AD -245A (X202451)
Astronomical Diary, Hellenistic, Babylon · c. 330 BCE–141 BCE
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| Designation | AD -245A |
|---|---|
| ID | X202451 |
| Museum no. | BM 132276 + MNB 1884 |
| 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 66, king Antiochus. Month I, (the 1st of which was identical with) the 30th (of the preceding month, sunset to moonset): 14° 30'; clouds, I did not watch. Night of the 2nd, [...] |
| Obverse [1:2] o 22–o 22 | in the afternoon, strong gusty south storm. Night of the 4th, beginning of the night, the moon was [...] in front of η [Geminorum,] the moon being 1/2 cubit [to ... Mars was] |
| Obverse [2:3] o 33–o 33 | 20? fingers above α Leonis. Night of the 7th, beginning of the night, the moon? was [...] above δ Cancri. Night of the 8th, beg[inning of the night, ... Night of the 9th, beginning of the night, the moon ...] |
| Obverse [3:4] o 44–o 44 | it stood 1 2/3 cubits behind Mars to the east. Night of the 10th, beginning of the night, the moon was [nn] cubits below ϑ Leonis, the moon having passed 1/2 cubit to the east. [...] |
| Obverse [4:5] o 55–o 55 | strong gusty south storm. Night of the 12th, clouds crossed the sky. The 12th, very overcast, thunder, rain DUL. Night of the 13th, beg[inning of the night, ...] |
| Obverse [5:6] o 66–o 66 | The 14th, moonset to sunrise: 1° 30'; clouds, I did not watch. The 14th?, overcast, lightning, thunder, rain DUL. [Night of the 15th,] sunset to moonrise: 10° 30'?; clouds, I did not watch; very overcast, gusty wind; ..., the moon was in [front of ...] |
| Obverse [6:7] o 77–o 77 | [cl]ouds were in the sky; last part of the night, the moon was 2/3 cubit behind? ϑ Ophiuchi. Night of [the nnth, clouds] were in the sky. Night of the 19th, last part of the night, the moon was 4 1/2 cubits below β Capricorni. Night of the 20th, last part of the ni[ght, ...] |
| Obverse [7:8] o 88–o 88 | [nn] cubits. Night of the 21st, last part of the night, the moon stood 2 2/3 cubits in front of Saturn to the west. [Night of the 22nd,] very overcast. Night of the 23rd, first part of the night, Mars was [...] above ρ Leonis [...] |
| Obverse [8:9] o 99–o 99 | [Night of the 2]4th, very overcast; beginning of the night, gusty wind, lightning, thunder, [rain DU]L. Night of the 25th, last part of the night, the moon was 2/3 cubit below Venus. The 27th, moonrise to sunrise: 16°, measured ... [...] |
| Obverse [9:10] o 1010–o 1010 | [...] kurru 2 pānu; sesame, 1 pānu; wool, 5 minas were sold for [1 sh]ekel of silver which was given in the land. At that time, Jupiter was in Capricorn; Venus [...] |
| Obverse [10:11] o 1111–o 1111 | [... Mars was in] Leo. That month, the river level ... [...] rose 20 fingers above the apertures. That month, on the 6th, the wall of Esangil [...] |
| Obverse [11:12] o 1212–o 1212 | [...] ... [...] went. That day, bricks were ... in it. That month, on the 11th, [...] |
