Basic astronomy for Egyptologists to get a chronology

The Mesopotamian chronology used in this study comes from the thesis: Scientific
approach to an absolute chronology owing to synchronisms dated by astronomy
(https://iaassyriology.com/author/publisher/page/12/)1. The astronomical part of this
thesis entitled “Basic astronomy for historians to get a chronology” was endorsed by
Professor Hermann Hunger in his letter dated 7 Mai 2015.

Gérard GERTOUX

The purpose of my research is to show that chronology is the backbone of history, as Herodotus
understood long ago. An accurate chronology is the only way to access historical truth2.

1 2019 ASOR Annual Meeting 3B. Archaeology and Biblical Studies I (November 21, 2:00 p.m.). Theme: This session

explores the intersections between and among history, archaeology, and the Jewish and/or Christian Bibles and related texts.
Chair: Jonathan Rosenbaum (Gratz College). Presenter: Gerard Gertoux (Maison de l'Orient et de la Méditerranée Jean
Pouilloux), “A Scientific Approach to an Absolute Chronology through Synchronisms Dated by Astronomy” (20 min.).
http://www.asor.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/2019-Academic-Program_posted_10-28-19.pdf
http://www.asor.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/2019-Abstract-Book_posted_10-28-19.pdf
2 Hammurabi is considered as the greatest Babylonian king and the chronology of his reign is well known. However, in

1863, Jules Oppert had Hammurabi's reign begin in 2394 BCE, François Thureau-Dangin, in 1927, lowered this date to
2003 BCE and Hermann Gasche proposed, in 1998, to lower it again to 1696 BCE. Hammurabi has therefore rejuvenated
by about 700 years during the 20th century!
2 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY

Table of Contents
BASIC ASTRONOMY FOR EGYPTOLOGISTS TO GET A CHRONOLOGY ............................. 3
How to determine a Babylonian date ............................................................................... 3
How to determine an Assyrian date ................................................................................ 7
How to determine an Egyptian date (secular and lunar) ...................................................... 7
How to determine a Sothic date (heliacal rising of Sirius) ..................................................... 9
How to determine a Sothic rising before 2000 BCE? ....................................................... 16
Dating the reign of Akhenaten through astronomy ........................................................... 20
How to determine a date through the orientation of temples ................................................ 22
How to determine a date through the orientation of pyramids .............................................. 23
All Mesopotamian synchronisms over the period 2040-1050 BCE ..................................... 29
BIOGRAPHY .............................................................................................................. 45
Basic astronomy for Egyptologists to get a chronology
Despite the presence of hundreds of lunar cycle celebrations in Egyptian documents, as well as dozens
of heliacal risings of Sirius and dozens of temples oriented on solstices, Egyptologists are still unable to
establish an absolute chronology of Egyptian dynasties, or even to verify by astronomy the functioning
of the Egyptian lunar calendar. To assume that Egyptian astronomical priests used esoteric knowledge
of a mysterious interpretation to determine the lunar festivals is unreasonable. For example, to affirm
that the first lunar day, whose name means “the shining ones” and which is represented by a full moon,
would actually be the day of the invisible new moon similar to an eclipse, an omen of death that the
Egyptians have always refused to represent. We will see in this chapter that Egyptian astronomical
concepts are in fact simple and rudimentary: the symbol of a full moon represents a full moon, the 15-
day lunar cycle descending, ending on the new moon symbol of death, is never represented or used, the
heliacal rising of a star signifying its rebirth and its heliacal setting signifying its death, the meridian
symbolized the “axis of the world,” the west being the kingdom of the dead and the pyramids, the east
being the kingdom of the living and cities. When the sun rises in the morning it is reborn, when it sets
in the evening it dies but is then reborn in the shape of a moon which is therefore the sun of the night.
Egyptian astronomical concepts are therefore based solely on elementary laws of celestial mechanics.
The first step in establishing a chronology is to convert the calendar dates into the Julian calendar, a
365.25-day year, used by astronomers. Four calendars have been used in this chart, they have
similarities and differences as follows:
EGYPTIAN BABYLONIAN JULIAN
N° SECULAR # RELIGIOUS # N° (JUDEAN) # N° #
I I Akhet 30 Thoth 30 I Nisan Nisanu 30 1 January 31
II II Akhet 30 Paopi 29 II Iyyar Ayyaru 29 2 February 28
III III Akhet 30 Hathor 30 III Siwan Simanu 30 3 March 31
IV IV Akhet 30 Koyak 29 IV Tammuz Dumuzu 29 4 April 30
V I Peret 30 Teobi 30 V Ab Abu 30 5 May 31
VI II Peret 30 Mehir 29 VI Elul Ululu 29 6 June 30
VII III Peret 30 Pamenotep 30 VII Tishri Tashritu 30 7 July 31
VIII IV Peret 30 Parmuti 29 VIII Marheshwan Arahsamna 29 8 August 31
IX I Shemu 30 Pahons 30 IX Kislew Kislimu 30 9 September 30
X II Shemu 30 Paoni 29 X Tebeth Tebetu 29 10 October 31
XI III Shemu 30 Epipi 30 XI Shebat Shabatu 30 11 November 30
XII IV Shemu 30 Mesore 29 XII Adar Addaru 29 12 December 31
++ Epagomen 5 [Mesore] 30 XIII [Adar2] [Addaru2] 30 Leap year 1*
Year 1st day of the year (according to astronomy) Duration in days
JULIAN 1st January (independent from astronomy) 365,25 = 365 + 1/4
BABYLONIAN 1st Nisanu (1st lunar crescent after the spring equinox) 354,36346 = 12x29,53
EGYPTIAN (S) I Akhet 1 (independent from astronomy) 365 = 12x30 + 5
EGYPTIAN (L) I Akhet 1 (1st full moon before secular I Akhet 1) 354,36346 = 12x29,53
GREGORIAN 1st January (spring equinox must be on 21 March) 365,24219

HOW TO DETERMINE A BABYLONIAN DATE

The Talmud reports, for example, that the fire which destroyed the temple of Jerusalem, in the 11th
year of King Zedekiah (2Ki 24:18), began at night just after the conclusion of the Sabbath thus at
sunset of the 9th day of the month of Ab (Taanit 29a), which was the 5th month of Jewish calendar. In
other words, that year (587 BCE) the 9th of Ab took place on a Sunday. Consequently, the Babylonian
date is 9/V/11. In 587 BCE (= -586*) the spring equinox is 27 March in the Julian calendar3,
accordingly the 1st new moon after the spring equinox is 21 April4 and the 1st lunar crescent (= new
moon +1) is 22 April (1/I or 1 Nisanu). Similarly, the 1st lunar crescent after 1/I (22 April) is 1/II (22
May), the next ones are: 1/III (20 June), 1/IV (19 July), 1/V (18 August). Consequently the 9/V is on
27 August 587 BCE, which was a Sunday5.
3 http://www.imcce.fr/fr/grandpublic/temps/saisons.php
4 http://www.fourmilab.ch/earthview/pacalc.html
5 http://www.nr.com/julian.html
4 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY

The temple of Jerusalem was burnt once again by Titus in 70 CE and by a remarkable coincidence the
same day of the year by Nebuchadnezzar in 587 BCE (Jewish War VI:250-253). The chronological
reconstruction of the destruction of the first temple is as follows: Nebuzaradan the chief of the body-
guard came to Jerusalem and began to burn the houses of the city on 7 Ab (Friday 25 August), then he
had evacuated the city on the Sabbath dated on 8 Ab (Saturday 26 August), afterwards on 9 Ab (9/V)
he set fire to the Temple around sunset (c. 18:00-6:00 Sunday 27 August 587 BCE) and prevented the
Jews from extinguishing it during the night, which was the beginning of 10 Ab (Jr 52:12-13).
In 70 CE the spring equinox was 22 March, accordingly the 1st new moon after the spring equinox was
30 March and the 1st lunar crescent (= new moon +1) was 31 March (1/I). Similarly, the 1st lunar
crescent after 1/I (31 March) was 1/II (30 April), the next ones were: 1/III (29 May), 1/IV (27 June),
1/V (27 July), thus the 9/V (9 Ab) after 24:00 was 10/V, dated 5 August 70 CE, which was a Sunday.

Astronomy agrees with the following definition “1st Nisanu = 1st lunar crescent after spring equinox”,
but in practice when the 1st Nisanu (determined by observation) came just before the spring equinox
(this has also been determined by observation) the 2nd Adar (month XIII) was sometimes —although
rarely— not added to synchronize the lunar year with the solar equinox. For example, the list of
Assyrian eponyms mentions a solar eclipse, which occurred on month Simanu in the eponymy of Bur-
Sagale (763 BCE). In 763 BCE (= -762*) the spring equinox was 29 March. Thus, the 1st new moon
closer to the spring equinox was 19 March and the 1st lunar crescent (= new moon +1) was 20 March
(1/I). Similarly the 1st lunar crescent after 1/I (20 March) was 1/II (18 April), the next ones were: 1/III
(18 May) and 1/IV (16 June). Given that solar eclipses occur during new moons for reasons of
geometry (the sun, moon and earth must be perfectly aligned), the date of the solar eclipse must be at
the end of the month on the new moon of 29 Simanu (15 June). Indeed, there was a total solar eclipse
over Assyria on 15 June 763 BCE6. Concordance with the data is excellent, however it can be noted
that the 1st of Nisan is dated a few days (9 days) before the spring equinox. Anyway, the only solar
eclipse over Assyria during the period 800-750 was the total eclipse dated 15 June 763 BCE. Other
solar eclipses have been suggested but it is noteworthy that the partial solar eclipses dated 4 June 800
and 24 June 791 BCE could not possibly have been viewed from Assyria.
The Babylonian calendar was an heir to the standard Mesopotamian calendar, which was itself heir to
the Sumerian calendar. These three lunar calendars are similar but there are some differences in their
way of synchronizing the solar year of 365.24219 days with the lunar year of 354.36 days thanks to
intercalary months. For example, when Abraham lived in Ur he had to use the calendar of Sumer but
when he came into Canaan he had to use the calendar of Canaan. When the Israelites came back into
Canaan they continued to use this calendar but with a change in the beginning of the year, month of
Abib becoming the first month of the year (Ex 12:1-2, 13:4) instead of Ethanim. The Israelite calendar
was used from the end of the Exodus to the fall of Jerusalem and the Judean calendar was used after
the fall of Babylon.

Calendars in Canaan
N° CANAANITE N° ISRAELITE JUDEAN N° JULIAN SEASONS
VII Abib I First Nisan 4 April
VIII Ziw II Second Iyyar 5 May
IX Matan III Third Siwan 6 June Summer solstice
X Zebaḫ Šamaš IV Fourth Tammuz 7 July
XI Kiraru V Fifth Ab 8 August
XII Mapa‘a VI Sixth Elul 9 September
XII2 Mapa‘a Lepaniya VI2 Autumn equinox
I Ethanim VII Seventh Tishri 10 October
II Bul VIII Eighth Marheshwan 11 November
III Marpa‘a(m) IX Ninth Kislew 12 December Winter solstice
IV Pagruma X Tenth Tebeth 1 January
V Pa‘alatu XI Eleventh Shebat 2 February *(leap year)
VI Ḥiyaru XII Twelfth Adar 3 March
XII2 Twelfth bis Second Adar Spring equinox
6 763 BCE = -762*, http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEatlas/SEatlas-1/SEatlas-0779.GIF
 BASIC ASTRONOMY FOR EGYPTOLOGISTS TO GET A CHRONOLOGY 5

The Judean calendar is similar to the Babylonian calendar except in the way of adding intercalary
months. A second Adar was added at the end of the year, as the Canaanite calendar used to do. The
Babylonian calendar used to add a second Addaru (XII2) at the end of the religious year beginning on 1
Nisanu (month I), but sometimes a second Ululu (month VI2) at the end of the agricultural year, which
was starting at Tashritu (“beginning/ inauguration” in Akkadian). On the death of Šamšî-Adad I we get
the following synchronisms among months of several different calendars:

N° BABYLONIAN N° JULIAN N° MARIOTE N° AMORITE PALEO-ASSYRIAN

X Tebêtu 1 January xi° Abum (IV) xi* Abum Ab šarrâni (v*)
XI Šabâtu 2 February xii° Ḫibirtum (V) xii* Tîrum Ḫubur (vi*)
XII Addâru 3 March i° Ḫubur (Ḫilib) i* Niqmum Ṣip’im (vii*)
I Nisannu 4 April ii° Kinûnum (VII) ii* Kinûnum Qarrâtim (viii*)
II Ayyaru 5 May iii° Dagan (VIII) iii* Tamhîrum Kanwarta (ix*)
III Simanu 6 June iv° Lîlîatum (IX) iv* Nabrûm Te’inâtim (x*)
IV Du'ùzu 7 July v° Bêlet-bîrî (X) v* Mammîtum Kuzallu (xi*)
V Abu 8 August vi° Kiskissum (XI) vi* Mana Allanâtim (xii*)
VI Ulûlû 9 September vii° Ebûrum (XII) vii* Ayyarum Bêltî-ekallim (i*)
VII Tašrîtu 10 October viii° Urâḫum (I) viii* Niggalum Ša sarratim (ii*)
VIII Araḥsamna 11 November ix° Malkânum (II) ix* Maqrânum Narmak Aššur (iii*)
IX Kisilimu 12 December x° Laḫḫum (III x* Du'uzum Maḫḫurili (iv*)

The synchronization of these four lunar calendars shows that each year started on 1st Nisanu for the
two Sumerian calendars (Larsa, Babylon), on 1st Sip’im for the Assyrian calendar and on 1st Tashritu
for the Syrian calendar (Mari). In 1680 BCE (-1679*) the spring equinox was on 4 April, consequently
1st Nisanu was on 16 April, 1st Tashritu was on 10 October and 1st Sip’im was on 18 March.
The exact period of the adoption of the Babylonian calendar by the Assyrians is difficult to determine.
According to the Assyrian Royal List, eponyms appeared at the time of Sulili (c. 1950 BCE) and were
recorded from Êrišu I (1873-1834). The Assyrian dating system is based on the principle: 1 eponym = 1
year, the Paleo-Assyrian calendar have appeared at that time. The names of 12 months of the year were
influenced by other neighbouring calendars (Sumerian and Akkadian) and stabilized only in the
eponymy of Ḫabil-kenum (c. 1650 BCE). Under the increasing influence of international relations,
caused by new political and trade links, the Standard Mesopotamian calendar was imposed on his
empire by the Babylonian king Samsu-iluna (1654-1616). From that time onward, Old Babylonian
became the international language of trade and diplomacy, even with Egypt. For example, the Assyrian
merchants who had to negotiate with the Hittite city of Kanesh used the Old Babylonian writing in
their contracts, however they continued to use the Paleo-Assyrian calendar. After the fall of Babylon in
1499 BCE, Kassite kings, through their international trade, extended the use of the Mesopotamian
calendar westward (Alalakh, Ugarit, Emar).

