AD -201B (X202012)
Astronomical Diary, Hellenistic, Babylon · c. 330 BCE–141 BCE
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| Designation | AD -201B |
|---|---|
| ID | X202012 |
| Museum no. | BM 41161 |
| 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 | Month X, (the 1st of which was identical with) the 30th (of the preceding month), sunset to moonset: 17°, it was bright, measured. Night [of the 2nd,] |
| Obverse [1:2] o 22–o 22 | the moon was 2 1/2 cubits above δ Capricorni, the moon having passed a little to the east; |
| Obverse [2:3] o 33–o 33 | last part of the night, Mars, while moving back to the west, was 1 cubit 6 fingers below β Geminorum. |
| Obverse [3:4] o 44–o 44 | Night of the 3rd, last part of the night, Venus was 3 cubits above α Scorpii. The 3rd, in the morning, |
| Obverse [4:5] o 55–o 55 | clouds crossed the sky. Around the 4th, when Saturn became stationary to the east, |
| Obverse [5:6] o 66–o 66 | it became stationary 1/2 cubit above β Virginis, being 4 fingers back to the west. |
| Obverse [6:7] o 77–o 77 | Night of the 5th, clouds were in the sky, all night very overcast. Night of the 6th, |
| Obverse [7:8] o 88–o 88 | clouds crossed the sky, the south wind blew, rain DUL. The 6th, clouds [...] the sky, |
| Obverse [8:9] o 99–o 99 | rain but the sandal was not removed, the south wind blew; in the afternoon, |
| Obverse [9:10] o 1010–o 1010 | it thundered slowly once, twice, thrice. |
| Obverse [10:11] o 1111–o 1111 | Night of the 7th, very overcast; beginning of the night, the moon was 1 1/2 cubits below η Piscium, |
| Obverse [11:12] o 1212–o 1212 | the moon being 5/6 cubit back to the west; the south wind blew. The 7th, |
| Obverse [12:13] o 1313–o 1313 | all day very overcast. Night of the 8th, beginning of the night, the moon was 4 cubits below |
| Obverse [13:14] o 1414–o 1414 | α/β Arietis. The 8th, very overcast. Night of the 9th, ve[ry overcast.] |
| Obverse [14:16] o 1515– | Night of the 10th, very overcast. The 10th, clouds crossed the sky, rain sho[wer? ...] |
| Reverse [0:1] r 1r 1–r 1r 1 | Night of the 11th, very overcast. The 11th, in the morning, clouds [... the sky,] |
| Reverse [1:2] r 22–r 22 | dew came?. Night of the 12th, very overcast [...] |
| Reverse [2:3] r 33–r 33 | Night of the 13th, very overcast; beginning of the night, the moon was 1 cubit 6 fingers above |
| Reverse [3:4] r 44–r 44 | γ Geminorum. The 13th, |
| Reverse [4:5] r 55–r 55 | Mercury’s first appearance in the east in Sagittarius; it was bright (and) high, |
| Reverse [5:6] r 66–r 66 | rising of Mercury to sunrise: 20°, (ideal) first appearance on the 8th. Night of the 14th, |
| Reverse [6:7] r 77–r 77 | beginning of the night, the moon was 5 cubits below α Geminorum, the moon having passed 1/2 cubit to the east, |
| Reverse [7:8] r 88–r 88 | 3 cubits below Mars, the moon being 1/2 cubit back to the west; last part of the night, Venus was 2 cubits above ϑ Ophiuchi. |
