AD -173B (X201732)
Astronomical Diary, Hellenistic, Babylon · c. 330 BCE–141 BCE
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| Designation | AD -173B |
|---|---|
| ID | X201732 |
| Museum no. | BM 34823 + 55579 |
| 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 1'o 1'–o 1'o 1' | [...] Night of the 22nd, last part of the night, the moon was [...] behind γ [Virginis ...] |
| Obverse [1:2] o 2'2'–o 2'2' | [...] Night of the 25th, last part of the night, the moon was 3 [mm] in front of δ Scorpii [...] |
| Obverse [2:3] o 3'3'–o 3'3' | [...] until the 27th, when Saturn became stationary to the east, [it became stationary] 6 fingers behind ρ Leonis, Saturn being 5? [...] |
| Obverse [3:4] o 4'4'–o 4'4' | [... b]arley, 2 pānu 2 sūtu; dates, 1 kurru 3 pānu 2 sūtu; mustard, 3 kurru; cress, 1 pānu 4 sūtu; sesame, 1 pānu; wool, [...] |
| Obverse [4:6] o 5'5'–o 6'6' | [... Mercu]ry’s first appearance in the east in Scorpius; Saturn was in Leo; Ma[rs was in Ari]es. That month, the river level from the 4th to the 10th rose 2/3 cubit, total: 30+[x was the na na-gauge ...] |
| Obverse [5:6] o 6'6'–o 6'6' | [Month IX, (the 1st of which was identical with) the 30th (of the preceding month),] sunset to moonset: 12°, measured; it was low to the sun; the moon was 1/2 cubit be[hind β Capri]corni, the moon being 1 1/2 cubits low to the south [...] |
| Obverse [6:7] o 7'7'–o 7'7' | [...] lightning, thunder, cloudburst, a little PISAN? DIB. The 2nd, clouds? crossed the sky?, slow? rain? [...] |
| Obverse [7:8] o 8'8'–o 8'8' | having passed [...] to the east. Night of the 7th, beginning of the night, the moon was [...] below η Piscium [...] |
| Obverse [8:9] o 9'9'–o 9'9' | [Night of the 10th,] beginning of the night, the moon was 2 cubits behind η Tauri; the cold became se[vere ...] |
| Obverse [9:10] o 10'10'–o 10'10' | [...] ... 1 cubit; the cold became severe. Night of the 13th, beginning of the night, the moo[n ...] |
| Obverse [10:11] o 11'11'–o 11'11' | [...] 1 cubit. The 14th, sunrise to moonset: 6°, measured; the cold became severe, the north wind bl[ew ... Night of the 15th, last part of the night, the moon was ...] above δ [Cancri ...] |
| Obverse [11:12] o 12'12'–o 12'12' | [Night of the 16th, beginning?] of the night?, the cold became severe; last part of the night, the moon was 2 [cubits] below ε Leonis [... Night of the 17th, last part of the night, the moon was] 1 1/2 cubits [in front of] ρ Leonis, the moon being 2 cubits high to the north. Ni[ght? ...] |
| Obverse [12:13] o 13'13'–o 13'13' | [...] high? [to the nor]th; last part of the night, Saturn, while moving back to the west, was [...] above ρ [Leonis ... (Night of the 18th,) last part of the night, the moon was] 3 cubits [below ϑ Le]onis, the moon having passed 1/2 cubit to the east. Night of the 19th, last part of the night, the moon was [...] above |
| Obverse [13:14] o 14'14'–o 14'14' | [β Virginis.] The 19th, solstice. Night of the 20th, last part of the night, the moon was [...] below γ Virginis [... Night of the 21st,] last part of the night, the moon was 1 1/2 cubits above α Virginis, the moon having passed a little to the east. Night of the 2[2nd,] |