SUMERIAN AKKADIAN JULIAN PALEO-ASSYRIAN ASSYRIAN

I BÀRA-ZAG-GAR Nisanu April i Ṣip’im Ṣippu
II GUD-SI-SÀ2 Ayyaru May ii Qarrâtim Qarrâtu
III SIG4-GA Simanu June iii Kanwarta Kalmartu
d
IV ŠU-NUMUN-NA Du'ùzu July iv Te’inâtim Sin
V NE-IZI-GAR Abu August v Kuzallu Kuzallu
VI KIN-dINNINA Ulûlû September vi Allanâtim Allanâtu
VII DU6-KÙ3 Tašrîtu October vii Bêltî-ekallim Belêt-ekalli
VIII APIN-DU8-A Araḥsamna November viii Ša sarratim Ša sarrâte
IX GAN-GAN-E Kisilimu December ix Narmak Aššur Ša kênâte
X AB-BA-È3 Tebêtu January x Maḫḫurili Muḫḫur ilâni
XI ZIZ2-AM Šabâtu February xi Abum Abû šarrâni
XII ŠE-KIN-KU5 Addâru March xii Tîrum Ḫubur

Consequently, the Standard Mesopotamian calendar used by Hammurabi was identical to the Sumerian
calendar used by the kings of Ur III dynasty (2020-1912). For example, the date 14/XII/24 of Ibbi-Sîn
6 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY

was on 6 March 1911 BCE (spring equinox: 6 April; 1st Nisanu: 1st May) and 14/III/48 of Šulgi was
on 27 June 1954 BCE (spring equinox on 7 April; 1st Nisanu on 16 April).

BCE King BCE King

1912 1 X 23 Ibbi-Sîn 1954 1 X 47 Šulgi
2 XI 2 XI
3 XII 3 XII
4 I 24 4 I 48 Lunar eclipse dated
5 II 5 II
6 III 6 III 14/III/48
7 IV 7 IV 0 Amar-Sin
8 V 8 V
9 VI 9 VI
10 VII 10 VII
11 VIII 11 VIII
12 IX 12 IX
1911 1 X 1953 1 X
2 XI Lunar eclipse dated 2 XI
3 XII 14/XII/24 3 XII
4 I (25) Collapse of Ur 4 I 1
5 II 5 II

Remarkably, the two dates: 6 March 1911 BCE (-1910*) and 27 June 1954 BCE (-1953*), fit perfectly
with two total lunar eclipses7.

A tablet of astronomical omens (Enuma Anu Enlil 20) mentions a lunar eclipse, dated 14 Siwanu, at the
very end of the reign of Šulgi (14/III/48) and another (Enuma Anu Enlil 21) mentions a lunar eclipse,
dated 14 Addaru, at the very end of the Ur III dynasty ending with the reign of Ibbi-Sin (14/XII/24).
In ancient times, a total lunar eclipse was considered both as an omen of the death of a king and as a
sign of impending troubled times. Consequently, the date 14/XII/24 of Ibbi-Sîn on 6 March 1911
BCE and the date 14/III/48 of Šulgi on 27 June 1954 BCE are two absolute dates.
In the Babylonian calendar, or in the Standard Mesopotamian calendar, the 1st Nisanu (1/I) is the 1st
lunar crescent after the spring equinox; the 1st Ayyar (1/II) is the 2nd lunar crescent after the spring
equinox and so on. If the 1st Tashritu (1/VII) is before the autumn equinox a second Ululu (VI2) is
added or, more generally, a second Addaru (XII2).

Total moon eclipses are easy to observe, can last up to 1 hour and 45 minutes and their dark red colour,
characteristic of this phenomenon, is impressive and reminiscent of blood.
7 http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEcat5/LE-1999--1900.html

http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCLEmap/-1999--1900/LE-1910-03-06T.gif
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCLEmap/-1999--1900/LE-1953-06-28T.gif
 BASIC ASTRONOMY FOR EGYPTOLOGISTS TO GET A CHRONOLOGY 7

HOW TO DETERMINE AN ASSYRIAN DATE

The Assyrian calendar was used until Tiglath-pileser I (1175-1076) but the presence of double dates
(Babylonian and Assyrian) during his reign shows that the Assyrians were not yet familiar with the new
Babylonian calendar. The change of calendar (year beginning on 1st Nisanu instead of 1st Ṣippu)
occurred shortly before the reign of Tiglath-pileser I, because it is already written in his 1st year of
reign: “in the month of Ḫibur (which is) the month Abu, day 20, the eponymy of Tiglath-pileser, the
king of Assyria.” The eponym marking each new Assyrian year was therefore chosen from the month
of Nisan —and not from the month of Ṣippu— for practical reasons: military campaigns took place
outside the rainy season, between the spring equinox (Babylonian month I) and the autumnal equinox
(Babylonian month VII) with the new equivalence: 1 year = 1 eponym = 1 campaign. The beginning of
regnal years is different depending on dating systems, for example in 1088 BCE: 1st Nisanu (12 April)
with accession for Babylonians and Judeans, 1st Ṣippu (13 January) with accession for Assyrians, 1st
Thot (22 May) without accession for Egyptians, 1st Tishri (5 October) without accession for Israelites.
Thus, according to the Assyrian calendar of this period, year 1 of Tiglath-pileser I, based on eponyms,
not 1st Ṣippu, began on 1st Nisanu (10 April 1114 BCE, and accession year began after April 1115
BCE). The accession year is the length time between the accession and the first year of reign. “With
accession” means that the accession year is reckoned as “year 0” and “without accession” means that
the accession year is reckoned as “year 1”. Given that the spring equinox is on 31 March in 1090 BCE,
1st Nisanu (1st lunar crescent after spring equinox) has to be dated on 4 April in 1090 BCE, but on 22
April in 1089 BCE, consequently, there was a month Addâru2 in year 25 of Tiglath-pileser I. Given that
the spring equinox is on 1 April in 1114 BCE, 1st Nisanu (1st lunar crescent after spring equinox) has
to be dated on 29 April and 1st Abu on 25 August. Before King Aššur-dân I (1179-1133), Assyrian
eponyms started on 1st Ṣippu and from Aššur-dân I they started on 1st Nisanu.

Δ = year (BCE) – 1088 (for example in 1679 BCE: Δ = 1679 – 1088 = 591)
Julian day = Δx365.2422 – [[Δx1.0307]]x354.36 + 13 + Assyrian day
[[figure]] = figure without its decimal value. For example [[3.17]] = 3
1 solar year = 365.2422 days; 1 lunar year = 354.36 (12x29.53) days
1.0307 = (1 solar year)/(1 lunar year)
Julian day = day ranked inside the Julian year. For example: 3 March = (31) + (28) + 3 = 62
Assyrian day = day ranked inside the Assyrian year: 1 Kalmartu = (29.5) + (29.5) + 1 = 60
For example, if we want to know which day was the 1st Ṣippu in the year 1679 BCE:
Δ = 1679 – 1088 = 591; Δx1.0307 = 609.14; [[Δx1.0307]] = 609; Assyrian day = 1.
Julian day = Δx365.2422 – [[Δx1.0307]]x354.36 + 13 + Assyrian day
Julian day = 52.9 + 13 + 1 = 67 = (31) + (28) + 8 = 8 March (3rd month).

HOW TO DETERMINE AN EGYPTIAN DATE (SECULAR AND LUNAR)

The secular Egyptian calendar (S) is based on a year of 12 months of 30 days each plus 5 extra days at
the end of the year. For example, the Papyrus Rhind briefly describes the fall of Avaris and the events
that followed. This papyrus is a copy of a vast mathematical treatise written under Pharaoh Amenemhat
III which is dated: IV Akhet, year 33 of King Apopi. Very surprisingly, a scribe added inside a blank a
note which has nothing to do with mathematics and which reads as follow:
Year 11, II Shemu; we entered Heliopolis. I Akhet 23; the mighty dignitary of the South (Kamose)
attacked Tjaru, [day] 25, we heard that we had entered Tjaru. Year 11, I Akhet 3-birth of Seth [3rd
epagomenal day] his voice is given by the majesty of this god (he thundered). Birth of Isis [4th
epagomenal day], the sky has made rain.
The fortress of Tjaru has been identified as Tell Hebua. The Pharaoh (not mentioned) who had
disappeared was Taa Seqenenre (1544-1533). Accordingly, this Pharaoh had to be dead just before the
dramatic events described in the papyrus dated II Shemu 1 (1/X/11), that is I Shemu 1-30 (1-
30/IX/11). How can one determine the Egyptian date 1/IX/11 in 1533 BCE (-1532*)? The equation
linking the day in the Julian calendar to the day in the Egyptian calendar in Year* is as follows:
8 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY

Julian day = 201 + (139 – Year*)/4 + (Egyptian day - 1)

Egyptian day = I Shemu 1 = 1/IX = 8x30 + 1 = 241
Julian day = 201 + (139 + 1532)/4 + (241 – 1) = 858.75 = 128.75 + 2x365 = 129 (leap year)
Julian day = 129 = 31 + 29 + 31 + 30 + 8 = 8 May (in 1533 BCE).
(0.75 =3/4, means a leap year every 4 years).

According to the Bible, the departure from Egypt is dated 15 Nisan (Nb 33:3). Since the arrival in the
desert of Sin is dated the 15th of the following month (Ex 16:1) and the final showdown is near Pi-
hahiroth (Ex 14:9) a place halfway between the city called Rameses and the desert of Sin, the date
marking the death of the Pharaoh can be fixed around 30 Nisan/1 Iyyar in Year 1 of the Exodus.
Consequently, this death is dated around 1/II/1 in 1533 BCE (= -1532*). That year the spring equinox
is 3 April. Accordingly, the 1st new moon after the spring equinox is 10 April and the 1st lunar crescent
(= new moon + 1) is 11 April (1/I). Similarly, the 1st lunar crescent after 1/I (11 April) is 1/II (11
May). Josephus gave some chronological details on this important event because he said that at the time
Nisan corresponded to Pharmuti (Jewish Antiquities II:308-311,343-344). Indeed if 30 Nisan
corresponded to 30 Pharmuti (30/VIII) the Egyptian date was 7 May in 1533 BCE.
The text of Ezekiel mentions the tragic end of a pharaoh and associates it with a cloudy sky and a solar
eclipse (Ezk 32:2,7-8). This text targets the Pharaoh of the Exodus, the only one known for ending
tragically (Ps 136:15), because the terms “crocodile dragon/ marine monster” always refer to this ruler
(Is 51:9-10) as an avatar of the sliding snake, Leviathan (Is 27:1, Ezk 29:2-5, Ps 74:13-14) and not
Apries, the Pharaoh of that time whose name is given (Jr 44:30). This process of assimilation between
two rulers from different eras is to be found again with the king of Tyre who was assimilated to the
original serpent in Eden (Ezk 28:12-14). The expression “All the luminaries of light in the heavens/sky
— I shall darken them on your account, and I will put darkness upon your land” has a symbolic
meaning, but could be understood only if it had also a literal meaning (solar eclipse). The Pharaoh was
considered a living god by the Egyptians, the son of Ra the sun god, thus the solar eclipse as a
moonless night would have marked them. According to astronomy, the only total solar eclipse in this
region during this period 1600-1500 BCE8 was the one dated May 10, 1533 BCE, magnitude 1.08. It
was visible in the North of Egypt over several cities such as Heliopolis (dedicated to sun worship),
Memphis and Heracleopolis, at 16:409. The place called Pi-hahiroth “mouth of the canal” in Akkadian,
must have been located near the port of Suez.
Each month of the Egyptian lunar calendar (L) started on the first full moon before the 1st day of the
secular month (S). Given that the lunar month is shorter (29,5 days) than the secular month (30 days),
lunar dates are ahead of secular dates. For example, in 1533 BCE:

14 Nisan = 24 April = 31 + 28 + 31 + 24 = 115 (Julian day) = 201 + (139 + 1532)/4 + (Egyptian day
- 1), hence the Egyptian day = 227 = 7x30 + 17 = IV Peret 17 (S) = 24 April.
Consequently, IV Peret 1 (S) = 8 April and I Shemu 1 (S) = 8 May. The first full moon before 8 May
1533 BCE is on 25 April = I Shemu 1 (L) and 8 May = I Shemu 1 (S) = I Shemu 14 (L).

Calendars in 1533 BCE

APRIL (Julian calendar) MAY
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
spring equinox new moon 1st lunar crescent Full moon Eclipse
ADAR NISANU (Babylonian calendar)
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 1 2 3
III PERET IV PERET (Egyptian secular calendar) I SHEMU
24 25 26 27 28 29 30 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 1 2 3 4 5
IV PERET (Egyptian lunar calendar) I SHEMU
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

8 http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEcat5/SE-1599--1500.html
9 http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEsearch/SEsearchmap.php?Ecl=-15320510
 BASIC ASTRONOMY FOR EGYPTOLOGISTS TO GET A CHRONOLOGY 9

Lunar dates are rarely given in the Egyptian secular calendar unless a significant event coincided with
the 1st day of the lunar calendar, which was always a full moon, this peculiar day was called psdntyw
“shining ones” in Egyptian. Two lunar days 1 (psdntyw) are respectively dated I Shemu 21 year 23 of
Thutmose III and II Peret 30 year 24 (Urk.IV 657.2). The year 1 of Thutmose III starting on I Shemu 4
(26 April in 1472 BCE), the year 23 must have begun on 21 April (I Shemu 4) in 1450 BCE. The date I
Shemu 21, year 23 of Thutmose III is on 8 May 1450 BCE and the II Peret 30, year 24, is on 15
February 1448 BCE. Thutmose III chose this specific lunar day to attack Megiddo because he
considered it an auspicious day of shining full moon. He explains: “Now that illuminates the moon,
that encircles the solar disk when it shines, that surround Geb and Nut, he placed them in the circle of
his arms. His Majesty stands at the entrance to the earth, ready to defeat the Asiatics.” According to
astronomy these lunar days (psdntyw) coincided with the full moons of 7 May in 1450 BCE and of 16
February in 1448 BCE.

