AD -173A (X201731)
Astronomical Diary, Hellenistic, Babylon · c. 330 BCE–141 BCE
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| Designation | AD -173A |
|---|---|
| ID | X201731 |
| Museum no. | BM 34806 + 35610 + 35812 + 55569 |
| 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/adart2 · 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 138,] kings [Antiochus and An]tiochus, his son. Month V[II, ...] |
| Obverse [1:2] o 22–o 22 | [... Night of the 2nd, the moon was] 2 1/2 cubits [in front of] ϑ Ophiuchi. Night of the 3rd (and) the 3rd, clouds were in the sky. Night of the 5thsic, beginning of the ni[ght, ...] |
| Obverse [2:3] o 33–o 33 | [...] clouds crossed the sky. Night of the 8th, beginning of the night, the moon stood 1/3 cubit behind Jupiter to the east, the moon being 2 [cubits low to the south ...] |
| Obverse [3:4] o 44–o 44 | [... Night of the 1]2th, beginning of the night, the moon was 1 cubit in front of β Arietis, 1/2 cubit below Mars, the moon having passed a little to the east [...] |
| Obverse [4:5] o 55–o 55 | [... Night of the 14th,] moonrise to sunset: [nn°], measured (despite) clouds were in the sky; beginning of the night, the moon was 1 cubit below η Tauri, the moon being a little back to the west. The 14th, in the after[noon? ...] |
| Obverse [5:6] o 66–o 66 | [... Night of the 16th, last part of the night, the moon was] 1 cubit [behind ζ Tau]ri. The 16th, all day very overcast, rain shower. Night of the 17th, beginning of the night, clouds crossed the sky; last part of the night, the m[oon was ... behind γ Geminorum ...] |
| Obverse [6:7] o 77–o 77 | [...], the moon being 1/2 cubit? low to the south?. Night of the 19th, last part of the night, the moon was 1 1/2? [cubits] in front of δ Cancri [...] |
| Obverse [7:8] o 88–o 88 | [... Night of the 21st, last part of the night, the moon was] 2 1/2 cubits above α Leon]is. Around until the 21st, when Mars became stationary to the west, [it became stationary ...] below η Piscium [...] |
| Obverse [8:9] o 99–o 99 | [... Night of the 22nd, last part of the night, the moon was] 2 cubits [behind ρ] Leonis, it stood 2 cubits 4 fingers behind Saturn to the east. Night of the 23rd, [...] |
| Obverse [9:10] o 1010–o 1010 | [...] were in the sky. Night of the 24th, clouds crossed the sky; last part of the night, the moon was 1 cubit in front of γ Virginis, the moon being 1/2 cubit [high to the north ...] |
