Babylonian Astronomical diaries

8/8/2019 Babylonian Astronomical diaries

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Hermann Hunger - ViennaRobartus J. van der Spek - Amsterdam

An astronomical diary concerning Artaxerxes II (year 42 = 363-2 BC):

Military Operations in Babylonia1

Introduction- The document discussed here is a smallpieceofanastronomicaldiary inthecollectionof theBritishMuseum. It is part of the corpus of texts published byHermann Hunger in three volumes containing the datedastronomical diaries from Babylonia (Sachs&Hunger 1988;1989; 1996).Thedocument studiedherewasnot included in

the corpus since it previously could not be dated. Now,however,we are confident thatwe have established its date.Thehistoricalpartofthetabletwasstudied,transliteratedandtranslated in London in December 2005 by Van der Spek,with the help of Irving Finkel; the astronomical part hassubsequentlybeen the subjectof a renewed studybyHunger.Following the convention of the edition of the diaries, this

1 ADno.-362;BM36742(=80-6-17,475)+37478(=80-6-17,1235).


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diary can be added toVolume I (1988) underNo. -362.Wethank theTrusteesof theBritishMuseum for thepossibility

tostudythetextandpresentitinanon-linepublication.

Description of the tablet - The fragment as it ispreserved is the upper part of a larger tablet and consists oftwo pieces,joined by the lateAbraham Sachs in 1957.Theobverse contains astronomicalobservations; thepreservedpartof the reverse contains historical information. The text endswithacolophonontheupperedge.

The text of the obverse iswritten both on BM 37478 (leftpart)andBM 36742 (rightpart).Theheightof theobverse is8.5cm.Sinceareconstructionoflines1andr.9'-10'ispossible,we can calculate the lost part of the beginning of the tablet.The loss at the right end side ismoredifficult to gauge,butcomparisonwith,e.g.,ADI,p.142,no.-346indicatesthatc.15signsarelostattherightendsideofline1.OfthereverseonlyBM36742containswriting.The lengthof liner.7' is4.8cm;

thedividing

line

on

the

lower

edge

is

4

cm.

The

height

of

the

tablet from the upper part up to and including line 7' is 4cm.2

2 The photographs presented below were taken by Van der Spek; the British

Museumisnotresponsiblefortheirquality.


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Transliteration

obverse

1. [MU 42 KAM mr-] mr-tak-at-su LUGAL KUR.KURMU-na-bu-[GAN..........]

2. [.. .. .. .. ..] GE6 2DIRANZA 2 ina KIN-SIG am TRNGINGE63[..........]

3. [.. .. .. .. ..] xni-di par-pi ina IGI am r-ki am idKURu[..........]

4. [.. .. .. .. ..] x DUL TIR-AN id SI GIB GE6 7 SAG GE6[.]

5. [............]anaNIMDIBGE69SAGGE6sinSIGMLKURaDUR[nu-nu.............]

6. [.. .. .. .. .. ..] 10 -GE6 11 SAGGE6 sinTRNUKDNGIN[]

7. [.. .. .. .. .. .. ..] GE6 13 SAGGE6 sin ina IGI urGIGIR UL?[.......]

8. [..............]xDIRNUPAPANe-niDUH[..........]9. [................]xx[.......]

BM36742obverse


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reverse1' [..................]xx[.]2' [..............D]UMU.ME-lx[.]3' [.. .. .. ........ ..]x inaITIAPINa-naURUUD.KIB.N[UN.KI

.]4' [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..] x UGU IM ! u-pal IM UB.ME

[.]5' [..................]xTI-DUMULUGALa-nama-ap-par-

t[.]6' [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..]x BAD5.BAD5--nu GAR-un hu-bu-

hu-us-su-n[uih-tab-ta.]7' [..............lERN?].MELUGALa-napal-tuminamuh-

hiKUR-[.]8' [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ]x UII-su-nu ik-ta-ad URU

GAZ[.ME?.]

9' [MU 42 KAM mr- ] mr-tak-at-su LUGAL KUR.KURMU. [na-bu-]

BM36742reverse


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10' [EN.NUN gi-n-e T]A GAN EN TIL E ..? MU

40[+2KAM]

11' [UIImG]I?-dENDUMUx mMU.dENDUMU ml?Mu-e-

zi-b[u.]

Translation

obverse

1 [Year 42 ofArs]es,who is calledArtaxerxes, king of thelands.[MonthIX(29Nov.28Dec.363BC).......]

2 [.. .. .. ....]Nightofthe2nd,cloudswere in thesky.The

BM36742lowerreverseandupperedge(withcolophon)


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2nd, in the afternoon, the sunwas surroundedby ahalo.Nightofthe3rd,[.......]

3 [.. .. .. .. ..] adark cloud in frontof the sun andbehindthesun,ontheeastsideand[.]

4 [..........]xDUL;arainbowstretchedon thenorthside.Nightofthe7th,beginningofthenight,[.]

5 [.. ..........]havingpassed[] totheeast.Nightof the9th, beginning of the night, themoonwas [] belowEtaPiscium[.]

6 [.. .. .. .. .. ..] The 10th, very overcast.Night of the 11th,

beginning of thenight, themoonwas surrounded by ahalo,whichwasnotclosed.[.]

7 [.. .. .. .... .. ..]Nightof the 13th,beginningof thenight,themoonwas[]infrontofZetaTauri[.]

8 [..............]..clouds;Ididnotwatch;rainso that thesandalwasremoved[.]

9 [................]xx[.]

reverse

1' [..................]xx[.]2' [................]hissons,thex[]person[s?.]3' [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..]x in themonthArachsamna (VIII = 31

Oct.28Nov.363BC)tothecityofSipp[ar.]4' [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..] x upstream and downstream they

encamped[.]5' [..................]xtheytook.Thesonoftheking,who

fortheprotecti[onof.]6' [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..]x inflictedsg adefeatupon them, [he

plundered]bootyfromthem[.]


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7' [.. .. .. ............The troop]sof theking,who fordoing

battleoverthemountains?[hadcome,.]

8' [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..]xgothold [ofhim/the city?]. [They?]conqueredthecity.[.]

9' [Year 42 of Arses, who is called] by the name of

Artaxerxes,kingofthelands.10' [Regularobservationsfr]omKislimu(IX)untiltheendof

Addaru(XII),year40[+2]11' [HandofMual]lim(?)-Bl, sonof Iddin-Bl,descendant

ofMushezib[u(.)]

Commentary

The date - This diary must belong to the later years ofArtaxerxes II.Year number 40 isjust preserved on line r.10',the remainder is broken off. The nameArtaxerxes is clearlywritten on lines 1 and r. 9.HenceArtaxerxes I and II,who

bothreignedmore than40years,come intoaccount.BecauseafainttraceoftheWinkelhakenofthesignispreservedonline1,wecanbeprettysurethattheking inquestionwas theArtaxerxes whose personal name wasArshu (mr-), asweknow fromseveralotherastronomicaldiaries.Inaddition,thecolophonshowsgreatsimilaritytodiaryADI,p.138,no.-361,r.1'-3' (Year 43Artaxerxes II).Unfortunately the scribe of thattablet (Uballissu-Bel, son of Bel-apla-[]) is not the same

personasthescribeofthisdiary.


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The astronomical observations concern the months IX-XII,

KislimutoAddaru.Sincethereseemstobenoquestionofan

intercalaryAddaru, the observationwill concern years 41, 42,44 or 46 of Artaxerxes II reign, if the list of Parker andDubberstein (1956) is correct. The astronomical informationon the obverse helps us to establish a precise date. It isreported that themoonwasbelowEtaPisciumon the9thofKislimu. Since only years 41, 42, 44 and 46 are possible, themoonspositionintheseyearsisrelevant:

41IX9=-363(=364BC)Dec17 7.142IX9=-362Dec6 353.944 IX9=-360Dec14 18.646IX9=-358Dec23 39.9

The numbers to the right are ecliptic longitudes at 7 p.m.Year42fitsnicely,becauseEtaPisciumhasa longitudeofca.353atthistime.

Historical relevance -Thehistorical sectionyieldsnewhistorical information.Certainpeople (his sons?)encampedaroundthecityofSipparontheEuphrates inNovember363BC.Afterwardsthey took thecity.Sometime later(possiblythe samemonth,orperhapsmonthXII [27Febr.27March262BC]; the information comes from the endof the tablet),the son of the king set out to defend the city, inflicted adefeaton theattackers.Then,[troop]softhekingarrivedtodobattleandgotholdof someoneor something.Were theseadditionaltroopssenttobringaboutthecaptureofSippar?


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We should like to know who the son of the kingwas.

Artaxerxes II had three sonswhowere possible successors.At

firstArtaxerxesappointedDariusashisheir (Plut.Art.26.4-5),but he rebelled against his father. The conspiracy was dis-covered andDariuswas put to death.Another candidate isArsames, but Briant points out that Ochos, later to beenthronedasArtaxerxesIII,wasthedestinedsuccessor.Duringthe lifetime of his father, hewas the head of a campaignagainstTachsofEgypt (Syncellus,p.486,20) and, accordingto Diodorus XV.93.1, Artaxerxes III succeeded without any

majorproblemtohisfathersthroneafterthelattersdeath(cf.Briant2002:681).

The enemies are even more difficult to determine. Onemight thinkofgovernors,oralso tosons,hencebrothersofthesonofthekingjustmentioned.Inthecaseofgovernorsone might think of satraps who revolted in the so-calledGreatSatraps revolt, in the caseof sons of the king,onemight think of the struggle for theposition of crownprince

describedabove.