HOW TO DETERMINE A SOTHIC DATE (HELIACAL RISING OF SIRIUS)

As Sirius is the brightest star in the sky it is easy to spot. A heliacal rising is a coincidence between the
sunrise (Helios was Sun god) and the rising of a star. But because of the overwhelming brightness of
the sun there must be a minimum angle between the star above the horizon and the sun below the
horizon, this angle is called arcus visionis, which is an observational data10. A set of measures11 showed
that it could be modelled by the equation: arcus visionis = 10.5 + 1.44x(magnitude). The arcus visionis of
Sirius (magnitude -1.46) is theoretically 8.4° which is the minimum (but usually around 8.5-8.9°).
The helical rising of Sirius during Sety's reign is dated I Akhet 1 year 4 (1291 BCE), given that the
astronomical ceiling of Sety I starts by a Sothic rising dated on I Akhet [1] according to his cenotaph:
“All these stars begin on I Akhet when Sirius appears.” The date I Akhet 1 year 4 is 12 July in 1291
BCE. Then one must use astronomy software to know the heliacal rising of Sirius12 based on a given
latitude. For example, for Thebes we have13: Longitude 32°39' E Latitude 25°42' N and Heliopolis:
Longitude 31°20' E Latitude 30°05' N. Because the Sothic rising during Sety's reign is dated 12 July in
Thebes but 17 July in Heliopolis we can conclude that it occurred in Thebes, which was the greatest
centre of astronomy at that time according to Greek ancient historians like Plato (Phaedrus 274c-d).
As seen previously that lunar dates have not been translated into the Egyptian secular calendar, except
sometimes the lunar day 1 (psdntyw), because these dates had no practical value. There were some
exceptions with the lunar days coinciding with a unique astronomical event such as a helical rising of
Sirius. We find such an example with the dating: “III Shemu 9 Opening of the Year” in the Ebers
papyrus dated year 9 of Amenhotep I (1496 BCE). It is indeed a lunar date because the Sothic rising at
that time is dated 11 July and the date in the Egyptian secular calendar should have been III Shemu 14
(11 July) instead od III Shemu 9.

Calendars in 1496 BCE

JUNE JULY (Julian calendar) AUGUST

26 27 28 29 30 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 1 2 3 4
Full moon Sothic rising 1st lunar crescent
SIMANU (Babylonian calendar) DUMUZU
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
III SHEMU (Egyptian secular calendar) IV SHEMU
29 30 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
II SHEMU III SHEMU (Egyptian lunar calendar)
24 25 26 27 28 29 30 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 1 2 3

The number “9” in Egyptian (psd) also means “shine”, which also explains the connection between the
lunar day 1 psdntyw “those shining ones”, the Ennead of gods (psdt) and the Nine Bows (psdt).

10 See video http://solar-center.stanford.edu/AO/Sirius.mov

11 http://www.alcyone.de/PVis/documentation/accuracy.html
12 http://www.imcce.fr/fr/grandpublic/phenomenes/sothis/index.php
13 http://www.astro.com/cgi/aq.cgi?lang=e
10 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY

The reign of Thutmose III (1472-1418) is very well-known, it is based on the following chronological
data: the date of his accession is year 1, I Shemu 4, and the date of his death is year 54, III Peret 30
(length of his reign: 53 years 11 months). Years of reign are counted from the date of accession (I
Shemu 4) and not from 1st Thoth (I Akhet 1). Moreover, Thutmose III began to reign independently,
without Hatshepsut, presumably from Year 22, II Peret 10, according to the Armant Stela.
The astronomical ceiling of Senenmut's tomb (below) gives the position of several constellations and
planets, known at the time.

Some constellations and stars like the Big Dipper, Orion, Venus, Mars, Mercury, Saturn and Jupiter (the
name of the 12 months of the year as well as of 5 planets is written alongside in hieroglyph) are easy to
identify. This ceiling describes a right ascension of Jupiter between 75° and 95° where Mars is not
visible, which could occur in the period from 1455 to 1505 BCE, only during the night on 14
 BASIC ASTRONOMY FOR EGYPTOLOGISTS TO GET A CHRONOLOGY 11

November 1463 BCE according to astronomy. Senenmut was a very important person under
Hatshepsut, thus we can find the year of the reign when the ceiling of his grave was painted. Senenmut
received the prestigious title of “Grand Steward of Amun” probably around the 5th or the 7th year of
Thutmose III and also had the rare privilege for an individual of developing a royal tomb and
appending his own grave. The ostraca of this tomb can set the year in which the ceiling was realized,
because masonry and stone cutting started on IV Peret 2, year 7 of Thutmose III and spread out
through year 9. As ostracon No. 80 states that the door of the chapel was opened on III Akhet 27, year
11, we can assume that the development work and decoration, such as the astronomical ceiling design
(from the observation) were performed at the end of the development work in year 9 or 10. The start
date of the tomb is Year 7. As Senenmut's tomb is only a small part of the vast complex, two years of
construction seem to have been sufficient to complete the ceiling. The famous expedition to Punt, for
example, which is represented on a retaining wall of the temple, is dated year 9. Astronomical
observation represented on the ceiling must therefore date from this year 9 of Thutmose III. So,
according to the accession date, the accession of the pharaoh would have taken place in 1472 BCE (=
1463 + 9) and his reign from 08/1472 to 03/1418 BCE.
The vertical line in the middle represents the meridian, the floor line (horizon) represents the equator
(0°) and the ceiling line (zenith) represents the pole (90°). By extending the inclined side of the
meridian in the upper part, this line intersects the toes of Orion's left foot (equidistant from the left and
right edges), that is to say Rigel (β Orionis). The line that crosses the Big Dipper and pointing to the
pole is directed towards month 8. The Egyptians identified Orion to Osiris and its main star Rigel
(“foot” in Arabic) gave its name to the whole constellation, s3ḥ meaning “Orion” as well as “Toes”.
The arrangement of 12 months in 3 groups of 4 can be used to date events because these 360 days (=
36 “Egyptian weeks” or decans of 10 days) are divided by the meridian into 3 equal parts of 120 days.

On the lower part, 12 circles can be recognized thanks to their names in hieroglyphs. They represent
the 12 Egyptian months. In the centre of this panel, separating the 12 circles into two unequal groups, a
long and narrow triangle symbolizes the meridian. On the tip of the meridian there is a small circle
which is connected to the schematic drawing of a bull called Big Dipper by a hieroglyph inscribed on
its body. The Egyptians believed that the 7 main stars of this constellation embodied a bull or rather its
thigh and that the star (η) at the tip of the meridian was Ursae majoris, the Big Dipper. If we extend the
spear of the falcon-headed god figured under the Big Dipper and the meridian, the two lines meet at
the North Pole (90° altitude or declination), the meridian crossing vertically the ceiling reaches the
equator, a line describing the horizon (0°). The star in the small circle (η Ursae majoris) is located at 68.2°
(altitude). This value is obtained by precisely measuring the length going from the equator to the pole,
12 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY

knowing that the total distance from the equator to the pole is 90°. When a star is on the meridian, it
holds the highest position (if it is a circumpolar star it is also its lowest position), one says that it
culminates. The culmination played an important role among the Egyptians and the culmination of the
star η Ursae majoris was done on the night of 18/19 March at midnight with a declination of 68.2° at
that time (which confirms that it is indeed the culmination of this star). Moreover, if one extends the
spear backwards it leads to month 8 (IV Peret) which began in mid-March at that time (c. 1470 BCE),
which again confirms the identification. If the boundary between the 2nd and the 3rd part was the
night of 18/19 March (culmination of the star η Ursae majoris), the one between the 3rd and the 1st was
120 days later, on the night of 16/17 July which corresponds to the heliacal rising of Sirius, the
brightest star in the sky, and the Egyptian New Year celebration. That day began the first season of the
Egyptian year, and the Nile began to flood the Lower Egypt in mid-July. The boundary between the 1st
and the second part was located 120 days later, on the night of 14/15 November. During that night
unfolded another major astronomical event: the culmination of Rigel (β Orionis) at midnight.
To reconstitute the calendar for an entire year, which was divided into 36 decans, each covering a
period of 10 days (excluding the 5 epagomenal days), one must first verify that the 8th month (IV Peret
1) actually began around 19 March in 1460 BCE and then, adding three times 10 days, one gets the
beginning of each month:

month 8 month 9 month 10 month 11

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
19 Mar. 29 Mar. 8 Apr. 18 Apr. 28 Apr. 8 May 18 May 28 May 7 June 17 June 27 June 7 July
month 12 month 1 month 2 month 3
13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
17 Jul. 27 Jul. 6 Aug. 16 Aug. 26 Aug. 5 Sep. 15 Sep. 25 Sep. 5 Oct. 15 Oct. 25 Oct. 4 Nov.
month 4 month 5 month 6 month 7
25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
14 Nov. 24 Nov. 4 Dec. 14 Dec. 24 Dec. 3 Jan. 13 Jan. 23 Jan. 2 Feb. 12 Feb. 22 Feb. 4 Mar.

From the foregoing, it is possible to find the place of observation because a heliacal rising of Sirius on
17 July was only possible (at that time) at a latitude of 30° North (near Heliopolis). Similarly, the
simultaneous passage on the meridian of Rigel (β Orionis) and the star of the Big Dipper (η Ursae majoris)
also give a latitude of 30° North. To check this first point one has to know what a heliacal rising of
Sirius is. As Sirius is the brightest star in the sky it is easy to spot. A heliacal rising is a coincidence
between the sunrise (Helios was Sun god) and the rising of a star. But because of the overwhelming
brightness of the sun there must be a minimum angle between the star above the horizon and the sun
below the horizon. This angle is called arcus visionis, which is an observational data. A set of measures
showed that it could be modelled by the equation: arcus visionis = 10.5 + 1.44x(magnitude). The arcus
visionis of Sirius (magnitude -1.46) is theoretically 8.4° (but usually around 9.2°). Astronomy software14
allows us to know the heliacal rising of Sirius based on a given latitude. Because of the precession of
the equinoxes, the apparent position of the Sun relative to the backdrop of the stars at some seasonally
fixed time slowly regresses a full 360° through all 12 traditional constellations of the zodiac, at the rate
of about 50.3 seconds of arc per year (= 360° divided by 25,772 year), or 1° every 71.6 year. This
phenomenon enables the dating of the ceiling in 1460 BCE +/- 10 years because the value of the
declination was 68.4° +/- 0.1°(6'). The accuracy is not very good but the “absence of Mars” on the
ceiling allows its dating with a high precision.
For example, in the upper part of the drawing of the southern sky, one recognizes the god Orion
standing in a boat. On the left there is a woman standing too in a boat. It is Isis identified with the
goddess Sothis. Follow two falcon-headed gods with a star on their head. The hieroglyphs above them
identify them as Jupiter and Saturn. At the extreme left is Venus whom the Egyptians represented in
the guise of a heron (bnw). Mercury is also present in the form of a small Sethian figure, above, to the
right of Venus. Mars, the last of the five planets known in antiquity, is missing. Its absence (empty
boat) in so neat a celestial map is all the more remarkable in that in all later cards and, without
exception, even more characteristically, Mars on board in a ship follows Jupiter and Saturn depicted as
14 http://www.imcce.fr/langues/fr/grandpublic/phenomenes/sothis/index.html
 BASIC ASTRONOMY FOR EGYPTOLOGISTS TO GET A CHRONOLOGY 13

a third falcon-headed god. The only possible conclusion is that Mars was not
visible during the night represented in the tomb of Senenmut. Another detail
makes it possible to calculate the year of the astronomical ceiling. We note that
near the figures of Orion and Jupiter there are small dots determining the
exact position of the two stars. On the map, the line near Jupiter corresponds
to all points of the same longitude which have the same rise between 73° and
95°. However, among the 50 years between 1505 and 1455 there is only one in
which Jupiter had a right ascension (75°-95°) on the night of 14/15
November, and Mars was not visible (right below): it is the year 1463 BCE.

The previous result is surprising, because the Egyptian priest astronomers, usually very accurate
in their representations, were particularly ill-advised to choose that particular year when Mars was
absent. This is unique in Egyptian representations because Mars always appears in its boat like on the
Sarcophagus of Nectanebo II (below):

⇧ ⇧ 1 2 3 4 5 ⇧ ⇧ ⇧ ⇧ ⇧
Phoenix Mercure (last decan) 5 epagonemal days Mars Saturn Jupiter Sothis Orion

In fact, observation of the shape and the position of Orion's constellations, Sirius and Venus explain
the reason for their choice. If Rigel corresponds to Orion's toes with the 3 stars aligned in its belt,
Sirius is located consequently on the level of Sothis' ankles, which are at the same level as the head of
the heron (benu) representing Venus. This heron, called Phoenix by the Greeks, inaugurates the
beginning of the ceiling at the upper left side and month 1 inaugurates the beginning of the ceiling at
the bottom right side. If the culmination of the Big Dipper can be dated 14 November 1463 BCE, this
year began with the heliacal rising of Sirius on 16 July 1464 BCE (-1463*) on month 1. But on this day
14 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY

occurred an exceptional phenomenon, which only occurs every 102.5 years: the heliacal rising of Sirius,
the brightest star in the sky, coincided with the heliacal setting of Venus, the brightest planet. This
coincidence of dates inaugurated a new era called “Great year” or “Phoenix rebirth” by the Greeks.
The dates in this table can be shifted +/- 8 years because of Venus period (-1463* + 8 = -1455*).

Heliopolis (cycle 243 years): -1558* -1315* -1072* -829* -586* -343* -100* 143
+102.5 years -1455* -1202* -969* -726* -483* -240* 3 246
Thebes (cycle 243 years): -1542* -1299* -1056* -813 -570* -327* -84* 159
+102.5 years -1439* -1196* -953* -710* -467* -224* 19 262

These dates have played a special role, since some have been commemorated and those in bold have
left a historical record and some eras of the Phoenix were pictured. The heliacal rising of Sirius at
Heliopolis in 1464 BCE (-1463*) was on 16 July and coincided with the heliacal rising of Venus
(below). An arcus visionis of around 8.5° means that Sirius and Venus may be seen 2° above the horizon
and the sun was 6.5° beneath the horizon.