| Obverse [10:11] o 1111–o 1111 | [... Night of the 25th, last part of the night, the moon was] 1 cubit [in front of] α Virginis. The 25th, clouds crossed the sky. Night of the 26th, clouds crossed the sky. The 26th, clouds [...] the sky [...] |
| Obverse [11:12] o 1212–o 1212 | [...] low to the south. The 27th, very overcast, rain shower. Night of the 28th, all night very overcast; last part of the night, clouds crossed the sky. Ni[ght ...] |
| Obverse [12:13] o 1313–o 1313 | [...] crossed the sky, rain shower, it thundered twice or thrice. Night of the 30th (and) the 30th, clouds crossed the sky [...] |
| Obverse [13:14] o 1414–o 1414 | [... cr]ess, 3 pānu 2 sūtu; sesame, 1 pānu; wool, 3 minas. At that time, Jupiter was in Aquarius; Ve[nus ...] |
| Obverse [14:16] o 1515–o 1616 | [... un]til the end of the month, (the river level) rose 1/2 cubit, total: 33 was the na na-gauge. |
| Obverse [15:16] o 1616–o 1616 | [Month VIII, the 1st (of which followed the 30th of the preceding month), ... the moon was] 2 cubits [behind M]ercury, the moon being 1 1/2 cubits low to the south. The 1st, Mercury’s first appearance in the west in Sagittarius; it was bright (and) high, [sunset to setting of Mercury:] 16°? [...] |
| Obverse [16:17] o 1717–o 1717 | [...] ... clouds crossed the sky. The 4th, clouds were in the sky. Night of the 5th, beginning of the night, the moon was ⸢x⸣ in front of Jupiter [...] |
| Obverse [17:18] o 1818–o 1818 | [... rain sh]ower. Night of the 7th, beg[inning? of the night?, ... ] ... [...] |
| Reverse [0:1] r 1'r 1'–r 1'r 1' | [...] (traces) [...] |
| Reverse [1:2] r 2'2'–r 2'2' | [...] holy water basins ... [...] |
| Reverse [2:4] r 3'3'–r 4'4' | [...] ... for these offerings ... [...] |
| Reverse [3:4] r 4'4'–r 4'4' | [Month XII, (the 1st of which was identical with) the 30th (of the preceding month), ...] Night of the 2nd, beginning of the night, the moon was 4 1/2 cubits below α Arietis, the moon being 1/2 cubit back to the west. Night [...] ... [...] |
| Reverse [4:5] r 5'5'–r 5'5' | [...] 8 fingers. The 3rd, Mercury’s last appearance in the west in Aries; I did not watchd. The 3rd, all day clouds crossed the sky, rain so that the sandal was removed. Ni[ght ...] clouds [...] the sky [...] |
| Reverse [5:6] r 6'6'–r 6'6' | [... the moon] stood [x]+1/2 cubits [in front of Mars] to the west. Night of the 6th, beginning of the night, the moon was 2 cubits in front of η Geminorum. Night of the 7th, beginning of the night, the moon was 1 1/2? [cubits in front of] γ Geminorum [...] |
