A Clear Dating of Dark Ages Abstract: The "Dark Ages" during which there are few or no written records are common in history and can even last for several centuries as the Greek Dark Ages (1200-750). They are a major obstacle to get an accurate reconstruction of ancient chronologies. Carbon-14 dating and the style of ceramics has led to significant improvement, but the uncertainty is still important since the first fall of Babylon is currently fixed in 1651, 1595, 1531 or 1499 BCE, depending on historians. Such a difference in timeline prevents from reaching the historical truth because chronology is the backbone of history. It is for this reason that from Herodotus, the "father of history" (in fact the father of scientific inquiry, including of chronology), Greek historians have gradually established a system of dating in order to write a universal history. Several systems have gradually been used (depending on authors): archontic years (753 BCE to 275 CE), Olympic years (776 BCE to 261 CE), consular years (509 BCE to 541 CE), etc. Some astronomical phenomena well identified, such as eclipses, now enable us to synchronize these ancient dating systems and anchor them on absolute dates. Then simply reconstruct the chronology of earlier periods (Persian, Babylonian, Assyrian, Egyptian, etc.) in the same way by dating some synchronisms by astronomy (see the file entitled: Dating the Fall of Babylon and Ur). Thus Babylonian reigns enable us dating the period from 1375 to 539 BCE, then Assyrian eponyms the one from 1873 to 609 BCE, Babylonian reigns again the one from 2243 to 1499 BCE and finally Egyptian reigns the one from 2632 to 1773 BCE. The "Dark Ages" are characteristic of the beginning and end of a civilization. For example, the beginning of Egyptian civilization, prior 2800 BCE, can be dated only by Carbon-141 due to lack of documents, likewise, the period after the end of Mycenaean civilization2. Some scholars have proposed a radical solution: removing all the "dark ages", but this is contrary to the dating of synchronisms by Carbon-14 and by the style of potteries3. Actually, it is possible to solve the problem using some synchronisms dated by astronomy4. The first step is to know how to build an accurate and reliable chronology. Herodotus (484-425), the father of History, was the first who understood the crucial role of chronology to authenticate historical narratives. However, he had to face a technical problem for dating events: the lack of a universal calendar, which forced him to invent a dating system based on Olympiads, eponymous archons, periods from well-known events such as: battles, King's deaths, religious festivals, eclipses, etc5. Yet the Greeks knew various calendars, but Herodotus explains why he did not used them: 1) these calendars gave dates only on months and days, but not on years and 2) the same dating of event varied according to the Greek cities (The Histories I:32, II:4). Thucydides (460-398), too, despite his desire for accuracy, did use none of them. At the beginning of his account, he explained his way of proceeding: Here is the account of operations, written in chronological order, by winter [from autumn equinox] and by summer [from spring equinox]. The peace, which after the winning of Eubœa, was concluded for 30 years, lasted 14 years. But in the 15th year, being the 48th of the priesthood of Chrysis in Argos: Ænesias being then ephor at Sparta, and Pythodorus being, 4 months yet archon of Athens, in the 6th month after the battle at Potidæa and in the beginning of the spring (The Peloponnesian War II:1-2). B. BELL - The Dark Ages in Ancient History. I. The First Dark Age in Egypt in: American Journal of Archaeology Vol. 75:1 (J1971), pp. 1-26. 2 S.B. POMEROY, S.M. BURSTEIN, W. DONLAN, J. TOLBERT ROBERTS -The "Dark Age" of Greece and the Eighth-Century "Renaissance" (c. 1200-700 BC) in: A Brief History of Ancient Greece: Politics, Society, and Culture (Oxford University Press, 2008) pp. 41-69. 3 M. LOWERY, P.J. JAMES - Ages in chaos? How valid are Velikovsky's views on Ancient History? in: Journal of the Society for Interdisciplinary Studies Vol. VI:1-3 (Society for Interdisciplinary Studies 1982), pp. 1-84. 4 H. HUNGER; R. PRUZSINSZKY - Mesopotamian Dark Age Revisited. Proceedings of an International Conference of SCIEM in: Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Vol. 68:1 (2005), pp. 105-107. 5 Olympiads (Enquête II:160, V:22, VI:127, VII:206, VIII:72, IX:33); eponymous archons (Enquête VIII:51; 131); periods (Enquête I:209, II:142, III:14,67); batlles (Enquête VI:117); King's death (Enquête VII:1-7); religious festivals (Enquête VII:206, VIII:72); solar eclipses (Enquête I:74, VII:37?, IX:10?). 1 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 2 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY The two main system which gradually prevailed6 from the 4th century BCE were the year dated by an archon or an Olympiad. According to Polybius (History XII:11) Timaeus Tauromenium (346-250) was the first historian to use the Olympics for dating, and according to Plutarch (Life of Numa I:1) the list of Olympic victories was drafted by the sophist and diplomat Hippias of Elis (481-411?). The first one to date events based on Athenian archons and Olympiads was Eratosthenes (276-194), and Diodorus of Sicily (9020?) joined to them Roman consuls. Castor of Rhodes succeeded to set up a list of eponymous Greek magistrates (about -150?). The first one to propose a universal dating system (useable by historians), the ancestor of our universal calendar, was the Roman writer Varro (116-27), which set the foundation of Rome7 on April 21, 753 BCE. However, the use of this type of "Imperial Calendar" remained marginal, as before it, the Seleucid era (beginning in 312 BCE) which had inspired it. Thus Flavius Josephus did not use it in his chronological works (in 98 CE), neither the one proposed by Demetrius the Chronograph (c. 220 BCE), a Hellenistic chronograph and Jewish historian who had dated each biblical events from the [1st] Anno Adami "Year of Adam" [in 5307 BCE] (Stomata I:21,141; Preparatio evangelica IX:21:1-19). The making of a full list of Athenian archons8 and Roman consuls9, in a dated reference calendar (Julian or Gregorian), allows historians to precisely date an event. For example Clement of Alexandria (The Stromata I:21:145) put Jesus' birth 194 years before the death of Commodus (December 31, 192 CE) and Tertullian (Against the Jews VIII:11:75) in the 41st year Augustus' reign10 [which began from the second triumvirate of October 43 BCE, made official a few weeks later, according to Appian (Civil Wars IV:5-7), by the law lex Titia on November 27, 43 BCE] and 28 years after the death of Cleopatra (August 29, 30 BCE). By combining these data, the birth of Jesus must be fixed in 2 BCE between September 1 and October 30. Epiphanius dated it in the year when Augustus XIII and Silvanus were consuls (Panarion LI:22:3) and Paul Orosius in the year 752 of the founding of Rome (Histories against the pagans VI:22.1). Year -4 -3 -2 -1 1 Athenian archon Aristodemus (?) Roman consuls Gaius Calvisius Sabinus Lucius Passienus Rufus Nicostratus (?) Lucius Cornelius Lentulus Marcus Valerius Messalla Messallinus Demochares Azenius Imperator Caesar Augustus XIII Marcus Plautius Silvanus Anaxagoras (?) Cossus Cornelius Lentulus Lucius Calpurnius Piso Areius Paianieus (?) Caius Iulius Caesar Lucius Aemilius Paullus Olympiad Year of Rome 750 Year of Seleucid era 309 194:2 751 310 194:3 752 311 194:4 753 312 754 313 194:1 195:1 For example, Herodotus says that Xerxes prepared his campaign against Greece one year after Darius' death (in 486 BCE) and the crushing of an Egyptian revolt (The Histories VII:7). He explained that after the Egyptian revolt (in 485 BCE), Xerxes began his campaign (Battle of Salamis) at the end of the 5th year (in 480 BCE) in the archonship of Calliades (The Histories VII:20; VIII:51) and during (the 73rd) Olympic games (The Histories VII:206). The following year there was the battle of Plataea (in 479 BCE) when P. ISMARD – Chronologie de la Grèce ancienne Paris 2010 Éd. Publications de la Sorbonne pp. 7-11. 7 According to Varro, the foundation of Rome fell into the 1st year of the 6th Olympiad (Olympic Games began in 776 BCE). 8 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eponymous_archon 9 http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_des_consuls_de_la_République_romaine 10 Ancient writers reckoned the reign of Augustus not from January 27 BCE, but from October 43 BCE when Octavian, later Augustus, formed the second triumvirate. The 42nd year of Augustus began (at the end of his 41st year), so in October 2 BCE. 6 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES 3 Xanthippus was archon (The Histories VIII:131). One can see that all historical data provided by Herodotus are coherent with one another. In the same way it is possible to check data coming from various historians. Year Athenian archon -481 Hypsichides Roman consuls Olympiad Kaeso Fabius Vibulanus II 72:4 Spurius Furius Fusus -480 Calliades Marcus Fabius Vibulanus II 73:1 Cnaeus Manlius Cincinnatus -479 Xanthippus Kaeso Fabius Vibulanus III 73:2 Titus Verginius Tricostus Rutilus -478 Timosthenes Lucius Aemilius Mamercinus II 73:3 Caius Servilius Structus Ahala* -477 Adimantus Caius Horatius Pulvillus I 73:4 Titus Menenius Agrippae Lanatus -476 Phaedon Aulus Verginius Tricostus Rutilus 74:1 Spurius Servilius Priscus Structus -475 Dromoclides Publius Valerius Publicola I 74:2 Caius Nautius Rutilus I -474 Acestorides Aulus Manlius Vulso 74:3 Lucius Furius Medullinus -473 Menon Lucius Aemilius Mamercinus III 74:4 Vopiscus Iulius Iullus -472 Chares Lucius Pinarius Mamercinus Rufus 75:1 Publius Furius Medullinus Fusus -471 Praxiergus Titus Quinctius Capitolinus Barbatus I 75:2 Appius Claudius Crassinus Regillensis Sabinus Year of Rome 273 Year of Seleucid era -168 274 -167 275 -166 276 -165 277 -164 278 -163 279 -162 280 -161 281 -160 282 -159 283 -158 According to Thucydides: Themistocles manifested a desire to visit the king of Persia (...) The storm caused the vessel to drift towards the camp of the Athenians who then besieged Naxos (...) Accompanied by a Persian coast, then he penetrated into the interior of the country and sent to Artaxerxes, who had succeeded Xerxes, his father a letter (The Peloponnesian War I:98;137). Therefore, he reports the fall of Naxos after the one of Skyros dated at the beginning of the archonship of Phaedon (in 476 BCE), according to Plutarch (Life of Theseus §§35,36). Thus, the meeting with Themistocles would have occurred soon after 475/474. Furthermore, Themistocles died under the archonship of Praxiergus (in 471 BCE) according to Diodorus Siculus (Historical Library XI:54-60), and Herodotus situated the transfer of power from Darius to Xerxes at the time of the revolt of Egypt (The Histories VII :1-4), 4 years after Marathon (in 490 BCE) and the change Xerxes/ Artaxerxes shortly after the storming of Eion [in 476 BCE], last event of the reign of Xerxes (The Histories VII :106-107). If Artaxerxes began his reign in 465 BCE, Themistocles, who died in 471 BCE, could not meet him. Aware of this aberration, many historians today reject the death of Themistocles in 460 or even in 450 BCE. But this choice comes up against a problem: the life of Themistocles is well documented. This paradox is not new, as already evoked by Cornelius Nepos: I know most historians have related that Themistocles went over into Asia in the reign of Xerxes, but I give credence to Thucydides in preference to others, because he, of all who have left records of that period, was nearest in point of time to Themistocles, and was of the same city (Life of Themistocles IX). Plutarch says: Thucydides and Charon of Lampsacus say that Xerxes was dead, and that Themistocles had an interview with his son; but Ephorus, Dinon, Clitarchus, Heraclides, and many others, write that he came to Xerxes. The chronological tables better agree with the account of Thucydides, and yet neither can their statements be said to be quite set at rest (Life of Themistocles XXVII). Cicero relates: Who was more eminent in Greece than Themistocles, who more powerful? But he, after having saved Greece from slavery by his leadership in the war with Persia, and after having been banished because SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 4 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY of his unpopularity, would not submit to the injustice of an ungrateful country, as he was in duty bound to do: he did the same thing that Coriolanus had done among our people 20 years before. Not one single supporter could be found to aid these men against their country; therefore, each took his own life (Laelius on Friendship XII§42). Livy (Roman History II:34-39) dates precisely the life of Coriolanus, indicating that he betrayed in the consulship of Marcus Minucius and Aulus Sempronius (in 491 BCE) and died 3 years later when Spurius Nautius and Sextus Furius were consuls (in 488 BCE). The parallel between these two famous men who have had a similar purpose would involve a death of Themistocles around 468 BCE. Plutarch also says that Themistocles ended his days in the city of Magnesia, having lived 65 years (Life of Themistocles III; XXXI). According to Cornelius Nepos, Themistocles and Aristides were about the same age (Aristides I:1). Elien says: Themistocles, and Aristides Son of Lysimachus, had the same Governours, they were also brought up together, and taught by one Master, but whilest yet Boyes, they were alwaies at variance ; and this emulation continued from their childhood, to extreme old age (Various History XIII:44). Plutarch wrote: Aristides being the friend and supporter of that Clisthenes (...) had Themistocles, son to Neocles, his adversary on the side of the populace. Some say that, being boys and bred up together from their infancy, they were always at variance with each other in all their words and actions (Aristides II:1). Now, to be part of the Boule (Senat), you had to be at least 30 years old11. So Aristide had to be born a little before 538 BCE, for the constitution of Cleisthenes is 508 BCE. With an estimated birth around 538 BCE, the death of Themistocles 65 years later would be around 473 BCE. Ælian wrote: On a time Themistocles, yet a boy, returning from School, his Master bade him, meeting Pisistratus the Tyrant, to go a little out of the way. Whereto he generously answered, "Is not here way enough for him?" So much did something ingenious and generous appear in Themistocles at those years (Various History III:21). As Pisistratus died in the archonship of Philoneos (in 527 BCE), according to Aristotle (Constitution of Athens XVII:1-2), Themistocles had to rise about 537/536, as being a παϊς "boy" at this meeting he was around 10 years old12. If Themistocles, who died at the age of 65, was born in 536 BCE, his death is therefore in 471 BCE and he met Artaxerxes I in 474 BCE. Several difficulties complicate dating: the beginning of the year is different depending on the system of dating, the duration of the year is different depending on eras and these systems have evolved over time (that partially put them out of sync). The year of Rome, for example, which should have started on April 21 began in fact, for practical reasons, on January 1. The Olympic year began from the first full moon after the summer solstice (June 28), the Seleucid era beginning on 1st Tishri in Macedonia (October 7, 312 BCE), but on 1st Nisan in Babylonia (April 3, 311 BCE). In addition, the duration and the beginning of the year have varied over time. The Romans, for example, have gradually moved from an observed lunisolar year, beginning at the winter solstice, into a computed solar year which was beginning on January 1. The Greeks have remained faithful to the lunisolar year observed, then computed, but the intercalary month was added in a lax manner and variably. The beginning of the year was propped on the equinoxes or solstices according cities. It is for this reason that the historian Thucydides gives many historical details not related to the Athenian calendar. He writes: The same summer, at the beginning of a new lunar month, the only time by the way at which it appears possible, the sun was eclipsed after noon. After it had assumed the form of a crescent and some of the stars had come out, it returned to its natural shape (The Peloponnesian War II:28). This total solar eclipse (greater than 0.98 magnitude) observed near Athens coincided with the beginning of the war. Among solar eclipses C. ORRIEUX, P. SCHMITT PANTEL - Histoire grecque. Paris 1995 Ed. Presses Universitaires de France pp. 165,197. 12 According to Hippocrates (On the Creation §105) there are 7 “ages of man” of 7 years each in the life cycle of a male person: 1) παιδἰον "little boy": 0-7 years, 2) παϊς "boy": 7-14 years, 3) µειράκιον "lad": 14-21 years, 4) νεαἰσκος "young man": 21-28 years, 5) ἀνήρ "man": 28-49 years, 6) πρεσβύτης "elderly man": 49-56 years, 7) γέρων "old man": 56-<. 11 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES 5 visible near Athens which took place in the summer and early afternoon, between 440 and 420 BCE, only the one of August 3, 431 BCE corresponds to the description13. Moreover, Thucydides says that a treaty with Darius II, in his 13th year of reign, was concluded during the spring of the 20th year and last year of the war when Alexippidas was ephor (The Peloponnesian War VIII:58-60), in the spring 411 BCE because Alexippidas was ephor from September 412 to September 411 BCE and Darius II (424-405) began his 13th year of reign on 1st Nisan (March 29, 411 BCE)14. A difficulty arises because Thucydides says that the treaty was concluded in late winter (spring equinox) and therefore before March 26, 411 BCE, slightly before the beginning of the 13th year of Darius II. Some have speculated that this was the 13th year reckoned from the date of accession to the throne15, but this is without parallel. Actually, the 13th year of Darius began either on 1st Nisan (Babylonian New Year) or on 1st Thoth (December 4, 412 BCE) in Egypt16. The spring equinox (March 26) was used to separate the winter of summer in Greece. Thucydides begins, for example, the 8th year by linking it with a solar eclipse: Thus the winter ended, and with it ended the 7th year of this war of which Thucydides is the historian. In first days of the next summer there was an eclipse of the sun at the time of new moon, and in the early part of the same month an earthquake (The Peloponnesian War IV:51,52). There was a partial solar eclipse on March 21, 424 BCE in Athens (0.72 magnitude). Thus the first days of summer ranging from 21 to 26 March. However, as the 13th year of Darius II has a 2nd Adar17, 1st Nisan was therefore shifted one month and started on February 27 and not March 29 (411 BCE). Thus, when Thucydides wrote: In the 13th year of the reign of Darius [beginning on 27 February 411 BCE], while Alexippidas was ephor at Lacedaemon [from September 412 BCE to September 411 BCE], a convention was concluded (...) Winter was now drawing towards its close (...) And this winter ended [on 26 March 411 BCE], and with it ended the 20th year of this war of which Thucydides is the historian, these chronological information are of remarkable precision, the treaty was concluded between February 27 and March 26, in 411 BCE. Given its reliability why Thucydides did not use archon years more often? It is because the archons took their office on January until 433 BCE, but to synchronize archontic years with Olympic years, the Greeks decided, from Apseudes, that archons would take their office along with the Olympiads (on July): Year Athenian archon -435 Antiochides -434 Chares -433 Apseudes -432 Pythodorus -431 Euthydemus -430 Apollodorus Roman consuls Caius Iulius Iullus II Lucius Verginius Tricostus I Caius Iulius Iullus III Lucius Verginius Tricostus II Military tribune with consular power Military tribune with consular power Titus Quinctius Poenus Cincinnatus Cnaeus Iulius Mento Lucius Papirius Crassus II Lucius Iulius Iullus Olympiad 86:1 Year of Rome 319 Year of Seleucid era 320 -121 321 -120 322 -119 323 -118 324 -117 86:2 86:3 86:4 87:1 87:2 87:3 -122 F.R. STEPHENSON - Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation Cambridge 1997 Ed. Cambridge University Press pp. 346-348. 14 Date of the 1st lunar crescent after the vernal equinox (March 26, 411 BCE). http://portail.imcce.fr/fr/ephemerides/astronomie/Promenade/pages4/441.html 15 L. DEPUYDT - Evidence for Accession Dating under the Achaemenids in: Journal of the American Oriental Society 115/2 (1995) pp. 193-204. 16 L. DEPUYDT - Regnal Years and Civil Calendar in Achaemenid Egypt in: The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 81 (1995) pp. 151-173. 17 The contract is dated 24/12b/14 of Darius II but should be read 24/12b/13! as the previous intercalary year is in year 10 (V. SCHEIL – Notules in: Revue d'Assyriologie et d'Archéologie Oriental 16, 1919, pp. 111-112). 13 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 6 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY The remark of Thucydides: Pythodorus being 4 months yet archon of Athens, involves to date the beginning of the 1st year of the Peloponnesian War about March 431 BCE, which actually corresponds to the beginning of the summer (from spring equinox). The recent change in reckoning of archontic years also explains why Thucydides did not consider appropriate to use a system which was still evolving at his time. year -432 -431 month 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 X XI XII I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX [A] [B] [C] 322 [D] -119 [E] 1 2 [A] Archon Apseudes [E] Darius B (Babylonian year) [A] Archon Pythodorus -118 [D] Year of Seleucid era 323 [C] Year of Rome 1 3 [B] First year of the Peloponnesian war [A] Archon Euthydemus Solar eclipse dated August 3, 431 BCE *** -117 The chronology reconstituted by the Greek historians is therefore accurate and reliable . However, when they began to harmonize their chronology with that from the Babylonian king lists (mainly from 330 BCE), a major disagreement arose (see below): 18 King (according to Greek historians) Cyrus II Cambyses II Bardiya (usurper) Darius I Xerxes I (coregency with Darius) Artabanus (usurper) Artaxerxes I Darius B (coregency with Artaxerxes) Artaxerxes I Xerxes II (45 days reign not reckoned) Sogdianus (usurper) Darius II Reign 539-530 530-522 522-521 522-486 496-475 475-474 475-434 434-426 426-425 425-424 424-424 424-405 King (according to Babylonian King Lists) Cyrus II Cambyses II Darius I Xerxes I Artaxerxes I Darius II Reign 539-530 530-522 522 -486 486 -465 465 - -424 424-405 The Babylonian chronology from King Lists (used in Ptolemy's Canon) is wrong because there is no coregent and no usurper19. The death of Xerxes being shifted 10 years in the Babylonian chronology (465 instead of 475 BCE, see “Dating the reigns of Xerxes and Artaxerxes”) very early, historians have modified the Greek chronology20 to synchronize it on former dates around 465 BCE, creating a great confusion over the period 475-455 BCE M.S. KOUTORGA - Recherches critiques sur l'histoire de la Grèce, pendant la période des guerres médiques in: Mémoires présentés par divers savants à l'Académie royale des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres de l'Institut de France, 1re série. t. VII, Paris 1861. 19 T. BOIY – Between High and Low. A Chronology of the Early Hellenistic Period 2007 Leuven Ed. Verlag Antike pp. 95-131. 20 E.J. BICKERMAN - Chronology of the Ancient World London 1980 Ed. Thames and Hudson pp. 165-171. 18 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES 7 (a mini Dark Ages). For example, the battle of the Eurymedon between the Delian League of Athens and her Allies, and the Persian Empire of Xerxes I —essential step of GrecoPersian relations— is fixed, according to modern authors, as extreme dates as 476 BCE and 462 BCE21 (= 469 BCE +/- 7). According to Diodorus of Sicily, the battle of the Eurymedon took place under the archonship of Demotion, in 470 BCE, but also under the consulship of Publius Valerius Publicola and Gaius Nautius Rufus, in 475 BCE (Historical Library XI:60-61). In fact the Roman chronology of Diodorus is shifted from 5 to 8 years over this period around 465 BCE22. Diodorus dates the beginning of the Persian domination in Egypt in the 3rd year of rd the 63 Olympiad [in 526 BCE] (Historical Library I:68:6) and the end in the archonship of Euclid [in 403 BCE], or in the year 2 of Artaxerxes II, when Amyrtaeus had become the new pharaoh of the XXVIII dynasty (Historical Library XIV:11:1-12:1, I:44:3). Those data taken from his Greek chronology are accurate, however, Diodorus wrote in summary: The Persians were the masters, after King Cambyses had subjected the nation by force of arms, for 135 years, contradicting his own chronological calculations (length of 123 years between 526 and 403 BCE). In fact, the total period of 123 years corresponds to an amount calculated with a 40year reign for Artaxerxes I, while that of 135 years corresponds to an actual reign of 51 years. Diodorus has compiled numerous data, probably thanks to an Egyptian informer (Historical Library III:11), without trying to harmonize them. Length according to: Cambyses II (in Egypt)* Darius I Xerxes I Artaxerxes I Darius II Artaxerxes II (in Egypt) Total: dated event: 526 - -403 123 years official reign 6* years 36 years 20 years 40 years 19 years 2 years 123 years actual reign 6* years 36 years 21 years 51 years 19 years 2 years 135 years Reign [526-521]* 522-486 496-475 475-424 424-405 405-[403] 526-403 The previous example highlights several points: the using of chronological data from historical narratives requires a good understanding of how usurpers, co-regencies and parallel dynasties (instead of consecutive) have biased official chronologies, in addition, former historians have compiled many documents of different origin (Greek, Babylonian, Egyptian, Persian) without knowing how ancient reigns had been reckoned, as accession years (with or without), beginning of regnal years (on 1st Nisan, 1st Tishri, 1st Thot), etc. The only way to get an absolute chronology is the dating of some historical synchronisms by astronomy. For example, the partial eclipse in year 7 of Cambyses II (tablet BM 33066) may be dated 523 BCE July 16/17 [magnitude = 0.54] and the total eclipse 522 BCE January 9/10. Claudius Ptolemy had to know the original tablet because he gave the right magnitude of 0.50 for the partial eclipse (Almagest V:14). Another astronomical tablet (BM 36879) describes the eclipses in years 1-4 of Cambyses II, dated by astronomy in 529-526 BCE23. A diary (VAT 4956)24 contains numerous astronomical conjunctions in years 37 and 38 of Nebuchadnezzar dated from astronomy in 568 and 567 BCE. An astronomical journal (BM 38462) list some lunar eclipses in the years 1 to 27 of P. BRIANT, P. LÉVÊQUE, P. BRULÉ, R. DESCAT, M.M. MACTOUX - Le monde grec Tome 1 Paris 1995 Éd. Presses Universitaires de France pp. 37-40. 22 J. HAILLET - Diodore de Sicile Bibliothèque historique livre XI. Paris 2001 Éd. Les Belles Lettres pp. XV-XX; XXVII-XXXII. 23 P.J. HUBER, S. DE MEIS – Babylonian Eclipse Observations from 750 BC to 1 BC Milano 2004 Ed. Mimesis pp. 94-96. 24 A.J. SACHS, H. HUNGER - Astronomical Diaries and Related Texts from Babylonia vol. I Wien 1988 Ed. Akademie der Wissenschaften (n° -567). 21 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 8 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY Nebuchadnezzar which are dated from 604 to 578 BCE25. Other dated lunar eclipses26 are these of year 1 and 2 of Merodachbaladan (19/20 March 721 BCE, 8/9 March and 1/2 September 720 BCE); year 5 of Nabopolassar (21/22 April 621 BCE); year 2 of Šamaššuma-ukîn (10/11 April 666 BCE) and year 42 of Nebuchadnezzar (2/3 March 562 BCE). Thus, using chronological data from historical narratives requires knowledge of the functioning of ancient calendars and their changes over time, particularly with regard to the duration and the exact beginning of the year. The only way to verify their accuracy is to compare them with astronomical data dated in the Julian calendar, an astronomical calendar which serves as a reference. THE JULIAN (ASTRONOMICAL) CALENDAR Joseph Scaliger proposed in 1583, one year after the creation of the Gregorian calendar, a new way to calculate dates in astronomy: the Julian days. He chose the adjective Julian in honor of his father, whose name was Jules (Julius as Caesar). Julian day refers to a continuous count of days since the beginning of the Julian Period used primarily by astronomers. The Julian Day Number (JDN) is the integer assigned to a whole solar day in the Julian day count starting from noon Greenwich Mean Time (longitude 0°), with Julian day number 0 assigned to the day starting at noon on 1 January, 4713 BCE proleptic Julian calendar. The Julian Date (JD) of any instant is the Julian day number for the preceding noon plus the fraction of the day since that instant. A Julian date is the continuous addition of days since that reference date of 4713 BCE, with years of 365.25 days. Its greatest advantage is enabling the synchronization of the multitude of ancient calendars (including the old Julian calendar). Let us note that between 1 January of the year 1 BCE, and 1 January of year 1 CE, there are only 365 calendar days, that is one year (not two). Between 4713 BCE and 1770 there are 6482 years (= 4713 + 1770 - 1). Thus, noon on 1 January 1770 of the Julian calendar was the Julian day 2367551 (= 365.25 x 6482), while noon on 1 January 1770 of the Gregorian calendar (ie the same day) was the Julian day 2367540, due to the 11 days removed during the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in England and its American colonies in 1752. Since 1972, the duration of the second in UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) was fixed to the value determined by an average of atomic clocks (TAI: International Atomic Time) around the world and leap seconds have been added to align to about 0.9 second the UTC. This definition allows to measure the time regardless of the slight slowing of the Earth (about 1 second per year). The mean tropical year, as of January 1, 2000 was 365.2421897 or 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, 45.19 seconds (but it changes slowly)27. It is called "tropical year", which is the time measured between two vernal equinoxes. For practical reasons, the dates are presented in a standard pattern. Thus on 31 December 2001 at 11 o'clock, 59 minutes, 28 seconds and 73 hundredths (on the Greenwich meridian) appears as: 2001-12-31 23:59:28.73 UTC and corresponds to the Julian28 day 2452275.4996 . Dates are expressed in the Gregorian calendar (introduced by Pope Gregory XIII) from Friday, October 15, 1582, and in the Julian calendar for dates prior. Thus we switch (in 1582) of Thursday, October 4 (Julian) to Friday, October 15 (Gregorian) corresponding to Friday, October 5, 1582 (Julian). The Gregorian calendar was H. HUNGER - Astronomical Diaries and Related Texts from Babylonia vol. V n° 6 Wien 2001 Ed. Akademie der Wissenschaften pp. 27-30,396. 26 F.R. STEPHENSON - Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation Cambridge 1997 Ed. Cambridge University Press pp. 99-100, 151-152, 166-167, 206. 27 The length in days for the distant past is: 365,2421905166 - 61,5607x10-6T - 68,4x10-9T2 + 263x10-9T3 + 3,2x10-9T4 where T is in Julian centuries of 365,25 days measured from noon January 1, 2000 TT (in negative numbers for dates in the past). 28 http://pagesperso-orange.fr/pgj/julien.htm 25 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES introduced to correct the progressive advance of the Julian calendar (11 days in 1582) compared to the spring equinox, which is astronomically fixed in the year. To improve the synchronization of the Gregorian calendar with the tropical year 3 days must be removed every 400 years. A year becomes a leap year: Ø if it is divisible by 4. A "February 29" is added and the year has 366 days instead of 365 (since 1996/4 = 499, 1996 is a leap year), except: Ø if it is divisible by 100. This Gregorian year is a normal year of 365 days (for example 1900/100 = 19, so 1900 is a normal year), except: Ø if it is divisible by 400 (for example 2000/400 = 5, 2000 is a leap year). These three rules are designed to keep seasons close to fixed dates in the calendar, as the spring equinox keyed on March 21. However this benchmark of spring varies slightly in the Gregorian calendar (green curve), more strongly in the Julian calendar (line in red), thus one day more should be added in year 3952 CE. Calendar duration in days shift / tropical year Lunar 354.36346 -10.88 days every year Idealized 360 -5 days every year Egyptian (civil) 365 -1 day every 4 years Julian 365.25 +1 day every 128 years Gregorian 365.2425 +1 day every 3,420 years Tropical (in 1900) 365.24219647 +1 day every 160,256 years The tropical year (observed) decreases 0,539 s each year. HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE JULIAN CALENDAR The Gregorian and Julian calendars are solar calendars (based on calculation). They were created to overcome both the difficulties in observation and complexity to synchronize the lunar year with the length of the solar year. The original calendars are for the most part drawn from the observation, the year being based on seasons (equinox or solstice), the month coinciding with the lunar cycle (new or full moon) and the day being related to the daily cycle of the sun (sunrise or sunset or midday etc.). All these astronomical cycles are more or less irregular and their exact durations are very complex to calculate29. If the day is measured between two successive culminations of the sun, the average duration is 24 hours, but varies up to 15 minutes (see graph above), depending on the time of year. The average length30 of the lunar month is 29.530288 days between two successive new moons (or full moons), but can vary between values ranging from 29.2679 to 29.8376 days. A. DANJON – Astronomie Générale Paris, 1994, Éd. Librairie scientifique et technique A. Blanchard. 30 This average varies slightly over time: D = 29,5305888531 + 216,21x10-9T – 0,364x10-9T2 with T = (JD - 2451545.0)/36525 and JD = Julian Day, thus D = 29,53058424 days in 1 CE (JD = 4713x365,25 ; T = -20). 29 9 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 10 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY The difficulties of observation led the Romans to replace their lunar calendar (observed) by a calculated lunar calendar of 355 days and finally by a calculated solar calendar. After 150 BCE, the year began at the winter solstice (December 25), Mercedonius, an intercalary month of 22 or 23 days, being inserted every 2 years, the 6th day before the Kalends of March, giving a time average of 366.25 days for the year. After 46 BCE, the intercalary month is deleted, the number of days of some months is changed and 1 day is added every 4 years (the 6th day before the calends of March). In addition, the year began on January 1 and the spring equinox fell on March 25. To resynchronize this calendar the year 708 of Rome (46 BCE) lasted 455 days and was called the "year of confusion" (that means the Julian dates used by Roman historians can be shifted by 90 days in some cases compared to UTC Julian dates). The pontiffs inserting 1 day every 3 years instead of 4, there were 12 leap years in 8 BCE instead of 9 planned which led Augustus to remove the next leap years for 12 years. These reforms are discussed by Macrobius (Saturnalia I:14), Censorinus (De Die Natali XX:8), Suetonius (Life of Julius Caesar XL), Solin (De mirabilibus mundi I), Pliny the Elder (Natural History XVIII,LVII) and Dion (Roman History XLIII:26). Chronology of pre-Julian calendars: Lunar calendar (calculated) After 150 BCE Days XI IANVARIVS 29 XII FEBRVARIVS 28 MERCEDONIVS (22/23) I MARTIVS 31 II APRILIS 29 III MAIVS 31 IV IVNIVS 29 V QVINTILIS 31 VI SEXTLIS 29 VII SEPTEMBER 29 VIII OCTOBER 31 IX NOVEMBER 29 X DECEMBER 29 After 46 BCE IANVARIVS FEBRVARIVS Solar calendar (calculated) Days After 8 BCE 31 IANVARIVS 29(/30) FEBRVARIVS MARTIVS APRILIS MAIVS IVNIVS IVLIVS SEXTLIS SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER 31 30 31 30 31 30 31 30 31 30 MARTIVS APRILIS MAIVS IVNIVS IVLIVS AVGVSTVS SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER Days 31 28(/29) 31 30 31 30 31 31 30 31 30 31 All these variations show that historical dates from a calendar in a given time may be different from the Julian calendar UTC. Through astronomy, it is possible to check the accuracy of some of these dates. For example, according to Roman authors, Julius Caesar was assassinated on March 15, year 710 of Rome, or March 15, 44 BCE. However, according to astronomy, the vernal equinox fell on March 23 in the Julian calendar UTC, implying a shift of 2 days with the official date of March 25. Consequently Julius Caesar is dead March 13, 44 BCE in the Julian calendar UTC31. This correction, inconsequential, especially allows to check the consistency between dates. HISTORICAL RECORD OF GREEK CALENDARS The ancient Greek calendars prior 500 BCE are poorly known32, oldest information come from poets Homer and Hesiod. According to their writings, Greek original calendars were synchronized by the four seasons (through its two equinoxes and two solstices)33 and the year was based on a division into lunar months related to religious festivals (Odyssey XX:156, 306). In fact, major festivals celebrating a god or an agricultural event gave their name to the lunar month of the city (it is noteworthy that the word "month" means http://www.imcce.fr/page.php?nav=fr/ephemerides/astronomie/saisons/index.php E.J. BICKERMAN - Chronology of the Ancient World London 1980 Ed. Thames and Hudson p. 27-28. 33 Odyssey XI:294-296, Works and Days 479, 564-567, 585-588, 664-665. 