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Created 5926[(*??*)] 12 10 2030 [2014-03-13]

Updated 5926[(*??*)] 12 13 2030 [2014-03-16]

 

 

[This copy is based upon:]

ASTRONOMICAL

DIARIES AND RELATED TEXTS

FROM BABYLONIA

BY THE LATE

ABRAHAM J.SACHS

COMPLETED AND EDITED BY

HERMANN HUNGER

Volume I

Diaries from 652 654 B.C. to 262 B.C.

(1988)

[All links, footnotes, and edits by ToL©2014]

 

No. -651

[referencing the astronomical events of -653 / -652 ( =654/653 BCE )]

 

 

Upper edge

1                 [At the command of . . . . ] Bel may it be well.

Col. i

1                 [Month I V (or VI, if a leap month,) . . . .,] the moon became visible in a cloud: it was bright and high.

2                 [Beginn]ing of the night, overcast. Night of the 1st, the river level rose. The 1st, the sun was surrounded by a halo. Night

3                 of the 2nd, (and) the 2nd, overcast. The south wind blew. The 3rd, very overcast. In the afternoon it rained.

4                 Night of the 4th, (and) the 4th, it rained. The 6th, middle part of the day, the sun was surrounded by a halo.

5                 It was split towards the east. The 7th, the moon was surrounded by a halo. The river level rose.

6                 Night of the 12th, overcast. The 12th, the 13th, the 14th, overcast. The 14th,[1] one god was seen with the other[2].[3]

7                 The river level receded. Mercury’s The Moon’s last appearance in the east behind Pisces[4],

8                 and Saturn’s last subsequent appearance behind Pisces[5]; I did not watch because the days were overcast.

9                 The 17th,[6] in the morning,[7] overcast. Thunder, gusty south wind, rain, small (hail)-stones.

10             Mars became stationary located in the area of the Lip of the Scorpion, it came close to the bright star [Antares / ToL©]

11             of the Scorpion’s head. From the 22nd to the 24th, [. . . .]

12             The 25th,[8] Mars was east of the star to the right of the Scorpion [. . . .]

13             The river level rose. Night of the 20th,[9] overcast. Lightning, thun[der, . . . .]

14             a little [. . . .], strong wind. Night of the 21st, rain [. . . .]

15             A little rain, lightning flashed, the south wind [. . . .]

16             2 cubits[10] in front of the Scales. . . . . [. . . .]

17             to the right of the Scorpion 1? [. . . .]

18             . . . . The sun set in a cloud.  . . . . [. . . .]

19             It rained slowly, the south wind [. . . .]

20             [. . . .] night [. . . .]

(rest of column broken)

 

 

Col. ii

1                 The north wind blew. The 15th,[11] an eclipse? [. . . .]

2                 first appearance in the Old Man. The river level [. . . .]

3                 was placed towards the south.   . . . . [. . . .]

4                 first part of the night.   . . . .  [. . . .]

5                 . . . .  [. . . .]

6                 . . . .  [. . . .]

(rest of column broken)

 

Col. iv[12]

1’        [. . . .] the star of [. . . .]

2’        [. . . .] . . . . right? of the moon [. . . .]

3’        [. . . .]  . . . .  [. . . .]

4’        [. . . .]  . . . .  [. . . .]

5’        [. . . .]  . . . .  right of the moon? . . . .  [. . . .]

6’        [. . . .]  . . . .   thunder.  [. . . .]

7’        . . . . The 5th.[13] Mercury’s first appearance in the east in Pisces. [. . . .]

8’        . . . .  towards the south [. . . .]   

9’        . . . .  It rained slowly. The 12th, a halo  . . . .  The river level rose [. . . .]

10’      The troops of Babylonia fought against the troops of Assyria; the troops . . . . [. . . .]

11’      The 13th, the river level rose a little. The 14th, a cloud bank lay to the right of the sun. Night of the 15th, overcast. Three ra[inbows.]

12’      one in the west, one between north and west, and one in the north, were seen. Rain, lightning, thunder.   . . . .