| Reverse [6:7] r 7'7'–r 7'7' | [...] ... Night of the 9th, beginning of the night, the moon was 3 cubits above δ Cancri, the moon being 1/2 cubit back to the west. Night of the 10th, beginning of the night, the moon was [...] below ε Leonis [...] |
| Reverse [7:8] r 8'8'–r 8'8' | [...] first part of the night, Mars was 1 1/2 cubits above ζ Tauri. Night of the 11th, beginning of the night, the moon was 1 cubit behind α Leonis, it stood 20 fingers behind Saturn to the east, the moon being 2 cubits h[igh] to the north [...] |
| Reverse [8:9] r 9'9'–r 9'9' | [...] having passed to the east. The 12th, Jupiter’s first appearance in Pisces; it was bright (and) high, rising of Jupiter to sunrise: 10° 30'; (ideal) first appearance on the 11th. Night of the 13th, beginning of the night, the moon was 1 cubit above β Virginis [...] |
| Reverse [9:10] r 10'10'–r 10'10' | [... clou]ds crossed the sky. The 14th, moonset to sunrise: 4° 30', measured. Night of the 15th, moonrise to sunset: 12° 30', measured, clouds were in the sky; beginning of the night, the moon was 1 1/2 cubits in front of α Virginis; last part of the ni[ght, ...] |
| Reverse [10:11] r 11'11'–r 11'11' | [...] sunrise to moonset: [x]+2°, measured (despite) clouds; lunar eclipse (of) 5 months (distance) which was omitted; at 47° after sunrise. Night of the 16th, sunset to moonrise: 5°? 30'; clouds, I did not watch; last part of the night, the moon was [...] in front of [α] Librae [...] |
| Reverse [11:12] r 12'12'–r 12'12' | [... clou]ds were in the sky. The 17th, clouds were in the sky. Night of the 18th, last part of the night, the moon was 1 cubit in front of α Scorpii, the moon being 1 cubit high to the north ... [...] |
| Reverse [12:13] r 13'13'–r 13'13' | [...] 3 cubits. The 20th, clouds crossed the sky, rain shower, it thundered twice or thrice. Night of the 21st, clouds crossed the sky ... [...] |
| Reverse [13:14] r 14'14'–r 14'14' | [...] lightning, thunder, cloudburst, PISAN DIB, it hailed. Night of the 20+[xth,] first part of the night, Mars was [...] above μ? Gem[inorum ...] |
| Reverse [14:15] r 15'15'–r 15'15' | [... around until? the 23rd?,] when [Saturn] became stationary to the west, it became stationary 6 fingers above α Leonis. Night of the 24th, last part of the night, the moon was 2? [mm] behind δ Capricorni [...] |
| Reverse [15:16] r 16'16'–r 16'16' | [...] low to the south. The 27th, moonrise to sunrise: 13° 40', measured (despite) clouds. The 28th, clouds were in the sky. Night of the 29th, [...] |
