AD -251 (X202510)
Astronomical Diary, Hellenistic, Babylon · c. 330 BCE–141 BCE
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| Designation | AD -251 |
|---|---|
| ID | X202510 |
| Museum no. | Rm 718 + 723 + BM 32840 + BM 34130 |
| 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 60,] king Antioch]us. Month VII, the 1st (of which followed the 30th of the preceding month), sunset to moonset: 13°, it was low. Night of the 2nd, the moon stood 2 1/2 cubits in front of Venus to the west. Night of the 3rd, the moon was 1 1/2 cubits in front of ϑ Ophiuchi, 2 cubits below Saturn. |
| Obverse [1:2] o 22–o 22 | [... Night of the 4th (or: 5th), first part of the night, Venus was] 2 cubits [above] α Scorpii; last part of the night, Jupiter was 6 fingers above ρ Leonis. Night of the 6th, beginning of the night, the moon was [nn] cubits in front of β Capricorni. Night of the 8th, beginning of the night, the moon was |
| Obverse [2:3] o 33–o 33 | [(nn cubits) nn] fingers [... δ Capricorni.] The 11th, Mercury’s first appearance in the west, omitted. Night of the 12th, beginning of the night, the moon was 1 cubit in front of [η] Piscium. Night of the 13th, moonrise to sunset: 4° 10'. The 13th, moonset to sunrise: 3° 50', measured?. |
| Obverse [3:4] o 44–o 44 | [Night of the 14th, sunset to moonrise: 2° 20'; last part of the night, the moon was] 1 cubit behind? η Tauri. The 14th, sunrise to moonset: 10°, measured. Night of the 15th, first part of the night, Venus was 1 cubit above ϑ Ophiuchi; last part of the night, the moon was 2 1/2? cubits behind α Tauri. Night of the 16th, last part of the night, the moon was |
| Obverse [4:5] o 55–o 55 | [nn cubits behind ζ Tauri. Night] of the 17th, last part of the night, the moon was 2 cubits above γ Geminorum. Night of the 18th, last part of the night, the moon was 1? 1/2 cubits in front of α/β Geminorum. Night of the 20th, last part of the night, the moon was ... in front of ε Leonis. Night of the 21st, last part of the night, the moon was |
| Obverse [5:6] o 66–o 66 | [nn cubits ... α Leonis. Night of the 22nd, last part of the night,] the moon was 1 1/2 cubits in front of ϑ Leonis. Night of the 23rd, last part of the night, the moon was 1 cubit in front of β Virginis. Night of the 25th, last part of the night, the moon was 1? cubit in front of α Virginis. Around the 26th, Mercury’s last appearance in the west, omitted. |
| Obverse [6:7] o 77–o 77 | [The 27th?, Mars’? first appearance? in Libra?; moonrise to sunri]se: [20°], measured. That month, the equivalent was: barley, 1 kurru 1 pānu 4 sūtu, at the end of the month, 1 kurru [x pānu] 3 sūtu 3 qa; new dates, 3 pānu; mustard, 1 kurru 2 pānu 3 sūtu; cress, 2 pānu 3 sūtu; sesame, 1 pānu 5 sūtu; |
| Obverse [7:8] o 88–o 88 | [wool, nn minas] were sold for 1 shekel of silver. At that time, Jupiter was in Leo; Venus was in Scorpius, at the end of the month in Sagittarius; the 11th, Mercury’s first appearance in the west, omitted; the 26th, Mercury’s last appearance in the west, omitted; |