13’      clouds?. The 15th,[14] one god was seen with the other[15]. Gusty south wind, haze crossed the face of the sky. Night of the 16th,[16] the moon was surrounded by a large halo.

14’      The 16th,[17] the sun was surrounded by a halo. The 18th, the sun was surrounded by a . . . halo; the south wind blew. The 19th,[18] Venus

15’      stood in the region of Aries, 10 fingers behind Mars; the moon was surrounded by a halo, and α Scorpii stood in it.[19] The 20th,[20] Mars was 1 finger to the left

16’      of the front[21] of Aries; it came close. The moon was surrounded by a halo, Jupiter Neptune stood in it.[22] The south wind blew.

17’      [. . . .] . . . . The 27th,[23] a rainbow whose brightness was very great stretched in the east.

18’      [. . . .  in] Hiritu in the province of Sippar the troops of Babylonia and of Assyria

19’      fou[ght with each] other, and the troops of Babylonia withdrew and were heavily defeated.

20’      [. . . .  The no]rth wind blew. The 28th, a little rain. In the afternoon, a very red rainbow stretched in the east.[24]

21’      [. . . .] The 27th,[25] the river level rose a little. A rain shower fell. That year little rain . . . .  [. . . .]

 

Col. iii[26]

1’        of . . . .  [. . . .]

2’        in the after[noon . . . .]

3’        . . . .  [. . . .]

4’        The north wind blew. Lunar eclipse[27] . . . . [. . . .]

5’        The 20th?,[28] the moon was surrounded by a halo, (and) Mercury Saturn [stood] in i[t[29]  . . . .]

6’        strong wind. The 21st, . . . .  [. . . .]

 

 

 

Calendar

No calendaric information is preserved in this diary.

 

Comments

i  1:       GUR may be an unusual writing for kur4  =  ba ‘lu “bright”.

i  5:       TAR is said of a halo also in No -567 rev. 15’; its reading here is paris “is split. Divided”, see AHw. 831a mng. 7b.

i 6:        “one god was seen with the other” refers to sun and moon in opposition.[30]

i 8:        NU PAP “I did not watch” unfortunately refers to both planetary statements.

i 12f.:    the items listed in these lines are not in chronological order.[31]

iv 16’:   The traces at the beginning of the line may be restored to ┌SAG┐.KI “front”.[32]

iv 20’:   I cannot read the sign after TIR: ma-diš is possible; this is written ma-a ‘-diš in iv 17’ and 19’, but ma-diš in i 3. DIR? could be SA5 “red”; although a rainbow usually is multicolored, a (predominantly) red rainbow occurs in ACh Adad 6:5f., quoted by F.X. Kugler, SSB II 104.

iv 21’:   The signs KI TU x at the end of the line do not seem to continue the words preceding them; they may be the beginning of the last line of col. iii.[33]

 

 

 

 

 

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[1] Beginning at sunset August 23, 654 BCE:

Given that the reckoning of days begins at sunset, this observation, in all its complexity, identifies the 14th day of this month as beginning at sunset August 23, 654 BCE. I find no viable correlations of the record upon this clay tablet with any other year. Specifically, I have double checked the celestial events of 657-625 BCE and my findings are being reported within:

The record of the month recorded in Col. i provides four specific and concurrent celestial events:

1) The Earth’s horizon vs. the Sun and the Moon:

The event “one god was seen with the other” is an event that occurs every lunar month of the year on the first morning following the astronomical full Moon. Accordingly, this month can only be identified by the other reported events within that month…;

 

2) Mercury vs. Pisces:

Mercury is located in the vicinity of Pisces for a variable period of time every year during January-April, so also from January 27 – April 11 in 652 BCE. Thus, this correlation occurs at least twice every year near the beginning of spring;

 

3) Saturn vs. Pisces:

Saturn was located in the vicinity of Pisces during May 25, 657 BCE - Febr 4, 653 BCE, but not again until March 6, 627 BCE! Accordingly, so far, and if the translation of the tablet is correct, this particular month could only apply to the spring of 656-654 BCE, because on Febr 4, 653 BCE Mercury had not yet entered Pisces and the next full Moon did not happen until February 17, 653 BCE; and

