AD -343 (X103430)
Astronomical Diary, Achaemenid, Babylon · c. 539 BCE–330 BCE
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| Designation | AD -343 |
|---|---|
| ID | X103430 |
| Museum no. | BM 36729 |
| Language | Akkadian |
| Period | Achaemenid · c. 539 BCE–330 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' | [...] clouds crossed? the sky. |
| Obverse [1:2] o 2'2'–o 2'2' | [...] nn cubits. |
| Obverse [2:3] o 3'3'–o 3'3' | [...] ... Night of the 18th, |
| Obverse [3:4] o 4'4'–o 4'4' | [... Night of the 20th, last pa]rt of the night, the moon was 2/3 cubit in front of α [Lib]rae. |
| Obverse [4:5] o 5'5'–o 5'5' | [... Night of the 22nd, last part of the night, the moon was x]+1 cubits [above α Scorpii], the moon having passed 1/2 cubit [to the east, it stood] behind Jupiter |
| Obverse [5:6] o 6'6'–o 6'6' | [... Night] of the 24th, last part of the night, Venus was 2 cubits below β Capricorni. The 24th, in the afternoon, |
| Obverse [6:7] o 7'7'–o 7'7' | [... Night of the 26th, last part of the night, the moon was ... x]+1 cubits, 1 1/2 cubits below Venus. The 26th, moonrise to sunrise: 20+[x]. The 28th, the sun [...] in a cloud |
| Obverse [7:8] o 8'8'–o 8'8' | [... That mon]th, the river level receded 1 1/2 cubits. That month, the equivalent (for 1 shekel of silver) was: barley, |
| Obverse [8:9] o 9'9'–o 9'9' | [...] ... cress, 2 pānu 3 sūtu; sesame, 1 pānu? 1 sūtu; wool, 8 minas. |
| Obverse [9:11] o 10'10'–o 11'11' | [... Mars and Mercu]ry, which had set, were not visible. |
| Obverse [10:11] o 11'11'–o 11'11' | [Month XI, ... the sun] set in a black cloud?. Night of the 2nd, very overcast; a "fall of fire" occurred in the city ... [...] |
| Obverse [11:12] o 12'12'–o 12'12' | [...]; that night, the hands of Bēlet-bīti and of ... [...] |
| Obverse [12:13] o 13'13'–o 13'13' | [...] in the temples and in the temple 2 bulls [...] |
| Obverse [13:14] o 14'14'–o 14'14' | [... lightning] flashed continuously, gusty wind, rain, much PISAN DIB [...] |
| Obverse [14:15] o 15'15'–o 15'15' | [... Night of the 9th,] beginning of the night, the moon was [...] behind [ζ] Tauri [...] |
| Obverse [15:16] o 16'16'–o 16'16' | [...] billowed; gusty wind. Night of the 11th, beg[inning of the night, [...] |
| Obverse [16:17] o 17'17'–o 17'17' | [...] being 2/3 cubit back to the west. The 13th, [...] |
| Obverse [17:18] o 18'18'–o 18'18' | [... Night of the 14th, the moon was] 2 1/2 cubits [behind] α Leonis; clouds [...] |
| Obverse [18:19] o 19'19'–o 19'19' | [... Night of the 16th, last part of the night, the moon was] 1/2 cubit [... γ Vir]ginis. The 16th, the sun? [...] |
| Obverse [19:20] o 20'20'–o 20'20' | [...] ..., last part of the night, lightning flashed, rain sho[wer ...] |
| Obverse [20:21] o 21'21'–o 21'21' | [... fir]st part of the night, lightning, much thunder, [...] |
| Reverse [1:2] r 2'2'–r 2'2' | [... when Jupiter became stationary to the east,] it became stationary [... α Scorpii,] being 2 2/3 cubits high to the north. [...] |
