MU
šattu

Akkadian noun

Last edited: 2024-07-01
Primary meaning year
Literal translation year
Variants
MU.AN.NA šattu
MU šattu
Edited by
year unit of time

(9') šal-šiš U₄.MEŠ ša₂ ŠU₂ IGI u UŠ.MEŠ GABA.RI MU.AN.NA ana IGI-ka MUL₂.BABBAR T[A 9 ALLA EN 9 GIR₂.TAB] (10') 30 DANNA u₃ MU.AN.NA ana MU.AN.NA 11.⸢3⸣.20 U₄.MEŠ LA₂ u₃ 30 DAN[NA xxx] (11') KI ša₂ MUL₂.⸢BABBAR⸣ MU ana MU TAB ᵈUTU ina 30.45 U₄.MEŠ DU-ma 30.45 U₄.⸢MEŠ⸣ [u 11.3.20] (12') U₄.MEŠ ana UGU a-ḫa-miš₂ GAR.GAR-ma 41.48.20 U₄.MEŠ GABA.RI MU.AN.NA GAR-[an]

‘(9') Thirdly. In order for you to see the ‘days’ for setting (LA), appearance (FA) and stations, the equivalent of the ‘year’. Jupiter. The (region of the) small one: from [9 Cnc until 9 Sco] 10’30 (i.e. a) beru, and year by year you subtract 11;3,20 ‘days’, and 30 (i.e. one) ‘mile’ [...] (11’) you add [to] the position of Jupiter, year by year. The Sun proceeds in 30;45 (error for 30;55) ‘days’, and (12’) you accumulate 30;45 (error for 30;55) ‘days’ and [11;3,20] together, 41;48,20 (error for 41;58,20) ‘days’ you put down as the equivalent of the ‘year’.’

— BM 34081+ (BMAPT No. 18) rev. i 9'-12' (P14)

Genre: mathematical astronomy: procedure text
Provenance: Babylon
Date: ca. 250-50 BCE

Ossendrijver, M. 2016, Ancient Babylonian astronomers calculated Jupiters position from the area under a time-velocity graph, Science, 351, 482-484

Cite this entry
APA (7th)
Ossendrijver, M. (2024). MU (Lemma #1515). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/1515/
Chicago (Author-Date)
Ossendrijver, M. (2024). MU (Lemma #1515). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/1515/
MLA (9th)
Ossendrijver, M. (2024). MU (Lemma #1515). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/1515/
Harvard
Ossendrijver, M. (2024) MU (Lemma #1515), The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. Available at: https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/1515/ (Accessed: February 2, 2026).
BibTeX 
@misc{zodiac1515,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-02-02]},
	author = {Ossendrijver, Mathieu},
	year = {2024},
	title = {MU ({Lemma} #1515)},
	url = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/1515/},
	howpublished = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/1515/},
}