AD -247A (X202470)
Astronomical Diary, Hellenistic, Babylon · c. 330 BCE–141 BCE
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| Designation | AD -247A |
|---|---|
| ID | X202470 |
| Museum no. | BM 45949 |
| 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 A1o A1–o A1o A1 | [... measu]red. Night of the 2nd, the moon was 1/2? cubit behind δ Scorpii. Night of the 3rd, the moo[n ...] |
| Obverse [1:2] o A2A2–o A2A2 | [... Night of the 7th, beginning of the night, the moon was] 5 cubits [below β Capricorni,] 2 1/2 cubits below Saturn, the moon being 2/3 cubit back to the west. Night of the 8th, beginning [of the night, ...] |
| Obverse [2:3] o A3A3–o A3A3 | [... Night of the 13th, beginn]ing of the night, the moon was cubits in front of η Piscium. The 13th, moonset to sunrise: 11°. Night of the 14th, [...] |
| Obverse [3:4] o A4A4–o A4A4 | [...] a little cloudburst, overcast; it set eclipsed; <during> its eclipse, the sky was cloudy; during its eclipse, Venus, Mercury, and Ma[rs? stood there ...] |
| Obverse [4:5] o A5A5–o A5A5 | [...] Night of the 15th, sunset to moonrise: 2° 10'; last part of the night, Venus was 1 finger above β Virginis, it came close. Night of the 1[6th?, ...] |
| Obverse [5:7] o A6A6–o B1'B1' | [... Night of the 19th, last] part of the night, the moon was [...] behind β Geminorum [...] (o B1') [... the moon] being 1/2 cubit back to the west. Night of the 25th, last part of the night, the moon was [...] above Venus [...] |
| Obverse [7:8] o B2'B2'–o B2'B2' | ' [... bar]ley, 1 pānu 1 sūtu 3 qa; dates, 3 pānu 2 sūtu; mustard, 2 kurru 2 pānu 3 sūtu; cress, [...] |
| Obverse [8:9] o B3'B3'–o B3'B3' | [...] Mercury’s last appearance in the east in Libra; Saturn was in Capricorn; Mars, which had set, was not vi[sible ...] |
| Obverse [9:11] o B4'B4'–o B5'B5' | [...] ... as follows: Laodike, the wife [...] |
| Obverse [10:11] o B5'B5'–o B5'B5' | [Month VIII, the 1st (of which followed the 30th of the preceding month) ...] crossed the sky, thunder, rain shower. Night of the 4th, beginning of the night, the moon was in front of [...] |
| Obverse [11:12] o B6'B6'–o B6'B6' | [... la]st part of the night, Venus was 1 1/2 cubits above α Virginis. Night of the 9th, [...] |
| Obverse [12:13] o B7'B7'–o B7'B7' | [... x]+3 cubits. Night of the 13th, beginning of the night, the moon was 3 [cubits] in front of η Tauri [...] |
| Obverse [13:14] o B8'B8'–o B8'B8' | [... Night of the 16th, last part of the night, the moon was] 2 cubits [...] μ Geminorum. Night of the 17th, last part of the night, [...] |