 

4) Mars vs. Scorpio:

Mars entered the constellation Scorpio on Aug 13, 654 BCE while exiting that vicinity on September 20, 654 BCE. The next time that Mars entered the constellation Scorpio began on Feb 15, 652 BCE. Mars exited the vicinity of Scorpio on August 19, 652 BCE. Around March 20, 652 BCE Mars made an apparent turnaround, “became stationary,” close to Antares, “the bright star of the Scorpion…” Considering also the full Moon of this 14th day - while forgetting all about Saturn, and while not considering the remainder of this record – would seem to fit a March 11 (or possibly an April 10,) 652 BCE Mars event.

 

Conclusion: Forgetting all about Saturn and the remainder of this astronomical record, we could consider dating the full Moon event of this 14th day to Mars 8, 652 BCE. On the other hand, if we accept also the Saturn record, then we must discard the Mercury record, while finding the only remaining solution to this equation being that the record of this particular Babylonian month began at sunset on August 9, 654 BCE. Given that the full Moon of March 18, 653 BCE is the 12th Babylonian month, we may conclude that this particular month was the 5 Babylonian month of that year (of, if there was a leap month in Elul, then this month could have been it, that is the extra 6th month.)

The only reasonable solution that I find for the “Mercury” record is that it is a mistranslation, the intended reference being to the Moon, that is, “the full Moon’s last evening appearance while rising over the eastern horizon behind Pisces…” Cf. footnote #4!

[2] The words “one god was seen with the other” signifies that the astronomical full Moon has been reached.  The first time in the months when the Moon is still above the western horizon at the time of first sunrise, the point of perfect opposition has been passed, and thus also the exact point of astronomical full Moon. This is a most important event in the Jewish Rabbinical calendar reckoning, as also in the Babylonian calendar reckoning, because it is easily observable and can be used for pinpointing the adjacent astronomical New Moon, which is not visible unless a lunar eclipse is visible from the location of the observer.

In the Jewish calendar of antiquity this day defined the 13th day of the month, a secret closely held by the Sanhedrin. Apparently the Babylonian calendar months are chosen so as to make this day the 15th day of the month, but on this occasion, for some reason, it fell on the 14th day.

[3] Cf. Sach’s original Comment “i 6”

[4] That is, the last time the fulling Moon could be seen in the east prior to sunset. And, yes, the Moon was on that evening, the 14th of that month, following the rising of Pisces over the eastern horizon. 108 minutes later Saturn could also be seen rising over the eastern horizon after Pisces.

That is, when, in the evening, the full Moon is being seen very close to the horizon at the time of sunset, for the last time of any given month, then one knows that the astronomical full Moon is imminent. Correlating this event with another luminary on the sky, or, as here, with the constellation Pisces, is very useful for identifying one similar event from another, making the observation most valuable for chronological dating purposes.

In this instance there must be a mistranslation, because, as best I can tell, Mercury was nowhere near Pisces at this time, while I find most all other events in this record correlating with such calculations as are being done by modern astronomy programs…

That is, provided the path of Mercury has not been changed since this very first of all extant astronomy clay tablets??? Who knows?

[5] That is, while Saturn is exiting Aries before entering Pisces, on the evening of the 14th, it was rising over the eastern horizon after Pisces did.

This is yet another associated celestial event, the 4th one, being added for precise dating purposes. Cf. footnote #1.

[6] Beginning at sunset August 26, 654 BCE.

[7] The morning of August 27, 564 BCE.

[8] The first two luminaries becoming visible on the evening sky of Sept 4, 654 BCE were Mars and Antares, the prime luminary within Scorpio. Mars is found to the east relative to Antares of Scorpio to the right and a little below.

[9] The dates provided by the translator seem to indicate that this is a later month, or else the numbers should be 26+ and 27+ respectively.

[10] 2 cubits = 3º. For details, please cf. this footnote within my study of VAT 4956!

