Venus Tablets Of Ammizaduga

Definition: [Source Texts of Astrology] Cuneiform tablets from around 800 BC - thought to be copies of originals from the reign of Ammizaduga [probably 1646 to 1626 BC], the penultimate king of the First Babylonian Dynasty, though this, like much else about the tablets is disputed. They appear to be tabulated observations of the planet Venus for over twenty-one years of Ammizaduga's reign. Attached to each observation is an omen. The most famous surviving example is Tablet 63, from a collection called Enuma Anu Enlil [EAE] from the Nineveh library of the Assyrian king, Assurbanipal. It is in the British Museum. This, and other surviving copies of the Venus Tablets, are thought to contain numerous textual errors owing to copying and recopying over an 800 year period.

Further Information: The text of tablet K. 160 appears to contain three distinct parts: Part I consists of line 1-29 on the obverse of the tablet, Part II consists of lines 31-45 on the obverse and line 1-32 on the reverse, Part III consists of lines 33-45 on the reverse.

In the month Sivan, on the twenty-fifth day, Ninsianna [Venus] disappeared in the east; she remained absent from the sky for two months six days; in the month Ulul, on the twenty-fourth day, Ninsianna appeared in the west - the heart of the land is happy. In the month Nisan, on the twenty-seventh day, Ninsianna disappeared in the west; she remained absent from the sky for seven days; in the month Ayar, on the third day, Ninsianna appeared in the east - hostilities occur in the land, the harvest of the land is successful.