31 32 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES "moon-th"). This link between lunar months and religious festivals34 already existed in Mycenaean Greeks35 (before 1185 BCE) as demonstrated by the name of the lunar months appearing on the Linear B tablets36 of Knossos (8 months) and Pylos (2 months). However, these names do not appear to have influenced those of the Greek cities, with the exception of "Zeus' month" Di-wi-jo-jo me-no37 in Linear B, which became Dios menos (in Aetolia and Macedonia). The existence of these months proves that religious celebrations had to be performed according to a lunar calendar. Hesiod says (ca. 700 BCE) that the month of 30 days were cut in 3 decades38: the first one from 1 to 10, the second one from 11 to 20 and the last one from 21 to 30. Winter started in the month of Lenaion (Works and Days 504) as in the timetable for Delos (corresponding to January) the only month which is named and which, as its name suggests, was dedicated to the celebration of the Bacchae. The time count in was marked by the great sun and the bright moon (Theogony 371). How did the Greeks could they date events such as the famous "Trojan War" that took place long before the first Olympiad in 776 BCE, the first datable event in Greek history? In fact, as Herodotus says repeatedly in his work (The Histories II:43, 113, 145), Greek historians could see the Egyptian annals through priests, but few have done it (because of language problems and confidentiality of official records) except the great Alexandrian scholar Eratosthenes (276-193) who dated the Trojan War in 1184 BCE precisely. In addition, the chronology of the kings of Athens involves the existence of Athenian archives, which is indirectly confirmed by Thucydides when he gave a brief chronology of some important events taking place during the dark ages39, which was only possible if he could access some official written documents, because oral transmission does not exceed 150 years (such as the oral transmission of the Talmud after 70 CE, which was written about 200 CE, 130 years later). To find out if the chronological information provided by Greek historians were invented or are authentic, a reconstruction of the maritime campaign of the Peoples of the Sea has to be done. According to Homer the fall of the Hittite empire (Odyssey XI:512-522) was followed by the attack on Egypt (Odyssey XIV:228-275) which is dated year 8 of Ramses III40 (1192-1161). Similarly, the Egyptian priest Manetho41 wrote (ca. 280 BCE): Thouoris (...) at the time when Troy was taken, reigned 7 years, indeed Queen Tausert (1202-1194) actually reigned 7 years (on behalf of his husband Siptah) at the beginning of the Trojan War that began in 1194 BCE, 10 years before the destruction of the city (the Peloponnesian War I:11-12). According to Clement of Alexandria (Stromateis I:104) and Eusebius (Preparatio evangelica X:12:15): Troy was captured in the 18th year of Agamemnon's reign, and in the 1st year of the reign of Theseus' son Demophon at Athens. According to Dionysius of Argos it took place on the 12th of Thargelion; according to Agias and Dercylus in their third volume, on the 23rd of Panemus [= Athenian Scirophorion]; according to Hellanicus [480-405], on the 12th of Thargelion, according to some annalists of Attica as Ephorus (400W. BURKERT – La religion grecque à l'époque archaïque et classique Paris 2011 Éd. Picard pp. 305-308. 35 J.G. YOUNGER – Time and Event in Aegean Art. Illustrating a Bronze Age Calendar in: Stephanos Aristeios: Archäologische Forschungen zwischen Nil und Istros (Phoibos Verlag, 2007) pp. 287-295. 36 C. TRÜMPY – Les fondements religieux des calendriers grecs in: Représentations du temps dans les religions (Librairie Droz, 2003) pp. 221-233. 37 Y. DUHOUX, A. MORPURGO DAVIES – A Companion to Linear B. Mycenean Greek Texts and their World Vol. 2 Louvain-la-Neuve 2001, Ed. Peeters pp. 199-200. 38 It is noteworthy that the Egyptian month consisted of three weeks of 10 days each. 39 Even after the Trojan war Hellas was still engaged in removing and settling, and thus could not attain to the quiet which must precede growth. The late return of the Hellenes from Ilium caused many revolutions, and factions ensued almost everywhere; and it was the citizens thus driven into exile who founded the cities. 60 years after the capture of Ilium the modern Boeotians were driven out of Arne by the Thessalians, and settled in the present Boeotia, the former Cadmeis; though there was a division of them there before, some of whom joined the expedition to Ilium. 20 years later the Dorians and the Heraclids became masters of Peloponnese (The Peloponnesian War (I:12,18). 40 J. LECLANT – Dictionnaire de l'Antiquité Paris 2005 Éd. P.U.F. p. 1712. 41 W.G. WADDELL – Manetho. Massachusetts 1956 Ed. Harvard University Press pp. 101-119. 34 11 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 12 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY 334), on the 23rd day of that month, in the last year of the reign of Menestheus' reign, at the full moon. These chronological details with no religious significance appear to be historical. The disagreement of dates: 12 or 23 Thargelion, can be explained by a difference of reckoning, either 12 Thargelion with a starting from full moon (ancient reckoning prior 600 BCE) or 23 Thargelion with a starting from new moon. In the old lunar calendar starting at the full moon, day 12 (Thargelion) fits day 23 in a calendar beginning at the 1st lunar crescent (day 25 of the astronomical cycle, see below). Hellanicus and Dionysius of Argos were referring to the old calendar and annalists of Attica to the Athenian calendar (starting at the summer solstice), each month beginning at the new moon (not the 1st lunar crescent). As the summer solstice in 1186 BCE is dated July 4 (Athenian month I), Thargelion 12 (month XI) is dated May 9 (in 1185 BCE). This date can be calculated otherwise because we know that the military campaign of the Peoples of the Sea against Egypt, which started westward Mediterranean with Troy, ended in the east with Syria and Egypt42. Given that last Emar43 texts, marking the end of the campaign are dated [-]/VI2/2 and 16/VII/[2] of Meli-Shipak (1187-1172), October 12, 1185 BCE, its beginning had to occur 6 months earlier (in May) because the Mediterranean is navigable only between mid-April and late September44. The taking of Troy on May 9 in 1185 BCE is therefore quite likely. year -1186 1 -1185 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 month X XI XII I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX VII VIII IX X XI XII I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII I II III IV V VI [A] 17 [B] 21 [C] 0 [D] 6 1 7 2 8 *** *** 18 [A] Agamemnon King of Achaia [B] Šuppiluliyama II King of Hatti [C] Meli-Shipak King of Babylonia [D] Ramses III King of Egypt 22 *** *** [B] Attack of Hatti (Trojan War), then its collapse [19] *** [A] Sea Peoples defeated, collapse of Achaia. The Mycenaean calendars (like the one of Pylos)45 therefore had a lot in common with the Egyptian lunar calendar: a beginning of the year keyed to the summer solstice (matching with the rising of Sirius in Egypt), lunar months beginning at the full moon, months generally reckoned as 3 decanates of 10 days each (Egyptian year had 36 decanates) and record of the contribution of sacrificial animals and consumable offerings46 as there was in Egyptian temples. It is worth noting that the Olympic Games, the oldest Greek institution, was beginning at the first full moon after the summer solstice. See the file entitled: The Trojan War: When, Where, Who and Why? Y. COHEN, I. SINGER – A Late Synchronism between Ugarit and Emar in: Essays on Ancient Israel in Its Near Eastern Context (Eisenbrauns, 2006) p. 134. 44 P. ARNAUD – Les routes de la navigation antique. Itinéraires en Méditerranée Paris 2005 Éd. Errance pp. 26-27, 56-57, 107-111. 45 T.G. PALAIMA – The Last Days of the Pylos Polity in: Annales d'archéologie égéenne de l'Université de Liège 12:2 (1995), pp. 623-634. 46 T.G. PALAIMA – Sacrificial Feasting in the Linear B documents in: Hesperia 73 (2004), pp. 217–246. 42 43 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES 13 Herodotus reminds that the Greeks regarded the full moon as an auspicious day (The Histories VI:106-107). Hesiod in his “Works and Days” states that: Mark the days which come from Zeus, duly telling your slaves of them, and that the 30th day of the month is best for one to look over the work and to deal out supplies (765-767), which requires to fit it with the full moon and not with the new moon. He adds: Again, few know that the 29th of the month is best for opening a wine-jar, and putting yokes on the necks of oxen and mules and swift-footed horses, and for hauling a swift ship of many thwarts down to the sparkling sea (814-816), that also proves that the 29th day was also considered auspicious because it matched on the full moon when months had 29 days (once out 2). Another clue confirms a lunar reckoning starting at the full moon. Hesiod writes: Look about you very carefully and throw out Demeter's holy grain upon the well-rolled threshing floor on the 7th of the mid-month [17th] (32-33, 807-807). It should be noted that this festival celebrating the rebirth of nature as symbolizing the resurrection. If the month began on the new moon or on the 1st increasing, the 17th day would have no special meaning (see below), while in a computation starting at the full moon it corresponds exactly to the new moon, the starting point of a new cycle regenerator. Comput beginning on full moon (= 1°, new moon = 16*) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16* 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 1° Comput beginning on 1st lunar crescent (= 1, full moon = 14°) 15 15 16 16 17 17 18 18 19 19 20 20 30 21 29 22 28 23 27 24 26 25 21 30 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 8 8 9 9 10 10 25 26 11 11 24 27 23 28 22 29* 12 12 13 13 14 14° The Egyptians considered the 17th day of the month to be associated with the death of Osiris, a lunar god, and the 18th day was called "day of the moon" because it marked the beginning of the reparcelling of Osiris symbolizing its resurrection. According to Plutarch: Solon [640-558] observing the irregularity of the month, and that the motion of the moon does not always coincide with the rising and setting of the sun, but that often she overtakes and passes the sun on the same day, he ordered that day to be called the Old and New moon, assigning the portion of it which preceded the conjunction to the expiring month, and the remaining portion to the month that was just beginning. He was thus the first, as it would seem, to understand Homer's verse, which speaks of a day when "This month is waning, and the next is setting in (Odyssey XIV:162; XIX:307)" and the day following this he called the "new moon" (1st of the month). After the 20th he did not count the days by adding them to 20, but by subtracting them from 30, on a descending scale, like the waning of the moon (Life of Solon 25:3). This change of reckoning in the Greek lunar calendar (ca. 600 BCE) had to complicate conversion of dates into the new calendar. The Greek calendar was reformed again about 520 BCE and according to Censorinus, Cleostrate of Tenedos introduced at that time an intercalation cycle of 8-year. Several astronomers then proposed other systems of intercalation: 19-year cycle of Meton in 433 BCE, 76-year cycle of Calippe in 330 BCE and 304-year cycle of Hipparchus in 125 BCE. These reforms, which were in fact only theoretical, confirm that throughout the Classic period (500-323) the Greek calendar was in practice not very accurate (+/- 5 days), SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 14 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY as Aristoxenus of Tarentum (355-300?) confirms: Moreover, the data from physicists about tones is perfectly analogous to the marching of days. For example, when the Corinthians count the 10th day [of month], the Athenians count the 5th and some other peoples the 8th (Harmonic Elements II:22). Likewise Plutarch (46-125) adds: This battle [of Marathon] was fought on the 4th of the month Boëdromion, as the Athenians reckon time; but according to the Boeotian calendar, on the 27th of the month Panemus, the day when, down to the present time, the Hellenic council assembles in Plataea, and the Plataeans sacrifice to Zeus the Deliverer for the victory. We must not wonder at the apparent discrepancy between these dates, since, even now that astronomy is a more exact science, different peoples have different beginnings and endings for their months. (Life of Aristides XIX:7). According to R.F. Avienus (The prognostics of Aratus), the only reform of the Greek calendar was the synchronizing of archontic year (which began at the winter solstice prior 433 BCE) with the Olympic year (starting at solstice summer). Diodorus states that it took place in 432 BCE on 13 Scirophorion (= 28 June = summer solstice) of the Athenian calendar (Historical Library XII:36:1-3). This multiplicity of calendars lasted until 100 BCE, prior it each city had its own way of counting days, starting, naming and intercalating months47. The following list of some calendars illustrates48 the complexity of the situation (the 1st month of each calendar is month 1 and all calendars are aligned on that of Athens). The Greek calendar started (from 520 BCE) at the first new moon after the summer solstice (June 28) in Athens, Delphi and Epidaurus, after the autumnal equinox (September 28) in Rhodes, Cos and Macedonia, at the winter solstice (December 28) in Delos, and after the spring equinox (March 26) in Babylonia and Miletus. In addition, these calendars were using the same month names, but placed at different times of the year. The month Panemos, for example, was the 1st month of the year in Cos, the 2nd in Thessaly, the 5th in Miletus, the 6th in Delos, the 9th in Macedonia and in Boeotia, the 10th in Rhodes and the 12th in Aetolia. The Greek astronomer Geminos of Rhodes (80-10?) also states that some Greeks were content to alternate months of 29 and 30 days, and thus the first W. KENDRICK PRITCHETT – Athenian Calendars and Ekklesias Amsterdam Ed. J.C. Gieben Publisher pp. 6-11. 48 E.J. BICKERMAN - Chronology of the Ancient World London 1980 Ed. Thames and Hudson pp. 27-40. 47 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES crescent could fall between 1 and 3 of the month (Introduction to phenomena VIII:34, IX:14). This multiplicity of calendars is surprising because many Greek cities were closely related to the satrapy of Sardis (directly connected to the Persian capital Susa which used a Babylonian calendar well synchronized on the 1st lunar crescent). We understand better why Thucydides, despite his desire of precision, could not use a Greek reference calendar as well as the remark of Herodotus who lamented about the functioning of Greek calendar. Thucydides is obliged to specify "new month according to the Moon (The Peloponnesian War II:28)" to mark the difference between the 1st day of the month and the 1st visible crescent or new moon, because there could be a gap between the two. Greek months usually beginning at the new moon, the Greek word neomenie "new month" was understood as "new moon" and it is in this sense that Thucydides uses it (The Peloponnesian War IV:52). Herodotus and Thucydides knew Persian and Babylonian calendars since they mention them but these systems were not employed in Greece, despite the superiority of their functioning because the concept of universal calendar did not exist at that time, only a calendar related to a king or city made sense. The unreliability of the Greek calendar (in its counting of days and months) has handicapped the Greek historians, then Roman, at least until the beginning of our era (appearance of the Julian calendar). Diodorus of Sicily (90 to 21 BCE), for example, only managed to synchronize the Greek archontic years with the Roman consular year that only about 8 years. Most ancient calendars are of lunar origin but their functioning was quite different as regards times and places. The main differences come either from the internal functioning that makes beginning the month at 1st crescent/ full moon or the synchronization system based on observation or calculation. The lunar month has an average of 29.530588 days, but the actual lunar cycle can vary between 29.2679 and 29.8376 days49, because of terrestrial and lunar orbits which are slightly elliptical. The appearance of the 1st crescent, visible after the new moon, can vary between 16.5 and 42 hours (in Babylon, latitude 32.5°). The full moon appears after the new moon between 13.73 and 15.80 days later. The combination of all these factors disrupts the average regular series 29-3029-30-29, and although this is exceptional, a series of 5 consecutive months of 30 days: 30-30-30-3030 is possible (even for the series 29-29-29). R.A. PARKER - The Calendars of Ancient Egypt in: Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization N°26 (1950) Ed. University of Chicago pp. 1-7. 49 15 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 16 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY Given the complexity of lunar cycle Greek lunar calendars that were based on calculations, like the Metonic cycle, predicted only the average length of the solar year according to the number of lunar months but not the appearance of the 1st crescent (impossible to predict better than +/- 1 day). The Metonic cycle gave the standard suite of lunar months: 30-3029-30-29-30-29-30-29-30-29-30-29-30-29-30-30-29-[-] removing every 64th day in a regular series of 30-day months. It lasts 354.375 days instead of 354.367 days in astronomy (delay of 1 day every 125 years). The prediction of 1st lunar crescent is still extremely complex50 because of two empirical parameters difficult to know precisely: 1) the speed of rotation of the earth and 2) the limit of visibility of the moon (which varies depending on altitude and azimuth of the sun). For simplicity, the precision of the first parameter is (currently) satisfactory until 1500 BCE and the 1st lunar crescent can been observed if the height H between the moon and the sun is above the value Hmin which is, according to the criterion of Maunder: Hmin = 11° - 0,01*(5 + azimut)*(azimut). LINKS BETWEEN EGYPTIAN AND GREEK CALENDARS The Egyptians used at least two types of calendars: one of civilian type for official documents and a second of religious type for lunar festivals. Each of these calendars had its own pattern even if they were both based on a year of 12 months. The names of the Egyptian month are known by their Greek transcriptions. Herodotus noted that the Egyptian system (calendar year) a year of 12 months of 30 days with 5 days Additional was a regular system than the Greek system which added one intercalary month an average every two years (The Histories II:4). The Egyptian names of months in the old civil calendar has evolved over time under the influence of lunar festivals and it stabilized around 1100 BCE51 (see Dating based on the Egyptian lunar calendar). Season ’AKHET "flooding" PERET "seed" SHEMU "harvest" "days above" month I 1st II 2nd III 3rd IV 4th I 5th II 6th III 7th IV 8th I 9th II 10th III 11th IV 12th Greek Thoth Phaophi Hathyr Khoiak Tybi Mecheir Phamenoth Pharmouthi Pakhons Payni Epiphi Mesore Epagomenal Coptic Tout Paopi Athor Khoiak Tobe Mecheir Parmhotp Parmoute Pakhons Paone Epep Mesori Egyptian Dḥwty P3nipt Ḥwtḥr K3ḥrk3 T3‘3bt [P3n]Mḫr P3nimnḥtp P3nrnwtt P3nḫnsw P3nint Ipip Mswtr‘ Djehuti Panipe Hauthor Kahorka Taâbe Mekher Panamenhotep Panermoute Pankhensu Panine Ipip Mesurâ days 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 5 This civil calendar with its 12 months of 30 days each (anonymous at origin) is the oldest known52. However, it was a disadvantage because it drifted about ¼ days per year as the solar year has 365.24219 days and not 365 days. The Egyptians have never sought to correct this drift because they spotted the beginning of the agricultural year thanks to flooding of the Nile, which was appearing just after the rising of Sirius, as Diodorus L.J. FATOOHI, F.R. STEPHENSON, S.S. AL-DARGAZALLI – The Babylonian First Visibility of the Lunar Crescent: Data and Criterion in: Journal for the History of Astronomy n°98 Vol. 30:1 (1999) Ed. University of Chicago pp. 51-72. A.H. SULTAN – First Visibility of the Lunar Crescent: Beyond Danjon's Limit in: The Observatory n°127:1 (2007) Ed. University of Chicago pp. 53-59. 51 L. DEPUYDT - The Two Problems of the Month Names (papyrus Cairo 86637) in: Revue d'égyptologie 50 (1999) pp. 107-133. 52 It looks like that given to Noah (Genesis 7:11,24; 8:3,4), but the biblical text does not explain how the year was synchronized. 50 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES reminds (Historical Library I:19:1). For example, Horurre stele53 is dated in the year 6 of Amenemhat III (c. 1830 BCE) from III Peret to I Shemu in the civil calendar, that is to say from January to March according to the meaning of the names of months, but the text specifies that it was the hot summer season which ranged from June to August. Ø Geminos of Rhodes stated (c. 70 BCE): The Egyptians use a year of 365 days: 12 months of 30 days and 5 days more. They do not add ¼ day (...) festivals recede for them [through the natural year] (...) In 1460 years [= 4x365] each festival must go through all the seasons of the year and returns to the same point (Introduction to the Phenomena VIII:18-24). Ø Ptolemy III promulgated in year 9 of his reign (238 BCE) the Decree of Canopus to compensate for the drifting of the calendar compared to seasons: And whereas feasts of the Benefactor Gods are celebrated each month in the temples in accordance with the previously written decree, the 1st (day) and the 9th and the 25th, and feasts and public festivals are celebrated each year in honor of the other greatest gods, (be it resolved) for there to be held each year a public festival in the temples and throughout the whole country in honor of King Ptolemy and Queen Berenike, the Benefactor Gods, on the day on which the star of Isis [Sirius] rises, which is reckoned in the sacred writings to be the new year, and which now in the 9th year is observed on the 1st day of the month Payni, at which time both the little Boubastia and the great Boubastia are celebrated and the gathering of the crops and the rise of the river takes place; but if, further, it happens that the rising of the star changes to another day in 4 years, for the festival not to be moved but to be held on the 1st of Payni all the same, on which (day) it was originally held in the 9th year, and to celebrate it for 5 days with the wearing of garlands and with sacrifices and libations and what else that is fitting; and, in order also that the seasons may always do as they should, in accordance with the now existing order of the universe, and that it may not happen that some of the public feasts held in the winter are ever held in the summer, the star changing by one day every 4 years, and that others of those now held in the summer are held in the winter in future times as has happened in the past and as would be happening now, if the arrangement of the year remained of 360 days plus the 5 days later brought into usage (be it resolved) for a 1-day feast of the Benefactor Gods to be added every 4 years to the 5 additional days before the new year [leap year], in order that all may know that the former defect in the arrangement of the seasons and the year and in the beliefs about the whole ordering of the heavens has come to be corrected and made good by the Benefactor Gods. This reform was not applied54 because the Egyptians were very conservative and attached to their traditions. The remark on the inversion of the winter and summer confirms the existence of this calendar 730 years earlier since the full calendar cycle was 1460 years. Ø Strabo states: In Heliopolis I also saw large houses in which the priests lived; for it is said that this place in particular was in ancient times a settlement of priests who studied philosophy and astronomy; but both this organisation and its pursuits have now disappeared (...) However, these men did teach them the fractions of the day and night which, running over and above the 365 days, fill out the time of the true year. But at that time the true year was unknown among the Greeks, as also many other things, until the later astrologers learned from the men who had translated into Greek the records of the priests; and even to this day they learn their teachings, and likewise those of the Chaldaeans (...) The priests there are said to have been, for the most part, astronomers and philosophers; and it is due to these priests also that people reckon the days, not by the moon, but by the sun, adding to the 12 months of 30 days each 5 days each year; and, for the filling out of the whole year, since a fraction of the day runs over and above, they form a period of time from enough whole days, or whole years, to make the fractions that run over and above, when added together, amount to a day (Geography XVII:1:29,46). Ø Diodorus indicates (c. 50 BCE): The Thebans say that they are the earliest of all men and the first people among whom philosophy and the exact science of the stars were discovered, since their country P. TALLET – Sésostris III et la fin de la XIIe dynastie Paris 2005 Éd. Pygmalion pp. 157,158 54 From the reign of Ptolemy III intercalation in the Macedonian calendar became about two times too fast. 53 17 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 18 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY enables them to observe more distinctly than others the rising and settings of the stars. Peculiar to them also is their ordering of the months and years. For they do not reckon the days by the moon, but by the sun, making their month of 30 days, and they add 5 and a quarter days to the 12 months and in this way fill out the cycle of the year. But they do not intercalate months or subtract days, as most of the Greeks do (Historical Library I:50:1,2). Ø Herodotus was already (c. 450 BCE) impressed by antiquity and regularity of this old calendar: the Egyptians, they said, were the first men who reckoned by years and made the year consist of 12 divisions of the seasons. They discovered this from the stars (so they said). And their reckoning is, to my mind, a juster one than that of the Greeks; for the Greeks add an intercalary month every other year, so that the seasons agree; but the Egyptians, reckoning 30 days to each of the 12 months, add 5 days in every year over and above the total, and thus the completed circle of seasons is made to agree with the calendar (The Histories II:4). The Palermo Stone (Vth Dynasty) attests to the antiquity of this calendar. Indeed, the years of reign of the pharaohs started at the I Akhet 1 (until the end of the XVIIth dynasty). For example, a space of one year (divided into 7 months 11 days and 4 months 24 days) between Shepseskaf (one of the last kings of the IVth Dynasty) and the previous king, indicating that the full year between the two kings was 7 months 11 days + 4 months 24 days or 12 months of 30 days + 5 days (= 365 days)55. The Palermo Stone, however, is more a political document than historical because there are errors on some fragments. Fragment 1 from Cairo, for example, cites Djer as a Ist Dynasty king with a cartridge. But the latter appeared only in the IIIrd Dynasty. As the beginning of the Egyptian civil calendar is undocumented one can only make some plausible guesses. The Djer's plate mentions the oldest known heliacal rising of Sirius56 (around 2800 BCE) dated at the beginning of the flood (I Akhet 1) and the summer solstice (July 17 at this time). The name of the first 4 months being those of the season called akhet "flooding" it is logical to conclude that this calendar had started with the flooding of the Nile, which coincided itself with the summer solstice. The name of the next two periods of the calendar: peret "seed" and shemu "harvest", is also in agreement with the seasons. From the first dynasties the sign of the year appears on ivory labels which implies the existence of a calendar and also annals are to be hold from the beginning of historical times. On the ivory plate of king Djer there is a connection between the rising of Sirius in Buto, represented as a cow (Hathor-sek associated with Isis), as Denderah, and the beginning of the flood recorded by the sign akhet. The coincidence between the beginning of the flooding of the Nile and the heliacal rising of Sirius57 (the brightest star in the sky) at Buto and the summer solstic is performed only in 2774 BCE58, which also coincides with the heliacal rising of Venus (the brightest planet in the solar system), which coincidentally happens every 243 years59. In addition, there was also the heliacal rising of the new moon on I Akhet 1 (= July 18). All these coincidences had impressed the Egyptians. This double heliacal rising was often represented by a heron (associated to Isis) with a star above the head (Venus) at the same level as the ankles of Sothis (Sirius). The same length of 30 days for the 12 months suggests that the year was originally of 360 days60 without the "5 days A.H. GARDINER - Regnal Years and Civil Calendar in Pharaonic Egypt in: The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 31 (1945) pp. 11-13. 56 A.S. VON BOMHARD - Le calendrier Égyptien. Une œuvre d'éternité London 1999 Ed. Periplus pp. 48-49. 57 http://www.imcce.fr/fr/grandpublic/phenomenes/sothis/index.php (arcus visionis = 9.3). 58 http://www.imcce.fr/fr/grandpublic/temps/saisons.php http://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/Yourhorizon (with Universal Time: 2773-07-18 2:05:00; Azimuth: 90° (E); Field of view: 90°; for Buto: Latitude 31°12' North 30°45' East). 59 G.W. VAN OOSTERHOUT – Sirius, Venus and the Egyptian Calendar in: Discussions in Egyptology 27 (1993) pp. 83-96. 60 D. WARBURTON – Synchronizing the Chronology of Bronze Age Western Asia with Egypt in: Akkadica 119-120 (2000) pp. 34-37. 55 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES more" because, according to a document dated under Niuserre (2371-2340), the 5 intercalary days were added between the end of the former year and the beginning of the new year. That rescheduling was to better synchronize the calendar year with the agricultural year. Indeed, the old system resulted a significant offset with respect to seasons of about 1 month every 6 years, because the calendar year was shorter 5.25 days compared to the solar year. It can be assumed the following scenario: when the civil calendar appears, it is synchronized with the rising of the Nile, so I Akhet 1 "first flood" coincided with July 17 about 2800 BCE, and is composed of 12 months of 30 days. Then 24 years later the offset to the 3 seasons (Akhet, Peret, Shemu) becomes significant as it rises to 4 months, a full season in advance. Then agricultural year began to I Peret 1 which puts I Akhet 1 to 12 March. To stabilize the rapid drift of the calendar year compared to seasons it was decided to add 5 intercalary days at the end of the year. This first calendar reform (c. 2774 BCE?) will be challenged only 2500 years later by the decree of Canopus in 238 BCE. If today the existence of the Egyptian lunar calendar is no longer disputed its exact functioning is still problematic because it is related to the interpretation of ambiguous religious texts produced from the complex syncretism of Egyptians. Diodorus mentions it (in 50 BCE) without understanding it61: The priests of the Egyptians, reckoning the time from the reign of Helius to the crossing of Alexander into Asia, say that it was in round numbers 2300 years. And, as their legends say, the most ancient of the gods ruled more than 1200 years and the later ones not less than 300. But since this great number of years surpasses belief, some men would maintain that in early times, before the movement of the sun had as yet been recognized, it was customary to reckon the year by the lunar cycle (Historical Library I:26:1-3). The importance of lunar concepts is clear from Egyptian texts as noted Derchain: According to one of the main principles of Egyptian cosmology, it is the increasing phase that will hold the attention and which will be detailed in representations. Indeed, for Egyptian, the universe is under the constant threat of disintegration, and it's ongoing effort of rituals that prevents destructive phenomena to occur too openly. The rites will necessarily intervene to bring back the full moon, while the decreasing phase is the effect of the uncertainty of cosmic order, exposed to influences of countless evil forces. However, many myths are known by quotations that are made in ritual, so we are informed mainly of Egyptian concepts of the increasing phase, and very few explicitly what they thought about the second part of the cycle. Several systems occurred over time which depended all on the theme of the eye of heaven's god. The myth of the tribulations of the eye of Horus is unfortunately one of the most complicated of the Egyptian religion, as a result of the many confusions that have been made there between the two eyes, the sun and moon62. The civil calendar was not suitable for religious festivals associated with the moon, very important in ancient times, because it was not connected to the lunar cycle. According to Herodotus (The Histories I:131, II:47, VI:107), the Egyptians, as the Persians, sacrificed to the moon during the full moon. These religious customs associated with the full moon were universal because the Greeks themselves viewed the full moon as an auspicious day. Jews were no exception since the major Jewish holidays are all related to the full moon63. The documents dated in two calendars allow to obtain absolute dates, except when calendars belonged to two very distant cities (over 800 km) because their synchronization was no longer possible. The documents which are double dated, contemporary of Elephantine papyri (c. 500-400 BCE), are very rare. The main two are: Ø The papyrus in hieratic (Louvres 7848) dated year 12 of Amasis (558 BCE) has a date in the Egyptian calendar year and another in the lunar calendar (used for certain religious The figures given by Diodorus crosscutting the period from the beginning of the XVIIIth to the end of the XXXth dynasty. P. DERCHAIN - La lune, mythes et rites 1962 Paris Éd. Seuil pp. 23,24. 63 The 14th of the month falls on a full moon in a lunar calendar starting at the 1st crescent after the new moon. Passover on Nisan 14 and Day of cakes unleavened beginning on Nisan 15, Feast of Booths beginning on Tishri 15 and the Feast of Purim on Adar 14 and 15. 61 62 19 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 20 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY festivals). As these two calendars were Egyptian, they were therefore not truly independent and their synchronization was possible. Ø The Behistun inscription attributed to Darius and dated around 500 BCE, contains several double dates between the old Persian calendar and the Babylonian calendar. In fact, it is the translation from a calendar into another and not a true matching of dates. In addition, the Behistun inscription reflects the propaganda of Darius and has not the neutrality of a commercial document. The documents having double dates really appear only from the 3rd century BCE. However, even in that case, the examination of the archives of Zeno (letters dated both in Egyptian and Macedonian calendars) proves that there was no synchronization since the scribe merely associated the Egyptian dates to the name of its corresponding Macedonian month64. Zeno, as a Greek citizen of Caunos, a resident of Alexandria and attendant financial of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (283-246), yet knew that these two calendars were in use in Alexandria. The documents with double-date under Ptolemy II are as follows65 (# 1 gives the difference of days between the Macedonian date and the lunar day calculated by astronomy starting from new moon66. The shift in months could come from the beginning of year on 25th Dystros, Ptolemy II's enthronement, instead of 1st Dios). Year 22 29 " " " " " " " " 30 " " " " " 31 " " " " " " " " 32 33 34 " 35 36 37 " Egyptian (civil) 12 Epeiph 9 Thoth 13 Thoth 21 Thoth 24 Thoth 4 Khoiak 24 Khoiak 10 Tybi 11 Tybi 30 Pharmouthi 23 Phaophi 1 Hathyr 3 Hathyr 10 Khoiak 9 Pakhons 13 Mesore 6 Phamenoth 27 Phamenoth 29 Phamenoth 30 Phamenoth 4 Pharmouthi 18 Pakhons 30 Pakhons 2 Payni 11 Payni 1 Mesore 14 Payni 29 Hathyr 3 Phamenoth 30 Epeiph 22 Pakhons 16 Phaophi 21 Khoiak Julian 4 September -263 3 November -257 7 November -257 15 November -257 18 November -257 27 January -256 12 February -256 3 March -256 4 March -256 22 June -256 17 December -256 25 December -256 27 December -256 2 February -255 1 July -255 3 October -255 29 April -254 20 May -254 22 May -254 23 May -254 27 May -254 10 July -254 22 July -254 24 July -254 2 August -254 20 September -253 4 August -252 21 January -251 25 April -251 19 September -250 12 July -249 8 December -249 11 February -248 Macedonian 19 Lôios 8 Hyperberetaios 12 Hyperberetaios 20 Hyperberetaios 23 Hyperberetaios 4 Audnaios 24 Audnaios 10 Peritios 11 Peritios 23 Artemisios 3 Dios 11 Dios 13 Dios 21 Apellaios 10 Artemisios 16 Lôios 28 Peritios emb. 20 Dystros 22 Dystros 23 Dystros 15 Xandikos 2 Daisios 14 Daisios 16 Daisios 25 Daisios 26 Panémos 20 Daisios 22 Dios 28 Peritios 28 Panemos 23 Artemisios 9 Hyperberetaios 17 Apellaios P.W. PESTMAN - A Guide to the Zenon Archive in: Papyrologica Lugduno-Batava XXI A 1981 Leiden Ed. E.J. Brill pp. 215-268. 65 E. GRZYBEK - Du calendrier macédonien au calendrier ptolémaïque in: Schweizerische Beiträge zur Altertumswissenschaft 20 Basel 1990 pp. 135-137, 151-155, 185-191. 