[11] January 18-19, 653 BCE. This is the first eclipse prior to the sequence of events recorded in Col. iv, which events are uniquely identifiable to the Babylonian month beginning at sunset March 3, 653 BCE, that is, based upon the 15th day being the day of the first sunrise fullmoon that was visible on the morning of March 18, 653 BCE from the Babylonian horizon. The Starry Night Backyard values from the Baghdad horizon on March 3, 653 BCE are: Sunset: 17:58:02; Moonset: 18:42:55; Lag: 44 min 53 sec; Illum.: 0.73%. Thus, this Babylonian month began with the first sunset following the astronomical New Moon. The Scriptural month would have begun with the first visible New Moon on the following day, March 4, 653 BCE.

[A comment re Sachs’ and Hunger’s relative order of events recorded within the last three columns on BM 32312 vs. my placement [in the month beginning at sunset on March 3, 653 BCE] of the events recorded in Col. iv: Unless the Moon has changed its path there was only one lunar eclipse between the 5th lunar month [September] of 654 BCE [Col. iii] and between the subsequent 12th lunar month [Col. iv.] Given that this eclipse is dated to the 15th of the month, we know that it is a lunar eclipse that is being referenced. (Given the similarities between Col. ii, l.1 and Col. iii, l. 4’, I would be forced to suggest – if the reverse right to left order of Col. iii and Col. iv are to be retained - that one of these columns is a replacement for the other. But how sensible is that?!! Or at least I do not find more than one lunar eclipse within months six through twelve of the year 364/363 BCE. However, this problem is eliminated by restoring the proper and most natural order of Col. iii and of Col. iv on the reverse side of the tablet.]

[12] Cf. footnote #24!

[13] March 8, 653 BCE.

[14] March 18, 653 BCE: Given 1) that Col. iv is providing only one sequence of monthly dates, that is, from the 5th through the 28th, and 2) the fact that lines 17’, 18’ and 19’ may be identified to the month of Adarru in king Assurbanipal’s 16th year of reign, that is, by means of the Akito Chronicle (BM 86379,) which seem to record the very same fight, it seems safe to conclude 3) that Col. iv is a record of the celestial events of Adarru in Assurbanipal’s 16th year. Given the many astronomical particulars recorded within this month we may safely correlate that 16th year with the year 654/653 BCE, that is, Adarru is the last month in the Babylonian calendar year.

[15] Cf. footnote #2

[16] After sunset March 18, 653 BCE.

[17] The morning of March 19, 653 BCE. Notice the evening record of the same 16th day on the prior line. That is, powerful evidence for the Babylonian calendar reckoning its days from sunset to sunset!

[18] After sunset on March 21, 653 BCE.

[19] Notice that Antares (=α Scorpii) was located within <9º of the Moon. That is, well within the inner edge (22º) of the radius of the Moon. Cf. footnote #26 for more details re the size of lunar halos!

[20] Beginning at sunset on March 22, 653 BCE.

[21] Cf. Sach’s original Comment “iv 16’ ”

[22] If March 22, 653 BCE is the correct date of this event, then “Jupiter” must be a mistranslation, because there can be no halo of the Moon on that half of the sky which is centered directly away from the Moon. If it was, then that would more correctly be called a rainbow, but I’ve never heard of a rainbow being seen in consequence of the light from the Moon. Perhaps I am wrong? If so, please inform me! On March 22, 653 BCE Jupiter was located 95 degrees away from the Moon, and therefore could not possibly have been observed within a halo of the Moon. Neptune, on the other hand, was at that time close enough to the Moon (<17º) in order to fit the description of this record.  Indeed, if Jupiter was within the halo of the Moon at this time, then so ought Mercury to have been, but that is not possible! Cf. footnote #26! For more info re halos, please cf. footnote #26!