Venus Jupiter Mars Sirius Venus Jupiter Saturn Sirius

Beginning of the year (16 July 1464 BCE) 120 days later (15 November 1463 BCE)

One can see that the Egyptian drawings of celestial maps were extremely accurate. The star above the
head of the heron (phoenix) represents the heliacal setting of Venus coinciding with the heliacal rising
of Sirius, located at the ankles of Sothis (associated with Isis representing Venus), Rigel being located at
the toes of Orion (s3ḥ) which means “toes”. Sirius is a shining star which belongs to the Canis Major
constellation. This star is located just before Procyon (belonging to Canis Minor) and after Rigel which
belongs to Orion constellation. Canis Major was chosen by the Egyptians as the first constellation
because the rising of Sirius, its brightest star matched the beginning of the Nile's flood at summer
solstice. These heliacal risings occurred every year simultaneously, they were therefore not noted unless
they occurred with another remarkable astronomical event. Two other Sothic (heliacal rising of Sirius)
dates appear during the reign of Thutmose III (the regnal years are not known but it is likely after the II
Peret 10 of Thutmose III's year 22 without Hatshepsut). The Elephantine Stone, from the temple of
Khnum that Thutmose had built, mentions a Sothic rising dated III Shemu 28 and the Buto Stela has a
Sothic setting dated immediately before the I Shemu 30.
 BASIC ASTRONOMY FOR EGYPTOLOGISTS TO GET A CHRONOLOGY 15

Sothic rising (III Shemu 28) Sothic setting (I Shemu 30)

The date is indeed a setting (with sunset), not a Sothic rising (with sunrise), for the following reason:
between III Shemu 28 and I Shemu 30 there are 62 days, this duration would correspond to a
difference of 244 years (= 4x61) in case of Sothic dates, which is impossible for the same king. In
addition, the hieroglyph representing the “rising” actually means “leave” (two legs walking surmounted
by a horizontal bar “bolt”) and not “arrive”, confirming the representation (very rare) of a Sothic
setting which occurs 61 days before the rising. Between the Sothic setting dated I Shemu 30 and the
Sothic rising dated III Shemu 28 there was a period of invisibility of 62 days and not 70 days. This
difference could be explained by the fact that this period decreased by about 1.5 day for 1° latitude
southward, which implies 67 days in Buto (latitude 31.1°) and 59 days in Thebes (latitude 25.7°). This
period of invisibility is different from Egyptian texts, which always indicate 70 days. This discrepancy
with astronomy illustrates the role of religious Egyptian astronomy. Indeed, at that time, the period of
invisibility of Sirius was about 65 days at the latitude of Buto, 63 days at the latitude of Memphis. Even
assuming good observing conditions (arcus visionis of 8° for Sothic rising and 6.5° for Sothic setting)
there was a period of 67 days at the latitude of Buto and not 70 days as Egyptian texts indicate. This
period of 70 days covered in fact a symbolic period of 7 decans, the Egyptian year being covered by 36
decans, or 360 (= 12x30) days. The 28 Shemu III also belongs to the effective reign of Thutmose, after
his 22 years of co-regency with Hatshepsut. In addition, the Palestine campaign which occurred from
years 23 to 25 is mentioned in the Buto Stela: “It is a brave king who, in the melee, made great
slaughters among Asiatic coalitions. He is the one that makes rulers of Retenu's land, in their entirety,
to be required to provide their tribute.” Sothic dates appearing on the Buto Stela and on the
Elephantine Stone likely date to year 25. Why have these two Sothic dates been engraved? As Thebes
was the capital of Egypt at this time (1470 BCE), the Sothic rising was on 12 July in this place. The III
Shemu 28 coincides with 13 July in the period 1448-1445, which matches effectively year 25 of
Thutmose III since his year 9 is dated 1464 BCE. Given that the accession of Thutmose III was on I
Shemu 4, his year 25 was going from 20 April 1448 BCE to 19 April 1447 BCE. The full moons during
this period of time (1448 BCE) have been highlighted in yellow.
BCE Egyptian I Shemu 4 II Shemu 28 II Shemu 29 III Shemu 27 III Shemu 28 III Shemu 29
1448 Julian 20 April 13 June 14 June 12 July 13 July 14 July
Lunar day year 25 30 1 29 1 2
One can see that the heliacal rising of Sirius dated 12 July 1448 BCE coincided with a full moon, which
was no doubt a remarkable event. However, the event was dated III Shemu 28 instead of III Shemu 27
because the full moon was the last day in the Egyptian lunar calendar. In practice, the 1st day of the
Egyptian lunar calendar was also considered as a full moon (the “two eyes” of Horus), which is why the
coincidence was dated on 1st day of the lunar month. Similarly, the Sothic setting mentioned in the
Buto Stela dated I Shemu 30 (16 May 1448 BCE) coincided with a full moon dated a day before on I
Shemu 29 (15 May 1448 BCE).
BCE Egyptian IV Peret 29 IV Peret 30 I Shemu 4 I Shemu 28 I Shemu 29 I Shemu 30
1448 Julian 15 April 16 April 20 April 14 May 15 May 16 May
Lunar day 29 1 year 25 29 1 2
These exceptional coincidences with the full moon may explain why these two Sothic dates were
mentioned on inscriptions. These mentions of Sothic risings had primarily religious significance for the
16 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY

Egyptians, which explains why they are not often dated in the civil calendar (unless there was a
remarkable coincidence). This is the case of these two Sothic risings (Spalinger: 1992, 67-68) from the
reign of Amenhotep I (1505-1484), which are not dated.

(1) (2)
Sothic risings under Amenhotep I
These two blocks come from Karnak. The Sothic rising appearing on the first block (1) is dated
between IV Peret and I Shemu "according to its day", and that of the second block (2) is dated between
I Peret 3 and I Peret 20 "according to its day". The expression "according to its day" shows that these
Sothic risings were not dated precisely, probably because they came from copies of earlier
commemorations, as the months mentioned are different from the Sothic rising dated III Shemu 9* of
the year 9 of Amenhotep's reign. The same is true of a Sothic rising appearing in the reign of Ramses
III (1192-1161) whose day number in the Sothic rising is not given. The outer face of the south wall of
the temple of Medinet Habu shows the details of the offerings instituted by
Ramses III in the year x (5< x < 12) of his reign (Vandersleyen: 1995, 596-597).
The feast of the Sothic rising is given in the month I Akhet, but without mention
of the day. This imprecise dating could be explained by two reasons: Ramses III
wanted to link his reign to that of his predecessors, Sety I and Ramses II, who
had linked their reign with a Sothic rising. Like them, Ramses III commemorated
his coronation with an undated heliacal rising of Sirius (Spalinger: 1995, 175-
183). As we have seen, the first Sothic rising dated at I Akhet 1 appeared under
Sety I (12 July 1300 BCE). As this rising is shifted by 1 day every 4 years, the
following risings were no longer dated, but occurred in the month: I Akhet. The
heliacal rising of Sirius during the reign of Sety I was precisely dated because it
coincided with a heliacal rising of Venus, which had in fact occurred during the reign of Horemheb.

HOW TO DETERMINE A SOTHIC RISING BEFORE 2000 BCE?

Sothic risings before 2000 BCE are difficult to date as they do not mention the name of the reigning
king or the date in the Egyptian civil calendar. For example, several sarcophagi dated during Dynasties
9 to 10 and early Dynasty 11 (c. 2120-2030) have star clocks that are based on a Sothic rising placed
within a table of 36 decans, each decan being a 10-day week (Neugebauer, Parker: 1960, plates 1-23).
Two sarcophagi have been particularly studied, that of Idy and that of Queen Ashayet, a concubine of
Mentuhotep II (Bomhard: 2012, 73-102). On the sarcophagus of Idy, the decan where Sirius is
represented opposite Orion (below) is located after the last decan of I Peret (20-30), that is to say the II
Peret (1-10). As the capital of
these dynasties (Heracleopolis)
was in the north of Egypt, the
place of observation must have
been Buto or Heliopolis,
therefore the Sothic rising must
have been around July 16. Under
these conditions, the equation II
Peret 10 = July 16 is satisfied only
over the period 2133-2130 BCE.
 BASIC ASTRONOMY FOR EGYPTOLOGISTS TO GET A CHRONOLOGY 17

The Sothic rising appearing (below) on the sarcophagus (T3C) of Ashayet (Bomhard: 2012, 80), a
concubine of Mentuhotep II (2045-1994), is dated II Peret 21 (Krauss: 2006, 445-447) because it is
located just after the 17th decan (II Peret 21-30) called Soped, the Egyptian name for Sirius. A study of
28 stellar clocks (Gadré: 2008, 32-80) showed that these diagrams showed star lists distributed vertically
on 36 columns of 10-day decades called decans, the 40th and last one being the 5-day epagomenal
decan, and horizontally on 12 lines for the 12 hours of the night:

This Sothic rising poses a problem because the date, according to astronomy, would have taken place
before the reign of this king (2045-1994):
(arcus visionis 8.5°) Sothic rising (II Peret 21): Date (BCE) (III Peret 1) Date (BCE)
Heliopolis (30.1°) 16 July 2089-2086 16 July 2048-2045
Thebes (25.7°) 11 July 2069-2066
Elephantine (24.1°) 9 July 2061-2058
18 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY

Other solutions are possible by changing the chosen observation location, the value of the arcus visionis,
etc. (Rose: 1994, 237-261), but the simplest solution is to assume a remarkable Sothic rising, like the
one coinciding with a heliacal rising of Venus, since it has been dated. For example, the double heliac
risings of Sirius and Venus during the period 2120-1810 BCE are the following:
(Latitude) Buto (31.2°) Heliopolis (30.1°) Thèbes (25.7°) Elephantine (24.1°)
Date 2049 BCE 2045 BCE 2029 BCE 2023 BCE
The date of the double heliac rising in Heliopolis in 2045 BCE coincides, moreover, with the beginning
of the reign of Mentuhotep II (2045-1994), which makes it a good candidate, but in this case the date
of 16 July corresponded to III Peret 1, marking the beginning of decan no. 19 (III Peret 1-10) or the
end of decan no. 18 (II Peret 21-30), not its beginning (II Peret 21). This would mean that the stars
shown at the beginning of each decan (...) the first decan (I Akhet 1-10) begins without its star bar (blue
line), are those that appeared at the end of that decan.
Akhet-season Peret-season
I Akhet 1 II Akhet 1 III Akhet 1 IV Akhet 1 I Peret 1 II Peret 1 III
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
1-10 10-20 20-30 1-10 10-20 20-30 1-10 10-20 20-30 1-10 10-20 20-30 1-10 10-20 20-30 1-10 10-20 20-30 1-10

For the Egyptians, the heliac rising of Sirius (around the summer solstice) indicated the beginning of
the astronomical/religious year and coincided, moreover, with the beginning of the agricultural year
marked by the flooding of the Nile. Despite its symbolic importance, the dating of this event in the
Egyptian civil calendar was of little interest unless it was associated with a remarkable astronomical
coincidence that could be of religious significance to the king. This astronomical coincidence could
explain the importance of the name and the role of the phoenix in Egyptian theology. Heliopolis, the
city of the Sun (Ra), was represented by the benu bird (grey heron), this name being close to the word
wbn "to rise, to shine". It thus seems that this bird symbolized the sunrise. This bird thus symbolized
the heliacal rising of Venus (associated with Isis) and then, when it coincided with the heliacal rising of
Sirius, a star was added above its head. The Book of the Dead says:
I went in as a hawk, I came out as a phoenix. The Morning Star [Venus] opens the way for me (§13); It is
the soul of Ra, by means of which he coitus. I am this phoenix who is in Heliopolis (§17); I have come
from Letopolis to Heliopolis to make the phoenix know the facts of the Douat [Dawn] (§64); I am the
successor of Ra and I am the mysterious phoenix; I am the one who enters and stops in the Douat (§180).
The Book of the Dead developed from a tradition of funerary manuscripts dating back to the Egyptian
Old Kingdom. The first funerary texts were the Pyramid Texts, first used in the Pyramid of King Unas
(2286-2256) of the 5th Dynasty. Recently a new Sothic date on an ointment jar was discovered
(Gautschy, Habicht, Galassi, Rutica, Rühli, Hannig: 2017, 69-108). The jar mentions the “Forthcoming of
Sopdet [Sirius]” and the date of a heliacal rising of Sirius on the beaker. The jar was stylistically dated into
the 5th Dynasty. Inscription, palaeography and the astronomical date also point to the Old Kingdom.
The inscription (right drawing) starting from the right column is a nominal sentence with pw:
Ointment made for the protection of the year, month 4, Peret-season,
for the forthcoming of Sothis, month 4, Akhet-season it is, made for
the first day of the month.
The reason is the “forthcoming” of Sirius (Soped) at the date (4th
month, Akhet, 1st day). The Peret date, mentioning the protection of
the year may refer to the date of production of the oil: the ointment
would have been produced ca. 3⁄4 year in advance of the heliacal
rising of Sirius. This is a classic production length for the sacred oils
in Egypt. This inscription confirms two points: (1) the heliac rising of
Sirius could be calculated precisely because its date in the Egyptian
civil calendar remained the same for four years; (2) it was therefore
not necessary to observe it to determine the date. As the heliac rising
of Sirius took place on 16 July at that time in northern Egypt
(Heliopolis), the equation: IV Akhet 1 = 16 July is verified over the
period 2412-2409 BCE during the reign of Menkaure (2422-2394).
 BASIC ASTRONOMY FOR EGYPTOLOGISTS TO GET A CHRONOLOGY 19

