-161B (X301612)
Astronomical Diary, Hellenistic, Babylon · c. 330 BCE–141 BCE
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| Designation | -161B |
|---|---|
| ID | X301612 |
| Museum no. | BM 36763 + 36891 |
| 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/adart3 · Via Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus (ORACC) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (ORACC)
| Line | English |
|---|---|
| Obverse [0:1] o 1'o 1'–o 1'o 1' | [...] cubits high to the north |
| Obverse [1:2] o 2'2'–o 2'2' | [...] back |
| Obverse [2:3] o 3'3'–o 3'3' | [...] Night of the 23rd, |
| Obverse [3:4] o 4'4'–o 4'4' | [...] ... Night of the 24th, overcast, a gusty south wind blew. |
| Obverse [4:5] o 5'5'–o 5'5' | [...] in the afternoon, a little rain shower |
| Obverse [5:6] o 6'6'–o 6'6' | [...] slow thunder, a little rain shower, the south? wind blew. |
| Obverse [6:7] o 7'7'–o 7'7' | [...] ... a little rain shower, the south and east winds blew. |
| Obverse [7:8] o 8'8'–o 8'8' | [... bl]ew. Night of the 29th (and) the 29th, clouds were in the sky, the north wind blew. Night of the 30th, the north wind blew. |
| Obverse [8:9] o 9'9'–o 9'9' | [...] cress, 1 pān 1 sūt; sesame, 3 sūt? 4 1/2 qa; wool, 5 minas for 1 shekel of silver |
| Obverse [9:11] o 10'10'–o 11'11' | [... the 2]2nd, Mars’ last appearance in Taurus. That month, the river level from the 1st to the 12th [...] |
| Obverse [10:11] o 11'11'–o 11'11' | [Month II, the 1st (of which followed the 30th of the preceding month), ...] morning ... Night of the 2nd?, the moon was 2 cubits [...] β Geminorum, the moon being |
| Obverse [11:12] o 12'12'–o 12'12' | [...] overcast?. Night of the 5th, beginning of the night, the moon was 2 cubits in front of α Leonis |
| Obverse [12:13] o 13'13'–o 13'13' | [...] ...; all night overcast, a little rain shower. |
| Obverse [13:14] o 14'14'–o 14'14' | [...] ... stood 20 fingers [in front of ...] to the west ... |
| Obverse [14:15] o 15'15'–o 15'15' | [...] a little rain shower [...] |
| Obverse [15:16] o 16'16'–o 16'16' | [...] it billowed very much. Night of the 12th (and) the 12th, ... |
| Obverse [16:17] o 17'17'–o 17'17' | [...] ... lightning flashed, slow thunder |
| Obverse [17:18] o 18'18'–o 18'18' | [...] ... a little rain DUL; in the afternoon, clouds?. |
| Obverse [18:19] o 19'19'–o 19'19' | [... in] the afternoon, very overcast. Night of the 15th, sunset to moonrise: 50', clouds, I did not watch; very overcast. |
| Obverse [19:20] o 20'20'–o 20'20' | [...] crossed the sky, the west wind blew. The 16th, the north wind blew. |
| Obverse [20:21] o 21'21'–o 21'21' | [...] were in the sky; last part of the night, very overcast. Around the 19th, Mercury’s [first appearance] in the east, |
| Obverse [21:22] o 22'22'–o 22'22' | [omitted ...] clouds were in the sky, the north wind blew. The 22nd, clouds were in the sky, the north wind blew. |
| Obverse [22:24] o 23'23'– | [...] the north? wind blew? [...] |
