Calendar of Nippur, Third Dynasty of Ur

The Babylonian calendar was a lunisolar calendar with years consisting of 12 lunar months, each beginning when a new crescent moon was first sighted low on the western horizon at sunset, plus an intercalary month inserted as needed by decree. The calendar is based on a Sumerian (Third Dynasty of Ur) predecessor preserved in the Umma calendar of Shulgi (c. 21st century BC).

Months

The year begins in spring, and is divided into twelve months. The word for "month" was Akkadian: 𒌚, romanized: arḫu (construct state araḫ). The chief deity of the Assyrians is assigned the surplus intercalary month, showing that the calendar originates in the Old Babylonian Empire and not the later Middle Assyrian Empire.

During the sixth century BCE Babylonian captivity of the Jews, these month names were adopted into the Hebrew calendar.

In Iraq and the Levant, the solar Gregorian calendar is used, with Arabic names replacing the Roman ones, or Aramaic ones in the case of the Assyrian calendar. The Turkish months were inspired by the 1839 Rumi calendar of the Ottoman Empire, itself derived from the Ottoman fiscal calendar of 1677 based on the Julian calendar. Despite appropriating the Babylonian names, their months are not equivalent to those of the Hebrew and Babylonian lunisolar calendar.

Babylonian calendar
Month name Presiding deities Zodiac sign Equivalents
Hebrew Levantine and Iraqi Gregorian
1 Araḫ Nisānu - Sumerian: 𒌚𒁈𒍠(𒃻), romanized: ITU.BARAG.ZAG(.GAR), lit. 'Month of the sanctuary' [1] [2] Bel - 𒀭𒂗 Agru (Aries) - 𒀯𒇽𒂠𒂷 Nisan

נִיסָן

 Naysān نَيْسَان Mar/April
2 Araḫ Āru - 𒌚𒄞

'Month of the Blossoming'[3]

 Ea - 𒂗𒆠 Gu (Taurus) - 𒀯𒄞 Iyar

אִיָּיר

 Ayyār أَيَّار Apr/May
3 Araḫ Simanu - 𒌚𒋞 Sīn - 𒂗𒍪 Maštaba (Gemini) - 𒀯𒈦𒋰𒁀 Sivan

סִיוָן

 Ḥazīrān حَزِيرَان May/Jun
4 Araḫ Dumuzu - 𒌚𒋗

'Month of Tammuz'

 Tammuz - 𒀭𒌉𒍣 Alluttu (Cancer) - 𒀯𒀠𒇻 Tammuz

תַּמּוּז

 Tammūz تَمُّوز Jun/Jul
5 Araḫ Abu - 𒌚𒉈 Gilgamesh - 𒄑𒂅𒈦[4] Nēšu (Leo) - 𒀯𒌨 Ab

אָב

 Āb آب Jul/Aug
6 Araḫ Ulūlu - 𒌚𒆥 Ishtar - 𒀭𒈹 Sisinnu (Virgo) - 𒀯𒀳 Elul

אֱלוּל

 Aylūl أَيْلُول Aug/Sep
7 Araḫ Tišritum - 𒌚𒇯

'Month of Beginning'
(i.e. the start of the second half-year)

 Shamash - 𒀭𒌓 Zibānītu (Libra) - 𒀯𒄑𒂟 Tishrei

תִּשְׁרֵי

 Tishrīn al-Awwal تِشْرِين الْأَوَّل Sep/Oct
8 Araḫ Samnu - 𒌚𒀳

'month, the eighth'[5]

 Marduk - 𒀭𒀫𒌓 Zuqaqīpu (Scorpio) - 𒀯𒄈𒋰 Cheshvan

מַרְחֶשְׁוָן/חֶשְׁוָן

 Tishrīn ath-Thānī تِشْرِين الثَّانِي Oct/Nov
9 Araḫ Kislimu - 𒌚𒃶 Nergal - 𒀭𒄊𒀕𒃲 Pabilsag (Sagittarius) - 𒀯𒉺𒉋𒊕 Kislev

כִּסְלֵו

 Kānūn al-Awwal كَانُون الْأَوَّل Nov/Dec
10 Araḫ Ṭebētum - 𒌚𒀊

'Muddy Month'[6]