66 http://portail.imcce.fr/fr/ephemerides/astronomie/Promenade/pages4/441.html 64 Lunar (shift) 1 (1 month) 9 (2 months) 13 (2 months) 21 (2 months) 24 (2 months) 5 (2 months) 25 (2 months) 10 (2 months) 11 (2 months) 3 (2 months) 5 (2 months) 13 (2 months) 15 (2 months) 22 (2 months) 23 (3 months) 28 (3 months) 28 (3 months) 21 (2 months) 23 (2 months) 24 (2 months) 28 (1 month) 13 (2 months) 25 (2 months) 27 (2 months) 7 (2 months) 8 (3 months) 2 (3 months) 23 (3 months) 25 (3 months) 9 (3 months) 12 (3 months) 13 (3 months) 18 (3 months) #1 (12) 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 (10) 2 2 2 1 13 12 0 1 1 1 13 11 11 11 12 12 12 1 -3 11 -11 -4 1 #2 7 -1 -1 -1 -1 0 0 0 0 -7 10 10 10 10 1 3 -7 -7 -7 -7 11 -16 -16 -16 -16 -5 6 -7 -5 2 -1 -7 -4 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES 21 The difference between the Macedonian date and lunar day (# 1) oscillates between two values: 1 and 11 (+/- 1 day), implying a calculated calendar (and therefore unobserved) because a constant shift of 11 days is inconsistent with an observation (furthermore the Egyptians had conversion tables to change their calendar year in a lunar calendar). In addition, the Macedonian calendar started with the month of Dios stalled on the autumnal equinox (beginning of October) and not in winter. This correspondence between the dates (Egyptian and Macedonian) is artificial and does not establish an absolute chronology on this criterion alone. Grzybek having analyzed these double dates noted that the gap (# 2) between the Egyptian and Macedonian dates ranged from two common values, -7 and 11 (+/- 1 day), which can be compared with the difference between the Egyptian year of 365 days (= 30x12 + 5) and the Macedonian year of 354 days (=[29 + 30]x6), which is 11 days (= 365 - 354) for a year without intercalation and -7 days (= [365 - 354]x2 - 29) for an embolismic year. The abnormal gap (# 2) could be explained by a misplaced intercalation. If an high official like Zeno was unable to obtain documents correctly dated in the two calendars, it is doubtful that Jewish mercenaries were able to get such a synchronization two centuries earlier. In fact, the distances prevented the synchronizing of calendars (even today, despite the creation of different time zones, this synchronization remains complicated). Zeno could have synchronize dates from the Egyptian civil calendar with those of the Macedonian calendar (used in Syria), since at his time these two calendars were official in Egypt. For Zeno the Egyptian civil calendar was likely the easiest to use. Even if the authorities in Egypt favored the use of the Macedonian calendar, the population (depending on priests) remained attached to the ancient Egyptian civil calendar. In addition, this calendar, independent of solar and lunar cycles, did not need to be synchronized. However, the converting of Egyptian civil dates into the Macedonian calendar, Zeno (or his scribe) made a rough (and artificial) synchronization. These same approximate conversions appear in later documents from Fayoum67: Date: Ptolemy III year 25 Ptolemy IV year 4 Ptolemy V year 24 Ptolemy VI year 7 Ptolemy VI year 8 Egyptian 13 Khoiak 27 Phamenoth 28 Thoth 13 Phamenoth 25 Mesore Julian 28 January -222 11 May -218 4 November -182 16 April -174 24 September -173 Macedonian 26 Loios 3 Dios 28 Dystros 13 Gorpiaios 25 Peritios Lunar (shift) 21 (6 months) 9 (7 months) 28 (1 month) 1 (4 months) 22 (4 months) #1 #2 -5 8 6 6 0 0 -12 0 -3 0 The first to have conducted a rigorous synchronization (without shift) between the two calendars is the astronomer Claudius Ptolemy (90-168) but, despite appearances, there is still no double dates, since he converted Babylonian dates68 (Nabonassar's era) into the Egyptian calendar69 with a retroactive calculation and not thanks to an old copy of dates. year of Nabonassar 504 (245/244 BCE) 512 (237/236 BCE) 519 (230/229 BCE) Date: Egyptian 27 Thoth 9 Thoth 14 Tybi Julian Macedonian 18 November -245 5 Apellaios 29 October -237 14 Dios 1 March -229 5 Xandikos Lunar (shift) 5 (0 month) 13 (0 month) 7 (0 month) The dating of Alexander the Great's death will illustrate the great difficulty in properly synchronize multiple calendars in a given place. This famous conqueror died in Babylon and luckily several official reports have been written dating that memorable day70: V.A. TCHERIKOVER, A. FUKS – Corpus Papyrorum Judaicarum I Cambridge 1957 Ed. Harvard University Press pp. 158-168, 182-186. 68 The Macedonian calendar of Ptolemy is keyed on the 1st crescent (like its Babylonian counterpart) and not on the new moon. 69 G.J. TOOMER - Ptolemy's Almagest IX:7, XI:7 Princeton 1998 Ed. University Press of Princeton. 70 E. GRZYBEK - Du calendrier macédonien au calendrier ptolémaïque in: Schweizerische Beiträge zur Altertumswissenschaft 20 Basel 1990 pp. 29-35. 67 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 22 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY Date (in 323 BCE) 29 Ayyaru 4 Pharmouthi 28 Daisios 30 Daisios Calendar Babylonian Egyptian Macedonian* (old) Macedonian (new) Source Tablet BM 34075 Pseudo Callisthenes Royal ephemeris Aristobulus Julian date 10/11 June 13 June 10 June 12 June Lunar phase 1st crescent New moon It is clear that this multiplicity of dates raises problems. The most reliable document is the Babylonian tablet dating the event of 29 Ayyaru (from 6:00 p.m. June 10 to 6:00 p.m. June 11). In fact, the date of Alexander's death was immediately known in Babylon as he died in that city. In addition, the astronomical tablets referenced BM 34075 and BM 45962 give the following sequence of months for the year 323 BCE: Nisanu Ayyaru Simanu Duzu I II III IV 29 30 30 Abu V 30 Ululu VI 30 VII 29 VIII 30 IX 29 X 29 XI XII XIIa Astronomy confirms this extraordinary sequence of 4 consecutive months of 30 days71. As Aristobulus (Alexander's Secretary) also specifies that the death took place on the evening of June 10 after 18:00 (which is suitable), it matches the 29 Daisios. The difference with the 30 Daisios received various explanations72. Depuydt having noticed that the indication of Alexander's death was recorded in the late 29th Ayyaru observations, the date could only be June 11 around 17:0073. In fact, this conclusion is not logical because extra astronomical comments could be recorded at the end but not during the account of observations because they were known only after a while (even small). In addition, the dating of Depuydt is problematic because can we talk about evening at 17:00? Plutarch also states: He [Alexander] gave a splendid entertainment to Nearchus, and then, although he had taken his customary bath before going to bed, at the request of Medius he went to hold high revel with him; and here, after drinking all the next day, he began to have a fever. This did not come upon him after he had quaffed a "bowl of Heracles," nor after he had been seized with a sudden pain in the back as though smitten with a spear; these particulars certain writers felt obliged to give, and so, as it were, invented in tragic fashion a moving finale for a great action. But Aristobulus says that he had a raging fever, and that when he got very thirsty he drank wine, whereupon he became delirious, and died on the 30th day of the month Daisios. Moreover, in the court "Journals" there are recorded the following particulars regarding his sickness (...) on the 28th, towards evening, he died (Life of Alexander 75:4-76:1). According to pseudoCallisthenes, Alexander died at sunset (Alexander Romance III:35). According to these indications, Alexander died shortly after sunset (around 18:00). The disagreement between the two dates, 28 and 30 Daisios, can be explained by reference to two Macedonian calendars: the old one with the 30th, which started at sunset, and the new one with the 28th, which began at sunrise. In addition, the Greek calendar, the last day of the month (29 or 30) is called the 30th. Plutarch relates for example Aristander the seer made a sacrifice, and after taking the omens, declared very confidently to the bystanders that the city would certainly be captured during that month. His words produced laughter and jesting, since it was then the last [29th] day of the month, and the king, seeing that he was perplexed, and being always eager to support his prophecies, gave orders to reckon that day, not as the 30th of the month, but as the 28th (Life of Alexander 25:1-2). Prolonging the month of 1 day allowed the prediction to come true, but did not affect the calendar (as normal sequence 29*-30 became 30*-29 artificially), since the months were determined by the appearance 1st lunar crescent. Set of results: There actually had 120 days from the new moon of June 10 and the one of October: http://portail.imcce.fr/fr/ephemerides/astronomie/Promenade/pages4/441.html 72 H. HAUBEN - La chronologie macédonienne et ptolémaïque mise à l'épreuve in: Chronique d'Égypte LXVII (1992) fasc. 133 pp. 146,147. 73 L. DEPUYDT - The Time of Death of Alexander the Great: 11 June 323 BC, ca 4:00-5:00 PM in: Die Welt des Orients 28 (1997) pp. 117-135. 71 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES Calendar (in 323 BCE) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Julian (astronomical) Natural (Day/ Night) Babylonian Macedonian* (old) Macedonian (new) Egyptian (civil) death 00-----------12:00--------24 :00 9 June -----> <--------- 10 June --------> <--------- 11 June --------> Night Day X Day Night <------ 28 Ayyaru ------> <------ 29 Ayyaru -------> <1 Simanu <------ 28 Daisios ------> <-----"30" Daisios -----> <1 Panemos 27 Daisios --> <------ 28 Daisios -------> <------ 29 Daisios ------> 30 Phamenoth --> <----- 1 Pharmouthi----> <----- 2 Pharmouthi -----> The 4 Pharmouthi corresponds to June 13 (not the 10). One way to resolve this discrepancy is to assume that the original date was the 1 Pharmouthi and it got deteriorated (in Greek) according to the following process: Pharmouthi A became Pharmouthi Δ and then Pharmouthi tetradi. This explanation, however, requires a synchronization between the Macedonian and Egyptian calendars, which is unlikely because of the large distance between the cities of Babylon and Alexandria. It is nevertheless quite possible that the news of Alexander's death reached Alexandria 4 days later. Indeed, these two cities are separated by about 1700 km by land routes, it took at least 4 days to the royal steeds, moving at an average speed of 15.3 km/h74 to deliver this exceptional news. For example, the death of Alexander which was announced on 01/III/1 in Babylon was known on 05/III/1 in Idumea, that implies 5 days to cover about 1800 kilometers75. Under these conditions, the 4 Pharmouthi could match the 29 Ayyaru 4 days later, because of the delay from travel. Even in the best case where two calendars (Egyptian and Macedonian) would have been available at the same place, the synchronization of dates remained difficult. The Rosetta Stone, for example, is an official document, precisely and doubly dated, it reads: Ptolemy, living forever, beloved of Ptah, in his year 9 (...) the 4 of month Xandikos, corresponding to the Egyptians to the 18th day of Mecheir76. This dating is surprising because the year 9 of Ptolemy (196 BCE) begins actually on 1 Thoth (11 October 197 BCE) and ends on next 1 Thoth (11 October 196 BCE), thus 18 Mecheir matches to 27 March. The Macedonian calendar began with the month of Dios (keyed on the autumnal equinox). The month of Dios thus began on 26 September 197 BCE77. The 1st lunar crescent78 after the equinox (= 1 Dios) is dated 25 October 197 BCE and the 1st visible crescent of the 6th month (Xandikos) is dated 22 March 196 BCE. The 4 of Xandikos therefore corresponds to 25 March 196 BCE, 2 days difference with the Egyptian dates (27 March). A clerical error in an official document is quite unlikely, this difference of 2 days proves that Greek calendars were sketchy. In fact, the Greek lunar months were not set on observation but seem to alternate regularly between months of 29 and 30 days79, which could induce a shift (up to 10 days) with astronomical observations. The Battle of Gaugamela, which Darius III lost against Alexander the Great, dated in Athenian and Babylonian calendars, illustrates the inaccuracy of the Greek calendar. According to an astronomical diary, this famous battle is dated 24/VI in the 5th year of Darius (1 October 331 BCE)80 just after the lunar eclipse of 13/VI. According to Plutarch: on the 6th day of the month of Boedromion the Greeks defeated the Persians at Marathon, on the 3rd day at Plataea and Mycale together, and on the 26th day at Arbela [Gaugamela]. A.E. MINETTI - Physiology: efficiency of equine express postal systems in: Nature n° 426 (18 décembre 2003) pp. 785-786. 75 T. BOIY – Between High and Low. A Chronology of the Early Hellenistic Period Leuven 2007 Ed. VerlagAntike pp. 130-131. 76 C. ANDREWS – La Pierre de Rosette London 1993 Ed. British Museum Press p. 26. 77 http://www.imcce.fr/page.php?nav=fr/ephemerides/astronomie/saisons/index.php 78 http://portail.imcce.fr/fr/ephemerides/astronomie/Promenade/pages4/441.html 79 E.J. BICKERMAN - Chronology of the Ancient World London 1980 Ed. Thames and Hudson pp. 28-33. 80 J.A. BRINKMAN - BM 36761, the Astronomical Diary for 331 B.C. in: Nouvelles Assyriologiques Brèves et Utilitaires (1987) §63. 74 23 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 24 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY Moreover, it was about full moon of the same month that the Athenians won their sea-fight off Naxos (Life of Camillus 19:3). He states: It so happened that in the month Boedromion the moon suffered an eclipse, about the beginning of the Mysteries at Athens, and on the 11th night after the eclipse (Life of Alexander 31:8). These details show that the Babylonian calendar was keyed on the first visible crescent (in 331 BCE), while the Athenian calendar, which was keyed on the new moon was in advance of two days compared to the Babylonian calendar. 331 BCE September October Julian 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 1 Astronomy New moon Astronomical crescent 1st visible crescent Eclipse of the moon Babylonian 29 30 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Athenian 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Some historians, knowing the difference between Greek calendars and astronomy, referred sometimes to it for clarification. Thucydides wrote, for example, new month depending on the moon (The Peloponnesian War II:28, IV:52). Josephus is also obliged to specify: in the month Xanthicos, on the 15th day of the lunar month (...) In the month of Xanthicos, which is by us called Nisan, and is the beginning of our year, on the 14th day of the lunar month, when the sun is in Aries (Jewish Antiquities II:318, III:248), suggesting a difference between the official month and astronomical lunar month. This simple overview illustrates this: the precise dating of a well referenced event, even in several calendars, arises complex problems because our understanding of ancient calendars is approximate and the synchronization of a date in multiple calendars, even for a event as important as the death of Alexander, remains difficult and approximate to within plus or minus few days. Large distances between the Upper and Lower Egypt made it difficult the synchronizing of calendar throughout the whole territory, even inside the country81. To determine the beginning of the solar year, the Egyptians got referred to the rising of Sirius, which was appearing at that time approximately around July 19 in the Julian calendar. Despite the importance of this day in their calendar, since it coincided with the beginning of the Nile flood, they never mentioned that the Sothic rising was observed with a day late by degree of latitude, involving a delay of 7 days between the observatory of Elephantine W.A. WARD - The Present Status of Egyptian Chronology in: Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 288 (1991) pp. 53-66. 81 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES 25 (24°) and the one of Buto (31°)82. The Persian Empire being larger than Egypt, it was impossible to synchronize the lunar calendar over the whole territory since it was needed on average one month to a courier to reach the ends of the empire. The Persians, though they had a Royal Mail known for its speed83, needed however at least two weeks to deliver an outstanding news throughout the whole empire. The royal road from Susa to Sardis, of 2750 km length, could be covered in about 10 days by postal couriers who were moving at an average speed of 15.3 km/h. This duration84 could even go down to less than one week if the couriers were taking turns day and night, as Xenophon claims (Cyropaedia VIII:6:17-18). Despite this performance85, the synchronization of local calendars from a single city remained an impossible feat to achieve, even for two cities as close as Susa and Babylon distant about 400 km, because the new moon was determined each month through an observation and not through a theoretical computation (as the Metonic cycle) that would have predicted dates in advance (in the Metonic cycle each 64th day was taken away to the months of 30 days, which was disrupting the regular alternation 30/29 by a couple 30/30 every 15 months). 30/29 year -323 -322 -321 -320 -319 30 I 29 II 29 30 III 30 29 29 IV 30 30 30 29 30 30 V 30 30 30 30 29 VI 30 [29] [29] [29] 30 VII 29 30 30 30 29 VIII 30 29 29 29 30 IX 29 30 29 X 29 30 XI 29 XII 30 XIIa The cycle of lunar months during the Babylonian period 323-319 BCE comes from the astronomical tablets BM 34075 and BM 45962 (differences with the theoretical cycle are highlighted in orange). If a scribe of Susa, the day after the 29 Ayyaru for example, had to wait for the response of Babylonian priests to determine whether the day was 30 Ayyaru or 1 Simanu he could not date his writings for 2 days. This delay amounted to 4 days for the cities of Susa and Persepolis distant about 800 km. Actually for practical reasons, each satrapy was to deal with the management of its own lunar calendar (through the temples). The synchronization being actually obtained by observation, which was identical plus or minus one day, across the Persian territory. Regarding intercalations, Babylonian priests could inform the king, who then reported to his satraps, on whether to add an intercalary month in the current year. The synchronizing of intercalations however, was not always respected, as shown by the presence of several outliers months until 365 BCE. In addition, the appearance of the new moon was not the primary concern of the Persians in Egypt. Stern was asked if logically Babylonian dates in Elephantine papyri could not have come from the Egyptian lunar calendar. Indeed, this kind of Babylonian calendar was used by both Persian and Egyptian officials as Jewish mercenaries. It was in fact a second official calendar in Egypt. This satrapy being located in the extreme southwest of the Persian Empire, its remote location made a synchronization with the Babylonian calendar very unlikely because of the large distances separating these regions (over 2000 km). Among the double-dated documents, there is often a lag of 1 day between the date of the document A.S. VON BOMHARD - Le calendrier Égyptien. Une œuvre d'éternité London 1999 Ed. Periplus pp. 46,47. 83 P. BRIANT - Histoire de l'empire perse. De Cyrus à Alexandre Paris 1996 Éd. Fayard pp. 382,383. 84 B. LAFONT - Messagers in: Dictionnaire de la civilisation mésopotamienne (Laffont, 2001) p. 526-528. 85 Shulgi, second king of the Ur III dynasty (c. 2000 BCE), claimed having made going back and forth between Ur and Nippur in the day, to an exceptional speed of about 250 km/day, corresponding to 10 times the speed average. This value is not possible (except for a horseman) since the Roman army did not exceed 90 km/day when they were moving at a run. 82 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 26 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY and the one from the Babylonian calendar. The difference is explained by assuming a writing after sunset, which marked the beginning of the day in the Babylonian calendar. Stern has examined whether these differences could result from an observation of the 1st crescent in Elephantine rather than Babylon. Disagreements (#) with the dates remain but are however improved in 4 cases (highlighted in green). This shows that the calendar of Babylonian type in Elephantine was keyed on a sighting of the moon in Egypt. Stern also investigated whether a synchronization based on 1st invisibility instead of 1st crescent could improve these differences (**). This is not the case with this hypothesis, since the abnormal delays of 2 days (highlighted in orange) are doubled. The Babylonian calendar of Elephantine is in better agreement with observations made in Egypt, but not with the 1st invisibility proposed by Parker (in 1950). Regnal year 15 21 14 16 [16] 19 25 28 4 9 14 King Xerxes I Xerxes I Artaxerxes I Artaxerxes I Artaxerxes I Artaxerxes I Artaxerxes I Artaxerxes I Darius [B] Darius II Darius II Document with a date: Egyptian Babylonian 28 Pakhons 18 Elul 17 Thoth 18 Kislev 25 Phamenoth 20 Sivan [30] Pharmouthi 18 Ab 6 Epiphi 24 Tishri 10 Mesore 2 Kislev 19 Pakhons 14 Ab 9 Payni 7 Elul 8 Pharmouthi 8 Tammuz 12 Thoth 3 Kislev 9 Hathyr 24 Shebat Babylonian calendar (observed) at: Elephantine # Babylon 18 Elul 0 17 Elul 17 Kislev 1 17 Kislev 19 Sivan 1 19 Sivan 16 Ab 2 16 Ab 23 Tishri 1 22 Tishri 29 Marshewan 2 29 Marshewan 13 Ab 1 12 Ab 6 Elul 1 6 Elul 8 Tammuz 0 7 Tammuz 2 Kislev 1 2 Kislev 23 Shebat 1 23 Shebat ** 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 The Jews of Elephantine dwelled in the far south of Egypt, consequently, the Egyptian lunar calendar had to impose on them because it was the only available at that place. Very early the Egyptians used a lunar calendar alongside their civil calendar for celebrating their lunar religious festivals. This raises a question: the Jews in Egypt, who celebrated Easter on a fixed date, 14 Nisan, were they embarrassed by the lunar calendar which did not start with the 1st crescent, but to full moon? Two factors indicate otherwise: Ø Major Jewish feasts are linked to the full moon as noted in Ecclesiastical 43:6-8 (Passover on 14 Nisan, Feast of Unleavened Bread on 15 Nisan, Feast of Booths on 15 Tishri and Feast of Purim on 14 and 15 Adar). The new and full moons were used to fix all the festivals celebrated in worship (Numbers 28:11, Psalms 81:3). Ø The Jews in Elephantine (Egypt) consistently used the word yerah86 "lunation", implying the [full] moon, to designate the month while at the same time the Jews of Arad (Judea,) used only the word hodesh87 "new", implying the new [moon]. We read for example on the ostracon n°7 of Arad, dated around 600 BCE: for the 10th [month], the 1st of the month to the 6th of the month88. It is worth noting that in the Hebrew Scriptures the word "full moon (Proverbs 7:20)" is kese or lebanah "the white one (Isaiah 30:26)". The words hodesh and yerah are often used in the sense of "month" but they are not synonymous since some sentences are found in Canaanite inscriptions89 like: hodesh yerah Etanim, which can be translated as "new moon of Etanim (1 Kings 8:2)". If the two words hodesh and yerah were synonymous the B. PORTEN A. YARDENI - Textbook of Aramaic Documents from Ancient Egypt, 3 1993 Ed. Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities pp. XXXVI. 87 G.I. DAVIES - Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions, Corpus and Concordance Cambridge 1991 Ed. Cambridge University Press pp. 14,15,348. 88 A. LEMAIRE -Inscriptions hébraïques Tome I, Les Ostraca In: Littératures anciennes du proche orient n°9 Paris 1977 Ed. Cerf pp. 168,231. 89 H. DONNER, W. RÖLLING - Kanaanäische und Aramäische Inschriften Wiesbaden 2002 Ed. Harrassowitzp. 9 N°3. 86 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES translation would be "month of the month of Etanim", which does not make sense90. This semantic distinction is important. Indeed, in a lunar calendar starting at the new moon, the two words hodesh "new [moon]" and yerah "lunation" to refer to one month may be suitable. But in a schedule starting at the full moon, only the word "lunation" is appropriate. Following the religious reform carried out by Nehemiah in Jerusalem about 440 BCE (Nehemiah 13:6-9), the Jews of Elephantine would celebrate the Passover again using the Aramaic calendar based on a Babylonian pattern91, because this festival was to be celebrated 14 days after the new [not full] moon. It was indeed a reform of the calendar, not a reform of the worship, because the Jews were in contact with the priesthood in Jerusalem and they celebrated the Passover since at least 450 BCE92. The reform of the calendar is dated from the 5th year of Darius II (in 419 BCE). As often happens, reforms are not fully followed. Yefet ben Eli, a Karaite living in Iraq (towards 950 CE) recalled that while the Karaites determined the 1st lunar day according to the observation of the new moon and Rabbinites determined it by calculations, those who had determined it in the past as the full moon did not exist93. By contrast, Jacob Qirqisani, a contemporary of Yefet ben Eli, also known Jewish supporters of the full moon: the "Margariya" and Yeshua ben Yehuda (circa 1050 CE) mentions them as the "Albedaryah". Persian officials at Elephantine were familiar with 3 kinds of lunar calendar which appear in the Behistun inscription94 (written by Darius I around 515 BCE): 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 ELAMITE Zikli Zarpakim Hadar Hallime Zillatam Belilit Manšarki Lankelli Šibari Sermi Kutmama Aššetkupi ACHAEMENID CALENDARS OLD-PERSIAN BABYLONIAN Âdukanaiša Nisanu Ayyaru θûravâhara Simanu θâigarči Garmapada Dumuzu Abu θûrnabaxši Garmabaxši Ululu Bâgayâdi Tashritu Vrkazada Arahsamna Âçiyâdiya Kislimu Anâmaka Tebetu Zamimâ Shabatu Viyaxna Addaru JULIAN CALENDAR March/April April/May May/June June/July July/August August/September September/October October/November November/December December/January January/February February/March At Elephantine the main system of dating was the Egyptian civil calendar, but as numerous religious festivals in Egypt were based on moon phases a lunar calendar was used to fix these dates. The Jews, then the Persians, have naturally used this calendar to their own festivals based on a lunar calendar (as the Passover for the Jews). The language of administration being either Egyptian or Persian, it was necessary to convert the names of the Egyptian lunar month in the common language understood by all as Aramaic. For example, the Jews have converted into Aramaic the name of the months of their Hebrew calendar: It came about that in the 4th year of Darius (...) on the 4th [day] of the 9th month, [that is] in Kislev (Zechariah 7:1). The Egyptian name of lunar months being the same as civil months, it is clear that if the Jews had only transcribed the lunar date and the current date (for J.A. WAGENAAR - Post-Exilic Calendar Innovations in: Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 115 (2003) p. 7 note 9. 91 J. MÉLÈZE MODRZEJEWSKI - Les Juifs d'Égypte de Ramsès II à Hadrien Paris 1991 Éd. Errance p. 37 92 A. VINCENT - La religion des judéo-araméens d'Éléphantine Paris 1937 Éd. Librairie orientaliste P. Geuthner pp. 267-274. 93 S. POZNANSKI – Les écrits d'Anan in: Revue des Études Juives 44 (1902) pp. 171,172. 94 P. LECOQ - Les inscriptions de la Perse achéménide Paris 1997 Éd. Gallimard pp. 171-174. 90 27 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 28 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY example: in year 12, 2nd month of Shemu, (day) 13, on the 15th day of the 1st month of Shemu), it would have been incomprehensible (except for the Egyptians). They have logically chosen to convert the names of Egyptian lunar months into an Aramaic calendar which they were familiar (for example: in year 12, Tishri, (day) 13, on the 15th day of Pakhons). Jewish scribes at Elephantine were familiar with several calendars95 but they mainly used an Aramaic pattern based on the Babylonian calendar after their return into Judaea from Babylon (in 537 BCE). The calendar at Elephantine with its system of double dates in Egyptian and Aramaic was used by Persians officials and Jewish scribes only during a short period from 500 to 400 BCE. A Persian official erected a votive stele stating: This temple, (W)id(arnaga) head of the garrison at Syene was done in the month of Siwan, that is to say Mecheir, year 7 of King Artaxerxes, (to) Osirnaḥty, the god. Peace96. At this time there were the following equivalences97: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 EGYPTIAN MONTH LUNAR CIVIL Phaophi I Akhet Thoth Hathyr II Akhet Phaophi Khoiak III Akhet Hathyr Tybi IV Akhet Khoiak Mecheir I Peret Tybi Phamenoth II Peret Mecheir Pharmouthi III Peret Phamenoth Pakhons IV Peret Pharmouthi Payni I Shemu Pakhons Epiphi II Shemu Payni Mesore III Shemu Epiphi Thoth IV Shemu Mesore 5 Epagomen ARAMAIC MONTH (EGYPT) 1ST DATE 2ND DATE Tebeth Thoth Shebat Phaophi Adar Hathyr Nisan Khoiak Iyyar Tybi Siwan Mecheir Tammuz Phamenoth Ab Pharmouthi Elul Pakhons Tishri Payni Marheshwan Epiphi Kislew Mesore LUNAR CIVIL ELEPHANTINE JULIAN CALENDAR December/January January/February February/March March/April April/May May/June June/July July/August August/September September/October October/November November/December The Persian and Jewish officials have adopted the Egyptian system to date their religious festivals linked to the lunar calendar into their calendar year. The first date in the documents of Elephantine (in Aramaic) is that originating in the Egyptian lunar calendar which was converted in the Babylonian calendar (in Aramaic), considered the civil calendar. In the Bible, for example, the name of Babylonian months (2nd date) are used only for translating the rank of Judean months. For example, it reads: It occurred in the 4th year of Darius (...) the 4th [day] of the 9th month, [that is to say] in Kislew (Zechariah 7:1). This system was not an exact replica of the Babylonian system but an adaptation and a transcription of the name of months into Aramaic (modifications are highlighted in gray): MONTH I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII BABYLONIAN Nisanu Aiaru Simanu Du’uzu Abu Ululu Tašrîtu Araḫsamna Kisilimu Tebeṭu Šabatu Addaru JUDEAN Nisan Iyar Siwan Tammuz Ab Elul Tišri Marḫešwan Kislew Tebeṭ Šebeṭ Adar PALMYRIAN Nisan Iyar Siwan Quenian Ab Elul Tišri Kanun Kislul Tebeṭ Šebeṭ Adar HELIOPOLITAN Neisan Iar Ezer Thamiza Ab Iloul Ag Tishrin Gelon Chanoun Sobath Adar P. GRELOT – Documents araméens d’Égypte in: Littératures anciennes du proche orient n°5 (Cerf, 1972) pp. 33-63, 509-510. 96 A. LEMAIRE – Recherches d'épigraphie araméenne en Asie mineure et en Égypte in: Achaemenid History V (1991) Ed. Nederlands Instituut Leiden pp.199-201. 97 A. KUHRT - The Persian Empire London 2010 Ed. Routeledge pp. 885-886. 95 JULIAN March/April April/Mai Mai/June June/July July/August August/September September/October October/November November/December December/January January/February February/March A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES 29 Despite appearances, the Jewish calendar is uncertain, because the Bible gives very little information on its operation, and the testimony from the Talmud is very late. The first calendar mentioned is the one attributed to Noah with 12 anonymous months of 30 days each (the text of Genesis 7:11,24; 8:3-4 does not explain how the year was synchronized). The Israelites then adopted (Exodus 12:2) the reformed Canaanite calendar, which they kept until their exile from Babylon (539 BCE). After this date, the Jews of Judea adopted the standard Mesopotamian calendar, but more its vocabulary that its functioning because the old religious calendar, with its anonymous months, was always favored. According to the Bible, the new moon was the official reference (Isaiah 66:23) and after the split of the Solomonic kingdom, the kingdoms of Israel and Judea each adopted their own calendar. The kingdom of Israel opted for a calendar starting on Tishri without accession as in Egypt while Judea opted for a calendar starting on Nisan with an accession year as in Babylonia. By reconstructing the chronology of reigns of the early kings, one can verify that Rehoboam began to reign immediately after the 40th year of Solomon, while Jeroboam ascended (accession) only 8 months later (1 Kings 12:1-3, 20, 32): year -960 JUDEA Roboam Abiyah -959 ISRAEL 17 Jeroboam 0 ASSYRIA 17 Tiglath-pileser II Reference 7 18 1 1Kings 15:1,2 8 19 2 -958 9 20 -957 Asa -956 3 0 10 21 1 1Kings 15:9,10 11 22 -955 -954 -953 2 3 Nadab Baasha 1 12 1Kings 15:25 13 1Kings 15:28,33 2 1 2 4 14 3 As the calendar was used for worship, it is unlikely that the Jewish priests of Judea would have used the intercalations from the Babylonian priests (the Judean authorities even requested the Jews of Elephantine priests to stop using the Egyptian lunar calendar for celebrating a Jubilee in 419 BCE). This religious concept of calendar appears well at Qumran where some dissident Jews (c. 100 BCE) chose a calendar of their own after having rejected the one of the Temple considered as impious. The Gezer calendar, dated in the 10th century BCE98, is a good example of an agricultural calendar synchronized with the equinoxes. This calendar of twelve lunations has been reconstituted through the evaluating the date of the same agricultural activities in this region99. Paralleling different types of calendars: It may be noted that only 20 kilometers south of Gezer was excavated a Hebrew inscription (of 5 lines) precisely dated -1010 +/- 40 (Y. GARFINKEL, S. GANOR -Khirbet Qeiyafa: Sha’arim in: The Journal of Hebrew Scriptures 8, 2008, article 22). 99 J.A. WAGENAAR - Post-Exilic Calendar Innovations in: Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 115 (2003) pp. 3-24. 98 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 30 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY Month September October Agricultural season New wine Harvesting (Exodus 34:22) Olive harvesting Season at Gezer Season (astronomy) Harvesting (Exodus 34:22) (Autumn Equinox) Sowing Sowing Lunation Ist IInd November IIIrd December IVth January (Winter Solstice) Later sowing February Vth (Amos 7:1) Later sowing VIth March April May June Flax taken in (Exodus 9:31) Barley harvesting (Ruth 1:22) Wheat harvesting (Judges 15:1) Picking flax (2 Chronicles 36:10) (Spring Equinox) Barley harvesting VIIth VIIIth Harvesting & accounting IXth Xth July Vine trimming (Canticles 2:12) Vine trimming Summer fruitage (Jeremiah 48:32) Summer fruitage (Summer Solstice) XIth August XIIth Upon entering Canaan (c. 1500 BCE) the Israelites used the Canaanite calendar, the 1st (anonymous) month of their calendar becoming Abib. The Canaanites used the word yerah referring to "month", that could be ambiguous for the Israelites because this term designated also a "month" starting at the full moon as in Egypt (the Jews of Elephantine have continued using yerah). The term hodesh "month" starting at the 1st lunar crescent (as in Syria and Babylonia) was so privileged in Palestine from 1000 BCE. Placing months according to chronology, we obtain the following changes in biblical calendars: period -3000 1800-1700 1700-1600 1600-1500 1500-1400 1400-1300 1300-1200 1200-1100 1100-1000 1000 - 900 900-800 800-700 700-609 609-587 587-537 537 -330 330-100 -100+100 event Stay in Egypt Stay in Midian Entry into Canaan 1st Temple and kingdom Egyptian domination 1st Temple destroyed Stay in Babylon 2nd Temple 2nd Temple destroyed BIBLICAL CALENDAR yerah hodesh month name [X] X numbered X X [numbered] [X] [X] [numbered] X [X] [numbered] X X Canaanite [X] X numbered [X] [X] ? [X] X ? X X Canaanite X numbered [X] [numbered] X numbered [X] [numbered] X numbered [X] Babylonian X Babylonian X Babylonian [X] Babylonian X X Babylonian reference Genesis 7:11; 8:4,13,14 [10:26] Job 3:6; 7:3; 14:5; 21:21; 29:2; 39:2 Exodus 2:2,22 Deuteronomy 21:13, Exode 23:15 Joshua 4:19 Judges 11:37-39 1Kings 6:37,38; 2Kings 8:2; Gezer 1Kings 12:32 2Chronicles 30:15 2Kings 25:27 Zechariah 7:1 Esther 2:16 Hellenistic period Talmud, Targum A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES 31 Archaeology has confirmed this chronological scheme100 since the word yerah appears for the last time in the Gezer calendar dated around 950 BCE101 and the name of Canaanite months disappeared in Palestine at that time. The "Canaanite" dating in 1Kings 6:1 is therefore in full agreement with the construction of the temple in the early 10th century BCE. If the scribe who wrote the Book of Kings (Jeremiah) done it from an oral tradition after the Babylonian exile (537 BCE) he would have used Babylonian months instead of Canaanite months, which were used in Phoenicia up to the 6th century BCE102. In addition the word yerah was used at this time by the Jews in Egypt instead of hodesh in Judea. If the Pentateuch was written about 900 BCE instead of 1500 BCE (as always teach most German biblists)103, the scribes of that time would not have used the word yerah. I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII MESOPOTAMIAN Nisannu Ayaru Simanu Du'uzu Abu Ululu [second] Tashritu Arahsamnu Kisilimu Tebetu Shabatu Addaru 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 n° 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Season Spring equinox CANAANITE Abib (Dt 16:1) Ziw (1K 6:1) Matan Summer solstice Zebaḫ Šamaš Kiraru Mapa‘a [Lepaniya] Autumn equinox Ethanim (1K 8:2) Bul (1K 6:38) Marpa‘a(m) Winter solstice Pagruma Pa‘alatu Ḥiyaru JULIAN March/April April/May May/June June/July July/August August/September September/October October/November November/December December/January January/February February/March The Jewish calendar remained based on the observation of the new moon until at least 358 CE (early cycle of Hillel II). However, calendars used at early centuries could be slightly different from calendars calculated according to astronomy because the observation of the 1st crescent was difficult (possible delay of 1 day), and intercalary months (in case of delay compared to equinox) could be carried over to the following year, implying a shift of one month during that year. The Talmud remarks104 show that on first century calendars depended on observations not calculations: If the court and all the Israelites saw the [new moon] and the examination of witnesses is not yet finished for on opportunity to say ‘consecrated’ before the night, we add a day to the month. If only the court saw it, two witnesses will be in front of it and we say: ‘consecrated, consecrated’. If three people of the court have seen it, we will establish two as witnesses and will serve two other colleagues with the third, both testify before them and say: ‘consecrated, consecrated’; because one can not be believed if it is alone (...) Three signs that should put an intercalary month: ears, fruit trees and seasons: it must be based on two of these signs (...) The intervening years are for three countries: Judea, Galilee and Transjordan (...) One does not fix the intercalary year based on the rams, ewes and young pigeons that have not yet arrived (...) to our brothers from the captivity of Babel and Medes and all the captivities we let you know that as the pigeons are tender and the sheep by their wool, and the time set ears is not here yet, but on the advice of our colleagues we add to this year 30 days (...) They show that we can throughout any Adar state intercalary year, while others say that one can until Purim. They show that we can conditionally declare intercalary year, and it is said that Rabban Gamaliel went to ask permission from the governor of Syria, and, as he was slow in coming, was declared the intercalary year conditionally to A. LEMAIRE – Les formules de datations en Palestine au premier millénaire avant J.-C. in: Proche-Orient ancien, temps vécu, temps pensé (Paris 1998) Éd. J. Maisonneuve pp. 53-82. 101 The style of the inscription of Gezer is very close to the Tel Zayit abecedary dated 950 BCE. For example the letter heth is written with three horizontal bars instead of two after 950 BCE. 102 R.R. STIEGLITZ -The Phoenician-Punic Menology in: Boundaries of the Ancient Near Eastern World (Sheffield Academic Prsess, 1998) pp. 211-222. 103 C. NIHAN, T. RÖMER –Le débat actuel sur la formation du Pentateuque in: Introduction à l'Ancien Testament (Labor et Fides, 2009) pp. 158-184. 104 B. WACHOLDER D.B. WEISBERG Visibility of the New Moon in Cuneiform and Rabbinic Sources in: Hebrew University College Annual 42 (1971) pp. 227-242. 