| Obverse [14:15] o 15'15'–o 15'15' | [last part of the night, the moon was] 3 1/2 cubits [in front of α Libr]ae. Night of the 23rd, last part of the night, the moon was [...] below β [Librae ...] Night of the 24th, last part of the night, the moon was 1 cubit behind δ Scorpii. The 24th, Sirius’ acronychal rising. |
| Obverse [15:16] o 16'16'–o 16'16' | [Night of the 25th, last part of the night, the moon was] 5/6? cubit [...] ϑ Ophiuchi [...] were in the sky. Night of the 28th (and) the 28th, clouds were in the sky. The 29th, clouds crossed the sky. Night of the 30th?, [...] |
| Obverse [16:17] o 17'17'–o 17'17' | [...] ... [...] at the end of the month, 1 kurru 4 pānu 1 sūtu; mustard, 3 kurru; cress, 1 pānu 4 sūtu; ses[ame, ...] |
| Obverse [17:20] o 18'18'– | [...] ... That month, the river level from the 1st to [...] |
| Bottom [0:2] b.e. 1b.e. 1– | [...] his [son] kings [...] |
| Reverse [0:1] r 1'r 1'–r 1'r 1' | [...] behind [...] |
| Reverse [2:3] r 3'3'–r 3'3' | [...] ... passed?. Night of the 11th?, beginning of the night, the moon ... [...] |
| Reverse [3:4] r 4'4'–r 4'4' | [... Night] of the 14th, moonrise to sunset: 9° 30'?, measured; first part of the night, Venus was [...] below Ju[piter ...] |
| Reverse [4:5] r 5'5'–r 5'5' | [... Night of the 15th,] last part of the night, the moon was 3 cubits below ϑ Leonis, the moon being 1/2 [cubit ...] |
| Reverse [5:6] r 6'6'–r 6'6' | [...] 2 cubits, the moon being 1 1/2 cubits high to the north. Night of the 20th, ... [... Night of the 21st, last part of the night,] |
| Reverse [6:7] r 7'7'–r 7'7' | [the moon was] 1/2 cubit [in front of δ] Scorpii, it was set toward its inside. Ni[ght? ...] |
| Reverse [7:8] r 8'8'–r 8'8' | [...] 2? cubits [...] β Capricorni. The 26th?, moonrise to sunrise: 17°, mea[sured? ...] |
| Reverse [8:9] r 9'9'–r 9'9' | [... fr]om the 17th until the end of the month, the cold became severe [...] |
| Reverse [9:10] r 10'10'–r 10'10' | [...] The 15th, Venus reached Pisces; around the 20th, Ju[piter reached Pisces ...] |
| Reverse [10:12] r 11'11'–r 12'12' | [... tot]al: 27 was the na na-gauge; from the 9th to the 18th, it rose 1 cubit, total: 21 was the na na-gauge; from the 19th to [...] |
| Reverse [11:12] r 12'12'–r 12'12' | [Month XI, (the 1st of which was identical with) the 30th (of the preceding month), ...] sunset to moonset: ⸢x⸣, measured; it could be seen while (the sun) stood there; x 1/2 cubits behind Jupiter, the moon being 1/2 cubit to [...] |
| Reverse [12:13] r 13'13'–r 13'13' | [...] Arietis 1 1/2 cubits. Night of the 5th?, beginning of the night, the moon was in front of [...] |
| Reverse [13:14] r 14'14'–r 14'14' | [...] Night of the 7th, beginning of the night, the moon was 2/3 cubit below β? Tauri, the moon being 1/2 cubit to [...] |
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' | [...] GE₆ 22 ina ZALAG₂ sin ar₂ DELE-⸢ša₂⸣-[IGI-ABSIN N N ...] | |
| 2' | [...] ⸢GE₆ 25 ina ZALAG₂⸣ sin ina IGI MUL₂-MURUB₄-ša₂-SAG-GIR₂.TAB [N ...] | |
| 3' | [...] ⸢EN⸣ 27 ⸢GENNA ana NIM⸣ ki UŠ-u₂ 6 SI ar₂ MUL₂-TUR-ša₂-4-KUŠ₃-ar₂-LUGAL GENNA 5 [...] | |