Unfortunately, most “scholars,” being generally all too indoctrinated by their “education” and conventional traditions of “science,” so called, will argue that certainly Neptune could not have been seen by those ancient astronomers. This is indeed most unfortunate, considering our ever growing insights into the very advanced technologies of ancient societies. For more discussion about such issues, please review the following portion of my email correspondence with Ann OMaly:

Gunnar (2010-06-28:) “Well, I am not buying that kind of argument… To me that is underestimating the abilities of the ancients. Besides that, if, as you say, 1 cubit = 2 degrees, then, if indeed 1 cubit = 24 fingers (?,) then how could it be that line 11 obv. provides us with a measurement, “1 cubit 4 fingers,” that can hardly be considered less than 1 cubit or more than 1.5 cubits, that is, a distance corresponding to a value that is more than 2 degrees and less than 3 degrees. In other words, the precision in this particular measurement is definitely better than 1 degree. Even more so if you consider my new definition of the cubit, which is even smaller than yours… Accordingly, the observer behind VAT 4956 must necessarily have had means in his disposal for making such precise observations, and we have no reason for thus discrediting the precise abilities of the ancients. To me that species of reasoning is just part of the propaganda used by the media for fooling the masses into believing the myths of the theory of evolution which obviously do not hold up to a close scrutiny of the facts! Indeed, I do not believe that, as you say, “the ancients relied [exclusively] on their naked eyes!” ”

Ann (June 29, 2010:) “You don't mean you think magnifying technology was available to them, do you?”

Gunnar (July 6, 2010:) “I’d be mighty surprised if they didn’t!!!”

“Allow me to translate parts of a section out of a book written in the Swedish language:

“Mirrors

“Considering the studies of ancient researchers of the stars and astronomers, one is forced to consider also that the detailed and comprehensive studies of theirs cannot have been a result of mere naked eye observations. Certainly one is forced to presume certain the existence of certain technical tools.

“A case in point is the great lighthouse of Alexandria, which had a large mirror with which it was possible to study objects at great distances. This is evidence of their abilities within the art of building a mirror telescope. Said lighthouse was built in historical times, that is, about 250 BCE, but this fact in should in no way diminish its value as a sign of the technical skills of the ancients. That lighthouse was a 180 meters tall building and it had a complicated system for generation of light on top… An enormous mirror was placed at its peak, through which it was possible to observe details of things that happened in distant locations… The mirror could also be adjusted for purposes of setting fire to ships [far out] upon the sea…

“…at the time of about 600 BCE a lighthouse is described at the ‘Sigeum in Troa’ peninsula…”

”(from Kjellson, Harry, and Mattsson, Carl-Anton, Teknik i Forntiden, pp.28-29 (Valentin Förlag AB, Stockholm, 1990. ISBN 91-87686-19-8. Freely translated by Gunnar Anders Smårs Jr ©)

“No doubt you can find much more evidence for such if only you pursue it! Never forget the words of the one being referenced in Revelation 3:20!”

Accordingly, I am convinced that the astronomers of Assurbanipal in 654 BCE did indeed have the necessary technology for keeping track of Neptune. Indeed, I find proof for that conviction of mine within each one of said astronomical records, that is, the clay tablets knows as BM 32312 and VAT4956!

 

[23] Beginning at sunset March 29, 653 BCE: The Adar 27 in the 16th year of Shamash-shuma-ukin’s [=Assurbanipal’s] reign. That is, as identifiable by a comparison of the words found in Col. iv, lines 18’ and 19’ vs. the corresponding words found in the Akitu Chronicle (BM 86379:)

“The sixteenth year of Shamash-shuma-ukin: . . . On the twenty-seventh day of Adar [the 12th month] the armies of Assyria and Akkad [Babylonia] did battle in Hirit. The army of Akkad retreated from the battlefield and a major defeat was inflicted upon them.24

Footnote 24: “A. K. Grayson, Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles (Locust Valley, New York: J. J. Augustin Publisher, 1975), pp. 131–32.” (From GTR4, p. 167.)

[24] Could this be a reference to a solar corona rather than to a rainbow? Probably not, because if so, then either “afternoon,” or else “east,” as translated within line 20’ would also be a mistranslation, because a corona is centered upon the Sun, that is, centered upon the light source, whereas a rainbow is centered away from its light source. A corona, however, is characterized by its red color. Cf. Wikipedia’s article on Corona!