100 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 32 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY return of Rabban Gamaliel, on his return he gave his consent and the year was intercalary (Rosh hashana 3:1, Eduyyot 7:7; Tosephta Sanhedrin 2:2-13). The ancestors of the Jews (like Abraham) coming from Shinar (Sumer), it is logical to assume a Mesopotamian origin, with month starting at new moon (hodesh), of the Biblical calendar (Genesis 29:14). In the 3rd and 2nd millennia BCE each kingdom and in fact every great city had its own calendar and its own festivals, making it particularly difficult to study each of them, especially since they have varied over time and by geographic area. SUMER 7 I BÀRA-ZAG-GAR 8 II GUD-SI-SÀ2 9 III SIG4-GA 10 IV ŠU-NUMUN-NA 11 V NE-IZI-GAR 12 VI KIN-dINNINA 1 VII DU6-KÙ3 2 VIII APIN-DU8-A 3 IX GAN-GAN-E 4 X AB-BA-È3 5 XI ZIZ2-AM 6 XII ŠE-KIN-KU5 AKKAD Nisannu Ayyaru Simanu Du'ùzu Abu Ulûlû Tašrîtu Araḥsamna Kisilimu Tebetu Šabâtu Addâru ELAM Zikli Zarpakim Hadar Hallime Zillatam Belilit Manšarki Lankelli Šibari Sermi Kutmama Aššetkupi UGARIT ib’lt ḫiyaru ḥalatu gn itb ittbnm reš yani nql magmaru pgrm šm ? šm ? JULIAN CALENDAR March/April April/May May/June June/July July/August August/September September/October October/November November/December December/Januar. January/February February/March The system of intercalary months is documented from c. 2000 BCE but it was not uniform. Thus the 30th year of Rim-Sin at Larsa contains months of 48 days belonging to a cycle of 54 years and the 4th year of Zimri-Lim at Mari contains 8 months of 30 days105. It seems that the first reform for standardizing the Babylonian calendar was made by Samsuiluna. This Babylonian king imposed (c. 1650 BCE), presumably to unify his heterogeneous and rebellious empire, a "standard Mesopotamian calendar". Standardizing the names of the months in the Mesopotamian world seems to have been the consequence of this policy choice106. However, the synchronization of intercalations appeared much later. According to Parker and Dubberstein: Presumably after centuries of observations, Babylonian astronomers in the time of Nabonassar (747 BCE) have had to seen that a cycle of 235 lunar months (235x29.530588 = 6939.69 days) matched to 19 solar years (19x365.24219 = 6939.60 days) then they have probably suggested an intercalation to the king of Babylon who in turn has transmitted their guidelines to the empire. This system finally got imposed towards 367 BCE (or as soon 383). Thus, although the early Babylonians have mastered an accurate lunar cycle to adjust their calendar, the multiplicity of capital cities (Persepolis, Susa, Ecbatana, Babylon and Bactria) is the origin of certain aberrant intercalations. In the reign of Artaxerxes II, for example, an intercalary month is found in the year 40107 (365 BCE) but also in the year 42, 43, 44 and 45108, which is unlikely, because the Babylonian calendar would have taken 3 months delay without being corrected by the Babylonian astronomers despite they were skilled observers. These 5 intercalations in the Babylonian calendar prove that the 19-year Metonic cycle (of Greek origin) was not used in the Achaemenid Empire. In fact, the synchronization of the Babylonian year depended on the intercalation conducted in each capital (Persepolis, Susa, Ecbatana, Babylon and Bactria). In addition, this calendar could be shifted by 1 day compared to the observation of the 1st crescent (because of weather). M.E. COHEN - The Cultic Calendars of the Ancient Near East Maryland 1993 Ed. CDL Press pp. 4-13. 106 He likely had to move the beginning of the Babylonian year from Tishri "beginning", used by Hammurabi (1697-1654), to Nisan "offering [of first fruits]" (F. JOANNÈS - Dictionnaire de la civilisation mésopotamienne, Paris 2001 Éd. Robert Laffont, pp. 151-154). 107 H.G. STIGERS - Art 2. XIIb.11.40 in: Journal of Cuneiform Studies 28 (1976) note 47. 108 H. HUNGER - Astronomical Diaries and Related Texts from Babylonia vol V Wien 2001 Ed. Akademie der Wissenschaften pp. 215,217,227,247,261. 105 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES The best way to rebuild the chronology before the fall of Babylon in October 539 BCE is using synchronisms dated by astronomy. Assyrian, Babylonian, Egyptian and Israelite chronologies provide synchronisms that can be dated independently. For example, Assyrian chronology may rebuilt for the period 911-609 only thanks to eponyms. The list of Assyrian eponyms is anchored on the solar eclipse occurred on Simanu (month III, day 30) in the eponymy of Bur-Sagale (dated June 15, 763 BCE). The Assyrian period 911-648 is dated owing to its canonical eponyms109 and the period 648-609 by a prosopography of its eponyms110. A few eponyms are non canonical because they died during the year of their eponymy and there are also some gaps of 1 year between eponym dates and regnal years in tablet with double dates because the first Assyrian regnal year (accession) was reckoned in either system: year 0 (Babylonian) or year 1 (Assyrian). Thus, as there are exactly 154 canonical eponyms between Gargamisaiu and Bur-Sagale, which is dated 763 BCE, that involves to date the one of Gargamisaiu into 609 (= 763 - 154). The only solar eclipse over Assyria during the period 800-750 is the total eclipse dated June 15, 763 BCE. The partial solar eclipses dated June 4, 800 BCE and June 24, 791 BCE were not able to be viewed over Assyria. Ø The fall of the Assyrian empire, which took place in October 609 BCE after the battle of Harran, is characterized by a quadruple synchronisms, since the year of Assur-uballit II corresponds to year 17 of Nabopolassar to Josiah's year 31 and year 1 of Necho II. Ø According to the biography of Adad-Guppi111, mother of Nabonidus, Nabopolassar reigned 21 years, then Nebuchadnezzar 43 years, Amel-Marduk 2 years, Neriglissar 4 years just before Nabonidus. According to the Hillah's stele112 there were 54 years between the destruction of the temple of Sin, in Harran, and the beginning of the reign of Nabonidus. According to a Babylonian chronicle (BM 21901)113 and Adad-Guppi's stele, the temple of Harran was destroyed in the year 16 of Nabopolassar. Ø Dated lunar eclipses114 are: year 1 and 2 of Merodachbaladan (March 19/20 721 BCE, March 8/9 and September 1/2 720 BCE); year 5 of Nabopolassar (April 21/22 621 BCE); year 2 of Šamaš-šuma-ukîn (April 10/11 666 BCE); year 42 of Nebuchadnezzar (March 2/3 562 BCE). A diary (VAT 4956)115 contains numerous astronomical conjunctions in years 37 and 38 of Nebuchadnezzar dated from astronomy in 568 and 567 BCE. An astronomical journal (BM 38462)116 list some lunar eclipses in the years 1 to 27 of Nebuchadnezzar which are dated from 604 to 578 BCE. The chronology of the Saite period (663-525) may be reckoned117 only thanks to "biographies of prominent men or Apis bulls": S. PARPOLA – Assyrian Chronology 681-648 BC. in: Letters from Assyrian Scholars to the Kings Esarhaddon and Assurbanipal Part II Winona Lake 2007 Ed. Eisenbrauns pp. 381-430. 110 S. PARPOLA – The Prosopography of the Neo-Assyrian Empire Helsinki 1998 University of Helsinki pp. XVIII-XX. 111 J.B. PRITCHARD - Ancient Near Eastern Texts Princeton 1969 Ed. Princeton University Press p. 560-561. 112 P.A. BEAULIEU – The Reign of Nabonidus, King of Babylon 556-539 B.C. in: Yale Near Eastern Research 10 (1989) n°2. 113 J.J. GLASSNER – Chroniques mésopotamiennes n°22 Paris 1993 Éd. Belles Lettres pp. 193-197. 114 F.R. STEPHENSON - Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation Cambridge 1997 Ed. Cambridge University Press pp. 99-100, 151-152, 206. 115 A.J. SACHS, H. HUNGER - Astronomical Diaries and Related Texts from Babylonia vol. I Wien 1988 Ed. Akademie der Wissenschaften (n° -567). 116 H. HUNGER - Astronomical Diaries and Related Texts from Babylonia vol. V n° 6 Wien 2001 Ed. Akademie der Wissenschaften pp. 27-30,396. 117 H. GAUTHIER – Le livre des rois d'Égypte Le Caire 1915 Éd. Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale pp. 74, 87-88, 92-93, 106, 115, 119. F.K. KIENITZ – Die politische Geschichte Ägyptens vom 7. bis zum 4. Jahrhundert vor der Zeitwende Berlin 1953 Ed. Akademie-Verlag pp. 154-156. J.H. BREASTED – Ancient records of Egypt: Historical documents from the earliest times to the Persian conquest. Vol. IV Chicago 1906 (1962) Ed. The University of Chicago Press pp. 497-498, 501-505, 518-520. 109 33 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 34 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY 1. Grave stele of Psammetichus son of Genefbahorek. Date of birth: Year 3 of Necho II, month 10, day 1. Date of death: Year 35 of Amasis, month 2, day 6. Length of life: 71 years, 4 months, 6 days (see column A. 1st Thot matches the beginning of Egyptian year). 2. Grave stele of the priest Psammetichus son of Iahuben. Date of birth: Year 1 of Necho II, month 11, day 1. Date of death: Year 27 [of Amasis], month 8, day 28. Length of life: 65 years, 10 months, 2 days (see column B). 3. Grave stele of the 4th Apis of the 26th Dynasty. Date of birth: Year 16 of Necho II, month 2, day 7. Installation: Year 1 of Psammetichus II, month 11, day 9. Date of death: Year 12 of Apries, month 8, day 12. Date of burial: Year 12 of Apries, month 10, day 21. Length of life: 17 years, 6 months, 5 days (see column C). 4. Grave stele of the 3rd Apis of the 26th Dynasty. Date of birth: Year 53 of Psammetichus I, month 6, day 19. Installation: Year 54 of Psammetichus I, month 3, day 12. Date of death: Year 16 of Necho II, month 2, day 6. Date of burial: Year 16 of Necho II, month 4, day 16. Length of life: 16 years, 7 months, 17 days (see column D). 5. Epitaph of Apis bull from Cambyses118. Date of birth: Year 27 [of Amasis]. Date of death: Year 6 of Cambyses II. Length of life unknown, but the average life-span of Apis bulls is from 16 to 19 years during the 26th Dynasty119 (see column E). 6. Pharaoh Apries was still living according to a stele120 dated year 3 of Amasis (which was beginning on January 12, 567 BCE). Egyptian King Psammetichus I 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Year 1st Thot 663 5-Feb 662 5-Feb 661 4-Feb 660 4-Feb 659 4-Feb 658 4-Feb 657 3-Feb 656 3-Feb 655 3-Feb 654 3-Feb 653 2-Feb 652 2-Feb 651 2-Feb 650 2-Feb 649 1-Feb 648 1-Feb 647 1-Feb 646 1-Feb 645 30-Jan 644 31-Jan 643 31-Jan 642 31-Jan 641 30-Jan 640 30-Jan 639 30-Jan 638 30-Jan 637 29-Jan 636 29-Jan 635 29-Jan 634 29-Jan A B A. KUHRT – The Persian Empire London 2010 Ed. Routledge pp. 122-124. 119 M. MALININE, G. POSENER, J. VERCOUTER – Catalogue des stèles du Sérapéum de Memphis I Paris 1968 Éd. Imprimerie Nationale p. XIII. 120 A. SPALINGER - Egypt and Babylonia: A Survey Hamburg 1977, in: Studien Zur Altägyptischen Kultur Band 5 pp. 241-242. 118 C D E A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES Necho II Psammetichus II Apries 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 633 632 631 630 629 628 627 626 625 624 623 622 621 620 619 618 617 616 615 614 613 612 611 610 609 608 607 606 605 604 603 602 601 600 599 598 597 596 595 594 593 592 591 590 589 588 587 586 585 584 583 582 581 580 579 578 577 576 575 28-Jan 28-Jan 28-Jan 28-Jan 27-Jan 27-Jan 27-Jan 27-Jan 26-Jan 26-Jan 26-Jan 26-Jan 25-Jan 25-Jan 25-Jan 25-Jan 24-Jan 24-Jan 24-Jan 24-Jan 23-Jan 23-Jan 23-Jan 23-Jan 22-Jan 22-Jan 22-Jan 22-Jan 21-Jan 21-Jan 21-Jan 21-Jan 20-Jan 20-Jan 20-Jan 20-Jan 19-Jan 19-Jan 19-Jan 19-Jan 18-Jan 18-Jan 18-Jan 18-Jan 17-Jan 17-Jan 17-Jan 17-Jan 16-Jan 16-Jan 16-Jan 16-Jan 15-Jan 15-Jan 15-Jan 15-Jan 14-Jan 14-Jan 14-Jan 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17y6m 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 16y7m SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 36 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY Amasis Psammetichus III Cambyses II 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 5 6 7 574 573 572 571 570 569 568 567 566 565 564 563 562 561 560 559 558 557 556 555 554 553 552 551 550 549 548 547 546 545 544 543 542 541 540 539 538 537 536 535 534 533 532 531 530 529 528 527 526 525 524 523 14-Jan 33 35 13-Jan 34 36 13-Jan 35 37 13-Jan 36 38 13-Jan 37 39 12-Jan 38 40 12-Jan 39 41 12-Jan 40 42 12-Jan 41 43 11-Jan 42 44 11-Jan 43 45 11-Jan 44 46 11-Jan 45 47 10-Jan 46 48 10-Jan 47 49 10-Jan 48 50 10-Jan 49 51 9-Jan 50 52 9-Jan 51 53 9-Jan 52 54 9-Jan 53 55 8-Jan 54 56 8-Jan 55 57 8-Jan 56 58 8-Jan 57 59 7-Jan 58 60 7-Jan 59 61 7-Jan 60 62 7-Jan 61 63 6-Jan 62 64 6-Jan 63 65 6-Jan 64 65y10m 6-Jan 65 5-Jan 66 5-Jan 67 5-Jan 68 5-Jan 69 4-Jan 70 4-Jan 71 4-Jan 71y4m 4-Jan 3-Jan 3-Jan 3-Jan 3-Jan 2-Jan 2-Jan 2-Jan 2-Jan 1-Jan 1-Jan 1-Jan 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 (19y) Several historical synchronisms with the Egyptian chronology are anchored on astronomical data as lunar eclipses: Ø The partial eclipse in year 7 of Cambyses II (tablet BM 33066) may be dated 523 BCE July 16/17 [magnitude = 0.54] and the total eclipse 522 BCE January 9/10. Claudius Ptolemy had to know the original tablet because he gave the right magnitude of 0.50 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES Ø Ø Ø Ø Ø Ø Ø 37 for the partial eclipse (Almagest V:14). Another astronomical tablet (BM 36879) describes eclipses in years 1-4 of Cambyses II, dated by astronomy 529-526 BCE121. A diary (VAT 4956)122 contains numerous astronomical conjunctions in years 37 and 38 of Nebuchadnezzar dated from astronomy in 568 and 567 BCE. An astronomical journal (BM 38462)123 list some lunar eclipses in the years 1 to 27 of Nebuchadnezzar which are dated from 604 to 578 BCE. Other dated lunar eclipses124 are these of: year 1 and 2 of Merodachbaladan (March 19/20 721 BCE, March 8/9 and September 1/2 720 BCE); year 5 of Nabopolassar (April 21/22 621 BCE); year 2 of Šamaš-šuma-ukîn (April 10/11 666 BCE); year 42 of Nebuchadnezzar (March 2/3 562 BCE). Cambyses II defeated Egypt in his 5th year, month 2 (May -525), which is also dated year 2, month 5, of Psammetichus III (May -525). According to the biography of Adad-Guppi125, mother of Nabonidus, Nabopolassar reigned 21 years, then Nebuchadnezzar 43 years, Amel-Marduk 2 years, Neriglissar 4 years just before Nabonidus. According to the Hillah's stele126 there were 54 years between the destruction of the temple of Sin, in Harran, and the beginning of the reign of Nabonidus. According to a Babylonian chronicle (BM 21901)127 and Adad-Guppi's stele, the temple of Harran was destroyed in the year 16 of Nabopolassar. After the fall of the Assyrian empire in October 609 BCE, Babylonian domination lasted exactly 70 years until its fall in October 539 BCE, according to Jeremiah 25:11,12. The Assyrian period 911-648 is dated owing to its eponyms128 and the period 648-609 by a prosopography of its eponyms129. Year 1 of Amel Marduk (in 561 BCE) corresponds to year 37 of Jehoiachin's exile (2 Kings 25:27). This exile began just after the attack on Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar II in the year 7 of his reign (in 598 BCE). The fall of the Assyrian empire, which took place in October 609 BCE after the battle of Harran, is characterized by four synchronisms, since the year 3 of Assur-uballit II corresponds to year 17 of Nabopolassar to Josiah's year 31 and year 1 of Necho II. Year 6 of Assurbanipal corresponds to year 1 of Psammetichus I130. Pharaoh Psammetichus I Necho II Psammetichus I Apries Apries/ Amasis Amasis Psammetichus III Reign (from Apis) Length of reign Highest year Synchronism with: 02/663-01/609 54 years 54 year 6 of Assurbanipal 02/609-10/594 15 years 10 months 16 year 17 of Nabopolassar 11/594-01/588 6 years 1 month 7 02/588-12/570 19 years 17 01/569-12/567 [3 years co-regency] [3] 01/569-10/526 43 years 10 months 44 11/526-04/525 6 months 2 year 5 of Cambyses II P.J. HUBER, S. DE MEIS – Babylonian Eclipse Observations from 750 BC to 1 BC Milano 2004 Ed. Mimesis pp. 94-96. 122 A.J. SACHS, H. HUNGER - Astronomical Diaries and Related Texts from Babylonia vol. I Wien 1988 Ed. Akademie der Wissenschaften (n° -567). 123 H. HUNGER - Astronomical Diaries and Related Texts from Babylonia vol. V n° 6 Wien 2001 Ed. Akademie der Wissenschaften pp. 27-30,396. 124 F.R. STEPHENSON - Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation Cambridge 1997 Ed. Cambridge University Press pp. 99-100, 151-152, 166-167, 206. 125 J.B. PRITCHARD - Ancient Near Eastern Texts Princeton 1969 Ed. Princeton University Press p. 560,561. 126 P.A. BEAULIEU – The Reign of Nabonidus, King of Babylon 556-539 B.C. in: Yale Near Eastern Research 10 (1989) n°2. 127 J.J. GLASSNER – Chroniques mésopotamiennes n°22 Paris 1993 Éd. Belles Lettres pp. 193-197. 128 S. PARPOLA – Assyrian Chronology 681-648 BC. in: Letters from Assyrian Scholars to the Kings Esarhaddon and Assurbanipal Part II Winona Lake 2007 Ed. Eisenbrauns pp. 381-430. 129 S. PARPOLA – The Prosopography of the Neo-Assyrian Empire Helsinki 1998 University of Helsinki pp. XVIII-XX. 130 A.K. GRAYSON – The Chronology of the Reign of Ashurbanipal in: Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische Archäologie 0 (1980) pp. 227-245. 121 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 38 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY BCE 708 707 706 705 704 703 702 701 700 699 698 697 696 695 694 693 692 691 690 689 688 687 686 685 684 683 682 681 680 679 678 677 676 675 674 673 672 671 670 669 668 667 666 665 664 663 662 661 660 659 658 657 656 655 654 653 652 651 650 649 648 647 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Assyrian king Egyptian king Sargon II Chabataka/ Taharqa Sennacherib Arda-Mulissu Taharqa Esarhaddon Assurbanipal Thebes devastated Psammetichus I Assyrian eponym Šamaš-upahhir Ša-Aššur-dubbu Mutakkil-Aššur Nashru-Bêl Nabû-deni-epuš Nuhšaya Nabû-lê’i Hananu Metunu Bêl-šarrani Sulmu-šarri Nabû-dûru-usur Šulmu-bêli Aššur-bêlu-usur Ilu-issîya Iddin-ahhê Zazâya Bêl-êmuranni Nabû-kênu-usur Gihilu Iddin-ahhê Sin-ahhê-erîba Bêl-êmuranni Aššur-da’’inanni Manzernê Mannu-kî-Adad Nabû-sharru-usur Nabû-ahhê-êreš Danânu Issi-Adad-anênu Nergal-šarru-uṣur Abî-râmu Banbâ Nabû-ahhê-iddin Šarru-nûrî Atar-ilu Nabû-bêlu-uṣur Kanûnâyu Šulmu-bêli-lašme Šamash-kâšid-ayâbi Marlarim Gabbaru Kanûnâyu Mannu-kî-šarri Šarru-lû-dâri Bêl-na’id Tab-šar-Sîn Arba’ilâyu Girsapûnu Silim-Aššur Ša-Nabû-šû Lâ-bâši Milkî-râmu Amyânu Assur-nâsir Assur-ilâya Assur-dûru-uṣur Sagabbu Bêl-Harrân-šadûa Ahu-ilâya Belshunu Nabû-nadin-ahi Babylonian king 14 15 16 17 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 [7] [8] [9] [10] [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [1] [2] [3] [1] [2] [3] [4] 2 3 4 5 18 19 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 1 Sargon II (Sargon II) Marduk-zakir-šumi II Bêl-ibni Aššur-nâdin-šumi II Nergal-ušêzib Mušêzib-Marduk Sennacherib Esarhaddon Aššurbanipal Šamaš-šuma-ukîn Tablet BM 45640 Kandalanu 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES 646 645 644 643 642 641 640 639 638 637 636 635 634 633 632 631 630 629 628 627 626 625 624 623 622 621 620 619 618 617 616 615 614 613 612 611 610 609 608 607 606 605 604 603 602 601 600 599 598 597 596 595 594 593 592 591 590 589 588 587 586 585 584 583 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 1 2 3 4 5 6 Nabû-shar-ahhešu Šamaš-da’’inanni of Babylon Nabû-sharru-uṣur Nabû-sharru-uṣur of Marash Šamaš-da’’inanni of Que Aššur-garu’a-nere Šarru-metu-uballit Mušallim-Aššur Aššur-gimilli-tere Zababa-eriba Sin-šarru-uṣur Bel-lu-dari Bullutu Upaqa-ana-Arbail Tab-sil-Sin Adad-remanni Salmu-šarri-iqbi Aššur-etel-ilâni Nabû-šarru-uṣur ?Nur-salam-sarpi? Marduk-šarru-uṣur Sin-šar-iškun Iqbi-ilani / Marduk-remanni Sin-šarru-uṣur Kanunaiu Aššur-matu-taqqin Daddî Bel-iqbi Sa’ilu Mannu-ki-ahhe Nabû-sakip Assur-remanni Bel-ahu-uṣur Sin-alik-pani Paši Nabû-tapputi-alik Shamash-šarru-ibni Aššur-uballit II Nabû-mar-šarri-uṣur Nabû-šarru-uṣur Necho II Gargamisaiu 1 Psammetichus II 2 3 4 5 6 7 Apries 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 [40] [41] [42] 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 [0] [1] [2] [3] [4] 39 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Sin-šum-lišir Sin-šar-iškun Nabopolassar Temple of Harran wrecked Stele of Adad-Guppi Nebuchadnezzar II 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 40 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY 582 7 581 8 580 9 579 10 578 11 577 12 576 13 575 14 574 15 573 16 572 17 571 18 570 19 569 [20] 1 Amasis 568 [21] 2 567 [22] 3 566 4 565 5 564 6 563 7 562 8 561 9 560 10 559 11 558 12 pap. Louvre 7848 557 13 556 14 0 0 Cyrus II [1] [2] [3] 0 555 554 553 552 551 550 549 548 547 546 545 544 543 542 541 540 539 538 537 536 535 534 533 532 531 530 529 528 527 526 1 525 2 524 523 522 3 4 5 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 1 Psammetichus III 2 5 Cambyses II 6 7 8 stele of Hillah Cyrus II [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Cambyses II 1 2 3 4 Stele IM.4187 5 Tablet BM 33066 6 7 8 [0] [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [1] 1 [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 1 2 1 2 3 4 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Tablet VAT 4956 Amel-Marduk Neriglissar Lâbâši-Marduk Nabonidus Belshazzar Fall of Babylon Ugbaru Cambyses II 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES Year 44 of Amasis, the last of his reign, should be dated 526 BCE. The solution proposed by Parker of a year 45 of Amasis dated 526 BCE is not possible, as recognized by Depuydt131 who prefers to date the death of Amasis in 527 BCE in his 44th year, assuming that the 4th year of Cambyses (at 526 BCE) was a period of disorder without pharaoh! But this choice leads to an implausible result, contrary to the accounts of all the ancient historians (Herodotus was close to events, and Manetho, an Egyptian priest, was to know the history of his country): the throne of Egypt would have been vacuum for one year after the disappearance of Psammetichus III, from May 526 to May 525 BCE, when Cambyses was recognized Pharaoh. In fact, the end of the ancient Egyptian empire was an important milestone that has been recounted by the following historians: Ø According to Diodorus Siculus: After a reign of 55 years132 he [Amasis] ended his days at the time when Cambyses, the king of the Persians, attacked Egypt, in the 3rd year of the 63rd Olympiad (Historical Library I:68:6). Thus Amasis died between July -526 and July -525. Ø According to the Egyptian priest Manetho133: Cambyses, in the 5th year of his reign over the Persians [in -525] became king of Egypt and led it for 3 years [from spring -525 to spring -522]. Ø According to Herodotus (around -450): On the death of Cyrus, Cambyses his son by Cassandane daughter of Pharnaspes took the kingdom (...) Amasis was the Egyptian king against whom Cambyses, son of Cyrus, made his expedition; and with him went an army composed of the many nations under his rule, among them being included both Ionic and Aeolic Greeks (...) One of the mercenaries of Amasis, a Halicarnassian, Phanes by name, a man of good judgment, and a brave warrior, dissatisfied for some reason or other with his master, deserted the service, and taking ship, fled to Cambyses, wishing to get speech with him (...) Psammenitus, son of Amasis, lay encamped at the mouth of the. Nile, called the Pelusiac, awaiting Cambyses. For Cambyses, when he went up against Egypt, found Amasis no longer in life: he had died after ruling Egypt 44 years, during all which time no great misfortune had befallen him (...) The Egyptians who fought in the battle, no sooner turned their backs upon the enemy, than they fled away in complete disorder to Memphis (...) 10 days after the fort had fallen, Cambyses resolved to try the spirit of Psammenitus, the Egyptian king, whose whole reign had been but 6 months (...) Psammenitus plotted evil, and received his reward accordingly. He was discovered to be stirring up revolt in Egypt, wherefore Cambyses, when his guilt clearly appeared, compelled him to drink bull’s blood, which presently caused his death. Such was the end of Psammenitus (The Histories II:1; III:1,4,10-16). The Egyptian priest Manetho indicates the same values as Herodotus, 44 years for Amasis and 6 months for Psammetichus III. By combining this information with data from the reign of Persian King Cambyses who became Egypt to in May 525 BCE, the death of Amasis can be fixed around October 526 BCE. Fixing the date of the conquest of Egypt in 525 BCE is also confirmed since the 5th year of Cambyses began the 1st Nisan (March 29) in the Persian system, and the 1st Thoth (January 2) in the Egyptian system. The account of these historians is confirmed by several archaeological finds: Ø The narrative of Udjahorresnet134, the Egyptian general who led the naval fleet under Amasis, then under Psammetichus III and finally under Cambyses, authenticates the version of Herodotus. This war probably lasted at least six months because, according to the historian Polyaenus: When Cambyses attacked Pelusium, which guarded the entrance into Egypt, the Egyptians defended it with great resolution. They advanced formidable engines against the besiegers, and hurled missiles, stones, and fire at them from their catapults. (Stratagems of war L. DEPUYDT - Egyptian Regnal Dating under Cambyses and the Date of the Persian Conquest 1996 in: Studies in Honor of William Kelly Simpson pp. 179-190. 132 The reign of Amasis is counted from the revolt after the attack of Nebuchadnezzar II in -582. 133 W.G. WADDELL - Manetho (Loeb Classical Library 350) Cambridge 1956 Ed. Harvard University Press pp. 169-177. 134 P. BRIANT - Histoire de l'empire perse. De Cyrus à Alexandre Paris 1996 Éd. Fayard pp. 63-65. 131 41 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 42 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY VII:9). These narrative overlap exactly and give the following chronological scheme: war of Cambyses against Egypt beginning in the year 44, the last year of Amasis, which ends after the brief reign of 6 months of Psammetichus III, his successor or in the 5th year of Cambyses. Ø According to the stele IM.4187 in the Louvre, an Apis bull was born at month 5, day 29, year 5 of Cambyses, died on month 9, day 4, year 4 of Darius I and was buried month 11, day 13, of the same year, covering a total period of 7 years 3 months and 5 days (reading 8 years less likely). This computation is consistent (between the month9, day 4, and the month 11, day 13, there are exactly 70 days for the period of embalming bull) gives the following dates in the Julian calendar: May 29, 525, August 31, 518 and November 8, 518 BCE. This stele proves that Cambyses reigned in Egypt from May 525 BCE because at the end of this month, an Apis bull is dedicated to him. Thus the conquest of Egypt had to be completed in early May 525 as the last text referring to Psammetichus III (below) is dated I Peret year 2 (May 525). That Psammetichus III was the son of Amasis is confirmed by the stele No. 309 of the Serapeum (Louvre). It is indeed Psammetichus III because one of the contracting parties cited in the text is still alive in the year 35 of Darius I135. Before his conquest Cambyses was a Persian leader but thereafter he also became an Egyptian pharaoh. This new situation has created a dual system of counting the reign. Ø Egyptian documents of the time of Darius I mention the events of years 3 and 4 of Cambyses, apparently before the conquest of Egypt. A papyrus dated 9th year of Darius says: In his 2nd year, therefore, Cambyses conquered Egypt really, and in 5th year he died. This demotic text (Papyrus Rylands IX 21), entitled Peteisis petition spoke of a conflict in a family of priests of the temple of Amon at Teuzoi (El-Hibeh) between the 4th year of Psammetichus I and the 4th year of Cambyses136. It ends with the following dates: Until the Year 44 of Amasis. In Year 3 of Cambyses, Hor son of Psammet-kmenempe, the prophet of Amon (...) in Year 4 of Cambyses. A second Egyptian papyrus known as the Demotic Chronicle, confirmed the year 44 of Amasis as last year137. The source said Darius I in the 3rd year of his reign would have given the satrap of Egypt the order that together a committee of wise men from among the Egyptian warriors, priests and scribes in order: that they put in writing that Egyptian law was in force until the 44th year of the reign of Amasis. Ø Cambyses died in 522 BCE, it was therefore his 5th year in Egypt, the 2nd corresponded to 525 BCE and the 1st in 526 BCE. This conquest began in 526 BCE, since Herodotus (The Histories III:1,10) states that the war began with the death of Amasis. Years 2 to 5 of Cambyses refer to his years of domination in Egypt. It is not logical to assume that the Egyptians used a counting system reserved for their pharaohs rather than to foreign leaders138, what was Cambyses before his conquest (though, after 525 BCE, Persian leaders will be considered as Pharaohs). The year 5 of Cambyses (in 525 BCE) began on Nisan 1st, that is March 28, and Year 44 of Amasis (in 526 BCE) began on Thot 1st, that is January 2. Thus, as the reign of Psammeticus III was 6 months length, his year 1 (in 526 BCE) began near November and his year 2 began on Thot 1st, that is January 1st, 525 BCE, and ended around April. H. GAUTHIER – Le livre des rois d'Égypte Le Caire 1915 Éd. Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale pp. 131-132). 136 P. BRIANT - Histoire de l'empire perse. De Cyrus à Alexandre Paris 1996 Éd. Fayard p. 92. 137 A. KUHRT - The Persian Empire London 2010 Ed. Routeledge pp. 124-125. 138 R.A. PARKER - Persian and Egyptian Chronology in: The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures LVIII/3 (1941) pp. 298-301. 135 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES King Amasis Egypt 43 Pap. Rylands IX 44 BCE Persia 11 VIII 525 3 1 526 ---------------------------------- Psammetichus III 1 2 stele IM.4187 2 525 5 6 7 8 1 3 4 5 524 523 522 521 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 IX X XI XII I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII I II III IV V King Cambyses II Egypt conquest 4 5 Egypt defeated 6 7 8 0 0 1 Bardiya 0 0 1 Cambyses II / Bardiya Nebuchadnezzar III / Bardiya 0 Darius I / Nebuchadnezzar III [0] Darius I / Nebuchadnezzar IV 1 43 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 44 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY It is interesting to notice that the Israelite chronology fits very well the previous chronologies (Egyptian, Assyrian and Babylonian). For example, the text of 2Kings 18:9 in which the fall of Samaria began in the 4th year of King Hezekiah, that is, the 7th year of Hoshea, that Shalmaneser the king of Assyria came against Samaria and began to lay siege to it, which lasted 3 years. According to a Babylonian chronicle the fall of Samaria began on the 5th and last year of Shalmaneser V and was achieved 3 years later on the 2nd year of Sargon II (Annals of Sargon). According to the Bible, there are many dated synchronisms between kings of Judah (Ahaz, Hezechiah) and kings of Israel (Pekah, Hosheah) with Assyrian kings (Tiglath-pileser III, Salmanazar V, Sargon II, Sennacherib) and one Babylonian king (Merodachbaladan II). In addition, there were four dated lunar eclipses during this period: one on year 1 of Nabû-mukîn-zêri (April 9, 731 B.C.E.), one on year 1 of Merodachbaladan II (March 19, 721 B.C.E.) and two on his year 2 (March 8, September 1st, 720 B.C.E.). 796 795 794 793 792 791 790 789 788 787 786 785 784 783 782 781 780 779 778 777 776 775 774 773 772 771 770 769 768 767 766 765 764 763 762 761 760 759 758 757 756 755 ASSYRIA 15 Adad-nêrari III 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Shalmaneser IV 1 [0] Bar Ga’ah 2 [1] (Pulu) 3 [2] 4 [3] 5 [4] 6 [5] 7 [6] 8 [7] 9 [8] 10 Aššur-dân III 1 [10] 2 [11] 3 [12] 4 [13] 5 [14] 6 [15] 7 [16] 8 [17] 9 [18] 10 (total solar eclipse) 11 [20] 12 [21] 13 [22] 14 [23] 15 [24] 16 [25] 17 [26] 18 Aššur-nêrari V BABYLONIA Erîba-Marduk 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Nabû-šum-iškun 1 2 3 4 5 6 JUDEA 14 Azariah 15 /[Uziah] 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 Jotham 1 2 3 ISRAEL EGYPT Jeroboam 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 Pi(ank)e 1 Zekariah 1 [2] 2 [3] 3 [4] 4 [5] 5 [6] 6 [7] 7 [8] 8 [9] 9 [10] 10 [11]Shallum 11 1Menahem 12 1 13 2 14 3 15 4 16 5 (Pulu) 17 6 18 7 19 8 20 9 21 10 Pekayah 22 1 23 2 Pekah 24 1 25 2 26 3 27 reference 2Ki 14:23 2Ki 15:1,2 2Chr 26:3 2Ki 14:29 2Ki 15:8 2Ki 15:13 2Ki 15:17 (Isa 10:5-8) 2Ki 15:19-20 Bur-Sagale 2Ki 15:22-23 2Ki 15:27-33 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES 754 753 752 751 750 749 748 747 746 745 744 743 742 741 740 739 738 737 736 735 734 733 732 731 730 729 728 727 726 725 724 723 722 721 720 719 718 717 716 715 714 713 712 711 710 709 708 707 706 705 704 703 702 701 700 699 698 697 696 695 1 [28] 7 4 2 [29] 8 5 3 [30] 9 6 4 [31] 10 7 5 [32] 11 8 6 [33] 12 9 7 [34] 13 Nabû-nâsir 10 8 [35] 1 11 9 [36] 2 12 10 [0] 3 13 1Tiglath-pileser III 4 14 2 5 15 3 6 16 4 7 1 Ahaz 17 5 [1] Shalmaneser V 8 2 18 6 [2] 9 3 19 7 [3] 10 [4] 20 8 [4] 11 [5] 9 [5] 12 6 10 [6] 13 7 11 [7] 14 Nabû-nâdîn-zêri 8 12 [8] 1 9 13 [9] 2 Nabû-mukîn-zêri 10 14 [10] 1 (lunar eclipse April 9) 11 15 [11] 2 12 16 [12] 3 Pulu 13 17 [14] 1 14 18 [15] 2 Ulûlaiu 15 1 Shalmaneser V 1 (Shalmaneser V) 16 Ezechias 2 2 1 3 3 2 4 4 3# 5 Sargon II 5 Merodachbaladan II 4 1 1 (lunar eclipse March 19) 5 2 Fall of Samaria 2 (March 8; September 1st) 6 3 3 7 4 4 8 5 5 9 6 6 10 7 #(alliance) 7 11 8 -[1] Sennacherib 8 12 9 -[2] 9 13 10-[3] Ashdod Lakish 10 (failed alliance) 14 11-[4] taken 11 15 12-[5] 12 Sargon II 16 13-[6] 1 17 14-[7] 2 18 15-[8] 3 19 16-[9] 4 20 17 Sennacherib 5 Sennacherib 21 1 1 22 2 2 Bêl-ibni 23 3 1 24 4 2 25 5 3 Aššur-nâdin-šumi II 26 6 1 27 7 [1] Arda-Mulissu 2 28 8 [2] 3 29 9 [3] 4 1 Manasseh 10 [4] 5 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Hoshea [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] 1 [10] 2 [11] 3 [12] 4 [13] 5 [14] 6 [15] 7 [16] 8 [17] 9 [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43] 45 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 1 Osorkon IV 2 (= So) 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 #(alliance) 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 #(alliance) 31 32 1 Chabataka 2 /Taharqa 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 2Ki 16:1,7-10 2Chr 28:16 2Ki 16:5,6 2Ki 15:27-30 2Ki 16:7-9 2Ki 17:1 2Ki 18:1 2Ki 17:2-5 2Ki 18:9 2Ki 18:10 Isa 36:1; 39:1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 2Ki 21:1 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 46 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY 694 693 692 691 690 689 688 687 686 685 684 683 682 681 680 679 678 677 676 675 674 673 672 671 670 669 668 667 666 665 664 663 662 661 660 659 658 657 656 655 654 653 652 651 650 649 648 647 646 645 644 643 642 641 640 639 638 637 636 635 11 [5] 12 [6] 13 [7] 14 [8] 15 [9] 16 [10] 17 [11] 18 [12] 19 [13] 20 [14] 21 [15] 22 [1] Esarhaddon 23 [2] 24 [3] 1 Esarhaddon 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 (Manasseh deported) 9 [1] Aššurbanipal 10 [2] 11 [3] 12 [4] 1 Aššurbanipal 2 3 4 5 (Thebes sacked 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 6 1 Nergal-ušezib 1 Mušezib-Marduk 2 3 4 1 Sennacherib 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 Esarhaddon 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 (2Chr 33:11) 9 10 11 12 1 Aššurbanipal 1 Šamašumaukin 2 (lunar eclipse April 10) 3 4 (Nah 3:8) 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Kandalanu 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 Amon 1 2 Josias 1 2 3 4 5 [44] [45] [46] [47] [48] [49] [50] [51] [52] [53] [54] [55] [56] [57] [58] [59] [60] [61] [62] [63] [64] [65] 19 20 21 22 23 1 Taharqa 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Ezr 4:2 Isa 7:8,9 18 (Israel deported into Assyria) 19 20 21 22 23 24 BM 45640 25 26 Ezr 4:10 1 Psammetichus I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 2Ki 21:1 23 2Ki 21:19 24 2Ki 22:1 25 26 27 28 29 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES 634 633 632 631 630 629 628 627 626 625 624 623 622 621 620 619 618 617 616 615 614 613 612 611 610 609 608 35 36 37 38 39 1 Aššur-etel-ilâni 2 [41] 3 [42] 4 Sin-šar-iškun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Aššur-uballit II 1 2 3 Battle of Harran End of Assyria 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Nabopolassar 1 2 3 4 5 Lunar eclipse (22 April) 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Nineveh destroyed 15 16 17 BM 21901 18 BABYLONIA 610 609 608 607 606 605 604 603 602 601 600 599 598 597 596 595 594 593 592 591 590 589 588 587 586 585 584 583 582 581 16 3 Battle of Harran 17 [0] 18 [1] 19 [2] 20 [3] Nebuchadnezzar 21 1 12 23 34 Birth of Darius the 45 Mede (Harpagus) 56 67 BM 21946 78 89 9 10 10 11 11 12 12 13 13 14 14 15 15 16 16 17 Jubilee violated 17 18 18 19 Ezk 26:1-12 19 20 20 21 21 22 Dan 4:29 22 23 23 24 24 25 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Joiaqim 1 JUDEA 30 Joiaqim 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Zedekiah 11 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Jer 52:4 9 50 10 1 Temple destroyed 11 2 1 3 Dan 2:1 2 4 3 5 4 6 5 7 6 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 1 Necho II 2 EGYPT 54 1 Necho II 2 3 4 5 Battle of Karkemish 6 7 8 0 9 Joiaqim vassal of 1 10 Nebuchadnezzar 2 11 3 12 Exile of Joiakîn 1 13 2Chr 36:9,10 2 14 3 15 4 16 5 1 Psammetichus II 6 2 7 3 8 4 9 5 Siege of Jerusalem 10 6/1 Apries 11 2 Exile of the people 12 3 1st year of exile 13 4 14 5 15 6 Last exile 16 7 17 8 47 Almagest V,14 Nah 3:15-19 2Ki 22:1;23:36 reference 2Ki 22:1;23:36 Jer 25:1;46:2 Dan 5:31 2Ki 24:1 Jer 52:28 2Ki 24:12 Ezk 24:1 Jer 32:1 Jer 52:1,12,29 Ezk 33:21 Jer 52:30 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 48 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY 580 579 578 577 576 575 574 573 572 571 570 569 568 567 566 565 564 563 562 561 560 559 558 557 556 555 554 553 552 551 550 549 548 547 546 545 544 543 542 541 540 539 538 537 536 535 534 533 532 531 530 529 528 527 526 525 524 523 522 521 25 26 26 27 27 28 (7 years of madness) 28 29 29 30 30 31 (Tyre, siege of 13 years) 31 32 Against Apion 1:156 32 33 33 34 34 35 35 36 36 37 VT 4956 (eclipse) 37 38 (Egypt attacked) 38 39 39 40 40 41 41 42 42 43 Amêl Marduk 43 1 Neriglissar 2 (Cyrus II Persian king) 1 2 3 Labashi-Marduk 4 Nabonidus 1 2 Belshazzar 3 0 4 1 5 2 Harpagus Median king 6 3 vassal of Cyrus II 7 4 8 5 9 6 10 7 11 8 12 9 13 10 14 11 15 12 16 13 Fall of Babylon 17 14 Freedom year 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 90 1 2 3 4 5 6 Lunar eclipse 16 July 7 08 1 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 Cyrus II 50 Cambyses II Darius I 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 1 20 Amasis 2 21 3 22 Death of Apries 4 1 Egypt desolated 40 years 52 63 74 85 9 6 Jehoiachin liberated 10 7 11 8 12 9 13 10 14 11 15 12 16 13 17 14 18 15 19 16 20 17 21 18 22 19 23 20 24 21 25 22 26 23 27 24 28 25 29 26 30 27 31 28 32 29 33 30 34 31 35 32 36 33 37 34 38 35 39 36 40 37 41 38 42 39 43 40 1 44 Psammetichus III 2 Ezk 40:1 Ezk 29:12-20 Jer 43:10,13 Jer 44:30 Jer 52:31 Dan 7:1 Dan 8:1,20-21 Jer 25:11,12 Is 43:1,3; 45:1 Dan 10:1 Ezk 29:12-16 Fall of Egypt BM 33066 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES 520 519 518 517 516 515 514 513 512 511 510 509 508 507 506 505 504 503 502 501 500 499 498 497 496 495 494 493 492 491 490 489 488 487 486 485 484 483 482 481 480 479 478 477 476 475 474 473 472 471 470 469 468 467 466 465 464 463 462 461 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Lunar eclipse 19 Nov. 