| Obverse [12:14] o 1313–o 1414 | [...] ... [... Se]leucus, Antiochus and Apammu, his sons, in Esangil ... [...] |
| Obverse [13:14] o 1414–o 1414 | [Month II, the 1st (of which followed the 30th of the preceding month), sunset to moonset: nn°; the moon was] 4 cubits in front of η Geminorum. The 1st, very overcast, it thundered once. Night of the 2nd, very overcast. Night of the 3rd, beginning of the night, clou[ds? ...] |
| Obverse [14:15] o 1515–o 1515 | [...] 2/3 cubit. Night of the 4th, last part of the night, Venus was 3 cubits below η Piscium. Night of the 5th, the moon was surrounded by a halo which was not closed; beginning of the ni[ght, ...] |
| Obverse [15:16] o 1616–o 1616 | [... Night] of the 6th, overcast; beginning of the night, the moon was 1 cubit 4 fingers above α Leonis, the moon having passed 8 fingers to the east. The 6th, overcast, gusty wind, much thunder, [...] |
| Obverse [16:17] o 1717–o 1717 | [...] ... Night of the 8th, clouds were in the sky; beginning of the night, the moon was ⸢x⸣ cubits be[hind β Virginis.] The 8th, in the afternoon, storm [...] |
| Obverse [17:18] o 1818–o 1818 | [... Night of the 10th,] beginning of the night, the moon was [...] behind α Virginis [...] ... [...] |
| Obverse [18:19] o 1919–o 1919 | [... th]under, rain DUL. Night of the 12th, clouds crossed the sky [...] |
| Obverse [19:20] o 2020–o 2020 | [...] lightning, much thunder, rain DUL [...] |
| Obverse [20:22] o 2121– | [...] Arietis [...] |
| Reverse [0:1] r 1'r 1'–r 1'r 1' | [... Night of the 26th, last part of the ni]ght, the moon was 2 1/2 cubits below ε Leonis, the moon having passed 8 fingers to the east. Ni[ght? ...] |
| Reverse [1:2] r 2'2'–r 2'2' | [...] moonrise to sunrise: ⸢x⸣, measured. Night of the 29th, solar eclipse which was omitted; at 40+[x° ...] |
| Reverse [2:3] r 3'3'–r 3'3' | [... dates,] 3 pānu 4 sūtu 3 qa; mustard, 2 kurru 1 pānu; cress, 2 pānu 4 sūtu; sesame, 1 pānu; woo[l, ...] |
| Reverse [3:4] r 4'4'–r 4'4' | [...] Mercury’s first appearance in the east in Leo; Saturn was in Aquarius; Mars was in Libra. That month, the river level 16 [...] |
| Reverse [4:5] r 5'5'–r 5'5' | [...] happened in [E]sangil. That month, on the 20th, it was heard in Babylon [...] |
| Reverse [5:7] r 6'6'–r 7'7' | [...] ... and fear were in the land. |
| Reverse [6:7] r 7'7'–r 7'7' | [Month VI, the 1st (of which followed the 30th of the preceding month), ... Night of the 2nd, the moon was] 2 1/2 cubits [in fro]nt of α Librae. Night of the 3rd, first part of the night, Mars was 3 1/2 cubits below β Librae. Night of the 4th, beginning of the night, [...] |
| Reverse [7:8] r 8'8'–r 8'8' | [...] 3 cubits. The 5th, Jupiter became stationary in Capricorn. Night of the 8th, beginning of the night, the moon was 4 cubits below β Capricorni, the moon being 2/3 [cubit to ...] |
| Reverse [8:9] r 9'9'–r 9'9' | [... Night of the 9th, beginning] of the night, the moon was 2 cubits 4 fingers [in fron]t of γ Capricorni. Night of the 10th, beginning of the night, the moon was [...] behind δ Capricorni [...] |
