AD -381A (X103811)
Astronomical Diary, Achaemenid, Babylon · c. 539 BCE–330 BCE
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| Designation | AD -381A |
|---|---|
| ID | X103811 |
| Museum no. | BM 34987 + 35131 + 35233 |
| 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 1o 1–o 1o 1 | [Year 23] of Arses who is called king Artaxerxes. Month I, the 1st (of which followed the 30th of the preceding month), sunset to moonset: 24° 20' ... [... Night of the 2nd, the moon was] |
| Obverse [1:2] o 22–o 22 | 1 cubit 8 fingers [in front of α] Librae, it stood [...] behind Mars to the east. Night of the 3rd, the moon was [...] below μ Geminorum. |
| Obverse [2:3] o 33–o 33 | [Night of the 4th, ...] ... was surrounded by a halo, Saturn [stood] inside the h[alo]. Jupiter on top of the band? [...] |
| Obverse [3:4] o 44–o 44 | [Night of the 5th, beginning of the ni]ght, the moon was 1 1/2 cubits in front of the rear stars of Cancer; clouds] were in the sky. The 5th, the sun was surrounded by a halo. The 5th, [...] |
| Obverse [4:5] o 55–o 55 | [...] was surrounded by a [ha]lo?, it was open to the south. Night of the 7th, beginning of the night, [the moon was] 1 cubit behind α Leonis; last part of the night, rain shower. The 7th, the sun [was surrounded] by a halo [...] |
| Obverse [5:6] o 66–o 66 | [...] Night of the 9th, beginning of the night, the moon was 2/3 cubit behind β Virginis. The 9th, clouds were in the sky. Night of the 10th, beginning of the night, [the moon was ... γ Virginis ... Night of the 11th, beginning of the night, the moon was] |
| Obverse [6:7] o 77–o 77 | 2/3 cubit [in front of] α Virginis; clouds were in the sky. The 11th, very overcast. Night of the 12th, overcast. The 12th, moonset to sunrise: 4° 30', measured (despite) clouds. Night of the 14th, [...] |
| Obverse [7:8] o 88–o 88 | [... Mars] was 2 1/2 cubits below β Tauri. Night of the 15th, overcast; a “fall of fire” occurred in the district of Eridu. The 15th, rain sh[ower? ...] |
| Obverse [8:9] o 99–o 99 | [...] rain shower, mud covered the land. Night of the 18th, overcast. The 18th, rain shower, gusty wind. Night of the 19th, overcast. [...] |
| Obverse [9:10] o 1010–o 1010 | [...] ... the moon was 2? 1/2 cubits in front of γ Capricorni. The 20th, in the afternoon, a little rain shower ... [...] |
| Obverse [10:11] o 1111–o 1111 | [...] a little [...], rain sho[wer? ... The 21st?, in] the afternoon, thunder, [...] gusty wind. Night of the 22nd, last part of the night, ... [...] |