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 0 Xerxes I 27 1 28 2 29 3 30 4 Lunar eclipse 25 Apr. 31 5 32 6 33 7 34 8 35 9 36 10 Babylonian revolt 11 Est 2:21-3:7 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Lunar eclipse Jun. 26 0 21 Artaxerxes I Lunar eclipse Dec. 20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 6 10 11 12 13 14 67 68 69 50 70 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 49 End of Temple's desolation Zek 7:1-5 New jubilee cycle Dan 9:2 Almagest IV:9 Vashti repudiated Est 1:3 Almagest IV:1 Wedding of Xerxes Est 2:16-17 Ezr 4:6 Est 3:7-10 BM 32234 1st jubilee celebrated Ezr 7:1-8,24 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 50 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY 460 459 458 457 456 455 454 453 452 451 450 449 448 447 446 445 444 443 442 441 440 439 438 437 436 435 434 433 432 431 430 429 428 427 426 425 424 423 422 421 420 419 418 417 416 415 414 413 412 411 410 409 408 407 406 405 404 403 402 401 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 0 Darius B 42 1 [] 2 [] 3 [] 4 [] 5 [] 6 [] 7 [] 8 50 0 Xerxes II 0 51 Darius II 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 0 Artaxerxes II 1 2 3 4 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 20 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 Beginning of 483 years (483 = 69x7) Dan 9:24-27 Neh 2:1-9 Inspection of Nehemiah Neh 5:14 (49 = 7x7) Jerusalem city achieved (inauguration) (Dan 9:25) Neh 12:22-43 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES 51 MESOPOTAMIAN CHRONOLOGY ON THE PERIOD 1133-609 The Mesopotamian chronology of this period is reconstructed using the number of Assyrian eponyms (1 a year) and the length of Babylonian reigns (#) combined with the set of synchronisms among Assyrian and Babylonian kings in Annals: ASSYRIAN KING Aššur-rêš-iši I Tiglath-pileser I # Reign BABYLONIAN KING 18 1133-1115 Ninurta-nâdin-šumi 39 1115 - Nebuchadnezzar I Enlil-nâdin-apli -1076 Marduk-nâdin-ahhê Ašared-apil-Ekur 2 1076-1074 Marduk-šapik-zêri Aššur-bêl-kala 18 1074-1056 Adad-apla-iddina Erîba-Adad II 2 1056-1054 Marduk-ahhê-erîba Šamšî-Adad IV 4 1054-1050 Marduk-zêr-[…] Aššurnaṣirpal I 19 1050-1031 Nabû-šum-libur Shalmaneser II 12 1031-1019 Simbar-šipak Aššur-nêrârî IV 6 1019-1013 Ea-mukîn-zêri Aššur-rabi II 41 1013 - Kaššu-nâdin-ahi Eulmaš-šakin-šumi Ninurta-kudurri-uṣur I Širiki-šuqamuna -972 Mâr-bîti-apla-uṣur Aššur-rêš-iši II 5 972-967 Nabû-mukîn-apli Tiglath-pileser II 32 967-935 Ninurta-kudurri-uṣur II Aššur-dân II 23 935-912 Mâr-bîti-ahhê-iddin Adad-nêrârî II 21 912-891 Šamaš-mudammiq Tukultî-Ninurta II 7 891-884 Nabû-šum-ukîn I Aššurnaṣirpal II 26 884-859 Nabû-apla-iddina Shalmaneser III 35 859-824 Marduk-zâkir-šumi I Šamšî-Adad V 13 824-811 Marduk-balâssu-iqbi Adad-nêrârî III 28 811-783 Bâba-ah-iddina Shalmaneser IV 10 783 - 5 unknown kings Ninurta-apla-[…] -773 Marduk-apla-uṣur Aššur-dân III 18 773-755 Erîba-Marduk Aššur-nêrârî V 10 755-745 Nabû-šum-iškun Tiglath-pileser III 18 745 - Nabû-naṣir Nabû-nâdin-zêri Nabû-šum-ukîn II Nabû-mukîn-zêri -727 Tiglath-pileser III Pûlu Shalmaneser V 5 727-722 Shalmaneser V Ulûlaiu Sargon II 17 722 - Merodachbaladan II -705 Sargon II Sennacherib 24 705 - Sennacherib Marduk-zakir-šumi II Bêl-ibni Aššur-nâdin-šumi Nergal-ušezib Mušezib-Marduk -681 Sennacherib Esarhaddon 12 681-669 Esarhaddon Aššurbanipal 42 669-627 Šamaš-šum-ukîn Aššur-etel-ilâni 4 630 - Kandalanu Sin-šum-lišir -626 Sin-šar-iškun Sin-šar-iškun 14 626-612 Nabopolassar Aššur-uballiṭ II 3 612-609 # 6 22 4 18 13 22 1 12 8 18 1 2 17 3 1 5 36 3 12 33 36 6 9 13 14 2 1 2 2 5 12 5 2 0 3 6 1 4 8 12 40 21 1 21 Reign 1133-1127 1127-1105 1105-1101 1101-1083 1083-1070 1070-1048 1048-1047 1047-1035 1035-1027 1027-1009 1009-1008 1008-1006 1006 -989 989-986 986-985 985-980 980-944 944-943 943- ? ? -900 900-888 888-855 855-819 819-813 813- ? ? ? ? -770 770-761 761-748 748-734 734-732 732-731 731-729 729-727 727-722 722-710 710-705 705-703 703 703-700 700-694 694-693 693-689 689-681 681-669 668-648 648 -627 627-626 626 -605 JUDEAN RULER Eli (Philistines) Samson Sons of Samuel Saul # 40 20 5 40 David Reign 1162-1122 1122-1102 1102-1097 1097 -1057 40 1057 - Solomon -1017 40 1017 - Roboam Abiyam Asa Jehosaphat Jehoram [Athaliah] Joas Amasiah Uziah 17 3 41 25 8 6 40 29 52 Jotham Ahaz -758 16 758-742 16 742 - Ezechias 29 726 Manasseh 55 Amon Josias -642 2 642-640 31 640 - -977 977-960 960-957 957-916 916-891 893-885 885-879 879-839 839-810 810 - -726 - -697 697 - -609 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 52 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY MESOPOTAMIAN CHRONOLOGY ON THE PERIOD 1799-1133 Fifteen royal chronicles139 make it possible to partially reconstruct140 the Babylonian and Kassite chronologies141: n° KASSITE KING 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Reign Gandaš 1661-1635 Agum I 1635-1613 Kaštiliaš I 1613-1591 Ušši 1591-1583 Abirattaš 1583-1567 Kaštiliaš II 1567-1551 Urzigurumaš 1551-1535 Harbašihu 1535-1519 Tiptakzi 1519-1503 Agum II 1503-1487 Burna-Buriaš I 1487-1471 Kaštiliaš III 1471-1455 Ulam-Buriaš 1455-1439 Agum III 1439-1423 Kadašman-Harbe I 1423-1407 Kara-indaš 1407-1391 Kurigalzu I 1391-1375 Kadašman-Enlil I 1375-1360 Burna-Buriaš II 1360-1333 Kara-ḫardaš 1333 Nazi-Bugaš 1333 Kurigalzu II 1333-1308 Nazi-Maruttaš 1308-1282 Kadašman-Turgu 1282-1264 Kadašman-Enlil II 1264-1255 Kudur-Enlil 1255-1246 Šagarakti-šuriaš 1246-1233 Kaštiliašu IV 1233-1225 [Tukulti-Ninurta I] [1225-1224] Enlil-nâdin-šumi 1225-1224 Kadašman-Harbe II 1224-1223 Adad-šuma-iddina 1223-1217 Adad-šuma-uṣur 1217-1187 Meli-Šipak 1187-1172 Marduk-apla-iddina 1172-1159 Zababa-šuma-iddina 1159-1158 Enlil-nâdin-ahi 1158-1155 # King Lists 26 [2]6 22 22 22 22 8 8 [16] [16] [16] [16] [16] [16] [16] [16] [16] [16] [16] [16] [16] 15 27 0 0 25 [25] 26 26 18 18 9 [10 (+x)] 9 [6] 13 13 8 8 [1] 1 1,5 1 1,5 6 6 30 30 15 15 13 13 1 1 3 3 Highest BABYLONIAN KING date Sûmû-abum Sûmû-la-Il Sâbium Apil-Sîn Sîn-muballiṭ Hammurabi Samsu-iluna Abi-ešuḫ Ammiditana Ammiṣaduqa Samsuditana "Babylon's restoration" # 1799-1785 1785-1749 1749-1735 1735-1717 1717-1697 1697-1654 1654 -1616 1616-1588 1588 - 14 36 14 18 20 43 38 -1551 1551-1530 1530 -1499 1498 - 28 37 21 31 41 -1457 1457 - 15 27 0 0 24 24 17 8 [9?] 9 13 8 [1] 1 1 0 13 12 6 Marduk-kabit-aḫḫešu Itti-Marduk-balaṭu J.J. GLASSNER – Chroniques mésopotamiennes (n°22) Paris 1993 Éd. Belles Lettres pp. 137-179. 140 F. JOANNÈS - Dictionnaire de la civilisation mésopotamienne Paris 2001 Éd. Robert Laffont pp. 164,522,565,758. F. JOANNÈS - La Mésopotamie au 1er millénaire avant J.C. 2000 Paris Ed. Armand Colin pp. 186-187. 141 J.A. BRINKMAN – Materials and Studies for Kassite History Vol. I Chicago 1976 Ed. The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago pp. 6-34. 139 Reign 1155-1141 1141-1133 14 8 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES After the fall of the city, the Babylonian dynasty was replaced by the Kassites in the north, and by the Sealand dynasty in the south, whose beginning is not well known142. It begins with Gandaš, a contemporary of Samsu-iluna, and it is precisely dated from Kadašman-Enlil I. Synchronisms143 with Kassites kings (highlighted reigns) are as follows: Ø The reigns of Kassites kings are mentioned in a Babylonian king list144 very incomplete (Babylonian King List A) which assigns to these 36 kings a total of 576 years, implying an average duration of 16 years by reign. The first four reigns have respective durations of: [1]6/[2]6145, 22, 22 and 8 years. Ø The appearance of Ulam-Buriaš coincides with the end of the restoration of Babylon (year 41 of "recovery"). Ø A tablet (VAT 1429) describes the Kassite king Agum II as bukašu "Duke" of Babylon, who is actually the first Kassite king of Babylon146. Ø Alliance between Assyrian Puzur-Aššur III (1491-1467) and Kassite Burna-Buriaš I. Ø Alliance between Assyrian Aššur-bêl-nišešu (1411-1403) and Kassite Kara-indaš. Ø A Babylonian chronicle mentions, in the year 9 of Samsu-iluna, an assault by Kassite troops, likely led by Gandaš, the first Kassite king147. The reign of Kassite King Gandaš, obtained from average durations, is dated 16611635 and coincides with the reign of the Assyrian king Samsu-iluna (1654-1616). The reign of Kassite King Agum II (1503-1487) is consistent with a fall of Babylon in -1499. If one accepts the total duration of 576 years, the reign of Kassite King Gandaš had to start around 1731 (= 1155 + 576) instead of 1651, which would support the Middle Chronology, but in this case the average length of the 6 reigns (from Abirattaš to Agum II) would increase from 16 to 32 years, but no known reign has reached such a length, in addition, this contradicts the average value of 16 years indicated by the Chronicle (this value is consistent with those of the known reigns). Finally, according to the Middle Chronology, interruption of Babylonian kingdoms would have been complete for a century (from 1595 to 1495), which is very unlikely: According to a Babylonian Chronicle148: he did battle against him [...] their corpses, the sea [...] he changed and Samsu-iluna [...] Iliman attacked and [brought about] the defeat of [his] army. Albishi, son of Samsu-iluna, set out to conquer Iliman. He decided to dam the Tigris. He dammed the Tigris but did not capture Iliman. At the time of Samsu-ditana the Hittites marched against Akkad. Eagamil, king of the Sealand, f[led] to Elam. After he had gone, Ulamburiash, brother of Kashtiliash (III), the Kassite, mustered his army and conquered the Sealand. He was master of the land. Agum (III), son of Kashtiliash (III), mustered his army and marched to the Sealand. Thus, after the fall of Babylon [in 1499 BCE], Agum II a Kassite King of Chaldean origin began to dominate northern Babylonia (land of Akkad) and the Sealand Kings, perhaps of Sumerian origin, began to dominate southern Babylonia (land of Sumer) up to Ulam-Buriaš who defeated them [around 1450 BCE]. A Synchronistic King List149 and a tablet (KAV 216, Assur 14616c) very F. JOANNÈS - Dictionnaire de la civilisation mésopotamienne Paris 2001 Éd. Robert Laffont pp. 164. 143 K. GRAYSON – Texts from Cuneiform Sources Volume V Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles (ABC 20, 21) Winona Lake 2000 Ed. Eisenbrauns pp. 157-170. 144 J.B. PRITCHARD - Ancient Near Eastern Texts Princeton 1969 Ed. Princeton University Press p. 272). 145 J.A. BRINKMAN – Materials and Studies for Kassite History Vol. I Chicago 1976 Ed. The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago p. 128. 146 J. FREU, M. MAZOYER – Des origines à la fin de l'Ancien royaume hittite Paris 2007Éd. L'Harmattan p. 114. 147 A. GOETZE – The Kassites and near Eastern Chronology in: Journal of Cuneiform Studies 18:4 (1964) p. 97. 148 K. GRAYSON – Texts from Cuneiform Sources Volume V Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles Winona Lake 2000 Ed. Eisenbrauns pp. 156. 149 J.B. PRITCHARD - Ancient Near Eastern Texts Princeton 1969 Ed. Princeton University Press pp. 271-272. 142 53 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 54 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY difficult to read give the following list: Samsud[itana reigned 31 years]. 11 kings, the cycle of [Babylon; they reigned 300 years]. The cycle of Babylon [changed, her kingship went to Sealand]. At Urukuga, 60 [years] Ilimalum, king; 56 [years] Itti-ili-nibi; 36 [years] Damqi-ilišu; 15 [years] Iškibal; 26 [years] Šušši, brother; 55 [years] Gulkišar; 50 [years] Pešgaldarameš; 28 [years] Ayadaragalama, his son, same; 26 [years] Akurulana; 7 [years] Melamkukurra; 9 [years] Ea-gam[il]; 368 [years] 11 kings, dynasty of Urukuga. If one adds the sum of these abnormally long reigns (368 years), Iliman, the first king, should have reigned from 1818 to 1758, which is not possible according to the synchronisms (highlighted). In fact, co-regencies were common among the kings of Sealand dynasty since the year 7 of Pešgaldarameš is also dated to Ayadaragalama and his year 29 is followed by the accession of Ayadaragalama150. Kassite and Sealand dynasties being close in time and space, it is more likely to have an average of 16 years of reign. AKKADIAN BABYLONIAN Sâbium KASSITE Gandaš Agum I Kaštiliaš I Ušši Abirattaš Kaštiliaš II Urzigurumaš Harbašihu Tiptakzi Agum II Burna-Buriaš I Kaštiliaš III Reign 1661-1635 1635-1613 1613-1591 1591-1583 1583-1567 1567-1551 1551-1535 1535-1519 1519-1503 1503-1487 1487-1471 1471 -1455 Ulam-Buriaš 1455-1439 Agum III 1439-1423 Kadašman-Harbe I 1423-1407 Kara-indaš 1407-1391 Kurigalzu I 1391-1375 Kadašman-Enlil I 1375-1360 Apil-Sîn Sîn-muballiṭ # Hammurabi [2]6 Samsu-iluna 22 22 Abi-ešuḫ 8 Ammiditana [16] [16] [16] Ammiṣaduqa [16] Samsuditana [16] [16] [16] [16] Reign 1749 -1735 1735-1717 1717-1697 1697-1654 1654 -1616 1616-1588 1588 -1551 1551-1530 1530 -1499 SUMERIAN # ISINIAN Reign 14 Iter-piša 1740-1736 Ur-dukuga 1736-1732 18 Sîn-mâgir 1732-1721 20 Damiq-ilîšu I 1721-1698 43 SEALAND Reign 38 Ilum-maz-ilî 1654 - # [4] [4] 11 23 # 60 28 37 Itti-ili-nîbî Damqi-ilišu II Iškibal 21 Šušši 31 Gulkišar Pešgaldarameš 300 Ayadaragalama Akurulana Melamkukurra Ea-gam[il] [16] [16] [16] [16] [16] [16] [16] [16] 7 9 [16] [16] [16] [16] [16] 15 -1594 1594-1578 1578-1562 1562-1546 1546-1530 1530-1514 1514-1498 1498-1482 1482-1466 1466-1459 1459 -1450 The date of the sack of Babylon by the Hittite king Mursili I is considered crucial to the various calculations of the early chronology of the ancient Near East151. According to the Venus Tablet, there are only four possible dates for the sack of Babylon. This astronomical tablet (Enuma Anu Enlil 63), copied in 7th century BCE, describes the rising and setting of Venus during the reign of Ammisaduqa (a descendant of Hammurabi). Although the interpretation of this astronomical tablet is difficult152, because many data appear to have been poorly copied, the fall of Babylon can be dated to the period 15001700 only according to four possibilities153: S. DALLEY – Babylonian Tablets from the First Sealand Dynasty in the Schøyen Collection in: Cornell University Studies in Assyriology and Sumerology Vol. 9 (CDL Press, 2009) pp. 4-10. 151 R. PRUZSINSKY – Mesopotamian Chronology of the 2nd Millennium B.C. Wien 2009 Ed. Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften pp. 17-104. 152 V.G. GURZADYAN – The Venus Tablet and Refraction in: Akkadica 124 (2003) pp. 13-17. 153 V.G. GURZADYAN – On the Astronomical Records and Babylonian Chronology in: Akkadica 119-120 (2000) pp. 175-184. 150 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES Chronology (BCE): Fall of Ur Reign of Hammurabi Reign of Ammisaduqa Fall of Babylon Ultra-Low 1912 1697-1654 1551-1530 1499 Low 1944 1729-1686 1583-1562 1531 55 Middle 2004 1793-1750 1647-1626 1595 High 2064 1849-1806 1703-1682 1651 The astronomical tablet called Enuma Anu Enlil 63 describes the rising and setting of Venus during the reign of Ammisaduqa154: Year 1 inferior Venus sets on Shabatu 15 and after 3 days rises on Shabatu 18 Year 2 superior Venus vanishes E. on Arahsamnu 21 and after 1 month 25 days appears W. on Tebetu 16 Year 3 inferior Venus sets on Ululu 29 and after 16 days rises on Tashritu 15 Year 4 superior Venus vanishes E. on Dumuzi 3 and after 2 months 6 days appears W. on Ululu 9 Year 5 inferior Venus sets on Nisan 29 and after 12 days rises on Ayar 11 Year 5 superior Venus vanishes E. on Kislimu 27 and after 2 months 3 days appears W. on Shabatu 30 Year 6 inferior Venus sets on Arahsamnu 28 and after 3 days rises on Kislimu 1 Year 7 superior Venus vanishes E. on Abu 30 and after 2 months appears W. on Tashritu 30 Year 8 inferior Venus sets on Dumuzi 9 and after 17 days rises on Dumuzi 26 Year 8 superior Venus vanishes E. on Adar 27 and after 2 months 16 days appears W. on Simanu 13 Year 9 inferior Venus sets on Adar 12 and after 2 days rises on Adar 14 Year 10 superior Venus vanishes E. on Arahsamnu 17 and after 1 month 25 days appears W. on Tebetu 12 Year 11 inferior Venus sets on Ululu 25 and after 16 days rises on II Ululu 11 Year 12 superior Venus vanishes E. on Ayar 29 and after 2 months 6 days appears W. on Abu 5 Year 13 inferior Venus sets on Nisan 25 and after 12 days rises on Ayar 7 Year 13 superior Venus vanishes E. on Tebetu 23 and after 2 months 3 days appears W. on Adar 26 Year 14 inferior Venus sets on Arahsamnu 24 and after 3 days rises on Arahsamnu 27 Year 15 superior Venus vanishes E. on Abu 26 and after 2 months appears W. on Tashritu 26 Year 16 inferior Venus sets on Dumuzi 5 and after 16 days rises on Dumuzi 21 Year 16 superior Venus vanishes E. on Adar 24 and after 2 months 15 days appears W. on Simanu 9 Year 17 inferior Venus sets on Adar 8 and after 3 days rises on Adar 11 Year 18 superior Venus vanishes E. on Arahsamnu 13 and after 1 month 25 days appears W. on Tebetu 8 Year 19 inferior Venus sets on II Ululu 20 and after 17 days rises on Tashritu 8 Year 20 superior Venus vanishes E. on Simanu 25 and after 2 months 6 days appears W. on Ululu 1 Year 21 inferior Venus sets on Nisan 22 and after 11 days rises on Ayar 3 Year 21 superior Venus vanishes E. on Tebetu 19 and after 2 months 3 days appears W. on Adar 22 The date 1595 is chosen mainly as it is consistent with the chronology accepted by most historians to the late 20th century, hence the name of "Middle chronology". However, other lunar eclipses are used for dating the fall of Babylon155. A tablet of astronomical omens (Enuma Anu Enlil 20) mentions a lunar eclipse, dated 14 Siwanu, at the end of the reign of Šulgi (14/III/48) and another (Enuma Anu Enlil 21) mentions a lunar eclipse, dated 14 Addaru, at the end of the Ur III dynasty ending with the reign of Ibbi-Sin (14/XII/24). These two lunar eclipses are separated by 42 years of reign (= 9 years of Amar-Sin + 9 years of Šu-Sîn + 24 years of Ibbi-Sin). Moreover, in a tablet of Mari, a scribe mentions a [total] lunar eclipse during the eponymy of Asqudum156 (= year 12/13 of Hammurabi). Over the period 2200-1850 BCE there are only three pairs of eclipses, spaced by 42 years, matching the description of astronomical omens157: E. REINER, D. PINGREE – Babylonian Planetary Omens. Part 1. The Venus Tablet of Ammisaduqa Malibu 1975 Ed. Undena Publications pp. 17-62. 155 B. BANJEVIC – Ancient Eclipses and Dating the Fall of Babylon in: Publ. Astron. Obs. Belgrade N° 80 (2006) pp. 251-257. 156 W. HEIMPEL – Letters to the King of Mari: A New Translation, With Historical Introduction, Notes, and Commentary Leiden 2003 Ed. Eisenbrauns pp. 209-210. 157 P.J. HUBER – Astronomy and Ancient Chronology in: Akkadica 119-120 (2000) pp. 159-176. 154 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 56 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY 1st eclipse (14/III/48) 13/08/2189 12/05/2175 04/07/2150 25/07/2095 " " 26/06/2019 " " 25/05/2008 18/07/2002 27/06/1954 18/07/1937 18/05/1915 " 28/06/1908 19/06/1861 31/07/1854 Magnitude 1.21 1.80 1.32 1.32 1.32 1.32 1.07 1.07 1.07 0.96 1.08 1.39 0.75 1.47 1.47 1.04 1.04 0.73 2nd eclipse (14/XII/24) 12/03/2107 " " 04/05/2063 13/04/2053 11/02/2031 24/04/2016 15/03/1977 04/03/1976 15/04/1969 23/02/1929 06/03/1911 14/02/1901 14/02/1882 27/03/1875 " Lunar eclipse matching the: Last year of Šulgi Fall of Ur III Year 12/13 of (14/III/48) (14/XII/24) Hammurabi [2106]# [2064]# [1836]# 25/07/2095 13/04/2053 [2046]# [2004]# [1780]# 26/06/2019 15/03/1977 [1986]# [1944]# 03/09/1716 27/06/1954 06/03/1911 07/12/1684 Magnitude 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.78 0.63 1.14 1.84 0.82 1.47 1.84 1.63 1.72 0.94 1.58 1.82 1.82 gap (1st - 2nd) 82 years 68 years 43 years 32 years 42 years 64 years 3 years 42 years 43 years 39 years 73 years 42 years 36, years 33 years 40 years 33 years Fall of Babylon According to Venus Tablet 1651 # 1595 # 1531 1499 ≈ OK OK ≈ OK Chronology High Middle Low Ultra-Low Despite the excellent agreement among all these astronomical data158, the date of 1499 BCE is considered too low compared to Kassite and Hittite chronologies. This criticism is unfounded, because these two chronologies are very approximate: most durations of reigns are unknown and they have no astronomical anchor. In addition, the dendrochronological dating of the Acemhöyüke159 palace requires to locate Šamšî-Adad I's death after 1752 BCE removing the Middle Chronology, which dates this reign 1807-1775. In addition, the so-called Dark Ages of 1595-1500 is deleted. The death of Šamšî-Adad I in the year 17 of Hammurabi allows to anchor it to the Babylonian chronology160: ASSYRIA Šamšî-Adad I Reign 1712 -1680 BABYLONIA 33 Sîn-muballiṭ Hammurabi Reign 1717-1697 1697-1680 1680-1654 20 17 26 Several synchronisms with Assyrian reigns on the period 1400-1200 confirm the previous chronology and show that before Aššur-dân I the Assyrians years are lunar (354 days) and no longer solar (365 days), making necessary to reduce Assyrian reigns of 1 year every 33 years [1 year = 33x(365 - 354 days)]161. The following synchronisms highlight this gap (in years) between several chronologies: H. GASCHE – La fin de la première dynastie de Babylone : une chute difficile in: Akkadica 124 (2003) pp. 205-221. 159 C. MICHEL, P. ROCHER – La chronologie du IIe millénaire revue à l'ombre d'une éclipse de soleil in: Jaarbericht (...) Ex Oriente Lux N° 35/36 (1997-2000) Chicago pp. 111-126. 160 H. GASCHE, J.A. ARMSTRONG, S.W. COLE & V.G. GURZADYAN – A correction to Dating the Fall of Babylon in: Akkadica 108 (1998) pp.1-4. 161 There is an exact difference of 6 days = 33x(29,530588x12) - 32x(365,24219). In fact, (Nx1,0306889) lunar years = N solar years. 158 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES 57 Ø The Assyrian king Tukulti-Ninurta I replaced the Babylonian king Kaštiliašu IV (12331225) by Enlil-nâdin-šumi (1225-1224) at the 19th eponym162 Ina-Aššur-šumi-aṣbat163. The first eponymous being the year of accession, the 19th eponym refers to year 18. Ø The disappearance of the Mitannian empire (Hanigalbat) is dated in year 6/7 of Shalmaneser I since there are at least 5 eponyms before this victory164 and 7 at most165. But peace and alliance concluded by Hattusili III in the year 21 of Ramses II and the tightening of links between Hattusili III and Kadašman-Turgu (1282-1264) were responses to the threat on the Eastern border of Hatti following the disappearance of Hanigalbat166, which implies the following synchronism: the year 21 of Ramses II fits the year 7 of Shalmaneser I. Thus the accession of Kadašman-Enlil II (1264-1255) matches the year 19 of Ramses II167 (1283 = 1264 + 19). Gasche proposed to advance the Babylonian chronology of 5 years to calibrate the Egyptian chronology with an accession of Ramses II in 1279168, instead of 1283. This solution is not acceptable, because if the reign of Enlil-nâdin-ahi is shifted by 5 years (1153-1150 instead of 11581155), this contradicts the accuracy of the Assyrian eponyms and Babylonian chronology on this period. Consistent with this reliability, the most logical choice is to anchor the Egyptian chronology on Babylonian chronology and not vice versa. Ø The letter EA 16169 d'Aššur-uballiṭ I is addressed to the pharaoh Aÿ (1327-1323). n° ASSYRIAN KING 72 Erîba-Adad I 73 Aššur-uballiṭ I 74 75 76 77 78 Enlil-nêrârî Arik-dên-ili Adad-nêrârî I Salmanazar I (year 7) Tukultî-Ninurta I (year 18) Aššur-nâdin-apli Aššur-nêrârî III Enlil-kudurri-uṣur Ninurta-apil-Ekur Aššur-dân I Aššur-rêš-iši I Tiglath-pileser I 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 Ašared-apil-Ekur 89 Aššur-bêl-kala gap 1391-1364 1364-1328 1328-1318 1318-1306 1306-1274 1274-1267 1267-1244 1244-1226 1226-1207 1207-1203 1203-1197 1197-1192 1192-1179 1179-1133 1133-1115 1115 -1076 1076-1074 1074-1056 27 EGYPTIAN KING 36 Aÿ 10 12 32 BABYLONIAN KING 30 Kadašman-Enlil II 37 Enlil-nâdin-šumi 4 6 5 13 46 18 Ninurta-nâdin-šumi 39 Nebuchadnezzar I Enlil-nâdin-apli Marduk-nâdin-ahhê 2 Marduk-šapik-zêri 18 Adad-apla-iddina W. RÖLLING – Eponymen in den Mittelassyrischen Dokumenten aus Tall Seh Hamad/Dur-Katlimmu in: Zeitschrift für Assyrologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie 94:1 (2004) pp 18-51. 163 E.C. CANCIK-KIRSCHBAUM – Mittelassyrischen aus Tall Seh Hamad in: Berichte der Ausgrabung Tall Seh Hamad 4:1 (1996) pp. 164 A. HARRAK – Assyria and Hanigalbat Hildesheim 1987 Georg Olms Verlag pp. 117-120, 157-162. 165 Y. BLOCH – The Order of Eponyms in the Reign of Shalmaneser I in: Ugarit-Forschungen Band 40/2008 (Münster 2009) pp. 143-178. 166 J. FREU – De la confrontation à l'entente cordiale: Les relations assyro-hittites in: Hittite Studies in Honor of Harry A. Hoffner Jr. (2003) Ede. Eisenbrauns pp. 102,103. 167 W.A. WARD - The Present Status of Egyptian Chronology in: Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 288 (1991) pp. 55,56. 168 H. GASCHE, J.A. ARMSTRONG, S.W. COLE – Dating the Fall of Babylon in: Mesopotamian History and Environment (1998) Chicago p. 65. 169 W.L. MORAN - Les lettres d'El Amarna in: LIPO n°13 Paris 1987 Éd. Cerf pp. 106-109. 162 1327-1364 3< 1264-1255 3 1225-1224 2 1133-1127 1127-1105 1105-1101 1101-1083 1083-1070 1070-1048 0 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 58 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY ASSYRIAN CHRONOLOGY ON THE PERIOD 1799-1133 The exact period of the adoption of the lunisolar calendar (Babylonian-inspired) by the Assyrians is difficult to determine because of the small number of documents. According to the Assyrian Royal List, eponyms appeared at the time of Sulili (ca. 1950 BCE) and were recorded from Êrišu I (1873-1834). The Assyrian dating system is based on the principle: 1 eponym = 1 year, the paleo-Assyrian calendar had to appear at that time. The names of 12 months of the year were influenced by other neighboring calendars (Sumerian and Akkadian)170 and stabilized only in the eponymy of Ḫabil-kenum171 (ca. 1650 BCE): I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII SUMERIAN BÀRA-ZAG-GAR GUD-SI-SÀ2 SIG4-GA ŠU-NUMUN-NA NE-IZI-GAR KIN-dINNINA DU6-KÙ3 APIN-DU8-A GAN-GAN-E AB-BA-È3 ZIZ2-AM ŠE-KIN-KU5 AKKADIAN Nisannu Ayyaru Simanu Du'ùzu Abu Ulûlû Tašrîtu Araḥsamna Kisilimu Tebêtu Šabâtu Addâru JULIAN March/April April/May May/June June/July July/August August/Sept. September/Oct. October/Nov. November/Dec. December/Jan. Jannuary/Feb. February/March i ii iii iv v vi vii viii ix x xi xii PALEO-ASSYRIAN Ṣip’im Qarrâtim Kanwarta Te’inâtim Kuzallu Allanâtim Bêltî-ekallim Ša sarratim Narmak Aššur ša kînâtim Maḫḫurili Ab šarrâni Ḫubur ASSYRIAN Ṣippu Qarrâtu Kalmartu dSin Kuzallu Allanâtu Belêt-ekalli Ša sarrâte Ša kênâte Muḫḫur ilâni Abû šarrâni Ḫubur Under the increasing influence of international relations, caused by new political and trade links, the Assyrian calendar is gradually replaced by the standard Mesopotamian calendar established by the Babylonian king Samsu-iluna (1654-1616). However two major issues stand out these calendars: 1) the Babylonian contracts are frequently dated: "day D, month M, year Y of King-so" while the Assyrian contracts are sometimes (1% of cases)172 dated: "day D, month M, eponym so and so", 2) the Assyrians, unlike the Babylonians, never mention astronomical observations, which implies a lack of synchronization between the solar year (365 days) with 12 lunar months (354 days) through intercalary months. This fundamental difference can be detected by 1) military campaigns that took place (almost) always outside of the rainy season, between the spring equinox (month I of the Babylonian calendar) and the autumnal equinox (month VII) and 2) a statement of contracts in some seasons173 (period 1800-1700 BCE): spring (vernal equinox on April; 5) winter (winter solstice on January 5;) harvest (summer solstice on July 8); the end of harvest and the beginning of plowing in autumn (autumn equinox on October 7). Contracts of Assyrian merchants sometimes associate a month to a season. The one sent to Ilî-âLUM (ca. 1800 BCE) parallels the month of Assur Narmak with spring, another addressed to Šu-Hubur (from the same period) juxtaposes the term of the year with the harvest174 (July). Another contract, whose Iddin-Suen is the guarantor, put the month of 175 Ṣip’im at harvest time . A second set of contracts and letters, when Šamšî-Adad annexed Mari (1697-1680), shows that there was a lag of 5 months between the Amorite calendar of Paleo-Assyrian months are preceded by Akkadian word waraḫ "lunation" and Assyrian months by Sumerian word ITI "month". M.E. COHEN - The Cultic Calendars of the Ancient Near East Maryland 1993 Ed. CDL Press pp. 237-247, 297-305. 172 C. MICHEL – Correspondance des marchands de Kaniš au début du IIe millénaire avant J.-C. in: Littératures Anciennes du Proche-Orient 19 (Cerf, 2001) pp. 547-548. 173 K.R. VEENHOF, J. EIDEM – Mesopotamia. The Old Assyrian Period in: Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 160/5 (2008) pp. 234-245. 174 R. LABAT – Unusual Eponymy-datings from Mari and Assyria in: Revue d'Assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale 74:1 (1974) pp. 15-20. 175 J. G. DERCKSEN – The beginning of the Old Assyrian year in: Nouvelles Assyriologiques Brèves et Utilitaires 2011 N°4 pp. 90-91. 170 171 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES 59 Šamšî-Adad (who died in early Ṣip’im)176 and the one of Mari177. Some of these texts178 put in connection the month of Ṣip’im with the harvest (in July) and the month of Te’inâtim with the harvest of late figs (in September / October): N° MARI N° ŠAMŠÎ-ADAD (*) N° PALEO-ASSYRIAN JULIAN # i ii iii iv v vi vii viii ix x xi xii Ṣip’im July (harvest) August September October (figs) November December January (winter) February March April (spring) May June 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 179 VI VII VIII IX X XI XII I II III IV V i° ii° iii° iv° v° vi° vii° viii° ix° x° xi° xii° Ḫubur (ḫilib) Kinûnum Dagan Lîlîatum Bêlet-bîrî Kiskissum Ebûrum Urâḫum Malkânum Laḫḫum Abum Ḫibirtum i* ii* iii* iv* v* vi* vii* viii* ix* x* xi* xii* Niqmum Kinûnum Tamhîrum Nabrûm Mammîtum Mana Ayyarum Niggalum Maqrânum Du'uzum Abum Tîrum (vii) (viii) (ix) (x) (xi) (xii) (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) Qarrâtim Kanwarta Te’inâtim Kuzallu Allanâtim Bêltî-ekallim Ša sarratim Narmak Aššur ša kînâtim Maḫḫurili Ab šarrâni Ḫubur These equivalences show that the paleo-Assyrian calendar was not synchronized with the spring equinox as the Babylonian calendar was. Ṣip’im marks the beginning of the Assyrian year, since a multi-year contract is completed in conjunction with this month (July at that time) and another (TPAK 1, 98) reports that it is the revival (edâš) [of the year]. Since no Assyrian contract is completely dated, it is not possible to establish an exact correspondence between months, in addition, the two series (in 1800 and 1700 BCE), being separated by a period of about 100 years, the coincidence with the seasons is fortuitous since 98 solar years = 101 lunar years. The following inscription180 of Tiglath-pileser I (1115-1076) containing a double date can be used to synchronize the Assyrian calendar: I crossed the Euphrates 28 times, 2 times in one year, in pursuit of the Arameans aḫlamû (...) I captured the palaces of Babylon which belonged to Marduk-nadîn-ahhê king of Karduniash181, and I burned them. In the eponym of Aššur-šumu-ereš (and) in the eponym of Ninuaya, 2 times, I drove a battle of chariots online against Marduk-nadîn-ahhê king of Karduniash, and I defeated him (...) Month of Hibur, equivalent of the (Babylonian) month of Kislev, 18th day [eponym] of Taklak-ana-Aššur. Another inscription says: I crossed the Euphrates [27?] times, 2 times in one year, in pursuit of the Arameans aḫlamû (...) Month of Kuzallu, 13th day, eponym of Ninuaya son of Aššur-aplu-lišir. Depending on the date at the end of the first inscription, the Babylonian calendar had become the reference. Assyrian kings performing a traditional military campaign each year, the mention of 28 crossings of the Euphrates, including 2 in one year, implies to date this inscription shortly after the year 1088 (= 1115 - 27). Thus, at that time (in 1088 BCE), the 12th month of the Assyrian calendar (Ḫubur) matched the 9th month of the Babylonian calendar (Kislev), which confirms their desynchronization. The Babylonian year began on 1st Nisan, or April 12 in 1088 BCE, when the Assyrian year began on 1st Ṣippu or January 13 in 1088 BCE. C. MICHEL – Correspondance des marchands de Kaniš au début du IIe millénaire avant J.-C. in: Littératures Anciennes du Proche-Orient 19 (Cerf, 2001) pp. 309-310, 376-377. 177 D. CHARPIN, N. ZIEGLER – Florilegium marianum V. Mari et le Proche-Orient à l'époque amorrite in: Mémoires de N.A.B.U. 6 (2003) pp. 155-156. 178 J. G. DERCKSEN – Weeks, Months and Years in Old Assyrian Chronology in: Bibliotheca Orientalis LXVII 3/4 (2011) pp. 234-243. 179 Months inside brackets refer to the old numbering assuming a beginning of the Assyrian year at the winter solstice. The calendar of Mari begins at Urâḫum (= (w)arḫum "month") and ends at Ebûrum ("Harvest"), to the autumn equinox (October). 180 A.K. GRAYSON – Assyrian Royal Inscriptions part 2 Wiesbaden 1976 Ed. Otto Harrassowitz pp. 24-29. 181 A synchronic list places the event in the 2nd year of Marduk-nadin-ahhê (1101-1083). 176 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 60 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY The presence of a double date in the reign Tiglath-pileser I shows that the new calendar adopted by the Assyrians (the Babylonian calendar) was not yet familiar. This change, which occurred shortly before the reign of Tiglath-pileser I, implies a desynchronization of eponyms since the beginning of the Assyrian year began on 1st Ṣippu while the Babylonian year began on 1st Nisan. The eponym marking each new Assyrian year was therefore chosen from the month of Nisan and not from the month of Ṣippu, for practical reasons. Indeed, the equivalence: 1 year = 1 eponym = 1 campaign, is generally verified but, for reasons of stewardship (the army on campaign had to be fed, in addition, the movements should be done on practicable grounds) military campaigns took place outside the rainy season, between the spring equinox (month I) and the autumnal equinox (month VII). The completion of two campaigns in one year is indeed exceptional. The number of years (Nb) is equal to the number of campaigns minus one: month -1089 1 -1088 -1087 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 X XI XII I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX i ii iii iv v vi vii viii ix x xi xii i ii iii iv v vi vii viii ix x xi xii i ii iii iv v vi vii viii ix x xi xii Ṣippu Qarrâtu Kalmartu dSin Kuzallu Allanâtu Belêt-ekalli Ša sarrâte Ša kênâte Muḫḫur ilâni Abû šarrâni Ḫubur Ṣippu Qarrâtu Kalmartu dSin Kuzallu Allanâtu Belêt-ekalli Ša sarrâte Ša kênâte Muḫḫur ilâni Abû šarrâni Ḫubur Ṣippu Qarrâtu Kalmartu dSin Kuzallu Allanâtu Belêt-ekalli Ša sarrâte Ša kênâte Muḫḫur ilâni Abû šarrâni Ḫubur Nb 26 year King / eponym [25] Tiglath-pileser I [26] Ninuaya son of Aššur-aplu-lišir [27] Taklak-ana-Aššur 27 (inscription at the end of the former Assyrian year) 28 [28] (Eponym) The beginning of regnal years is different depending on dating systems (in 1088 BCE): 1st Nisan (12 April) with accession for Babylonians and for Judeans, 1st Ṣippu (13 January) with accession for Assyrians, 1st Thot (22 May) without accession for Egyptians, 1st Tishri (5 October) without accession for Israelites (the accession year is the length time between the accession and the first year of reign, "with accession" means that the accession year is reckoned as "year 0" and "without accession" means that the accession year is reckoned as "year 1"). Thus, according to the Assyrian calendar of this period, year 1 of Tiglath-pileser I, based on eponyms, not 1st Ṣippu, began on 1st Nisan (April -1114, and accession year in -1115). A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES 61 It is noted that during the reign of Aššur-dân I (1179-1133) eponyms still begin 1st Nisan, instead of 1 Ṣippu, and that Assyrian lunar years without intercalation remain the norm. However, as the Babylonian year began on 1st Nisan (shortly after the spring equinox) Assyrian years thus coincide with Babylonian lunar years (with intercalation). The period between Aššur-dân I and Tiglath-pileser I is therefore transitional. The previous system of dating is still used during the reign of Aššur-dân I. Indeed, the 46th year of Aššur-dân I began to the eponym Pišqîya (April -1133) then Ninurtatukultî-Aššur reigned from months Ša kênâte to Abu šarrâni (from February to April 1132), then Mutakkil-Nusku briefly (few days), then year 1 of Aššur-reš-iši I which began to the eponym Sîn-šêya. There is a gap182 between the eponyms that start on 1st Nisan and Assyrian year beginning on 1st Ṣippu, June 16 in -1132: month -1133 -1132 -1131 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 X XI XII I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII I II III IV V VI Assyrian viii ix x xi xii i ii iii iv v vi vii viii ix x xi xii i ii iii iv v vi vii viii ix x xi xii i ii iii iv Ša sarrâte Ša kênâte Muḫḫur ilâni Abû šarrâni Ḫubur Ṣippu Qarrâtu Kalmartu dSin Kuzallu Allanâtu Belêt-ekalli Ša sarrâte Ša kênâte Muḫḫur ilâni Abû šarrâni Ḫubur Ṣippu Qarrâtu Kalmartu dSin Kuzallu Allanâtu Belêt-ekalli Ša sarrâte Ša kênâte Muḫḫur ilâni Abû šarrâni Ḫubur Ṣippu Qarrâtu Kalmartu dSin year King 45 Aššur-dân I 46 eponym Pišqîya 0 Ninurta-tukultî-Aššur 1 Mutakkil-Nusku Aššur-reš-iši I Sîn-šêya 2 The following synchronism shows that before King Aššur-dân I, Assyrian eponyms started on 1st Ṣippu, not on 1st Nisan. Actually, the capture of Babylon and the replacement of its king (Kaštiliašu IV) are dated to (Ina)-Aššur-šuma-aṣbat183, the 19th eponym184 of Tukultî-Ninurta I, which corresponds to the year 8 of Kaštiliašu IV (1233-1225) dated 1225 BCE185. The order of eponyms from the capture of Babylon is uncertain186, but the sequence of eponyms in this period seem: Ina-Aššur-šuma-aṣbat (No. 18), Ninu’aju (No. 19), Bêr-nâdin-apli (No. 20), Abi-ili son of Katiri (No. 21), Šalmanu-šuma-uṣur (No. 22). Y. BLOCH – Solving the Problems of the Assyrian King List: Toward a Precise Reconstruction of the Middle Assyrian Chronology in: Journal of Ancient Civilizations Vol. 25 (2010, Northeast Normal University), pp. 1-87. 