 Papsukkal - 𒀭𒊩𒆠𒋚 Suḫurmāšu (Capricorn) - 𒀯𒋦𒈧𒄩 Tebeth

טֵבֵת

 Kānūn ath-Thānī كَانُون الثَّانِي Dec/Jan
11 Araḫ Šabaṭu - 𒌚𒊭𒉺𒌅 Adad - 𒀭𒅎 Gula (Aquarius) - 𒀯𒄖𒆷 Shebat

שְׁבָט

 Shubāṭ شُبَاط Jan/Feb
12 Araḫ Addaru / Adār - Sumerian: 𒌚𒊺𒆥𒋻, romanized: ITU.ŠE.KIN.KUD, lit. 'Month of the cutting of corn, harvest month' [7] [8] [9] Erra - 𒀭𒅕𒊏 Zibbātu (Pisces) - 𒀯𒆲𒎌 Adar

אֲדָר (אֲדָר א׳/אֲדָר רִאשׁון if there is an intercalary month that year)

 Ādhār آذَار Feb/Mar
13 Araḫ Makaruša Addari

Araḫ Addaru Arku - 𒌚𒊺𒂕

 Assur - 𒀭𒀸𒋩 In year 17 of the 19-year cycle, the intercalary month was named Araḫ Ulūlu - 𒌚𒆥 Adar II

אֲדָר ב׳/אֲדָר שֵׁנִי

 Mart (Âzâr)

Until the 5th century BC, the calendar was fully observational, but beginning about 499 BC the months began to be regulated by a lunisolar cycle of 19 years equaling 235 months. Although usually called the Metonic cycle after Meton of Athens (432 BC), Meton probably learned of the cycle from the Babylonians. After no more than three isolated exceptions, by 380 BC the months of the calendar were regulated by the cycle without exception. In the cycle of 19 years, the month Adaru 2 was intercalated, except in the year that was number 17 in the cycle, when the month Ulūlu 2 was inserted. During this period, the first day of each month (beginning at sunset) continued to be the day when a new crescent moon was first sighted—the calendar never used a specified number of days in any month.

Days

Counting from the new moon, the Babylonians celebrated every seventh day as a "holy-day", also called an "evil-day" (meaning "unsuitable" for prohibited activities). On these days officials were prohibited from various activities and common men were forbidden to "make a wish", and at least the 28th was known as a "rest-day". On each of them, offerings were made to a different god and goddess, apparently at nightfall to avoid the prohibitions: Marduk and Ishtar on the 7th, Ninlil and Nergal on the 14th, Sin and Shamash on the 21st, and Enki and Mah on the 28th. Tablets from the sixth-century BC reigns of Cyrus the Great and Cambyses II indicate these dates were sometimes approximate. The lunation of 29 or 30 days basically contained three seven-day weeks, and a final week of eight or nine days inclusive, breaking the continuous seven-day cycle.[10]

Among other theories of Shabbat origin, the Universal Jewish Encyclopedia of Isaac Landman advanced a theory of Assyriologists like Friedrich Delitzsch[11] that Shabbat originally arose from the lunar cycle,[12][13] containing four weeks ending in Sabbath, plus one or two additional unreckoned days per month.[14] The difficulties of this theory include reconciling the differences between an unbroken week and a lunar week, and explaining the absence of texts naming the lunar week as Shabbat in any language.[15]

The rarely attested Sapattum or Sabattum as the full moon is cognate or merged with Hebrew Shabbat, but is monthly rather than weekly; it is regarded as a form of Sumerian sa-bat ("mid-rest"), attested in Akkadian as um nuh libbi ("day of mid-repose"). According to Marcello Craveri, Sabbath "was almost certainly derived from the Babylonian Shabattu, the festival of the full moon, but, all trace of any such origin having been lost, the Hebrews ascribed it to Biblical legend."[16] This conclusion is a contextual restoration of the damaged Enûma Eliš creation account, which is read as: "[Sa]bbath shalt thou then encounter, mid[month]ly."[10]