| Reverse [1:2] r 2'2'–r 2'2' | [Month V, (the 1st of which was identical with) the 30th (of the preceding month), ...] (the moon) stood 2 1/2 cubits [in front of ...] to the west; the north wind blew. Night of the 4th, beginning of the night, the moon was 2 1/2 cubits behind α Virginis |
| Reverse [2:3] r 3'3'–r 3'3' | [...] The 5th, the north wind blew. Night of the 6th, beginning of the night, the moon was 1 cubit behind β Librae. The 6th, the north wind blew. Night of the 7th, beginning of the night, the moon was |
| Reverse [3:4] r 4'4'–r 4'4' | [... α Scorpii ... Night of the 8th, beginning of the night, the moon was] 2 cubits [in front of θ Ophigh]uchigh. Until? the 8th, when Saturn became stationary to the west, it became stationary in Sagittarius. Night of the 9th (and) the 9th, the north wind blew. Night of the 10th, beginning of the night, the moon was |
| Reverse [4:5] r 5'5'–r 5'5' | [... Saturn ... Night of the 12th, beginning of the night, the moon was] 1 cubit [... β Capri]corni; the north wind blew. The 12th, the north wind blew. Night of the 13th, beginning of the night, the moon was 2 cubits above γ Capricorni, the moon being 1/2 cubit |
| Reverse [5:6] r 6'6'–r 6'6' | [...] lunar eclipse, ... omitted; at 25º before sunset. The 14th, sunset to setting of Mercury: 13º. Night of the 15th, moonrise to sunset: 2º, I did not watch [...] |
| Reverse [6:7] r 7'7'–r 7'7' | [...] the north wind blew. Around the 15th, Jupiter’s acronychal rising. Around the 15th, Mercury’s last appearance in the west in Virgo. Night of the 16th?, [...] the north wind blew. |
| Reverse [7:8] r 8'8'–r 8'8' | [... Night of the 18th, last part of the night, the moon was] 5 cubits below α Arietis, the moon being 1/2 cubit back to the west; the north wind blew. Night of the 19th, last part [of the night, the moon was] 2 1/2 cubits in front of η Tauri |
| Reverse [8:9] r 9'9'–r 9'9' | [...] The 20th, all day clouds were in the sky, ZI IR. Night of the 21st, clouds were in the sky, ZI IR; [last part of the night, the moo]n was 4 1/2 cubits in front of ζ Tauri |
| Reverse [9:10] r 10'10'–r 10'10' | [... Night] of the 23rd, the north wind blew; last part of the night, the moon was 6 cubits below α Geminorum. The 23rd, the no[rth wind blew. Night] of the 24th, the north wind blew; last part of the night, [the moon was ... β Gemi]norum |
| Reverse [10:11] r 11'11'–r 11'11' | [...] the moon being 4 1/2 cubits low to the south. The 25th, the north wind blew. Night of the 2[6th, the no]rth wind blew; last part of the night, the moon was 1 cubit below α Leonis, the m[oon? being? ...] |
| Reverse [11:12] r 12'12'–r 12'12' | [... Night of the 27th, last part of the night, the moon was] 1? cubit [behind ρ Leon]is, the moon being 1/2 cubit low to the south, it stood 2/3? cubit behind Mars to the east, the moon being 20 fingers [low] to the south [...] |