Consequently, the heliacal rising of Sirius mentioned on this jar did not coincide with a heliacal rising of
Venus and was therefore not remarkable. If we calculate the double heliac risings of Sirius and Venus
which appear regularly every 243 years, we can see that most of them have been noted in the Egyptian
civil calendar (dates highlighted in grey, knowing that -2773* = 2774 BCE).
Heliopolis -2773* -2530* -2287* -2044* -1801* -1558* -1315*
Thebes -2757* -2514* -2271* -2028* -1785* -1542* -1299*
Heliopolis -1072* -829* -586* -343* -100* 143 386
Thebes -1056* -813 -570* -327* -84* 159 402
A deduction can be made from the above table: the Sirius heliac risings represented and dated, as well
as those represented in the Egyptian tombs by the presence of a phoenix, in fact referred to double
heliac risings. This symbolic bird, an ashen heron surmounted by a 5-pointed star15, was used to mark
the heliacal rising of Sirius (the brightest star) coinciding exceptionally with the heliacal rising of Venus
(the brightest planet). Heliopolis, the religious capital during the period 2800-2000 BCE, then Thebes
during the period 2000-500 BCE, were privileged observation sites for these exceptional heliacal risings
(hence the Greek legend of the phoenix rising from its ashes). However, while the majority of Sirius
heliac risings were associated with Venus heliac risings, there were exceptions (highlighted in grey):
King Reign Egyptian date of the Rising of Sirius Julian calendar Place of
(BCE) rising of Sirius coinciding with (BCE) observation
Djer 2788-2752 [Year 23] I Akhet 1* Beginning of the year 16 July 2766 Buto
[Phoenix] and rising of Venus
Menkaure 2422-2394 IV Peret 1 - 16 July 2410 Heliopolis
Mentuhotep II 2045-1994 III Peret 1* Rising of Venus 16 July 2045 Heliopolis
Senwosret III 1855-1836 Year 7, IV Peret 16 First lunar crescent 11 July -1848 Thebes
Seqenenre 1544-1533 [Phoenix] Rising of Venus 11 July 1543 Thebes
Amenhotep I 1505-1484 Year 9, III Shemu 9* Full moon on 9*/IX/9 11 July 1496 Thebes
[Senenmut]* 1468-1450 [Year 9] Phoenix Rising of Venus 16* July 1464 Heliopolis
Thutmose III 1472-1418 [Year 25] I Shemu 30 Setting of Sirius 15 May 1448 Thebes
and full moon
III Shemu 28 Full moon 12 July 1448 Thebes
[Sety I]* Horemheb Phoenix Rising of Venus 12 July 1300 Thebes
Sety I 1294-1283 Year 4 I Akhet 1 Beginning of the year 12 July 1291 Thebes
Tausert 1196-1194 Phoenix Rising of Venus 12 July 1197 Thebes
Psusennes I 1064-1009 Phoenix Rising of Venus 16* July 1065 Thebes
Amasis 570-526 Phoenix Rising of Venus 13 July 571 Thebes
Nectanebo II 359-343 Phoenix Rising of Venus 19 July 344 Heliopolis
Ptolemy III 246-221 Year 9, II Shemu 1 - 19 July 238 Heliopolis
Augustus -30*+14 Year 5, III Shemu 25 - 19 July 25 BCE Heliopolis
Antoninus 138-161 Phoenix (on a coin) Beginning of the year 20 July 143 CE Heliopolis
(CE) Year 6, 1st Thot and rising of Venus

Although the early Greek astronomers were in contact with Egyptian astronomers, it was not clear to
them (and therefore for us) how the Egyptians' astronomical observations were related to their religious
interpretations. For example, Herodotus believed (c. 440 BCE) that the phoenix16 was a real bird:
They have also another sacred bird called the phoenix which I myself have never seen, except in pictures.
Indeed it is a great rarity, even in Egypt, only coming there (according to the accounts of the people of
Heliopolis) once in 500 years [=2x243?], when the old phoenix dies. Its size and appearance, if it is like
the pictures, are as follow: The plumage is partly red, partly golden [Sun god], while the general make
and size are almost exactly that of the eagle [grey heron]. They tell a story of what this bird does, which
does not seem to me to be credible: that he comes all the way from Arabia, and brings the parent bird, all
plastered over with myrrh, to the temple of the Sun, and there buries the body. In order to bring him, they
say, he first forms a ball of myrrh as big as he finds that he can carry; then he hollows out the ball, and
puts his parent inside, after which he covers over the opening with fresh myrrh, and the ball is then of
exactly the same weight as at first; so he brings it to Egypt, plastered over as I have said, and deposits it in
the temple of the Sun. Such is the story they tell of the doings of this bird (The Histories II:72).
15 The five-pointed star represents Sirius, the star par excellence, and the grey heron represents Venus.
16 The previous “phoenix” had taken place about 130 years earlier in 571 BCE.
20 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY

DATING THE REIGN OF AKHENATEN THROUGH ASTRONOMY

Amenhotep IV (1356-1340) died after a 17-year reign in year 6 of Akhetaten (1345-1340). This city also
lasted 6 years as long as Akhenaten's reign without his co-regency (= 17 - 11). The reign can be dated
through an indication coming from a temple dedicated to the solar cult which he built in El-Amarna
(small Aten temple) used for celebrating the rise of Aten, the deified solar disc. Several temples of the
ancient Egyptian civilization were astronomically orientated (Belmonte, Shaltout, Fekri: 2007, 313-333).
This temple is directed precisely toward a notch in the mountains (azimuth 103° on the horizon)17. In
the photograph (right below) the axis of the temple is oriented in the direction of the notch (hidden by
a column) on the horizon.

The name of the new capital built by Akhenaten, called Akhetaten (3ht-'itn) “where the sun disk
rises [Aten's horizon]” which was represented by the hieroglyph exactly imitating the sun appearing
in the notch of the mountain in Amarna. The temple in the city was inaugurated on IV Peret 13 in Year
5 of Akhenaten and commemorated in Year 6 at the same date (Murnane: 1987, 239-246). The fact that
the temple is oriented exactly in line with the Royal Wadi (Silverman, Wegner, Houser Wegner: 2006,
43-55) suggests that Akhenaten chose to inaugurate the city, the precise day when the sun rose in the
notch of the mountain (Gabolde: 2010, 243-256), illuminating the temple like a laser beam. The
simulation of sunrise observed at that location (14th century BCE) indicates that it appeared at 4:38 UT
in the notch of the mountain (its apparent diameter is 0.9°, the one of the sun is 0.5°) only two days in
the year: 3/4 March and 5/6 November (Wells: 1987, 313-333), as the apparent path of the sun drift by
about 0.4° per day at the horizon (0° altitude) to go back and forth between the two extreme positions
reached at solstices on 1st January and 5 July (spring equinox was on 2 April18 at that time). This implies
that the equation: IV Peret 13 = 3 March19 [day of solar illumination in the temple] was satisfied only
for 4 years, from 1341 to 1338 BCE. As the commemoration of IV Peret 13 stopped at the 6th year of
Akhenaten (no 7th year), one can assume that it was the last year of his reign (matching the 17th year
from his co-regency). The posthumous stela of year 8 was completed in the last year of the 4-year cycle,
in 1338 BCE. His father Amenhotep III died on April 1345 BCE during year 38 of his reign. Letter EA
106 was written 5 years after the beginning of the war (1352 BCE) and EA 116 after Akhenaten sat on
the throne.
For example, the sunrise on 3 March 1340 BCE occurred in 2005 on 18 February20 (see the image
below) then on 19 February (at 4:35, altitude 1°, azimuth 102.8°), the apparent path of the sun moving
towards the summer solstice, on 21 June 2005 (5 July in 1340 BCE). The Egyptian calendar of 365 days
drifted 1 day every 4 years compared to the true solar year of 365.24 days which caused an offset of
about 0.1° per year.

17 http://earth.google.fr/ Longitude 30°53'47" E Latitude 27°38'43" N (Small Temple of Aten)

18 http://www.imcce.fr/fr/grandpublic/temps/saisons.php
19 The other possibility IV Peret 13 = 5 November has no solution in the 14th century BCE.
20 At 4:32, altitude 0°, azimuth 102.8° which became visible at 4:36, altitude 1°, azimuth 103.2°

http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/grad/solcalc/
Location: Lat 27.645 (=27°38'43" N) Lng 30.913 (=30°53'47" E);
Time Zone 0; Date: 18 Feb 2005; Local Time 04:35 = 04:31. Apparent Sunrise + 4 minutes (=1° altitude); azimuth 103.12°.
 BASIC ASTRONOMY FOR EGYPTOLOGISTS TO GET A CHRONOLOGY 21

period: 2005 CE 1344-1341 1340-1337 1336-1333

Sunrise at the azimuth 102.8° 18 February 3 March 3 March 3 March
IV Peret 13 (in Julian calendar) [18 November] 4 March 3 March 2 March
Spring equinox 20 March 2 April 2 April 2 April

The sunrise was seen at the horizon (left below)21 at 4:37 UT, altitude 0°, azimuth 102.8° (= 180° -
77.2°) then in the small Aten temple through the notch 2 minutes later (right below) at 4:39 UT;
altitude 1°, azimuth 103.2°.

21 http://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/Yourhorizon
22 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY

HOW TO DETERMINE A DATE THROUGH THE ORIENTATION OF TEMPLES

From the 1st dynasty, several pharaohs were called “son of Ra (the Sun God)”, then were systematically
designated as such from the 4th Dynasty. Consequently, the Sun (and its observation) played a crucial in
Egyptian worship. During the year, from sunrise (at east) to sunset (at west), the sun moves from the
summer solstice —its highest position in the sky— to the winter solstice —its lowest position in the
sky. The ground plan of a temple (or at least its four corners), including the orientation of its main axes,
was normally established in a ceremony known as the “stretching of the cord”, records of which exist
as early as the 1st Dynasty. The first depiction of the ritual dates from the reign of Khasekhemuy, last
king of the 2nd Dynasty (2694-2597). If one observes the sun at the horizon, its path on azimuth
moves through 3 peculiar positions easy to observe: 1) the sunrise at summer solstice, 2) the sunrise at
winter solstice and 3) the culmination of the sun at summer (or winter) solstice on the celestial
meridian. To highlight this special day, the Egyptians built a central corridor in several of their temples
in order to let sunrays cross these temples on this very day of the year, as in the Senwosret I’s temple in
the Karnak Temple Complex on the day of winter solstice:
In his article dedicated to the orientation of the temple of Amun-Ra, Luc Gabolde gave the precise
measurement of the azimuth of the sunrise at winter solstice based on the axis of the temple: 116° 43'
7,35" (Cahiers de Karnak, 2010, 243-256). Today, in our Gregorian calendar, the winter solstice occurs on
21 September, but in the astronomical Julian calendar, it occurred on January 5 around 1950 BCE. Due
to the precession of equinoxes, the azimuth of sunrise has changed slowly over time.
The azimuth of sunrise (altitude 0°) at winter solstice (5 January), seen from Senwosret I's temple in
Karnak (32°39’ East, 25°42’ North) at exactly 4:44:20 UTC, was -63.264° or 116.736° (116° 43' 48"),
which is the value for the axis of the temple: 116° 43' 7,35". Given that the azimuth of Sirius at its
heliacal rising was 111°7', that star was not used to align the temple

The dating of a temple through the orientation of its axis is difficult because some new temples were
built with the same axis as some ancient temples. For example the North Temple of Hatshepsut (c.
1465 BCE) has exactly the same axis as Senwosret I's temple (1946 BCE). The archaic temple built on
Thoth Hill, that was restored by Mentuhotep III (1994-1982), has an axis of 118.5°, which would imply
(with a shift of 0.3' per year) a date around 2500 BCE (at the time of Snefru).
 BASIC ASTRONOMY FOR EGYPTOLOGISTS TO GET A CHRONOLOGY 23

HOW TO DETERMINE A DATE THROUGH THE ORIENTATION OF PYRAMIDS

The pyramids of the middle of the 3rd millennium in Egypt, built as tombs for the kings of the period,
were oriented towards the cardinal points with extraordinary precision. The most accurately aligned
monument is the Pyramid of Khufu (Kheops) at Giza, also known as the Great Pyramid, the sides of
which deviate from true north by an average of less than 3’.
The apparent precision of the alignment method (shown by the proximity of the six points to line a)
strongly suggests stellar orientation, as solar methods would be unlikely to produce such accurate
results. The north celestial pole on the meridian appears from the earth to be a point on the celestial
sphere around which the stars rotate. This point is directly aligned with the axis of rotation of the earth.
However, the revolving axis of the earth is itself unstable and rotates slowly, like a gyroscope. This is
precession and, as a result, the north celestial pole appears to trace out a large circle on the northern
sky, with each cycle taking around 26,000 years. This movement is extremely slow. Without a system of
recorded measurements it would be unnoticeable to observers, even over periods of hundreds of years.
Kate Spence got the following results (Nature 408, 16 November 2000, 320-324):

If we assume that the pyramid alignment ceremony (on the meridian) occurred in year 2 of each king's
reign (with the exception of those for the later pyramids of Snefru), after the burial of his predecessor,
the choice of a suitable location (preparation and levelling of the site) was performed at the beginning
of reigns. This accords with the fact that even kings with short reigns are known to have started
construction of their own tombs.

Most of the orientations of pyramids (from 1 to 8) are on a positive straight line (a) but two (5 and 7)
are on negative straight line (b). If one supposes that the values on line (a) were performed at summer
solstice (positive deviation) and those on line (b) were at winter solstice (negative deviation) we can get
a new calibrated straight line (right figure).
24 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY

Paradoxically, the results of K. Spence, which are astronomically accurate, are based on a double error
which neutralize each other. First mistake: K. Spence believed that the pyramids were oriented on the
celestial North pole (instead of the meridian) and second mistake: the two bright stars that were used to
align the pyramids (Kochab in the Little Dipper and Mizar in the Big Dipper) were situated on this
celestial pole (instead of Thuban. Polaris today).