| Obverse [11:12] o 1212–o 1212 | [...] strong [...] The 23rd, clouds were in the sky. Night of the 24th, ... [... Night] of the 25th (and) the 25th, ... [...] |
| Obverse [12:13] o 1313–o 1313 | [...] The 26th?, lightning?, thunder, thick rain PISAN [...] |
| Obverse [13:15] o 1414–o 1515 | [... b]arley, 5 sūtu? 2 qa, at the end of the month, 1 pānu; d[ates, ...] |
| Obverse [14:15] o 1515–o 1515 | [Month II, (the 1st of which was identical with) the 30th (of the preceding month), the moon] could be seen while the sun stood there; earth[shine. ... Night of the 2nd,] |
| Obverse [15:16] o 1616–o 1616 | [the moon] was 2/3(text: 1/3) cubit in front of α Geminorum. Night of the 3rd, the moon was [...] behind Saturn [...] |
| Obverse [16:17] o 1717–o 1717 | [...] it stood 2/3 cubit to the west. From the 1st to the 4th, [...] |
| Obverse [17:18] o 1818–o 1818 | [...] clouds were in the sky. Night of the 8th, beginning of the night, the moon was [...] in [front of γ Virginis ...] |
| Obverse [18:19] o 1919–o 1919 | [...] overcast?. Night of the 11th, beginning of the night, the moon was [... α Librae ...] |
| Obverse [19:20] o 2020–o 2020 | [... Night of the 13th, be]ginning of the night, the moon was [...] in front of α Scorpii ...] |
| Obverse [20:21] o 2121–o 2121 | [...] sunrise to moonset: 6°, measured (despite) clouds. [...] |
| Obverse [21:22] o 2222–o 2222 | [...] 2 [cubits?] below β Geminorum [...] |
| Reverse [0:1] r 1'r 1'–r 1'r 1' | [... but the sa]ndal was no[t removed ...] |
| Reverse [1:2] r 2'2'–r 2'2' | [...] qa; sesame, 2 sūtu 3 qa [...] |
| Reverse [2:3] r 3'3'–r 3'3' | [...] the “steward” ... [...] |
| Reverse [3:5] r 4'4'–r 5'5' | [...] on the 4th, in Babylon? [...] |
| Reverse [4:5] r 5'5'–r 5'5' | [Month VI], (the 1st of which was identical with) the 30th (of the preceding month), sunset to moonset: 13° 40'; mi[st ...] |
| Reverse [5:6] r 6'6'–r 6'6' | [...] Night of the 3rd, a “fall of fire” in [...] |
| Reverse [6:7] r 7'7'–r 7'7' | [Night of the 4th], beginning of the night, the moon was [...] behind [β Scorpii ...] |
| Reverse [7:8] r 8'8'–r 8'8' | [Night of the 5th, beginning] of the night, the moon was [...] in front of ϑ Ophiuchi ...] |
| Reverse [8:9] r 9'9'–r 9'9' | [...] flashed [towards?] the west. Night of the 11th, first part of the night, the moon was [...] |
| Reverse [9:10] r 10'10'–r 10'10' | [Venus was] 4 fingers [...] β Virginis. Ni[ght ...] |
| Reverse [10:11] r 11'11'–r 11'11' | [... Night of] the 16th, sunset to moonrise: 6°; middle part of the night, ... [...] |