See also

Lunisolar calendars

Other systems

References

Notes

    Citations

    1. ↑ W. Muss-Arnolt (1892). "The Names of the Assyro-Babylonian Months and Their Regents". Journal of Biblical Literature. 11 (1): 76. doi:10.2307/3259081. hdl:2027/mdp.39015030576584. JSTOR 3259081. S2CID 165247741.
    2. ↑ Tinney, Steve (2017). "barag [SANCTUM] N". Oracc: The Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
    3. ↑ Muss-Arnolt (1892, Vol. 11, No. 1), p. 78
    4. ↑ George, A. R. (2003). The Babylonian Gilgamesh Epic: Introduction, Critical Edition and Cuneiform Texts. Oxford University Press. p. 126. ISBN 978-0-19-927841-1. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
    5. ↑ Muss-Arnolt, W., The Names of the Assyro-Babylonian Months and Their Regents, Journal of Biblical Literature Vol. 11, No. 2 (1892), pp. 160-176 [163], accessed 9-8-2020
    6. ↑ Muss-Arnolt (1892, Vol. 11, No. 2), p. 170
    7. ↑ W. Muss-Arnolt (1892). "The Names of the Assyro-Babylonian Months and Their Regents". Journal of Biblical Literature. 11 (2): 173. doi:10.2307/3268813. hdl:2027/mdp.39015030576584. JSTOR 3268813. S2CID 165247741.
    8. ↑ Finkelstein, J. J. (1969). "THE EDICT OF AMMIṢADUQA : A NEW TEXT". Revue d'Assyriologie et d'archéologie Orientale. 63 (1): 45–64. JSTOR 23283452.
    9. ↑ Tinney, Steve (2017). "ŠE.KIN kud [REAP]". Oracc: The Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
    10. 1 2 Pinches, T.G. (1919). "Sabbath (Babylonian)". In Hastings, James (ed.). Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics. Selbie, John A., contrib. Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 889–891.
    11. ↑ Landau, Judah Leo. The Sabbath. Johannesburg: Ivri Publishing Society, Ltd. pp. 2, 12. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
    12. ↑ Joseph, Max (1943). "Holidays". In Landman, Isaac (ed.). The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia: An authoritative and popular presentation of Jews and Judaism since the earliest times. Vol. 5. Cohen, Simon, compiler. The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, Inc. p. 410.
    13. ↑ Joseph, Max (1943). "Sabbath". In Landman, Isaac (ed.). The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia: An authoritative and popular presentation of Jews and Judaism since the earliest times. Vol. 9. Cohen, Simon, compiler. The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, Inc. p. 295.
    14. ↑ Cohen, Simon (1943). "Week". In Landman, Isaac (ed.). The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia: An authoritative and popular presentation of Jews and Judaism since the earliest times. Vol. 10. Cohen, Simon, compiler. The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, Inc. p. 482.
    15. ↑ Sampey, John Richard (1915). "Sabbath: Critical Theories". In Orr, James (ed.). The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Howard-Severance Company. p. 2630.
    16. ↑ Craveri, Marcello (1967). The Life of Jesus. Grove Press. p. 134.

    Bibliography

    • Parker, Richard Anthony and Waldo H. Dubberstein. Babylonian Chronology 626 BC.–AD. 75. Providence, RI: Brown University Press, 1956.
    • W. Muss-Arnolt, The Names of the Assyro-Babylonian Months and Their Regents, Journal of Biblical Literature (1892).
    • Sacha Stern, "The Babylonian Calendar at Elephantine" in Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 130 (2000) 159–171 (PDF document, 94 KB)
    • Fales, Frederick Mario, “A List of Umma Month Names”, Revue d’assyriologie et d’archéologie orientale, 76 (1982), 70–71.
    • Gomi, Tohru, “On the Position of the Month iti-ezem-dAmar-dSin in the Neo-Sumerian Umma Calendar”, Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische Archäologie, 75 (1985), 4–6.
    • Pomponio, Francesco, “The Reichskalender of Ur III in the Umma Texts”, Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Vorderasiastische Archäologie, 79 (1989), 10–13.
    • Verderame, Lorenzo, “Le calendrier et le compte du temps dans la pensée mythique suméro-akkadienne”, De Kêmi à Birit Nâri, Revue Internationale de l'Orient Ancien, 3 (2008), 121–134.
    • Steele, John M., ed., "Calendars and Years: Astronomy and Time in the Ancient Near East", Oxford: Oxbow, 2007.
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