183 E.C. CANCIK-KIRSCHBAUM – Zu den Eponymenfolgen des 13.Jahrhunderts v. Chr. in Dûr-Katlimmu in: Berichte der Ausgrabung Tall Seh Hamad 4 (1996) pp. 9-18. 184 H. FREYDANK – Zu den Eponymenfolgen des 13.Jahrhunderts v. Chr. in Dûr-Katlimmu in: Altorientalische Forschungen 32 (2005) 1 pp. 45-56. 185 The capture of Babylon is shifted by 10 years (in -1215) if it is calibrated on the current Egyptian chronology. 186 Y. BLOCH – The Order of Eponyms in the Reign of Tukultî-Ninurta I in: Orientalia 79:1 (2010) pp. 1-35. 182 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 62 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY -1242 -1241 -1240 -1239 -1238 -1237 -1236 -1235 -1234 -1233 -1232 -1231 -1230 -1229 -1228 -1227 -1226 -1225 -1224 -1223 -1222 -1221 -1220 -1219 -1218 -1217 -1216 -1215 -1214 -1213 -1212 -1211 -1210 -1209 -1208 -1207 -1206 -1205 ASSYRIAN EPONYM Tukultî-Ninurta I Qibi-Aššur Mušallim-Adad Adad-bêl-gabbe Šunu-qardû Libur-zanin-Aššur Aššur-nâdin-apli Urad-ilani (?) Adad-uma’’i Abattu Abattu Aššur-da’’an Etel-pî-Aššur Uṣur-namkûr-šarri Aššur-bêl-ilâni Aššur-zera-iddina Aššur-mušabši (?) Ina-Aššur-šuma-aṣbat Ninu’aju Bêr-nâdin-apli Abi-ili Šalmanu-šuma-uṣur Ellil-nâdin-apli (?) Kaštiliašu (?) Bêr-išmanni (?) Ilî-padâ (?) Qarrad-Aššur (?) Sarniqu (?) Ninurta-nâdin-apli (?) Urad-Kube (?) Mudammiq-Nusku (?) Kidin-Aššur (?) Sin-uballiṭ (?) Nabu-bela-uṣur (?) Riš-Aššur (?) Aššur-nirari (?) Samedu (?) Aššur-nâdin-apli SON OF RANK 1st Ibašši-ili Šalmanu-qarrâd King King Adad-šamši Adad-šumu-lêšir Kurbânu Aššur-nâdin-šume Aššur-iddin Katiri Aššur-iddin Aššur-iddin Bukruni Aššur-bel-ilani Ibašši-ili Šarri Aššur-zera-iddina 2nd 3nd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th 21th 22th 23th 24th 25th 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 31th 32th 33th 34th 35th 36th 37th 1st 2nd BABYLONIAN KING [29]/[0] Šagarakti-šuriaš [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] Kaštiliašu IV [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] Enlil-nâdin-šumi [18]/1 Kadašman-Harbe II [19]/2 Adad-šuma-iddina [20]/3 [21]/4 [22]/5 [23]/6 [24]/7 [25] Adad-šuma-uṣur [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] YEAR [36]/[0] [1] YEAR 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13/0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8/0 1/0 1/0 1 2 3 4 5 6/0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Counting reigns by Babylonian scribes seems incorrect since Tukultî-Ninurta I regimented Babylonia (not reigned) for 7 years, through three successive Viceroys (whose first two were killed by the King of Elam) or 1.5 years, 1.5 years and 6 years, giving a total of 9 years187. In fact, the system used is the cause of these differences. The 7 years of Tukultî-Ninurta I match the 7 eponyms and the 3 years (= 1.5 + 1.5) of the vassal kings match the 3 eponyms or 2 years reign, because 1.5 year was no sense in the Babylonian system (the Assyrian year started on 1st Ṣippu, or March 27 in -1225)188. J.M. MUNN RANKIN – Assyrian Military Power, 1300-1200 B.C. in: The Cambridge Ancient History Vol. 2 Part 2 (2000, Cambridge University Press), pp. 287-291. 188 N = 1225, (N – 1088)x365,24219 = (141)x12x29,530588 + 72 => 72 + 13 = 85th day of the year = 27 March. 187 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES Month -1225 1 -1224 -1223 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 X XI XII I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII I II III Assyrian x xi xii i ii iii iv v vi vii viii ix x xi xii i ii iii iv v vi vii viii ix x xi xii i ii iii Muḫḫur ilâni Abû šarrâni Ḫubur Ṣippu Qarrâtu Kalmartu dSin Kuzallu Allanâtu Belêt-ekalli Ša sarrâte Ša kênâte Muḫḫur ilâni Abû šarrâni Ḫubur Ṣippu Qarrâtu Kalmartu dSin Kuzallu Allanâtu Belêt-ekalli Ša sarrâte Ša kênâte Muḫḫur ilâni Abû šarrâni Ḫubur Ṣippu Qarrâtu Kalmartu 63 [A] 17 [B] 7 18 8 Ina-Aššur-šuma-aṣbat 0 (Babylon taken) [B] Enlil-nâdin-šumi (Babylonian Viceroy) 1 Ninu’aju son of Aššur-iddin 0 [B] Kadašman-Harbe II (Babylonian Viceroy) 1 Bêr-nâdin-apli 19 20 King eponym [A] Tukultî-Ninurta I Assyrian [B] Kaštiliašu IV Babylonian Tukultî-Ninurta I ruled over Babylonia for 7 years from the 19th to the 26th eponym. Enlil-nâdin-šumi and Kadašman-Harbe II each of them ruled Babylonia for 1.5 years from the 18th to the 20th eponym. The third pro-Assyrian vassal king, Adad-šuma-iddina, was subsequently reversed by Babylonian officers at the 26th eponym. The Assyrians would have liked to impose their candidate Enlil-kudur-uṣur (?), but the Babylonians settled Adad-šuma-uṣur, freeing themselves from the Assyrian suzerainty. It is then possible, through the fall of Mitanni, to determine under which Assyrian king took place the calendar change (without intercalation then with), because it is precisely dated. This remarkable event (between April and October) is dated in year 7 of Shalmaneser I and coincides with the accession of Kadašman-Enlil II (-1264), now between these two events there are 152 eponyms (= 23 + 37 + 4 + 6 + 5 + 13 + 46 +18), or 152 "years" instead of the 149 solar years (= 1264 - 1115). ASSYRIAN KING Shalmaneser I Tukultî-Ninurta I Aššur-nâdin-apli Aššur-nêrârî III Enlil-kudurri-uṣur Ninurta-apil-Ekur Aššur-dân I Ninurta-tukultî-Aššur Mutakkil-Nusku Aššur-rêš-iši I Tiglath-pileser I Reign with intercalation 1274-1267 1267-1244 1244-1227 1227-1207 1207-1203 1203-1197 1197-1192 1192-1179 1179-1133 1133 1133 1133-1115 1115-1076 7 23 17 20 4 6 5 13 46 0 0 18 39 Reign without intercalation 1271-1264 1264-1242 1242-1225 1225-1206 1206-1203 1203-1197 1197-1192 1192-1179 (-1) gap 3 (-1) 2 (-1) 1 0 0 0 If it were lunar years of 354.36706 days (instead of the solar year of 365.24219 days), the collapse of Mitanni would fall November -1262. As the period between the two SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 64 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY events is 149 years, the eponyms thus began 1st Nisan from the reign of Aššur-dân I (11791133) instead of 1 Ṣippu marking the beginning of Assyrian year. The collapse of Mitanni (called Hanigalbat by the Assyrians) is dated in year 7 of Shalmaneser I, or during his 8th eponym189 among a set of 30, the latter being Ubru (correspondence between Babylonian and Assyrian years is approximate)190. ASSYRIAN EPONYM -1271 -1270 -1269 -1268 -1267 -1266 -1265 -1264 -1263 -1262 -1261 -1260 -1259 -1258 -1257 -1256 -1255 -1254 -1253 -1252 -1251 -1250 -1249 -1248 -1247 -1246 -1245 -1244 -1243 -1242 -1241 Salmanazar I Mušabši’u-Sibitti (?) Šerrîya Aššur-kâšid Aššur-mušabši Aššur-mušabši Qibi-Aššur Aššur-nâdin-šumâte Abî-ilî Aššur-âlik-pâni Mušallim-Aššur Ilî-qarrad (?) Qibi-Aššur Ina-pî-Aššur-lišlim (?) Adad-šamši Kidin-Sîn Bêr-šumu-lêšir Aššur-dammeq Bêr-bêl-lîte Ištar-êriš Lullâyu Aššur-kettî-îde Ekaltâyu Aššur-da’issunu Riš-Adad (?) Nabû-bêla-uṣur Usât-Marduk Ellil-ašared Ittabši-dên-Aššur Ubru Tukultî-Ninurta I Qibi-Aššur SON OF Iddin-Mêr Anu-mušallim Šamaš-aḫa-iddina (collapse of Mitanni) Aššur-šumu-lêšer Ṣilli-Marduk Adad-šumu-lêšer Adad-têya Abî-ilî Šulmanu-qarrâd Adad-šumu-iddina Ululayu Ibašši-ili RANK 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 1 2 regnal year [0] [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] BABYLONIAN KING Kadašman-Turgu Kadašman-Enlil II Kudur-Enlil Šagarakti-šuriaš regnal year 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18/0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9/0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9/0 1 2 3 [29]/[0] [1] 4 5 The reign of Shalmaneser I can be restored through the prosopography of 30 eponyms attributed to him, with the following uncertainties: Ø The place of some eponyms (those with?) is not certain. Ø It is possible that some eponyms are not canonical, but this possibility is very low. Indeed, when a eponym died in the year of his eponymy, he was replaced by another eponym who became canonical. However, among the 84 Assyrian dated reigns (No. 33 to No. 117), nine have a duration of 0 year (overrepresentation due to assassinations), Y. BLOCH – The Order of Eponyms in the Reign of Shalmaneser I in: Ugarit-Forschungen Band 40/2008 (Münster 2009) pp. 143-178. 190 The 30 eponyms of Shalmaneser I correspond to 30 lunar years and equivalent to around 29 solar years. Thus the accession of Shalmaneser I fell in -1271 but the accession of Tukultî-Ninurta I fell in -1242. 189 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES one lasted 1 year and one lasted 2 years, giving an average of two dead during his 1st year of reign out of 84 cases recorded (1 out 40). Ø The contract referenced MI 82970 indicating that: a reception of wool, recorded by the scribe Nabû-Mudammeq, dated 26th day of the month Ša-sarrâte, eponymous year of Aššur-nâdin-šumâte, only specifies that the transaction took place: the day when the king went to Hanigalbat and that the country of Habriuri revolted. The collapse of Mitanni had therefore take place (just little?) before this date. Years of Ramses II's reign started in June (from his accession: 27th day of month XI°) and Assyrian year began191 on June 5 in -1264. month -1264 1 -1263 -1262 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 VII° VIII° IX° X° XI° XII° I° II° III° IV° V° VI° VII° VIII° IX° X° XI° XII° I° II° III° IV° V° VI° VII° VIII° IX° X° XI° XII° I° X XI XII I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII I II III IV viii ix x xi xii i ii iii iv v vi vii viii ix x xi xii i ii iii iv v vi vii viii ix x xi xii i ii [A] 19 [B] 17 [C] [11?] [D] [6] 18 20 0 [7] [E] King [3] [A] Ramses II Egyptian [B] Kadašman-Turgu Babylonian [C] Šattuara II Mitannian [4] [D] Salmanazar I Assyrian [E] Ḫattušili III Hittite Collapse of Mitanni (Hanigalbat) ? *** *** 1 21 [5] [B] Kadašman-Enlil II [8] *** *** Peace treaty between Ramses II and Ḫattušili III 2 22 The collapse of Mitanni just happened [6] [9] The system of eponyms is an institution typically Assyrian (bît limmi of Aššur), these calendars dated by eponyms seem to have had the same type of functioning (no intercalary month). As the eponyms of Assyria appear in some texts from Hattuša, the Hittite calendar should look like the lunar calendar of Assyrian type, but religious festivals occurring at regular intervals (monthly, annually or on a longer cycle) particularly in spring, beginning of the Hittite year (as the festival purulli marking the New Year192) and in autumn, it is unclear whether Hittite kings counted their reigns in solar years (as the Babylonians) or lunar (as the Assyrians). In his annals, the first 10 years of Hittite king Muršili (1322-1295) are punctuated by seasonal religious festivals193 (and therefore solar). L'année assyrienne lunaire (AL) débute le 13 janvier en -1088, or comme elle se décale de 10,875 jours (= AS – AL) chaque année solaire, l'année N (>1088) est décalée de (N – 1088 = AS)x10,875 jours par rapport à celle de -1088. Calcul de ce décalage: (AS)x365,24219 = (AL)x12x29,530588 + J, le nombre J + 13 donne la position du jour dans l'année julienne. Exemple, si N = 1264, (N – 1088)x365,24219 = (181)x12x29,530588 + 142 => 142 + 13 =155e jour de l'année julienne = 5 juin. Years of reign in brackets are calculated from the estimated duration of these reigns. 192 H. OTTEN – Ein Text zum Neujahrsfest aus Boğazköy in: Orientalistische Literaturzeitung 51 (1956), pp. 101-105. P. H. J. HOUWINK VAN TEN CATE -Brief Comments on the Hittite Cult Calendar: The Outline of the AN.TAḪ.ŠUM Festival in: Kaniššuwar, A Tribute to Hans Güterbock (dir. H. A. Hoffner Jr. et G. Beckman), Chicago, 1986. 193 T. BRYCE – The Kingdom of the Hittites Oxford 2005 Ed. Oxford University Press pp. 190-220. 191 65 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 66 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY Chronology of Assyrian reigns can therefore be fully reconstructed starting from Aššur-uballiṭ II (612-609) up to Êrišu I (No. 33), since all the years of reign between these two kings are known, being aware that Assyrian years are solar up to Aššur-dân I (11791133) and lunar prior to this king. The durations of four reigns are missing (No. 65, 66, 37, and 38), but they can be calculated through synchronisms from Assyrian annals that indicate the exact length between the reconstruction of some famous temples194. Ø Shalmaneser I (No. 77), for example, states in his inscriptions that the temple of Assur (Ehursagkurkurra) was built by Ušpiya and rebuilt by Erišu I, then 159 years later by Šamšî-Adad I and 580 years later by himself. Shalmaneser I do not specify the point used to determine these durations, but Esarhaddon gives a figure of 126 years for the duration between Erišu I and Šamšî-Adad I, proving that Shalmaneser I included the 33-year reign of Šamšî-Adad I in his calculation (159 = 126 +33). The 159 years have therefore to start at the end of the reign of Erišu I to the end of the reign of ŠamšîAdad I and 580 years are completed at the beginning of the reign of Shalmaneser I (in 1271 BCE). So there are 421 lunar years ago (421 = 580 - 159) between the reigns of Šamšî-Adad I and Shalmaneser I, or a duration of 409 solar years195, which sets the end of the reign of Šamšî-Adad I in 1680 (= 1271 + 409) Ø Tiglath-pileser I (No. 87) states in his annals having rebuilt the temple called Anu-Adad at the beginning of his reign (in 1115), which was built 641 years earlier by Šamšî-Adad I. These 641 years (= 68 solar + 573 lunar) correspond to 624 (= 68 + 556) solar years, which dates back the reign of Šamšî-Adad I in 1739 (= 1115 + 624) instead of 1712, but the scribe has probably used a King list with a reign of 40 years instead of 11 for IšmeDagan I (since Šamšî-Adad I died in the year 17 of Hammurabi and Išme-Dagan I died in the year 28 this king)196, which reduces the 641 years to 612 (= 641 -29), or a duration of 596 solar years, which fixes the beginning of the reign of Samsi-Adad I in 1711 (= 1115 + 596), in good agreement with the previous date of 1712 (= 1680 + 33 - 1). Ø Esarhaddon (No. 112) also claims to have rebuilt the temple of Aššur. In an inscription (Assur A) dated eponym Issi-Adad-anînu (679), at the beginning of his reign, he claims that 129 years elapsed between the reconstruction of Erišu I and the one of Šamšî-Adad I, and 434 years later Shalmaneser I has rebuilt again the temple, then 580 years later Esarhaddon finally rebuilt the temple. The information of Esarhaddon seems accurate. Indeed, the first term is correct, because it actually falls in the reign of Shalmaneser I (679 + 580 = 1259). The duration between the beginning of the reign of Esarhaddon and the end of the reign of Šamšî-Adad I is 1014 years (= 580 solar + 434 lunar), which corresponds to 1001 solar years, that sets the end of the reign of Šamšî-Adad I in 1680 (= 679 + 1001). The reign of this king can therefore be set from 1712 to 1680. His death in the year 17 of Hammurabi allows to anchor it to the Babylonian chronology197. After his death the documents dated in different calendars allows some synchronisms198. Ø The paleo-Assyrian dynasty begins after the fall of Ur199 with king Puzur-Aššur I (No. 30), which enables us to date the fall of this city around -1912 (the average length of an Assyrian reign is 14 years over all the period). H. GASCHE, J.A. ARMSTRONG, S.W. COLE – Dating the Fall of Babylon in: Mesopotamian History and Environment (1998) Chicago pp. 57-80. 195 1 solar year = 1 lunar year x 1.0306889 (= 365.24219/12x29,530588). 196 H. GASCHE, J.A. ARMSTRONG, S.W. COLE – Dating the Fall of Babylon in: Mesopotamian History and Environment (1998) Chicago p. 52. 197 H. GASCHE, J.A. ARMSTRONG, S.W. COLE & V.G. GURZADYAN – A correction to Dating the Fall of Babylon in: Akkadica 108 (1998) pp.1-4. 198 D.A. BARREYRA FRACAROLI – The Chronology of Zimri-Lim's Reign A Report in: Aula Orientalis XXIX:2 (2011) pp.185-198. 199 F. JOANNÈS - Dictionnaire de la civilisation mésopotamienne Paris 2001 Éd. Robert Laffont pp. 617-621,823. 194 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES Overview of the period 1954-609: N° 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 ASSYRIAN KING Sulili (Zariqum) Kikkia Akia Puzur-Aššur I Šalim-ahum Ilu-šumma Êrišu I Ikunum Sargon I Puzur-Aššur II Naram-Sîn Êrišu II Šamšî-Adad I Išme-Dagan I Aššur-dugul Aššur-apla-idi Nâṣir-Sîn Sîn-namir Ipqi-Ištar Adad-ṣalûlu Adasi Bêlu-bâni Libbaya Šarma-Adad I Puzur-Sîn Bazaya Lullaya Šû-Ninûa Šarma-Adad II Êrišu III Šamšî-Adad II Išme-Dagan II Šamšî-Adad III Aššur-nêrârî I Puzur-Aššur III Enlil-nâṣir I Nûr-ili Aššur-šadûni Aššur-rabi I Aššur-nâdin-aḫḫe I Enlil-naṣir II Aššur-nêrârî II Aššur-bêl-nišešu Aššur-rê’im-nišešu Aššur-nâdin-aḫḫe II Erîba-Adad I Aššur-uballiṭ I Enlil-nêrârî Arik-dên-ili Adad-nêrârî I Salmanazar I 78 79 80 81 82 Tukultî-Ninurta I Aššur-nâdin-apli Aššur-nêrârî III Enlil-kudurri-uṣur Ninurta-apil-Ekur Reign 1954-1940 1940-1927 1927-1913 1913-1900 1900-1886 1886-1873 1873-1834 1834-1821 1821-1782 1782-1774 1774-1722 1722-1712 1712-1680 1680-1670 1670-1664 1664 1664 1664 1664 1664 1664 1664-1654 1654-1638 1638-1626 1626-1615 1615-1588 1588-1582 1582-1568 1568-1565 1565-1553 1553-1547 1547-1531 1531-1516 1516-1491 1491-1467 1467-1455 1455-1443 1443-1443 1443-1433 1433-1424 1424-1418 1418-1411 1411-1403 1403-1395 1395-1385 1385-1358 1358-1323 1323-1313 1313-1302 1302-1271 1271-1259 1259-1242 1242-1206 1206-1203 1203-1197 1197-1192 1192-1179 length [14] [14] [14] [14] [14] [14] 40 14 40 8 [54] [10] 33 11 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 17 12 12 28 6 14 3 13 6 16 16 26 24 13 12 0 [10*] [10*] 6 7 9 8 10 27 36 10 12 32 12 18 37 4 6 5 13 # (-1) (-1) synchronisms First lists of eponyms (lost) Fall of Ur (in -1912) Beginning of the Paleo-Assyrian period (-1) (-1) 40 First Chronicles (-1) 159 (eponym starting on 1st Sippu) (-1) (-2) (-1) year 33 of Šamšî-Adad I = (-1) 434 year 17 of Hammurabi 41* Mut-Aškur/ Rimu-x/ Asîsum (-1) (-1) (-1) (-1) (-1) (-1) (-1) (-1) (-1) (-1) (-1) (-1) 434 eponyms from Išme-Dagan I (-1) 580 452 = 434 + 12 (-1) (-1) - 67 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 68 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 Aššur-dân I Ninurta-tukultî-Aššur Mutakkil-Nusku Aššur-rêš-iši I Tiglath-phalazar I Ašared-apil-Ekur Aššur-bêl-kala Erîba-Adad II Šamšî-Adad IV Aššurnaṣirpal I Salmanazar II Aššur-nêrârî IV Aššur-rabi II Aššur-rêš-iši II Tiglath-phalazar II Aššur-dân II Adad-nêrârî II Tukultî-Ninurta II Aššurnaṣirpal II Salmanazar III Šamšî-Adad V Adad-nêrârî III Salmanazar IV Aššur-dân III Aššur-nêrârî V Tiglath-phalazar III Salmanazar V Sargon II Sennacherib Assarhaddon Aššurbanipal [Aššur-etel-ilâni] Aššur-etel-ilâni Sin-šar-iškun Aššur-uballiṭ II 1179-1133 1133 1133 1133-1115 1115-1076 1076-1074 1074-1056 1056-1054 1054-1050 1050-1031 1031-1019 1019-1013 1013-972 972-967 967-935 935-912 912-891 891-884 884-859 859-824 824-811 811-783 783-773 773-755 755-745 745-727 727-722 722-705 705-681 681-669 669-627 [630-627] 627-626 626-612 612-609 46 0 0 18 39 2 18 2 4 19 12 6 41 5 32 23 21 7 25 35 13 28 10 18 10 18 5 17 24 12 42 [3] 1 14 3 (72) (eponym starting on 1st Nisan: as Babylonian intercalation) (Babylonian calendar used) - This chronology obtained from Assyrian king lists is confirmed on the period from Êrišu I (No. 33) to Aššur-dugul (No. 40) thanks to lists of eponyms200, in addition, some comments associated with eponyms allow to fix several synchronisms, especially the start and the duration of certain reigns. No. ASSYRIAN KING year Comments from chronicles 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 40 14 40 8 [54] [10] 33 6 Êrišu I Ikunum Sargon I Puzur-Aššur II Naram-Sîn Êrišu II Šamšî-Adad I Aššur-dugul year 1 eponym Šu-Ištar son of Abila (No. 1) year 1 eponym Iddin-Suen brother of Šuli (No. 41) year 1 eponym Aššur-malik son of Agatum (No. 55) year 1 eponym Aššur-nada son of Puzur-Ana (No. 95) year 1 eponym Šu-Su’en son of Babilum (No. 103) Šamšî-Adad I conquers Assyria, eponym Ibni-Ištar (No. 157) Death of Šamšî-Adad I, eponym Ṭab-ṣilla-Aššur (No. 199) Usurper Number of eponyms 40 14 40 8 54* 10* 33* ? Overview of the period 1873-1664 year by year: K.R. VEENHOF – Some displaced Tablets from Kârum Kanesh (Kültepe) C. GÜNBATTI – An Eponym List (KEL G) from Kültepe G. KRYSZAT – Herrscher, Kult und Kulttradition in Anatolien nach den Quellen aus den altassyrischen Handelskolonien. Teil 3/1 in: Altorientalische Forschungen Band 38 (2008) 1 pp. 10-27, 103-132, 156-171. G. KRYSZAT – Herrscher, Kult und Kulttradition in Anatolien nach den Quellen aus den altassyrischen Handelskolonien. Teil 3/2 in: Altorientalische Forschungen Band 38 (2008) 2 pp. 195-219. 200 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES -1873 -1872 -1871 -1870 -1869 -1868 -1867 -1866 -1865 -1864 -1863 -1862 -1861 -1860 -1859 -1858 -1857 -1856 -1855 -1854 -1853 -1852 -1851 -1850 -1849 -1848 -1847 -1846 -1845 -1844 -1843 -1842 -1841 -1840 -1839 -1838 -1837 -1836 -1835 -1834 -1833 -1832 -1831 -1830 -1829 -1828 -1827 -1826 -1825 -1824 -1823 -1822 -1821 -1820 -1819 -1818 -1817 N° EPONYM SON OF 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 Abila Iššuhum Kurub-Ištar Isaliya Kiki Iribum Iššuhum Šu-Ištar Šu-Kuttum Iddin-ili Šu-Anum Anah-ili Su’etaya Daya Ili-ellat Šamaš-ṭab Akusa Idnaya Quqadum Puzur-Ištar Laqipum Šu-Laban Šu-Belum Nab-Su’en Hadaya Ennum-Aššur Ikunum AŠ.DINGIR Buzutaya Šu-Ištar Iddin-Aššur Puzur-Aššur Quqadum Ibni-Adad Irišum Menanum Iddin-Su’en Puzur-Aššur Šûli Laqip Puzur-Ištar Aguwa Šû-Su’en Ennum-Aššur Enna-Su’en Ennanum Buzi Iddin-Suen Ikunum Dan-Wer Šu-Anum Il-massu Šu-Hubur Idua Laqip Šu-Anum Uku Aššur-malik Dan-Aššur Šu-Kubum Irišum Aššur-malik Aššur-malik Ibisua COMMENTS IN CHRONICLES accession of Êrišu I (beginning of the list KEL A) Šudaya Buzu Bedaki Babidi Kurub-Ištar Iššuhum Šu-Ištar Elali Begaya Šudaya Iddida Iššuhum Ammaya GUDU I.NUN Buzu Susaya Adad-rabi Begaya Šalim-ahum Idnaya Uphakum Zukua Erisu’a Adad-rabi Ṣilliya Begaya Pussanum Uphakum Adad-rabi brother of Šuli Šudaya Ahu-ahi Nerabtim Aššur-ṭab Šuli Ṣulili Puzur-Laba du hapirum Bila Panaka Puzur-Wer Ahu-ahi Idi-Aššur Agatum Enania Suen-nada 69 accession of Ikunum Šuli son of Šalmah accession of Sargon I 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 1 2 3 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 70 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY -1816 -1815 -1814 -1813 -1812 -1811 -1810 -1809 -1808 -1807 -1806 -1805 -1804 -1803 -1802 -1801 -1800 -1799 -1798 -1797 -1796 -1795 -1794 -1793 -1792 -1791 -1790 -1789 -1788 -1787 -1786 -1785 -1784 -1783 -1782 -1781 -1780 -1779 -1778 -1777 -1776 -1775 -1774 -1773 -1772 -1771 -1770 -1769 -1768 -1767 -1766 -1765 -1764 -1763 -1762 -1761 -1760 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 Bazia Puzur-Ištar Pišaḫ-Ili Asqudum Ili-pilaḫ Qulali Susaya Amaya Ipḫurum Kudanum Ili-bani Šu-Kubum Quqidi Abia Šu-Ištar Bazia Šu-Ištar Abia Salia Ibni-Adad Aḫmarši Sukkalia Iddin-Aššur Šudaya Al-ṭab Aššur-dammiq Puzur-Niraḫ Amur-Aššur Buzuzu Šu-Ḫubur Ilšu-rabi Alaḫum Ṭab-Aššur Elali Iddin-abum Adad-bani Aššur-iddin Aššur-nada Kubia Ili-dan Ṣilulu Aššur-nada Ikuppi-Ištar Buzutaya Innaya Šu-Su’en Aššur-malik Aššur-imitti Enna-Su’en Akutum Maṣi-ili Iddin-ahum Samaya Ili-alum Ennamanum Ennum-Aššur Enna-Su’en Hana-Narum Dadiya Bal-Tutu Sabasia Adin Lapiqum Damqum [-] [-] of Armourer Ili-ellat Laqip Ikunum Susaya Amur-Aššur Nur-Suen Šukutum Šepa-lim Ikunum, the Star Šu-Dagan Šabakuranum Baqqunum Malkum-išar Minanum Kubidi Ennanum Pilaḫ-Aššur Abarsisum Puzur-Suen Karria Ibbi-Suen Elali Bazia Inaḫ-ili Suḫarum Ikunum Narbitum Iddin-Aššur Šuli Puzur-Ana Karria Elali Uku Ili-binanni Ikua Šuli Amuraya Babilum Al-ahum Ili-bani Šu-Aššur Al-ahum Irišum Kudanum Šu-Belum Sukkalliya Aššur-malik Dunea Šu-Ištar [-] [-] 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Babylonian king 21 Sûmû-abum 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Sûmû-a-il 36 37 38 39 accession of Puzur-Aššur II 40 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 accession of Naram-Sîn 8 (beginning of the list MEC A) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 (beginning of the list KEL G) 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES -1759 -1758 -1757 -1756 -1755 -1754 -1753 -1752 -1751 -1750 -1749 -1748 -1747 -1746 -1745 -1744 -1743 -1742 -1741 -1740 -1739 -1738 -1737 -1736 -1735 -1734 -1733 -1732 -1731 -1730 -1729 -1728 -1727 -1726 -1725 -1724 -1723 -1722 -1721 -1720 -1719 -1718 -1717 -1716 -1715 -1714 -1713 -1712 -1711 -1710 -1709 -1708 -1707 -1706 -1705 -1704 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 Kapatiya Išme-Aššur Aššur-muttabbil Šu-Nirah Iddin-Abum Ili-dan Aššur-imitti Buṣiya Dadiya Puzur-Ištar Isaya Abu-šalim Aššur-re’i Ṭab-Aššur Šu-Rama Sin-išme’anni Aššur-malik Dan-Ea Enna-Sîn Aššur-balaṭi Enna-Sîn Iṭur-Aššur Šu-Belum Šarrum-Adad Šu-Laban Aššur-imitti Dadaya Dadaya Ah-šalim Uṣur-ši-Ištar Kataya Šu-Su’en Abu-šalim Šudaya Šu-Dadum Aššur-dugul Puzur-Ištar Atanah Irišum Aššur-ennam Ibni-Ištar Aššur-bel-malki Belanum Sukkallum Amur-Aššur Aššur-nišu Manawirum Idnaja Dadaya Puzur-Nirah Abiya Edinum Aššur-taklatu Isim-Su’en Adad-bani Abi-šagiš Ṭab-ṣilla-Aššur Iddin-Aššur Namiya [-] Ea-dan Azizum Azuzaya [-] Azua Iddin-Ištar Abiya Šu-Ilabrat Nur-ilišu Dagan-malkum Ilu-alum Ili-emuqi Uzua Uzua Šu-Haniš Abu-qar Iddin-abum Sîn-išme’anni Aššur-imitti 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Birth of Šamšî-Adad I 23 Assombrissement du soleil 24 25 Sabium 26 (end of the list KEL A) 27 28 29 (end of the list MEC A) 30 (beginning of the list MEC B) 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 Apil-Sîn 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 Šamšî-Adad I conquered Ekallatum 52 Ekallatum 53 Ekallatum (Êrišu II) 54 Šamšî-Adad I conquered Aššur 1 2 3 Êrišu II 4 Êrišu II Sîn-muballit 5 Êrišu II 6 7 8 (end of the list MEC B) 9 (beginning of the list MEC D) 10 (Assyrian reign of Šamšî-Adad I) 1 2 (end of the list MEC D) 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 71 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 72 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY -1703 -1702 -1701 -1700 -1699 -1698 -1697 -1696 -1695 -1694 -1693 -1692 -1691 -1690 -1689 -1688 -1687 -1686 -1685 -1684 -1683 -1682 -1681 -1680 -1679 -1678 -1677 -1676 -1675 -1674 -1673 -1672 -1671 -1670 -1669 -1668 -1667 -1666 -1665 -1664 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 Attal-šarri Dadaya Ani-m[alik] Idna-Aššur* Atanum* Aššur-taklatu* Haya-malik* Šalim-Aššur* Šalim-Aššur Ennam-Aššur Sîn-muballiṭ Riš-Šamaš Ibni-Adad Aššur-imitti Ahiyaya Ili-ellat Rigmanum Ikuppiya Asqudum Aššur-malik Awiliya Nimar-Su’en Adad-bani Ṭab-ṣilla-Aššur Ennam-Aššur Aššur-emuqi Abu-šalim Pussanum Ikuppi-Ištar Ahiya Beliya Ili-bani Aššur-taklaku Sassapum Ahu-waqar Kizurum Dadiya Yam-NE? Adad-bani Ennam-Aššur Ataya Ili-alum 10 11 12 (illegible part of the list KEL G) 13 14 (eponymous chronicle of Mari)201 15 Dudanum (beginning of the list MEC E) Hammurabi 16 Šalim-Anum 17 Uṣranu 18 (position uncertain) 19 20 21 22 23 Takigi (non canical eponym?) 24 Aššur-nišu 25 26 (alliance with Qatna) (Yasmah-Addu became vice-roy of Mari) 27 28 (total lunar eclipse dated 7/12/1684) 29 (end of the list MEC E) 30 31 32 death of Šamšî-Adad I 33 (accession of Išme-Dagan I) 1 2 3 Adad-rabi 4 5 Takiki 6 Enna-Su’en 7 8 9 Aššur-malik 10 (accession of Aššur-dugul) 11 1 2 3 4 Aššur-taklaku 5 Šamaya 6 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 This list of eponyms used for reconstituting Assyrian reigns (from several partial lists)202, contains the following difficulties: Ø The Assyrian king list compiled under Šamšî-Adad I states that the eponyms from Sulili (Zariqum) to Il-šumma (Kings No. 27 to 32) were lost, suggesting a beginning of Assyrian eponyms only from Sulili (-1954) and a compilation from Êrišu I (-1873). Ø After the accession of King Ikunum, a list gives Šuli son of Šalmah as eponym instead of Iddin-Suen brother of Šuli (eponym No. 41). Rather than assume an oversight in the lists and thus keep these two eponyms, the presence of a canonical eponym replacing an noncanonical eponym (died during the year of his eponymy) is more likely. J.-J. GLASSNER – Chroniques mésopotamiennes Paris 2004 Éd. Les Belles Lettres pp. 157-160. D. CHARPIN, N. ZIEGLER – Florilegium marianum V. Mari et le Proche-Orient à l'époque amorrite in: Mémoires de N.A.B.U. 6 (2003) pp. 156-157. 202 A complete list of eponyms should contain about 150 names (size of KEL G list). At the time of Esarhaddon, for example, the reigns of Êrišu I (King No. 33) and Sennacherib (King No. 111) were separated by 1213 eponyms, which could be inscribed on about 8 tablets of 150 names. 201 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES Ø The darkening of the sun mentioned during the Puzur-Ištar eponym (No. 126), the year just after the birth of Šamšî-Adad I, has been interpreted by some as a solar eclipse203. However, there was no total solar eclipse visible in Assyria (between Ashur and Nineveh) over this period (1800-1700), but only two partial eclipses slightly visible204. Moreover, the term used [n]a-ah-du-ur, means an eclipse in a metaphorical way and is different from the usual antalûm used in Mari205. These two comments have been added later in the list of eponyms, because Šamšî-Adad I was initially an Amorite king who became part of the Assyrian dynasty only at the end of his glorious reign. Thus for the Assyrian copyist of that time, the birth of Šamšî-Adad I actually marked the end (the eclipse) of the authentic Assyrian dynasty. Ø Neither death nor the accession of Êrišu II are detailed in the lists, but this reign can be framed by two dates: the 1st year of Naram-Sîn (in -1773) during the eponymy Šu-Su’en in the beginning of the list MEC A, and the death of Šamšî-Adad during the eponymy of Ṭab-ṣilla-Aššur (in -1680), after 33 years of reign. Thus the death of Êrišu II must go back to 1713 (= 1680 + 33), beginning of the list MEC D. The eponyms of the list KEL G being completely unreadable at least 11 lines, most likely 16 lines (eponyms No. 179 to 194), they were supplemented by the list MEC E whose recovery remains uncertain206. Since the accession of Naram-Sîn is in -1774 and that the death of Êrišu II is in -1712, then the two kings ruled a total of 62 solar years (= 1774 - 1712), or 64 lunar years (or eponyms). The reign of Naram-Sîn was over 27 years since the list KEL A includes 27 eponyms after his accession. However, according to Assyrian king lists, his reign is [-]4 years, implying a duration of either 34, 44 or 54 years, the last two being the most likely possibilities207. Indeed, during the eponymy Ibni-Ištar (eponym No. 157) it is stated that "Šamšî-Adad I conquered Assyria" which seems to correspond to the 1st year of Êrišu II, his father Naram-Sin being died the previous year (beginning of the list MEC D). This would mean that the Amorite king Šamšî-Adad I conquered Assyria only gradually, starting with the city of Ekallatum at the end of the reign of Naram-Sîn. So when Êrišu II ascended the throne he reigned no longer than over a small part of Assyria and his death, after 10 years of reign, was absorbed by Šamšî-Adad I. Ø The alliance with Qatna under eponymy of Ikuppiya coincides with the installation of Yasmah-Addu208 (1687-1680) as king of Mari, by Šamšî-Adad I. This reconstruction of the list of eponyms confirms the reliability of Assyrian king lists. Assyrian scribes could easily date a past event by equivalence: 1 eponym = 1 year. However the eponymous year was lunar (354.37 days) before Aššur-dân I, then was solar (365.24 days) from his reign (but Babylonian calendar with intercalation being adopted only from the reign of Tiglath-pileser I). The paleo-Assyrian calendar (or Amorite) was lunar while the calendar of Mari was lunisolar209 like the one of Babylon. Synchronization among various calendars of the past is made difficult by these changing paradigms (unreported). For instance, on the death of Šamšî-Adad I it is possible to get the following synchronisms among months of several different calendars210 (at least five): C. MICHEL, P. ROCHER – La chronologie du IIe millénaire revue à l'ombre d'une éclipse de soleil in: Jaarbericht (...) Ex Oriente Lux N° 35/36 (1997-2000) Chicago pp. 111-126. 204 On October 10, 1737 BCE (of magnitude 0.92) and that on September 8, 1791 BCE (of magnitude 0.92) 205 As the sentence: on the 26th day of the month Sivan, in the 7th year [of Simbar-šipak], the day turned to night, did not describe a solar eclipse. 206 D. CHARPIN, N. ZIEGLER – Florilegium marianum V. Mari et le Proche-Orient à l'époque amorrite in: Mémoires de N.A.B.U. 6 (2003) pp. 72-73, 134-169. 207 K.R. VEENHOF – The Old Assyrian List of Year Eponyms from Karum Kanish and its Chronological Implications Ankara 2002 Ed Turkish Historical Society pp. 1-78. 208 D. CHARPIN – Rapport sur les conférences 1995-1996 in: Livret 11 1995-1996 (École Pratique des Hautes Études, 1997) pp. 15-16. 209 However the day 30 could be 29 or 1 (J.M. SASSON -Zimri-Lim Takes the Grand Tour in: Biblical Archaeologist 47, 1984, pp. 246-252). 210 D. CHARPIN, N. ZIEGLER – Florilegium marianum V. Mari et le Proche-Orient à l'époque amorrite in: Mémoires de N.A.B.U. 6 (2003) pp. 134-176, 260-262. 203 73 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 74 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY X XI XII I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX BABYLONIAN Tebêtu Šabâtu Addâru Nisannu Ayyaru Simanu Du'ùzu Abu Ulûlû Tašrîtu Araḥsamna Kisilimu 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 JULIAN January (winter) February March April (spring) May June July (summer) August September October (autumn) November December xi° xii° i° ii° iii° iv° v° vi° vii° viii° ix° x° MARIOTE Abum (IV) Ḫibirtum (V) Ḫubur (Ḫilib) Kinûnum (VII) Dagan (VIII) Lîlîatum (IX) Bêlet-bîrî (X) Kiskissum (XI) Ebûrum (XII) Urâḫum (I) Malkânum (II) Laḫḫum (III xi* xii* i* ii* iii* iv* v* vi* vii* viii* ix* x* AMORRITE Abum Tîrum Niqmum Kinûnum Tamhîrum Nabrûm Mammîtum Mana Ayyarum Niggalum Maqrânum Du'uzum PALEO-ASSYRIAN Ab šarrâni (v*) Ḫubur (vi*) Ṣip’im (vii*) Qarrâtim (viii*) Kanwarta (ix*) Te’inâtim (x*) Kuzallu (xi*) Allanâtim (xii*) Bêltî-ekallim (i*) Ša sarratim (ii*) Narmak Aššur (iii*) Maḫḫurili (iv*) The end of Šamšî-Adad I's reign is dated on February 20, -1679211 because this king died on 14/xii°/33. The month VI in Mari coincides with the Assyrian month i* (months VI to XII are dated "after the eponym Ṭab-ṣilla-Aššur"). The fall of Larsa is dated [16]/XII/30 of Hammurabi and matches the [1-6]/VI/60 of Rîm-Sîn I, because Zimrî-Lîm congratulated Hammurabi for his taking Larsa in his letter dated 7/VI/12 (ARM XXV 9). month -1680 1 -1679 -1678 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII XIIb I II III xi° xii° i° ii° iii° iv° v° vi° vii° viii° ix° x° xi° xii° i° ii° iii° iv° v° vi° vii° viii° ix° x° xi° xii° i° ii° iii° iv° v° vi° vii° viii° ix° x° xi° X XI XII I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X [A] 6 [B] 32 33 [C] 16 [D] 46 17 47 7 0 0 1 King / eponym Ṭab-ṣilla-Aššur [A] Yasmah-Addu king of Mari [B] Šamšî-Adad I king of Assyria [C] Hammurabi king of Babylon [D] Rîm-Sîn I king of Larsa 18 48 after Ṭab-ṣilla-Aššur [A] Zimrî-Lîm king of Mari [B] Išme-Dagan I king of Assyria 1 Ennam-Aššur (Feast of Ištar in month xi° Ab Šarrani) 2 19 49 Aššur-emuqi 2 The presence or the absence of intercalation further complicates synchronizations among calendars. For instance, the year 1 of Zimrî-Lîm has an intercalary month (xii°b) but An exorcist priest (wašipum) is consulted on 11/xii°/33 and the oil for the offering king's burial came on 16/xii°/33. In 1679 BCE, 1st Nisan is dated April 5, 1st Tishri on September 30 and 1st Ṣip’im March 7. It is interesting to notice that the year 33 of Šamšî-Adad I started with a total lunar eclipse (bad omen) http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCLEmap/-1699--1600/LE-1678-03-21T.gif 211 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES 75 other years are strangely irregular (2:xii°b; 5:ii°b, iii°b, v°b; 8:i°b; 10:v°b; 11:v°b)212. On the other hand the feast of Ištar seems to be celebrated without intercalation213. Mesopotamian chronologies are anchored by numerous synchronisms (highlighted in light blue) and dated by astronomical phenomena (boxed Julian years). Synchronisms with Elamite, Egyptian and Israelite chronologies are given only for information: 1967 1966 1965 1964 1963 1962 1961 1960 1959 1958 1957 1956 1955 1954 1953 1952 1951 1950 1949 1948 1947 1946 1945 1944 1943 1942 1941 1940 1939 1938 1937 1936 1935 1934 1933 1932 1931 1930 1929 1928 1927 1926 1925 1924 1923 1922 1921 1920 UR III Šulgi Amar-Sîn Šû-Sîn Ibbi-Sîn ELAM 35 AWAN SIMAŠKI 36 Kutir-lagamar 24 Girname 37 25 38 26 39 27 40 28 41 29 42 30 Ebarat I 43 31 44 32 45 33 46 34 47 35 48 36 1 2 3 4 Tazatta I 5 6 7 8 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 Tazitta II 2 3 4 LARSA 5 6 Naplânum 7 8 9 10 11 12 ISIN 13 14 Išbi-Erra 1 15 2 16 3 ASSYRIA Amînum EGYPT Amenemhat I Sulili (Zariqum) Sesostris I Kikkia 1 2 3 4 5 Akia 6 7 8 9 10 11 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 W. HEIMPEL – Letters to the King of Mari: A New Translation, With Historical Introduction, Notes, and Commentary Leiden 2003 Ed. Eisenbrauns pp. 54-56. 213 For example the feast of Ištar is celebrated month xi in 1 year of Zimrî-Lîm, month ix in years 6-8 and month viii in year 12, which implies a lag of about 3 months on 12 years, indicating a lack of intercalation (at least in one of the two calendars). 