| Reverse [11:12] r 12'12'–r 12'12' | [Night of the 17th, last part of the night, the moon was] 4 cubits below η Tauri [...] |
| Reverse [12:13] r 13'13'–r 13'13' | [...] entered the moon. Night of the 20+xth, [...] |
| Reverse [13:14] r 14'14'–r 14'14' | [...] ... clouds were in the sky. [...] ... [...] |
| Reverse [14:15] r 15'15'–r 15'15' | [..., first] part of the night, ... [...] clouds were in the sky ... [...] |
| Reverse [15:16] r 16'16'–r 16'16' | [...] middle part of the night, lightning, thunder, [...] strong wind blew ... [...] |
| Reverse [16:17] r 17'17'–r 17'17' | [...] ... Night of the 27th, last part of the night, the moon was [... γ Virginis. The 27th], equinox. Night of the 28th, last part of the night, the moon was [... α Virginis ...] |
| Reverse [17:18] r 18'18'–r 18'18' | [... the equi]valent (for 1 shekel of silver was): barley, 1 pānu 1 sūtu; d[ates ...; m]ustard, 1 kur 1 pānu 4 sūtu; cress, ... [...] |
| Reverse [18:20] r 19'19'–r 20'20' | [... Jupiter was in Leo]; Venus and Mars were in [Leo] in the beginning of the month, in Virgo at the end of the month; Saturn was in Cancer. Fr[om ...] |
| Reverse [19:20] r 20'20'–r 20'20' | [...], measured. |
| Reverse [20:22] r 21'21'– | Diary from month I to the end of month VI of ye[ar ...] |
| Top [0:1] t.e. 1t.e. 1–t.e. 1t.e. 1 | [Di]ary [from month I to the] end of month VI of year 23 of Arses [...] |
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 23.⸢KAM₂⸣ {m}ar₂-šu₂ ša₂ {m}ar-⸢tak⸣-[šat-su LUGAL MU]-šu₂ SA₄-u₂ BAR 1 24.20 na x [... GE₆ 2 sin] | |
| 2 | [ina IGI ŠUR-GIGIR]-ša₂-ULU₃ 1 KUŠ₃ 8 SI ar₂ ⸢AN⸣ [N N ana] ⸢NIM⸣ GUB GE₆ 3 sin SIG MUL₂-ar₂-ša₂-⸢še-pit₂⸣-[MAŠ.MAŠ N N ...] | |
| 3 | [GE₆ 4 ...] ⸢x⸣ TUR₃ NIGIN₂ GENNA ina ŠA₃ ⸢TUR₃⸣ [GUB] MUL₂.BABBAR ina UGU ṭur-⸢ri⸣ [x x] ⸢x x⸣ [...] | |
| 4 | [GE₆ 5 SAG] ⸢GE₆⸣ sin ina IGI MUL₂ ar₂{me} ša₂ ALLA 1 1/2 ⸢KUŠ₃⸣ [DIR] AN ZA 5 šamaš₂ TUR₃ NIGIN₂ 5 [...] | |
| 5 | [...] ⸢x⸣ NIGIN₂ ana ULU₃ BAD GE₆ 7 SAG GE₆ [sin] ⸢ar₂⸣ LUGAL 1 KUŠ₃ U₄.ZAL AN UTAH 7 šamaš₂ TUR₃⸣ [NIGIN₂ ...] | |
| 6 | [...] GE₆ 9 SAG GE₆ sin ar₂ GIR₃-ar₂-ša₂-UR.A 2/3 KUŠ₃ 9 DIR AN ZA GE₆ 10 SAG GE₆ [sin x DELE-ša₂-IGI-ABSIN N N ... GE₆ 11 SAG GE₆ sin] | |
| 7 | [ina IGI] ⸢SA₄⸣-ša₂-ABSIN 2/3 KUŠ₃ DIR AN ZA 11 ŠU₂.ŠU₂ GE₆ 12 ŠU₂ 12 4.30 ŠU₂ DIR muš GE₆ 14 [...] | |
| 8 | [... AN] SIG ŠUR-GIGIR-ša₂-SI 2 1/2 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 15 ŠU₂ IZI.ŠUB ina KI ERI.DU₁₀ GAL₂ 15 AN ⸢UTAH⸣ [...] | |