| Obverse [8:10] o 99–o 1010 | [Saturn was in Scorpius, at the end of the month in Sagittarius; the 2]7th?, Mars’ first appearance in Libra. That month, the river level rose 4 fingers, total: 17 was the na na-gauge. |
| Obverse [9:10] o 1010–o 1010 | Month VIII, the 1st (of which followed the 30th of the preceding month, sunset to moonset: 18° 20'; clouds, I did not watch. Ni]ght of the 2nd, the moon stood 2 cubits in front of Venus to the west. Night of the 4th, beginning of the night, the moon was ⸢x⸣ cubits behind β Capricorni. Night of the 5th, beginning of the night, the moon was 1/2 cubit in front of δ Capricorni. The 6th, Saturn’s last appearance in the beginning of Sagittarius. |
| Obverse [10:11] o 1111–o 1111 | [Night of the 9th, beginning of the night, the moon was] 3 cubits [in front of] η Piscium. Night of the 10th, beginning of the night, the moon was 6 cubits below β Ar[ietis]. Night of the 12th, beginning of the night, the moon was 2 cubits behind η Tauri. The 12th, moonset to sunrise: 10°. Night of the 13th, moonrise to sunset: 3°. |
| Obverse [11:12] o 1212–o 1212 | [...] ... The 13th, sunrise to moonset: 3° 20'; Mercury’s first appearance in the east in Scorpius. Night of the 14th, [last part of the night,] the moon was 8 fingers behind μ Geminorum. Night of the 15th, last part of the night, the moon was 4 cubits below α Geminorum. |
| Obverse [12:13] o 1313–o 1313 | [... rain?] shower. The 17th, Jupiter became stationary in Leo; clouds crossed the sky, ... Night of the 18th, clouds crossed the sky [... first part of the night, Venus was] 2 5/6 cubits [below] β Capricorni. |
| Obverse [13:14] o 1414–o 1414 | [...] clouds crossed the sky, rain, PISAN DIB, lightning flashed, [...] |
| Obverse [14:15] o 1515–o 1515 | [...] gusty south storm; last part of the night, the moon [...] |
| Obverse [15:17] o 1616– | [...] high to the north?. [...] |
| Reverse [2:3] r 3'3'–r 3'3' | [Month XII, the 1st (of which followed the 30th of the preceding month), sunset to moonset: 25°? 30', measured; the moon was] 2 cubits [in front of β] Arietis. Night of the 2nd, clouds were in the sky; the moon was 3 cubits below Venus, the moon having passed 2/3 cubit to the east. Night of the 3rd, the moon was 3 [cubits] below η Tauri. |
| Reverse [3:4] r 4'4'–r 4'4' | [... last part of the night, Mars was] 5/6 cubit [above] γ Capricorni. Night of the 4th, clouds were in the sky; beginning of the night, the moon was 2 cubits behind α Tauri. Night of the 5th, beginning of the night, the moon was |
| Reverse [4:5] r 5'5'–r 5'5' | [nn cubits behind? ζ Tauri; last part of the night, Ma]rs was 5/6 cubit above δ Capricorni. Night of the 6th, beginning of the night, the moon was 2 cubits above γ Geminorum, the moon having passed 1/2 cubit to the east. Night of the 7th, the moon was [surrounded] by a halo; |
| Reverse [5:6] r 6'6'–r 6'6' | [beginning of the night, the moon was] 3 cubits [below] α Geminorum, the moon being 1/2 cubit back to the west. Night of the 8th, the moon was surrounded by a halo, Jupiter and α Leonis were in the wall of the halo. The 8th, overcast, all day storm, |