| 4' | [...] ⸢še⸣-im 2(BARIG) 2(BAN₂) ZU₂.LUM 1(GUR) GUR 3(BARIG) 2(BAN₂) kas₃ 3(GUR) GUR sah-le₁₀ 1(BARIG) 4(BAN₂) ŠE.GIŠ.I₃ 1 PI SIG₂{[hi.a} ...] | |
| 5' | [x x x GU₄].⸢UD⸣ ina NIM ina GIR₂.TAB IGI GENNA ina A ⸢AN⸣ [ina] ⸢HUN⸣ ITU BI ILLU TA 4 EN 10 2/3 KUŠ₃ GIN PAP 30+[x na ...] | |
| 6' | {[itu}GAN 30 12 na-su muš ana šamaš₂ SIG sin ⸢ar₂⸣ [SI]-⸢MAŠ₂⸣ 1/2 KUŠ₃ sin 1 1/2 KUŠ₃ ana ULU₃ SIG [...] | |
| 7' | [x x] GIR₂ GU₃ U AN rad ⸢PISAN⸣ [i]-ṣa DIB 2 ⸢DIR AN DIB⸣ AN ne₂-hi [...] | |
| 8' | [N N] ana NIM DIB GE₆ 7 SAG GE₆ sin SIG DUR-nu-nu [N N ...] | |
| 9' | [GE₆ 10 SAG GE₆ sin ar₂ MUL₂.MUL₂ 2 KUŠ₃ ŠED₇ ik-⸢te⸣-[šir ...] | |
| 10' | [x x] ⸢x⸣ 1 KUŠ₃ ŠED₇ šir GE₆ 13 SAG GE₆ ⸢sin⸣ [...] | |
| 11' | [x x] 1 KUŠ₃ 14 6 na muš ŠED₇ šir SI ⸢GIN⸣ [... GE₆ 15 ina ZALAG₂ sin] ⸢e⸣ MUL₂-ar₂-⸢ša₂⸣-[ALLA-ša₂-ULU₃ N N ...] | |
| 12' | [GE₆ 16 SAG] ⸢GE₆⸣ ŠED₇ šir ina ZALAG₂ sin SIG SAG-A 2 [KUŠ₃ ... GE₆ 17 ina ZALAG₂ sin ina IGI MUL₂]-⸢TUR⸣-ša₂-4-KUŠ₃-ar₂-LUGAL 1 1/2 KUŠ₃ sin 2 KUŠ₃ ana ⸢SI NIM GE₆⸣ [...] | |
| 13' | [x x x ana] ⸢SI⸣ NIM ina ZALAG₂ GENNA ana ŠU₂ ina LAL-šu₂ e MUL₂-TUR-ša₂-4-[KUŠ₃-ar₂-LUGAL N N ... (GE₆ 18 ina ZALAG₂ sin SIG GIŠ].⸢KUN⸣-A 3 KUŠ₃ sin 1/2 KUŠ₃ ana NIM DIB GE₆ 19 ina ZALAG₂ sin e | |
| 14' | [GIR₃-ar₂-ša₂-A N N] 19 šamaš₂ GUB GE₆ 20 ina ZALAG₂ sin SIG DELE-ša₂-IGI-⸢ABSIN⸣ [N N ... GE₆ 21 ina ZALAG₂ sin e SA₄-ša₂-ABSIN 1 1/2 KUŠ₃ i-ṣa sin ana NIM DIB GE₆ 22 | |
| 15' | [ina ZALAG₂ sin ina IGI RIN₂ ša₂] ⸢ULU₃⸣ 3 1/2 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 23 ina ZALAG₂ sin SIG ⸢RIN₂⸣-[ša₂-SI N N ...] GE₆ 24 ina ZALAG₂ sin ar₂ MUL₂-MURUB₄-ša₂-SAG-GIR₂.TAB KUŠ₃ 24 KAK.BAN ana ME E-[a] | |
| 16' | [GE₆ 25 ina ZALAG₂ sin x MUL₂]-⸢KUR⸣-ša₂-KIR₄-šil-PA 5/6 ⸢KUŠ₃⸣ [...] ⸢AN⸣ ZA GE₆ 28 28 DIR AN ZA 29 DIR AN DIB GE₆ 30 [x x] | |
| 17' | [...] ⸢x⸣ [...] ina TIL ITU 1(GUR) GUR 4(BARIG) 1(BAN₂) kas₃ 3(GUR) GUR sah 1(BARIG) 4(BAN₂) ŠE.[GIŠ ...] | |
| 18' | [...] ⸢x⸣ ITU BI ILLU TA 1 ⸢EN⸣ [...] | |
| b.e. | ||
| 1 | [... A]-⸢šu₂ LUGAL{meš⸣} [...] | |
| r | ||
| 1' | [...] ⸢ar₂⸣ [...] | |
| 2' | [...] ⸢x x x x x⸣ [...] | |
| 3' | [...] ⸢x DIB⸣ GE₆ 11 SAG GE₆ sin ⸢x⸣ [...] | |
| 4' | [... GE₆] 14 9.30 ME muš USAN dele-bat ⸢SIG MUL₂⸣.[BABBAR N N ...] | |
| 5' | [... GE₆ 15 ina ZALAG₂ sin SIG GIŠ.⸢KUN-A⸣ 3 KUŠ₃ sin 1/2 [KUŠ₃ ...] | |
| 6' | [...] 2 KUŠ₃ sin 1 1/2 KUŠ₃ ana SI NIM GE₆ 20 x [... GE₆ 21 ina ZALAG₂] | |
| 7' | [sin ina IGI MUL₂-MURUB₄]-ša₂-SAG-GIR₂.TAB 1/2 KUŠ₃ ana ŠA₃-šu₂ kun-nu ⸢GE₆⸣ [...] | |
| 8' | [...] ⸢SI⸣-MAŠ₂ 2 KUŠ₃ 26 17 KUR ⸢muš⸣ [...] | |
| 9' | [...] ⸢TA⸣ 17 EN TIL ITU ŠED₇ šir [...] | |
| 10' | [...] 15 dele-bat zib{me} KUR in 20 MUL₂.[BABBAR zib{me} KUR ...] | |
| 11' | [...] ⸢PAP⸣ 27 na TA 9 EN 18 1 KUŠ₃ GIN PAP 21 na TA 19 EN⸣ [...] | |
| 12' | {[itu}ZIZ₂ 30 x x x] ⸢x⸣ na muš ina GUB IGI ar₂ MUL₂.BABBAR x 1/2 KUŠ₃ sin 1/2 KUŠ₃ ana [...] | |
| 13' | [...] ša₂-SAG-HUN 1 1/2 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 5 SAG GE₆ sin ina IGI [...] | |
| 14' | [...] GE₆ 7 SAG GE₆ ⸢sin SIG⸣ [ŠUR]-SI 2/3 KUŠ₃ sin 1/2 KUŠ₃ ana [...] | |
| 15' | [...] ⸢x x⸣ [...] | |
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.