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When did Xerxes/Ahasuerus reign begin?
And What About Artaxerxes I, Darius II, and Artaxerxes
II?
Conclusions from
the Elephantine Papyri and More
Abstract:
Studying carefully the details of
the Elephantine papyri dates in conjuntion with the corresponding Scripture
passages I find all data necessary for placing narrowly the beginnings of the
reigns of each of the above named Persian kings (cf. also the Elephantine papyri portion of this spread sheet:)
Considerations:
Two
exact anchor points are given:
1.
“AP 5. Elul 18 = Pachons 28, year 15 of Xerxes” - between sunset Sept 12 and sunrise Sept 13, 471
BCE.
2.
“AP 6. Kislev 18 = Thoth [17], year 21, the beginning of
the reign of Artaxerxes 1” - between
sunset Jan 2 and sunrise Jan 3, 464 BCE.
What
calendar(s) are being used for the reckoning of years in these two papyri? What
may we learn from the exact anchor points above to answer this last question?
Three calendars may be
considered:
1.
The Egyptian calendar beginning with Thoth 1;
2.
The Babylonian/Persian calendar beginning with Nisanu/Abib 1; and
3.
The Scriptural calendar beginning with Tishri 22.
The
above dates Sept 12/13, 471 BCE and Jan 3, 464 BCE may each be defined in terms
of any of these three calendars. Given that both dates are real points in time
each of these two dates may be defined in terms of three different calendars.
Each of the resulting calendar years may then be used for defining the other
papyrus’ date. If the results are incompatible some options may be excluded as
impossible. Beginning from either one of either AP 5 or AP 6, 3^2=9 or 3*3=9
options may next be compared with one another such that we may per chance learn
something of value re which calendars were being used and eventually something
more definite re the date of Xerxes accession to the throne. Thusly:
I.
Re AP 5 & Sept 12/13, 471 BCE in “year 15 of Xerxes:”
1.
Babylonian/Persian calendar: The year beginning Nisanu 1, 471 BCE
(Feb/Mar/Apr.)
a.
è “year 21” (Babylonian/Persian) would begin
Nisanu 1, 465 BCE, which year DOES include Jan 2/3, 464 BCE.
i.
è “year 21” (Scriptural/Jewish) would begin Tishri 22,
466 BCE, which year DOES NOT include Jan 2/3, 464 BCE; or else Tishri 22, 465 BCE, which year DOES include
Jan 2/3, 464 BCE.
ii.
è “year 21” (Egyptian) would begin Thoth 1, 466 BCE,
which year DOES NOT include Jan 2/3, 464 BCE.
2.
Scriptural/Jewish calendar: The year beginning Tishri 22, 472 BCE (Oct,
472 BCE and given that AP 5 is dated in Elul.)
a.
è “year 21” (Scriptural /Jewish) would begin Tishri 22,
466 BCE, which year DOES NOT include Jan 2/3, 464 BCE.
i.
è “year 21” (Babylonian/Persian) would begin Aviv 1, 466
BCE, which year DOES NOT include Jan 2/3, 464 BCE; or else Aviv 1, 465 BCE, which year DOES include Jan
2/3, 464 BCE.
ii.
è “year 21” (Egyptian) would begin Thoth 1, 467 BCE,
which year DOES NOT include Jan 2/3, 464 BCE.
3.
Egyptian calendar: The year beginning Thoth 1, 472 BCE (Dec 19, 472 BCE
at sunrise.)
a.
è “year 21” (Egyptian) would begin Thoth 1, 466 BCE,
which year DOES NOT include Jan 2/3, 464 BCE.
i.
è “year 21” (Babylonian/Persian) would begin
Aviv 1, 465 BCE, which year DOES include Jan 2/3, 464 BCE.
ii.
è “year 21” (Scriptural/Jewish) would begin
Tishri 22, 465 BCE, which year DOES include Jan 2/3, 464 BCE.
II.
Re AP 6 & Jan 2/3, 464 BCE in “year 21” of Xerxes:
4.
Babylonian/Persian calendar: The year beginning Nisanu 1, 465 BCE
(Feb/Mar/Apr, 465 BCE.)
a.
è “year 15” (Babylonian/Persian) would begin
Nisanu 1, 471 BCE, which year DOES include Sept 12/13, 471 BCE.
i.
è “year 15” (Scriptural /Jewish) would begin
Tishri 22, 472 BCE, which year DOES include Sept 12/13, 471 BCE, i.e. Elul, 471
BCE, the prior calendar year; or else
Tishri 22, 471 BCE, which year DOES NOT include Sept 12/13, 471 BCE, i.e. Elul,
471 BCE.
ii.