| Reverse [12:13] r 13'13'–r 13'13' | [... first part of the night, Venus was] 1 2/3 cubits [below α Lib]rae?. That month, the equivalent was: barley, 4 pān, at the end of the month, 3 pān 5 sūt; dates, [...] |
| Reverse [13:15] r 14'14'–r 15'15' | [... Venus was in] Virgo, until the end of the month, in Libra; Mercury, in the beginning of the month, was in Leo; around the 15th, Mercury’s last appearance in the west in Virgo. |
| Reverse [14:15] r 15'15'–r 15'15' | [Month VI, the 1st (of which followed the 30th of the preceding month), ... Z]I IR; at noon, very overcast. Night of the 3rd, the moon was 6 1/2 cubits below β Librae, the moon being 1/2 cubit back to the west. |
| Reverse [15:16] r 16'16'–r 16'16' | [... cubi]ts, the moon being [...] high to the north. Night of the 5th, beginning of the night, the moon was 1 1/2 cubits behind α Scorpii |
| Reverse [16:17] r 17'17'–r 17'17' | [...] 1/2 cubit. Night of the 7th, beginning of the night, the moon stood 1 cubit in front of Saturn to the west |
| Reverse [17:18] r 18'18'–r 18'18' | [... Night] of the 10th, beginning of the night, the moon was 2 1/2 cubits in front of γ Capricorni, the moon being 2 cubits high to the north. |
| Reverse [18:19] r 19'19'–r 19'19' | [... Night of the 12th, beginning of the night, the moon] stood 2/3? cubit [in front of Jupi]ter to the west. The 12th, Mercury’s [first appearance] in the east |
| Reverse [19:20] r 20'20'–r 20'20' | [in ... Night of the 15th, last part of the night, the moon was] 1 cubit [... α/β] Arietis, the moon being 4 cubits low to the south. |
| Reverse [20:21] r 21'21'–r 21'21' | [... The 1]8th, the north wind blew. Night of the 19th, last part of the night, the moon was |
| Reverse [21:22] r 22'22'–r 22'22' | [... Night of the 21st, last part of the night, the moo]n was 1 1/2 cubits behind β Geminorum, the moon being 5 cubits low to the south. |
| Reverse [22:24] r 23'23'– | [... Ni]ght of the 25th, last part of the night, the moon was |
| Right [0:1] r.e. 1r.e. 1–r.e. 1r.e. 1 | Year 150 Year 1[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' | [...] ⸢KUŠ₃ ana⸣ SI NIM | |
| 2' | [...] LAL | |
| 3' | [...] ⸢GE₆⸣ 23 | |
| 4' | [...] x x ⸢ŠU₂⸣ GE₆ 24 ŠU₂ ULU₃ ŠAR₂ GIN | |
| 5' | [...] ⸢ina KIN.SIG⸣ AN UTAH i-ṣa | |
| 6' | [... GU₃] U ne₂-hi AN UTAH i-ṣa ⸢ULU₃ GIN⸣ | |
| 7' | [...] ⸢x x x⸣ AN ⸢UTAH i-ṣa⸣ ULU₃ u KUR GIN{meš} | |
| 8' | [...] ⸢GIN⸣ GE₆ 29 29 DIR AN ZA SI GIN GE₆ 30 SI GIN | |
| 9' | [...] sah-le₁₀ 1(BARIG) 1(BAN₂) ŠE.GIŠ 3(BAN₂) 4 1/2 qa SIG₂{hi.a} 5 MA.NA a-na 1 GIN₂ KU₃.BABBAR | |
| 10' | [...] 22 AN ⸢ina MUL₂.MUL₂ ŠU₂ ITU BI⸣ ILLU TA 1 EN 12 [...] | |
| 11' | [GU₄ 1 ...] ⸢še-ri₃ x x x GE₆ 2 sin⸣ [x] ⸢MAŠ.MAŠ-ar₂ 2 KUŠ₃ sin⸣ | |
| 12' | [...] ŠU₂ GE₆ 5 SAG GE₆ sin ina IGI ⸢LUGAL 2 KUŠ₃ | |
| 13' | [...] x x x x x kal GE₆ ŠU₂ AN UTAH i-ṣa | |
| 14' | [...] ⸢x⸣ 20 SI ana ŠU₂ ⸢GUB x x⸣ | |
| 15' | [...] AN UTAH i-ṣa [x x] | |
| 16' | [...] ⸢ma⸣-diš iq-tur₇ GE₆ 12 12 ⸢x⸣ [x] | |
| 17' | [...] ⸢x⸣ GIR₂ GIR₂ GU₃ U ne₂-hi | |