| Obverse [14:15] o B9'B9'–o B9'B9' | [... Night of the 21st, last part of the night, the moon was] 2 1/2 cubits [... ϑ Leo]nis. Night of the 22nd, last part of the night, [...] |
| Obverse [15:16] o C1'C1'–o C1'C1' | [...] ... Night of the 14? [...] |
| Obverse [16:17] o C2'C2'–o C2'C2' | [...] cubits; last part of the night, Mercury was 1 cubit 4 fingers above Venus. Night of the 16th, last part of the night, the moon was [...] |
| Obverse [17:18] o C3'C3'–o C3'C3' | [... The 16th, Sirius’ acronychal rising; clou]ds, I did not watch. Night of the 17th, last part of the night, the moon was 2/3 cubit below β Virginis. The 17th, cold ...[...] |
| Obverse [18:19] o C4'C4'–o C4'C4' | ... [...] The 18th, [...] 1 cubit [...] α Virginis; clouds were in the sky, the moon was surrounded by a halo which was not closed. Night of the 20th, clouds were in the sky. Night of the 21st, [...] |
| Obverse [19:20] o C5'C5'–o C5'C5' | rain DUL. Night of the 22nd, [...] clouds crossed the sky, much rain, PISAN DIB. Night of the 23rd, clouds crossed the sky, much rain, PISAN DIB; last part of the night, the moon was 1 cubit in front of |
| Obverse [20:21] o C6'C6'–o C6'C6' | ϑ Ophiuchi [...] ... The 24th, clouds crossed the sky, rain, PISAN DIB. Night of the 25th, clouds crossed the sky. The 25th, clouds crossed the sky, cloudburst, PISAN DIB?. |
| Obverse [21:22] o C7'C7'–o C7'C7' | Night of the 26th, very overcast. The 27th, moonrise to sunrise: 11° [...] That month, the equivalent (of 1 shekel of silver was): barley, 4 pānu 1 sūtu; dates, 3 pānu 4 sūtu 3 qa; mustard, 3 kurru; cress, 2 pānu 5 sūtu; sesame, 1 pānu; |
| Obverse [22:23] o C8'C8'–o C8'C8' | wool, 5 minas. At that time, Jup[iter was in ... at] the end of the month, in Capricorn; around the 9th, Mercury’s first appearance in the east in Sagittarius; around the 12th, Saturn’s last appearance in Capricorn; Mars, which had set, was not visible. That month, |
| Obverse [23:25] o C9'C9'– | the river level rose 4 fingers, 22 was the na na-gauge. That month, [... from] the 22nd? to the end of the month, the cold became very severe. |
| Reverse [0:1] r C1r C1–r C1r C1 | Month XI, (the 1st of which was identical with) the 30th (of the preceding month), sunset to moonset: 12° 30', measured. Night of the 2nd, last part of the night, Venus was [nn cubi]ts 8 fingers below [β Capricorni.] The 2nd, clouds were in the sky. Night of the 6th, beginning of the night, the moon was 1 cubit in front of α Arietis. Night of the 7th (and) the 7th, |