è “year 15” (Egyptian) would begin Thoth 1,
472 BCE, which year DOES include Sept 12/13, 471 BCE.
5.
Scriptural/Jewish calendar: The year beginning Tishri 22, 465 BCE
(Sep/Oct, 465.)
a.
è “year 15” (Scriptural /Jewish) would begin Tishri 22,
471 BCE, which year DOES NOT include Sept 12/13, 471 BCE, i.e. Elul, 471 BCE,
the prior calendar year.
i.
è “year 15” (Babylonian/Persian) would begin
Aviv 1, 471 BCE, which year DOES include Sept 12/13, 471 BCE, i.e. Elul, 471
BCE; or else Aviv 1, 470 BCE, which year
DOES NOT include Sept 12/13, 471 BCE, i.e. Elul, 471 BCE.
ii.
è “year 15” (Egyptian) would begin Thoth 1,
472 BCE, which year DOES include Sept 12/13, 471 BCE.
6.
Egyptian calendar: The year beginning Thoth 1, 465 BCE (Dec 17, 465 BCE
at sunrise.)
a.
è “year 15” (Egyptian) would begin Thoth 1, 471 BCE,
which year DOES NOT include Sept 12/13, 471 BCE, which year falls in the prior
year.
i.
è “year 15” (Scriptural /Jewish) would begin Tishri 22,
470 BCE, which year DOES NOT include Sept 12/13, 471 BCE, i.e. Elul, 471 BCE.
ii.
è “year 15” (Babylonian/Persian) would begin Aviv 1, 470
BCE, which year DOES NOT include Sept 12/13, 471 BCE, i.e. Elul, 471 BCE.
Preliminary conclusions:
I
conclude that “year 15” of AP 5 could be:
1.
Babylonian reckoning while AP 6 is either Babylonian or Scriptural (if the
accession year began between Tishri 22 and Aviv 1 and thus the Babylonian
regnal year precedes the Scriptural) reckoning;
2.
Scriptural reckoning while AP 6 is Babylonian reckoning (if the
accession year began between Aviv 1 and Tishri 21 and thus the Scriptural
regnal year precedes the Babylonian;) or
3.
Egyptian reckoning while AP 6 is either Babylonian or Scriptural
reckoning; or, to look at the same thing from the other point of view, that:
“Year
21” of AP 6 could be:
1.
Babylonian reckoning while AP 5 is either Babylonian (if
Scriptural reckoning precedes Babylonian,) Scriptural (if
Babylonian reckoning precedes Scriptural,) or Egyptian reckoning; or
2.
Scriptural reckoning while AP 5 is either Babylonian (if
Babylonian reckoning precedes Scriptural) or Egyptian reckoning.
In
summary then: “Year 21” of AP 6 cannot possibly be Egyptian reckoning. Given
that accession years are not used for Egyptian reckoning it is obvious that
“the beginning of the reign of Artaxerxes” cannot possibly be Egyptian
reckoning either. Provided AP 5 & 6 are using the same dating conventions,
I realize that it is possible for the full regnal year designation of AP 6 to
be either all Babylonian or all Scriptural reckoning or a mixture of the two,
albeit a mixture would seem unlikely and senseless. However, if AP 6 is using
Scriptural reckoning then AP 5 must be using Babylonian or Egyptian reckoning.
However,
are the options requiring the Scriptural reckoning to precede the Babylonian
really possible, i.e. considering also the Egyptian date? That is to say: Could
AP 5 & 6 both use Babylonian reckoning, or else could AP 5 use Scriptural and
AP 6 Babylonian reckoning? For the Scriptural reckoning to precede the
Babylonian reckoning the accession must have occurred between Aviv 1 and Tishri
21 and if it did then the Egyptian year #1 would have begun at the same time
and indeed the Scripture year would precede the Babylonian year.
There
is the possibility though that if accession began between Tishri 22 and Thoth
1, then the Egyptian regnal year 2 would begin while both Babylonian and
Scriptural reckoning were both reckoning dates as being in the accession year.
The reckoning of the latter two would then continually tail the Egyptian
reckoning by either 1 or 2 years and not as otherwise by 0 to 1 years! Is there
any evidence of such a situation among the Elephantine papyri? The two year difference
would then be recognizable between Thoth 1 and Aviv 1 when using Egyptian and
Babylonian dating, and between Thoth 1 and Tishri 21 when using Egyptian and
Scriptural dating on a papyrus. If such a two year difference could be found,
then this would be strong evidence for true Egyptian reckoning, whereas if the
accession of a certain king was known to have occurred between Tishri 22 and
Thoth 1 and no such two year differences are found where they would be
expected, then the reckoning may have been Babylonian while using an Egyptian
calendar only for giving the date, i.e. a hybrid system of dating and
reckoning.