Figure 2. The apparent movements of the stars were different in ancient Egypt, as seen in this
reconstruction of the 9 o'clock sky in Cairo on April 25, 2467 B.C. Then, Polaris was quite distant from the
north celestial pole, for which dim Thuban might have been the closest marker. Yet the pyramids point
north with such accuracy that a more rigorous method must have been used. A recent analysis shows that a
line drawn between the circumpolar stars Mizar and Kochab would very nearly cross the pole, and that the
pyramids themselves exhibit the slight deviations that would result from using these stars to determine true
north. Chris Brodie

Still, other possibilities spring to mind. An obvious method would be to note the
directions of sunrise and sunset on a given day and bisect the angle between the two—the
result marks the meridian. But this, and other seemingly straightforward methods, while
fine in principle, turn out to be unsatisfactory in practice, at least when accuracies of a
small fraction of a degree are called for. For instance, in this case the rising and setting
sun must be seen over an absolutely flat horizon, which Giza lacks. Then there is
refraction in the earth's atmosphere: When one sees the lower edge of the setting sun just
touching the horizon it has in fact already set. The light rays are bent to produce an image
above the horizon, thereby shifting the direction in which the sun appears to set. And
since the amount of refraction depends on air temperature, pressure and other factors, all
of which can differ between morning and evening, the effect may not be consistent
between rising and setting. Furthermore, the sun's celestial coordinates will change
during the course of the day, spoiling the symmetry of the method. All in all, these
practical hurdles have stymied modern astronomers who tried to figure out just how the
early
GlenEgyptians managed
Dash noticed to orient
(Aeragram their
14-1, pyramids
spring as precisely
2013, 8-14) as theychoice
that Spence’s did. had induced an error
of 2°23' in the alignment of the two stars that gives a shift in the chronology of reigns of around 72
years backward. For example, an observer holding up a plumb line in 2467 BCE would find Mizar and
Kochab aligned with the meridian. By 2000 BCE, the alignment would have shifted east 2°23'. Spence
used this not only to explain pyramid alignments, but to predict the dates the pyramids were built.
 BASIC ASTRONOMY FOR EGYPTOLOGISTS TO GET A CHRONOLOGY 25

Spence acknowledged her error (Nature 412, 16 August 2001, 699-700), but instead of replacing the
celestial North Pole by the meridian, she replaced the two previous stars by two new stars (one star of
Ursa Major and β Ursae Minoris).
The main mistake of modern astronomers is to suppose that the Egyptians have aligned their pyramids
on the North Pole, instead of the meridian, for the following reason: contrary to modern astronomers
the Egyptians have never been interested in observing the North Pole because it had no religious
meaning, but rather they were fascinated by the meridian because it was considered as the axis of the
world, a barrier between the divine world of stars (western world of the dead) and the world of humans
(eastern world of the living). For example, the astronomical ceiling of Senenmut is bisected by a vertical
pole representing the meridian. The study: The astronomical orientation in ancient Egypt, and the precession of the
world axis (Zaba: 1953) showed three key points: The Pyramid Texts (5th Dynasty) distinguish the
imperishable stars, those that can be seen all year, from perishable stars, those that spring on the
horizon (heliacal rising of the star), culminate and then die on the horizon (heliacal setting of the star);
The meridian is represented by the bisecting line between east and west; Several (late) Egyptian texts
explicitly link the alignment of the pyramids with the movement of stars as follows:
I take the milestone and I grab the handle of the mallet; I grab the cord with Sechat (goddess of the
calculation). I turned my eyes from the movement of the stars and I brought my gaze in (the asterism of)
the Big Dipper. The indicator god of time (Thoth) was standing beside his merkhet (instrument to observe
stars). I established the 4 corners of your temple.
The methods used by the Egyptians to determine the meridian are still unknown, but the easiest way
was to use a gnomon, a pole displaying the shadow of the sun (like sun clocks).

This method is very simple, but the blur of the

shadow cast on the ground by the gnomon
prevents an accurate measurement of the
meridian. Even with a well-sharpened 2 meter-
high-pole, the alignment is at best only +/- 20'
(0.3°). To have an accuracy of 1', that measured
on pyramids, it would require a 40 meter-high-
pole (that seems unlikely). As a resolution of 1'
(0.017°) comes from the visual acuity, this
implies an observation based on stars instead of
the sun. The measurement of meridian can be
performed with an accuracy of 1' using the
following method: an artificial horizon was
achieved by a perfectly flat wall (1 meter high,
for example) then an assistant placed an oil lamp
to mark the heliacal rising of the star at the
beginning of the night then another one to mark
the heliacal setting of the star. The meridian is
obtained by the bisecting line between the two
marks on the wall. To have a resolution of 1' it is
sufficient that the wall was at a distance of at
least 34 meters from the observer (implying that
26 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY

the oil lamp was placed on the wall with a precision of +/- 1 cm). Consequently, the choice of the star
(several stars could be used) mainly depended on its magnitude, its appearance early in the night (for
maximum accuracy) and its heliacal rising (and setting) was to be seen on the wall.
The ride of a star in the sky during the year is complex because it results from the combination of three
rotating movements: the earth around its axis every day, the earth around the sun every year and the
precession of the axis of the earth every 26000 years. The ride of a star in the sky during the year is
called analemma (below).
 BASIC ASTRONOMY FOR EGYPTOLOGISTS TO GET A CHRONOLOGY 27

If we use the position of the sun at its culmination in the day (at
noon), its analemma (above right) has four interesting points
(coloured in green) to measure the meridian (red lines). If the
meridian is determined at the summer solstice (highest position)
or at the winter solstice (lowest position) we obtain the same
red line, but if the meridian is determined at the spring equinox,
it is shifted around +3°, and around -3° at the autumn equinox.
The two best positions to determine the meridian are therefore
at solstices. Because of the precession of equinoxes, the
meridian tilts around 0.3' per year or 30' (0.5°) per century. For
example, if the meridian is measured in 2600 BCE, it is tilted
600 years later (in 2000 BCE) by 3° (600x0.3' = 180'). If we
compare the alignment of meridian obtained at the four
peculiar positions of the sun (at solstices and equinoxes) we
notice (below left) that from 2600 to 2000 BCE there is a
positive deviation in the alignment of the meridian of around
+3° at the summer solstice but a negative deviation of around -
3° at the winter solstice (the deviation at the equinoxes is
lesser). Given that Mizar and Kochab were not exactly on the
North Celestial Pole, if the meridian had been determined from
these two stars (right picture), that choice would have induced
an error of 2°25', from 2467 BCE to 2000 BCE. In contrast,
when the alignment of meridian is obtained by bisecting the two heliacal positions (determined from
the rising and setting of a star) at the summer (or winter) solstice, the final result is not affected.

If all deviations from the alignment of the pyramids are plotted on a curve (opposite picture), one
actually gets two straight lines: red for the meridian obtained at the summer solstice and green for the
meridian obtained at the winter solstice. Consequently, Spence's results were exactly right if we replace
her hypothesis of a meridian obtained from the alignment of two stars by a meridian obtained by the
bisecting the line between the heliacal rising of a star and its heliacal setting (the alignment of Djoser's
pyramid was maybe obtained at the spring equinox).
28 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY

The previous results have been criticized by astronomers because it can be seen that of the 12 pyramids
studied by Spence, only 6 were aligned with the meridian at the time of the summer solstice (ascending
axis). In fact, further examination shows that three pyramids (5, 7, and Senwosret I) are aligned at the
time of the winter solstice (descending axis) and perhaps one, Unas', would be aligned at the time of the
equinox (bisector between the ascending and descending axe). Examination of the orientation of 330
temples showed that astronomical orientation was preferred, but that the Egyptians also used other
methods: alignment with the Nile River, azimuth at Sirius' rising, etc. (Belmonte, Shaltout, Fekri: 2008,
181-211). In conclusion, even if the orientation of two pyramids remains unexplained, there are 9 out
of 12 that were aligned with the date of the solstice (through stars culmination at the meridian). This
shows that the Pharaohs began the construction of their pyramid, not at the time of their accession but
at a time of religious significance22. Most ziggurats were oriented so that their most decorative and
elaborate façades, including the route of approach, faced eastward towards the morning sun
(Shepperson: 2015, 94-101). It seems that some ziggurats were aligned on the sunrise at the winter
solstice and on the sunset at the summer solstice (Tiede: 2018, 1-6).
N° Pyramid aligned in with the date of the
0 Djoser P2 2587 BCE (summer solstice?)23
1 Snefru-Meidum 2526 BCE summer solstice
2 Snefru-Bent 2509 BCE summer solstice
3 Snefru-Red 2498 BCE summer solstice
4 Khufu 2480 BCE summer solstice
5 Khephren 2448 BCE winter solstice
6 Menkaure 2415 BCE summer solstice
7 Sahure 2372 BCE winter solstice
8 Neferirkare 2359 BCE summer solstice
9 Unas 2286 BCE spring equinox?
10 Senwosret I 1946 BCE winter solstice
11 Amenemhat III 1836 BCE accession?
22 As: 1) the summer solstice marking the rebirth of Egypt with the rise of the Nile and the heliacal rise of Sirius, or 2) the
winter solstice marking the rebirth of the sun (ancestor of the Christmas festival), for example the accession of Senwosret I
took place the day after the death of Amenemhat I (III Akhet 7) on 30 December 1947 BCE (III Akhet 8) and the winter
solstice was on 5 January 1946 BCE, 3) the spring equinox marking the rebirth of the harvests (with flax harvest), a very
popular festival in Mesopotamia called the Akitu Festival a celebration during the first days of Nisan.
23 Maybe through sun culmination at the meridian, instead of stars culmination, which produced a shift of 3° on the west.
 BASIC ASTRONOMY FOR EGYPTOLOGISTS TO GET A CHRONOLOGY 29

ALL MESOPOTAMIAN SYNCHRONISMS OVER THE PERIOD 2040-1050 BCE

BCE URUK IV MARI ASSYRIA ELAM

2040 Puzur-ili 3 Išdub-El 9 Hayâni 12 Ḫita (AWAN) 25
2039 4 10 13 Puzur-Inšušinak 1
2038 5 11 14 2
2037 Ur-Utu 1 Iškun-Addu 1 Ilu-Mer 1 3
2036 2 2 2 4
2035 3 3 3 5
2034 4 4 4 6
2033 5 5 5 7
2032 6 6 6 8
2031 Utu-hegal 1 7 7 9
2030 2 8 8 10
2029 3 Apil-Kîn 1 9 11
2028 4 2 10 12
2027 5 3 11 13
2026 6 4 12 14
2025 7 5 13 15
2024 8 6 14 16
2023 9 7 Yakmesi 1 17
2022 10 8 2 18
2021 11 9 3 19
2020 UR III 0 10 4 /[king? of SUSA] 20
2019 Ur-Nammu 1 11 5 21
2018 2 12 6 22
2017 3 13 7 23
2016 4 14 8 24
2015 5 15 9 25
2014 6 16 10 [Ḫie?]-lu 1
2013 7 17 11 2
2012 8 18 12 3
2011 9 19 13 4
2010 10 20 14 5
2009 11 21 Yakmeni 1 6
2008 12 22 2 7
2007 13 23 3 8
2006 14 24 4 9
2005 15 25 5 10
2004 16 26 6 11
2003 17 27 7 12
2002 18 28 8 13
2001 Šulgi 1 29 9 14
2000 2 30 10 15
1999 3 31 11 16
1998 4 32 12 17
1997 5 33 13 18
1996 6 34 14 19
1995 7 35 Yazkur-El 1 20
1994 8 Iddin-Ilum 1 2 21
1993 9 2 3 22
1992 10 3 4 23
1991 11 4 5 24
1990 12 5 6 25
1989 13 Ilum-Iš’ar 1 7 Kudu[ur-Lagamar] 1
1988 14 2 8 /Girnamme 2
1987 15 3 9 (SIMAŠKI) 3
1986 16 4 10 4
1985 17 5 11 5
1984 18 6 12 6
1983 19 7 13 7
1982 20 8 14 8
1981 21 9 Ila-kabkabû 1 9
30 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY

1980 22 10 2 10
1979 23 11 3 11
1978 24 12 4 12
1977 25 Turâm- 1 5 13
1976 26 Dagan 2 6 14
1975 27 3 7 15
1974 28 4 8 16
1973 29 5 9 17
1972 30 6 10 18
1971 31 7 11 19
1970 32 8 12 20
1969 33 9 13 21
1968 34 10 14 22
1967 35 11 Amînum 1 23
1966 36 12 2 24
1965 37 13 3 25
1964 38 14 4 26
1963 39 15 5 27
1962 40 16 6 28
1961 41 17 7 29
1960 42 18 8 30
1959 43 19 9 31
1958 44 20 10 32
1957 45 Puzur-Eštar 1 11 33
1956 46 2 12 34
1955 47 3 13 35
1954 48 4 14 Tazitta I/Ebarat I 36
1953 Amar-Sîn 1 5 Sulili/Zariqum 1 SIMAŠKI 2
1952 2 6 2 3
1951 3 7 3 4
1950 4 8 4 5
1949 5 9 5 6
1948 6 10 6 7
1947 7 11 7 8
1946 8 12 8 9
1945 9 13 9 10
1944 Šu-Sîn 1 14 10 11
1943 2 15 11 12
1942 3 16 12 13
1941 4 17 13 14
1940 5 18 14 15
1939 6 19 Kikkia 1 Ebarat I 1
1938 7 20 2 2
1937 8 21 3 3
1936 9 22 4 4
1935 Ibbi-Sîn 1 23 5 5
1934 2 24 6 Tazitta II 1
1933 3 25 7 2
1932 4 Hitlal-Erra 1 8 3
1931 5 2 LARSA 0 9 4
1930 6 3 Naplânum 1 10 5
1929 7 4 2 11 6
1928 8 5 3 12 7
1927 9 6 4 13 8
1926 10 7 5 Akia 1 9
1925 11 Hanun- 1 6 2 10
1924 12 Dagan 7 3 Lurrak-luḫḫan 1
1923 13 ISIN 0 8 4 2
1922 14 Išbi-Erra 1 9 5 3
1921 15 2 10 6 4
1920 16 3 11 7 5
1919 17 4 12 8 6
1918 18 5 13 9 7
1917 19 6 14 10 8
 BASIC ASTRONOMY FOR EGYPTOLOGISTS TO GET A CHRONOLOGY 31

1916 20 7 15 11 9
1915 21 8 16 12 10
1914 22 9 17 13 Kindadu 1
1913 23 10 18 14 2
1912 24 11 19 Puzur-Aššur I 1 3
1911 12 20 2 4
1910 13 21 3 5
1909 14 Iemṣium 1 4 6
1908 15 2 5 7
1907 16 3 6 8
1906 17 4 7 9
1905 18 5 8 10
1904 19 6 9 Idadu I 1
10
1903 20 7 11 2
1902 21 8 12 3
1901 22 9 13 4
1900 23 10 14 5
1899 24 11 Šalim-ahum 1 6
1898 25 12 2 7
1897 26 13 3 8
1896 27 14 4 9
1895 28 15 5 10
1894 29 16 6 11
1893 30 17 7 12
1892 31 18 8 13
1891 32 19 9 14
1890 33 20 10 15
1889 Šû-ilîšu 1 21 11 Tan-Ruḫuratir I 1
1888 2 22 12 2
1887 3 23 13 3
1886 4 24 14 4
1885 5 25 Ilu-šumma 1 5
1884 6 26 2 6
1883 7 27 3 7
1882 8 28 4 8
1881 9 Sâmium 1 5 9
1880 10 2 6 10
1879 Iddin-Dagân 1 3 7 11
1878 2 4 8 12
1877 3 5 9 13
1876 4 6 10 14
1875 5 7 11 EPARTIDS 15
1874 6 8 12 Ebarti II 1
1873 7 9 13 2
1872 8 10 Erišu I 1 3
1871 9 11 2 4
3
1870 10 12 4 5
1869 11 13 5 6
1868 12 14 6 7
1867 13 15 7 8
1866 14 16 8 9
1865 15 17 9 10
1864 16 18 10 11
1863 17 19 11 12
1862 18 20 12 13
1861 19 21 13 14
1860 20 22 14 15
1859 21 23 15 16
1858 Išme-Dagân 1 24 16 17
1857 2 25 17 18
1856 3 26 18 19
1855 4 27 19 20
32 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY

