AD -418A (X104181)
Astronomical Diary, Achaemenid, Babylon · c. 539 BCE–330 BCE
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| Designation | AD -418A |
|---|---|
| ID | X104181 |
| Museum no. | VAT 4924 |
| 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 |
|---|---|
| Top [0:2] t.e. 1t.e. 1– | [At the command of ...] may it be well. |
| Obverse [0:1] o 1o 1–o 1o 1 | Year 5 of Umakuš, month I, night of the 7th, first part of the night, Venus was 8 fingers below β Tauri, Venus having passed 4 fingers to the east. |
| Obverse [1:2] o 22–o 22 | Night of the 9th, middle part of the night, the moon was 3 fingers? in front of Mars, the moon being a little low to the south. Around the 12th or 13th, Saturn’s first appearance in Pisces. |
| Obverse [2:3] o 33–o 33 | Night of the 21st, a “fall of fire” occurred in the district of Šuanna. That month, a fox appeared in a broad street of the city. |
| Obverse [3:4] o 44–o 44 | Barley, 4 sūtu, at the end of the month, 3 sūtu 5 qa; dates, 2 sūtu 4 1/2 qa; mustard, 4 pānu; cress, 3 sūtu (for) 1 shekel (and) one-eighth; |
| Obverse [4:6] o 55–o 66 | sesame, 1 sūtu; wool, 1 mina. Jupiter and Venus were in the beginning of Gemini; Mars was in Leo; Saturn was in Pisces; the 29th, Mercury’s last appearance in the west in Taurus. |
| Obverse [5:6] o 66–o 66 | Month II, night of the 7th, the moon was 2/3 cubit in front of Mars, the moon being a little high to the north. Night of the 9th, Mars was 4 cubits below ϑ Leonis. |
| Obverse [6:7] o 77–o 77 | The 22nd, Venus’ last appearance in the west behind the Chariot. In the middle part of the day, a big star which was like a torch flashed from south to north, and |
| Obverse [7:8] o 88–o 88 | the land heard the noise of the sky. The 23rd, Sirius’ last appearance. Barley, 4 sūtu; in the middle of the month, 3 sūtu; at the end of the month, |
| Obverse [8:9] o 99–o 99 | ⸢4 sūtu⸣ (for) 1 shekel (and) one-eighth; dates, 3 sūtu? minus 1 qa; mustard, 3 pānu 2 sūtu; cress, 2 sūtu 1 qa: sesame, 5? [...] |
| Obverse [9:11] o 1010–o 1111 | [...] wool, 1 mina. Jupiter was in Gemini; Mars was in the end of Leo; Saturn was in the end of Pisces; Venus and Mercury, [which had set, were not visible.] |
| Obverse [10:11] o 1111–o 1111 | [Month III ...] ..., the moon being 1/2 cubit back to the west. The 3rd, Venus’ first appearance in the east behind the Chariot. Ni[ght ...] |
| Obverse [11:12] o 1212–o 1212 | [...] ... The 9th, Jupiter’s last appearance in Gemini. Night of the 11th, last part of the night, a meteor in the direc[tion ...] |
| Obverse [12:13] o 1313–o 1313 | [...] ... Night of the 17th, a “fall of fire” occurred in the district of Šuanna. Night of the 24th, [...] |
| Obverse [13:14] o 1414–o 1414 | [...] ... occurred. Night of the 25th, last part of the night, Venus came close to the southern horn of the moon [...] |
| Obverse [14:15] o 1515–o 1515 | [...] ... 2? cubits. Barley, 5 sūtu, at the end of the month, 1 pānu; dates, ... [...] |
| Obverse [15:16] o 1616–o 1616 | [...] ... cress, 2 sūtu? 4 qa; sesame, 5 qa; wool, 1 mina. Venus was in the Chariot [...] |