212 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 76 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY 1919 1918 1917 1916 1915 1914 1913 1912 1911 1910 1909 1908 1907 1906 1905 1904 1903 1902 1901 1900 1899 1898 1897 1896 1895 1894 1893 1892 1891 1890 1889 1888 1887 1886 1885 1884 1883 1882 1881 1880 1879 1878 1877 1876 1875 1874 1873 1872 1871 1870 1869 1868 1867 1866 1865 1864 1863 1862 1861 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 Šû-ilîšu 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Iddin-Dagân 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Iemṣium Sâmium 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Puzur-Aššur I Šalim-ahum Amenemhat II Ilu-šumma Êrišu I 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Sesostris II 13 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 1 2 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES 1860 1859 1858 1857 1856 1855 1854 1853 1852 1851 1850 1849 1848 1847 1846 1845 1844 1843 1842 1841 1840 1839 1838 1837 1836 1835 1834 1833 1832 1831 1830 20 21 Išme-Dagân 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Lipit-Eštar 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1829 1828 1827 1826 1825 1824 1823 1822 1821 1820 1819 1818 1817 1816 1815 1814 1813 1812 1811 1810 1809 1808 1807 1806 1805 1804 1803 1802 10 11 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Ur-Ninurta Zabâia Gungunum Abî-sarê 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 2 3 4 5 Ikunum 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Sargon I 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 77 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Sesostris III 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 Amenemhat III 40 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 78 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY 1801 27 1800 BABYLON 1799 1798 Sûmû-abum 1797 1796 1795 1794 1793 1792 1791 1790 1789 1788 1787 1786 1785 1784 Sûmû-la-Il 1783 1782 1781 1780 1779 1778 1777 1776 1775 1774 1773 1772 1771 1770 1769 1768 1767 1766 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 1765 1764 1763 1762 1761 1760 1759 1758 1757 1756 1755 1754 1753 1752 1751 1750 1749 1748 Sâbium 1747 1746 1745 1744 1743 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 1 2 3 4 5 6 Bûr-Sîn Lipit-Enlil Erra-imittî Enlil-Bâni 28 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 10 Sûmû-El Nûr-Adad Sîn-iddinam Sîn-irîbam Sîn-iqišam 11 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Puzur-Aššur II 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Naram-Sîn 28 29 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 1 2 3 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 Amenemhat IV 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Neferusebek 1 2 3 4 Ugaf 1 2 Amenemhat V 1 2 3 4 (Ameny)Qemau 1 2 3 4 5 Sehetepibre 1 Iufni Amenemhat VI Nebnun Hornedjheritef Sewadjkare Nedjemebre Sebekhotep I 2 3 4 5 1 1 2 3 4 5 1 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 1 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES 1742 1741 1740 1739 1738 1737 1736 1735 1734 Apil-Sîn 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 1 Zambîya 1733 1732 1731 1730 1729 1728 1727 1726 1725 1724 1723 1722 1721 1720 1719 1718 1717 1716 Sîn-muballiṭ 1715 1714 1713 1712 1711 1710 1709 1708 1707 1706 1705 1704 1703 1702 2 3 3 4 4 Sîn-mâgir 1 5 2 6 3 7 4 8 5 9 6 10 7 11 8 12 9 13 10 14 11 15 Damiq-ilîšu 1 16 2 17 3 18 4 1 5 2 6 3 7 4 8 5 9 6 10 7 11 8 12 9 13 10 14 11 15 12 16 13 17 14 18 15 19 1701 1700 1699 1698 1697 1696 Hammurabi 1695 1694 1693 1692 1691 1690 1689 1688 1687 1686 1685 16 17 18 19 20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Iter-piša Ur-dukuga 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 1 2 20 21 22 23 Silî-Adad Warad-Sîn Rîm-Sîn I 4 5 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 1 2 3 4 5 6 Êrišu II 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Šamšî-Adad I 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 Asqudum 79 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 2 3 Rensebeb 4 Hor I 1 2 3 4 5 Amenemhat VII 1 Sebekhotep II Kendjer Semenkhkare Antef IV Seth Sebekhotep III Neferhotep I Sahathor Sebekhotep IV 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 80 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY 1684 1683 1682 1681 1680 1679 1678 1677 1676 1675 1674 1673 1672 1671 1670 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 43 (lunar eclipse) 44 45 46 47 48 Išme-Dagan I 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 1669 1668 1667 1666 1665 1664 1663 1662 1661 1660 1659 1658 1657 1656 1655 1654 1653 Samsu-iluna 1652 1651 1650 1649 1648 1647 1646 1645 1644 1643 1642 1641 1640 1639 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 58 Aššur-dugul 59 60 1638 1637 1636 1635 1634 1633 1632 1631 1630 1629 1628 1627 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Bêlu-bâni Libbaya Šarma-Adad I 29 30 31 32 33 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Sebekhotep V Sebekhotep VI Ibia Aÿ Ani Sewadjtu Neferhotep II 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 1 2 1 2 3 1 2 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES 1626 1625 1624 1623 1622 1621 1620 1619 1618 1617 1616 1615 Abi-ešuḫ 1614 1613 1612 1611 1610 1609 1608 1607 1606 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1605 1604 1603 1602 1601 1600 1599 1598 1597 1596 1595 1594 1593 1592 1591 1590 1589 1588 1587 Ammiditana 1586 1585 1584 1583 1582 1581 1580 1579 1578 1577 1576 1575 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Lullaya 28 29 30 31 32 (papyrus Rhind) 33 Šû-Ninûa 34 35 36 37 38 1574 1573 1572 1571 1570 1569 14 15 16 17 18 19 39 (Turin Canon) 40 Moses (Apopi) 1 (Madian stay) 2 3 4 Puzur-Sîn ISRAEL Apopi (birth) 0 Bazaya 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 81 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Hori Sebekhotep VII Dynasty XVII Râhotep 3 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 0 1 2 3 4 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 82 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY 1568 1567 1566 1565 1564 1563 1562 1561 1560 1559 1558 1557 1556 1555 1554 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 1553 1552 1551 1550 Ammiṣaduqa 1549 1548 1547 1546 1545 1544 1543 1542 1541 1540 1539 1538 1537 1536 1535 1534 1533 1532 1531 1530 1529 Samsuditana 1528 35 36 37 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 1 2 1527 1526 1525 1524 1523 1522 1521 1520 1519 1518 1517 1516 1515 1514 1513 1512 1511 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 5 6 Šarma-Adad II 7 8 9 Êrišu III 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 14 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 20 13 21 Šamšî-Adad II 1 22 2 23 3 24 4 25 5 26 6 27 Išme-Dagan II 1 28 2 29 3 30 4 31 5 32 6 33 7 34 8 35 9 36 10 37 11 38 12 39 13 40 14 Moses (Apopi) 1 15 (Sinai Exodus) 2 16 3 Šamšî-Adad III 1 4 2 5 3 4 6 5 7 6 8 7 9 8 10 9 11 10 12 11 13 12 14 13 15 14 16 15 17 16 18 Aššur-nêrârî I 1 19 2 20 3 21 4 22 5 Sobekemsaf I Sobekemsaf II Antef VI Antef VII Antef VIII Senakhtenrê Seqenenrê Taa Kamose Ahmose 1 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES 1510 1509 1508 1507 1506 1505 1504 1503 1502 1501 1500 1499 1498 1497 1496 1495 1494 Fall of Alep Fall of Babylon recovery of Babylon 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 0 1 2 3 4 1493 1492 1491 1490 1489 1488 1487 1486 1485 1484 1483 1482 1481 1480 1479 1478 1477 1476 1475 1474 1473 1472 1471 1470 1469 1468 1467 1466 1465 1464 1463 1462 1461 1460 1459 1458 1457 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 1456 Ulam-Buriaš 1455 1454 1453 1 2 3 4 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 Joshua (in Canaan) (without judge) 40 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Puzur-Aššur III 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Enlil-nâṣir I 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Nûr-ili 1 2 83 Amenhotep I Thutmose I Thutmose II Hatshepsut [Thoutmosis III] 20 21 22 23 24 25 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 84 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY 1452 1451 1450 1449 1448 1447 1446 1445 1444 1443 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 11 Kušan-rišataïm 1 (Mitanni) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Othniel 1 Aššur-šadûni 3 4 5 6 Thutmose III 7 8 9 10 11 12 [20] [21] [22] 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 The death of Elamite king Chedorlaomer in year 36 of his reign, at the end of the period called Awan, coinciding with the death of Babylonian king Shulgi in the year 48 of his reign, can be dated with some accuracy. The biblical chronology according to the Masoretic text is as follows (King Hoshea died at the fall of Samaria in 720 BCE, King Josias died at the battle of Haran in 609 BCE): Event Abraham in Ur Israelites as foreigners Exodus in Sinai Israelites in Canaan King of Judah Solomon Rehoboam Abiyam Asa Jehoshaphat Jehosaphat/Jehoram Jehoram [Athaliah] Jehoyada Joash Amasiah Uzziah [Azariah] Jotham Ahaz Hezekiah Manasseh Amon Josias Jehoachaz Jehoiaqim Jehoiachin Zedekiah Jehoiachin (exile) Period # 2038-1963 75 From birth to departure into Canaan 1963-1533 430 From Canaan stay to Egypt deliverance 1533-1493 40 From Egypt deliverance to entering Canaan 1493-1013 480 From entering Canaan to year 4 of Solomon Reign King of Israel Reign 1017 - 977 40 977-960 17 Jeroboam I 10/977 - 22 -05/955 960-957 3 957 41 Nadab 06/955-05/954 2 Baasha 06/954-04/931 24 Elah 05/931-04/930 2 Zimri 05/930 7 d. Omri/ 06/930-05/919/ 12 -916 [Tibni] [06/930-01/925] 6 916 25 Ahab 06/919-01/898 22 -891 Ahaziah 02/898-01/897 2 [893-891] [2] Jehoram Ahab's son 02/897-09/886 12 893 8 [Ahaziah]/ Joram [07/887-09/886] 1 -885 Ahaziah 10/886-09/885 1 885-879 6 Jehu 10/885-03/856 28 879 40 Jehoahaz 04/856-09/839 17 -839 Jehoahaz/ Jehoash [01/841-09/839] 2 839 29 Jehoash 09/839-01/823 16 -810 Jeroboam II 01/823-05/782 41 810 52 [Zechariah] 06/782-02/771 [11] [796 Zechariah 03/771-08/771 6 m. Shallum 09/771 1 m. Menahem 10/771-03/760 10 -758 Peqayah 04/760-03/758 2 758-742 16 Peqah 04/758-05/738 20 742-726 16 [Hoshea] 06/738-01/729 9 726-697 29 Hoshea 02/729-09/720 9 697-642 55 642-640 2 640-609 31 -609 3 m. 609-598 11 -598 3 m. 598-587 11 587-561 26 Reference Genesis 12:4-5 Exodus 12:40-41 Exodus 16:35 1Kings 6:1 1Kings 11:42 1Kings 14:20-21 1Kings 15:10,25 1Kings 15:28,33 1Kings 16:8 1Kings 16:10-16 1Kings 16:21-23 1Kings 16:29 1Kings 22:51 2Kings 3:1 2Kings 9:29 2Kings 9:24,27 2Kings 10:36 2Kings 10:35; 13:1 2Kings 13:10 2Kings 13:10 2Kings 14:23 2Kings 14:29 2Kings 15:8 2Kings 15:13 2Kings 15:17 2Kings 15:23 2Kings 15:27 2Kings 15:27-30 2Kings 17:1,3 2Kings 21:1 2Kings 21:19 2Kings 22:1 2Chronicles 36:2 2Chronicles 36:5 2Chronicles 36:9 2Chronicles 36:11 2Kings 25:27-28 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES Elamite chronology214 of this period can be fixed through numerous synchronisms with Mesopotamian chronology. Some anomalies arise: 1) there is a gap of at least 60 years between Puzur-Inšušinak the king of Awan and Girname the king of Simaški, it seems to miss at least three kings at the end of the Awan dynasty (where should have appeared Kutir-Lagamar); 2) the first kings of Simaški also seem to miss the call because PuzurInšušinak mentions at least one in his inscriptions, again, he declares himself governor of Susa and viceroy of the country of Elam or sometimes king of Awan215; 3) the first three kings of the dynasty of Simaški were contemporaries, they probably ruled over the different capitals of Elam (Susa, Anšan, Simaški); 4) information on Elam, almost exclusively from the kings of Sumer, is incomplete, biased and difficult to interpret because the reversals of alliances between coalitions of kings, even in very remote areas were apparently common during the period 2000-1700216. Mesopotamian kings had indeed used to intervene west until the Mediterranean. Sargon of Akkad and Naram-Sîn had marched to Taurus Mountains, Elam sent its armies into Syria (to Qatna), Mari went regularly to at Hazor. In fact, King Gilgamesh (2450-2400) had already reached the Mount Hermon (Saria) in Lebanon from his city of Uruk, flying in just 3 days (sic), a journey of 1620 kilometers usually traveled in a month and a half (the Epic of Gilgamesh IV:12). About twenty Economic tablets, dated year 47 of Šulgi (in -1955), mention an incident and loot taken by the Elamites217, indirectly confirming a raid or a tribute, but the region of origin is not mentioned. The date of death of Šulgi is known precisely, on 1/XI/48 (around February -1954) it happened in a dramatic atmosphere, because there would have been violent death of a part of the royal family218, but we do not know why. Thus, the death of Elamite king Chedorlaomer at the end of the Awan period, coinciding with the death of Babylonian king Shulgi in the year 48 of his reign agrees with the fall of Ur dated 1912 BCE. In addition, the fall of Babylon dated 1499 BCE agrees also better with the Elamite chronology, because as F. Vallat noticed: different texts show that five generations of the same family have occupied the space between the reign of Kutir-Nahhunte to that of KukNašur III, the last Sukkalmah. By assigning thirty years to each generation, the interval between the two kings is about one century and a half. As two sovereigns rules as sukkalmahat between Kutir-Nahhunte and Kuk-Nasur II (Temti-Agun and Kutir-Silhaha), we can estimate that one century [not two] separates the reign of Kuk-Našur II from that of Kuk-Našur III. To conclude, the set of Assyrian reigns (which are without intercalation before Aššur-Dan I), combined with the construction length between temples, enable us to date precisely the death of Šamšî-Adad I in 1680 BCE, which fixes the reign of Hammurabi (1697-1654) and therefore those of Ibbi-Sîn (1936-1912) and Ammisaduqa (1551-1530). The lunar eclipse at the end of Ibbi-Sîn's reign and at the end of Shulgi's reign, the risings and settings of Venus dated according to a lunar calendar during Ammisaduqa's reign, allow to obtain absolute astronomical dating that anchoring Mesopotamian chronology (synchronisms are highlighted, astronomical dating are highlightedin blue sky, underlined dates are adjusted from one year to take account of the absence of intercalation, framed dates represent exact values deduced from synchronisms and dates in italic represent the average values deduced from synchronisms): F. VALLAT, H.GASCHE - Suse in: Supplément au dictionnaire de la Bible. Fascicule 73 (2002) pp. 374-391. 215 E. SOLLBERGER, J.-R. KUPPER – Inscriptions royales sumériennes et akkadiennes in: Littératures Anciennes du Proche-Orient n°3, Cerf, 1971, pp. 124-127. 216 K.A. KITCHEN - On the Reliability of the Old Testament Cambridge 2003 Ed. W.B. Eerdmans pp. 319-324. 217 F. VALLAT, H.GASCHE - Suse in: Supplément au dictionnaire de la Bible. Fascicule 73 (2002) pp. 374-391, 433-434. 218 F. JOANNÈS - Dictionnaire de la civilisation mésopotamienne Paris 2001 Éd. Robert Laffont pp. 68,69,822-824. 214 85 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 86 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY ASSYRIA Puzur-Aššur I Šalim-ahum Ilu-šumma Êrišu I Ikunum Sargon I Puzur-Aššur II Naram-Sîn BABYLONIA Ur-Nammu Šulgi Amar-Sîn Šu-Sîn Ibbi-Sîn 1913-1900 14 Collapse of Ur 1900-1886 14 1886-1873 14 1873 - 40 -1834 1834 - 14 -1821 1821-1782 40 Sûmû-abum 1782-1774 8 Sûmû-la-Il 1774 - 54 Reign Sâbium -1722 1722-1712 1712 -1680 Išme-Dagan I 1680-1670 Aššur-dugul 1670-1664 Aššur-apla-idi 1664 Nâṣir-Sîn 1664 Sîn-namir 1664 Ipqi-Ištar 1664 Adad-ṣalûlu 1664 Adasi 1664 Bêlu-bâni 1664-1654 Libbaya 1654 -1638 Šarma-Adad I 1638-1626 Puzur-Sîn 1626-1615 Bazaya 1615-1588 Lullaya 1588-1582 Šû-Ninûa 1582-1568 Šarma-Adad II 1568-1565 Êrišu III 1565-1553 Šamšî-Adad II 1553-1547 Išme-Dagan II 1547-1531 Šamšî-Adad III 1531-1516 Aššur-nêrârî I 1516-1491 Puzur-Aššur III 1491 -1467 Enlil-nâṣir I 1467-1455 Nûr-ili 1455-1443 Aššur-šadûni 1443-1443 Aššur-rabi I 1443-1433 Aššur-nâdin-aḫḫe I 1433-1424 Enlil-naṣir II 1424-1418 Aššur-nêrârî II 1418-1411 Aššur-bêl-nišešu 1411-1403 Aššur-rê’im-nišešu 1403-1395 Aššur-nâdin-aḫḫe II 1395-1385 Erîba-Adad I 1385 -1358 Êrišu II Šamšî-Adad I 10 Apil-Sîn 33 Sîn-muballiṭ Hammurabi 11 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 17 Samsu-iluna 12 12 28 6 14 3 13 6 16 16 26 24 13 12 0 [10] [10] 6 7 9 8 10 27 Abi-ešuḫ Ammiditana Reign 2020-2002 2002-1954 1954-1945 1945-1936 1936-1912 1799-1785 14 1785 - 36 -1749 1749 - 14 -1735 1735-1717 1717-1697 1697-1680 1680 - 18 20 17 26 ELAM (AWAN) [-]-lu Chedorlaomer Reign 2015-1990 25 1990-1954 36 ISIN Išbi-Erra Reign 1923 - 33 Šû-ilîšu Iddin-Dagân Išme-Dagân Lipit-Eštar Ur-Ninurta Bûr-Sîn Lipit-Enlil Erra-imittî Enlil-Bâni Zambîya Iter-piša Ur-dukuga Sîn-mâgir Damiq-ilîšu Isin annexed -1890 1890-1880 1880-1859 1859-1839 1839-1828 1828-1800 1800-1779 1779-1774 1774-1767 1767-1743 1743-1740 1740-1736 1736-1732 1732-1721 1721-1698 10 21 20 11 28 21 5 7 24 [3] [4] [4] 11 23 -1654 1654 - 38 ELAM Reign Kutir-Nahhunte I 1645 - 25 -1616 1616-1588 28 Temti-Agun II 1588 - 37 Kutir-Silhaha -1551 1551 -1530 Samsuditana 1530 Fall of Babylon -1499 Agum II 1503-1487 Burna-Buriaš I 1487-1471 Kaštiliaš III 1471-1455 Ulam-Buriaš 1455 -1439 Agum III 1439 -1423 Kadašman-Harbe I 1423 -1407 Kara-indaš 1407 -1391 Kurigalzu I 1391 -1375 Kadašman-Enlil I 1375-1360 Ammiṣaduqa 18 48 9 9 24 Kuk-Našur II -1620 1620-1595 25 1595-1570 25 1570 -1545 Kudu-zuluš II 1545-1525 31 Tan-Uli 1525-1505 Temti-halki 1505 16 -1485 16 Kuk-Našur III 1485-1465 16 Kidinu 1465-1450 16 Inšušinak-sunkir- 1450 nappipir -1440 16 Tan-Ruhuratir II 1440-1435 Šalla 1435-1425 16 Tepti-ahar 1425 - 25 21 16 Igi-halki 16 Pahir-iššan 15 Attar-Kittah 20 20 20 20 15 10 5 10 20 -1405 1405 - 20 -1385 1385-1375 10 1375-1365 10 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES 87 Most experts of Hittite history219 reject this chronology, because they considered it too short of a century against theirs (which does not based on any synchronism dated by astronomy in the period prior -1350!). Synchronisms according to Freu220 are highlighted and corrected reigns are reconstituted from an average (#) smaller for Hittite reigns: n° HITTITE 1 [Ḫuzziya I ?] [Tudḫaliya ?] [PU-Šarruma ?] 2 Labarna 3 Ḫattušili I average period 1 4 Muršili I 5 Ḫantili I 6 Zidanta I 7 Ammuna 8 Ḫuzziya II 9 Telipinu 10 Alluwamna 11 Ḫantili II 12 Taḫurwaili I 13 Zidanza (II) 14 Ḫuzziya III average period 2 15 Muwatalli I 16 Tutḫaliya I 17 Ḫattušili II 18 Tutḫaliya II 19 Arnuwanda I 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 (Freu) # Reign # MITANNIAN Reign BABYLONIAN 1670-1650 20 1605-1585 15 1585-1565 20 1565-1550 15 1650-1625 25 1550-1530 20 1625-1600 25 1530-1510 20 23 18 1600-1585 15 1510-1500 10 Samsuditana 1585-1570 15 1500-1495 5 Kirta 1500 1570 0 1495 0 KASSITE 1570-1550 20 1495-1485 10 Agum II 1550 0 1485 0 -1485 1550-1530 20 1485-1480 5 Šutarna I 1485-1480 Burna-Buriaš I 1530-1515 10 1480-1475 5 Barattarna I 1480 1515-1505 10 1475-1470 5 1505-1500 5 1470 0 Kaštiliaš III 1500-1485 15 1470-1465 5 1485-1470 15 1465-1460 5 11 5 1470-1465 5 1460-1455 5 -1455 1465-1440 25 1455-1435 20 Šauštatar I 1455-1435 1440-1425 15 1435-1425 10 Paršatatar 1435-1425 1425-1390 35 1425-1395 30 Šauštatar II 1425-1395 1400 - 30 1395 - 25 Barattarna II 1395-1390 -1370 -1370 Artatama I 1390-1373 Tutḫaliya III 1370-1350 20 1370-1355 15 Šutarna II 1373-1355 average period 3 23 18 (17) Šuppiluliuma I 1353-1322 31 1353-1322 31 Arnuwanda II 1322 <1 1322 <1 Muršili II 1322-1295 27 1322-1295 27 Muwatalli II 1295-1275 20 1295-1275 20 Urhi-Teshub 1275-1268 7 1275-1268 7 Ḫattušili III 1268-1241 27 1268-1241 27 Tutḫaliya IV 1241-1209 32 1241-1209 32 Arnuwanda III 1209-1207 2 1209-1207 2 Šuppiluliyama II 1207-1185 22 1207-1185 22 average period 4 18 18 Early Empire (n° 1 to 9); Middle Empire (n° 10 to 20); Late Empire (n° 21 to 29) Reign 1530-1499 Reign 1503-1487 1487 - -1471 1471 - -1455 This Hittite chronology contains four periods. The first and oldest period consists of three kings, whose reign would average 23 years, this period does not include any synchronism. The second, which begins with the fall of Babylon, consists of 11 kings whose average reign would be 11 years. The third comprises six kings whose average reign would be 23 years and the fourth includes nine kings whose average reign would be 18 years. However, the average length of these reigns is arbitrary, except for the last period which can be dated precisely thanks to synchronisms from El Amarna letters (anchored by the total solar eclipse dated year 10 of Muršili II). Instead of the average duration of 23 years for the third period, it is more logical to maintain the 18 years since the third period precedes and looks like the fourth. It is therefore necessary lowering 5 years (= 23 - 18) the http://www.hittites.info/history.aspx?text=history%2fEarly+Empire.htm J. FREU – Note sur les sceaux des rois de Mitanni/Mittani in: NABU (mars 2008) pp. 5-8. 219 220 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 88 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY reigns given by Freu for that period. The second period was very disturbed by numerous assassinations of kings, which has arguably led Freu to choose a lower average (11 years instead of 23 for the next period). It is therefore necessary lowering 12 (= 23 - 11) years the reigns given by Freu for the third period. Finally, Freu has once again selected a 23-year average for the first period. It seems more logical to maintain the average duration of 18 years from the fourth period which was relatively stable. The reconstruction based on the corrected duration of Hittite reigns provides a chronology that agrees with the fall of Babylon in 1499 BCE. There is no precise synchronism with Egyptian chronology that can anchor Kassite and Mitannian chronologies. The kingdom of Mitanni appears for the first time on the Theban stele of the astronomer Amenemhat, which mentions the name as "land of Meten" (ḫ3st Mtn), indicating that it was an enemy against which the pharaoh Thoumosis I had launched an expedition in the year 4 of his reign (in -1481). Now the king of Mitanni during this period is Šutarna I (1485-1480). It is possible that the disappearance of the Babylonian kingdom have favored the rise of the Mitanni221 and the Pharaoh had wanted to stop a possible westward extension of this new kingdom founded by Kirta. The triple synchronism between kings Agum II (Kassite), Kirta (Mitannian) and Ammuna (Hittite) requires setting reign of those kings over a period covering the reign of Agum II (1503-1487). The corrected duration of the reign of Muršili I (1510-1500 instead of 1600-1585), the Hittite king who overthrew the city of Babylon, is consistent with the date of 1499 BCE. The 14C dating of strata corresponding to the period of the Old Hittite Empire (1565-1510) gives well 1600-1500222 instead of 1670-1530 proposed by Freu, who also refuses dating the fall of Babylon in 1499 BCE because there would have been "too many" kings of Hana223 during the period 1600-1500 BCE called «dark ages». Hana, which means "Bedouins224", was a confederation of Syrian cities (at least 6) located in the region north of Mari, however many political events in this area remain sketchy225. Moreover its kings did not belong to a classic dynasty but it was generally used as a honorific title, as Yahdun-Lim (1716-1700) who was "King of Mari, Tutul and the land of Hana". The chronology of these kings226 is difficult to obtain because there are few synchronisms, in addition, the sequence of these kings is uncertain: Ø Zimri-Lim (1680-1667) was "King of Mari and the land of Hana". Ø Yadiḫ-Abu I, overseer of Hana (ugula Ḫana), had fought Samsuiluna, a Babylonian king, in the latter's 27th year (1627 BCE). Afterwards the kingdom of Hana is likely under the influence of Kassites since the following king of Terqa was Kaštiliaš I (1613-1591). Ø From Ammiditana (1588-1551) the kingdom of Hana was in fact headed by Babylonian kings up to Samsuditana (1530-1499). Kings of Terqa were probably vassals of Babylon. Ø The Hurrians were enemies of the Hittite kings Ḫattušili I (1530-1510) and Muršili I (1510-1500), and their strengh is shown by records of their conquest of much of the Hittite kingdom in the time of Ḫattušili I who seems to have retaliated late in his career, attacking Aleppo (Halab). However, Kuwari, a king of Hana, managed to defeat an attack led by the warriors of Hatti (Ḫatte). Conceivably227, the Hittite expedition of According to the Israelite chronology (Judges 3:8-15), there was also a Mitannian domination over Syria by a king called Kushanrishataïm (1452-1444), who was likely Šauštatar I (1455-1435). 222 R.L. GORNY – Çadir Höyük in: 2006-2007 Annual Report, The Oriental Institute pp. 18-33. 223 J. FREU -Des origines à la fin de l'Ancien royaume hittite Paris 2007, Éd. L'Harmattan pp. 111-117. 224 D. CHARPIN – Le «pays de Mari et des Bédouins» à l'époque de Samsu-iluna de Babylone in: Revue d'Assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale volume CV (2011) pp. 41-59. 225 Some eras are well understood, but many others remain almost unknown. 226 A.H. PODANY –The Land of Hana: Kings, Chronology, Scribal Tradition 2002 Ed. CDL Press pp. 1-74. 227 T. BRYCE – The Kingdom of the Hittites Oxford 2005 Ed. Oxford University Press pp. 99-100. 221 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES 89 Muršili I in arose from an alliance between the Hittites and the Kassites, the incentive for the Hittites being the rich spoils of Babylon, and for the Kassites the prospect of creating a new ruling dynasty in Babylonia. Ø Qiš-Addu, a king of Bidah?, was a vassal of both Barattarna I and Šauštatar I. The kingdom of Hana (Terqa) became independent afterwards. Although several Hanean reigns are controversial its chronology is as follows228 (synchronisms highlighted): HANEAN Yahdun-Lim (kings of Mari) Zimri-Lim Yâpaḫ-Šumu-Abu Iṣi-Šumu-Abu Yadiḫ-Abu I [Muti-Huršana ?] Kaštiliaš Šunuḫru-Ammu Ammi-madar Yadiḫ-Abu II Zimri-Lim II Kasap-ilî Kuwari Ya'usa / Hanaya Qiš-Addu Iddin-Kakka Išar-Lim Iggid-Lim Išiḫ-Dagan Ahuni Hammurapi Pagiru Reign 1716-1700 1700-1680 1680-1667 1667-1654 1654-1641 1641-1627 1627-1613 1613-1591 1591-1575 1575 -1559 1559-1543 1543-1527 1527-1511 1511-1495 1495 -1480 1480 - # 16 20 13 [13] [13] [14] [14] 22 [16] [16] KASSITE Gandaš Reign 1661 -1635 Agum I 1635-1613 Kaštiliaš I 1613-1591 Ušši 1591-1583 Abirattaš 1583-1567 Kaštiliaš II 1567-1551 [16] Urzigurumaš 1551-1535 [16] Harbašihu 1535 [16] -1519 [16] Tiptakzi 1519-1503 [15] Agum II 1503 -1487 [25] Burna-Buriaš I 1487 -1471 -1455 Kaštiliaš III 1471-1455 1455-1435 [20] Ulam-Buriaš 1455-1439 1435-1415 [20] Agum III 1439-1423 1415-1395 [20] Kadašman-Harbe I 1423-1407 1395 - [20] Kara-indaš 1407-1391 -1375 Kurigalzu I 1391-1375 1375-1355 [20] Kadašman-Enlil I 1375-1360 1355-1335 [20] Burna-Buriaš II 1360-1333 1335-1315 [20] Kurigalzu II 1333-1308 # BABYLONIAN Sîn-muballiṭ Hammurabi [2]6 Samsu-iluna 22 22 Abi-ešuḫ 8 Ammiditana [16] [16] [16] Ammiṣaduqa [16] Samsuditana [16] [16] MITANNIAN Kirta [16] Šutarna I Barattarna I [16] [16] Šauštatar I [16] Paršatatar [16] Šauštatar II [16] Barattarna II [16] Artatama I 15 Šutarna II 27 Tušratta 25 Artatama II Reign # 1717-1697 20 1697 - 43 -1654 1654-1645 38 1945-1927 1627-1616 1616-1588 28 1588 - 37 -1551 1551 -1530 1530 -1499 Reign 1500-1485 1485-1475 1475 -1455 1455-1435 1435-1425 1425-1395 1395-1390 1390-1373 1373-1355 1353-1339 1339-1325 21 31 # 15 10 20 20 10 30 5 17 18 14 14 The numerous synchronisms during the Late Empire confirm the chronology of Assyrian reigns without intercalation through Egyptian chronology: Ø The death of Hattušili III is dated in year 42 of Ramses II229. Ø The Nihriya battle involved the Hittite king Tudhaliya IV, Hattušili III successor, and the Assyrian king Tukulti-Ninurta I in the first two years of his reign230. Ø The reign of Hattušili III231 is located within Shalmaneser I's reign. Hattušili III died shortly before Shalmaneser I, and the successor of Hattušili, Tuthaliya IV, has been at war with the successor of Shalmaneser I, Tukulti-Ninurta I, in the first two years of the latter, which gives: Year 42 of Ramses II = death of Hattušili III = death of Shalmaneser I +/- 1 year. Thus the accession of Tukulti-Ninurta I (year 0) matches the year 42 of Ramses II. Tuthaliya IV began to rule from this year, but it is possible that his father (Hattušili III), feeling old and sick, associated him to kingship as crown prince S. YAMADA – An Adoption Contract from Tell Taban, the Kings of the Land of Hana, and the Hana-style Scribal Tradition in: Revue d'Assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale volume CV (2011) pp. 61-84. 229 C. DESROCHES NOBLECOURT – Ramsès II la véritable histoire Paris 1996 Ed. Pygmalion p. 365. 230 T. BRYCE – The Kingdom of the Hittites (tablette KBo IV 14). Oxford 2005 Ed. Oxford University Press p. XV, 375-382. 231 G. BECKMAN – Hittite Chronology in: Akkadica 119-120 (2000) p. 24. 228 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 90 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY (appearing under the name of Hišmi-šarruma). Two synchronisms are therefore particularly important to examine in order to verify the chronology: 1) accession (year 0) of Kadašman-Enlil II (in -1264) = year 19 of Ramses II. 2) accession (year 0) of Tukulti-Ninurta I (in -1242) = year 42 of Ramses II. The first synchronism "year 0 of Kadašman Enlil II = year 19 of Ramses II" derives from the sequence of the following events232: 1. To expand his empire, the Hittite king Šuppiluliuma I engaged [in -1352] a process of conquest, which came at the expense of Mitanni and Amurru, a vassal kingdom of Egypt. 2. To reconquer Amurru, Ramses II attacked the Hittite king Muwatalli II. The Battle of Kadesh is presented as a victory by Ramses, although he actually faced disaster because of over-optimism. This battle is dated III Shemu 9 Year 5 (ie at the extreme end of year 5). 3. Ramses II 'took advantage' of Muwatalli II's death and of accession of young king UrhiTeshub [Muršili III] to launch a new conquest of Amurru. He temporarily conquered 18 cities (including Dapur and Tunip). This war is dated towards the end of year 8 (April/May) that implies to place the death of the Hittite king in the 1st half of year 8. 4. After 7 years of reign233, Hattušili III expelled his nephew Urhi-Tešub who took refuge in Egypt. Hattušili III demanded his extradition to Ramses II, who refused it. 5. Fearing a possible coup fomented by Egypt hosting Urhi-Tešub, his rival, Hattušili III combines with Babylonian king Kadašman-Turgu to face Egypt. The epithets of Ramses on a stele at Beth-Shean, dated IV Peret 1 of his year 18 (2nd half of the year), have a strong military flavour and attest to the frenetic activity that prevailed in this region234. 6. Having learned the collapse of the kingdom of Mitanni, annexed by Assyrian king Shalmaneser I, Ramses II preferred to stabilize the volatile situation with Hittite king Hattušili III by a peace treaty, dated I Peret 21, year 21 of Ramses II (1st half of year 21). 7. A letter of Hattušili III235 sent to Babylonian king Kadašman-Enlil II to justify his shifting alliances, tells us that the latter's father, Kadašman-Turgu, had died shortly before the peace treaty236 of the year 21. The synchronism "year 0 of Tukulti-Ninurta I [in -1242] = year 42 of Ramses II" results of the sequence of following events: 1. The Treaty of the year 21 led to an era of stability, which pushed Ramses II to boost his ties by suggesting Hattušili III to marry one of his daughters. The Hittite king accepted and proposed to send his daughter [Maathorneferure] for his 2nd jubilee (year 33). Negotiations for the marriage began IV Akhet of year 33 but were without result III until III Peret of year 34 because of the reluctance of Puduhepa, Hattušili III's wife. K.A. KITCHEN – RAMSES II le pharaon triomphant Monaco 1985 2003 Éd. du Rocher pp. 82-134. C. DESROCHES NOBLECOURT – Ramsès II la véritable histoire Paris 1996 Éd. Pygmalion pp. 257-294, 329-365. 233 T. BRYCE – The Kingdom of the Hittites Oxford 2005 Ed. Oxford University Press p. 261. 234 C. R. HIGGINBOTHAM – Egyptianization and Elite Emulation in Ramesside Leuven 2000 Ed. Brill pp. 31-34. 235 G. BECKMAN – Hittite Diplomatic Texts Atlanta 1999 Ed. Society of Biblical Literature pp. 138-143. 236 T. Bryce notes that after the year 21 Hattušili could have appealed of extradition clauses that would contain this treaty. 232 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES 2. Relations between the two kings became so cordial that Ramses II, after his 4th jubilee year 39, proposed to the Hittite king to meet him in person. Hattušili III appears to have accepted and proposed, as a pledge, another of his daughters to Ramses II to seal this agreement at the top. Nothing is known of the name and fate of the girl who followed her sister into the harem of Ramses II. There is also no more information on later relationships between the two courts. The wedding date is not specified, but presumably it intervened in the year 42, because it is from this time that Ramses II assumed his new title of "Sovereign God of Heliopolis" (found in cuneiform texts). The general study of special epithets shows that they were adopted at a given time and in under certain circumstances to define and consecrate forever a theological aspect of the royal person237. The title "Ruler of Heliopolis" appears for the first time on the ostracon Louvre 2262, dated IV Peret, year 42 of Ramses II. This title might appear shortly before, but this is unlikely because no special circumstances mentioned in connection with Ramses except he married the daughter of the Hittite king. Hattušili III had offered her first daughter, plus a rich dowry, for the 2nd jubilee of Ramses II year 33, one can assume that he proceeded the same way for his second daughter at the 5th jubilee year 42. The fact that relationships are interrupted just after the marriage can be explained only by the disappearance of Hattušili III. This death has probably pushed the new Assyrian king Tukulti-Ninurta I to attack Tuthaliya IV the young successor of Hattušili III, who lost his Tarhuntassa region. This defeat pushed the Hittite king to bind to the Babylonian king (not named) by a wedding with one of his daughters. Ramses II wrote to Tuthaliya IV to discourage such a connection, but in vain238 (Ramses celebrated his 14th jubilee year 66239). The year 42 of Ramses was chosen by Wennufer, high priest of Osiris at Abydos, to praise Ramses II and to thank him for having appointed several members of his family to high office. It is likely that this special year was one where it was decided to build the temple of Wadi es-Seboua dedicating the new function of Ramses II as Ruler of Heliopolis. This temple was completed after the year 44 (stele of the officer Ramose). The reign of Ramses II is fixed by two astronomical phenomena: 1) a helical rising of Sirius during the 11-year reign of Sety I, dated I Akhet 1, year 4240, which fixes241 his accession around -1294 +/- 4. It is indeed a Sothic rising because the astronomical ceiling of Sety I actually started by a Sothic rising and according to his Cenotaph: All these stars begin on 1st Akhet when Sirius appears242; 2) the 1st day of the egyptian lunar calendar (called psdntyw "shining ones") dated II Peret 27 in the year 52 of Ramses II243 (December 20, 1232 BCE) actually coincides with a full moon244 (such coincidence occurs only every 25 years). Chronological reconstruction245 of all the Egyptian, Hittite, Babylonian and Assyrian reigns over the period 1295-1215 is as follows (synchronisms are highlighted): J. YOYOTTE – Le nom de Ramsès “Souverain d'Héliopolis” in: Mit Rahineh 1956 Philadelphia Ed. The University Museum pp. 66-70. 238 T. BRYCE – The Kingdom of the Hittites Oxford 2005 Ed. Oxford University Press pp. 297-298. 239 C. DESROCHES NOBLECOURT – Ramsès II la véritable histoire Paris 1996 Éd. Pygmalion pp. 361-376. 240 K. SETHE - Sethos I und die Erneuerung der Hundssternperiode in: Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache 66 (1931) pp. 1-7. 241 At Thebes (Longitude 32°39' Latitude 25°42') with an arcus visionis of 8.7 the Sothiac rising is dated 12 July on the period 1370-600 (see http://www.imcce.fr/fr/grandpublic/phenomenes/sothis/index.php ) and I Akhet 1 = 12 July only for 4 years 1293-1290 (see http://www.chronosynchro.net/wordpress/convertisseur ) 242 O. NEUGEBAUER, R.A. PARKER – Egyptian Astronomical Texts I London 1960 Ed. Brown University Press pp. 44, 54 (Text T2 plate 47). K. SETHE - Sethos I und die Erneuerung der Hundssternperiode in: Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache 66 (1931) pp. 1-7. 243 J.J. JANSSEN – Two Ancient Egyptian Ship's Logs Leiden 1961 Ed. E.J. Brill p. 12. 244 http://www.imcce.fr/fr/grandpublic/phenomenes/phases_lune/index.php 245 Years of Ramses II go from June to May accession dated III Shemu 27) and years of Babylonian reigns run from April to March. 237 91 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 92 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY EGYPT Ramses I 2/Sethy I 1/2 2/3 3/4 4/5 5/6 6/7 7/8 8/9 9/10 10/11 11/Ramses II 1/2 2/3 3/4 4/5 5/6 6/7 7/8 8/9 9/10 10/11 11/12 12/13 13/14 14/15 15/16 16/17 17/18 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 24/25 25/26 26/27 27/28 28/29 29/30 30/31 31/32 32/33 33/34 34/35 35/36 36/37 37/38 38/39 39/40 40/41 41/42 42/43 43/44 44/45 45/46 HATTI BABYLONIA [-]/Muwatalli II 13 [1] 14 [2] 15 [3] 16 [4] 17 [5] 18 [6] 19 [7] 20 [8] 21 [9] 22 [10] 23 [11] 24 [12] 25 [13] 26/Kadašman-Turgu [14] 1 [15] 2 [16] 3 [Battle of Kadesh] 4 [18] 5 [19] 6 Urhi-Tešub [Muršili III] 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 7/Ḫ attušili III 14 [1] 15 [alliance] 16 [3] 17 [4] 18/Kadašman-Enlil II [Peace treaty] 1 [6] 2 [7] 3 [8] 4 [9] 5 [10] 6 [11] 7 [12] 8 [13] 9/Kudur-Enlil [1st Jubilee] [14] 1 [15] 2 [16] 3 nd st [2 Jubilee, 1 wedding] 4 [18] 5 [19] 6 [3nd Jubilee] [20] 7 [21] 8 [22] 9/Šagarakti-Šuriaš [4th Jubilee] [23] 1 [24] 2 [25] 3 th nd [5 Jubilee, 2 wedding] 4 [27]/Tutḫaliya IV 5 [1] 6 [6th Jubilee] [2] 7 [3] 8 ASSYRIA 1295 1294 1293 1292 1291 1290 1289 1288 1287 1286 1285 1284 1283 1282 1281 1280 1279 1278 1277 1276 1275 1274 1273 1272 1271 1270 1269 1268 1267 1266 1265 1264 1263 1262 1261 1260 1259 1258 1257 1256 1255 1254 1253 1252 1251 1250 1249 1248 1247 1246 1245 1244 1243 1242 1241 1240 1239 1238 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31/Shalmaneser I 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 [Collapse of Mitanni] 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29/Tukulti-Ninurta I 1 2 3 4 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES 46/47 47/48 48/49 49/50 50/51 51/52 52/53 53/54 54/55 55/56 56/57 57/58 58/59 59/60 60/61 61/62 62/63 63/64 64/65 65/66 66/67 67/Merenptah 1/2 [4] [5] [6] [7] [8th Jubilee] [8] [9] [10] [9th Jubilee] [11] [12] [Kurunta] [10th Jubilee] [14] [15] [16] [11th Jubilee] [17] [12th Jubilee] [18] [19] [13th Jubilee] [20] [21] [22] [14th Jubilee] [23] [24] [25] [26] [7th Jubilee] 9 10 11 12 13/Kaštiliašu IV 1 2 3 4 9 10 11 12/Enlil-nâdin-šumi 1/Kadašman-Harbe II Adad-šuma-iddina 1 2 3 4 5 6/Adad-šuma-uṣur 1 2 93 1237 1236 1235 1234 1233 1232 1231 1230 1229 1228 1227 1226 1225 1224 1223 1222 1221 1220 1219 1218 1217 1216 1215 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 22 23 24 The agreement with all these dates is excellent. However this Egyptian chronology is generally not accepted by Egyptologists who prefer to set the accession of Ramses II in 1279, based on the lunar cycle proposed by Parker246 (in 1950). Egyptian chronology of this period (1300-1200) must be reviewed precisely. If the dates obtained from 14C method, calibrated by dendrochronology, still remain imprecise, however, they set out values (in 2010) with a precision of +/- 13 years over the period 1300-1000247. Durations of reigns according to synchronisms are calculated taking into account accession and highest dates in the reign (see next page): No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 XIXth dynasty Ramses I Sethy I Ramses II Merenptah Sethy II [Amenmes] Siptah -Tausert XXth dynasty Sethnakht Ramses III Ramses IV Ramses V Ramses VI Ramses VII Ramses VIII Ramses IX Ramses X Ramses XI Reign (14C) 1302-1302 1302-1285 1285-1219 1219-1206 1206-1200 -1209 1200-1194 1194-1192 Length according to: synchronisms 0 year 1 year 4 months 17 years 11 years 66 years 67 years 2 months 13 years 9 years 3 months 6 years 5 years [4 years] 6 years 6 years 2 years 1 year 6 months 1192-1189 1189-1158 1158-1152 1152-1148 1148-1140 1140-1133 1133-1130 1130-1112 1112-1103 1103-1073 3 years 31 years 6 years 4 years 8 years 7 years 3 years 18 years 9 years 30 years 14C 3 years 5 months 31 years 1 month 6 years 8 months 3 years 2 months 7 years 7 years 1 month 3 months ? 