| Reverse [1:2] r C2C2–r C2C2 | clouds crossed the sky, rain, PISAN DIB. Night of the 8th, clouds were in the sky; beginn[ing of the night, the moon was] 1 cubit 8 fingers behind η] Tauri. Night of the 10th, beginning of the night, the moon was 1 cubit in front of η Geminorum. The 10th, cold. |
| Reverse [2:3] r C3C3–r C3C3 | [Night] of the 11th, beginning of the night, the moon was 1 cubit in front of α Geminorum. [Night of the 13th,] clouds were in the sky; beginning of the night, the moon was 2 2/3 cubits in front of ε Leonis. The 13th, moonset to sunrise: 10° 30'; clouds, I did not watch. Night of the 14th, moonrise to sunset: 17° x; clouds, I did not watch; |
| Reverse [3:4] r C4C4–r C4C4 | [... ra]in, PISAN DIB; beginning of the night, the moon was [...] in front of α [Leonis. The 14th, sunrise to] moonset: [nn°], measured; cold. Night of the 1[5th,] sunset to moonrise: [nn°] 20'; clouds, I did not watch; beginning of the night, the moon was 1/2 cubit in front of ϑ Leonis. |
| Reverse [4:5] r C5C5–r C5C5 | [...] ... [... Night of the 17th, last part of the night, the m]oon was 2 2/3 cubits in front of α Virginis. The 17th, Saturn’s first appearance in Capricorn, 2/3 cubit in front of Mercury to the west. |
| Reverse [5:6] r C6C6–r C6C6 | [... Ni]ght of the 20th, clouds crossed the sky. The 20th, clouds crossed the sky, rain, PISAN DIB. Night of the 21st, clouds crossed the sky. |
| Reverse [6:7] r C7C7–r C7C7 | [...] 1/2 cubit, the moon being 3 cubits low to the south. Night of the 25th, last part of the night, the moon was [...] behind β Capricorni |
| Reverse [7:8] r C8C8–r C8C8 | [... The 2]7th, moonrise to sunrise: 15° 40'. That month, the equivalent (for 1 shekel of silver was): barley, 3 pānu 4 sūtu; da[tes, ...] |
| Reverse [8:9] r C9C9–r C9C9 | [... woo]l, 5? minas. At that time, Jupiter was in Sagi[ttarius ...] |
| Reverse [10:11] r B2'B2'–r B2'B2' | [...] did not stand there; during the eclipse, [...] |
| Reverse [11:12] r B3'B3'–r B3'B3' | [...] very overcast, thunder, rain DUL. The 14th, equinox; I did not wa[tch ...] |
| Reverse [12:13] r B4'B4'–r B4'B4' | [...] The 19th, when Jupiter became stationary to the east, it [became stationary] behind the 4 (stars) of the breast of [...] |
| Reverse [13:14] r B5'B5'–r B5'B5' | [... Night of the 21st, last part of the night, ...] having passed [nn] fingers to the east; the moon was 1 cubit 4 fingers in front of Saturn, the moon being 2 [cubits low to the south ...] |
| Reverse [14:15] r B6'B6'–r B6'B6' | [... the equivalent was:] barley, 1 kurru 3 sūtu, in the middle (of the month), 1 kurru 1 pānu; dates, 3 pānu 1 sūtu, in the middle [...] |