It

might

as

well

have

been

amountain

tribe.

Let us first consider the so-called Great Satraps Revolt.AccordingtoDiodorusXV.93.1,the inhabitantsoftheAsiaticcoast revolted from Persia, and some of the satraps andgeneralsrising in insurrectionmadewaronArtaxerxes.At thesame time Tachs, the Egyptian king, decided to fight thePersiansandpreparedshipsandgathered infantry forces.Thekinghadtofightatthesame timeagainsttheEgyptianking,theGreekcitiesofAsia,theLacedaemoniansandthealliesofthese: satraps and generalswho ruled the coastaldistricts andhad agreed upon making common cause (koinopragia).


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Diodorusmentions the following rebels in person:Ariobar-zanes,satrapofPhrygia,Mausolos,overlordofCaria,Orontes,

satrap of Mysia, and Autophradates, satrap of Lydia. Inaddition: Apart from the Ionians were Lycians, Pisidians,Pamphylians,andCilicians,likewiseSyrians,Phoenicians,andpracticallyallthecoastalpeoples(ethne).

The summary (prologus) of book X of the histories ofPompeius Trogus has it that the Great King pursued hisdignitaries (purpurati)who had defected (defectores) inAsia:first of allDatames, satrap (praefectus) of [Paphlagonia] the

originof thePaphlagonians ispresented then the satrapoftheHellespont,Ariobarzanes; and next in Syria the satrap ofArmenia, Orontes; how he conquered them all and died,leavingthethronetohissonOchus.

Other sources of importance are the life of Datames byCornelius Nepos and some Stratagems by Polyaenus con-cerning Datames (Polyaenus VII.21.1-7), Orontes (VII.14.2-4),Ariobarzanes (VII.26) and Autophradates (VII.27.1-3). It is

strikingthat

Plutarch

does

not

find

the

affair

interesting

enoughtoincludeitinhislifeofArtaxerxes. Is itpossible to link the information of thisdiary towhat

we know about theGreatSatrapsRevolt(366-360BC)?Thisrevolt has been the subject of an extensive discussion on itschronologyand itsnature.Oursourcesaremeagreandcontra-dictory,andourknowledgeofthechronologyispracticallynil.Moreover, the main interest of the Greek and Roman his-toriansis inthewesternpartsofAsia.Diodorusexplicitlysaysthat the revoltconcernedwesternsatrapiesandall thecoastalpeoples. Babylonia is not mentioned. The rebels operating


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most closely to Babylonia areDatames,who is said to haveinvadedMesopotamia(PolyaenusVII.21.3),andOrontes,satrap

ofArmenia, is finally defeated in Syria (Pomp.Trog.Prol.X).OrontesmayhaveattackedMesopotamiaaswell.

In an earlier discussion of the other astronomical diariesconcerningArtaxerxes II Van der Spek (1998: 253) defendedthe idea that this invasionwas recorded inAD I, p. 130,no.-366 A Col. II: 2-5 (diary concerning month II, year 38Artaxerxes II = 20May 19June 367 BC). This ideawascriticized by Pierre Briant (Briant 2000: 93-4). We must

indeed admit that it ispossible to combine this informationofPolyaenuswiththisnewdiary,assumingthatDatamesmayhave reached Sippar.A similar reconstruction is possible asregardsOrontes.Hence themore prudent position is not tomakeconnectionswiththesatrapsrevoltatallcosts.

The revolt (or revolts) has been the subject of a greatnumberofpublications, thoroughlydiscussedbyPierreBriant(1996: 695-694 = 2002: 656-675; 1997: 57-61; 2000: 92-97).

Thedebate

has

centred

about

the

question

whether

the

revolt

was a concerted action or amore or less contiguousnumberofuprisings.Concomitanttothis issueisthequestionofhowserious the revolt was. Was the revolt a clear sign of thedecadence of the Achaemenid empire which brought themonarchy to thebrinkofdownfall,orwas itsimplyanormalfeature of largeempireswhichhaveonoccasion todealwithrevolts? The traditional view has been simply to followDiodorus and consider the events as the near collapse of theempire.Weiskopf (1989) tried to reduce the importance ofthe events and stressed the lack of coordination, followed in


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thisbyBriant.Debord (1999: 302-74) seems to return to thetraditional view. Can this diary help us any further in this

discussion? Letusstartwith thenegativeanswers.Itgivesnoanswerto

the question whether or not the revolt was a coordinatedaction.Itgivesnoclearindicationwhotheattackerswere.Noname of a rebel or satrap orwhoever is preserved.The onlyhintswehave is thephrase his sons and thedeterminativeL, followed by traces of two horizontal wedges and oneverticalwedge indicating thename of a people or tribe or a

certaincategoryofpeople(e.g.officials).AnyconnectionwithDatamesorOrontesisthereforespeculative.

Whatwe do learn is that unrestwas not restricted to thecoastal area of the Persian empire.An attack on Sipparwasserious enough to send an army under the leadership of thesonof theking.Itcannothavehappened in theyear that theson of the king launched an attack on Tachs, the king ofEgypt.Whatwealso learn is that theattackwasabortiveand

inthis

the

story

is

in

line

with

the

reports

about

the

other

revolts: inallcases theking (in thiscase the sonof theking)was successful.So,on theonehand there isevidence that therevoltswere more widespread than assumed before; on theotherhand, it isnotevidence foradownfallofthemonarchy:orderwasrestored.Itistobenotedthatthediariescannotbeinterpreted as pro-Persian propaganda, rather as a fairlydetacheddata base of facts.The report alsogives evidenceofthe lack of interestofGreek andRomanhistorians of eventsthathappenedinthecentreofthePersianempire.


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The second option is to disregard theGreat SatrapsRevolt

altogether and to focus on the struggle for the succession of

the old kingArtaxerxes II. The diary may report an insur-rectionof some sonsorofficialsof thekingwhogotholdofSippar.Thesonoftheking,thedesignatedcrownprince, isable to re-capture the city. The role of the [troop]s of theking is unclear: theymay have arrived in order to help theson of the king, but it cannot be excluded that hewas thevictimoftheiraction.Thelacunaearetantalizingindeed.

Textual notes

obverse1.,r.9'Artaxerxeshasthetitlekingofthelands,atitleoftenusedin

theAchaemenid and earlyHellenistic period. In fact, this isthe only diary ofArtaxerxes II thatmentions the title.Otherdiarieshavenotitleatall,orlugal,king,only.

reverse2' D]UMU.ME-lx[...,his[s]ons,thex-persons Few tracesarepreserved: twoverticalwedges(theupperonea

bit longer),andaverticalone.It isdifficult tosuggestwhat itistobereadhere;lGAL.UKKIN,satrap,seemsimpossible.

3' ITIAPIN,themonthArachsamna(VIII) It is curious to note that reference ismade to month VIII,

while the diary concerns months IX-XII. We assume thatreference ismade to anattack inmonthVIII,which led to a


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campaigninmonthIX-XII=29Nov.36327March262.

4' Cf.NabonidusChronicle (ABC 7), III.11 UGU IM u KI.TAIM, lit. who were above the wind and below the wind.Glassner (CM no. 26, p.236/7) translates: upstream anddownstream from Isin (?).Cf.CAD III,p.316,s.v. upalu2d).NotethatGlassnersadditionfromIsinisincomprehensible.

UB=nad,topitchcamp Fornadinthechronicles,cf.Grayson,ABC,no.1III.40(with

commentary).Cf.CADNI

84, s.v.nad 2b 4'.The expressionis often, but not always, used with the connotation ofaggression.

7' lERN?].MELUGAL AtfirstsightonewouldexpectlERN].MELUGAL,thetroop]s

oftheking.Otheroptionsshouldbeconsideredaswell,likesonsoftheking.

KUR- This may be derived from KUR, ad, mountain; open

country,steppelandorfromKUR,kaadu,toarrive.Inviewof the phonetic complement , a derivation from ad ismore likely.Itmayrefer to royal troopswhohadcome fromPersepolisovertheZagrosmountains.

8' UII-su-nuik-ta-ad,theirhandcaught Cf. CADK 276 s.v. kaadu 2a, to conquer a country, a city

with qatu as subject; p.277 2b, to defeat an enemy, to be


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victorious; p.277-8, 2c, to capture an enemy, to arrest afugitive, a criminal. The subject their hand is technically

singular, hence the verb, iktaad, is singular.Nevertheless, thesubjectconcernsmorepeopleand ispluralad sensum(their).Theobject isunknown;itmaybeacountry,city(Sippar?)orperson(thesonoftheking;arebel?).

9'-11' Similar phrasing in AD I, p. 138, no. -361, r.1'-3' (year 43Artaxerxes II).Note that this diary (BM 37073 = 80-6-17,818)enteredthe inventoryoftheBritishMuseumonthesameday

asourdiary,17June1880.

11' Theastronomer inquestionbelongstotheMushezibu family.This familywas awell known family of astronomerswhichstillpractised their scholarship in theHellenisticandParthianperiods.Cf.,e.g.,Bel-apla-iddin,sonofMushallim-Bel,descen-dantofMushezibu in322BC(ADI,p.228-9,no.-321rev.27)and the collection of judicial documents of the Parthian

period(c.

120

BC)

on

the

assignment

of

salaries

to

members

of

thisfamily(VanderSpek1985:548-56).SeealsoOelsner2000:802-11,whodiscussesthefamilyintheHellenisticperiod.

