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Elam and Babylonia: the Evidence of the Calendars*

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Elam and Babylonia: the Evidence of the Calendars* BASELLO E LAM AND BABYLONIA : THE EVIDENCE OF THE CALENDARS GIAN PIETRO BASELLO Napoli Elam and Babylonia: the Evidence of the Calendars * Pochi sanno estimare al giusto l’immenso benefizio, che ogni momento godiamo, dell’aria respirabile, e dell’acqua, non meno necessaria alla vita; così pure pochi si fanno un’idea adeguata delle agevolezze e dei vantaggi che all’odierno vivere procura il computo uniforme e la divisione regolare dei tempi. Giovanni V. Schiaparelli, 1892 1 Babylonians and Elamites in Venice very historical research starts from Dome 2 just above your head. Would you a certain point in the present in be surprised at the sight of two polished Eorder to reach a far-away past. But figures representing the residents of a journey has some intermediate stages. Mesopotamia among other ancient peo- In order to go eastward, which place is ples? better to start than Venice, the ancient In order to understand this symbolic Seafaring Republic? If you went to Ven- representation, we must go back to the ice, you would surely take a look at San end of the 1st century AD, perhaps in Marco. After entering the church, you Rome, when the evangelist described this would probably raise your eyes, struck by scene in the Acts of the Apostles and the golden light floating all around: you compiled a list of the attending peoples. 3 would see the Holy Spirit descending If you had an edition of Paulus Alexan- upon peoples through the preaching drinus’ Sã ! Ğ'ã'Ğ'·R ğ apostles. You would be looking at the (an “Introduction to Astrology” dated at 12th century mosaic of the Pentecost 378 AD) 4 within your reach, you should * I would like to thank Prof. Antonio Panaino (Uni- Napoli) and Franco Morisi for many reasons. Thanks versity of Bologna, branch of Ravenna) for his sup- to Federica Sarti for having kindly checked my Eng- port and for giving me the opportunity to speak about lish, and to Mons. Antonio Meneguolo (Procuratoria di Elamites in Chicago, a city which has a strong tradi- San Marco, Venezia) for iconographical researches. tion in Elamite studies. For this reason, I would also 1 Schiaparelli 1926: 237-238. like to thank the Assyrian Community of Chicago: I 2 Demus 1984: 148-159 ; Niero 1986: 30; Bertoli shall not forget the enthusiasm for those who, as Dr. 1986: 203-207 ; Vio 1991: 145. Norman Solhkhah said, “discovering, cleaning and 3 Acts 2:9-11. GNT: “(9) ^ě' Ġ' ZŬ ' Ġ reading – as we read English or speak Aramaic [i.e. Í ź ' Ġ' ä' Ɖ' Ğ' ZR ġ A modern Assyrian] – dusty tablets, study our history.” ë ġ ' ' Ġ' X RR ġ A' ^ģ' Ġ' Ğ I wish to express my gratitude to Dr. François de ¿ġ A' (10) ' c ġ ' ' Ġ' ^ ġ A' Oç R Blois (School of Oriental and African Studies, Lon- Ġ' Ě' ĝ' Ŭ' Y ĥ' Ŭ' Ě' XğA' Ġ' ä don) for the draft of his essay on Iranian calendars, ÇR Ɖ' Ə! źA' (11) ' ë źġ' ' Ġ and to Dr. Grazia Giovinazzo (Istituto Universitario RğA' XŬ' Ġ' Ã A' ·ĥ Orientale, Napoli) for the researches on ra-hal . A ĥ!' ÿƖ' ź' Ôĝ ' ħ ' Ě special thank goes to Dr. Maria Cristina Casaburi, Dr. ź 'Ɖ'Ɖ .” Giancarlo Lacerenza (Istituto Universitario Orientale, 4 Boer 1958. Italian translation in Bezza 2000. A. Panaino & G. Pettinato (eds.) MELAMMU SYMPOSIA III (Milano 2002) ISBN 88-8483-107-5 13 BASELLO E LAM AND BABYLONIA : THE EVIDENCE OF THE CALENDARS open it near the end of chapter !’ entitled ple: the writing “ELAMIT” at the top of ^Ġ'Ɩ' ħ 'Ɣ ġ! “On the twelve the figures helps us in recognizing two zodiacal signs,” and you would find a gray-dressed Elamites. similar list 5 which attests a common If there were Babylonian Jews in Jeru- background originating from Babylonian- salem at Pentecost, there could be Jews Hellenistic astral geography. Concluding from Elam as well 8: in the book of this vein of conjectures, if the scholars 6 prophet Isaiah 9 we find mention of some who say that Luke copied the list from an Jews scattered in Elam, as it is suggested astral geography were wrong, 7 we might also from Esther’s story set at the Persian imagine that some Babylonian Jews were court in Susa. 10 On the other hand, the in Jerusalem to accomplish the pilgrim- usage of the ethnonym Elamites is not age on the Feast of Weeks ( Švu ‘0t) near anachronistic: although Elam as a politi- 30 AD. Anyway, more than 2500 years cal organization disappeared in the 6th after the end of the Babylonian kingdom, century BC, it survived as a geographic one can go to Venice and see two Baby- denomination (perhaps also with an eth- lonians! nic connotation) till the 14th century AD, Babylonia, Jerusalem, Rome, Venice, when the name Elam identified the eccle- Chicago: the authors of the famous He- siastical province of the Nestorian church brew captivity ended up in a book, then located in Kh <zist n (the ancient Su- in a mosaic, and now we are talking siana). 