| Reverse [8:9] r 99–r 99 | The 14th, moonset to sunrise: 9°, measured (despite) clouds. The 14th, Sirius’ acronychal rising; I did not w[atch;] |
| Reverse [9:10] r 1010–r 1010 | all day very overcast. Night of the 15th, moonrise to sunset: 3°, measured (despite) clouds; |
| Reverse [10:12] r 1111–r 1212 | last part of the night, the moon was 1 5/6 cubits below δ Cancri, 12 the moon having passed 1/2 cubit to the east. The 15th, sunrise to moonset: 1°, |
| Reverse [12:13] r 1313–r 1313 | measured (despite) clouds; all day very overcast. Night of the 16th, sunset to moonrise: 11°, |
| Reverse [13:15] r 1414– | measured (despite) clouds; all night very overcast. The 16th, very overcast, |
| Top [0:1] t.e. 1t.e. 1–t.e. 1t.e. 1 | the south wind blew. Night of the 17th, last part of the night, the moon was 3 cubits behind α Leonis. |
| Top [1:2] t.e. 22–t.e. 22 | Night of the 18th, last part of the night, the moon was 3 cubits in front of β Virginis, |
| Top [2:3] t.e. 33–t.e. 33 | it stood 2 5/6 cubits in front of S[aturn] to the west. The 18th, the south wind blew. |
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 | {itu}AB 30 17 na-su KUR₄ muš GE₆ 2 | |
| 2 | sin e SUHUR-ar₂ 2 1/2 KUŠ₃ sin i-ṣa ana NIM DIB | |
| 3 | ina ZALAG₂ AN ana ŠU₂ ina LAL-šu₂ SIG MAŠ.MAŠ-ar₂ 1 KUŠ₃ 6 SI | |
| 4 | GE₆ 3 ina ZALAG₂ dele-bat e SI₄ 3 KUŠ₃ 3 ina še-ri₃ | |
| 5 | DIR AN DIB in EN 4 GENNA ana NIM ki UŠ-u₂ | |
| 6 | 1/2 KUŠ₃ e GIR₃-ar₂-ša₂-A 4 SI ana ŠU₂ LAL UŠ | |
| 7 | GE₆ 5 DIR AN ZA kal GE₆ ŠU₂.ŠU₂ GE₆ 6 | |
| 8 | DIR AN DIB ULU₃ GIN AN ⸢DUL⸣ 6 DIR AN [x] | |
| 9 | AN {kuš}GIL NU TUH ULU₃ GIN ina KIN.SIG | |
| 10 | U 1-en-šu₂ 2-šu₂ 3-šu₂ GU₃-šu₂ ne₂-hi ŠUB | |
| 11 | GE₆ 7 ŠU₂.ŠU₂ SAG GE₆ sin SIG DUR-nu-nu | |
| 12 | 1 1/2 KUŠ₃ sin 5/6 KUŠ₃ ana ŠU₂ LAL ULU₃ GIN 7 | |
| 13 | kal ME ŠU₂.ŠU₂ GE₆ 8 SAG GE₆ sin SIG | |
| 14 | MUL₂-[x]-ša₂-SAG-HUN 4 KUŠ₃ 8 ŠU₂.ŠU₂ GE₆ 9 ⸢ŠU₂⸣.[ŠU₂] | |
| 15 | GE₆ 10 ŠU₂.ŠU₂ 10 DIR AN DIB AN ⸢UTAH⸣ [...] | |
| r | ||
| 1 | GE₆ 11 ŠU₂.ŠU₂ 11 ina še-ri₃ DIR [AN x] | |
| 2 | AN na-al-šu₂ GIN GE₆ 12 ŠU₂.ŠU₂ [...] | |
| 3 | GE₆ 13 ŠU₂.ŠU₂ SAG GE₆ sin e | |
| 4 | MAŠ.MAŠ-ša₂-SIPA 1 KUŠ₃ 6 SI 13 | |
| 5 | GU₄.UD ina NIM ina PA IGI KUR NIM-a 20 | |
| 6 | na-su in 8 IGI GE₆ 14 | |
| 7 | SAG GE₆ sin SIG MAŠ.MAŠ-IGI 5 KUŠ₃ sin 1/2 KUŠ₃ ana NIM DIB | |
| 8 | SIG AN 3 KUŠ₃ sin 1/2 KUŠ₃ ana ŠU₂ LAL ina ZALAG₂ dele-bat e šil-PA 2 KUŠ₃ | |
| 9 | 14 9 ŠU₂ DIR muš 14 KAK.BAN ana ME E-a NU ⸢PAP⸣ | |
| 10 | kal ME ŠU₂.ŠU₂ GE₆ 15 3 ME DIR muš | |
| 11 | ina ZALAG₂ sin SIG MUL₂-ar₂-ša₂-ALLA-ša₂-ULU₃ | |
| 12 | 1 5/6 KUŠ₃ sin 1/2 KUŠ₃ ana NIM DIB 15 1 na | |
| 13 | DIR muš kal ME ŠU₂.ŠU₂ GE₆ 16 11 GE₆ | |
| 14 | DIR muš kal GE₆ ŠU₂.ŠU₂ 16 ŠU₂.ŠU₂ | |
| t.e. | ||
| 1 | ULU₃ GIN GE₆ 17 ina ZALAG₂ sin ar₂ LUGAL 3 KUŠ₃ | |
| 2 | GE₆ 18 ina ZALAG₂ sin ina IGI GIR₃ ar₂ 3 KUŠ₃ ina IGI ⸢GENNA⸣ | |
| 3 | 2 5/6 KUŠ₃ ana ŠU₂ GUB 18 ULU₃ GIN | |
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.