Astronomical Diaries And Related Texts From Babylonia

From the 7th to the 1st century BC, daily observations of the sky were performed and their results written down on clay tablets in some Babylonian cities, especially in Babylon. The observations concern the moon and the planets and their phenomena, as well as the weather, the level of the River Euphrates and the prices of important commodities. While these "Astronomical Diaries" are mostly fragmentary and cover only a small part of the period concerned, they nevertheless provide important insights into an observational program that was carried out over seven centuries and contains valuable material even for modern astronomers. Volume IV contains all Astronomical Diaries that were too fragmentary to be dated and, in an Addenda section, those that it was only possible to date after the publication of volumes I-III. Together, volumes I-IV provide the complete edition of this group of cuneiform texts. It can be expected that the newly dated Diaries in particular will prove interesting for astronomers and historians, and will contribute new details to the history of Babylonia in the Hellenistic and Parthian periods.

A large volume of tablets, transliterated by Abraham Sachs and Hermann Hunger, of lunar and planetary information dating from the 8th to 1st century BC. The first part examines tablets relating to the moon, especially eclipse reports, the second to the planets and the recurrence of astronomical phenomena. An appendix contains a list of eclipse dates.

This volume offers the first holistic examination of the Astronomical Diaries, a remarkable set of 1000 clay tablets from ancient Babylon in which for over 500 years (6th–1st century BCE) scholars combined astronomical observations with records of events on earth.

These texts are probably from Babylon, although their exact provenance is unknown. All concern luni-solar phenomena with the exception of a text on the last visibility of Mercury, which is found on one side of a tablet whose other side deals with lunar eclipse magnitudes & longitudes. The texts fall into 2 groups. One comprises "Saros Cycle Texts," which give the months of eclipse possibilities arranged in consistent cycles of 223 mo. (or 18 years). Three of the 4 texts in this group concern lunar eclipse possibilities; the other treats solar eclipse possibilities. Included in this group is B.M. 34597, known as the "Saros Canon," which is repub. to correct errors in previous pub., & to clarify its structure. The 2nd group contains astronomical functions. Illustrations.