HermannHUNGER RobartusVANDERSPEK [email protected] [email protected]
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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BibliographyBRIANT,P.1996,Histoiredelempireperse.DeCyrusAlexandre,Paris.2002, FromCyrus toAlexander.A history of the Persian Empire,Winona

Lake.

1997,BulletindhistoireachmnideI(TopoiSupplment1),5-127.

2000,BulletindhistoireachmnideII(Persika1),Paris.

DEBORD, P. 1999, LAsieMineure au IVe sicle (412-323 a.C.). Pouvoirs etjeux

politiques(Bordeaux).

OELSNER,J.2000,VonIqiundeinigenanderensptgeborenenBabylonirn,in:

SimonettaGraziani

(ed.),

Studi

sul

Vicino

Oriente

Antico

dedicati

alla

memoria

diLuigiCagni,vol.II,Napoli:797-814.

SACHS,A.J.&HUNGER,H. 1988,AstronomicalDiaries andRelatedTextsfrom

Babylonia,vol.I:Diariesfrom652B.C.to262B.C.,Vienna.

1989,AstronomicalDiariesandRelatedTextsfromBabylonia,vol.II:Diaries

from261B.C.to165B.C.,Vienna.

1996,AstronomicalDiariesandRelatedTextsfromBabylonia,vol.III:Diaries

from164B.C.to61B.C.,Vienna.

VANDERSPEK,R.J.1985,TheBabyloniantempleunderMacedonianandParthian

domination,BibliothecaOrientalis42:541-62.

1998, The chronology of the wars of Artaxerxes II in the Babylonian

AstronomicalDiaries,in:MariaBrosius&AmlieKuhrt(eds.),Achaemenid

HistoryXI:Studies inPersianHistory.Essays inMemory ofDavidM.Lewis,

Leiden:239-256.

WEISKOPF,M.1989,Theso-calledGreatSatrapsRevolt366-360B.C.Concerning

Local Instability in theAchaemenidfarWest (Historia Einzelschriften 63),

Stuttgart.


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home : index : ancient Mesopotamia : Babylonian Chronicles : article by Bert van der Spek

An Astronomical Diary

mentioning Gaugamela

BM 36390, rev.: Astronomicaldiary describing the battle ofGaugamela (British Museum)

Its official title "Astronomical Diary concerning month VI and VII ofthe fifth year of Artaata who is called Darius" may not sound veryexciting, but this is one of the most important cuneiform sources for theeastern campaign of the Macedonian king Alexander the Great. Notonly does thisAstronomical Diary describe the omens before the battleofGaugamela and the fight itself (on 1 October 331), but it also tellshow the "king of Asia" entered Babylon.

The cuneiform tablets (BM 36761 + BM 36390) are in the BritishMuseum. On this website, a new reading is proposed by Bert van derSpekof the Free University of Amsterdam (Netherlands) and Irving

Finkel of the British Museum. Please notice that this is apreliminaryversion. This web publication is therefore intended to invite suggestionsfor better readings, comments and interpretations (go here to contactVan der Spek).

Babylonian ChroniclesEarlier editions

DescriptionText

TranslationCommentary (obv.)Commentary (rev.)

Reader's editionLiterature

Earlier editions

The Diary concerning month VI (= Ululu = 8 September - 7 October)and month VII (= Tashritu = 8 October - 6 November 331 BCE) hasbeen published before:

A. Sachs and H. Hunger,Astronomical Diaries and Related Textsfrom Babylon (Vienna 1988-1996) I, p. 179, No. -330 Obv.

14-15 and Rev. 3-15 (BM 36761 + BM 36390). Photo (full-size): Pl. 29. Copy: Wiseman 1985: 121Last edition: Van der Spek 2003: 297-299

BM 36390, obv: Astronomicaldiary describing the omens

related to the battle ofGaugamela (British Museum;

**)

Description of the tablet

The diary consists of two tablets, which do not join.

BM 36390 provides the right-hand part of the first 13 lines of theobverse. Only the upper half of the obverse is preserved.The part on which the historical information is written (BM36761) is the left part of a larger tablet of which at least half is

lost: the thickness of the tablet at its left edge is 22 mm. rising to30 mm at the right edge. This means that only half or even less ofthe left part of the tablet is preserved.

It is difficult to compute the gap between the two tablets. Hungercompletes a lot more signs in line 11, than in lines 9 and 10, whichmeans that too much was completed in line 11 or vice versa.

Line 12 may also give a clue. In the gap an astronomical record musthave been presented, probably about the moon, which must have takenat least five signs; secondly the price of barley must have been reported.

stronomical Diary mentioning the battle of Gaugamela http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/bchp-alexander/astronomi

11/15/2010


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In addition, we cannot be sure whether the scribe mentioned differentprices of barley for the beginning, middle and end of the month, ormentioned only one price, and we do not know if he added the formulaa-na 1 GN K.BABBAR, "for one shekel of silver" (as in line r. 2).But even if only one price was recorded, the gap needs at least 15 signs.On the basis of line 11 I suggest that a line could contain at least 40 -42 signs. The actual amount of signs depends of course to the size of thesigns used in a particular line and the possible existence of blank spaceswith the information he-pi (= "broken" (on the original tablet)) in

superscript, as in ll. 3, 5 and 6; cf. rev. 10.

I have collated the historical sections only; in the astronomical section Ifollow the edition of H. Hunger with minor alterations.

TEXT / Obverse: BM 36761 (left part)|| BM 36390 (right part)

1 [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..] x [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ] || /x x\ [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..]

2 [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..] /x\ [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..] ||13 8 /x\ [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..]

3 [.. .. .. ..] /GE6\gab- 10 U /GE6\ [GIN .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . . ..] ||he-p ML.BABBAR /GENNA\

/(blank?)\

4 [.. .. ..] ina R MARina ZALG KUR GIN.ME x [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..] || 4 KAxID ina AN.KU10

NAM..ME u ip-&i ina? [.. .. ..]

5 [.. .. kal] U4 DIR AN ZA GE6 15 16 GE6 DI[R .. .. .. .. .. ..sin SIG ML r SAG HUN] || 32/3 Ksinhe-pana

NIM DIB ML GAL[ .. .. ..]

6 [.. .. A]N UR UD.DA-su ina KI IGI . GR G[R .. .. .. .. .. GE6 17 .. .. .. .. ..] || /x\ vhe-p

v AN DUL inaZALGsin r[is le10NN MM]

7 [DI]R AN ZA GE6 18 IZI.UB ina KI KU SI? [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ] || KI KU4-ba a-na tar-@i

dAG GL [.. ....]

8 [.. U]R? KU IZI K GE6 19 USAN IZI.[UB .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. in]||a ZALGsin rMA.MA SIPA 20 SIdele-bat e [GRr ANN MM]

9 [dele-batnn] SI NIM DIB GE6 20 ina ZALGsin SIG MA.MA [r(.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ) NNK]||sin2/3 K ana LAL 21 LL-tim NU PAP G[E6 22 ina ZALG]

10 [sin SIG SA]G UR-A 6 Ksin K ana NIM DIB GE6 2[3 (.. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..) ina ZALGsin ]||r LUGAL 1 KGE6 24 DIR AN ZA GE6 25 D[IR AN .. .. ..]

11 [.. ..] AN kab-barDUL 25 ina e-r DIR AN ZA GE6 [26 ina ZALGsin SIG DELE IGI ABSIN NN MM]|| /2/3\?

K ana LAL r dele-bat1 K 8 SI ana NIM GUB [.. .. ..]

12 GE6 29 AN.KU10am DIB in 1 GE6 GIN GE6 30 ina ZAL[G .. .. .. .. .. ITI BI KI.LAM (a-na 1 GN

K.BABBAR)e-im .. || .. .. .. Z.LUM] /1?\ GURka-si 3 (g) GURina TIL ITU /4\?[.. .. ..]

13 E.GI 1 PI SG.HI.A 5 MA i-nu- MUL.BABBARina GR.TAB dele-[bat ina A ina TIL ITI ina ABSIN GENNA

ina zibme GU4.UD ||u AN - N]U IGI.ME ITI BI I[LLU .. .. .. .. ..]

14 ITU BI U4 11.KAM hat-tu4ina ma-dk-tu4 ina qud-me LUGAL GAR-m[a .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ....]

15ana tar-@i LUGAL UB- 24.KAM ina e-r LUGAL za-qip-t[u4 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... ..]

16 GABA a-ha-me im-ha-@u-ma BAD5.BAD5lERN.ME kab-t[u4 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ]

17 LUGAL ERN.ME- -ma-r--i-ma ana URU.ME--nu [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..]

18 [ana K]URGu-ti-i ZH-it-u(blank)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


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19 [DU6 1] /13\,30 + [x] na GE6 2sin e /MUL\.[BABBAR .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..]

20 [.. .. GE6] 7 /SAG\ [GE6 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ]

broken off

TEXT / Reverse: BM 36761

1 [.. ..] x [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ITI BI KI.LAM]

2 [a]-na 1 GN K[.BABBARe-im .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..]3 [I]TU BI TA 1 E[N .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ]

4ana E.KI GIN-ku um-ma /.SAG.L\ [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..]

5u DUMU.ME E.KI a-na NG.GA .SAG.L [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..]

6 /U4\ 11.KAM ina URU UD.KIB.NUN.KI &-e-mu mA-l[ek-sa-an-dar-ri-is .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ]

7 [um-m]a?a-na .ME-ku-nu ul er-ru-ub U4 13.KA[M .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..]

8 [K.SI]KIL.LA K ka-mi-i .SAG.GL .. [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..]