| Reverse [6:7] r 7'7'–r 7'7' | [... Night of the 9th, clouds] were [in the sky,] gusty wind; beginning of the night, the moon was 3 cubits below ε Leonis. The 9th, clouds crossed the sky, a little rain, PISAN DIB. Night of the 10th, beginning of the night, the moon was 14 fingers above Jupiter, |
| Reverse [7:8] r 8'8'–r 8'8' | [the moon being ... back to the west,] 1 cubit above α Leonis, the moon having passed 5/6 cubit to the east. Night of the 11th, beginning of the night, the moon was 5/6 cubit in front of ε (error for: ϑ) Leonis. Night of the 12th, beginning of the night, the moon was 1 cubit above β Virginis. |
| Reverse [8:9] r 9'9'–r 9'9' | [... The 12th, moonset to sunrise: 8°.] Night of the 13th, clouds crossed the sky. The 13th, sunrise to moonset: 1° 10'; clouds, I did not watch. Night of the 14th, moonrise to sunset: 7°, measured; last part of the night, the moon was 1 1/2 cubits behind α Virginis. <Night> of the 15th, sunset to moonrise: 6° 20'. |
| Reverse [9:10] r 10'10'–r 10'10' | [Night of the 16th, last part of the night, the moon was] 5/6 cubit [in front of] β Librae. Night of the 17th, last part of the night, the moon was 1 5/6 cubits in front of β Scorpii. Night of the 18th, last part of the night, the moon was 3 1/2 cubits above α Scorpii. |
| Reverse [10:11] r 11'11'–r 11'11' | [... Night of the 1]9th, last part of the night, the moon was 1 cubit behind ϑ Ophiuchi. The 19th, around noon, the earth quaked. Night of the 20th, last part of the night, the moon [stood] 20 fingers in front of Saturn |
| Reverse [11:12] r 12'12'–r 12'12' | [to the west. The 20th, Mercury’s] first appearance [in the east in Pisces]. The 21st, Jupiter became stationary in Leo. Night of the 22nd, last part of the night, the moon was 1/2 cubit in front of β Capricorni. The 23rd, overcast, lightning, thunder, rain shower. |
| Reverse [12:13] r 13'13'–r 13'13' | [Night of the 24th, last part of the night, the moon was] 3 cubits [behind δ] Capricorni. The 24th, clouds crossed the sky, lightning, much thunder, thick rain, much PISAN DIB, it hailed. Night of the 25th, |
| Reverse [13:14] r 14'14'–r 14'14' | [...] ... The 26th, moonrise to sunrise: 13°. The 27th, clouds crossed the sky, rain, PISAN DIB. The 28th, sunset to setting of Venus: 9°; around the 1st of month I, Venus’ last appearance in the west in Aries (to be expected). That month, |
| Reverse [14:16] r 15'15'– | [the equivalent was: barley, ...] qa; mustard, 1 kurru 3 pānu 2 sūtu; cress, 2 pānu 1 sūtu; sesame, 2 pānu; wool, 2 1/2 minas were sold for 1 shekel of silver. |
| Top [0:1] t.e. 1t.e. 1–t.e. 1t.e. 1 | [At that time, Jupiter was in (the beginning of) Leo;] the 29th, Venus’ last appearance in the west in Aries; around the 20th, Mercury’s first appearance in the east in Pisces; Saturn was in Sagittarius; Mars, in the beginning of the month, was in Capricorn, |
| Top [1:2] t.e. 22–t.e. 22 | [at the end of the month, in Aquarius. That mon]th, the river level rose above the apertures of the peak flood; at the end of the month, it receded 1 cubit; 3 was the na na-gauge. |