| Obverse [16:18] o 1717–o 1818 | [...] ... Jupiter and Mercury, which had set, were not visible. |
| Obverse [17:18] o 1818–o 1818 | [Month IV, ...] ... solstice?. Around the 21st, Mercury’s first appearance in the west in Leo. Night of the 23rd, ... [...] |
| Obverse [18:19] o 1919–o 1919 | [...] ... was balanced [nn] cubits. Night of the 26th, last part of the night, the moon was 1/2 cubit in front of Jupiter ... [...] |
| Obverse [19:20] o 2020–o 2020 | [...] ... was seen?. Barley, 5 sūtu 4? qa, at the end of the month, 5 sūtu 1 qa; dates, [...] |
| Obverse [20:21] o 2121–o 2121 | [...] ... 5? qa; wool, 1 mina. ... [...] |
| Obverse [21:22] o 2222–o 2222 | (traces) |
| Obverse [22:24] o 2323– | (traces) |
| Reverse [0:1] r 1'r 1'–r 1'r 1' | [...] ... wool, 1 mina. [At that time, ...] |
| Reverse [1:3] r 2'2'–r 3'3' | [... Venus and Mars,] which had set, were not visible. [...] |
| Reverse [2:3] r 3'3'–r 3'3' | [Month XII, ...] its feet. Around the 6th, Jupiter 5° [...] |
| Reverse [3:4] r 4'4'–r 4'4' | [...] 1/2 cubit. Night of the 12th, a small “fall of fire” outside of [...] |
| Reverse [4:5] r 5'5'–r 5'5' | [...] first appearance in the end of Pisces. Night of the 29th, Mercury’s [first appearance] in the west [in Aries]. |
| Reverse [5:6] r 6'6'–r 6'6' | [...] Barley, 3 sūtu 3 qa; at the end of the month 3 sūtu 4 qa; dates, at the beginning of the month and at the end [...] |
| Reverse [6:7] r 7'7'–r 7'7' | [at the end] of the month, 1 pānu 2 sūtu 4 1/2 qa; mustard, 2 pānu 3 sūtu; cress, 3 sūtu; sesame, 1 sūtu; wool, 50 shekel [...] |
| Reverse [7:9] r 8'8'–r 9'9' | Jupiter was in front of Cancer; Mercury was in Aries; Saturn was in the end of Pisces; Venus and Mars, which had set, [were not visible]. |
| Reverse [8:9] r 9'9'–r 9'9' | Month XII₂, around the 1st, Saturn’s last appearance in the end of Pisces. The 6th, a ewe gave birth, and (the young) had no jaw. |
| Reverse [9:10] r 10'10'–r 10'10' | The 7th, a ewe gave birth, and (the young) had no jaw. Night of the 13th, beginning of the night, Mercury was 1 2/3 cubits in front of η Tauri. |
| Reverse [10:11] r 11'11'–r 11'11' | Night of the 17th, a “fall of fire” occurred in the district of Šuanna. The 21st, Venus’ first appearance in the west in Aries. Around the 23rd, Mercury’s |
| Reverse [11:12] r 12'12'–r 12'12' | last appearance in the west in front of η Tauri. The 24th, a bird hatched, and it had three feet. Barley, 4 sūtu 1 qa; dates, |
| Reverse [12:13] r 13'13'–r 13'13' | 1 pānu 2 sūtu, at the end of the month, 1 pānu 2 sūtu 1 1/2 qa; mustard, 3 pānu 2 sūtu; cress, 3 sūtu; sesame, 1 sūtu; wool, 1 mina. Jupiter |
| Reverse [13:16] r 14'14'– | was in the beginning of Cancer; Venus was in Aries; Saturn, Mars and Mercury, which had set, were not visible. |
| Reverse [14:15] r 15'15'–r 15'15' | Year 5 of Umakuš. Excerpted for reading. |
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) |
|---|---|---|
| t.e. | ||
| 1 | [ina a-mat ...] x x liš-lim | |
| o | ||
| 1 | [MU].5.KAM₂ {m}u₂-ma-kuš BAR GE₆ 7 USAN dele-bat SIG ŠUR-ša₂-GIGIR 8 SI dele-bat 4 U ana NIM DIB | |
| 2 | GE₆ 9 MURUB₄ sin ina IGI AN 3 SI i sin ana ULU₃ SIG in 12 ki 13 GENNA ina KUN{me} IGI | |