9 [.. .. ..] U4 14.KAMlIa-ma-na-a-a MU-tim GU4 [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ]

10 [.. TI] (blank) LUGD.DA.ME uzuME.H.ME[ .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..]

11 [U4 ..-KAMm]A-lek-sa-an-dar-ri-is LUGAL ana E.KI K[U4.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..]

12 [ANE.KU]R.RA.ME -/nu-ut\ [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ]

13 [l.TAM?] u DUMU.ME E.KI u UN./ME\ [KUR? .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ]

14 [.. .. .. KU]i-pi-t ana [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..]

15 [.. .. .. .. ..]x um-ma x[ .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..]

to part two (translation)

home : index : ancient Mesopotamia

Babylonian Chronicles


11/15/2010


20/43




Bust of Alexander the Great,

from Delos, now in the Louvre.

Its official title "Astronomical Diary concerning month VI and VII of

the fifth year of Artaata who is called Darius" may not sound very

exciting, but this is one of the most important cuneiform sources for the

eastern campaign of the Macedonian king Alexander the Great. Not

only does thisAstronomical Diary describe the omens before the battle

ofGaugamela and the fight itself (on 1 October 331), but it also tells

how the "king of Asia" entered Babylon.

The cuneiform tablets (BM 36761 + BM 36390) are in the British

Museum. On this website, a new reading is proposed by Bert van der

Spekof the Free University of Amsterdam (Netherlands) and Irving

Finkel of the British Museum. Please notice that this is apreliminaryversion. This web publication is therefore intended to invite suggestions

for better readings, comments and interpretations (go here to contact

Van der Spek).


Earlier editions

Description

Text

Translation

Commentary (obv.)

Commentary (rev.)

Reader's edition

Literature

TRANSLATION / Obverse: BM 36761 (left part)|| BM 36390 (right part)

1 [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..] x [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ] || /x x\ [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..]

2 [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..] /x\ [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..] || The 13th (20 September 331), moonset to sunrise: 32 minutes .. /x\ [..

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..]

3 [.. .. .. .. lunar] eclipse, in its totality covered. 40 minutes of the night [totality? .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..]||broken

Jupiter

set; Saturnus /(blank?\

4[.. .. ...] During totality the west wind blew, during clearing the east wind. [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..] || fourth?; during

the eclipse deaths and plague? in [.. .. ..]

5 [occurred. All] day clouds were in the sky. Night of the 15th, sunset to moonrise: 64 minutes; cl[ouds were in the sky;

the moon was] 71/3 [below Alpha Arietis*,] the moon having past [.. .. .. .. .. ..] to the east; a meteor which [.. .. ..]

6 [.. ..] ... flashed, its light was seen on the ground; very overcast, lightning fl[ashed, .. .. .. .. .. Night of the 17th, .. .. .. ..

..]broken

rain DUL; last part of the night, the moon was [n] behind [Alpha Tauri.]

7 [Clou]ds were in the sky. Night of the 18th, a stroke of lightening in the district KU SI? [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ]|| KI

entered, opposite the temple of Nab (it) occurred [.. .. ..]

8 [.. a d]og?

was burned. Night of the 19th, first part of the night, a stroke [of lightning occurred in .. .. .. .. .. .. ..; last]

part of the night, the moon was 1 2/3 behind Gamma Geminorum; Venus was [n] above [Beta Virginis,]

9 [Venus] having past [n] to the east. Night of the 20th, last part of the night, the moon was [n]/\ below Beta

Geminorum, the moon being 1 1/3 back to the west. The 21st (=28 September 331), equinox; I did not watch. Ni[ght of

the 22nd, last part of the night,]

10 [the moon was] 12 [below] Epsilon Leonis, the moon having passed 1 to the east. Night of the 2[3rd, (.. .. .. .. .. .. ..)

last part of the night, the moon was] 1/2 behind Alpha Leonis. Night of the 24th, clouds were in the sky. Night of the

25th, cl[ouds were in the sky.]

11 [. . . .] thick rain DUL. The 25th, in the morning, clouds were in the sky. Night of [the 26th, last part of the night, the

moon was n below Gamma Virginis, the moon] being 1 1/3? back to the west, it stood 2 1/3 behind Venus to the east.

[(.. .. ..)]


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12 Night of the 29th (6 October 331 BC), solar eclipse which was omitted; (it was expected for) about the 4th minute of

the night after sunset. Night of the 30th, last part of the [night, .. .. .. .. .. . That month, the exchange value (of 1 shekel

silver) was: barley: ... , dates:] 180? litres; mustard: 540 litres, at the end of the month /720?\ [litres; cress: n litres;]

13 sesame: 36 litres; wool 5 pounds. At that time, Jupiter was in Scorpius; Ve[nus was in Leo, at the end of the month, in

Virgo; Saturn was in Pisces; Mercury and Mars, which had set, were n]ot visible. That month, the ri[ver level .. ..]

14 That month (VI = Ululu), on the 11th (18 September 331 BC), panic occurred in the camp before the king. [.. .. .. .. ..

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. The Hanaeans]

15 encamped in front of the king. On the 24th (1 October 331 BC), in the morning, the king of the world [erected his]standard [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..]

16 Opposite each other they fought and a heavy defeat of the troops [of the king he inflicted. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

.. .. .. .. .. ]

17 The king, his troops deserted him and to their cities [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..]

18 [to the l]and of the Gutians they fled.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

19 [Month VII, the 1st (of which followed the 30th of the preceding month);] sunset to moonset: 54+x minutes. Night

of the 2nd, the moon was above Jupi[ter.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..]

20 [.. .. Night] of the 7th, beginning [of the night .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ]

broken off

TRANSLATION / Reverse: BM 36761

1 [.. ..] x [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. That month (= VII = Tashritu, the

exchange value]

2 for 1 shekel of [silver was: barley: ...; dates: ...; mustard: ...; cress: ...; sesame: ... wool: ...]

3 That month (= VII = Tashritu), from the 1st until [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . On the nth day

messengers]

4 came to Babylon (saying) as follows: "Esagila [will be restored .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

.. .. .. .. .. .. ..]

5 and the Babylonians [will give their tithes] to the treasury of Esagila [ .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..]6 On the 11th day (18 October 331) in Sippar an order ofAl[exander, the king of the world, to the Babylonians (...) was

sent]

7 [as follow]s: Into your houses I shall not enter. On the 13th day (20 October 331) [Greeks entered]

8 [the Sikil]la gate, the Outer gate of Esagila and [they prostrated themselves. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

..]

9 [.. .. ..]. The 14th day (21 October), these Greeks a bull, [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ]

10 [n] short [ribs, n] fatty tissues (of the intestines as sacrifice) [sacrificed .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..]

11 [On the nth day] Alexander, the king of the world, entered Babylon [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..]

12 [Hor]ses and equipment [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ]

13 [The atammu?] and the Babylonians and the people [of the land

?.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ]

14 [.. .. ..] a parchment letter to [the Babylonians .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..]

15 [.. .. ..] as follows: [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..]

*

Names of stars: According to a system proposed by Johannes Bayer in

1603, the brightest star in a constellation is called alpha, the second-

brightest is called beta, et cetera. However, many stars already had

proper names that are still popular: e.g., Alpha and Beta Gemini are

called Castor and Pollux. In the scientific edition of the AD, the Bayer

system has been used.


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to part three (commentary obverse)




11/15/2010


23/43




Bust of Alexander the Great,from Delos, now in the Louvre.

Its official title "Astronomical Diary concerning month VI and VII ofthe fifth year of Artaata who is called Darius" may not sound veryexciting, but this is one of the most important cuneiform sources for theeastern campaign of the Macedonian king Alexander the Great. Notonly does thisAstronomical Diary describe the omens before the battleofGaugamela and the fight itself (on 1 October 331), but it also tellshow the "king of Asia" entered Babylon.

The cuneiform tablets (BM 36761 + BM 36390) are in the BritishMuseum. On this website, a new reading is proposed by Bert van derSpekof the Free University of Amsterdam (Netherlands) and Irving

Finkel of the British Museum. Please notice that this is apreliminaryversion. This web publication is therefore intended to invite suggestionsfor better readings, comments and interpretations (go here to contactVan der Spek).

Babylonian ChroniclesEarlier editions

DescriptionText

TranslationCommentary (obv.)

Commentary (rev.)Reader's edition

Literature

Commentary

The diary refers to the battle ofGaugamela and the entry ofAlexanderthe Great into Babylon. Darius III Codomannus is referred to as "theking", Alexander as "the king of the world". In the beginning of thistablet the astral phenomena discussed above are recorded.

For a general discussion, see: Bernard 1990, Kuhrt 1990 and Van der

Spek 2003.Names of stars: According to a system proposed by Johannes Bayer in1603, the brightest star in a constellation is called alpha, the second-brightest is called beta, et cetera. However, many stars already hadproper names that are still popular: e.g., Alpha and Beta Gemini arecalled Castor and Pollux. In the scientific edition of the AD, the Bayersystem has been used.

