night of the 27th, last part of the night, the moon was [...] in front of γ Virginis. The 27th, equinox; I did not watch. Night of the 28th, first part [of the night, ... Night of the 29th,] |
| Reverse [6:7] r 7'7'–r 7'7' | [last part of the night,] Venus was 3 cubits below γ Virginis. That month, the equivalent (for 1 shekel of silver was): barley, [...] pānu; dates, 1 pānu 5? qa; at the e[nd of the month, ...] |
| Reverse [7:8] r 8'8'–r 8'8' | mu[stard, ...] |
| Reverse [8:9] r 9'9'–r 9'9' | That month, from the 6th to the 24th, the river level [...] |
| Reverse [9:10] r 10'10'–r 10'10' | until the end of the month, the river level 20 fingers bābtu [...] |
| Reverse [10:17] r 11'11'– | Month VII, the 1st (of which followed the 30th of the preceding month), sunset to moonset: 14°; earthshine. From [...]-Bēl, the son of Mušallim-Bēl [...] |
| Top [0:1] t.e. 1t.e. 1–t.e. 1t.e. 1 | Diary from month I to the end of month VI, year 12 of king Alexander. |
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 | [MU 12.KAM₂ {m}a]-lik-sa-an-dar LUGAL BAR 1 sin ina DIR IGI 20 na DIR NU ⸢PAP⸣ GE₆ 1 DIR AN DIB 1 ŠU₂.ŠU₂ AN UTAH GE₆ 2 sin ar₂ MUL₂.BABBAR 1 1/2 KUŠ₃ SIG dele-bat 1 KUŠ₃ [... GE₆ 3 SAG GE₆] | |
| 2 | [sin x ŠUR-GIGIR-ša₂]-⸢ULU₃⸣ 20 SI ina IGI GENNA 1 KUŠ₃ ana ŠU₂ GUB ŠU₂.ŠU₂ 3 ina še-ri₃ AN UTAH i GE₆ 4 SAG GE₆ sin e MAŠ.MAŠ-ša₂-SIPA 3 KUŠ₃ ŠU₂.ŠU₂ ULU₃ ⸢ŠAR₂⸣ [...] | |
| 3 | [...] ⸢PISAN⸣ i DIB 5 ŠU₂.ŠU₂ AN ne₂ PISAN DIB ina KIN.SIG GU₃ U i GE₆ 6 USAN sin ina IGI MUL₂-ar₂-ša₂-ALLA-ša₂-ULU₃ 2 KUŠ₃ dele-bat SIG ŠUR-[GIGIR-ša₂-SI ...] 20 SI [... GE₆ 7 SAG GE₆] | |
| 4 | [sin ina IGI SAG-UR].⸢A 2 KUŠ₃ AN e LUGAL 2/3 KUŠ₃ ŠU₂.ŠU₂ GU₃ U i ⸢IM⸣ ŠAR₂ AN DUL 7 ina KIN.SIG ŠU₂ GIR₂ GU₃ U AN PISAN i DIB ⸢x⸣ [x x TIR.AN A₂] ULU₃ u KUR GIB [...] | |
| 5 | [...] ⸢x⸣ KUŠ₃ sin 8 ⸢U⸣ [x x x x x] x x [x x x x x] x [x x x ina] KIN.SIG GIR₂.GIR₂ GU₃ U ⸢AN⸣ [še]-ni TUH 2 TIR.AN{⸢meš⸣} [...] | |
| 6 | [...] ⸢NU⸣ TUH USAN sin SIG GIŠ.KUN-UR.A 2 [...] ⸢x 9 ina KIN.SIG DIR AN DIB⸣ GE₆ 10 SAG GE₆ sin e GIR₃-⸢ar₂⸣-ša₂-UR.A 1 1/2 KUŠ₃ dele-bat e ŠUR-[GIGIR-ša₂-ULU₃ N N] | |
| 7 | [... GE₆ 11 SAG GE₆] ⸢sin e⸣ DELE-ša₂-IGI-ABSIN 18 SI DIR AN ZA GE₆ 12 SAG GE₆] ⸢sin⸣ e SA₄-ša₂-ABSIN 1 2/3 KUŠ₃ sin 1/2 KUŠ₃ ana NIM DIB ŠU₂.ŠU₂ GIR₂ GIR₂.GIR₂ 12 9.30 ŠU₂ NU PAP šamaš₂ ina pit-nu ⸢IGI⸣ | |
| 8 | [... GE₆] 13 DIR AN DIB 13 20 NINDA na DIR NU PAP ina še-ri₃ [x x x (x)] ⸢GE₆ 14 4 ME DIR muš USAN dele-bat e GENNA 1 KUŠ₃ dele-bat 5 SI ana NIM DIB ina ZALAG₂ sin e MUL₂-MURUB₄-ša₂-SAG-GIR₂.TAB 1 KUŠ₃ 8 U | |
| 9 | [... GE₆ 15 ...] ⸢x⸣ ina ZALAG₂ sin ar₂ SI₄ 2 1/2 KUŠ₃ 15 ina še-ri₃ ⸢DIR⸣ [x x x (x)] ⸢IM⸣ ŠAR₂ AN DUL GE₆ 16 ŠU₂.ŠU₂ AN še-ni TUH ⸢GE₆⸣ 17 USAN dele-bat e MUL₂-ar₂-ša₂-še-pit-MAŠ.MAŠ 20 SI | |