| Reverse [9:10] r 10'10'–r 10'10' | [... lu]nar eclipse, ..., omitted. Night of the 14th, last part of the night, the moon was 1 1/2 cubits in front of η Piscium. The 14th, sunrise to moonset: 13°, measured. Night of the 15th, [...] |
| Reverse [10:11] r 11'11'–r 11'11' | [...] ... 2? cubits. Night of the 17th, clouds were in the sky; last part of the night, the moon was [2] fingers [... η Tauri], it came near. Night of the 19th, β Tauri entered the moon; last part of the night, the moo[n ... Night of the 20th, first part of the night,] |
| Reverse [11:12] r 12'12'–r 12'12' | [Mars was] 1/2 cubit [...] β Scorpii; last part of the night, the moon was [...] above [η/μ] Geminorum ...] ... [...] |
| Reverse [12:13] r 13'13'–r 13'13' | [...] 4 cubits. Night of the 23rd, last part of the night, the moon was 2 cub[its] in front of ε Leonis [...] |
| Reverse [13:14] r 14'14'–r 14'14' | Night of the [2]6th, last part of the night, the moon was 1 1/2 cubits in front of β Virginis. Night of the 27th, last part of the night, the moon was [...] be[low? γ Virginis ...] |
| Reverse [14:15] r 15'15'–r 15'15' | barley, 1 kurru 2 pānu 1 sūtu; dates, 3 pānu 4 sūtu 3 qa; mustard, 2 kurru 1 pānu; cress, ... [...] |
| Reverse [15:16] r 16'16'–r 16'16' | Venus was in Leo, in the middle of the month, [in] Virgo; ... [...] |
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 ŠU 6.KAM₂ {m}an-ti-ʾu-ku-su LUGAL BAR 30 14.30 DIR NU PAP GE₆ 2 [...] | |
| 2 | ina KIN.SIG me-he-e {im}ULU₃ ŠAR₂ KALAG GE₆ 4 SAG GE₆ sin ina IGI MUL₂-⸢IGI⸣-[ša₂-še-pit₂-MAŠ.MAŠ N N] ⸢sin 1/2 KUŠ₃⸣ [ana ... AN] | |
| 3 | e LUGAL 20 SI GE₆ 7 SAG GE₆ ⸢sin⸣ e MUL₂-ar₂-ša₂-ALLA-ša₂-ULU₃ [N N] GE₆ 8 ⸢SAG⸣ [GE₆ ... GE₆ 9 SAG GE₆ sin ...] | |
| 4 | ar₂ AN 1 2/3 KUŠ₃ ana NIM GUB GE₆ 10 SAG GE₆ sin SIG GIŠ.KUN-A [N] ⸢KUŠ₃⸣ sin 1/2 KUŠ₃ ana ⸢NIM DIB⸣ [...] | |
| 5 | me-he-e {im}ULU₃ ŠAR₂ KALAG GE₆ 12 DIR AN DIB 12 ŠU₂.ŠU₂ ⸢GU₃⸣ U AN DUL-ha GE₆ 13 ⸢SAG⸣ [GE₆ ...] | |
| 6 | 14 1.30 ŠU₂ DIR NU PAP 14 ŠU₂ NIM.GIR₂ GU₃ U AN DUL-ha [GE₆ 15 10.30 GE₆ DIR NU PAP ŠU₂.ŠU₂ IM ŠAR₂ [x] ⸢sin ina⸣ [...] | |
| 7 | ⸢DIR⸣ AN ZA ina ZALAG₂ sin ar₂ MUL₂-KUR-ša₂-KIR₄-šil-PA 2/3 KUŠ₃ GE₆ [N DIR] ⸢AN⸣ ZA GE₆ 19 ina ZALAG₂ sin SIG SI-MAŠ₂ 4 1/2 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 20 ina ⸢ZALAG₂⸣ [...] | |
| 8 | [N] KUŠ₃ GE₆ 21 ina ZALAG₂ sin ina IGI GENNA 2 2/3 KUŠ₃ ana ŠU₂ ⸢GUB⸣ [GE₆] ŠU₂.ŠU₂ GE₆ 23 USAN AN e MUL₂-TUR-ša₂-4-KUŠ₃-ar₂-LUGAL [N N ...] | |
| 9 | [GE₆] 24 ŠU₂.ŠU₂ SAG GE₆ IM ŠAR₂ NIM.GIR₂ GU₃ [U AN DUL]-ha GE₆ 25 ina ZALAG₂ sin SIG dele-bat 2/3 KUŠ₃ 27 16 KUR muš [x] [...] | |
| 10 | [x x] GUR 2(BARIG) PI ŠE.GIŠ 1 PI SIG₂ 5 MA.[NA a-na 1 ⸢GIN₂⸣ KU₃.BABBAR ep₂-šu₂ ša₂ ina KUR SUM-nu i-nu-šu₂ MUL₂.BABBAR ina MAŠ₂ dele-bat [...] | |
| 11 | [x x x x AN ina] A ITU BI ILLU x [...] ele-nu a-pa-a-tu₄ 20 SI GIN ITU BI U₄ 6.KAM₂ BAD₃ ša₂ E₂.SAG.⸢IL₂⸣ [...] | |