Obverse

232 minutes. The Babylonian has 8 (U) = 8 degrees. Hunger comments:time intervals shorter than a day are measured in the diaries by the unitU, which corresponds to 4 of our minutes. An appropriate translationfor U is time degree because the celestial sphere moves 1 in rightascension in the time of 1 U. 1/60 of one U is called 1 NINDA. (ADI, p. 16)


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20 September 331 BCE:Pisces, the eclipsed moon, and

the planet Saturn (StarryNight)

3

Lunar eclipse. The lunar eclipse took place on 20 September 331 BCone hour and 10 minutes after sunset, while Saturn was present andJupiter had set shortly before the eclipse was complete. A lunar eclipsewhile Jupiter was invisible was considered a bad omen for the reigningking. The presence of Saturn was also a bad sign.This will have added tothe panic in the camp of Darius III. The eclipse was also recorded in theclassical sources: Arrian of Nicomedia,Anabasis, 3.7.6:

There was an almost total eclipse of the moon, andAlexander sacrificed to the moon, Sun and Earth, who areall said to cause an eclipse. [Alexander's diviner]Aristander thought that the eclipse was favourable to theMacedonians and Alexander, that the battle would takeplace that month, and that the sacrifices portended victoryfor Alexander.

This procedure reminds us of an old Mesopotamian divinatory practice:the eclipse was merely the announcement of a divine message, thecontents of which could be discovered by extispicy. Cf. Van der Spek

2003: 289-296.

3, 5 and 6broken. The text has he-pi written in a kind of cuneiform superscript. Itmeans that this tablet is a copy of an older tablet, which was damaged.Copyists duly recorded this.

DUL must represent a verb related to rain. It is unknown what it is. Cf.Hunger,AD I, p. 30.

4

Winds. The direction of the wind was important for the astrological

interpretation of the heavenly signs.5

7 1/3. The text has 2 2/3 K = 2 2/3 cubit. Hunger comments: Thedistance between moon and star is expressed in cubits (K,Akkadian ammatu) and fingers (SI or U, Akk. ubnu), the fingerbeing 1/24th of a cubit. In the Neo-Babylonian period, 1 cubitcorresponds to 2 (AD I, p. 22). The cubit is also a measure of length:50 cm. See the article on Weights & measures.Alpha Arietis = the brightest star of the constellation Aries (Ram).

7

A stroke of lightning. The text has IZI UB, Akk. miqitti iti, "fall of

fire". The normal sign for "lightning" is GR, Akk. birqu, derived fromthe verb barqu, "to flash". The miqitti iti is lightning that strikes theearth or a building. It is considered an evil omen. Cf. CAD M II, p. 102,s.v. miqittu 5; CAD I/J, p. 228, s.v. itu 1 a 1.

9

Equinox. The autumnal equinox indeed took place on 28 September331 according to the Julian calendar.

10

Alpha Leonis, the brightest star of Leo, also called LUGAL = king, inLatinRegulus, petty king.


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12Solar eclipse. Babylonian astronomers could compute the days onwhich solar and lunar eclipses could take place. Solar eclipses are onlyvisible on small parts of the earth. As a matter of fact a solar eclipse didtake place on 6 October 331 BC, but it could be watched in Greenlandand North America, not in Babylonia.

Exchange value. The text has KI.LAM, Akk. mahru. Hunger translates

equivalent. The astronomers recorded the value at the shekel at theend of each month, i.e. what could be bought for one shekel (=8.33 gr.)of silver of 6 commodities: barley, dates, cuscuta or mustard, cress,sesame and wool. The astronomical diaries contain a exceptionallydetailed database for commodity prices in Babylonia. The data arecollected on the website of the International Institute for Social Historyin Amsterdam (more...). Prices had been high in the late Achaemenidperiod, but in the decades preceding the invasion Alexander they hadfallen.180 litres of dates for 1 shekel of silver is a fair price. The priceshowever would rise sharply after Alexanders invasion and even moreafter his death when the Wars of the Successors broke out.

14

Panic occurred because of the advance of the army of Alexander(Curtius Rufus,History of Alexander of Macedonia, 4.12.14). Thisarmy must have been mentioned in the break. Macedonians are oftenreferred to asHanaeans, a western nomadic tribe and kingdom on themiddle Euphrates in the Middle Babylonian period. This belongs to thearchaizing tendency of diaries and chronicles in rendering geographicnames. This makes them more useful for comparison with omens. Thesame holds true forGutians (people living to the east of the Tigris) inline 18.

Gaugamela

15, rev.11The king of the world. The text has LUGAL , Akk. ar kiati.Technically it is also possible to read: LUGAL-, its king i.e. king ofthe land ofHani (Macedonia). So in theNab-Nasir to ama-uma-ukin Chronicle (ABC 1, IV 27) where mention is made of the cityof Memphis and its king. In view of the context, esp. in rev. 11, andin view of the fact that the expression LUGAL occurs in manyomens, I opt for the translation king of the world (as Hunger did). Itmust be the translation of Alexander's title "king of Asia", because"Asia" was no recognizable concept for a Babylonian scientist (cf. Vande Spek 2003, 299).

In the morning. Plutarch (Alexander, 32.2) maintains that Alexanderoverslept on the day of the battle. The story is probably a myth.

17

This word order, object subject verb, is typical for omens. Thisparticular omen (the king, his troops will abandon him) is given in theBabylonian astrological calendar for lunar eclipses in months III, VIIIand X (Labat 1965, 72:3; 73:7 and 10).

Note that the text says that Darius was deserted by his troops instead ofthe other way around, as is maintained by Arrian (Anabasis 3.13.3), butCurtius Rufus (4.15.28-33) and Diodorus of Sicily (Library of World

History, 17.60.3) present the same picture as the diary. Cf. the chapteron Gaugamela in Lendering 2004 (translation online).


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18The land of the Gutians. The diaries often use archaic geographicalnames. The land of the Gutians stands for the mountainous regions eastof the Tigris. Darius fled in the direction ofEcbatana. Alexandermarched to Babylon.

19The length of the Babylonian month is 29 or 30 days. Hermann Hunger

gives the following explanation for the terminology used here. Thediaries are arranged in sections each of which deals with a single month.Each section begins with the name of the month; after the name, a 1indicates that the preceding month had 30 days; a 30 that it had only29. The idea behind this terminology seems to be that a regular monthought to have 30 days, in which the next month begins with a 1st day;if a month has only 29 days, its successor begins, so to speak, alreadyon the 30th day which would have been theoretically possible for thepreceding month. (AD I, p. 38).

to part four (commentary reverse)

home : index : ancient Mesopotamia : Babylonian Chronicles


4 11/15/2010


27/43




Bust of Alexander the Great,from Delos, now in the Louvre.

Its official title "Astronomical Diary concerning month VI and VII of

the fifth year of Artaata who is called Darius" may not sound very

exciting, but this is one of the most important cuneiform sources for the

eastern campaign of the Macedonian king Alexander the Great. Not

only does thisAstronomical Diary describe the omens before the battle

ofGaugamela and the fight itself (on 1 October 331), but it also tells

how the "king of Asia" entered Babylon.

The cuneiform tablets (BM 36761 + BM 36390) are in the British

Museum. On this website, a new reading is proposed by Bert van der

Spekof the Free University of Amsterdam (Netherlands) and Irving

Finkel of the British Museum. Please notice that this is apreliminaryversion. This web publication is therefore intended to invite suggestions


Van der Spek).


Earlier editions

Description

Text

Translation

Commentary (obv.)

Commentary (rev.)

Reader's edition

Literature

Babylon's Itar Gate(Pergamonmuseum, Berlin)

Commentary

Reverse

4-9

The restorations are speculative, but we know that it was Alexanders

plan to rebuild Esagila (Arrian of Nicomedia,Anabasis 7.17.2), and we

know that Babylonians did pay tithes to the treasury of Esagila with thespecific purpose of removing the debris of Esagil (Cf. Del Monte 1997:

13-17 + n. 41; Jursa 1998: 73f). That high functionaries enter the

temple and prostrate themselves is a recurring theme in the diaries.

5

Tithes to the treasury of Esagila: cf. Alexander's treatment ofEphesus

(Arrian,Anabasis 1.17.10).

7

Greeks. Greeks must have been mentioned in the break in view of the

fact that these Greeks are mentioned in line 9. Lendering (2004,

180-181) draws attention to the fact that in the cuneiform sources, the

soldiers of Alexander are usually calledHanaeans, not Greeks, andsuggests that the conqueror used ambassadors from a Greek town in the

Achaemenid Empire, who knew the diplomatic customs. Alternatively,

Alexander may have thought it better not to send Macedonian

ambassadors, because Macedonians and Babylonians had come to

blows at Gaugamela.

10

Cf. VS VI 268:3 and 7 = NRV 842, the rations of the king for the

goddess Ihara contain, among other things, 10 short ribs of the bull

and 5 fatty tissues of the sheep (I owe the reference to M.Stol). Cf. also

the ritual for the renovation of a temple from Uruk TU 46: Obv. 4


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(Linssen 2002: 300).

Cf. Flavius Josephus,Jewish Antiquities 11.331 for Alexander ordering

a sacrifice according to local customs.



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The Diadochi Chronicle

(BCHP 3): Related texts

Coin of Seleucus minted in 310

in Babylon (British Museum)

The Babylonian Diadochi Chronicle (BCHP 3; a.k.a. ABC 10,Chronicle 10) is one of the historiographical texts from ancientBabylonia. It deals with the history of the Diadochi, the successors ofAlexander the Great, and the Babylonian warbetween the generalsSeleucus and Antigonus Monophthalmus. For a very brief introductionto the literary genre of chronicles, go here.

This page offers apreliminary new edition by Bert van der Spek, FreeUniversity, Amsterdam (Holland), and Irving L. Finkel, British Museum,London, who are currently working on a new edition of all publishedand unpublished chronicles of the Hellenistic period. This publication on

the Livius website is intended to invite suggestions for better readings,comments and interpretations (go here to find the e-mail-address of Vander Spek).