18 years 4 months 2 years 5 months 26 years 1 month ? discrepancy -1 +6 -1 +4 +1 0 0 0 0 -1 +1 +1 0 +3 0 +7 +4 L.W. CASPERSON – The Lunar Date of Ramesses II in: Journal of Near Eastern Studies 47 (1988) pp. 181-184. 247 C.B. RAMSEY, M.W. DEE, J.M. ROWLAND, T.F. G. HIGHAM, S.A. HARRIS, F. BROCK, A. QUILES, E.M. WILD, E.S. MARCUS, A.J. SHORTLAND - Radiocarbon - Based Chronology for Dynastic Egypt in: Science Vol 328 (10 june 2010) pp. 1554-1557. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/data/328/5985/1554/DC1/1 246 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 94 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY DETERMINING EGYPTIAN CHRONOLOGY ON 1295-1155 PERIOD As the lunar day psdntyw, II Peret 27, year 52 of Ramses II is astronomically dated December 20, 1232 BCE (full moon) the accession of Ramses II (III Shemu 27) has to be dated June 1, 1283 BCE. This date is confirmed by the accession of Sety I in 1294 BCE, determined by the Sothic rising of I Akhet 1 year 4. In fact, the reign of Sety I lasted 11 years (actually 11 years and a few days) as shown in the autobiography of the priest Bakenkhons248 (the 11 years of Sety I are all represented, except 10, which confirms the 11 years reign)249, his accession must be dated in 1294 (= 1283 + 11). Furthermore, the accession of Kadašman-Enlil II (1264-1255) is dated in year 19 of Ramses II250, implying again dating the accession of Ramses II in 1283 (= 1264 + 19). Chronology of dynasties based on years of reign and accession dates251: Ramses I Sethy I Ramses II Merenptah Sethy II [Amenmes] Siptah (Siptah)-Tausert Sethnakht Ramses III Length of reign 1 year 4 months 11 years 67 years 2 months 9 years 3 months 5 years [4 years] 6 years 1 year 6 months 3 years 5 months 31 years 1 month accession date III Peret ? III Shemu 24 ? III Shemu 27 II Akhet 6 I Peret ? [II Shemu ?] I Peret 2? " " I Shemu 26 highest date 2 II Peret 20 11 IV Shemu 13 67 I Akhet 18 10 IV Akhet 7 6 I Peret 19 [ 4 III Shemu 29?] 7 IV Akhet 22 8 II Shemu 29 4 32 III Shemu 14 Reign 01/1295-05/1294 06/1294-06/1283 06/1283-07/1216 08/1216-10/1207 11/1207-10/1202 [04/1206-03/1202] 11/1202-10/1196 11/1196-04/1194 11/1196-03/1192 04/1192-04/1161 Ramses IV 6 years 8 months III Shemu 15 7 III Akhet 29? 05/1161-12/1155 The reign durations fit quite well with those of Manetho (via Flavius Josephus). However, because of the uncertainty on some accession dates three of these reigns may have an additional year if we place it at the end of the last year of reign instead of the beginning. Thus, Sety II may have reigned 6 years instead of 5 (the most likely)252 and Ramses II may have reigned 67 years and 2 months instead of 66 years and 2 months253. In his stele dated beginning of year 4, Ramses IV compares his 3 years of reign with the 67 years (not 66) of Ramses II, which involves a death of Ramses II at the beginning of his year 68 in accordance with the number of his jubilees (sed festivals). In fact, 14 jubilees are attested, the first one being celebrated in year 30 and the others every 3 years: the 11th in year 60 (=2x30), the 12th in year 61 and the 14th in year 66. The case most delicate being the 4 years reign of pharaoh Amenmes, that some place between Merenptah and Sety II, and others in parallel with Sety II (and delay it of approximately 5 months). Several synchronisms and lunar dates, dated by astronomy, can resolve these uncertainties. Bakenkhonsu states that he spent 4 years as an excellent youngster, 11 years as a youth, as a trainee stable-master for king Men[maat]re (Sety I), wab priest of Amun for 4 years, god's father of Amun for 12 years, third pries of Amun for 15 years, second priest of Amun for 12 (E. FLOOD – Biographical Texts from Ramessid Egypt Atlanta 2007 Ed. Society of Biblical Literature p. 41). 249 E. HORNUNG – The New Kingdom in: Ancient Egyptian Chronology (Leiden 2006) Ed. Brill pp. 210-211. 250 W.A. WARD - The Present Status of Egyptian Chronology in: Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 288 (1991) pp. 55,56. 251 E. HORNUNG – The New Kingdom in: Ancient Egyptian Chronology. Leiden 2006 Ed. Brill pp. 208-211. C. VANDERSLEYEN - L'Egypte et la vallée du Nil Tome 2 Paris 1995 Éd. Presses Universitaires de France pp. 467-512. J. VON BECKERATH – Chronologie des pharaonischen ägypten 1997 Ed. Verlag Philipp von Zabern pp. 201-202. 252 H. ALTENMÜLLER – Bemerkunden zu den königsgräbern des neuen reiches in: Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur 10 (1983) pp. 43-61. 253 R.J. DEMARÉE – Announcement of the passing of Ramesses II in: Journal of the Ancient Near East Society “Ex Oriente Lux” 46 (2016-2017), pp. 121-126. 248 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES The violent crisis that hit the eastern Mediterranean caused the ruin of the great empires of the Bronze Age, which the Trojan War is the most famous episode, is exactly dated year 8 of Ramesses III. Thebes, Lefkandi, Tiryns, Mycenae and Pylos in mainland Greece and Chania in Crete, were ransacked and sometimes completely destroyed. Most of these cities and their palaces were burned. In Anatolia, among the most important sites, archaeological levels similarly destroyed are found and which dates from the same period. Hattusha, the Hittite capital, was sacked and burned just like the major cities of Cyprus. On the north coast of Syria, the flourishing city of Ugarit was destroyed and never inhabited thereafter. Mesopotamia was preserved as the wave of devastation did not extend to the east254, and it was the Egyptians who alone could stop it. The temple of Ramses III at Medinet Habu contains an account of this victory over the Sea Peoples. The identification of these peoples as their reasons for migration are poorly understood, however, these events are precisely dated. The great Alexandrian scholar Eratosthenes (276-193), for example, dated the famous Trojan War in -1184. Manetho255, while confirming the 7-year reign of Queen [Siptah]/Tausert (1202-1194) states: Thouôris, (...) at the time when Troy was taken, reigned 7 years (Tausert actually reigned, from 1195 to 1194, at the beginning of the war, 10 years before the destruction of Troy)256. This destruction coincides with the fall of the Hittite Empire dated indirectly in year 8 of Ramses III and in year 2 of Meli-Shipak (the last texts from Emar are dated [-]/VI2/2 and 6/VII/[2] of Meli-Shipak)257, in October 1185 BCE. This war led by the Sea Peoples had to be spread over less than one year because, according to the inscription of Ramses III, all countries (Hatti, the coast of Cilicia, Carchemish, Cyprus, etc.) were "destroyed all at once" and, according to the text of Homer (Odyssey XIV:240-280), the sacking of the city of Priam [Troy], after 10 years of fighting, was followed "in less than 1 month" by the cruise of Achaeans to Egypt and the sacking of its wonderful fields. As year 2 of Meli-Shipak is dated in 1185 BCE, Ramses III's accession has to be dated in 1192 (= 1185 +8 – 2 +1)258. This date is consistent with the accession of Ramses II in 1283 (= 1192 + 3+5 m. +6 + 5 + 9+3 m. + 67+2 m.). The reign of Tausert is well known259. Wife of Sety II, she exercised after his death a strong influence on his son Siptah (Regency?) then, at the latter's death, she continued his reign instead of inaugurating a new one (Sethnakht also began his reign from Siptah's death)260. Egyptian women, as wife or daughter of Pharaoh, could access the deity, which authorized them to embody and so prolong the reign of a dead pharaoh without successor, but not to begin a new reign. This case occurred three times over the period 1500-1200: 1) Tausert, wife of Sety II, continuing the reign of his son Siptah, 2) Ankhkheperure continuing the reign of Semenkhkare her husband and 3) Hatshepsut continuing the reign of her husband Thutmose II (which was in turn extended by Thutmose III at Hatshepsut's death). These extended reigns were interpreted by some as co-regencies, that distorts the chronology. Another source of error comes from the change of name by some pharaohs, interpreted as the reign of new sovereign. In fact it is not the case, since for no apparent R. MORKOT – Atlas de la Grèce antique Paris 1996 Éd. Autrement pp. 33-34. 255 W.G. WADDELL – Manetho Massachusetts 1956 Ed. Harvard University Press pp. 101-119. 256 According to Thucydides, the Trojan War was the result of an expedition of disparate tribes of pirates (see Odyssey III:71-74), living on islands around Achaia, who were united by King Agamemnon of Mycenae. This expedition against the Trojans was the culmination of 10 years of battle (The Peloponnesian War I:8-12). For example, a battle in Egypt is mentioned in the year 5 of Rameses III. 257 Y. COHEN, I. SINGER – A Late Synchronism between Ugarit and Emar in: Essays on Ancient Israel in Its Near Eastern Context (Eisenbrauns 2006) Indiana p. 134. 258 Year 2 of Meli-Shipak beginning on Nisan 1, or on April 4, 1185 BCE, and year 8 of Ramesses III starts at I Shemu 26 or so in April at that time. The accession is counted as year 0 by the Babylonians and as a year 1 by the Egyptians. 259 V.G. CALLENDER – Queen Tausret and the End of Dynasty 19 in: Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur 32 (2004) pp. 81-104. 260 C. VANDERSLEYEN - L'Egypte et la vallée du Nil Tome 2 Paris 1995 Éd. Presses Universitaires de France pp. 591-593. 254 95 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 96 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY reason Ramses-Siptah (Sekhâenre-Meryamon) was then called Merenptah Siptah (AkhenrêSetepenre) from the year 3 of his reign. It is possible to anchor Tausert's reign, and consequently the one of Ramses III, thanks to a graffito scribe named Thotemhab left at the Theban temple of Deir el-Bahari, in memory of his participation in the Festival of the Valley. During this annual celebration, the processional statue of Amon passed two nights at the funerary temple of the reigning monarch. The graffito of Thotemhab tells us that in the II Shemu 28 Year 7 of Tausert, the statue of Amon was transported to the mortuary temple. The Beautiful Festival of the Valley was celebrated the day after the 1st lunar day, which implies a to date that day 1 (psdntyw) to II Shemu 27 Year 7 of Tausert261. The reign of Pharaoh Amenmes262 can not be placed between that of Merenptah and Sety II, but only in parallel with the one of Sety II, as can be deduced from the lunar dates (see table hereafter for dates), because the insertion of 4-year reign of Amenmes would push the lunar date, either in II Peret 21 in -1236 if the reign of Sety II is 5 years long, either in II Peret 2 in -1237 if this reign is 6 years long, yet the only possibility is that of II Peret 27 in -1232. The reign of Ramses III began at I Shemu 26 year 1, or March 9, -1192. This reconstruction also confirms the 2-year reign of the pharaoh Sethnakht because the duration of 3 years263 would imply a lunar date II Shemu 7 (April -1196), incompatible with that of II Shemu 27 from the graffito. This date 27 Shemu II Year 7 corresponds to April 10 in -1195 and actually coincides with a full moon264. A good indication of the rivalry between the two kings, Setnakht and Amenmes (later considered as usurper), comes from their cartouche, each having made erase the name of the other. Year 4 of Sethnakht (AlAhram Weekly 11-17 January 2007 No. 827) involves at least 3 years of reign, but as this reign began with the death of Siptah, Tausert's reign (1 year 6 months) must be subtracted. We also note that the two lunar dates (psdntyw) of Ramses III (I Shemu 11 and IV Peret 1)265 fall at the beginning and end of year 5. Moreover, the beautiful feast of the valley266 [probably at the end of year 5], celebrated just after the lunar day 1(psdntyw), is dated II Shemu 1 and 2, which implies to date this lunar day I Shemu at 30 or March 12 in -1187 (full moon). The lunar day psdntyw has always played an important role in Egyptian cult. On the stele from Abydos dated Year 4 of Ramses IV, Pharaoh says: My heart has not forgotten the day of my psdntyw feast267 and this stele is dated 10 Akhet III, which implies a connection with this lunar day. The year 4 of Ramses IV begins at III Shemu 15 (the day of his accession)268 and in 1158 according to the previous scheme, one can also verify that the 4 year of Ramses IV begins with a lunar day 1 dated III Shemu 16, which explains the choice of the year 4 for this inscription. The III Shemu 15 corresponds to April 19 in -1158, full moon day, as the III Akhet 10 which corresponds to August 16, -1158. The complete reconstruction of all Egyptian reigns on the period 1295-1155, based on the lunar cycle of 25 years, allows to check the coincidences of dates which occur only every 25 years, if there is no error, or every 11/14 years if there is an error of 1 day. R. KRAUSS – Moïse le pharaon Monaco 2005 Éd. Rocher pp. 125-127. 262 T. SCHNEIDER – Conjectures about Amenmesse in: Ramesside Studies in Honour of K.A. itchen (Rutherford Press, 2011) pp. 445-451. 263 If the Elephantine Stele (KRI V:671-672) states that all the enemies of Egypt were eliminated on II Shemu 1 in year 2 of Sethnakht, there is no explicit link with a accession date, but it could correspond to the time of the disappearance of Tausert (whose highest date is the II Shemu 29 year 8 of Siptah). 264 http://www.imcce.fr/fr/grandpublic/phenomenes/phases_lune/index.php 265 A. SPALINGER – Egyptian Festival Dating and the Moon in: Under One Sky (Münster 2002) Ed. Ugarit-Verlag pp. 385-389. 266 S. EL-SABBAN – Temple Festival Calendars of Ancient Egypt Liverpol 2000 Ed. Liverpool University Press pp. 67,68. 267 A.J. PEDEN – The Reign of Ramesses IV Warminster 1994 Ed. Aris & Phillips Ltd pp. 91-94. 268 C. VANDERSLEYEN - L'Egypte et la vallée du Nil Tome 2 Paris 1995 Éd. Presses Universitaires de France p. 616. 261 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES 97 Legend of colours: Year 1 of Ramses I from IV Peret, June in -1294, to III Peret, May in -1293 (-1293 = 1293 BCE) Synchronism with the Sothic rising dated I Akhet 1 in year 4 of Sety I (July 12, -1291). Synchronism with Babylonian chronology: years 19 and 42 of Ramses II (in -1264 and -1241); year 8 of Ramesses III (in -1185). Lunar dates: year 52 de Ramses II (in -1232); year 7 de Siptah (in -1195); year 4 de Ramses IV (in -1158). SEASON I month Ramses I Sety I Ramses II AKHET II III IV I PERET II III Jul. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. 1295 1294 1293 1292 1291 1290 1289 1288 1287 1286 1285 1284 1283 1282 1281 1280 1279 1278 1277 1276 1275 1274 1273 1272 1271 1270 1269 1268 1267 1266 1265 1264 1263 1262 1261 1260 1259 1258 1257 1256 1255 1254 1253 1252 1251 1250 1249 1248 1247 1246 1 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 1 19 9 28 17 6 25 15 4 23 12 2 21 10 29 18 8 26 16 5 24 13 3 22 11 1 19 9 28 17 6 25 15 4 23 12 2 21 10 29 18 8 26 16 5 24 13 3 22 11 30 19 8 27 17 6 25 14 4 23 12 1 20 9 28 18 7 26 15 5 24 13 2 21 11 30 19 8 27 17 6 25 14 4 23 12 1 20 9 28 18 7 26 15 5 24 13 2 21 11 29 18 8 27 16 6 24 14 3 22 11 1 20 9 28 17 7 26 15 4 23 13 2 21 10 29 18 8 27 16 6 24 14 3 22 11 1 20 9 28 17 7 26 15 4 23 13 2 21 10 29 18 7 26 16 5 24 13 3 22 11 30 19 9 27 17 6 25 14 4 23 12 1 20 10 29 18 7 26 16 5 24 13 3 22 11 30 19 9 27 17 6 25 14 4 23 12 1 20 10 28 18 7 26 15 5 23 13 2 21 10 30 19 8 27 16 6 25 14 3 22 12 1 20 9 28 18 7 26 15 5 23 13 2 21 10 30 19 8 27 16 6 25 14 3 22 12 1 20 9 28 17 6 25 15 4 23 12 2 21 10 29 18 8 27 16 5 24 14 3 22 11 30 19 9 28 17 6 25 15 4 23 12 2 21 10 29 18 8 27 16 5 24 14 3 22 11 30 19 9 27 17 6 25 14 4 23 12 1 20 10 28 18 7 26 15 5 24 13 2 21 11 30 19 8 27 17 6 25 14 4 23 12 1 20 10 28 18 7 26 15 5 24 13 2 21 11 30 19 8 IV I SHEMU II III IV 5 Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. 27 16 6 24 14 3 22 11 1 20 9 28 17 7 26 15 4 23 13 2 21 10 29 18 8 27 16 6 24 14 3 22 11 1 20 9 28 17 7 26 15 4 23 13 2 21 10 29 18 8 26 16 5 24 13 3 22 11 30 19 9 27 17 6 25 14 4 23 12 1 20 10 29 18 7 26 16 5 24 13 3 22 11 30 19 9 27 17 6 25 14 4 23 12 1 20 10 29 18 7 26 15 5 23 13 2 21 10 29 19 8 27 16 6 25 14 3 22 12 1 20 9 28 18 7 26 15 5 23 13 2 21 10 29 19 8 27 16 6 25 14 3 22 12 1 20 9 28 18 7 25 15 4 23 12 2 21 10 29 18 8 27 16 5 24 14 3 22 11 1 19 9 28 17 6 25 15 4 23 12 2 21 10 29 18 8 27 16 5 24 14 3 22 11 1 19 9 28 17 6 25 14 4 23 12 1 20 10 28 18 7 26 15 5 24 13 2 21 11 30 19 8 27 17 6 25 14 4 23 12 1 20 10 28 18 7 26 15 5 24 13 2 21 11 30 19 8 27 17 6 3 1 4 2 3 1 4 2 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 98 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY Merenptah Sety II Siptah Tausert Sethnakht Ramses III 1245 1244 1243 1242 1241 1240 1239 1238 1237 1236 1235 1234 1233 1232 1231 1230 1229 1228 1227 1226 1225 1224 1223 1222 1221 1220 1219 1218 1217 1216 1215 1214 1213 1212 1211 1210 1209 1208 1207 1206 1205 1204 1203 1202 1201 1200 1199 1198 1197 1196 1195 1194 1193 1192 1191 1190 1189 1188 1187 1186 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 19 9 28 17 6 25 15 4 23 12 2 21 10 29 18 8 26 16 5 24 13 3 22 11 1 19 9 28 17 6 25 15 4 23 12 2 21 10 29 18 8 26 16 5 24 13 3 22 11 1 19 9 28 17 6 25 15 4 23 30 19 8 27 17 6 25 14 4 23 12 1 20 9 28 18 7 26 15 5 24 13 2 21 11 30 19 8 27 17 6 25 14 4 23 12 1 20 9 28 18 7 26 15 5 24 13 2 21 11 30 19 8 27 17 6 25 14 4 23 29 18 8 27 16 6 24 14 3 22 11 1 20 9 28 17 7 26 15 4 23 13 2 21 10 29 18 8 27 16 6 24 14 3 22 11 1 20 9 28 17 7 26 15 4 23 13 2 21 10 29 18 8 27 16 6 24 14 3 22 29 18 7 26 16 5 24 13 3 22 11 30 19 9 27 17 6 25 14 4 23 12 1 20 10 29 18 7 26 16 5 24 13 3 22 11 30 19 9 27 17 6 25 14 4 23 12 1 20 10 29 18 7 26 16 5 24 13 3 22 28 18 7 26 15 5 23 13 2 21 10 30 19 8 27 16 6 25 14 3 22 12 1 20 9 28 18 7 26 15 5 23 13 2 21 10 30 19 8 27 16 6 25 14 3 22 12 1 20 9 28 18 7 26 15 5 23 13 2 21 28 17 6 25 15 4 23 12 2 21 10 29 18 8 27 16 5 24 14 3 22 11 30 19 9 28 17 6 25 15 4 23 12 2 21 10 29 18 8 27 16 5 24 14 3 22 11 30 19 9 28 17 6 25 15 4 23 12 2 21 27 17 6 25 14 4 23 12 1 20 10 28 18 7 26 15 5 24 13 2 21 11 30 19 8 27 17 6 25 14 4 23 12 1 20 10 28 18 7 26 15 5 24 13 2 21 11 30 19 8 27 17 6 25 14 4 23 12 1 20 27 16 6 24 14 3 22 11 1 20 9 28 17 7 26 15 4 23 13 2 21 10 29 18 8 27 16 6 24 14 3 22 11 1 20 9 28 17 7 26 15 4 23 13 2 21 10 29 18 8 27 16 6 24 14 3 22 11 1 20 26 16 5 24 13 3 22 11 30 19 9 27 17 6 25 14 4 23 12 1 20 10 29 18 7 26 16 5 24 13 3 22 11 30 19 9 27 17 6 25 14 4 23 12 1 20 10 29 18 7 26 16 5 24 13 3 22 11 30 19 26 15 5 23 13 2 21 10 29 19 8 27 16 6 25 14 3 22 12 1 20 9 28 18 7 26 15 5 23 13 2 21 10 29 19 8 27 16 6 25 14 3 22 12 1 20 9 28 18 7 26 15 5 23 13 2 21 10 29 19 25 15 4 23 12 2 21 10 29 18 8 27 16 5 24 14 3 22 11 1 19 9 28 17 6 25 15 4 23 12 2 21 10 29 18 8 27 16 5 24 14 3 22 11 1 19 9 28 17 6 25 15 4 23 12 2 21 10 29 18 25 14 4 23 12 1 20 10 28 18 7 26 15 5 24 13 2 21 11 30 19 8 27 17 6 25 14 4 23 12 1 20 10 28 18 7 26 15 5 24 13 2 21 11 30 19 8 27 17 6 25 14 4 23 12 1 20 10 28 18 3 1 4 2 3 1 4 2 3 1 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES Ramses IV 1185 1184 1183 1182 1181 1180 1179 1178 1177 1176 1175 1174 1173 1172 1171 1170 1169 1168 1167 1166 1165 1164 1163 1162 1161 1160 1159 1158 1157 1156 1155 1154 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 1 2 3 4 5 6 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 14 15 12 2 21 10 29 18 8 26 16 5 24 13 3 22 11 1 19 9 28 17 6 25 15 4 23 12 2 21 10 29 18 8 12 1 20 9 28 18 7 26 15 5 24 13 2 21 11 30 19 8 27 17 6 25 14 4 23 12 1 20 9 28 18 7 11 1 20 9 28 17 7 26 15 4 23 13 2 21 10 29 18 8 27 16 6 24 14 3 22 11 1 20 9 28 17 7 11 30 19 9 27 17 6 25 14 4 23 12 1 20 10 29 18 7 26 16 5 24 13 3 22 11 30 19 9 27 17 6 10 30 19 8 27 16 6 25 14 3 22 12 1 20 9 28 18 7 26 15 5 23 13 2 21 10 30 19 8 27 16 6 10 29 18 8 27 16 5 24 14 3 22 11 30 19 9 28 17 6 25 15 4 23 12 2 21 10 29 18 8 27 16 5 10 28 18 7 26 15 5 24 13 2 21 11 30 19 8 27 17 6 25 14 4 23 12 1 20 10 28 18 7 26 15 5 99 9 28 17 7 26 15 4 23 13 2 21 10 29 18 8 27 16 6 24 14 3 22 11 1 20 9 28 17 7 26 15 4 9 27 17 6 25 14 4 23 12 1 20 10 29 18 7 26 16 5 24 13 3 22 11 30 19 9 27 17 6 25 14 4 8 27 16 6 25 14 3 22 12 1 20 9 28 18 7 26 15 5 23 13 2 21 10 29 19 8 27 16 6 25 14 3 8 27 16 5 24 14 3 22 11 1 19 9 28 17 6 25 15 4 23 12 2 21 10 29 18 8 27 16 5 24 14 3 7 26 15 5 24 13 2 21 11 30 19 8 27 17 6 25 14 4 23 12 1 20 10 28 18 7 26 15 5 24 13 2 4 2 3 1 4 2 The table above may be used to check possible coincidences of dates. For example, the helical rising of Sirius is dated July 12 at the time of Sety I (around -1300)269, which corresponds to the I Akhet 3 in 1284 BCE270, year 10 of Sety I. The lunar day psdntyw for Egyptian month called Akhet has to be dated I Akhet 2 in year 10 of Sety I, which corresponds to July 11, 1284 BCE (full moon)271. Full moon Sety I 1294 2 1293 1 3 1292 2 4 1291 3 5 1290 4 6 1289 5 7 1288 6 8 1287 7 9 1286 8 10 1285 9 11 1284 10 12 1283 11 13 I Akhet 9 I Akhet 28 I Akhet 17 I Akhet 6 I Akhet 25 I Akhet 15 I Akhet 4 I Akhet 23 I Akhet 12 I Akhet 2 I Akhet 21 Sothic rising July 20 August 8 July 28 July 17 August 4 July 25 July 14 August 2 July 21 July 11 July 30 I Akhet 1 I Akhet 1 I Akhet 1 I Akhet 1 I Akhet 2 I Akhet 2 I Akhet 2 I Akhet 2 I Akhet 3 I Akhet 3 I Akhet 3 July 12 July 12 July 12 July 12 July 12 July 12 July 12 July 12 July 12 July 12 July 12 Synchronisms (below) between Egyptian, Babylonian and Israelite chronologies are in perfect agreement (highlighted). Astronomical dates have been highlighted in blue sky At Thebes (Longitude 32°39' Latitude 25°42') with an arcus visionis of 8.7 the Sothic rising is dated 12 July on the period 1370-600 http://www.imcce.fr/fr/grandpublic/phenomenes/sothis/index.php 270 http://www.chronosynchro.net/wordpress/convertisseur 271 http://www.imcce.fr/fr/grandpublic/phenomenes/phases_lune/index.php 269 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 100 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY ASSYRIA Erîba-Adad I Aššur-uballiṭ I Enlil-nêrârî Arik-dên-ili Adad-nêrârî I Shalmaneser I Tukultî-Ninurta I Aššur-nâdin-apli Aššur-nêrârî III Enlil-kudurri-uṣur Ninurta-apil-Ekur Aššur-dân I Aššur-dân III Aššur-nêrârî V Tiglath-pileser III Shalmaneser V Sargon II Reign BABYLON 1385-1358 Kadašman-Enlil I 1358 - Burna-Buriaš II Reign EGYPT Reign 1375-1360 Amenhotep III 1383-1345 1360 - Akhenaton 1356-1340 Semenkhkare 1340-1338 -1333 -Ankhkheperure 1338-1336 Kara-ḫardaš 1333 Tutankhamon 1336 Nazi-Bugaš 1333 -1327 -1323 Kurigalzu II 1333 - Aÿ 1327-1323 1323-1313 -1308 Horemheb 1323-1309 1313-1302 Nazi-Maruttaš 1308 1309-1295 1302 Ramses I 1295-1294 -1282 Sethy I 1294-1283 -1271 Kadašman-Turgu 1282 - Ramses II 1283 1271 -1264 (-1264) Kadašman-Enlil II 1264-1255 (-1264) -1242 Kudur-Enlil 1255-1246 1242 - Šagarakti-šuriaš 1246-1233 (-1242) Kaštiliašu IV 1233-1225 Enlil-nâdin-šumi 1225-1224 Kadašman-Harbe II 1224-1223 Adad-šuma-iddina 1223-1217 -1216 -1206 Adad-šuma-uṣur 1217 - Merenptah 1216-1207 1206 -1202 Sethy II 1207-1202 1202-1196 Siptah 1202-1196 1196 -Tausert 1196-1194 -1191 -1187 Sethnakht 1196-1192 1191-1179 Meli-Šipak 1187-1172 Ramses III 1192 1179 - Marduk-apla-iddina 1172-1159 -1161 Zababa-šuma-iddina 1159-1158 Ramses IV 1161 Enlil-nâdin-ahi 1158-1155 -1155 Marduk-kabit-aḫḫešu 1155 - Ramses V 1154-1151 -1141 Ramses VI 1151-1144 Itti-Marduk-balaṭu 1141 - Ramses VII 1144-1137 Ramses VIII 1137 -1133 -1133 Ramses IX 1137-1119 Ramses X 1119-1116 Ramses XI 1116-1090 Smendes 1090-1064 ISRAEL Reign [Amenemnesut] [1064-1060] David 1057-1017 Psusennes I 1064-1018 Solomon 1017 - Amenemope 1018-1009 Osorkon the Elder 1009-1003 (-993) Siamun 1003 - 984 -977 Psusennes II/III 994-980 Rehoboam 977-960 Shoshenq I 980-959 Asa 957 - Osorkon I 959-924 Shoshenq II 924-922 Shoshenq IIb -922 -916 Takelot I 922-909 Jehoshaphat 916-891 Osorkon II 909 Jehoram 893-885 [Athaliah] Jehoyada 885-879 -865 Joash 879-839 Takelot II 865-840 Amasiah 839-810 Shoshenq III 840-800 Uzziah [Azariah] 810 - Shoshenq IV 800-788 773-755 -758 Pamiu 788-782 755-745 Jotham 758-742 Shoshenq V 782-745 745-727 Ahaz 742-726 Osorkon IV 745 727-722 Hezekiah 726 -712 722-705 -697 Chabataka/Taharqa 712-690 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES 101 Mesopotamian chronology can be reconstructed up to Sargon of Akkad. This period has few synchronisms which are precisely datable by astronomy (highlighted in blue) but reigns duration of the dynasties of Akkad, Uruk IV-V and Ur III are accurately known272 furthermore Sargon, Iš'ar-Damu King of Ebla and Pepi I were contemporaries273. The chronology of dynasties IX to XII is locked to the beginning of the XIIth in 1975 BCE and based on the sum of regnal years. The duration of the dynasties VII and VIII was brief because, according to Manetho, 70 kings would have ruled 70 days each (70x70 days = around 13 years) or a period about 10 years of instability, a very small "Dark Ages". EGYPT Dynasty VI Teti Userkare Pepi I Merenre I Pepi II Merenre II Nitocris Dynasties VII-VIII Dynasty XI Mentuhotep I Antef I Antef II Reign Seheteptauy Nefersahor Neferkare Antiemsaf (instability) (Dynasties IX-X) Sehertauy Uahankh 18 <1 42 14 64 1 <1 2? 2255-2237 2237-2237 2237-2195 2195-2181 2181-2117 2117-2116 2116-2116 "Dark Ages" 16 2118 49 Antef III Nekhtnetepnefer 8 Mentuhotep II Nebhepetre 51 Mentuhotep III Mentuhotep IV Dynasty XII Amenemhat I Sesostris I Seankhkare Nebtauyre 12 7 Sehetepibre Kheparkare 29 45 Amenemhat II Sesostris II Senwosret III Nebkaure Khakheperre Khakaure 38 8 19 MESOPOTAMIA Sargon (AKKAD) Rimuš Maništusu Narâm-Sîn (insurrections)274 Šar-kali-šarri - 2102 2102 - Irgigi/ Imi/ Nanum/ Ilulu Dudu Šu-Turul -2053 Ur-Nigin (URUK IV) 2053 - Ur-Gigir -2045 Kuda 2045 - Puzur-ili Ur-Utu Utu-hegal Ur-Nammu (UR III) -1994 Šulgi 1994-1982 1982-1975 1975-1946 1946 -1901 1901-1863 1863-1855 1855-1836 Amar-Sîn Šu-Sîn Ibbi-Sîn Collapse of Ur Reign 2243-2187 2187-2178 2178-2163 2163 -2126 2126 - 56 9 15 37 25 -2101 2101-2098 3 2098-2077 2077-2062 2062-2055 2055-2049 2049-2043 2043-2038 2038-2032 2032-2021 2020-2002 2002 - 21 15 7 6 6 5 6 7 [11?] 18 48 -1954 1954-1945 1945-1936 1936-1912 9 9 24 The Sothic rising, dated IV Peret 16 in year 7 of Senwosret III, can be dated around 1850 BCE by astronomy because at that time it took place July 11 in Thebes (longitude 32° 39' E, latitude 25° 42' N) and 15/16 July in Memphis (longitude 31° 15' E, latitude 29° 52' N), which fixes the heliacal rising of Sirius either in 1849 BCE +/- 4 years in Thebes (south of Egypt) or 1865 BCE +/- 4 in Memphis275 (north of Egypt). J.-J. GLASSNER – Chroniques mésopotamiennes Paris 2004 Éd. Les Belles Lettres pp. 137-141. 273 F. JOANNÈS - Dictionnaire de la civilisation mésopotamienne Paris 2001 Éd. Robert Laffont p. 264. 274 According to the curse of Agade, the inordinate expansionism of Naram-Sin had caused uprisings throughout the empire that would eventually cause the loss (progressive) of his capital Agade. 275 http://www.imcce.fr/fr/grandpublic/phenomenes/sothis/index.php The arcus visionis should be 8.3° instead of 8.5° because around 1850 BCE the angle between the Sun and Sirius at its rising was a little higher than today. 272 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 102 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY arcus visionis 8.3° Memphis (29°52') Thebes (25°42') Elephantine (24°) Sothic rising (IV Peret 16) 15 July 11 July 9 July year 7 of Senwosret III 1865-1862 1849-1846 1841-1838 year 1 of Senwosret III 1872-1869 1855-1852 1848-1845 It is possible to refine this dating using numerous lunar dates276 that span during the 19 years of the reign of Senwosret III, followed by the 45 years of Amenemhat III and which fit according to the lunar cycle of 25 years (dates highlighted hereafter)277. They are offset by 1 day compared with those of Parker who translated the word "until" in an inclusive meaning and not exclusive278. The few irregularities prove that it is observed cycles and not calculated cycles279. The 19-year reign of Senwosret III precede the 45 years of Amenemhat III, his successor, without co-regency280. The lunar dates enable to choose between Thebes and Memphis. The lunar cycle of 25 years starting at I Akhet 1 and the full moon281 on November 30, 1857 BCE, the Sothic rising of Year 7 dated in 1848 BCE (column 1) is the only one located in a calculated area for Sothic rising (1849-1846). The one dated 25 years earlier (1865-1862) does not fit in the previous cycle (starting December 6, 1882 BCE), unless accepting 1 day of error on all lunar dates. (2) 1882 1881 1880 Senwosret III 1879 1878 1877 1876 1875 1874 1873 1872 1871 1870 1869 1868 1867 1866 1865 1864 1863 1862 1861 Amenemhat III 1860 1859 1858 1857 (1) 1857 1856 1855 1854 1853 1852 1851 1850 1849 1848 1847 1846 1845 1844 1843 1842 1841 1840 1839 1838 1837 1836 1835 1834 1833 1832 1831 I AKHET II III Nov Dec Jan 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 1 1 19 9 28 17 6 25 15 4 23 12 2 21 10 29 18 8 26 16 5 24 13 3 22 11 1 30 19 8 27 17 6 25 14 4 23 12 1 20 9 28 18 7 26 15 5 24 13 2 21 11 30 29 18 8 27 16 6 24 14 3 22 11 1 20 9 28 17 7 26 15 4 23 13 2 21 10 29 IV I PERET II III IV Feb Mar Apr May Jun 29 18 7 26 16 5 24 13 3 22 11 30 19 9 27 17 6 25 14 4 23 12 1 20 10 29 28 18 7 26 15 5 23 13 2 21 10 30 19 8 27 16 6 25 14 3 22 12 1 20 9 28 28 17 6 25 15 4 23 12 2 21 10 29 18 8 27 16 5 24 14 3 22 11 1 19 9 28 27 17 6 25 14 4 23 12 1 20 10 28 18 7 26 15 5 24 13 2 21 11 30 19 8 27 27 16 6 24 14 3 22 11 1 20 9 28 17 7 26 15 4 23 13 2 21 10 29 18 8 27 I Jul 26 16 5 24 13 3 22 11 30 19 9 27 17 6 25 14 4 23 12 1 20 10 29 18 7 26 SHEMU II III IV 5 Aug Sep Oct 26 15 5 23 13 2 21 10 29 19 8 27 16 6 25 14 3 22 12 1 20 9 28 18 7 26 25 15 4 23 12 2 21 10 29 18 8 27 16 5 24 14 3 22 11 1 19 9 28 17 6 25 25 14 4 23 12 1 20 10 28 18 7 26 15 5 24 13 2 21 11 30 19 8 27 17 6 25 3 1 4 2 R.A. PARKER - The Calendars of Ancient Egypt in: Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization N°26 (1950) Ed. University of Chicago pp. 63-67. 277 U. LUFT – Die chronologische Fixierung des ägyptischen Mittleren Reiches Wien 1992 Ed. Akademie der Wissenschaften pp. 150,151. R. KRAUSS - Arguments in Favor of a Low Chronology for the Middle and New Kingdom in: The Synchronisation of Civilisations in the Eastern (M. Bietak 2003) pp. 175-197 278 L.E. ROSE – The Astronomical Evidence for Dating the End of the Middle Kingdom in: Journal of Near Eastern Studies 53 (1994) pp. 247,248. 279 Lunar date I Akhet 19, year 31 of Amenemhat III, is wrong because it would involve a 31-day month, this date should be corrected in I Akhet 20. 280 C. OBSOMER - Sésostris Ier. Étude chronologique et historique du règne Bruxelles 1995 Éd. Connaissance ancienne de l'Égypte p. 149. 281 http://www.imcce.fr/fr/grandpublic/phenomenes/phases_lune/index.php 276 A CLEAR DATING OF DARK AGES Colour legend * 103 Meaning Date of first lunar day in the (civil) calendar. Date of first lunar day shifted by 1 day compared to the theoretical cycle. Calculated area of the heliacal rising of Sirius. Day dated IV Peret 1 year 7 of Senwosret III. Reign of Senwosret III Reign of Amenemhat III The Sothic rising of year 7 of Senwosret III coincided with a 1st lunar crescent (dated July 11, 1848 BCE), which may have been a remarkable event, worthy of notice (the IV Peret 1 coinciding with the full moon of June 26, 1848 BCE). The Sothic rising of Senwosret III was thus observed at Thebes. Astronomy fixing the year 7 of Senwosret III in 1848 BCE it is possible to date accurately the 12th dynasty through the duration of the reigns (known for this period, reigns starting to year 0). Carbon-14 dating provides a relative Egyptian chronology282 (approximate) but the astronomical dating from the precise orientation of the pyramids283 of Dynasties IV and V (with the exception of that of Khephren, which is interpreted differently284) gives an absolute chronology (below). The accuracy of astronomical dates is +/- 5 years based on a calculated difference of 19" per year (due to the precession of the equinoxes) may be optimistic because the Egyptian observations also depended on visual acuity and eye has only a resolution of 1' (60") which is three times the value of the difference. King of Egypt Dynasty IV Snefru Kheops Djedefre Khephren Mykerinos Shepseskaf Thamphthis Dynasty V Userkaf Sahure Neferirkare (Kakaï) Accession according to: Astronomy (1) C14 calib. (2) 2526 +/-7 2612 +/-34 2480 +/-5 2594 +/-36 (2457) 2573 +/-37 2448 +/-5 2566 +/-37 2415 +/-10 2543 +/-39 (2388) 2516 +/-40 (2380) 2372 +/-25 2359 +/-25 2508 +/-40 2501 +/-41 2443 +/-43 Gap (2) – (1) 86 114 (116?) 118 128 (128?) - Error (3) 41 41 (42?) 42 49 (50?) (128?) 129 84 (65?) 66 67 The reconstruction285 of the early years of the reign of Djedkare Isesi shows that cattle censuses were not biannual286, but on a ratio of 1.6 (= 30/19). The ratio of "years after" compared to normal years, for the first 8 years of the reign is to 0.37 (= 11/30) the same ratio of 0.36 (= 9/25) of intercalar years of the 25 years lunar cycle. The date of the first sed festival (= 30 years of reign) of Pepi I coincided with his 18th livestock census287, which confirms the theoretical ratio of 1.6 (= 25/16) between census years and regnal years (= 30/18). Years "after" (intercalar) are consistent with reign durations288 according to the equation: minimum duration of reign = number of census years x 1.6. The comparison is C.B. RAMSEY, M.W. DEE, J.M. ROWLAND, T.F. G. HIGHAM, S.A. HARRIS, F. BROCK, A. QUILES, E.M. WILD, E.S. MARCUS, A.J. SHORTLAND - Radiocarbon - Based Chronology for Dynastic Egypt in: Science Vol 328 (10 june 2010) pp. 1554-1557. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/data/328/5985/1554/DC1/1 283 K. SPENCE – Ancient Egyptian Chronology and Astronomical Orientation of the Pyramids in: Nature Vol. 408 (November 2000) pp. 320-324. 284 G. MAGLI – On the Astronomical Orientation of the IV Dynasty Egyptian Pyramids and the Dating of the Second Giza Pyramid in: http://arxiv.org/pdf/physics/0307100 285 M. VERNER – Archaeological Remarks on the 4th and 5th Dynasty Chronology in: Archiv Orientalni 69:3 (2001) Ed. Brill pp. 363-418. 286 J.S. NOLAN – Lunar intercalations and "cattle counts" during the Old Kingdom: the Hebsed in context in: Chronology and Archaeology in Ancient Egypt. Ed. Czech Institute of Egyptology, Prague 2008, pp. 44-60. 287 M. BAUD – The Relative Chronology of Dynasties 6 and 8 in: Ancient Egyptian Chronology (Leiden 2006) Ed. Brill pp. 144-157. 288 G. GREENBERG – Manetho. A Study in Egyptian Chronology. Pennsylvania 2004 Ed. MPM8 pp. 147,171,184. 282 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY 104 THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY excellent between the durations calculated by astronomy and those from the Turin Royal Canon, which confirms the reliability of this document on chronology (but values from Manetho are often too high). Several values of Turin Canon (TC*) have been completed or corrected289. For example, the value of 9[4] years Pepi II appearing in the Turin Canon seems excessive for the following reasons: 1) as the number of censuses gives a minimum reign of 51 years, it lacks the last 43 years of his reign (for Unas, for example, it just lacks the last 17 years of his reign of 30 years), 2) as the father of Pepi II died at the age of 74 it seems likely that Pepi II was also a septuagenarian which would imply a reign of about 68 years (= 74 - 6) since he began reigning at the age of 6, 3) as the Egyptian numbers 64 and 94 are similar, confusion seems likely (astronomical dates are highlighted in blue). King of Egypt Neferkasokar Khasekhemuy Dynasty III Djoser Sekhemkhet Nebka[re]/ Sanakht Khaba Huni Dynasty IV Snefru Kheops Djedefre Khephren Baka Mykerinos Shepseskaf Thamphthis Dynasty V Userkaf Sahure Neferirkar (Kakaï) Shepseskare Neferrefre Niuserre (Ini) Menkauhor Djedkare (Isesi) Unas Dynasty VI Teti Userkare Pepi I Merenre I Pepi II Merenre II Nitocris Reign 2526-2480 2480-2457 2457-2448 2448-2415 2415-2415 2415-2388 2388 -2380 46 23 9 33 27 8 - 2380-2372 2372-2359 2359-23** 8 13 ? (2243-2200) -2120 43 TC 8 27 Man. 48 30 cens x1.6 19 6 19 6 24 29 7 28 17 42 24 23 8 2[-] 29 63 25 66 24≤ ≥38 12≤ ≥19 11?≤ ≥18? 13≤ ≥21 18/28 4 2 63 7 11≤ 1+≤ ≥18 ≥3 1 7 12* ? 7 1 11+x 8 28 30 28 13 20 7 20 44 9 44 33 3≤ 7+≤ 5≤ ≥5 ≥12 ≥8 7 15 11 1≤ 7≤ ≥2 ≥12 sed* 22?≤ 8≤ ≥35 ≥13 sed sed ? 30 11≤ ≥18 20 44 9[4] 1 ? 53 7 94 1 12 25≤ ≥40 5+≤ ≥9 31+≤ ≥51 date + 42 TC* 8 27 Reign 2632-2624 2624-2597 19 6 19 6 24 2597-2578 2578-2572 2572-2553 2553-2547 2547-2523 44 23 8 29 0 28 4 2 2523-2479 2479-2456 2456-2448 2448-2419 2419-2419 2419-2391 2391-2387 2387-2385 7 14 10 7 2 14 8 38 30 2385-2378 2378-2364 2364-2354 2354-2347 2347-2345 2345-2331 2331-2323 2323-2285 2285-2255 18 0 42 14 64 1 2 2255-2237 2237-2237 2237-2195 2195-2181 2181-2117 2117-2116 2116-2112 Nitocris: the unique value of reign (12 years) comes from Manetho who is generally 10 years too high. Merenre I: as for Pepi II the value of 44 is 30 years too high, since the last census provides a minimum reign of 9 years. It is possible that the reign of Teti and Pepi I in the royal canon of Turin (TC) have been shifted one line implying 20 years instead of [?] for Teti and 44 years instead of 20 for Pepi I. Pepi I: the highest date of his reign being year 42 that requires a minimum reign of 41 years. The value of 44 years attributed to Merenre I better reflects Pepi I. Teti: the number of censuses gives a minimum reign of 18 years. The value of 20 years assigned to Pepi I would better reflect Teti. Djedkare (Isesi): the number of censuses gives a minimum reign of 35 years. The number 38 seems to have been written 28. Niuserre (Ini): the 30 years of reign are based solely on the mention of a sed festival. Neferirkare (Kakai): the highest date of his reign being year 11 that requires a minimum reign of 10 years. Sahure: the highest date of his reign being year 15 that requires a minimum reign of 14 years, confirmed by the Palermo Stone which fixes the death of the king in year 14, month 9 and days 6. Mykerinos: according to astronomy the duration of his reign was about 27 years which implies the value 28 (instead of 18) in the Turin Canon. Khafre: according to astronomy the duration of his reign was about 33 years which selects the value 2[9] in the Turin Canon. Snefru: depending on the number of censuses the duration of his reign was over 38 years which allows to select the value 44 (instead of 24) of the Turin Canon. 289