A
change of scribal dating policy is revealed during the reign of Artaxerxes I:
Although
I do not have the direct and simple data available to me in order to be able to
arrive at the answer to these last considerations, I can do so by looking at
the greater pattern of dating for the 13 double dated documents available from
the reign of Artaxerxes I:
Carefully
considering this
table of double dated papyri etc. it seems quite clear that at one point in
time the scribes of in
It
would seem likely that this practice and this policy would reflect a change in
the policy of the scribes that would be unrelated to the change of kings. If
so, then, unless there are any other specific indicator to the contrary, one
could assume that these two policies could fairly safely be extrapolated both
backwards and forwards in time. Thus, by default the Elephantine papyri written
during Xerxes/Ahasuerus are most likely using Egyptian regnal years, and in
accord also with our findings above, the regnal year of AP 5 should be
considered Egyptian reckoning, while both parts of the regnal year of AP 6 must
be either Babylonian or Scriptural year reckoning, most likely Babylonian.
Conclusions:
What
part of the year did Ahasuerus and Artaxerxes begin their respective reigns?
It
follows that some conclusions may be drawn re the time of year when these kings
acceded to the throne:
The
beginning of the reign of Artaxerxes I:
Given
that Artaxerxes I’s 2nd year of reign per the Egyptian calendar began
(cf. AP 6, which was dated Thoth 17 & Kislev 18, between sunset Jan 2 and
sunrise Jan 3, 464 BCE.) with Thoth 1, 465 BCE (beginning at sunrise December
17, 465 BCE) I conclude that his reign began between Thoth 1, 466 BCE and the
beginning of Thoth 1, 465 BCE.
Given
also that Artaxerxes I’s accession year per the Babylonian calendar ended at
the beginning of Aviv 1, 464 BCE, I conclude that he acceded to the throne
between Aviv 1, 465 BCE and the beginning of Aviv 1, 464 BCE.
Combining
the statements within the two above paragraphs it follows that Artaxerxes I’s reign began
between Aviv 1, 465 BCE and Thoth 1, 465 BCE, or, if AP 6 had been using the
Scriptural fall-to-fall calendar, then the beginning of his reign would be
narrowed down even to some time between Tishri 22 465 BCE and Thoth 1, 465 BCE; however, it follows from the discussion below re the
beginning of the reign of Ahasuerus that, per the book of Esther, AP 6 was
using Babylonian reckoning and not Scriptural fall-to-fall reckoning.
Because we do not yet know whether the reign of Artaxerxes I began before or
after Tishri 22, 465 BCE, I am unable to conclude the beginning of the
Scriptural year reckoning based upon merely the Elephantine papyri and the book
of Esther. Thus, the exact placement in time of the Scriptural regnal years
indicated in the book of Nehemiah, remain to be determined… Going to the book of Nehemiah I
find that the Scriptural regnal years tail the Babylonian regnal years and
thus I conclude that the reign of Artaxerxes began after Tishri 22, 465 BCE.
Thus, Artaxerxes I’s
reign began between Tishri 22, 465 BCE and Thoth 1, 465 BCE.
The
beginning of the reign of Ahasuerus/Xerxes:
Given
that Ahasuerus’ 15th year of reign per Egyptian non-accession
reckoning began (cf. AP 5, which was dated “Elul 18 = Pachons 28, year 15 of
Xerxes,” i.e. between sunrise Sept 12 and sunrise Sept 13, 471 BCE) with Thoth
1, 472 BCE (beginning at sunrise December 19, 472 BCE) I conclude that his
reign began between Thoth 1, 486 BCE and the beginning of Thoth 1, 485 BCE.
Given
also that Ahasuerus’ 21st year of reign per the Babylonian calendar,
if Babylonian reckoning was used for AP 6, ended no later than at the beginning
of Aviv 1, 464 BCE, I conclude that, if so, then he acceded to the throne
between Aviv 1, 486 BCE and the beginning of Aviv 1, 485 BCE.
Given
also that Ahasuerus’ 21st year of reign per the Scriptural/Jewish
calendar, if Scriptural/Jewish reckoning was used for AP 6, ended no later than
at the beginning of Tishri 21, 464 BCE, I conclude that, provided AP 6 is using
the Scriptural fall-to-fall calendar, Ahasuerus acceded to the throne between
Tishri 22, 486 BCE and the beginning of Tishri 21, 485 BCE.