Babylonian ChroniclesPrevious editions

DescriptionText and translation

CommentaryRelated texts

Literature

The return of Seleucus I

Fragment of Column 3 of Diadochi Chronicle? (BM

35920)

1 / ana\ q[-reb ..] /who in\[to]

2 ITI BAR ITI BI mS[i-lu-uk-ku .] MonthNisannu (I = 3 April 1 May 311 BC). In that month, S[eleucus .]

3a ina MU 1.KAMmAn-t[i-gu-nu-su

l

GAL ERN.ME ......] whom in year 1 (of Alexander) Ant[igonus, the general, had deposed and who]4 TA E.KI ZH GUR UD 1 [] from Babylon had fled, returned. Day 1? [.]

5@al-tum E.KI x [] battle (in?) Babylon [..]

Commentary

This small fragment (width 38 mm, height 28 mm) is part of a tabletcontaining more than one column. Preserved is a small part of a rightcolumn. Traces of the left column are preserved. It may be part of theChronicle of the Diadochi if this was indeed a four columned tablet.

The fragment seems to deal with the return ofSeleucus to Babylon after hisearlier flight. In that case this fragment must belong to the lower part of col.

II and deal with year 7 ofAntigonus Monophthalmus = year 6 ofAlexanderIV (311/10), the year in which Seleucus returned, in any event beforemonth III. It gives us the information that Seleucus arrived before the wallsof Babylon around the first of Nisannu = 3 April 311.

The awkward thing is that the flight of Seleucus is dated to year 1 ofAntigonus. This poses two problems.

So far only one doubtful reference to year 1 of Antigonus, whichwould be 317/6 BCE, exists (AD V, no. 53; cf. review Van der Spek,

Bibliotheca Orientalis forthcoming). In addition, chronicleABC10

1.

Diadochi Chronicle (ABC 10) http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/bchp-diadochi/diadochi

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describes this year and the following year as years 7 and 8 of Philiprespectively.Seleucus is supposed to have fled from Babylon in summer/autumn316 (Bosworth 2002: 213 and 282), which would be year 2 ofAntigonus. Perhaps we should review this idea and restore the gapunder Philip year 7 accordingly. Then Seleucus flight would haveoccurred before the end of year 1 of Antigonus = year 7 of Philip =27 March 316.

2.

A better solution is perhaps "that year 1" is not the year 1 of Antigonus, butyear 1 of Alexander IV (i.e. 316/5), and that Antigonus is the subject of thesentence.

Astronomical diaries of the same period

AD I, p. 220-229, No. 321 (BM 34093 + BM 35758)

Obverse

1 MU 2.KAM mPi-il-/ip-su\ [LUGAL BAR Year 2 of Philip, [the king. MonthNisannu (I = 4 April - 3 May 322) ..

Reverse

Month V 13 .. [xgi]?-ri bit-qu DA .GI.HUR.AN.KI.A GIN TA/15\? [.]

. [ the bri]dge of the sluice next to the temple Egihurankia. From the 15?th(14 August 322) [.]

14 /DA\ .GI.HUR.AN.KI./A x\r? SAHAR.HI.A

.SAG.GL a ? BAL.RI? dUTU id-de-ku- [.]

next to the temple Egihurankia, [.]. Debris ofEsagil was removed to thewest bank [.]

Colophon

27 T[A?] U[GU? . m]dEN.A.MU AmGU-im-dEN AmMu-e-zi-bu ana TIN ZI- i-&ur NG.GA [xxxx]

Fr[om? .] Bel-apla-iddin, son of Muallim-Bl, descendant of Muezibu,which he wrote for his good health, which (was) the property of [.]

28 x [.] SAR-ma (blank) . [.] written.

Upper + right edge

EN.NUN gi-n-e TA BAR EN TIL KIN MU 2.KAMPi-il-ip-su LUGAL Diary from month I to the end of month VI of year 2 ofPhilip, the king.

Commentary

27'Bel-apla-iddin is perhaps identical to the Belephantes mentioned byDiodorus of Sicily 17.112.3 [text]. Cf. Van der Spek (2003) p.333.

AD I, pp. 230-1, no. 309 (BM 40591 = 81-4-28, 136)

Obverse

Alexander, son of idem [=Alexander], year 7, month V 17 Aug. 14 Sep. 310 BC

9 . na-su in] 23 IGI hat-tum ina KUR GAR-an GE6 25 ina

ZALG [SI]N?ina IGI? [SAG A nn mm]

[] (ideal) first appearance (of Jupiter) on the 23rd (8 September 310).Panic occurred in the land. Night of the 25th, last part of the night, [the moo]n?

was [.] in front? of [epsilon Leonis].

10 [x]+1 MUL.GAL ma-galKURu me-hi TUK-/TA? MUL\ x [.. .. ..]

[]. a meteor, which was very bright and had a tail [.] from.[.]

11 [] /ITI 4 BN\ 2 qa TA 20 EN TIL ITIe-im uZ[.LUM.MA]

[That month, the exchange value (of 1 shekel of silver) was for barley: at thebeginning] of the month: 26 litres; from the 20th to the end of the month: barleyand d[ates]

12 [] ina pi-ki TI-q ka-si(!) 1 GUR sah-le10 [.. .. ..][were cut off from the market; the satrap??] requisitioned it extrajudicially;mustard: 180 l. ; cress: [n l.]


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13 [. i-n]u- ML.BABBAR 24 ina SAG ABSIN IGIdele-bat ina UR-/A\[.. .. ..]

[sesame: n l.; wool: n pound. At] that time, Jupiters first appearance on the24th in the beginning of Virgo; Venus was in Leo.

14 [] lERN.ME mAn-ti-gu-nu-su @al-tum ina UR[U .... ..]

[ That month,] the troops of Antigonus fought in the ci ty [of Babylon]

------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------

Reverse; colophon

11 [EN.NUN gi-n-e TA ITI MN EN TIL ITI APIN MU7.KAM mA-lek-sa-an-da]rLUGAL /A\ [mKI.MIN mSe-lu]-ku

l[GAL ERN.ME]

[Diary from month ? to the end of month VIII, year 7 of] king [Alexand]er, sonof idem; Seleucus (being) g[eneral.]

Upper edge

[en.nun gi-n-e TA ITI MN EN TIL ITI APIN MU7.KAMmA-lek-sa-an-da]rLUGAL A mKI.MIN mSe-lu-/ku\ l[GALERN.ME]

[Diary from month ? to the end of month VIII, year 7 of] king [Alexand]er, sonof idem; Seleucus (being) g[eneral.]

Commentary

In view of the curvature of the tablet (photo Plate 39 of AD I) notmanysigns seem to be lost on the right part of the tablet, but at least 20 signsseem to be lost at the beginning of the tablet in view of the restoration ofline 11, which can be reconstructed fromAstronomical diary 308, dated

to year 8 of king Alexander and Seleucus the general.




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Ptolemy III Chronicle

(BCHP 11): Related texts

Ptolemy III Euergetes(British Museum)

The Chronicle concerning the invasion of Ptolemy III (the "PtolemyIII Chronicle"; BCHP 11) is one of the historiographical texts fromancient Babylonia. It tells how king Ptolemy III Euergetes invadedMesopotamia and laid siege to Babylon in 246/245 BCE. For a verybrief introduction to the literary genre of chronicles, go here.

The cuneiform tablet (BM 34428) is in the British Museum. On thiswebsite, a reading is proposed by Bert van der Spekof the FreeUniversity of Amsterdam (Netherlands) and Irving Finkel of the BritishMuseum. Please notice that this is apreliminary edition.

This web publication is intended to invite suggestions for betterreadings, comments and interpretations (go here to contact Van derSpek).

Babylonian ChroniclesDescription

Text and translationGeneral commentary

SummaryCommentary obverseCommentary reverseRelated documents

Literature

BM 132276 (AD -245 A), obv.(British Museum).**

Related documents

Two documents are related to the Ptolemy III Chronicle:

Astronomical Diary concerning the yearSE 66 = 246/5 BCE1.Babylonian King List of the Hellenistic Period2.

Astronomical Diary concerning SE 66

Astronomical Diary II, p. 66-72, No. 245

= BM 132276 (1958-4-12, 10) + MNB 1874! ;A.= Rm 767 + 818 + BM 41633 (= 81-6-25,249) + BM 77244 (=83-6-30, 24)

B.

BM 132276 (AD -245 A), rev.(British Museum).**

RM 767 (AD -245 B), obverse(British Museum).**


Of this diary two parts are extant, labelled A and B.

A consists of two fragments, one the upper left part, now in Paris

(MNB 1874!), and the other, adjoining at the right side, now inthe British Museum (BM 132276 (1958-4-12,10)). Cf photographAD II, plate 82.B consists of four fragments which are joined: Rm 767 + 818 +BM 41633 (= 81-6-25,249) + 77244 (= 83-6-30,24). BM 132276I collated on 23 March 2004. This fragment is a thick and heavyfragment of 3.8 cm thickness, height 9 cm. and width 9 cm (atdividing line on obverse). The dividing line on the reversemeasures 7.5 cm.

Ptolemy III Chronicle (BCHP 11): Related documents http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/bchp-ptolemy_iii/bchp_p

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RM 767 (AD -245 B), edge

(British Museum).**

Photo Pl. 82 f.; copy J.-M. Durand, TBER p. 83 (MNB 1874sic);Photo pl. 83; Copy: LBAT 274 (BM 41633 only); date discussedinIraq 16, 206. It is difficult to say how much space is lost on theright edge.