| 12 | [... E₂.SAG].IL₂ ul x [...] [x] il-lik-uʾ u₄-mu šu-u₂ SIG₄{hi.a} ina lib₃-bi [x]-uʾ ITU BI U₄ 11.⸢KAM₂⸣ [...] | |
| 13 | [...] ⸢x⸣ [... {m]}⸢se⸣-lu-ku {m}an-ti-ʾu-ku-su u {m}a-pa-am-mu DUMU{meš}šu₂ ina E₂.SAG.IL₂ [x] [...] | |
| 14 | [GU₄ 1 N na-su (x) sin] ina IGI MUL₂-IGI-ša₂-še-pit-MAŠ.MAŠ 4 KUŠ₃ 1 ŠU₂.ŠU₂ U 1-en-šu₂ GU₃-šu₂ ŠUB GE₆ 2 ŠU₂.ŠU₂ GE₆ 3 SAG GE₆ ⸢DIR⸣ [...] | |
| 15 | [...] 2/3 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 4 ina ZALAG₂ dele-bat SIG MUL₂-KUR-ša₂-DUR-nu-nu 3 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 5 sin TUR₃ NU KAD₂ NIGIN SAG ⸢GE₆⸣ [...] | |
| 16 | [... GE₆] 6 ŠU₂ SAG GE₆ sin e LUGAL 1 KUŠ₃ 4 U ⸢sin 8 U ana NIM DIB 6 ŠU₂ IM ŠAR₂ GU₃ U ⸢MAH⸣ [...] | |
| 17 | [...] [x] GE₆ 8 DIR AN ZA SAG GE₆ sin ⸢ar₂⸣ [GIR₃-ar₂-ša₂-A] ⸢x KUŠ₃⸣ 8 ina ⸢KIN⸣.SIG me-he-e [...] | |
| 18 | [... GE₆ 10 SAG GE₆ sin ar₂ SA₄-ša₂-⸢ABSIN⸣ [N N ...] ⸢x⸣ [...] | |
| 19 | [...] ⸢GU₃⸣ U AN DUL-ha GE₆ 12 DIR AN DIB [...] | |
| 20 | [...] GIR₂ GU₃ U MAH ⸢AN DUL-ha⸣ [...] | |
| 21 | [...] ⸢ša₂⸣-SAG-⸢HUN x⸣ [...] | |
| r | ||
| 1' | [... GE₆ 26 ina] ⸢ZALAG₂⸣ sin SIG SAG-A 2 1/2 KUŠ₃ sin 8 U ana NIM DIB ⸢GE₆⸣ [...] | |
| 2' | [...] ⸢x⸣ KUR muš GE₆ 29 AN.KU₁₀ šamaš₂ ša₂ DIB in 40+[x ...] | |
| 3' | [... ZU₂.LUM] 3(BARIG) 4(BAN₂) 3 qa kas₃ 2(GUR) 1 PI sah 2(BARIG) 4(BAN₂) ŠE.GIŠ 1 PI ⸢SIG₂⸣ [...] | |
| 4' | [...] GU₄.⸢UD⸣ ina NIM ina A IGI GENNA ina GU AN ina RIN₂ ITU BI ILLU 16 [...] | |
| 5' | [... E₂].SAG.GIL₂ GAL₂-ši ITU BI U₄ 20.KAM₂ ina E{ki} it-ti-šem-⸢mu⸣ [...] | |
| 6' | [...] [x] u pu-luh-tu₄ ina KUR GAL₂-ši | |
| 7' | [KIN 1 x x x GE₆ 2 sin ina] ⸢IGI RIN₂⸣-ša₂-ULU₃ 2 1/2 KUŠ₃ ⸢GE₆⸣ 3 USAN AN SIG RIN₂-ša₂-SI 3 1/2 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 4 SAG ⸢GE₆⸣ [...] | |
| 8' | [...] 3 KUŠ₃ 5 MUL₂.BABBAR ina MAŠ₂ UŠ GE₆ 8 SAG GE₆ sin SIG SI-MAŠ₂ 4 KUŠ₃ sin 2/3 [KUŠ₃ ana ...] | |
| 9' | [... GE₆ 9 SAG] GE₆ sin ina IGI ⸢MUL₂⸣-IGI-ša₂-SUHUR-MAŠ₂ 2 KUŠ₃ 4 U GE₆ 10 SAG GE₆ sin ar₂ MUL₂-ar₂-ša₂-SUHUR-⸢MAŠ₂⸣ [N N ...] | |
| 10' | [...] ⸢AN⸣.KU₁₀ sin BAR DIB GE₆ 14 ina⸣ ZALAG₂ sin ina IGI MUL₂-KUR-ša₂-DUR-nu-nu 1 1/2 KUŠ₃ 14 13 na muš GE₆ 15 [...] | |
| 11' | [...] ⸢x⸣ 2 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 17 DIR AN ZA ina ZALAG₂ ⸢sin⸣ [x MUL₂.MUL₂ 2 SI DIM₄ GE₆ 19 ŠUR-GIGIR-ša₂-SI ⸢ana ŠA₃ sin KU₄-ub ina ZALAG₂ sin⸣ [... GE₆ 20 USAN] | |
| 12' | [AN x MUL₂]-e-ša₂-SAG-GIR₂.TAB 1/2 KUŠ₃ ina ZALAG₂ sin e MUL₂-[x-ša₂-še-pit-MAŠ.MAŠ N N ...] | |
| 13' | [x x x] 4 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 23 ina ZALAG₂ sin ina IGI SAG-A 2 ⸢KUŠ₃⸣ [...] | |
| 14' | ⸢GE₆ 26 ina ZALAG₂ sin ina IGI GIR₃-ar₂-ša₂-A 1 1/2 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 27 ina ZALAG₂ sin ⸢SIG⸣ [DELE-ša₂-IGI-ABSIN N N ...] | |
| 15' | še-im 1(GUR) 2(BARIG) 1(BAN₂) ZU₂ 3(BARIG) 4(BAN₂) 3 qa kas₃ 2(GUR) 1 PI ⸢sah x⸣ [...] | |
| 16' | dele-bat ina A ina MURUB₄ ITU [ina] ABSIN x x [...] | |
| 17' | ⸢x 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.