AD -255B (X202552)
Astronomical Diary, Hellenistic, Babylon · c. 330 BCE–141 BCE
Open in the reader & map →See it among all tablets
| Designation | AD -255B |
|---|---|
| ID | X202552 |
| Museum no. | Rm 794 |
| 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 | [Y]ear 56, month V, night of the 1[8th, last part of the night, the moon was ... η Piscium,] |
| Obverse [1:2] o 22–o 22 | 1/2 cubit in front of Jupiter, [it was set] towards its sou[thern] horn [...] |
| Obverse [2:3] o 33–o 33 | clouds were in the sky. Night of the 19th, last part of the night, the moon was [...] below α [Arietis.] |
| Obverse [3:4] o 44–o 44 | The 19th, in the morning, gusty north wind. Night of the 20th (and) the 20th, overcast [... Night of the 21st, last part of the night, the moon was] |
| Obverse [4:5] o 55–o 55 | 1 1/2 cubits behind η Tauri. The 21st, in the morning, ... [... Night of the 22nd, last part of the night, the moon was] |
| Obverse [5:6] o 66–o 66 | 1 2/3 cubits [...] α Tauri. The 22nd, gusty wind. Ni[ght of the 23rd, ...] |
| Obverse [6:7] o 77–o 77 | The 23rd, gusty south wind. Night of the 24th, last part of the night, the moon was [...] behind γ [Geminorum ...] |
| Obverse [7:8] o 88–o 88 | Night of the 25th, last part of the night, the moon was [...] below [β] Geminorum. [Night of the 26th, last part of the night,] |
| Obverse [8:10] o 99–o 1010 | the moon was [...] below δ Cancri, [the moon] 10 having passed [...] to the east, [it stood] 2+[x fingers] behind Venus [to the east ...] |
| Obverse [10:12] o 1111– | (traces) |
| Reverse [1:2] r 2'2'–r 2'2' | [at] the end of the month, 1 [...] |
| Reverse [2:3] r 3'3'–r 3'3' | [cr]ess, 3 sūtu; sesa[me, ...] |
| Reverse [3:4] r 4'4'–r 4'4' | wool, 4 minas [were sold for 1 shekel of silver. At that time,] |
| Reverse [4:5] r 5'5'–r 5'5' | Jupiter was in the beginning of Aries; Venus [was in Gemini, at the end of the month, in] |
| Reverse [5:6] r 6'6'–r 6'6' | Cancer; Saturn was in Libra; Mars? [...] |
| Reverse [6:7] r 7'7'–r 7'7' | Mercury, which had set, was not [visible. ...] |
| Reverse [7:9] r 8'8'–r 9'9' | That month, the river [level? ...] |
| Reverse [8:9] r 9'9'–r 9'9' | Month VI, the 1st (of which followed the 30th of the preceding month), sunset to moonset: 17° 30'; ... [...] |
| Reverse [9:10] r 10'10'–r 10'10' | the moon was 1 1/2 cubits in front of α Virginis, it stood [...] behind? [Mercury] |
| Reverse [10:12] r 11'11'– | [to] the east ... [...] |
| Top [0:1] t.e. 1t.e. 1–t.e. 1t.e. 1 | 10? fingers. The 2nd, Mercury’s [first appearance] in the west [in Virgo;] |
| Top [1:2] t.e. 22–t.e. 22 | sunset to setting of Mercury: 14° 30' [...] |
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⸣ 56.KAM₂ {itu}NE GE₆ 18 [ina ZALAG₂ sin x MUL₂-KUR-ša₂-DUR-nu-nu N N] | |
| 2 | ina IGI MUL₂.BABBAR 1/2 KUŠ₃ ana SI-šu₂ ša₂ ⸢ULU₃⸣ [GIN ...] | |
| 3 | DIR AN ZA GE₆ 19 ina ZALAG₂ sin SIG ⸢MUL₂⸣-[ar₂-ša₂-SAG-HUN N N] | |
| 4 | 19 ina še-ri₃ SI ŠAR₂ GE₆ 20 20 ŠU₂ [... GE₆ 21 ina ZALAG₂ sin] | |
| 5 | ⸢ar₂⸣ MUL₂.MUL₂ 1 1/2 KUŠ₃ 21 ina še-ri₃ ⸢x⸣ [... GE₆ 22 ina ZALAG₂ sin x] | |
| 6 | is-le₁₀ 1 2/3 KUŠ₃ 22 IM ŠAR₂ ⸢GE₆⸣ 23 ...] | |
| 7 | 23 ULU₃ ŠAR₂ GE₆ 24 ina ZALAG₂ sin ar₂ ⸢MAŠ⸣.[MAŠ-ša₂-SIPA N N] | |
| 8 | GE₆ 25 ina ZALAG₂ sin SIG MAŠ.MAŠ-[ar₂ N N GE₆ 26 ina ZALAG₂] | |
| 9 | sin SIG MUL₂-ar₂-ša₂-ALLA-ša₂-⸢ULU₃⸣ [N N sin N N] | |
| 10 | ana NIM DIB ar₂ dele-bat 2+[x SI ana NIM GUB ...] | |
| r | ||
| 1' | [...] [x] [...] | |
| 2' | [ina] TIL ITU 1 [...] | |
| 3' | ⸢sah⸣-le₁₀ 3(BAN₂) ŠE.⸢GIŠ⸣ [...] | |
| 4' | ⸢SIG₂⸣{hi.a} 4 MA.NA a-[na 1 GIN₂ KU₃.BABBAR ep₂-šu₂ i-nu-šu₂] | |
| 5' | MUL₂.BABBAR ina SAG LU dele-bat [ina MAŠ.MAŠ ina TIL ITU ina] | |
| 6' | ALLA GENNA ina RIN₂ ⸢AN⸣ [...] | |
| 7' | GU₄.UD ša₂ ŠU₂-u₂ NU [IGI ...] | |
| 8' | ITU BI ⸢ILLU⸣ [...] | |
| 9' | {itu}KIN 1 17.30 na-su [x] [...] | |
| 10' | sin ina IGI SA₄ 1 1/2 KUŠ₃ ⸢ar₂⸣ [GU₄.UD N N] | |
| 11' | [ana] NIM GUB [x x x x] [...] | |
| t.e. | ||
| 1 | 10 SI 2 GU₄.UD ina ⸢ŠU₂⸣ [ina ABSIN IGI] | |
| 2 | 14.30 na-⸢su⸣ [...] | |
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.