TEXT: A OBVERSE (month I)@ = tsade; & = tet

line numbers with link refer to commentary

TRANSLATION

Nisannu SE66 = 4 April-3 May 246

1 MU 66.KAMmAn-ti-'-ku-su LUGAL BAR () Year 66, Antiochus king. Nisannu ()

11 ( ) ITI BI UD 6.KAM BD .SAG.[L ..() That month, the 6th (9 April 246 BC). The wall ofEsagi[la ..]

12 [.. .. .SAG].L ulx x il-lik-'u U4-mu u- SIG4.HI.A inalb-bi DU-'u ITI BI UD 11.K[AM ..]

12 [to Esag]ila not x x they went. That day: bricks within itthey made. That month, day 11 (14 April) [..]

13 [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..] x [ mS]i-lu-kumAn-ti-'-ku-su ufA-pa-am-mu DUMU.ME- ina .SAG.L x[..]

[.. .. .. .. .. ..] x [S]eleucus, Antiochus and Apame, hischildren, in Esagila x[..]

TEXT: B OBVERSE (month III)TRANSLATION

Simnu SE 66 = 2 June 1 July 246

3' [ITI BI] mSi-lu-ku A mAn-ti-'-ku-su L[UGAL .. .. .. .. ..]

i-ta-nak-/kan\ [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..]

[That month,] Seleucus, son ofAntiochus, the k[ing ..]

established [..]4' [.. .. .. ..] l-tam-mu .SAG.L lda-ta-b[a-ar-ra l]E.KI.ME ki-ni-t .SAG.L x x x x x x x x x x x [.. ..]

[.. .. .. ..] the shatammu of Esagila, the datab[arra and the]Babylonians (of) the kinishtu of Esagila x x x x

5' [.. .. .. ..] DI ina IGI-mamLam--di-ke' a-n[a .. .. .. ....].ME ma-du-tu ina lb-bi D-' NINDA.HI.A K-'ni-gu-t ina lb-bi| GAR-an

[.. .. .. ..] x the estate? which in the past Laodice t[o .,]numerous [offering]s within it they made. They ate bread; afestival was held in it.

TEXT: A REVERSE (month V)TRANSLATION

Abu SE 66 = 31 July 29 August 246

5' [.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ].SAG.GL GL-i ITI BI UD

20.KAM ina E.KI it-ti-em-m[u um-mamAn-ti-'-ku-su

LUGAL GAL-]

[.. within E]sagila occurred. That month, the 20th, (19August) it was heard in Babylon [as follows: "Antiochus,

the great king,6' [NAM.ME .. .. .. .. .. .. hat-t]?u pu-luh-tum ina KURGL-i

[has died". .]x and fear was in the land.

TEXT: B Lower edge TRANSLATION

na-@ar gi-n-e TA BAR EN KIN mAn-ti-'-ku-su

LUGAL TA IZI EN KIN mSi-/lu\-k[u] /A-\ LUG[AL]

Regular observations fromNisannu to Ullu, Antiochus king;from Abu to Ullu, Seleucus, his son, king.

Commentary

A Obverse 12

One of the attestations in the diaries that repairs on Esagila were

regularly being made.

13fA-pa-am-mu. Hunger transliterated a masculine determinative here, butthe feminine denominator (SAL = f) is clearly visible on the tablet. Thename can be no other than Apam and we are relieved from previousattempts to create masculine names like Apames (Sherwin-White, Kuhrt1993: 231) or Apammos (Van der Spek 1993a: 72 note 7, where Iassumed that this Apammos was the son of Antiochus II and BerenicePhernephorus. We now know that the latter was also called Antiochus(Blmel 1992; Kobes 1995)).


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The daughter in question was unquestionably a daughter of Antiochusand Laodice. Laodice gave birth to three daughters, Stratonice III,Laodice and the mother of Antipater, whose name was hithertounknown (Porphyrius,FGrH260 F 32,6; Polybius of Megalopolis,World History, 5.79.12). So we now know the name.

We cannot be certain from this line that the children were present inBabylon on this day. It may be that they attended the last day of the

Akitu festival (1-11 Nisannu), but one must consider the possibility thatsomeone presented offerings "[for the life of Antiochus, the king, andfor S]eleucus, Antiochus and Apam in Esagila". Against this optionplead two arguments:

the construction with "in Esagila" in this part of the sentence isnot paralleled by other descriptions of offerings for the life ofkings;

1.

offerings "for the life of the king" are not attested in the diariesbefore 204 BCE.

2.

The question remains open.

B Obverse 3'i-ta-nak-/kan\ (Hunger read: i ta ka ak) is the Gtn stem of the verb

aknu. This verb has a variety of meanings, of which "to place, toestablish, to institute, to provide" are the most prominent (cf. CAD 1,p. 116-157). The Gtn stem gives the verb an iterative meaning.Seleucus, the crown prince, seems to have instituted something on aregular basis, probably relating to the temple.

4'Dtabarra is an Old Persian loanword indicating "a high judicialofficial" (CAD D, p. 122 s.v.), "law-officer" (Stolper 1985: 91). "It isreasonable to believe that the title labels an officer in the satrapal

service, homologous with the judges (DI.KUD.ME) of Gobryas thesatrap, mentioned in later texts of the (Murash) archive" (ibidem).Note the continued use of the Old Persian loanword dta, "law", inSeleucid Babylonia in CT 49, 102:7 (= Stolper 1993, p. 51, no. 17); 137:29; 173:11 (= Stolper 1993, p. 25, no. 8); ZA 3 (1888) 150, no. 13:9 (=Stolper 1993, p. 28, no. 9. For a discussion: Stolper 1993, p. 60-3.

It is remarkable that the dtabara is inserted here between theshatammu and the kinishtu, though it is not without parallel. In CT 49,118:2; 122:3; 123:3 and 182:3 apaqdu ("representative") of Nikanor ismentioned in the same place. The texts are letters about the payment ofrations (for a discussion see Boiy 2000: 208). The persons in questionprobably are royal officials who kept an eye on the finances of the

temple. In this case it may well have something to do with the landconveyance of Laodice and her sons to Babylon (see next line).

5'

The Laodice here mentioned is Antiochus' wife. The line probablyrefers to the land grant, which Antiochus II had made to his wifeLaodice and her sons, who in turn gave it to the Babylonians, as isregistered in the Lehmann text [to be published]. Festivities were heldon the occasion, offerings presented. The enigmatic phrase "they atebread in it" occurs here again, which in other contexts points at a Greekpractice. See Ruin of Esagila Chronicle (BCHP 6), line 9 with


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commentary.

A Reverse 5'-6'

In view of the fact that the Babylonian King List of the HellenisticPeriod mentions the report of Antiochus' death in this very month, itcannot be something else here. It is telling that this death caused fear inBabylonia. Together with the news of Antiochus' death, news on thestruggle between the queens Berenice and Laodice may have arrived aswell. A victory for Berenice must have been viewed with anxiety in

view of the recent land grants by Laodice, who likely would be annulled(Cf. Van der Spek 1993).

B Lower edge

This line may show that Seleucus II Callinicus was immediatelyaccepted as king at the report of his fathers death. If the tablet is a latercopy, it could have been constructed this way from hindsight.

Babylonian Kinglist (BM 35603obv; British Museum; **)

Babylonian Kinglist (BM 35603)

Obverse

12 [M]U 66.KAM NE ina E.KI i[t]-te-e[-me]13 [vac.] um-mamAn AmAn LUGAL GAL- /NAM!\.[ME]

Translation

12 [Ye]ar 66, Abu (31 July-29 August 246). It was heard in Babylon

13 as follows: "Antiochus, the son of Antiochus, the great king, /hasdied\."

Commentary

Cf. for the news of Antiochus' death the diary above. The traces arehard to read, but since we have only the choice between NAM.ME

(rendering a natural death) or GAZ (rendering a violent death), areading NAM better conforms to the traces.




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Demetrius and Arabia

fragment

The Demetrius and Arabiafragment, reverse (lower part)(British Museum; *; note)

The Diary fragment on Demetrius and Arabia is a very briefhistoriographical notice from ancient Babylonia. The tablet can not bedated but may belong to the reign of the Seleucid king Demetrius I Soter(161-150).

The cuneiform tablet (BM 34433) is in the British Museum. On thiswebsite, a new reading is proposed by Bert van der Spekof the FreeUniversity of Amsterdam (Netherlands) and Irving Finkel of the BritishMuseum.* Please notice that this is apreliminary version of what willbe the diary's veryfirstedition. This web publication is thereforeintended to invite suggestions for better readings, comments and

interpretations (go here to contact Van der Spek).


Text and translationCommentary

Literature


Small piece containing part of the lower reverse of anAstronomicalDiary (see colophon on upper edge). The edge measures, as preserved,2 cm, but it may have been thicker. The obverse is lost. The height ofthe piece is 2.1 cm, the width at the lower edge 1.5 cm. It is impossibleto know how many lines were lost at the beginning and end of the lines.

The Demetrius and Arabiafragment, upper edge

(British Museum).**

Cuneiform tablets normally have a flat side (the obverse) and a moreconvex side (the reverse). Babylonian scribes started to inscribe theobverse side, and then turned the tablet upside down and continued towrite on the reverse. At the end of the text the scribe was at the upperedge again. Sometimes the edges are inscribed as well. In this case theupper edge contained a colophon, easy to see, when the tablet was on ashelf: "Diary of [month A to B, year X Demetrius, king]". The piece wehave here is apparently the lower end of the reverse (it is convex, andhistorical notes are usually at the end of a diary). Consequently, theedge is the upper edge of the tablet.