Combining the
statements within the three above paragraphs it follows that Ahasuerus’/Xerxes’
reign began either 1) between Thoth 1, 486 BCE and Aviv 1, 485 BCE, if AP 6 is
referencing the Babylonian calendar, or, 2) if AP 6 is using the Scriptural fall-to-fall calendar, then the beginning of
Ahasuerus’/Xerxes’ reign began some time between Thoth 1, 486 BCE and Tishri
21, 485 BCE.
Although the more narrow 1) above covers the more likely alternative, 2) is a
more certain statement given the facts of
the available contemporary documents. Nevertheless, considering
carefully also the dates provided in the book of Esther, I conclude that the reign of Ahasuerus began between Thoth 1,
486 BCE and Aviv 1, 485 BCE.
The
beginning of the reign of Darius II:
Given
that all of the Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the Scriptural calendar reckoning
are being clearly identifiable from the available papyri (cf. this table and
this table,) the beginning of the
reign of Darius II may be certainly narrowed down as follows:
Given
that Darius II’s 9th year of reign per Egyptian non-accession
reckoning began (cf. AP 25, which was dated between
sunset Nov 16 and sunrise Nov 17, 416 BCE)
with Thoth 1, 417 BCE (beginning at sunrise December 5, 417 BCE) I conclude
that his reign began between Thoth 1, 425 BCE and the beginning of Thoth 1, 424
BCE.
Given
also that Darius II’s 4th year of reign per the Babylonian calendar
began (cf. AP 20, which was dated between
sunrise and sunset Sept 2, 420 BCE) at the
beginning of Aviv 1, 420 BCE, I conclude that he acceded to the throne between
Aviv 1, 424 BCE and the beginning of Aviv 1, 423 BCE.
Given
also that Darius II’s 3rd year of reign per the Scriptural/Jewish
calendar began (cf. Kraeling 6, which was dated between sunrise and sunset on June 11, 420 BCE) at the beginning of Tishri 22, 421 BCE, I conclude
that Darius II acceded to the throne between Tishri 22, 424 BCE and the
beginning of Tishri 22, 423 BCE.
Combining
the statements within the three above paragraphs it follows that the reign of Darius II began between Tishri
22, 424 BCE and Thoth 1, 424 BCE. Furthermore, because all three calendars, the Egyptian, the
Babylonian, and the Scriptural/Jewish calendars, are defined for Darius, it
follows that so also are the accession years of the Babylonian and the
Scriptural/Jewish calendars…If the total number of years of reign of his
predecessor, Artaxerxes I was known in terms of those calendars then his
accession year would likewise be known, but thus far I do not have a way of
ascertaining Artaxerxes’ Scriptural regnal years exactly…
The
beginning of the reign of Artaxerxes II:
Given
that only the Egyptian regnal years are well defined by the dates in the
available papyri for this time period, and given that the scribal practice
during Darius II of specifying both regnal years when different is not followed
in Kraeling 9 & 10 and the beginning of Artaxerxes II’s reign can only be
defined in terms of the Egyptian calendar so far as the Elephantine papyri are
concerned:
Given
that Artaxerxes II’s 3rd year of reign per Egyptian non-accession
reckoning began (cf. Kraeling 10, which was dated between sunrise March 9 and sunrise March 10, 402 BCE) with Thoth 1, 403 BCE (beginning at sunrise December
2, 403 BCE) I conclude that the reign of Artaxerxes II began between
Thoth 1, 405 BCE and the beginning of Thoth 1, 404 BCE.
However,
given also the fact that Ezra is reckoning time using Scriptural years and that
the 7th & 8th Scriptural regnal years of Artaxerxes
II may be considered defined by 1) the evidence pointed out in SDA Bible Commentary, Vol. 3, pp. 369-374, entitled
“Additional Note on Chapter 7 re the events of Nehemiah preceding the events
of Ezra, and 2) in conjunction thereto the exact double date specified in Ezra
10:9, i.e. Day Three of the week and the exact day of the month, the year being
the 8th regnal year of Artaxerxes, I conclude
that the 8th year of Artaxerxes began with Tishri 22, 397 BCE and
not a year later. Thus, the Scriptural accession year of Artaxerxes II is
found to have begun Tishri 22, 405 BCE going through Tishri 21, 404 BCE.
Combining
the statements within the last two paragraphs above it follows that the reign of Darius II began between Thoth
1, 405 BCE and the beginning of Tishri 22, 404 BCE.
More considerations
by Ellen G. White:
“September 23, the Lord showed me that He had stretched out His hand the
second time to recover the remnant of His people, [SEE PAGE 86.] and that efforts
must be redoubled in this gathering time. In the scattering,
The 1843 Chart
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