| 3 | GE₆ 21 IZI.ŠUB ina KI ŠU.AN.NA GAL₂ ITU BI KA₅.A ina SILA.DAGAL.LA URU IGI | |
| 4 | ŠE 4(BAN₂) ina TIL ITU 3(BAN₂) 5 qa ZU₂.LUM 2(BAN₂) 4 1/2 qa ka-si 4 PI ZA₃ 3(BAN₂) 1 GIN₂ bit-qa | |
| 5 | ŠE.GIŠ 1(BAN₂) SIG₂ 1 ma SAG₃.ME.GAR u dele-bat ina SAG MAŠ.MAŠ AN ina UR.A GENNA ina KUN{me} 29 GU₄.UD ina ŠU₂ ina GU₄.AN ŠU₂ | |
| 6 | GU₄ GE₆ 7 sin ina IGI AN 2/3 KUŠ₃ i sin ana SI NIM GE₆ 9 AN SIG GIŠ.KUN-UR.A 4 KUŠ₃ | |
| 7 | 22 dele-bat ina ŠU₂ ar₂ GIGIR ŠU₂ AN.BAR₇ MUL₂ GAL ša₂ GIM di-par TA ULU₃ ana SI ŠUR-ma | |
| 8 | ri-gim AN-e KUR iš-me 23 KAK.BAN ŠU₂ ŠE 4(BAN₂) ina MURUB₄ ITU 3(BAN₂) ina TIL ⸢ITU⸣ | |
| 9 | 4(BAN₂) 1 GIN₂ bit-⸢qa⸣ ZU₂.LUM 3(BAN₂) 1 qa LAL ka-si 3(BARIG) 2(BAN₂) ZA₃ 2(BAN₂) 1 qa ŠE.GIŠ 5 [...] | |
| 10 | [x x] SIG₂ 1 ⸢ma⸣ SAG₃.ME.GAR ina MAŠ.MAŠ AN ina qi₂-it UR.A GENNA ina TIL KUN{me} dele-bat u ⸢GU₄⸣.[UD ša₂ ŠU₂{meš} NU IGI{meš]} | |
| 11 | [SIG ...] KUŠ₃ sin 1/2 KUŠ₃ ana ŠU₂ LAL 3 dele-bat ina NIM ar₂ GIGIR IGI ⸢GE₆⸣ [...] | |
| 12 | [...] 9 SAG₃.ME.GAR ina MAŠ.MAŠ ŠU₂ GE₆ 11 ina ZALAG₂ MUL₂ GAL ⸢ID⸣ [...] | |
| 13 | [...] GE₆ 17 IZI.ŠUB ina KI ŠU₂.AN.NA GAL₂ GE₆ 24 [...] | |
| 14 | [...] GAL₂ GE₆ 25 ina ZALAG₂ dele-bat ana SI sin ša₂ ULU₃ ⸢TE⸣ [...] | |
| 15 | [...] ⸢x⸣ 2 KUŠ₃ ŠE 5(BAN₂) ina TIL ITU 1 PI ZU₂.LUM x [...] | |
| 16 | [...] ZA₃ 2(BAN₂) 4 qa ŠE.GIŠ 5 qa SIG₂ 1 ma dele-bat ina MUL₂.GIGIR [...] | |
| 17 | [...] ⸢x⸣ SAG₃.ME.GAR u GU₄.UD ša₂ ŠU₂{meš} NU IGI{meš} | |
| 18 | [ŠU ...] šamaš₂ GUB in 21 GU₄.UD ina ŠU₂ ina UR.A IGI GE₆ 23 x [...] | |
| 19 | [... N] KUŠ₃ LAL₂ GE₆ 26 ina ZALAG₂ sin ina IGI SAG₃.ME.GAR 1/2 KUŠ₃ x [...] | |
| 20 | [...] IGI ŠE 5(BAN₂) 4 qa ina TIL ITU 5(BAN₂) 1 qa ZU₂.LUM ⸢x⸣ [...] | |
| 21 | [...] 5 qa SIG₂ 1 ⸢ma⸣ x x x [...] | |
| r | ||
| 1' | [...] SIG₂ 1 ma [i-nu-šu₂ ...] | |
| 2' | [... dele-bat u AN ša₂] ŠU₂{meš} NU IGI{meš} [...] | |
| 3' | [ŠE ...] ⸢GIR₃⸣{meš}šu₂ in 6 SAG₃.ME.GAR 5 UŠ [...] | |
| 4' | [...] 1/2 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 12 IZI.ŠUB i ina ki-da-⸢nu⸣ [...] | |
| 5' | [...] ⸢qi₂⸣-it KUN{me} IGI GE₆ 29 SAG GE₆ GU₄.UD ina ⸢ŠU₂⸣ [ina HUN.GA₂ IGI] | |
| 6' | [...] ŠE 3(BAN₂) 3 qa ina TIL ITU 3(BAN₂) 4 qa ZU₂.LUM ina SAG ITU u ina TIL [...] | |
| 7' | [x x x] ITU 1(BARIG) 2(BAN₂) 4 1/2 qa ka-si 2(BARIG) 3(BAN₂) ZA₃ 3(BAN₂) ŠE.GIŠ 1(BAN₂) SIG₂ 50 GIN₂ [...] | |
| 8' | SAG₃.ME.GAR ina IGI ALLA GU₄.UD ina HUN.GA₂ GENNA ina qi₂-it KUN{me} dele-bat u AN ša₂ ŠU₂-u₂ [NU IGI{meš]} | |
| 9' | DIR.ŠE in 1 GENNA ina qi₂-it KUN{me} ŠU₂ 6 U₈ U₃.TU-ma la-hu-u₂ NU TUK | |
| 10' | 7 U₈ U₃.TU-ma la-hu-u₂ NU TUK GE₆ 13 SAG GE₆ GU₄.UD ina IGI MUL₂.MUL₂ 1 2/3 KUŠ₃ | |
| 11' | GE₆ 17 IZI.ŠUB ina KI ŠU.AN.NA{ki} GAL₂ 21 dele-bat ina ŠU₂ ina HUN.GA₂ IGI in 23 GU₄.UD | |
| 12' | ina ŠU₂ ina IGI MUL₂.MUL₂ ŠU₂ 24 MUŠEN iq-lu-up-ma 3 GIR₃{meš}šu₂ ŠE 4(BAN₂) 1 qa ZU₂.LUM | |
| 13' | 1(BARIG) 2(BAN₂) ina TIL ITU 1(BARIG) 2(BAN₂) 1 1/2 qa ka-si 3(BARIG) 2(BAN₂) ZA₃ 3(BAN₂) ŠE.GIŠ 1(BAN₂) SIG₂ 1 ma SAG₃.ME.GAR | |
| 14' | ina SAG ALLA {d}dele-bat ina HUN.GA₂ GENNA AN u GU₄.UD ša₂ ŠU₂{meš} NU IGI{meš} | |
| 15' | MU.5.KAM₂ {m}u₂-ma-kuš ana IGI ZI-hi | |
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.