| Reverse [2:3] r 3'3'–r 3'3' | [...] dates, 1 kur 3 pānu 2 sūtu, at the end of the m[onth ...] |
| Reverse [3:4] r 4'4'–r 4'4' | [...] Venus was in Capricorn, at the end of the month, in Aquarius; Mars was in Aquarius [...] |
| Reverse [4:6] r 5'5'–r 6'6' | [...] the river level - remainder? 2 cubits - rose 3 cubits 8 fingers [...] |
| Reverse [5:6] r 6'6'–r 6'6' | [Month XII, ...] was surrounded by a halo which was not closed. Night of the 4th, beginning of the night, the moon was 2 2/3 cubits below η Tauri [...] |
| Reverse [6:7] r 7'7'–r 7'7' | [...] passed. The 5th, very overcast, rain shower, gusty wind. Night of the 6th, very overcast; in the morning, [...] |
| Reverse [7:8] r 8'8'–r 8'8' | [...] having passed [x]+1 fingers to the east. Night of the 8th, beginning of the night, the moon was 3 [cubits] below α Geminorum. |
| Reverse [8:9] r 9'9'–r 9'9' | [...] ... Night of the 11th, beginning of the night, the moon was 1 1/2 cubits above α Leonis, the moon being 1/2 cubit [back] to the west. |
| Reverse [9:10] r 10'10'–r 10'10' | [... Night of the 14th, the moon was] 1 cubit [...] γ Virginis; a meteor which was very bright and had a tail |
| Reverse [10:11] r 11'11'–r 11'11' | [...] was surrounded by a halo which was not closed. Night of the 15th, sunset to moonrise: 7° 30'; first part of the night, the moon was surrounded by a halo which was not closed. |
| Reverse [11:12] r 12'12'–r 12'12' | [...] ... flashed from west to east, its light could be seen on the ground. Night of the 16th, clouds crossed the sky. |
| Reverse [12:13] r 13'13'–r 13'13' | [... Night of the 1]7th, last part of the night, the moon was 1 1/2 cubits above δ Scorpii, |
| Reverse [13:14] r 14'14'–r 14'14' | [it stood ...] in front of [Jupiter to the west. The 17th, the sun] rose in a black cloud. Night of the 18th, gusty south wind; last part of the night, the moon was [...] in front of ϑ |
| Reverse [14:15] r 15'15'–r 15'15' | [Ophiuchi ...] ... Night of the 19th, mist crossed the sky; a small "fall of fire" [occurred] in the area of Šuan |
| Reverse [15:16] r 16'16'–r 16'16' | [... Ni]ght of the 21st, slow rain PISAN DIB. The 21st, in the morning, overcast, rain shower. |
| Reverse [16:17] r 17'17'–r 17'17' | [... over]cast, rain shower, a rainbow stretched in the east. |
| Reverse [17:18] r 18'18'–r 18'18' | [...] a meteor which was bright and had a tail |
| Reverse [18:19] r 19'19'–r 19'19' | [... Mercury’s first appearance in the west in Pisces ...] (ideal) first appearance [on] the 21st. The 25th, the sun |
| Reverse [19:20] r 20'20'–r 20'20' | [...] ... high. The 26th, [moonrise to sunrise:] 12° 30'. |
| Reverse [20:21] r 21'21'–r 21'21' | [...] became visible. That month, |
| Reverse [21:22] r 22'22'–r 22'22' | [...] at the end of the month, |
| Right [0:1] r.e. 1r.e. 1–r.e. 1r.e. 1 | [...] xth year of Umakuš who [is called king] Artaxerxes. |
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' | [...] ⸢DIR⸣ AN DIB | |
| 2' | [...] ⸢x⸣ KUŠ₃ | |
| 3' | [...] ⸢x⸣ [x x] ⸢x⸣ GE₆ 18 | |
| 4' | [... GE₆ 20 ina] ⸢ZALAG₂⸣ sin ina IGI [RIN₂]-ša₂-ULU₃ 2/3 KUŠ₃ | |