TEXT TRANSLATION

1' ...... l]ERIN.ME TA /l?\ E[RN.ME ...... ] the troops with/by the t[roops ......

2' ... ] mDi-mit-/ri\ LUGAL u /l\[ERN.ME

......

...... ] which/ofDemetrius, the king, and the [troops? ......

3' ...... ]x ugiBN GAR-an ITI BI x[............ ] x and thestu-measure, which he established. That month x[......

4'......g]i-i-ri AN.TA- [D ...... ......] the upper [br]idge of the ri[ver ......

5' ...... l]ERN.ME ina KURA-ra-bi ana ma-a[h-ri-......

...... ] the troops in the land ofArabia to? [ ......

6'...... B]D?mSi-lu-ku GAR-at[ ...... ......at the wa]ll? of Seleucus was established. [ ......

7' ...... mTi-ma]r-ku MU?- SA4 MU [BI? ..... ...... Tima]rchus he was called. [That?] year? [ ......

Upper edge Upper edge

Demetrius and Arabia fragment http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/bchp-demetrius/demetrius

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/EN.NUN\ [...... /Diary of\ [ ......

This photo is used by kind permission from the InscriptiFact/WestSemitic Research Project of the University of Southern California inLos Angeles.

to part two (commentary)

home : index : ancient MesopotamiaBabylonian Chronicles

Demetrius and Arabia fragment http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/bchp-demetrius/demetrius

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Diary about messengers

of the politai

The "messengers fragment",obverse (British Museum; **)

TheDiary about messengers of the "politai"("messengers fragment")is a small piece from anAstronomical Diary from ancient Babylonia; itdates to the Hellenistic Period.

The cuneiform tablet (known as BM 34434 and Sp. 557) is in the BritishMuseum. On this website, a reading is proposed by Bert van der Spekofthe Free University of Amsterdam (Netherlands) and Irving Finkel ofthe British Museum.* Please notice that this is apreliminary version ofwhat will be the diary's veryfirstedition. This web publication istherefore intended to invite suggestions for better readings, commentsand interpretations (go here to contact Van der Spek).

The editors owe a lot to the suggestions of professor Hermann Hungerof Vienna, especially as regards the astronomical section.


Text and translationCommentary

Literature


Small piece of anAstronomical Diary published here for the first time.Width: 3,4 cm (longest line); height: 3 cm (text part); thickness: 9 mm.Reverse: lost. It is impossible to reconstruct the length of the lines.

TEXT TRANSLATION

1' (trace) ......] ... [......

2' ...... U4?] 21 22 2[3 ...... ...... day?] 21, 22, 2[3 ......

3' ......] KU4-ub U4-mu BI l.TAM x[ ...... ......] enteredsg. That day, the atammu x[ ......

4' ......] EN lERN.ME--nu TAl?ERN?.M[E? ......

......] together with their troops with the tr[oops??.....

5' ......] URI.KI l.TAM .SAG.GL x [...... ...... thesatrap of] Akkad, the atammu of Esagila x [ ......

6' ...... l]Aip-ratmelpu-li-&[e-e ...... ......] the messengers of thepolit[ai .....

7' ...... U]RU Si-lu-ku--a URU.ME u x [...... ......] Seleucia, the cities and x [......

8' ......]x GIM AM.SI pa-a-gu ap-lu x[......That month a ... was born and the new born had the ]x as of an elephant(and) a lower jaw x[ ......

8/9'

9' ...... D]IR AN ZA SI G[IN] 1(?) ina e-r. AN UTA[H ......

...... c]louds were in the sky, the north wind blew. The 1st?, in themorning, very overcast, rain shower [....

10' ......] MAH AN DUL-/hat\ UL GIN 3 inae-r [......

.....] much [....], rain DUL, the south wind blew. The 3rd, in the morning,[......

11' ......]urGUR x [x] x x [..... ......] bta/zta Tauri [....] .... [.....

to part two (commentary)

Bert van der Spek 2005Latest revision: 31 March 2006

y about messengers of the politai http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/bchp-messengers/messeng

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Diary about messengers

of the politai

Antiochus IV Ephiphanes

TheDiary about messengers of the "politai"("messengers fragment") isa small piece from anAstronomical Diary from ancient Babylonia; itdates to the Hellenistic Period.

The cuneiform tablet (known as BM 34434 and Sp. 557) is in the British

Museum. On this website, a reading is proposed by Bert van der Spekof

the Free University of Amsterdam (Netherlands) and Irving Finkel of the

British Museum. Please notice that this is apreliminary version of whatwill be the diary's veryfirstedition. This web publication is thereforeintended to invite suggestions for better readings, comments and

interpretations (go here to contact Van der Spek).

The editors owe a lot to the suggestions of professor Hermann Hunger of

Vienna, especially as regards the astronomical section.


Description

Text and translation

Commentary

Literature

Commentary

It is difficult to date the fragment, though there are some clues. The

mentioning of the city ofSeleucia (l. 7) proves that the tablet dates to

the Hellenistic period. The reference to thepolitai (Greek or Hellenizedcitizens) (l. 6) probably assigns this text to the time ofAntiochus IV

Epiphanes or later. Cf. the Politai Chronicle (BCHP 13) and the Greek

Community Chronicle (BCHP 14).

8.We assume that this line refers to a monstrous birth. Monstrous births

were regularly reported in theAstronomical diaries as they wereconsidered to have ominous power. The Mesopotamian scholars kept a

compendium of omens concerning monstrous births called after its first

two words umma izbu, When a newborn child ..... (cf. Leichty, E.1970).

The wordpagu is unknown. We assume that it is a part of the body of afish, in view of astronomical Diary AD I, p. 198, no. -324 B Rev' 6-7: 19

z .tu-ma|pa-a-ga u getuIInu-nu tuk, "The 19th, a she-goat gave birth,and | (the kid) had apa-a-ga and the ears of a fish, ...." Now fishes do nothave visible ears; hence we assume that the gills of a fish are intended

here. Thepa-a-ga might then refer to another part of the body. Since theword does not occur in the Akkadian dictionaries, it may be an Aramaic

loanword. M. Stol suggestedpagg "jaw, cheek" (Sokoloff 2002: 886).This fits well with the adjectiveaplu: "lower jaw".

8/9

There is a small space between lines 8 and 9. In line 9 the

meteorological and astronomical observations start.

10

DUL. The interpretation of this word is open to doubt. It occursBert van der Spek 2005

Latest revision: 31 March 2006


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exclusively with rain of different kinds (and hail). Cf. H. Hunger, AD I,

p. 30.



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Arsacid diary on Politai

The Arsacid diary on politai(British Museum).**

TheArsacid Diary on Politai is a historiographical text from ancient

Babylonia. It is anAstronomical Diary and describes a river crossing by

a Parthian king and his arrival in Babylon (?), and refers to the city's

Greek citizens (politai).

The cuneiform tablet (BM 35769) is in the British Museum. On this

website, a reading is proposed by Bert van der Spekof the Free

University of Amsterdam (Netherlands) and Irving Finkel of the British

Museum.* Please note that this is apreliminary version of the first

edition. This web publication is therefore intended to invite suggestions


Van der Spek).


A small piece of an astronomical diary of the Arsacid period with

historical content only. The length of the obverse is 4 cm, the length of

line 2 is 2.5 cm, and the length of line 10 is 1.5 cm. The reverse of the

tablet is lost. It is impossible to calculate the original size of the tablet.

We thank professor W.G. Lambert, who drew our attention to this

tablet.


Literature

TEXT TRANSLATION

1 [.] x ku4- ana lugal./me\ [.] [.] they entered. To the kings [.]

2 [iti/ud b]i al-te-me um-m[a .] [. Th]at [month/day] I heard as follows [: .]

3 [.] sig.me-l

ern.me- ana /E\.[ki (?)

.][.] his nobles, his troops to Bab[ylon?.]

4 [.]dma.g.gri-t[e-bir.]

[.] he cro[ssed] the Tigris [into Seleucia on the

Tigris]

5 [. ur]u? lugal--t ku4-ub um?[.]

[and on the Kings Canal, the cit]y? of kingship, he entered

x[.]

6 [.] mAr-a-ka-a lugal m[e??.] [.] Arsaces, the king/s??\[.]

7 [. a]l-te-me um-ma ina KI [.] [. ] I heard as follows: in [.]

8 [.]x.hi.a kap?-pi sum u [.] [.]s of a bowl

? he gave and [.]

9 [.l]pu-li-te-/e\ [.] [.] thepolitai [.]

10 [. ud] 5.kam ina -su k[u4 .] [. day] 5th in his house he en[tered .]

11 [.] x x x [.] [.] x x x [.]

Commentary

cid diary on Politai http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/bchp-arsacid-politai/arsac

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This piece is supposed to be part of anAstronomical diary in view of

the small script and the expression I heard as follows, which occurs in

lines 2 and line 7. This phrase is used by composers of diaries who

hear news from places outside Babylon.

That it dates from the Arsacid period is clear from line 6.Politai

(Greek or Hellenized citizens) occur often in the diaries from the reign

ofAntiochus IV Epiphanes on; first attestation: the Politai Chronicle

(BCHP 13).

1, 6

The plural sign me seems odd, but is practically certain in line 1 and is

possible in line 6.



cid diary on Politai http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/bchp-arsacid-politai/arsac

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Babylonian Astronomical diaries

Documents