| Top [2:3] t.e. 33–t.e. 33 | [...] ... That month, king Antiochus came out from Seleucia. |
| Top [3:4] t.e. 44–t.e. 44 | [... Month I, (the 1st of which was identical with) the 3]0th (of the preceding month; sunset to moonset): 20° 50'. |
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.KAM₂ {m}an-ti-ʾu-uk]-⸢su⸣ LUGAL DU₆ 1 13 na SIG GE₆ 2 sin ina IGI dele-bat 2 1/2 KUŠ₃ ana ŠU₂ GUB GE₆ 3 sin ina IGI MUL₂-KUR-ša₂-KIR₄-šil-PA 1 1/2 KUŠ₃ SIG ⸢GENNA⸣ 2 KUŠ₃ | |
| 2 | [(x x) GE₆ 4 USAN dele-bat e] SI₄ 2 KUŠ₃ ina ZALAG₂ MUL₂.BABBAR e MUL₂-TUR-ša₂-4-KUŠ₃-ar₂-⸢LUGAL⸣ 6 SI GE₆ 6 SAG GE₆ sin ina IGI ⸢SI-MAŠ₂⸣ [N] ⸢KUŠ₃⸣ GE₆ 8 SAG GE₆ sin | |
| 3 | [x MUL₂-ar₂-ša₂-SUHUR-MAŠ₂ (N KUŠ₃) N] SI 11 GU₄.UD ina ŠU₂ IGI DIB GE₆ 12 SAG GE₆ sin ina IGI ⸢MUL₂⸣-[KUR-ša₂]-DUR-nu-nu 1 ⸢KUŠ₃ GE₆ 13 4.10 ME 13 3.50 ŠU₂ ⸢muš⸣ | |
| 4 | [GE₆ 14 2.20 GE₆ ina ZALAG₂ sin] ar₂ MUL₂.MUL₂ 1 KUŠ₃ 14 10 na muš GE₆ 15 USAN dele-bat e ⸢MUL₂-KUR⸣-ša₂-KIR₄-šil-PA 1 KUŠ₃ ina ZALAG₂ sin ar₂ is-le₁₀ 2 1/2 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 16 ina ZALAG₂ sin | |
| 5 | [ar₂ ŠUR-GIGIR-ša₂-ULU₃ N KUŠ₃ GE₆] 17 ina ZALAG₂ sin e MAŠ.MAŠ-ša₂-SIPA 2 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 18 ina ZALAG₂ sin ina IGI MAŠ.MAŠ-⸢x⸣ 1 1/2 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 20 ina ZALAG₂ sin ina IGI ⸢SAG-A x x GE₆ 21 ina ZALAG₂ sin | |
| 6 | [x LUGAL N KUŠ₃ GE₆ 22 ina ZALAG₂] sin ina IGI GIŠ.KUN-A 1 1/2 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 23 ina ZALAG₂ sin ina IGI GIR₃-ar₂-ša₂-A 1 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 25 ina ZALAG₂ sin ina IGI ⸢SA₄-ša₂-ABSIN 1 KUŠ₃⸣ in 26 GU₄.UD ina ŠU₂ ŠU₂.ŠU₂ DIB | |
| 7 | 27 AN ina RIN₂ IGI 27 20 ⸢KUR⸣ muš ITU BI KI.LAM še-im 1(GUR) 1(BARIG) 4(BAN₂) ina TIL ITU 1(GUR) [x] 3(BAN₂) 3 qa ZU₂ GIBIL 3(BARIG) PI kas₃ 1(GUR) 2(BARIG) 3(BAN₂) sah 2(BARIG) 3(BAN₂) ŠE.GIŠ 1(BARIG) 5(BAN₂) | |
| 8 | [SIG₂{hi.a} N MA.NA a]-⸢na 1 GIN₂⸣ KU₃.BABBAR ⸢ep₂-šu₂ i-nu⸣-šu₂ MUL₂.BABBAR ina A dele-bat ina GIR₂.TAB ina TIL ITU ina PA 11 GU₄.UD ina ŠU₂ IGI DIB 26 GU₄.UD ina ŠU₂ ŠU₂.ŠU₂ DIB | |
| 9 | [GENNA ina GIR₂.TAB ina TIL ITU ina PA] 27 AN ina RIN₂ IGI ITU BI ILLU 4 SI GIN PAP 17 na | |
| 10 | [APIN 1 18.20 na DIR NU PAP] ⸢GE₆ 2 sin ina IGI dele-bat 2 KUŠ₃ ana ŠU₂ ⸢GE₆ 4 SAG⸣ GE₆ sin ar₂ ⸢SI-MAŠ₂⸣ [x]+1 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 5 SAG GE₆ sin ina IGI MUL₂-ar₂-ša₂-SUHUR-MAŠ₂ 1/2 KUŠ₃ 6 GENNA ina SAG PA ŠU₂ | |
| 11 | [GE₆ 9 SAG GE₆ sin ina IGI] ⸢MUL₂-KUR⸣-ša₂-DUR-nu-nu 3 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 10 SAG GE₆ sin SIG MUL₂-IGI-⸢ša₂⸣-[SAG-HUN] 6 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 12 SAG GE₆ sin ar₂ MUL₂.MUL₂ 2 KUŠ₃ 12 10 ŠU₂ GE₆ 13 3 ME | |
| 12 | [...] ⸢x⸣ 13 3.20 na GU₄.UD ina NIM ina GIR₂.TAB IGI GE₆ 14 [ina ZALAG₂] ⸢sin⸣ ar₂ MUL₂-ar₂-ša₂-še-pit₂-MAŠ.MAŠ 8 SI GE₆ 15 ⸢ina ZALAG₂ sin⸣ SIG MAŠ.MAŠ-IGI 4 KUŠ₃ | |
| 13 | [... AN] ⸢UTAH⸣ 17 MUL₂.BABBAR ina A UŠ DIR AN DIB ⸢x⸣ [x] ⸢x⸣ GE₆ 18 DIR ⸢AN DIB⸣ [... USAN dele-bat SIG] ⸢SI-MAŠ₂⸣ 2 5/6 KUŠ₃ | |