| Reverse [15:16] r B7'B7'–r B7'B7' | [...] were given in the land. At that time, Jupiter was in Sagittarius; Venus and Mars, which had set, [were not visible; ...] |
| Reverse [16:17] r B8'B8'–r B8'B8' | [...] a "fall of fire" in an outside district ... the governor? [...] |
| Reverse [17:19] r B9'B9'– | [...] (traces) [...] |
| Bottom [0:1] b.e. C1b.e. C1–b.e. C1b.e. C1 | Diary from month VII to the end of month XII₂, [year 6]4, king Antiochus. |
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 | ||
| A1 | [...] ⸢muš⸣ GE₆ 2 sin ar₂ MUL₂-MURUB₄-ša₂-SAG-GIR₂.TAB 1/2 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 3 ⸢sin⸣ [...] | |
| A2 | [... GE₆ 7 SAG GE₆ sin SIG SI-MAŠ₂] 5 KUŠ₃ SIG GENNA 2 1/2 KUŠ₃ sin 2/3 KUŠ₃ ana ŠU₂ LAL GE₆ 8 SAG [GE₆ ...] | |
| A3 | [... GE₆ 13 ⸢SAG⸣ GE₆ sin ina IGI MUL₂-KUR-ša₂-DUR-nu-nu 3 KUŠ₃ 13 11 ŠU₂ GE₆ 14 [...] | |
| A4 | [...] rad i-ṣa ŠU₂ ad₂ ŠU₂ AN.KU₁₀-šu₂ TUG₂ AN-e GAR ina AN.KU₁₀-šu₂ dele-bat GU₄.UD u ⸢AN⸣ [GUB{meš} ...] | |
| A5 | [...] GE₆ 15 2.10 GE₆ ina ZALAG₂ dele-bat e GIR₃-ar₂-ša₂-A 1 ⸢SI TE GE₆ 16 [...] | |
| A6 | [... GE₆ 19 ina] ⸢ZALAG₂ sin ar₂ MAŠ.MAŠ-ar₂⸣ [N N ...] | |
| B1' | [... sin] 1/2 KUŠ₃ ana ŠU₂ LAL GE₆ 25 ina ZALAG₂ sin e ⸢dele-bat⸣ [N N ...] | |
| B2' | [...] ⸢ŠE⸣ 1(BARIG) 1(BAN₂) 3 qa ZU₂ 3(BARIG) 2(BAN₂) kas₃ 2(GUR) 2(BARIG) 3(BAN₂) sah [...] | |
| B3' | [...] GU₄.UD ina NIM ina RIN₂ ŠU₂ GENNA ina MAŠ₂ AN ša₂ ŠU₂-u₂ NU ⸢IGI⸣ [...] | |
| B4' | [...] ⸢it⸣-tu-ru-uʾ um-ma {f}lu-di-ke-e DAM [...] | |
| B5' | [APIN 1 ...] AN DIB GU₃ U AN UTAH GE₆ 4 SAG GE₆ sin ina IGI [...] | |
| B6' | [... ina] ZALAG₂ dele-bat e SA₄-ša₂-ABSIN 1 1/2 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 9 [...] | |
| B7' | [... x]+3 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 13 SAG GE₆ sin ina IGI MUL₂.MUL₂ 3 [KUŠ₃ ...] | |
| B8' | [... GE₆ 16 ina ZALAG₂ sin x MUL₂]-⸢ar₂⸣-ša₂-še-pit₂-MAŠ.MAŠ 2 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 17 ina ZALAG₂ [...] | |
| B9' | [... GE₆ 21 ina ZALAG₂ sin x GIŠ].⸢KUN⸣-A 2 1/2 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 22 ina ZALAG₂ [...] | |
| C1' | [...] ⸢x x GE₆ 14 [...] | |
| C2' | [...] KUŠ₃ ina ZALAG₂ GU₄.UD e dele-bat 1 KUŠ₃ 4 SI GE₆ 16 ina ZALAG₂ sin [...] | |
| C3' | [... 16 KAK.BAN ana ME E-a] ⸢DIR⸣ NU PAP GE₆ 17 ina ZALAG₂ sin SIG GIR₃-ar₂-ša₂-A 2/3 KUŠ₃ 17 ŠED₇ ⸢x x x x⸣ [...] | |
| C4' | [x x x] 18 [...] ⸢SA₄⸣-ša₂-ABSIN 1 KUŠ₃ DIR AN ZA sin TUR₃ NU KAD₂ NIGIN GE₆ 20 DIR AN ZA GE₆ 21 [...] | |
| C5' | AN DUL-hat GE₆ 22 [...] DIR AN DIB AN MAH PISAN DIB GE₆ 23 DIR AN DIB AN MAH PISAN DIB ina ZALAG₂ sin ina IGI | |