11 It is noteworthy that Elamites about them. But our journey has to go together with Parthians and Medes re- further in space and in time to see a place Paulus Alexandrinus’ Persis in the Babylonian heritage in the East. Going Acts, which should attest a more recent back to the mosaic, to the left of the form of the tradition. 12 Mesopotamians one can see another peo- Introduction The proximity of the Elamite and the ward at the incoming Persians. The same Mesopotamian peoples hides a deeper might be said about the Elamite calendar. significance. One might say that Elamite Here I shall briefly discuss the develop- culture can not be known without looking ment of the Elamite calendar during the both westward at the ancient Mesopota- 2nd millennium and the first half of the mian civilizations at first and then east- 1st millennium BC on the grounds of the 5 Boer 1958: 8, lines 1-8. This is a summary (with 6 Weinstock 1948; Brinkman 1963. See also Cumont some omissions here restored in square brackets) of 1909. the preceding sign by sign treatment: ^R ź' Ĝ 7 Metzger 1970. Further references in Bossuyt/ ź'ħ 'Ě'ƕ G'ô'Ĝ'XĢ'ŭ'^ġ A'ô' Ĝ Radermakers 1996: 227, footnote 115. a Ɖ'ŭ'P ƖA'ä' Ĝ'Rġ 'ŭ'X RR ġśA 8 See also Gutmann 1930: 383-384 and Neusner ô' Ĝ'X ġ'ŭ'¿ġśA'ô' Ĝ'Yĝ!'ŭ'¿ġśA'Ô' Ĝ 1965-1970, I: 14. ^ ĝ' ŭ' Îě ' f Ġ' ë!ġś gA' ô' Ĝ' T Ģ' ŭ 9 Isaiah 11:11. Y ĥŪ'f Ġ' XğŪ gA' ô' Ĝ'`Rġ'ŭ'ë ġśA'ô' Ĝ 10 Esther 2:5-7. aģ'ŭ'fXġś' Ġg'XğŪA'Ɖ'Oã ĝ!'ŭ 11 Potts 1999, chapter 11. About the uninterrupted `ġś'·RĝA'Ɖ'Ć ģ'Ğ'Oç R use of the name Elam to identify different entities see ģA'Ɩ'ëĥ!'Ğ'fÍĚ'ě ' Ġg Vallat 1998: 302 and Potts 1999, chapter 1. ë Ğ'ħ 'RƔ!ĝ!m 12 Also Weinstock 1948: 44, Brinkman 1963: 423-424. 14 BASELLO E LAM AND BABYLONIA : THE EVIDENCE OF THE CALENDARS occurrences of both Elamite and Babylo- time is generally associated with the Old nian month-names. At the end of this Persian calendar, which is in turn su- time span, the Old Persian calendar made perimposable to the Babylonian calen- its appearance abruptly, interposing be- dar. 16 The lunar fashion of the Old Per- tween the other two. sian calendar can be inferred from Dar- I must take the assumption that Ela- ius’ B sot <n inscription where day num- mites used a luni-solar calendar for bers in the Old Persian version coincide granted. 13 Unfortunately there is no direct with those in the Babylonian one. After evidence for this and we must be careful more than 20 years, the Aramaic glosses not to take the Elamite calendar as a in some Persepolis Fortification tablets 17 whole, without internal subdivisions by attest correspondences between Old Per- periods and areas. sian and Babylonian month-names which Because of a strong Mesopotamian in- are coherent with the B sot <n ones. So fluence starting from the second half of the intercalation system should be quite the 3rd millennium BC, Elamites should similar, if not the same. 18 have adopted a luni-solar calendar like I shall outline the Elamite calendar in a Sumerians and Babylonians. 14 On the wider perspective because the study of a other hand, Mesopotamian menologies 15 local calendar is not a local matter: reck- of the 1st millennium BC and the inter- oning time involves politics, cultic needs, calary scheme K. 3923 make sense only cultural influences and social dynamics from this point of view. (in Elam also sociolinguistics 19 ). The Elamite calendar in Achaemenid Time, Gods and Power Our time flows meekly within the em- owe this to a relatively unknown as- bankments of days, months and years, tronomer from Naples, Aloysius Lilius according to a regular rhythm in which (1510-1576). Nevertheless, if we want to the only foreseeable variation is repre- name our calendar, we will use the name sented by the added day in leap years. We of Pope Gregory XIII, who supported the 13 For an introduction to luni-solar and Babylonian 2-um-me-na ), Hinz/Koch 1987: 181-182, “be-ip-ti-qa” calendars, see Neugebauer 1969: 106-109, Hunger (however they consider as scribal errors 6 on 7 occur- 1976-1980: 297-299 and Rochberg 1995: 1931-1932.
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