UR.A
nēšu

Akkadian noun

Last edited: 2023-09-18
Primary meaning Leo
Literal translation lion
Variants
UR.A nēšu
mul.UR.GU.LA nēšu
A nēšu
mul.UR.A nēšu
mul2.UR.A nēšu
Edited by
Leo zodiac sign

DIŠ 30 ina MUL.UR.G[U.LA AN.GE6 GAR-ma (…)]

‘If the moon [is eclipsed] in Le[o] (…)’

— BM 36746+ obv. 5‘

Genre: zodiacal astrology: celestial divination
Provenance: Babylon
Date: ca. 400-300 BCE

Rochberg, Francesca. 1984. New evidence for the history of astrology. JNES 43: 115-140.

4 1.20.48 A

‘(Month IV day) 4, 1;20,48 Leo’

— A 3417+ (ACT No. 185) obv. col. iv 4

Genre: mathematical astronomy: daily motion table
Provenance: Uruk
Date: ca. 188 BCE (Seleucid Era year 124)

Neugebauer ACT

Lion constellation

ina ni-ip-ṣu ša2 ᵈSAG.ME.GAR ina mul2.UR.A AN ina mul2.GU A.AN MAḪ

‘At the "smashing" (opposition?) of Jupiter in the Lion, Mars in the Great One: heavy rain.’

— AO 6449 (TCL VI 19 = TU 19) rev. 1

Genre: astrological weather prediction
Provenance: Uruk
Date: 13 August 226 BCE (Seleucid Era year 84, 12 V)

Hunger, H. 1976. Astrologische Wettervorhersagen. Zeitschrift fur Assyriologie 66. 248

Leo micro sign

[ḪA.LA] SAG-ti mul2.lu2.ḪUN.GA2 šum3-šu2 : ša2-ni-tum ḪA.LA MUL2.MUL2 šum3-šu2 | [3-tu]m ḪA.LA mul2.MAŠ.MAŠ šum3-šu2 : 4-ni!-tum ḪA.LA mul2.ALLA šum3-šu2 | [5-i-t]um ḪA.LA mul2.UR.A šum3-šu2 : 6-i-tum ḪA.LA mul2.ABSIN šum3-šu2 | [7-i]-tum ḪA.LA mul2.GIŠ.RIN2 šum3-šu2 : 8-i-tum ḪA.LA mul2.GIR2.TAB šum3-šu2 | [9]-i-tum ḪA.LA mul2.PA šum3-šu2 : 10-i-tum ḪA.LA mul2.MAŠ2 šum3-šu2 | 11-i-tum ḪA.LA mul2.GU šum3-šu2 : 12-i-tum ḪA.LA mul2.ZIB šum3-šu2 | PAP 12 UZU.MEŠ ḪA.LA ša2 mul2.LU ša2 d.30 u d.UTU ina lib3-bi DIB.MEŠ

‘The name of the first [portion] is Aries. The name of the second portion is Taurus. | The name of the [third] portion is Gemini. The name of the fourth portion is Cancer. |The name of the [fifth] portion is Leo. The name of the sixth portion is Virgo. | The name of the [seventh] portion is Libra. The name of the eighth portion is Scorpio. | The name of the [ninth] portion is Sagittarius. The name of the tenth portion is Capricornus. | The name of the eleventh portion is Aquarius. The name of the twelfth portion is Pisces. | Total: 12 ominous parts, portion(s) of Aries which the Moon and the Sun will pass through.’

— AO 6483 (TCL VI 14 = TU 14) 14-20

Genre: horoscopic astrology
Provenance: Uruk
Date: 250-150 BCE

Sachs, A., 1952. Babylonian Horoscopes, Journal of Cuneiform Studies 6: 49-75. 66

See also

〈Λέων〉 Leōn ‘Leo’

〈—〉 mꜣe ‘Leo’

〈SAG A〉 rēš nēši ‘ε Leonis’

〈MUL₂ TUR ša₂ 4 KUŠ₃ ar₂ LUGAL〉 kakkabu ṣeḫru ša 4 ammati arki šarri ‘ρ Leonis’

〈GIŠ.KUN A〉 rapašti nēši ‘θ Leonis’

〈GIR₃ ar₂ ša₂ A〉 šēpu arkītu ša nēši ‘β Virginis’

〈mul.LUGAL〉 šarru ‘King-star’

〈𓄂〉 ḥꜣ.t ‘Leo’

〈2 MUL.MEŠ ša₂ GIŠ.KUN mul.UR.A〉 2 kakkabu ša rapašti nēši ‘δ+θ Leonis’

〈leo〉 ‘Leo’

〈2 MUL.MEŠ ša₂ SAG.DU mul.UR.GU.LA〉 2 kakkabū ša qaqqad nēši ‘2 stars of the head of the Lion star’

〈mul.4 ša₂ GABA mul.UR.A〉 4 kakkabū ša irat nēši ‘4 stars of the breast of the Lion star’

〈MUL₂ DILI ša₂ KUN.ME-šu₂〉 kakkabu ēdu ša zibbātišu ‘β Leonis’

〈אריא〉 ʾryʾ ‘Leo’

〈אַרְיֵה〉 ʾaryēh ‘Leo’

〈सिंह〉 siṃha ‘Leo’

Cite this entry
APA (7th)
Ossendrijver, M., & Schreiber, M. (2023). UR.A (Lemma #75). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/75/
Chicago (Author-Date)
Ossendrijver, M., & Schreiber, M. (2023). UR.A (Lemma #75). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/75/
MLA (9th)
Ossendrijver, M., & Schreiber, M. (2023). UR.A (Lemma #75). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/75/
Harvard
Ossendrijver, M. and Schreiber, M. (2023) UR.A (Lemma #75), The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. Available at: https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/75/ (Accessed: December 1, 2025).
BibTeX 
@misc{zodiac75,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2025-12-01]},
	author = {Ossendrijver, Mathieu and Schreiber, Marvin},
	year = {2023},
	title = {UR.{A} ({Lemma} #75)},
	url = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/75/},
	howpublished = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/75/},
}