| 5' | [... GE₆ 22 ina ZALAG₂ sin e SI₄ x]+1 KUŠ₃ sin 1/2 KUŠ₃ [ana NIM] DIB ar₂ MUL₂.BABBAR | |
| 6' | [... GE₆] 24 ina ZALAG₂ dele-bat SIG SI-MAŠ₂ 2 KUŠ₃ 24 ina KIN.SIG | |
| 7' | [... GE₆ 26 ina ZALAG₂ sin ... x]+1 KUŠ₃⸣ SIG dele-bat 1 1/2 KUŠ₃ 26 20+[x] KUR 28 ⸢šamaš₂⸣ ina DIR | |
| 8' | [... ITU] ⸢BI⸣ ILLU 1 1/2 ⸢KUŠ₃⸣ LAL ITU BI KI.LAM še-[im] | |
| 9' | [...] ⸢x⸣ ZA₃ 2(BARIG) 3(BAN₂) ŠE.GIŠ.I₃ 1(BARIG) 1(BAN₂) SIG₂ 8 MA.NA | |
| 10' | [... AN u GU₄].⸢UD⸣ ša₂ ŠU₂{me} NU IGI{me} | |
| 11' | [ZIZ₂ ... šamaš₂ ina] ⸢DIR⸣ GE₆ ŠU₂ GE₆ 2 ŠU₂.ŠU₂ IZI.ŠUB ina ⸢URU GAL₂-ši⸣ [...] | |
| 12' | [...] GAL₂ GE₆ BI ŠU{ii} {d}GAŠAN.E₂ u₃ {d}⸢x⸣ [...] | |
| 13' | [...] ina E₂ DINGIR{meš} u₃ ina URU GAR-an 2 GU₄ [...] | |
| 14' | [...] GIR₂{me} IM ŠAR₂ AN PISAN MAH DIB [...] | |
| 15' | [... GE₆ 9 SAG GE₆ sin ar₂ ŠUR-GIGIR-⸢ša₂⸣-[ULU₃ N N ...] | |
| 16' | [...] ⸢iq⸣-tur₇ IM ŠAR₂ GE₆ 11 ⸢SAG⸣ [GE₆ ...] | |
| 17' | [...] 2/3 KUŠ₃ ana ŠU₂ LAL 13 [...] | |
| 18' | [... GE₆ 14 sin ar₂] LUGAL 2 1/2 KUŠ₃ DIR AN [...] | |
| 19' | [... GE₆ 16 ina ZALAG₂ sin ... DELE-ša₂-IGI]-⸢ABSIN⸣ 1/2 KUŠ₃ 16 šamaš₂ ina [...] | |
| 20' | [...] ⸢x⸣ ina ZALAG₂ GIR₂ GIR₂ AN ⸢UTAH⸣ [...] | |
| 21' | [...] ⸢USAN⸣ GIR₂ GU₃ U ⸢MAH⸣ [...] | |
| 22' | [...] ⸢x x⸣ [...] | |
| r | ||
| 1' | [...] ⸢x⸣ [...] | |
| 2' | [... MUL₂.BABBAR ana NIM ki UŠ-u₂ N N ... SI₄] 2 2/3 KUŠ₃ ana SI NIM ⸢UŠ⸣ [...] | |
| 3' | [...] ZU₂.LUM 1 GUR 3(BARIG) 2(BAN₂) ina TIL ⸢ITU⸣ [...] | |
| 4' | [...] dele-bat ina MAŠ₂ ina TIL ITU ina GU.LA AN ⸢ina GU.LA⸣ [...] | |
| 5' | [...] ⸢ILLU⸣ 2 KUŠ₃ ba-ab 3 KUŠ₃ 8 SI ⸢GIN⸣ [...] | |
| 6' | [ŠE ...] ⸢TUR₃⸣ NU KAD₂ NIGIN₂ GE₆ 4 SAG GE₆ sin SIG MUL₂.MUL₂ 2 2/3 KUŠ₃⸣ [...] | |
| 7' | [...] DIB 5 ŠU₂.ŠU₂ AN ⸢UTAH⸣ IM ŠAR₂ GE₆ 6 ŠU₂.ŠU₂ ina še-⸢ri₃⸣ [...] | |
| 8' | [... x]+1 SI ana NIM DIB GE₆ 8 SAG GE₆ sin SIG MAŠ.MAŠ-IGI 3 [KUŠ₃] | |
| 9' | [...] ⸢x⸣ GE₆ 11 SAG GE₆ sin e LUGAL 1 1/2 KUŠ₃ sin 1/2 KUŠ₃ ana ŠU₂ [LAL] | |
| 10' | [... GE₆ 14 sin ...] DELE-ša₂-IGI-ABSIN 1 KUŠ₃ MUL₂ GAL ša₂ ma-gal KUR u₃ meš-hi TUK-u₂ | |
| 11' | [...] ⸢TUR₃⸣ NU KAD₂ NIGIN₂ GE₆ 15 7.30 GE₆ USAN sin TUR₃ NU KAD₂ NIGIN₂ | |
| 12' | [...] ⸢x⸣-šu₂ TA MAR ana KUR ŠUR UD.DA-su ina KI IGI GE₆ 16 DIR AN DIB | |
| 13' | [... GE₆] 17 ina ZALAG₂ sin e MUL₂-MURUB₄-ša₂-SAG-GIR₂.TAB 1 1/2 KUŠ₃ ina IGI | |
| 14' | [MUL₂.BABBAR N N ana ŠU₂ GUB (...) 17 šamaš₂ ina] ⸢DIR⸣ GE₆ KUR GE₆ 18 ULU₃ ŠAR₂ ina ZALAG₂ sin ina IGI | |
| 15' | MUL₂-KUR-[ša₂-KIR₄-šil-PA N N ...] ⸢x GE₆⸣ 19 a-kam₂ AN DIB IZI.ŠUB i ina KI ŠU.AN | |
| 16' | [...] ⸢GE₆⸣ 21 ⸢AN⸣ ne₂-hi PISAN DIB 21 ina še-ri₃ ŠU₂ AN UTAH | |
| 17' | [...] ⸢ŠU₂⸣ AN UTAH TIR.AN ina KUR GIB | |
| 18' | [...] ⸢MUL₂⸣ GAL <ša₂> KUR u meš-hi TUK-u₂ | |
| 19' | [... GU₄.UD ina ŠU₂ ina zib{me} IGI ... in] 21 IGI 25 šamaš₂ | |
| 20' | [...] ⸢x⸣ NIM 26 12.30 | |
| 21' | [KUR ...] IGI ITU BI | |
| 22' | [...] ina TIL ITU | |
| 23' | [...] ⸢x⸣ | |
| r.e. | ||
| 1 | [... MU] ⸢x⸣.KAM₂ {m}u₂-ma-kuš ša₂ {m}ar₂-tak-šat-[su ...] | |
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.