Calendars in the Old Babylonian Period

During the Old Babylonian period, each kingdom had its own calendar. The current Nippur calendar during the Ur III period was in use in Isin and later in Larsa and Babylon.

The same calendar was in use in the kingdom of Upper-Mesopotamia under the rule of Šamšī-Adad (Šamšī-Adad calendar), thus in the following cities: Mari (Tell Hariri), Ašnakkum (Chagar Bazar), Qaṭṭara (Tell Rimah), Šubat-Enlil (Tell Leilan), Tuttul (Tell Bi’a), etc. But Mari had also a local calendar, and the two calendars could be used at the same time.

More than half of the months names in use at Ešnunna correspond to those of Šamšī-Adad calendar.

	Nippur/Isin calendar	Babylon calendar	Ešnunna calendar	Sippar calendar	Mari calendar	Šamšī-Adad calendar	Period in the year
i	bara₂-zag-ga	nisānum	niggallum	sibūtum	urāhum	viii* niggallum	March-Apr.
ii	gu₄-si-sa₂	ayyarum	elūlum	gusisi	malkānum	ix* maqrānum	Apr.-May
iii	sig₄-ga	simānum	magrattum	qāti-erṣetim /elūnum	lahhum	x* Dumuzi	May-June
iv	šu-numun-na	dūzum	abum	Dumuzi	abum	xi* abum	June-July
v	ne-ne-gar	abum	zibnum	isin-abi	hibirtum	xii* tīrum	July-Aug.
vi	kin-^dinanna	ulūlum	niqmum	tīrum	^digi-kur	i* niqmum	Aug.-Sept.
vii	du₆-ku₃	tašrītum	kinūnum	elūlum	kinūnum	ii* kinūnum	Sept.-Oct.
viii	apin-du₈-a	arahsamnum	tamhīrum	kinūnum	Dagan	iii* tamhīrum	Oct.-Nov.
ix	gan-gan-na	kislīmum	nabrûm	tamhīrum	liliātum	iv* nabrûm	Nov.-Dec.
x	ab-ba-e₃	ṭebētum	Mammītum	Mammītum or nabrium	Bēlet-biri	v* Mammītum	Dec.-Jan.
xi	ziz₂-a-an	šabattum	kiskissum	isin-Adad	kiskissum	vi* mana	Jan.-Feb.
xii	še-kin-ku₅	niggallum	kinkum	ayyarum	ebūrum	vii* ayyarum	Feb.-March

Bibliography

Charpin, D & Ziegler, N., 2003: Mari et le Proche-Orient à l’époque amorrite. Essai d’histoire politique, Florilegium marianum 5, Paris (esp. p. 155-156).
Cohen, M., 1993: The Cultic Calendars of the Ancient Near East, Bethesda.
Godderis, A., 2000: The local calendar of Sippar, NABU 2000/63.
Greengus S., 1987: The Akkadian Calendar at Sippar, JAOS 107, p. 209-229.
Greengus S., 2001: New Evidence on the Old Babylonian Calendar and Real Estate Documents from Sippar, JAOS121, p. 257-267.
Jacquet, A., 2008: Tell Hariri / Mari: textes VI. La vie religieuse. IX. Calendrier et culte a Mari, in Supplément au Dictionnaire de la Bible 14, Paris, p. 405-424.
Lacambre, D., 2002: Niggallum, lecture akkadienne du mois še-kin-ku5 dans le calendrier dit “de Samsî-Addu”, Florilegium marianum 6, p. 505-511.
Lacambre, D. & Millet Albà, A., 2008: 8. Ménologie et chronologie, in Ö. Tunca & A. el-M. Baghdo (ed.), Chagar Bazar (Syrie) III. Les trouvailles épigraphiques et sigillographiques du chantier I (2000-2002), Louvain, p. 155-165.
Whiting, R. M., 1987: Four Seal Impressions from Tell Asmar, AfO34, p. 30-35, esp. p. 32, n. 16.

CM

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