| Reverse [16:17] r 17'17'–r 17'17' | [... at x]+1° after sunrise. Night of the 30th, first part of the night, Venus was 1 [cubit] 8 fingers below β Tauri. That month, the equivalent (for 1 shekel of silver) was: barl[ey ...] |
| Reverse [17:18] r 18'18'–r 18'18' | [... s]esame, 1 pānu 3 qa; wool, 3 1/2 minas. At [that time, ...] Venus, in the beginning? of the month?, was in? [...] |
| Reverse [18:20] r 19'19'– | [... Th]at [month,] the river level from the 1st to the 7th [...] 2 fingers [...] |
| Top [0:1] t.e. 1t.e. 1–t.e. 1t.e. 1 | [...] month I to the end of month VII of year 138, A[ntiochus ...] |
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 1 ME 38.KAM₂ {m}an-ti-ʾu-uk-su u {m}an]-ti-ʾu-uk-su A-šu₂ LUGAL{meš} {itu}⸢DU₆⸣ [...] | |
| 2 | [... GE₆ 2 sin ina IGI] ⸢MUL₂⸣-KUR-ša₂-KIR₄-šil-PA 2 1/2 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 3 3 DIR AN ZA GE₆ 5 SAG ⸢GE₆⸣ [...] | |
| 3 | [...] DIR AN DIB GE₆ 8 SAG GE₆ sin ar₂ MUL₂.BABBAR 1/3 KUŠ₃ ana NIM sin 2 [KUŠ₃ ana ULU₃ SIG ...] | |
| 4 | [... GE₆] 12 SAG GE₆ sin ina IGI MUL₂-IGI-ša₂-SAG-HUN 1 KUŠ₃ SIG AN 1/2 KUŠ₃ i-[ṣa] ⸢sin⸣ ana NIM ⸢DIB⸣ [...] | |
| 5 | [... GE₆ 14 N] ⸢ME⸣ DIR muš DIR AN ZA SAG GE₆ sin SIG MUL₂.MUL₂ 1 KUŠ₃ i-ṣa sin ana ŠU₂ LAL 14 ina KIN.[SIG ...] | |
| 6 | [... GE₆ 16 ina ZALAG₂ sin ar₂ ŠUR-GIGIR-ša₂]-⸢ULU₃⸣ 1 KUŠ₃ 16 ⸢kal⸣ ME ŠU₂.ŠU₂ AN UTAH GE₆ 17 SAG GE₆ DIR AN DIB ina ZALAG₂ ⸢sin⸣ [ar₂ MAŠ.MAŠ-ša₂-SIPA N N ...] | |
| 7 | [...] 1/2 KUŠ₃ sin⸣ [ana] ⸢ULU₃⸣ SIG ⸢GE₆⸣ 19 ina ZALAG₂ sin ina IGI MUL₂-ar₂-ša₂-ALLA-ša₂-ULU₃ 1 1/2 [KUŠ₃ ...] | |
| 8 | [... GE₆ 21 ina ZALAG₂ sin e] ⸢LUGAL⸣ 2 1/2 KUŠ₃ in ⸢EN 21 AN ana ŠU₂ ki UŠ-a SIG MUL₂-KUR-ša₂-DUR-nu-⸢nu⸣ [N N ...] | |
| 9 | [... GE₆ 22 ina ZALAG₂ sin ar₂ MUL₂]-⸢TUR⸣-ša₂-4-KUŠ₃-ar₂-LUGAL 2 KUŠ₃ ar₂ GENNA 2 KUŠ₃ 4 SI ana NIM GUB GE₆ 23 [...] | |
| 10 | [...] ⸢AN⸣ ZA GE₆ 24 DIR AN DIB ina ZALAG₂ sin ina IGI DELE-ša₂-IGI-ABSIN 1 KUŠ₃ sin 1/2 KUŠ₃ ana ⸢SI⸣ [NIM ...] | |
| 11 | [... GE₆ 25 ina ZALAG₂ sin ina IGI] ⸢SA₄⸣-ša₂-ABSIN 1 KUŠ₃ 25 DIR AN DIB GE₆ 26 DIR AN DIB 26 DIR ⸢AN⸣ [...] | |
| 12 | [... ana] ⸢ULU₃⸣ SIG 27 ŠU₂.ŠU₂ AN UTAH GE₆ 28 kal GE₆ ŠU₂.ŠU₂ ina ZALAG₂ DIR AN DIB ⸢GE₆⸣ [...] | |
| 13 | [...] AN DIB AN UTAH {d}IM 2-šu₂ 3-šu₂ GU₃-šu₂ ŠUB-di GE₆ 30 30 DIR AN ⸢DIB⸣ [...] | |
| 14 | [...] ⸢sah⸣-le₁₀ 3(BARIG) 2(BAN₂) ŠE.GIŠ.I₃ 1 PI SIG₂{hi.a} 3 MA.NA i-nu-šu₂ MUL₂.BABBAR ina GU ⸢dele⸣-[bat ...] | |
| 15 | [...] ⸢EN⸣ TIL ITU 1/2 KUŠ₃ GIN PAP 33 na | |
| 16 | {[itu}APIN 1 ... sin ar₂] ⸢GU₄⸣.UD 2 KUŠ₃ sin 1 1/2 KUŠ₃ ana ULU₃ SIG 1 GU₄.UD ina ŠU₂ ina PA IGI KUR NIM-a 16 [na-su ...] | |