| 9 | [...] AN UTAH IM.GU₂ KUR ŠU₂-ap ⸢GE₆ 18 ŠU₂ 18 AN UTAH IM ŠAR₂ GE₆ 19 ŠU₂ [...] | |
| 10 | [...] ⸢x x x⸣ sin ina IGI MUL₂-IGI-⸢SUHUR⸣-[MAŠ₂] 2 1/2 KUŠ₃ 20 ina KIN.SIG AN UTAH i x [...] | |
| 11 | [...] i ⸢AN UTAH⸣ [x 21 ina] KIN.SIG GU₃ U [...] IM ŠAR₂ GE₆ 22 ina ZALAG₂ x [x x] x x [...] | |
| 12 | [...] KALAG 23 ⸢DIR AN ZA⸣ GE₆ 24 x [... GE₆] 25 25 x [...] | |
| 13 | [...] 26 x ⸢GIR₂⸣ GU₃ U AN kab-bar PISAN [...] x [...] | |
| 14 | [...] ⸢še⸣-im 5(BAN₂) 2 qa ina TIL ITU 1 PI ⸢ZU₂⸣.[LUM ...] | |
| 15 | [GU₄ 30 N na] ina šamaš₂ GUB IGI AGA [a-pir ... GE₆ 2 | |
| 16 | [sin] ina IGI MAŠ.MAŠ-IGI 2/3 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 3 sin ar₂ GENNA [N N ...] | |
| 17 | [...] 2/3 KUŠ₃ ana ŠU₂ GUB TA 1 EN 4 [...] | |
| 18 | [...] ⸢AN⸣ ZA GE₆ 8 SAG GE₆ sin ina [IGI DELE-ša₂-IGI-ABSIN N N ...] | |
| 19 | [...] ⸢x⸣ GE₆ 11 SAG GE₆ sin [x RIN₂-ša₂-ULU₃ N N ...] | |
| 20 | [... GE₆ 13 ⸢SAG⸣ GE₆ sin ina IGI SI₄ [N N ...] | |
| 21 | [...] 6 na DIR ⸢muš⸣ [...] | |
| 22 | [...] ⸢SIG MAŠ⸣.MAŠ-ar₂ 2 [...] | |
| 23 | [...] x e [...] | |
| 24 | [...] x [...] | |
| r | ||
| 1' | [...] ⸢še⸣-ni ⸢NU⸣ [TUH ...] | |
| 2' | [...] qa ŠE.GIŠ 2(BAN₂) 3 qa [...] | |
| 3' | [...] {lu₂}AGRIG kal [...] | |
| 4' | [...] U₄ 4.KAM₂ ina ⸢E⸣{[ki} ...] | |
| 5' | [KIN] 30 13.40 na a-⸢kam₂⸣ [...] | |
| 6' | [...] GE₆ 3 IZI.ŠUB ina [...] | |
| 7' | [GE₆ 4 SAG GE₆ sin ar₂ ⸢MUL₂⸣-[e-ša₂-SAG-GIR₂.TAB N N ...] | |
| 8' | [GE₆ 5 SAG] GE₆ sin ina IGI MUL₂-KUR-⸢ša₂⸣-[KIR₄-šil-PA N N ...] | |
| 9' | [... ana] MAR ŠUR GE₆ 11 USAN sin [...] | |
| 10' | [... dele-bat x] GIR₃-ar₂-ša₂-UR.A 4 SI ⸢GE₆⸣ [...] | |
| 11' | [... GE₆] 16 6 GE₆ MURUB₄ x [...] | |
| 12' | [GE₆ 17 ina ZALAG₂ sin] ⸢SIG⸣ MUL₂.MUL₂ 4 KUŠ₃ [...] | |
| 13' | [... ŠA₃] sin KU₄ GE₆ 20+[x ...] | |
| 14' | [...] DIR AN ZA 20+[x ...] ⸢x⸣ [...] | |
| 15' | [...] ⸢USAN ZI⸣ [...] ⸢DIR⸣ AN ZA x [...] | |
| 16' | [...] MURUB₄ GIR₂ GU₃ U [...] ⸢IM⸣ KALAG GIN x [...] | |
| 17' | [...] x GE₆ 27 ina ⸢ZALAG₂ sin⸣ [x DELE-ša₂-IGI-ABSIN N N 27 LAL₂ GE₆ 28 ina ZALAG₂ ⸢sin⸣ [x SA₄-ša₂-ABSIN N N ...] | |
| 18' | [... KI].⸢LAM⸣ še-im 1(BARIG) 1(BAN₂) ⸢ZU₂⸣ [...] ⸢ka⸣-si 1 GUR 1(BARIG) 4(BAN₂) ZA₃ 2+N(BAN₂) ...] | |
| 19' | [... MUL₂.BABBAR ina UR.A] dele-bat u AN ina SAG ⸢ITU⸣ [ina UR.A] ina TIL ITU ina ABSIN GENNA ina ALLA ⸢TA⸣ [...] | |
| 20' | [...] muš | |
| 21' | ⸢EN.NUN⸣ [ša₂ gi-ne₂]-⸢e⸣ ša₂ TA BAR EN TIL KIN ša₂ ⸢MU⸣ [...] | |
| t.e. | ||
| 1 | [EN].NUN ša₂ gi-[ne₂-e ša₂ TA BAR EN] ⸢TIL⸣ KIN ša₂ MU.23.KAM₂ {m}ar₂-šu₂ [...] | |
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.