1854 5 28 20 Šilḫaḫa 1
1853 6 29 21 2
1852 7 30 22 3
1851 8 31 23 4
1850 9 32 24 5
1849 10 33 25 6
1848 11 34 26 7
1847 12 35 27 8
1846 13 Zabâia 1 28 9
1845 14 2 29 10
1844 15 3 30 11
1843 16 4 31 12
1842 17 5 32 13
1841 18 6 33 14
1840 19 7 34 15
1839 20 8 35 16
1838 Lipit-Eštar 1 9 36 17
37
1837 2 Gungunum 1 38 18
1836 3 2 39 19
1835 4 3 0 40 20
1834 5 4 Ikunum 1 1 Temti-Agun I 1
1833 6 5 2 2 2
1832 7 6 3 3 3
1831 8 7 4 4 4
1830 9 8 5 5 5
1829 10 9 6 6 6
1828 11 10 7 7 7
1827 Ur-Ninurta 1 11 8 8 8
1826 2 12 9 9 9
1825 3 13 10 10 10
1824 4 14 11 11 11
1823 5 15 12 12 12
1822 6 16 13 13 13
1821 7 17 14 14 14
1820 8 18 Sargon I 15 1 15
1819 9 19 16 2 16
1818 10 20 17 3 17
1817 11 21 18 4 18
1816 12 22 19 5 19
1815 13 23 20 6 20
1814 14 24 21 7 Pala-iššan 1
1813 15 25 22 8 2
1812 16 26 23 9 3
1811 17 27 24 10 4
1810 18 Abî-sarê 1 25 11 5
1809 19 2 26 12 6
1808 20 3 27 13 7
1807 21 4 28 14 8
1806 22 5 29 15 9
1805 23 6 30 16 10
31 17
1804 24 7 32 18 11
1803 25 8 33 19 12
1802 26 9 34 20 13
1801 27 10 35 21 14
1800 28 11 36 22 15
1799 BABYLON 0 Bûr-Sîn 1 Sumu-El 1 37 23 16
1798 Sumu-abum 1 2 2 38 24 17
1797 2 3 3 39 25 18
1796 3 4 4 40 26 19
1795 4 5 5 41 27 20
1794 5 6 6 42 28 Kuk-Kirmaš 1
1793 6 7 7 43 29 2
 BASIC ASTRONOMY FOR EGYPTOLOGISTS TO GET A CHRONOLOGY 33

1792 7 8 8 44 30 3
1791 8 9 9 45 31 4
1790 9 10 10 46 32 5
1789 10 11 11 47 33 6
1788 11 12 12 48 34 7
1787 12 13 13 49 35 8
1786 13 14 14 50 36 9
1785 14 15 15 51 37 10
1784 Sumu-la-Il 1 16 16 52 38 11
1783 2 17 17 53 39 12
1782 3 18 18 54 40 13
1781 4 19 19 Puzur-Aššur II 1 14
1780 5 20 20 56 2 15
1779 6 21 21 57 3 16
1778 7 Lipit-Enlil 1 22 58 4 17
1777 8 2 23 59 5 18
1776 9 3 24 60 6 19
1775 10 4 25 61 7 20
1774 11 5 26 62 8 Kuk-Naḫudi 1
1773 12 Erra-imittî 1 27 Naram-Sîn 63 1 2
1772 13 2 28 64 2 3
65 3
1771 14 3 29 66 4 4
1770 15 4 Nûr-Adad 1 67 5 5
1769 16 5 2 68 6 6
1768 17 6 3 69 7 7
1767 18 7 4 70 8 8
1766 19 Enlil-Bâni 1 5 71 9 9
1765 20 2 6 72 10 10
1764 21 3 7 73 11 11
1763 22 4 8 74 12 12
1762 23 5 9 75 13 13
1761 24 6 10 76 14 14
1760 25 7 11 77 15 15
1759 26 8 12 78 16 16
1758 27 9 13 79 17 17
1757 28 10 14 80 18 18
1756 29 11 15 81 19 19
1755 30 12 16 82 20 20
1754 31 13 Sîn-iddinam 1 83 21 Kuk-Našur I 1
1753 32 14 2 84 22 2
1752 33 15 3 85 23 3
1751 34 16 4 86 24 4
1750 35 17 5 87 25 5
1749 36 18 6 88 26 6
1748 Sâbium 1 19 7 89 27 7
1747 2 20 Sîn-irîbam 1 90 28 8
1746 3 21 2 91 29 9
1745 4 22 Sîn-iqišam 1 92 30 10
1744 5 23 2 93 31 11
1743 6 24 3 94 32 12
1742 7 Zambîya 1 4 95 33 13
1741 8 2 5 96 34 14
1740 9 3 Silî-Adad 1 97 35 15
1739 10 Iter-piša 1 Warad-Sîn 1 98 36 16
99 37
1738 11 2 2 100 38 17
1737 12 3 3 101 39 18
1736 13 4 4 102 40 19
1735 14 Ur-dukuga 1 5 103 41 20
1734 Apil-Sîn 1 2 6 104 42 Atta-ḫušu 1
1733 2 3 7 105 43 2
34 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY

1732 3 4 8 106 44 3
1731 4 Sîn-mâgir 1 9 107 45 4
1730 5 2 10 108 46 5
1729 6 3 11 109 47 6
1728 7 4 12 110 48 7
1727 8 5 13 111 49 8
1726 9 6 Rîm-Sîn I 1 112 50 9
1725 10 7 2 113 51 10
1724 11 8 3 114 52 11
1723 12 9 4 115 53 12
1722 13 10 5 116 54 13
1721 14 11 6 Êrišu II 117 1 14
1720 15 Damiq-ilîšu 1 7 118 2 15
1719 16 2 8 119 3 16
1718 17 3 9 120 4 17
1717 18 4 10 121 5 18
1716 Sîn-muballiṭ 1 5 11 122 6 19
1715 2 6 12 123 7 20
1714 3 7 13 124 8 Širuk-tuḫ 1
1713 4 8 14 125 9 2
1712 5 9 15 126 10 3
1711 6 10 16 Šamšî-Adad I 1 4
1710 7 11 17 128 2 5
1709 8 12 18 129 3 6
1708 9 13 19 130 4 7
1707 10 14 20 131 5 8
1706 11 15 21 132 6 9
133 7
1705 12 16 22 134 8 10
1704 13 17 23 135 9 11
1703 14 18 24 136 10 12
1702 15 19 25 137 11 13
1701 16 20 26 138 12 14
1700 17 21 27 139 13 15
1699 18 22 28 140 14 16
1698 19 23 29 141 15 17
1697 20 MARI 2 30 142 16 18
1696 Hammurabi 1 Samsî-Addu 1 31 143 17 19
1695 2 2 32 144 18 20
1694 3 3 33 145 19 Siwe-palar-ḫuppak 1
1693 4 4 34 146 20 2
1692 5 5 35 147 21 3
1691 6 6 36 148 22 4
1690 7 7 37 149 23 5
1689 8 8 38 150 24 6
1688 9 9 39 151 25 7
1687 10 10 40 152 26 8
1686 11 Yasmah- 1 41 153 27 9
1685 12 Addu 2 42 154 28 10
1684 13 3 43 155 29 11
1683 14 4 44 156 30 12
1682 15 5 45 157 31 13
1681 16 6 46 158 32 14
1680 17 7 47 159 33 15
1679 18 Zimrî-Lîm 1 48 Išme-Dagan I 1 1 16
1678 19 2 49 2 2 17
1677 20 3 50 3 3 18
1676 21 4 51 4 4 19
1675 22 5 52 5 5 20
1674 23 6 53 6 6 21
1673 24 7 54 7 7 22
8 8
1672 25 8 55 9 9 23
 BASIC ASTRONOMY FOR EGYPTOLOGISTS TO GET A CHRONOLOGY 35

1671 26 9 56 10 10 24
1670 27 10 57 11 11 25
1669 28 11 58 Aššur-dugul 12 1 Kudu-zuluš I 1
1668 29 12 59 13 2 2
1667 30 13 60 14 3 3
1666 31 Yapaḫ-Šumu- 1 15 4 4
1665 32 Abu 2 16 5 5
1664 33 3 (6 kings) 17 6 6
1663 34 Bêlu-bâni 18 1 7
1662 35 19 2 8
1661 36 KASSITE 0 20 3 9
1660 37 Gandaš 1 21 4 10
1659 38 2 22 5 11
1658 39 3 23 6 12
1657 40 4 24 7 13
1656 41 5 25 8 14
1655 42 6 26 9 15
1654 43 7 27 10 16
1653 Samsu-iluna 1 8 Libbaya 28 1 17
1652 2 9 29 2 18
1651 3 10 30 3 19
1650 4 11 31 4 20
1649 5 12 32 5 21
1648 6 13 33 6 22
1647 7 14 34 7 23
1646 8 15 Rîm-Sîn II 0 35 8 24
1645 9 16 1 36 9 25
1644 10 17 2 37 10 Kutir-Naḫḫunte I 1
1643 11 18 38 11 2
1642 12 19 39 12 3
1641 13 20 40 13 4
1640 14 21 41 14 5
42 15
1639 15 22 43 16 6
1638 16 23 44 17 7
1637 17 24 Šarma-Adad I 1 8
1636 18 25 46 2 9
1635 19 26 47 3 10
1634 20 Agum I 1 48 4 11
1633 21 2 49 5 12
1632 22 3 50 6 13
1631 23 4 51 7 14
1630 24 5 52 8 15
1629 25 6 53 9 16
1628 26 7 54 10 17
1627 27 8 SEALAND 55 11 18
1626 28 9 Ilî-ma-ilu 1 56 12 19
1625 29 10 2 Puzur-Sîn 57 1 20
1624 30 11 3 58 2 21
1623 31 12 4 59 3 22
1622 32 13 5 60 4 23
1621 33 14 6 61 5 24
1620 34 15 7 62 6 25
1619 35 16 8 63 7 Temti-Agun II 1
1618 36 17 9 64 8 2
1617 37 18 10 65 9 3
1616 38 19 11 66 10 4
1615 Abi-ešuḫ 1 20 12 67 11 5
1614 2 21 13 68 12 6
1613 3 22 14 Bazaya 69 1 7
1612 4 Kaštiliaš I 1 15 70 2 8
1611 5 2 16 71 3 9
1610 6 3 17 72 4 10
36 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY

1609 7 4 18 73 5 11
1608 8 5 19 74 6 12
1607 9 6 20 75 7 13
76 8
1606 10 7 Itti-ili-nîbî 1 77 9 14
1605 11 8 2 78 10 15
1604 12 9 3 79 11 16
1603 13 10 4 80 12 17
1602 14 11 5 81 13 18
1601 15 12 6 82 14 19
1600 16 13 7 83 15 20
1599 17 14 8 84 16 21
1598 18 15 9 85 17 22
1597 19 16 10 86 18 23
1596 20 17 11 87 19 24
1595 21 18 12 88 20 25
1594 22 19 13 89 21 Kutir-Silḫaḫa 1
1593 23 20 14 90 22 2
1592 24 21 15 91 23 3
1591 25 22 16 92 24 4
1590 26 Ušši 1 17 93 25 5
1589 27 2 18 94 26 6
1588 28 3 19 95 27 7
1587 Ammiditana 1 4 20 96 28 8
1586 2 5 Damiq-ilišu 1 Lullaya 97 1 9
1585 3 6 II 2 98 2 10
1584 4 7 3 99 3 11
1583 5 8 4 100 4 12
1582 6 Abirattaš 1 5 101 5 13
1581 7 2 6 102 6 14
1580 8 3 7 Šû-Ninûa 103 1 15
1579 9 4 8 104 2 16
1578 10 5 9 105 3 17
1577 11 6 10 106 4 18
1576 12 7 11 107 5 19
1575 13 8 12 108 6 20
1574 14 9 13 109 7 21
110 8
1573 15 10 14 111 9 22
1572 16 11 15 112 10 23
1571 17 12 16 113 11 24
1570 18 13 17 114 12 25
1569 19 14 18 115 13 Kuk-Našur II 1
1568 20 15 19 116 14 2
1567 21 16 20 Šarma-Adad II 1 3
1566 22 Kaštiliaš II 1 Iškibal 1 118 2 4
1565 23 2 2 119 3 5
1564 24 3 3 Êrišu III 120 1 6
1563 25 4 4 121 2 7
1562 26 5 5 122 3 8
1561 27 6 6 123 4 9
1560 28 7 7 124 5 10
1559 29 8 8 125 6 11
1558 30 9 9 126 7 12
1557 31 10 10 127 8 13
1556 32 11 11 128 9 14
1555 33 12 12 129 10 15
1554 34 13 13 130 11 16
1553 35 14 14 131 12 17
1552 36 15 15 132 13 18
1551 37 16 16 Šamšî-Adad II 1 19
1550 Ammiṣaduqa 1 Urzigurumaš 1 17 134 2 20
1549 2 2 18 135 3 21
1548 3 3 19 136 4 22
 BASIC ASTRONOMY FOR EGYPTOLOGISTS TO GET A CHRONOLOGY 37