| 14 | [...] DIR AN DIB AN PISAN DIB NIM.⸢GIR₂ GIR₂⸣ [...] | |
| 15 | [... me]-he-e ULU₃ ŠAR₂ ina ZALAG₂ sin [...] | |
| 16 | [...] ⸢SI NIM⸣ [...] | |
| r | ||
| 1' | [...] ⸢x x x⸣ su [x] ⸢x⸣ [...] | |
| 2' | [...]-u₂ | |
| 3' | [ŠE 1 25.30 na muš sin ina IGI MUL₂ IGI ša₂ SAG] ⸢HUN⸣ 2 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 2 DIR AN ZA sin SIG dele-bat 3 KUŠ₃ sin 2/3 KUŠ₃ ana NIM DIB GE₆ 3 sin SIG MUL₂.⸢MUL₂ 3 | |
| 4' | [KUŠ₃ ... ina ZALAG₂ AN e] ⸢MUL₂⸣-IGI-ša₂-SUHUR-MAŠ₂ 5/6 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 4 DIR AN ZA SAG GE₆ sin ar₂ is-le₁₀ 2 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 5 SAG GE₆ sin | |
| 5' | [ar₂ ŠUR-GIGIR-ša₂-ULU₃ N KUŠ₃ ina ZALAG₂] ⸢AN⸣ e MUL₂-ar₂-ša₂-SUHUR-MAŠ₂ 5/6 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 6 SAG GE₆ sin e MAŠ.MAŠ-ša₂-SIPA 2 KUŠ₃ sin 1/2 KUŠ₃ ana NIM DIB GE₆ 7 sin TUR₃ | |
| 6' | [NIGIN SAG GE₆ sin SIG] ⸢MAŠ⸣.MAŠ-IGI 3 KUŠ₃ sin 1/2 KUŠ₃ ana ŠU₂ LAL GE₆ 8 sin TUR₃ NIGIN MUL₂.BABBAR u {mul₂}LUGAL ina BAD₃ TUR₃ 8 ŠU₂ kal ME me-hu-u₂ | |
| 7' | [x x x GE₆ 9 DIR AN] ⸢ZA⸣ IM ŠAR₂ SAG GE₆ sin SIG SAG-A 3 KUŠ₃ 9 DIR AN DIB AN i-ṣa PISAN DIB GE₆ 10 SAG GE₆ sin e MUL₂.BABBAR 14 SI | |
| 8' | [sin N N ana ŠU₂ LAL] e ⸢LUGAL 1 KUŠ₃ sin 5/6 KUŠ₃ ana NIM DIB GE₆ 11 SAG GE₆ sin ina IGI SAG A 5/6 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 12 SAG GE₆ sin e GIR₃-ar₂-ša₂-A 1 KUŠ₃ | |
| 9' | [... 12 8 ŠU₂] GE₆ 13 DIR AN DIB 13 1.10 na DIR NU PAP GE₆ 14 7 ME muš ina ZALAG₂ sin ar₂ SA₄-ša₂-ABSIN 1 1/2 KUŠ₃ <GE₆> 15 6.20 GE₆ | |
| 10' | [GE₆ 16 ina ZALAG₂ sin ina IGI] RIN₂-ša₂-SI 5/6 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 17 ina ZALAG₂ sin ina IGI MUL₂-e-ša₂-SAG-GIR₂.TAB 1 5/6 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 18 ina ZALAG₂ sin e SI₄ 3 1/2 KUŠ₃ | |
| 11' | [... GE₆] 19 ina ZALAG₂ sin ar₂ MUL₂-KUR-ša₂-KIR₄-šil-PA 1 KUŠ₃ 19 ina AN.BAR₇ KI-ti₃ i-nu-uš GE₆ 20 ina ZALAG₂ sin ina IGI GENNA 20 SI | |
| 12' | [ana ŠU₂ GUB 20 GU₄.UD ina NIM ina zib{me]} ⸢IGI⸣ 21 MUL₂.BABBAR ina A UŠ GE₆ 22 ina ZALAG₂ sin ina IGI SI-MAŠ₂ 1/2 KUŠ₃ 23 ŠU₂ GIR₂ GU₃ U AN UTAH | |
| 13' | [GE₆ 24 ina ZALAG₂ sin ar₂ MUL₂-ar₂-ša₂]-⸢SUHUR⸣-MAŠ₂ 3 KUŠ₃ 24 DIR AN DIB GIR₂ GU₃ U MAH AN kab-bar PISAN MAH DIB NA₄ ŠUR GE₆ 25 | |
| 14' | [...] ⸢x⸣ 26 13 KUR 27 DIR AN DIB AN PISAN DIB 28 9 na dele-bat in 1 ša₂ BAR dele-bat ina ŠU₂ ina HUN ŠU₂ ITU BI | |
| 15' | [KI.LAM še-im ...] qa kas₃ 1(GUR) 3(BARIG) 2(BAN₂) sah 2(BARIG) 1(BAN₂) ŠE.GIŠ 2(BARIG) PI SIG₂{hi.a} 2 1/2 MA.NA a-na 1 GIN₂ KU₃.BABBAR ep₂-šu₂ | |
| t.e. | ||
| 1 | [i-nu-šu₂ MUL₂.BABBAR ina (SAG) A] 29 dele-bat ina ŠU₂ ina HUN ŠU₂ in 20 GU₄.UD ina NIM ina zib{me} IGI GENNA ina PA AN ina SAG ITU ina MAŠ₂ | |
| 2 | [ina TIL ITU ina GU ITU] ⸢BI⸣ ILLU ele-nu a-pa-a-tu₂ ša₂ ILLU ŠU₂ GIN ina TIL ITU 1 KUŠ₃ LAL 3 na | |
| 3 | [...] ⸢x⸣ DU ITU BI {m}an-ti-ʾu-uk-su LUGAL TA {uru}se-lu-ke-ʾa-a E₃-ṣa | |
| 4 | [... BAR] 30 20.50 | |
Sources & licences
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Cite the original edition and translator. Page generated by Unread Atlas from the public corpus export of 2026-10-11.