| 10 | [...] 17 ŠU₂.ŠU₂ GE₆ 18 DIR AN ZA ina ZALAG₂ sin ina IGI SI-[MAŠ₂ N N (x)] ⸢GE₆⸣ 20 ina ZALAG₂ sin ar₂ MUL₂-ar₂-ša₂-SUHUR-MAŠ₂ 2 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 22 USAN dele-bat e MAŠ.MAŠ-ša₂-SIPA ZI 4 KUŠ₃ | |
| 11 | [AN x MUL₂-TUR-ša₂-4-⸢KUŠ₃-ar₂-LUGAL⸣ 20 SI ina ZALAG₂ ⸢sin⸣ [...] ⸢ša₂-še⸣-pit-MAŠ.MAŠ 2/3 KUŠ₃ 23 ina KIN.SIG DIR AN DIB GE₆ 24 DIR AN DIB 24 DIR AN ZA GE₆ 25 DIR AN ZA | |
| 12 | [...] 26 15 KUR⸣ [x x] ⸢x⸣ ina KIN.SIG ŠU₂ GE₆ 27 DIR ⸢AN⸣ [x] 27 DIR AN ZA⸣ [...] ⸢x A⸣ [...] 28 MUL₂.BABBAR ina GIGIR ŠU₂ | |
| 13 | [... še]-⸢ni NU TUH⸣ ITU BI ⸢KI⸣.[LAM ...] ⸢x x⸣ TA 5 EN [...] | |
| 14 | [...] ⸢EN⸣ 24 1(BARIG) 1(BAN₂) ka-si 3 ⸢GUR⸣ [...] | |
| 15 | [...] ik-kaš-ša₂-du {lu₂}e-man-a-a [...] | |
| 16 | [...] ⸢GIN⸣ GE₆ 6 ILLU 8 SI ⸢LAL⸣ [...] | |
| 17 | [...] 24 ILLU 1 KUŠ₃ LAL 25 [...] | |
| r | ||
| 1' | [...] [...] | |
| 2' | [... GE₆] 5 SAG GE₆ sin ina IGI MUL₂-[KUR-ša₂-KIR₄-šil-PA N N ...] | |
| 3' | [...] ⸢MUL₂⸣-ar₂-ša₂-SUHUR-MAŠ₂ 20 SI [...] | |
| 4' | [...] ⸢x⸣ GENNA KUR GE₆ 16 16 DIR [...] | |
| 5' | [...] ⸢x⸣ [...] ⸢x⸣ TA 12 EN 18 ZI IR GE₆ [...] | |
| 6' | [...] ⸢GE₆ 18 SAG GE₆ x [x x (x) AN] UTAH i ina ZALAG₂ sin e [...] 3 KUŠ₃ 20 DIR AN ZA 21 ⸢DIR⸣ [...] | |
| 7' | [GE₆ 21 ina ZALAG₂ sin x MAŠ.MAŠ-IGI] 2 KUŠ₃⸣ 8 SI e GENNA 20 SI sin 4 SI ana ⸢NIM⸣ [DIB ar₂] ⸢MUL₂⸣.BABBAR 2 KUŠ₃ ana NIM GUB 21 ina ⸢še⸣-[ri₃ ... dele-bat ina NIM ina ABSIN IGI] ⸢x⸣ na-su in 10+[x] ⸢IGI⸣ [x] ⸢x⸣ [...] | |
| 8' | [x x] x GE₆ 22 DIR AN ZA ina ZALAG₂ sin ar₂ MAŠ.MAŠ-ar₂ 2 1/2 KUŠ₃ [x x x x] GE₆ 23 DIR ⸢AN⸣ ZA 23 DIR⸣ [... N] KUŠ₃ ina ZALAG₂ AN UTAH i 24 DIR ⸢AN⸣ [x] | |
| 9' | ⸢ina KIN⸣.SIG AN UTAH i GE₆ 25 DIR AN DIB ina ZALAG₂ sin e MUL₂-⸢TUR⸣-[ša₂-4-KUŠ₃-ar₂]-⸢LUGAL⸣ 2 KUŠ₃ sin 2/3 KUŠ₃ ana NIM DIB 25 [... ina še]-ri₃ AN UTAH i GE₆ 26 ina ZALAG₂ sin | |
| 10' | ina IGI GIR₃-ar₂-ša₂-UR.A 2 1/2 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 27 ina ZALAG₂ sin ina IGI DELE-ša₂-⸢IGI⸣-[ABSIN x x x] 27 LAL₂-tim NU PAP GE₆ 28 ⸢USAN⸣ [...] ⸢KUŠ₃⸣ 14 SI 28 15 KUR GE₆ 30 | |
| 11' | [ina ZALAG₂] dele-bat SIG DELE-ša₂-IGI-ABSIN 3 KUŠ₃ ITU BI KI.LAM še-im [...] PI ZU₂ 1 PI 5 qa ina ⸢TIL⸣ [ITU ...] ka-si 1 GUR ina TIL ITU 1(GUR) 2(BARIG) 3(BAN₂) | |
| 12' | ⸢sah⸣-[le₁₀ ... GIR₂].TAB GU₄.UD ša₂ ŠU₂-u₂ NU IGI | |
| 13' | ITU BI TA 6 ⸢EN 24 ILLU⸣ [...] {⸢id₂⸣}pal-lu-kat₃ LAL TA 26 | |
| 14' | EN TIL ITU ILLU 20 SI KA₂-⸢tu₂⸣ [...] ⸢x⸣ [...] | |
| 15' | ⸢DU₆⸣ 1 14 na AGA a-pir TA ⸢muh⸣-[hi ...] {d}⸢EN⸣ A ša₂ {m}GI-im-{d}⸢EN⸣ [...] | |
| t.e. | ||
| 1 | EN.NUN ša₂ gi-ne₂-e ša₂ ⸢TA BAR EN⸣ TIL KIN MU 12.KAM₂ {m}a-lik-sa-an-dar ⸢LUGAL⸣ | |
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.