Dates in Hellenistic texts
Dates in Hellenistic Uruk legal texts are given at the end of the document following the scribe's name.
HBTIN TEI includes a discourse marker @colophon prior to the scribe's name.
NPL for the date formula:
UNUG {ki} {iti} [MONTH NAME] U4 [n]-KAM2 MU [n]-KAM2 [ROYAL NAME] (optional: 'u' [ROYAL NAME2], optional 'DUMU SZU' (his son, indicating a second ruler, not a sucessive era)) LUGAL(-MESZ)
where:
n-KAM2: numeric day/year number followed by string literal suffix
U4 = day (string literal)
MU = year (string literal)
LUGAL(-MESZ) = king(s)
UNUG{k\i}= Uruk (place name designator)
Month names:
| # | Usual orthography | Akkadian Month name |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BARA2 | Nisannu |
| 2 | GU4 | Ayyaru |
| 3 | SIG4 | Simanu |
| 4 | SZU | Duzu |
| 5 | NE | Abu |
| 6 | KIN | Ululu |
| 7 | DU6 | Taszritu |
| 8 | APIN | Arashszamnu |
| 9 | GAN | Kislimu |
| 10 | AB | Tebetu |
| 11 | ZIZ2 | SZabat |
| 12 | SZE | Addaru |
| 13 | DIRI.SZE or DIRI.SZE.KIN.KU5.DA | Addaru atru |
| Royal Names |
|---|
| Selucus |
| Antiochus |
| Alexander |
| Arsaces |
| Demetrios |
| Philip |
| X |
string literal month marker, Month Name
With the exception of the early Seleucid (or Macedonian) period, royal names in the Hellenistic cuneiform corpus are primarily Antiochus or Seleucus. The chronology of the reigns is well-known and the dates for each can be seen here.
1 Comment
Laurie Pearce
If you'd prefer a list of the reigns instead of the link to livius.org, let me know. I was testing my ability to put links into the docs.