| 18' | [...] ⸢x x⸣ AN DUL i-ṣa ina KIN.SIG DIR | |
| 19' | [... ina] KIN.SIG ŠU₂.ŠU₂ GE₆ 15 50 NINDA GE₆ DIR NU PAP ŠU₂.ŠU₂ | |
| 20' | [...] AN DIB MAR GIN 16 SI GIN | |
| 21' | [... AN] ZA ina ZALAG₂ ŠU₂.ŠU₂ in 19 GU₄.UD ina NIM | |
| 22' | [IGI DIB ...] ⸢DIR⸣ AN ZA SI GIN 22 DIR AN ZA SI GIN | |
| 23' | [...] ⸢SI GIN⸣ [...] | |
| r | ||
| 1' | [...] ⸢x x x⸣ [...] | |
| 2' | {[itu}NE 30 ... ina IGI x] 2 1/2 KUŠ₃ ⸢ana ŠU₂ GUB SI GIN⸣ GE₆ 4 SAG GE₆ sin ar₂ SA₄-ša₂-ABSIN 2 1/2 KUŠ₃ | |
| 3' | [...] 5 SI GIN GE₆ 6 SAG GE₆ sin ar₂ RIN₂-ša₂-SI 1 KUŠ₃ 6 SI GIN GE₆ 7 SAG GE₆ sin | |
| 4' | [x SI₄ N N ... GE₆ 8 SAG GE₆ sin ina IGI MUL₂-KUR-ša₂-KIR₄]-⸢šil⸣-PA 2 KUŠ₃ EN 8 GENNA ana ŠU₂ ki UŠ-a ina PA UŠ GE₆ 9 9 SI GIN GE₆ 10 SAG GE₆ ⸢sin⸣ | |
| 5' | [x GENNA N N ... GE₆ 12 SAG GE₆ sin x SI]-⸢MAŠ₂⸣ 1 KUŠ₃ SI GIN 12 SI GIN GE₆ 13 SAG GE₆ sin e MUL₂-IGI-ša₂-SUHUR-MAŠ₂ 2 KUŠ₃ sin 1/2 KUŠ₃⸣ [x] | |
| 6' | [...] ⸢AN⸣.KU₁₀ sin BAR DIB in 25 ME ana ŠU₂ šamaš₂ 14 13 na GU₄.UD GE₆ 15 2 ME NU PAP [x] | |
| 7' | [...] SI GIN in 15 MUL₂.BABBAR ana ME E-a in 15 GU₄.UD ina ŠU₂ ina ABSIN ŠU₂ GE₆ 16 [x x] ⸢SI GIN⸣ | |
| 8' | [... GE₆ 18 ina ZALAG₂ sin] ⸢SIG⸣ MUL₂-ar₂-ša₂-SAG-HUN 5 KUŠ₃ sin 1/2 KUŠ₃ ana ŠU₂ LAL SI GIN GE₆ 19 ina [ZALAG₂ sin ina] IGI MUL₂.MUL₂ 2 1/2 KUŠ₃ | |
| 9' | [...] 20 kal ME DIR AN ZA ZI IR GE₆ 21 DIR AN ZA ⸢ZI IR⸣ [ina ZALAG₂] ⸢sin⸣ ina IGI ŠUR-GIGIR-ša₂-ULU₃ 4 1/2 KUŠ₃ | |
| 10' | [... GE₆] 23 SI GIN ina ZALAG₂ sin SIG MAŠ.MAŠ-IGI 6 KUŠ₃ 23 ⸢SI⸣ [GIN GE₆] 24 SI GIN ina ZALAG₂ [sin x MAŠ].MAŠ-ar₂ | |
| 11' | [N N ...] sin 4 1/2 KUŠ₃ ana ULU₃ SIG 25 SI GIN GE₆ 26 SI⸣ GIN ina ZALAG₂ sin SIG LUGAL 1 KUŠ₃ ⸢sin⸣ [x x x x] | |
| 12' | [... GE₆ 27 ina ZALAG₂ sin ar₂ MUL₂-TUR-ša₂-4-KUŠ₃-ar₂]-⸢LUGAL 1 KUŠ₃ sin 1/2 KUŠ₃ ana ULU₃ SIG ar₂ ⸢AN 2/3 KUŠ₃ ana NIM GUB sin 20 SI ana ⸢ULU₃⸣ [SIG x x] | |
| 13' | [... USAN dele-bat SIG RIN₂-ša₂]-ULU₃ 1 2/3 KUŠ₃ ITU BI KI.LAM še-im 4 PI ina TIL ITU 3(BARIG) 5(BAN₂) ⸢ZU₂⸣.LUM [x x x x] | |
| 14' | [... dele-bat ina] ⸢ABSIN⸣ EN TIL ITU ina RIN₂ GU₄.UD ina SAG ITU ina A ⸢in⸣ 15 GU₄.UD ina ŠU₂ ina ⸢ABSIN ŠU₂⸣ | |
| 15' | [KIN 1 ...] ⸢ZI⸣ IR AN.⸢BAR₇⸣ ŠU₂.ŠU₂ GE₆ 3 sin SIG RIN₂-ša₂-SI 6 1/2 KUŠ₃ sin 1/2 KUŠ₃ ana ŠU₂ LAL | |
| 16' | [...] ⸢KUŠ₃⸣ sin [N N] ana SI NIM GE₆ 5 SAG GE₆ sin ar₂ SI₄ 1 1/2 KUŠ₃ | |
| 17' | [...] 1/2 KUŠ₃ GE₆ 7 SAG GE₆ sin ina IGI GENNA 1 KUŠ₃ ana ŠU₂ GUB | |
| 18' | [... GE₆] 10 SAG GE₆ sin ina IGI SUHUR-IGI 2 1/2 KUŠ₃ sin 2 KUŠ₃ ana SI NIM | |
| 19' | [... GE₆ 12 SAG GE₆ sin ina IGI MUL₂].⸢BABBAR 2/3 KUŠ₃ ana ŠU₂ GUB 12 GU₄.UD ina NIM | |
| 20' | [ina x IGI ... GE₆ 15 ina ZALAG₂ sin x MUL₂-x]-⸢ša₂⸣-SAG-HUN 1 KUŠ₃ sin 4 KUŠ₃ ana ULU₃ SIG | |
| 21' | [... 1 8 SI GIN GE₆ 19 ina ZALAG₂ sin | |
| 22' | [... GE₆ 21 ina ZALAG₂] ⸢sin⸣ ar₂ MAŠ.MAŠ-ar₂ 1 1/2 KUŠ₃ sin 5 KUŠ₃ ana ULU₃ SIG | |
| 23' | [...] ⸢GE₆⸣ 25 ina ZALAG₂ sin | |
| r.e. | ||
| 1 | MU 1 ME 50.KAM₂ MU 1 ME 50.KAM₂ | |
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.