[25] Based upon general pattern and format of this clay tablet, I believe the correct date should be, not “The 27th,” but “The 29th.”

[26] Cf. footnote #24

[27] I don’t know why, but most likely in order to fit their pet theory re chronology, Sachs et. al. have reversed their numbering of the columns on the reverse side of the table. Reportedly, Sachs has numbered his columns on the obverse from left to right, but on the reverse he has numbered his columns from right to left. Clearly this provides a better fit for his idea that the observations apply to 652/651 BCE. However, once this error is corrected this observation, like the remainder of the recorded observations, fits 654/653 BCE a whole lot better than does 652/651 BCE.

Accordingly, this lunar eclipse must be none other than the July 13, 653 BCE partial lunar eclipse which covered 77% of the lunar diameter. The subsequent line on the tablet should confirm our conclusion re the order of the columns. Cf. footnote #10 and footnote #30!

[28] (July 17, or, almost certainly,) July 18, 654 BCE, (five or) six days subsequent to the lunar eclipse reported on line 4’.

[29] Because…

1) Mercury is always located within “28 degrees” of the Sun;

2) because the Moon, on the 20th of a lunar 29.5 day long month, can never be closer to the sun than 180º-73.2º=106.8º ( (6 days [away from astronomical full Moon] /29.5 days) * 360º = 73.2º;) and

3) the inner edge of the lunar halo has a radius of 22º or 23º, the apparent size of the surrounding illuminated clouds varying somewhat depending on the clouds involved, a large one probably with a radius of 33º±;

4) it follows that Mercury could not at that time be within the Moon’s halo, because 33º + 73.2º = 106.2º, which is nowhere near the required 180º - 28º = 152º. The halo of the Moon would have to have been reckoned as having an outer radius of (152º - 106.2º) + 33º = 78.8º [or 78.8º - 12º = 66.8º [or 54.8º] if the astronomical full Moon fell on the 14th day of that month,] thus bringing the outer edge to within 12º [or 24º] of a halo with a 90º radius. That is not possible! (Please correct me where I am wrong!)

Therefore, this translation, “Mercury,” is necessarily a mistranslation. Saturn, on the other hand, was at this time, July 17 or July 18 [if the astronomical full Moon fell on the 14th day of that month,] 654 BCE, located upon that half of the sky which is opposite from the Sun, that is, within <30º and <19º of the Moon at the time of the last two dates respectively. For other objects within this tablet that were observed within halos, please cf. footnotes ##17 (Antares (=α Scorpii) was located within <9º of the Moon,) 20 (Neptune within <17º,) and 26 [this footnote, i.e. Saturn (within <30º or, almost certainly) <19º, considering all the other halo observations within this tablet and within VAT 4956.] Additionally there are halos referenced in VAT4956: 1) The Pleiades, Auriga, and the Bull, all within <20º± (line 6’;) 2) Leo and Cancer (line 7’;) and 3) α Leonis within <19º and Praesepe within <5º of the Moon. Cf. the following links for more general info re lunar halos: 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.

If Col. iii should indeed be placed prior to Col. iv, then this line would fit an observation  of Jupiter (rather than Saturn.) That is, Jupiter was located close enough to the Moon, at a time fitting this relative order of columns iii and iv. However, such a placement, in order to fit the 654/653 BCE scenario, would force one to find another explanation of the two lunar eclipses on this tablet, for instance to the effect of one of columns ii and iii being a discarded duplicate of the other. The very similar wording on line 4’ rev. and line 1 obv. could be taken in support of such a contention. Accordingly, I find that Saturn is by far the most likely luminary being referenced within the Moon’s halo at this time. Cf. footnote #24!

[30] Cf. footnote #2!

[31] Cf. footnote #8!

[32] Seems to me as though a better translation than “front” is “face,” that is, referencing the face of the lamb Aries, cf. the linked drawing of Aries within the astronomy software that I am using, that is, Starry Night Backyard.

[33] These words of Sachs and Hunger constitute very powerful evidence that their numbering of the columns on the reverse of the tablet are made from right to left! Cf. footnote #24!