| C6' | MUL₂-KUR-ša₂-KIR₄-šil-PA 1 KUŠ₃ [...] ⸢x⸣ AN.NA 24 DIR AN DIB AN PISAN DIB GE₆ 25 DIR AN DIB 25 DIR AN DIB AN rad PISAN DIB | |
| C7' | GE₆ 26 ŠU₂.ŠU₂ 27 11 ⸢KUR⸣ [...] ⸢ITU⸣ BI KI.LAM še-im 4(BARIG) 1(BAN₂) ZU₂.LUM 3(BARIG) 4(BAN₂) 3 qa kas₃ 3(GUR) GUR sah-le₁₀ 2(BARIG) 5(BAN₂) ŠE.GIŠ 1 PI | |
| C8' | SIG₂{hi.a} 5 MA.NA i-nu-šu₂ MUL₂.[BABBAR ina ... ina] TIL ITU ina MAŠ₂ in 9 GU₄.UD ina NIM ina PA IGI in 12 GENNA ina MAŠ₂ ŠU₂ AN ša₂ ŠU₂-u₂ NU IGI ITU BI | |
| C9' | ILLU 4 ⸢SI GIN⸣ 22 na ITU ⸢BI⸣ [... TA] 22 EN TIL ITU ma-diš ŠED₇ ma-diš šir | |
| r | ||
| C1 | ZIZ₂ 30 12.30 na muš GE₆ 2 ina ZALAG₂ dele-bat SIG [SI-MAŠ₂ N] ⸢KUŠ₃⸣ 8 SI 2 DIR AN ZA GE₆ 6 SAG GE₆ sin ina IGI MUL₂-ar₂-ša₂-SAG-HUN 1 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 7 7 | |
| C2 | DIR AN DIB AN PISAN DIB GE₆ 8 DIR AN ZA ⸢SAG⸣ [GE₆ sin ar₂] ⸢MUL₂⸣.MUL₂ 1 KUŠ₃ 8 SI GE₆ 10 SAG GE₆ sin ina IGI MUL₂-IGI-ša₂-še-pit₂-MAŠ.MAŠ 1 KUŠ₃ 10 ŠED₇ | |
| C3 | [GE₆] 11 SAG GE₆ sin ina IGI MAŠ.MAŠ-IGI 1 KUŠ₃ [GE₆ 13 DIR AN ZA SAG GE₆ sin ina IGI SAG-A 2 2/3 KUŠ₃ 13 10.30 ŠU₂ DIR NU PAP GE₆ 14 17 x ME DIR NU PAP | |
| C4 | [x] ⸢AN⸣ PISAN DIB SAG GE₆ sin ina IGI ⸢LUGAL⸣ [N N 14 N] ⸢na⸣ muš ŠED₇ GE₆ 15 [N].20 GE₆ DIR NU PAP SAG GE₆ sin ina IGI GIŠ.KUN-A 1/2 KUŠ₃ | |
| C5 | [...] [x] [... GE₆ 17 ina ZALAG₂] ⸢sin⸣ ina IGI SA₄-ša₂-ABSIN 2 2/3 KUŠ₃ 17 GENNA ina MAŠ₂ 2/3 KUŠ₃ ina IGI GU₄.UD ana ŠU₂ IGI | |
| C6 | [...] ⸢GE₆ 20 DIR⸣ AN DIB 20 DIR AN DIB AN PISAN DIB GE₆ 21 DIR AN DIB | |
| C7 | [...] 1/2 KUŠ₃ sin 3 KUŠ₃ ana ULU₃ SIG GE₆ 25 ina ZALAG₂ sin ar₂ SI-⸢MAŠ₂⸣ | |
| C8 | [...] 27 15.40 KUR ITU BI KI.LAM še-im 3(BARIG) 4(BAN₂) ZU₂⸣.[LUM x] | |
| C9 | [... SIG₂{hi].a} 5 ⸢MA⸣.NA i-nu-šu₂ ⸢MUL₂.BABBAR ina PA⸣ [...] | |
| B1' | [...] [...] | |
| B2' | [...] NU GUB-uʾ ina ⸢AN.KU₁₀⸣ [...] | |
| B3' | [...] ŠU₂.ŠU₂ GU₃ U AN DUL 14 LAL₂-ti₃ NU ⸢PAP⸣ [...] | |
| B4' | [...] 19 MUL₂.BABBAR ana NIM ki UŠ-u₂ ar₂ 4.AM₃ ⸢GABA⸣ [... UŠ ...] | |
| B5' | [... GE₆ 21 ina ZALAG₂ sin SIG MUL₂-ar₂-ša₂-SUHUR-MAŠ₂ N N sin N] SI ana NIM DIB sin ina IGI GENNA 1 KUŠ₃ 4 SI sin 2 [KUŠ₃ ana ULU₃ SIG ...] | |
| B6' | [... KI.LAM] še-im 1(GUR) 3(BAN₂) ina MURUB₄ 1(GUR) 1 PI ZU₂ 3(BARIG) 1(BAN₂) ina MURUB₄ [...] | |
| B7' | [... ina] KUR ina-an-din i-nu-šu₂ MUL₂.BABBAR ina PA dele-bat u AN ša₂ ⸢ŠU₂⸣{meš} [NU IGI{meš} ...] | |
| B8' | [...] ⸢IZI.ŠUB⸣ ina KI-ti₃ ki-da-nu {lu₂}ša₂-kin₇ [...] | |
| B9' | [...] [...] | |
| b.e. | ||
| C1 | [EN].⸢NUN⸣ ša₂ gi-ne₂-[e] ša₂ TA DU₆ EN TIL DIR.[ŠE ša₂ MU.1.⸢ŠU⸣.4.KAM₂ {m}an-ti-ʾu-uk-su LUGAL | |
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.