IR₂
bikītu

Akkadian noun

Last edited: 2024-11-08
Primary meaning phase of maximal eclipse
Literal translation weeping
Variants
IR₂ bikītu
Edited by
phase of maximal eclipse astronomical term, lunar phenomenon, solar phenomenon, eclipse phenomenon

said of lunar and solar eclipses

(13') 29 24 ME NIM-a šamaš₂ AN.MI A₂ ⸢ULU₃⸣ [u] ⸢MAR⸣ ki-i TAB-[u₂ ...] (14') [dil]-bat GU₄.UD u MUL₂ ŠID.MEŠ IGI.MEŠ MUL₂.BABBAR u AN ša₂ ina bi-ib-lu ina AN.MI-šu₂ IGI.MEŠ [...] (15') TA MAR u ULU₃ ana SI u KUR iš-ta-ḫaṭ 35 GAR IR₂ u ZALAG₂-ru

‘(13') (Day) 29, (at) 24 (UŠ) after sunrise, solar eclipse; when it began on the south and west side, [...] (14') [Ven]us, Mercury, and the counting stars were visible; Jupiter and Mars, which were in their period of invisibility, were visible in its eclipse [...] (15') it threw off (the shadow) from west and south to north and east; 35 (UŠ) onset, "weeping", and clearing.’

— BM 45745 (ADRT III No. -136B) rev. 13'-15'

Genre: astronomical diary
Provenance: Babylon
Date: 137 BCE

Sachs, A. J., Hunger, H. 1996. Astronomical Diaries and Related Texts from Babylonia, Vol. III. Diaries from 164 B.C. to 61 B.C. Vienna, Austria: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. 182-183

Cite this entry
APA (7th)
Ossendrijver, M. (2024). IR₂ (Lemma #441). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/441/
Chicago (Author-Date)
Ossendrijver, M. (2024). IR₂ (Lemma #441). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/441/
MLA (9th)
Ossendrijver, M. (2024). IR₂ (Lemma #441). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/441/
Harvard
Ossendrijver, M. (2024) IR₂ (Lemma #441), The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. Available at: https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/441/ (Accessed: December 1, 2025).
BibTeX 
@misc{zodiac441,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2025-12-01]},
	author = {Ossendrijver, Mathieu},
	year = {2024},
	title = {IR₂ ({Lemma} #441)},
	url = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/441/},
	howpublished = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/441/},
}