43
BC. Among the preserved correspondence between scholarly advisors and the NeoAssyrian kings, which contains reports of observed astronomical phenomena which
are important for divination and/or for the management of the calendar, we find
three reports of equinoxes and one of a solstice with what becomes standard terminology to identify these phenomena. Giver the type of text these reports are found
in it is very likely that they refer to observations of these phenomena.
Let us consider the three reports of equinoxes first. The three reports are all very
short giving no more than the date (month and day—the year is not usually given in
these texts), a formulaic statement about the equinox, and a standard closing blessing. They are all believed to have been sent by a certain Nabû’a, who lived in the
city of Assur, to the king in Nineveh (Hunger, 1992; see also the discussion in
Kugler, 1909–1924: 18 and Parpola, 1983: 359–361). The report SAA 8 140 is
typical:
UD.6.KÁM šá
iti BÁR u 4 -mu ù mu-ši šit-qu-lu 6 DANNA u 4 -mu 6 DANNA mu-ši
d PA
d AMAR.UTU a-na LUGAL BE-i-ni lik-ru-bu
The 6th day of Month I. The day and the night were in balance: 6 bēru is the day, 6 bēru is
the night. May Nabû (and) Marduk bless the king, our lord!
The other two reports are identical except that SAA 8 141 gives a date of the 15th
of Month I and the date is broken away on SAA 8 142. The fact that the reports give
different dates for the equinox implies that these reports are discussing equinoxes in
different years and that these are not the schematic dates in the 360-day calendar
given in texts such as MUL.APIN but observed dates of the actual equinox in the
civil calendar.
The key phrase in this report is “the day and the night were in balance”. The verb
šitqultu is the Gt form of šaqālu “to weigh/balance” and is used to indicate that the
subjects of the verb are equally balanced. In this case, the subjects are day and night
and the text goes on to clarify that their being balanced means that they are both of
the same length, namely 6 bēru (a bēru equals 30 UŠ and is equivalent to two
equinoctial hours). It is clear, therefore, that the equinox is here defined by the day
and the night being of equal length. As we will see, the term “in balance” becomes
the standard way of referring to equinoxes in later texts.
One report, SAA 8 207, written by an unidentified scholar and sent to the king
contains a reference to a solstice (Hunger, 1992). Unfortunately, the report is damaged and we do not know which month, and therefore which solstice, is being
referred to. The relevant part of the report reads as follows:
[… UD].
⌈
15
?⌉
.KÁM ŠÚ [sin N]U IGI šamaš GUB
[…] the 15th
?
, the setting [of the moon was n]ot seen. The sun stood (still).
The phrase “the sun stands (still)” (šamaš GUB) is used in later texts to refer to
a solstice (both winter and summer) and must refer to the same phenomenon here.
The logogram GUB is used to write the verb izuzzu which means simply “to stand”.
In astronomical texts it can have a number of different meanings including being
used to indicate that the moon or a planet “stands” (i.e. is visible) in the sky or to
Their Equinox: Mesopotamian Conceptions of Solstices and Equinoxes
BC. Among the preserved correspondence between scholarly advisors and the NeoAssyrian kings, which contains reports of observed astronomical phenomena which
are important for divination and/or for the management of the calendar, we find
three reports of equinoxes and one of a solstice with what becomes standard terminology to identify these phenomena. Giver the type of text these reports are found
in it is very likely that they refer to observations of these phenomena.
Let us consider the three reports of equinoxes first. The three reports are all very
short giving no more than the date (month and day—the year is not usually given in
these texts), a formulaic statement about the equinox, and a standard closing blessing. They are all believed to have been sent by a certain Nabû’a, who lived in the
city of Assur, to the king in Nineveh (Hunger, 1992; see also the discussion in
Kugler, 1909–1924: 18 and Parpola, 1983: 359–361). The report SAA 8 140 is
typical:
UD.6.KÁM šá
iti BÁR u 4 -mu ù mu-ši šit-qu-lu 6 DANNA u 4 -mu 6 DANNA mu-ši
d PA
d AMAR.UTU a-na LUGAL BE-i-ni lik-ru-bu
The 6th day of Month I. The day and the night were in balance: 6 bēru is the day, 6 bēru is
the night. May Nabû (and) Marduk bless the king, our lord!
The other two reports are identical except that SAA 8 141 gives a date of the 15th
of Month I and the date is broken away on SAA 8 142. The fact that the reports give
different dates for the equinox implies that these reports are discussing equinoxes in
different years and that these are not the schematic dates in the 360-day calendar
given in texts such as MUL.APIN but observed dates of the actual equinox in the
civil calendar.
The key phrase in this report is “the day and the night were in balance”. The verb
šitqultu is the Gt form of šaqālu “to weigh/balance” and is used to indicate that the
subjects of the verb are equally balanced. In this case, the subjects are day and night
and the text goes on to clarify that their being balanced means that they are both of
the same length, namely 6 bēru (a bēru equals 30 UŠ and is equivalent to two
equinoctial hours). It is clear, therefore, that the equinox is here defined by the day
and the night being of equal length. As we will see, the term “in balance” becomes
the standard way of referring to equinoxes in later texts.
One report, SAA 8 207, written by an unidentified scholar and sent to the king
contains a reference to a solstice (Hunger, 1992). Unfortunately, the report is damaged and we do not know which month, and therefore which solstice, is being
referred to. The relevant part of the report reads as follows:
[… UD].
⌈
15
?⌉
.KÁM ŠÚ [sin N]U IGI šamaš GUB
[…] the 15th
?
, the setting [of the moon was n]ot seen. The sun stood (still).
The phrase “the sun stands (still)” (šamaš GUB) is used in later texts to refer to
a solstice (both winter and summer) and must refer to the same phenomenon here.
The logogram GUB is used to write the verb izuzzu which means simply “to stand”.
In astronomical texts it can have a number of different meanings including being
used to indicate that the moon or a planet “stands” (i.e. is visible) in the sky or to
Their Equinox: Mesopotamian Conceptions of Solstices and Equinoxes