| 17 | [...] ⸢x⸣ DIR AN DIB 4 DIR AN ZA GE₆ 5 SAG⸣ GE₆ sin IGI MUL₂.BABBAR ⸢x⸣ [...] | |
| 18 | [... AN] ⸢UTAH⸣ GE₆ 7 ⸢SAG⸣ [GE₆ ...] ⸢x⸣ [x x] ⸢AN⸣ [...] | |
| 19 | [...] ⸢x⸣ [...] | |
| r | ||
| 1' | [...] [...] | |
| 2' | [...] A.GUB₂.BA{meš} [x] [...] | |
| 3' | [...] ⸢x⸣{meš} ana SISKUR{meš} MU-a-ti₃ {[lu₂}E]{ki}{meš} ⸢x⸣ [...] | |
| 4' | {[itu}ŠE 30 ...] GE₆ 2 SAG GE₆ sin SIG MUL₂-ar₂-ša₂-SAG-HUN 4 1/2 KUŠ₃ sin 1/2 KUŠ₃ ana ŠU₂ LAL GE₆ [...] ⸢x⸣ [...] | |
| 5' | [...] 8 SI 3 GU₄.UD ina ŠU₂ ina HUN ŠU₂ NU PAP 3 kal ME DIR IR₂ TUH ⸢GE₆⸣ [N x x] DIR AN [...] | |
| 6' | [... sin ina IGI AN x]+1/2 KUŠ₃ ana ŠU₂ GUB GE₆ 6 SAG GE₆ sin IGI MUL₂-IGI-ša₂-še-pit₂-MAŠ.MAŠ 2 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 7 SAG GE₆ sin [ina IGI MAŠ].MAŠ-ša₂-SIPA 1 1/2 [KUŠ₃ ...] | |
| 7' | [...] ⸢x⸣ GE₆ 9 SAG GE₆ sin e MUL₂-ar₂-ša₂-ALLA-ša₂-ULU₃ 3 KUŠ₃ sin 1/2 KUŠ₃ ana ŠU₂ LAL GE₆ 10 SAG GE₆ sin SIG ⸢SAG⸣-A [...] | |
| 8' | [...] ⸢USAN⸣ AN e ŠUR-GIGIR-ša₂-ULU₃ 1 1/2 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 11 SAG GE₆ sin ar₂ LUGAL 1 KUŠ₃ ar₂ GENNA 20 SI ana NIM GUB sin 2 KUŠ₃ ana SI ⸢NIM⸣ [...] | |
| 9' | [...] ana NIM DIB 12 MUL₂.BABBAR ina zib{me} IGI KUR NIM-a 10.30 na-su in 11 IGI GE₆ 13 SAG GE₆ sin e GIR₃-ar₂-ša₂-A 1 ⸢KUŠ₃⸣ [...] | |
| 10' | [...] ⸢DIR⸣ AN DIB 14 4.30 ŠU₂ muš GE₆ 15 12.30 ME muš DIR AN ZA SAG GE₆ sin ina IGI SA₄-ša₂-ABSIN 1 1/2 KUŠ₃ ina ⸢ZALAG₂⸣ [...] | |
| 11' | [... x]+2 na DIR muš ⸢AN.KU₁₀ sin 5 AB₂ ša₂ DIB⸣ in 47 ME NIM-a GE₆ 16 5.30 GE₆ DIR NU PAP ina ZALAG₂ sin ina IGI ⸢RIN₂-ša₂⸣-[ULU₃ N N ...] | |
| 12' | [...] ⸢DIR⸣ AN ZA 17 DIR AN ZA GE₆ 18 ina ZALAG₂ sin ina IGI SI₄ 1 KUŠ₃ sin 1 KUŠ₃ ana SI NIM ⸢x⸣ [...] | |
| 13' | [...] 3 KUŠ₃ 20 DIR AN DIB AN UTAH U 2-šu₂ 3-[šu₂] GU₃-[šu₂] ŠUB-di GE₆ 21 DIR AN DIB ⸢x⸣ [...] | |
| 14' | [...] GIR₂ GU₃ U AN rad PISAN DIB NA₄ ŠUR-nun GE₆ 20+[x] USAN AN e MUL₂-⸢ar₂⸣-ša₂-⸢še⸣-[pit₂-MAŠ.MAŠ N N ...] | |
| 15' | [... in EN 23 GENNA ana] ⸢ŠU₂⸣ ki UŠ-a 6 SI e LUGAL UŠ GE₆ 24 ina ZALAG₂ sin ar₂ ⸢SUHUR⸣-ar₂ 2 [...] | |
| 16' | [...] ana ULU₃ SIG 27 13.40 KUR DIR muš 28 DIR AN ZA GE₆ 29 [...] | |
| 17' | [... x]+1 ME NIM-a GE₆ 30 USAN dele-bat SIG ŠUR-GIGIR-ša₂-SI 1 [KUŠ₃] 8 SI ITU BI KI.LAM še-⸢im⸣ [...] | |
| 18' | [...] ⸢ŠE⸣.GIŠ 1 PI 3 qa SIG₂{hi.a} 3 1/2 MA.⸢NA i⸣-[nu-šu₂ ...] dele-bat ⸢ina SAG ITU ina⸣ [...] | |
| 19' | [... ITU] ⸢BI⸣ ILLU TA 1 EN 7 2 SI [...] | |
| t.e. | ||
| 1 | [...] {⸢itu⸣}BAR EN TIL {itu}DU₆ ša₂ MU 1 ME 38.KAM₂ {m}⸢an⸣-[ti-ʾu-uk-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.