Venus tablet of Ammisaduqa

The Venus tablets of Ammi - saduqa (also Ammisaduqa, Ammi - zaduqa, Ammizaduqa ) represent the most oldest written document for observing the planets represents the cuneiform texts of the Babylonian king Ammi - saduqa, discovered in the library of Ashurbanipal in Nineveh, include, in particular observations of Venus which was considered a star of the goddess Ninsianna in Mesopotamian mythology and took in the Sumerian pantheon as a female deity of love and fertility leading position. The documented in this context synodic 584 - day period of Venus is also considered the first written record of a planetary time interval obtained in the field of astronomy.

The early chronology of the ancient Near Eastern historiography has been compiled from the astronomical data and allow the chronology of the reigns of Mesopotamian kings. Modern research has in the meantime due to the observed solar eclipse in the reign of Ashur -dan III. as well as the present king - synchronisms Assyrian and Babylonian rulers over the years dating the Assyrian Adasi Dynasty around 1680 BC.

The Adasi dynasty stood with Ammi - saduqa in chronological proximity, which is why a more detailed temporal allocation of Ammi - saduqa was possible from the Adasi - heading in this context. The previously discussed possibility of ultra-short chronology therefore eliminated. Appropriate acknowledgments also provide the astronomical analyzes of the Venus tablets of Ammi - saduqa.

The Venus tablets

The originating from the library of Ashurbanipal cuneiform tablets are copies of earlier texts of the originals from the reign of Ammi - saduqas ( 1646-1626 BC according to the middle chronology ), the penultimate king of the first Old Babylonian dynasty, again and again were copied and passed. The formation time of the last copies is set to about 800 BC.

The great historical significance of the Venus tables can be seen in the seamless 21-year data collection of Venus visibilities, which are present in tabular form. The Venus observations made ​​are provided with Omen and mention the most important events. The most famous panel (63 ) from the Enuma Anu Enlil Collection ( EAE) is exhibited in the British Museum in London.

The content of the Venus tablets was first published in 1870 by Henry Rawlinson and George Smith Creswicke under the title Tablet of Movements of the Planet Venus and Their Influences in the series The Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia Vol 3. The assignment of astronomical data could be further specified by the Assyriologists Johann Strassmaier in cooperation with the two astronomers Joseph Epping as well as Franz-Xaver Kugler 1912.

Basics

Babylonian lunar calendar

The documented visibility data on the Venus tablets of Ammi - saduqa based on the information of the Babylonian lunar calendar. Decisive for the first day of a month is the time of the sighted Neulichts. In ancient Egypt, however, the last visibility of the Altlichts for the beginning of the Egyptian lunar calendar was used.

The city of Babylon and the Nile Delta have only a difference of about 1 ° to 2 ° in latitude. Therefore consist almost identical visibility conditions for the observations of the old and Neulichts. Since Egyptian records of the Altlichts that date back to the beginnings of the Middle Kingdom, and Babylonian Neulichtmonddaten for equal periods of time are present, a vote of both calendar could be made. As a result, the presumption was confirmed that there was only minimal deviations when the visibility conditions due to a flatter path course of Venus near the horizon ( the ecliptic ) were limited.

In the Babylonian region enters the Neulicht, depending on the season, 18-42 hours after new moon one. Depending on the moonset data with the temporal determination of the new moon and the first visibility of the crescent - Neulicht date back to the ancient times with calculation programs, such as NASA and MPIA, precisely determined.

Statistical studies of the Babylonian Neulichtaufzeichnungen revealed with the Babylonian data a match of 98 % for the period of sightings. The majority of deviations was also here for the observations under extremely difficult Sichtungsverhältnissen. One therefore not perceived Erstsichtbarkeit of Neulichts not had an impact on the next observations, since better Sichtungsbedingungen in the following months, the daily difference was compensated automatically.

584 - day interval

Because Venus in less distance than the Earth orbits the sun as inferior planet, it can be seen never remove from the earth far from the Sun. In particular, the Venus, in contrast to the upper planets, never stand on the celestial sphere in opposition to the Sun. Instead, we distinguish the superior conjunction (Venus behind the Sun ) from the inferior conjunction, when Venus is from the sun instead of the conjunction of the outer planets.

The period between two consecutive identical positions of Venus (with respect to the Earth and Sun ) is an average of 583.924 days and is called the synodic period of Venus. The greatest approximations occur in the ideal case in exactly circular orbits, which are spread exactly evenly in each case to five different path points and form the Venus pentagram.

The inferior conjunction occurs at intervals 579-589 days when the Venus " overtakes " on her sun closer track the earth. She switches from the role of the evening star to that of the morning star. Nine months later, she is then behind the Sun ( superior conjunction ). In order to observe the first Venus visibility in the evening twilight, Venus horizon a height of about 5 ° at sunset must have at least yet. Conversely, this means for the first sighting in the morning twilight that Venus must have also reached at sunrise about 5 °.

Interval data of Ammi - saduqa

After five 584 -day intervals, the Venus has returned about 2.32 days [ A 1 ] before the expiry of eight years, mean solar to their starting position. The beginning of the next Venus interval is thus about 2.32 days before the beginning of the past five 584 -day intervals. After 40 intervals, the difference amounts to 64 years, 18.54 days. In the chronology of the ancient Near Eastern historiography, first, the mean chronology was chosen as the starting point. Since the possible calendar entries only allowed for a narrow variable time frame that is attached to the Babylonian lunar calendar, took place every 64 years before and after the middle chronology of the other approaches the long and short chronology. A wider range of eligible observation time points can be excluded by the coupling of the month Nisanu with the spring equinox.

All previous chronologies of ancient Near Eastern history have so far been considered only as a benchmark, since in the course of the eight -year cycle of further options were given. The difference of 128 years between the long and short chronology of the ancient Near Eastern history, taking into account the reconstructed ruler lists, admitted 16 dating approaches. Classification criteria for the Venus tables represent the synchronisms of rulers data dar. As parallel kings are mostly Hattusili III. and Kadašman - Enlil II, although the chronological assessment of the underlying exchange of letters is not backed up.

Doubt, however, free is the dating of the Akzessionsjahres of Kadašman - Enlil II in the 14th to 16th year of the reign of Ramses II ( 1266-1264 BC). Another equation was for the accession year of Burna - Burias II and the 31 to 36 year of the reign of Amenhotep III. Be ( 1358-1353 BC) determined. The proposed only recently ultra short chronology, with a 32-year difference to the short chronology, therefore, ruled out. The same applies to the long chronology. [A 2] Because of sporadic lack of government data in the Assyrian King List gives a variation of about 20 years for the heading of Adasi Dynasty.

In the further course, the end of the reign of Isme - Dagan I. due to the possible variation could be recognized with regard to available government data to at least 1710 BC. He came in the 18th year of the reign of Hammurabi to the throne of his adopted 40 - year reign. In the same recalculation, the government beginning Hammurapi to the years around 1750 BC could be determined. For Ammi - saduqas first ruler of year the border could be drawn to about 1604 BC.

The following interval data of Ammi - saduqa refer to the middle chronology and show that the sightings in the Babylonian lunar calendar and the actual astronomical conditions in the Gregorian calendar correspond exactly to the day.

Leap months in the Babylonian lunar calendar

Belonging to the Venus cycles beginning of the first data Nisanu show that the Babylonian New Year was usually associated with the first full moon of early spring. A schematic switching cycle is not clear because the circuits were made irregularly and were additionally coupled to star visibilities at the time of sunrise and sunset. These circumstances can be seen at the beginning of the month Tašritu data clearly followed the leap month Ululu.