1547 4 4 20 137 5 23
1546 5 5 Šušši 1 138 6 24
1545 6 6 2 Išme-Dagan II 1 25
1544 7 7 3 140 2 Kudu-zuluš II 1
1543 8 8 4 141 3 2
142 4
1542 9 9 5 143 5 3
1541 10 10 6 144 6 4
1540 11 11 7 145 7 5
1539 12 12 8 146 8 6
1538 13 13 9 147 9 7
1537 14 14 10 148 10 8
1536 15 15 11 149 11 9
1535 16 16 12 150 12 10
1534 17 Ḫurba(šihu) 1 13 151 13 11
1533 18 2 14 152 14 12
1532 19 3 15 153 15 13
1531 20 4 Gulkišar 1 154 16 14
1530 21 5 2 Šamšî-Adad III 1 15
1529 Samsuditana 1 6 3 156 2 16
1528 2 7 4 157 3 17
1527 3 8 5 158 4 18
1526 4 9 6 159 5 19
1525 5 10 7 160 6 20
1524 6 11 8 161 7 Tan-Uli 1
1523 7 12 9 162 8 2
1522 8 13 10 163 9 3
1521 9 14 11 164 10 4
1520 10 15 12 165 11 5
1519 11 16 13 166 12 6
1518 12 Tiptakzi 1 14 167 13 7
1517 13 (Šipta’ulzi) 2 15 168 14 8
1516 14 3 Pešgaldara- 1 169 15 9
1515 15 4 meš 2 170 16 10
1514 16 5 3 Aššur-nêrârî I 1 11
1513 17 6 4 172 2 12
1512 18 7 5 173 3 13
1511 19 8 6 174 4 14
175 5
1510 20 9 7 176 6 15
1509 21 10 8 177 7 16
1508 22 11 9 178 8 17
1507 23 12 10 179 9 18
1506 24 13 11 180 10 19
1505 25 14 12 181 11 20
1504 26 15 13 182 12 Temti-ḫalki 1
1503 27 16 14 183 13 2
1502 28 Agum II 1 15 184 14 3
1501 29 2 16 185 15 4
1500 30 3 17 186 16 5
1499 Fall of Babylon 31 1 4 18 187 17 6
1498 resettling of 2 5 19 188 18 7
1497 Babylon 3 6 20 189 19 8
1496 4 7 21 190 20 9
1495 5 8 22 191 21 10
1494 6 9 23 192 22 11
1493 7 10 24 193 23 12
1492 8 11 25 194 24 13
1491 9 12 26 195 25 14
1490 10 13 27 196 26 15
1489 11 14 28 Puzur-Aššur III 1 16
1488 12 15 29 198 2 17
1487 13 16 30 199 3 18
1486 14 Burna-Buriaš 1 Ayadara- 1 200 4 19
38 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY

1485 15 I 2 galama 2 201 5 20

1484 16 3 3 202 6 Kuk-Našur III 1
1483 17 4 4 203 7 2
1482 18 5 5 204 8 3
1481 19 6 6 205 9 4
1480 20 7 7 206 10 5
1479 21 8 8 207 11 6
208 12
1478 22 9 9 209 13 7
1477 23 10 10 210 14 8
1476 24 11 Akurduana 1 211 15 9
1475 25 12 2 212 16 10
1474 26 13 3 213 17 11
1473 27 14 4 214 18 12
1472 28 15 5 215 19 13
1471 29 16 6 216 20 14
1470 30 Kaštiliaš III 1 Melamkura 1 217 21 15
1469 31 2 2 218 22 16
1468 32 3 3 219 23 17
1467 33 4 4 220 24 18
1466 34 5 5 Enlil-nâṣir I 221 1 19
1465 35 6 6 222 2 20
1464 36 7 7 223 3 Kidinu 1
1463 37 8 Ea-gâmil 1 224 4 2
1462 38 9 2 225 5 3
1461 39 10 3 226 6 4
1460 40 11 4 227 7 5
1459 41 12 5 228 8 6
1458 13 6 229 9 7
1457 14 7 230 10 8
1456 15 8 231 11 9
1455 16 9 232 12 10
1454 Ulam-Buriaš 1 233 13 11
1453 2 Nûr-ili 234 1 12
1452 3 235 2 13
1451 4 236 3 14
1450 5 237 4 15
1449 6 238 5 Inšušinak-sunkir- 1
1448 7 239 6 nappipir 2
1447 8 240 7 3
241 8
1446 9 242 9 4
1445 10 243 10 5
1444 11 244 11 6
1443 12 Aššur-šadûni 12 7
1442 13 Aššur-rabi I 246 1 8
1441 14 247 2 9
1440 15 248 3 10
1439 16 249 4 Tan-Ruḫuratir II 1
1438 Agum III 1 250 5 2
1437 2 251 6 3
1436 3 252 7 4
1435 4 253 8 5
1434 5 254 9 Šalla 1
1433 6 255 10 2
1432 7 Aššur-nâdin- 1 3
1431 8 aḫḫe I 257 2 4
1430 9 258 3 5
1429 10 259 4 6
1428 11 260 5 7
1427 12 261 6 8
1426 13 262 7 9
1425 14 263 8 10
1424 15 264 9 Tepti-aḫar 1
 BASIC ASTRONOMY FOR EGYPTOLOGISTS TO GET A CHRONOLOGY 39

1423 16 265 10 2
1422 Kadašman- 1 Enlil-naṣir II 1 3
1421 Harbe I 2 267 2 4
1420 3 268 3 5
1419 4 269 4 6
1418 5 270 5 7
1417 6 271 6 8
1416 7 Aššur-nêrârî II 1 9
273 2
1415 8 274 3 10
1414 9 275 4 11
1413 10 276 5 12
1412 11 277 6 13
1411 12 278 7 14
1410 13 Aššur-bêl- 1 15
1409 14 nišešu 280 2 16
1408 15 281 3 17
1407 16 282 4 18
1406 Kara-indaš 1 283 5 19
1405 2 284 6 20
1404 3 285 7 Igi-halki 1
1403 4 286 8 2
1402 5 287 9 3
1401 6 Aššur-rê’im- 1 4
1400 7 nišešu 289 2 5
1399 8 290 3 6
1398 9 291 4 7
1397 10 292 5 8
1396 11 293 6 9
1395 12 294 7 10
1394 13 295 8 11
1393 14 Aššur-nâdin- 1 12
1392 15 aḫḫe II 297 2 13
1391 16 298 3 14
1390 Kurigalzu I 1 299 4 15
1389 2 300 5 16
1388 3 301 6 17
1387 4 302 7 18
1386 5 303 8 19
1385 6 304 9 20
1384 7 305 10 Pahir-iššan 1
Erîba-Adad I 1
1383 8 307 2 2
1382 9 308 3 3
1381 10 309 4 4
1380 11 310 5 5
1379 12 311 6 6
1378 13 312 7 7
1377 14 313 8 8
1376 15 314 9 9
1375 16 315 10 10
1374 Kadašman- 1 316 11 Attar-Kittaḫ 1
1373 Enlil I 2 317 12 2
1372 3 318 13 3
1371 4 319 14 4
1370 5 320 15 5
1369 6 321 16 6
1368 7 322 17 7
1367 8 323 18 8
1366 9 324 19 9
1365 10 325 20 10
1364 11 326 21 Unpaḫaš-Napiriša 1
1363 12 327 22 2
40 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY

1362 13 328 23 3
1361 14 329 24 4
1360 15 330 25 5
1359 Burna-Buriaš 1 331 26 Kidin-Ḫutran I 1
1358 II 2 332 27 2
1357 3 Aššur-uballiṭ I 1 3
1356 4 334 2 4
1355 5 335 3 5
1354 6 336 4 Ḫumban-numena I 1
1353 7 337 5 2
338 6
1352 8 339 7 3
1351 9 340 8 4
1350 10 341 9 5
1349 11 342 10 6
1348 12 343 11 7
1347 13 344 12 8
1346 14 345 13 9
1345 15 346 14 10
1344 16 347 15 Untaš-Napiriša 1
1343 17 348 16 2
1342 18 349 17 3
1341 19 350 18 4
1340 20 351 19 5
1339 21 352 20 6
1338 22 353 21 7
1337 23 354 22 8
1336 24 355 23 9
1335 25 356 24 10
1334 26 357 25 11
1333 Nazi-Bugaš 27 358 26 12
1332 Kurigalzu II 1 359 27 13
1331 2 360 28 14
1330 3 361 29 15
1329 4 362 30 16
1328 5 363 31 17
1327 6 364 32 18
1326 7 365 33 19
1325 8 366 34 20
1324 9 367 35 21
1323 10 368 36 22
1322 11 Enlil-nênârî 369 1 23
1321 12 370 2 24
1320 13 371 3 25
372 4
1319 14 373 5 26
1318 15 374 6 27
1317 16 375 7 28
1316 17 376 8 29
1315 18 377 9 30
1314 19 378 10 31
1313 20 Arik-dên-ili 379 1 32
1312 21 380 2 33
1311 22 381 3 34
1310 23 382 4 35
1309 24 383 5 36
1308 25 384 6 37
1307 Nazi- 1 385 7 38
1306 Maruttaš 2 386 8 39
1305 3 387 9 40
1304 4 388 10 Kidin-Ḫutran II 1
1303 5 389 11 2
1302 6 390 12 3
1301 7 Adad-nêrârî I 1 4
 BASIC ASTRONOMY FOR EGYPTOLOGISTS TO GET A CHRONOLOGY 41

1300 8 392 2 5
1299 9 393 3 6
1298 10 394 4 7
1297 11 395 5 8
1296 12 396 6 9
1295 13 397 7 10
1294 14 398 8 11
1293 15 399 9 12
1292 16 400 10 13
1291 17 401 11 14
1290 18 402 12 15
1289 19 403 13 16
1288 20 404 14 17
405 15
1287 21 406 16 18
1286 22 407 17 19
1285 23 408 18 20
1284 24 409 19 21
1283 25 410 20 22
1282 26 411 21 23
1281 Kadašman- 1 412 22 24
1280 Turgu 2 413 23 25
1279 3 414 24 26
1278 4 415 25 27
1277 5 416 26 28
1276 6 417 27 29
1275 7 418 28 30
1274 8 419 29 Napiriša-untaš 1
1273 9 420 30 2
1272 10 421 31 3
1271 11 422 32 4
1270 12 Shalmaneser I 1 5
1269 13 424 2 6
1268 14 425 3 7
1267 15 426 4 8
1266 16 427 5 9
1265 17 428 6 10
1264 18 Collapse of 7 11
1263 Kadašman- 1 Mitanni 430 8 12
1262 Enlil II 2 431 9 13
1261 3 432 10 14
1260 4 433 11 15
1259 5 434 12 16
1258 6 1 13 17
1257 7 2 14 18
1256 8 580 eponyms 3 15 19
1255 9 to Esarhaddon 16 20
1254 Kudur-Enlil 1 17 21
18
1253 2 19 22
1252 3 20 23
1251 4 21 24
1250 5 22 25
1249 6 23 26
1248 7 24 27
1247 8 25 28
1246 9 26 29
1245 Šagarakti- 1 27 30
1244 šuriaš 2 28 Kidin-Ḫutran III 1
1243 3 29 2
1242 4 30 3
1241 5 Tukultî-Ninurta 1 4
1240 6 I 2 5
1239 7 3 6
42 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY

1238 8 4 7
1237 9 5 8
1236 10 6 9
1235 11 7 10
1234 12 8 11
1233 13 9 12
1232 Kaštiliašu IV 1 10 13
1231 2 11 14
1230 3 12 15
1229 4 13 16
1228 5 14 17
1227 6 15 18
1226 7 16 19
1225 8 17 20
1224 Enlil-nâdin- 1 18 21
1223 Kadašman- šumi 1 19 22
1222 Harbe II Adad-šuma- 1 20 23
iddina 21
1221 2 22 24
1220 3 23 25
1219 4 24 26
1218 5 25 27
1217 6 26 28
1216 Adad-šuma- 1 27 29
1215 uṣur 2 28 30
1214 3 29 Ḫallutaš-Inšušinak 1
1213 4 30 2
1212 5 31 3
1211 6 32 4
1210 7 33 5
1209 8 34 6
1208 9 35 7
1207 10 36 8
1206 11 37 9
1205 12 Aššur-nâdin-apli 1 10
1204 13 2 11
1203 14 3 12
1202 15 4 13
1201 16 Aššur-nêrârî III 1 14
1200 17 2 15
1199 18 3 16
1198 19 4 17
1197 20 5 18
1196 21 6 19
1195 22 Enlil-kudurri- 1 20
1194 23 uṣur 2 21
1193 24 3 22
4
1192 25 5 23
1191 26 Ninurta-apil- 1 24
1190 27 Ekur 2 25
1189 28 3 Šutruk-Naḫḫunte 1
1188 29 4 2
1187 30 5 3
1186 Meli-Šipak 1 6 4
1185 2 7 5
1184 3 8 6
1183 4 9 7
1182 5 10 8
1181 6 11 9
1180 7 12 10
1179 8 13 11
1178 9 Aššur-dân I 1 12
 BASIC ASTRONOMY FOR EGYPTOLOGISTS TO GET A CHRONOLOGY 43

1177 10 2 13
1176 11 3 14
1175 12 4 15
1174 13 5 16
1173 14 6 17
1172 15 7 18
1171 Marduk-apla- 1 8 19
1170 iddina 2 9 20
1169 3 10 21
1168 4 11 22
1167 5 12 23
1166 6 13 24
1165 7 14 25
1164 8 15 26
1163 9 16 27
1162 10 17 28
1161 11 18 29
1160 12 19 30
1159 Enlil-nâdin- 13 20 Kutir-Naḫḫunte II 1
1158 aḫi 1 21 2
1157 Zababa- 1 22 3
1156 šuma-iddina 2 23 4
1155 3 24 5
1154 Marduk- 1 25 Šilhak-Inšušinak 1
1153 kabit-aḫḫešu 2 26 2
1152 3 27 3
1151 4 28 4
1150 5 29 5
1149 6 30 6
1148 7 31 7
1147 8 32 8
1146 9 33 9
1145 10 34 10
1144 11 35 11
1143 12 36 12
1142 13 37 13
1141 14 38 14
1140 Itti-Marduk- 1 39 15
1139 balaṭu 2 40 16
1138 3 41 17
1137 4 42 18
1136 5 43 19
1135 6 44 20
1134 7 45 21
1133 8 Mutakkil-Nusku 46 22
1132 Ninurta- 1 Aššur-rêš-iši I 1 23
1131 nâdin-šumi 2 2 24
1130 3 3 25
1129 4 4 26
1128 5 5 27
1127 6 6 28
1126 Nebu- 1 7 29
1125 chadnezzar I 2 8 30
1124 3 9 Ḫutelutuš- 1
1123 4 10 Inšušinak 2
1122 5 11 3
1121 6 12 4
1120 7 13 5
1119 8 14 6
1118 9 15 7
1117 10 16 8
1116 11 17 9
1115 12 18 10
1114 13 Tiglath-pileser I 1 11
44 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY

1113 14 2 12
1112 15 3 13
1111 16 4 14
1110 17 5 15
1109 18 6 16
1108 19 7 17
1107 20 8 18
1106 21 9 19
1105 22 10 20
1104 Enlil-nâdin- 1 11 Šilḫinahamru- 1
1103 apli 2 12 Lagamar 2
1102 3 13 3
1101 4 14 4
1100 Marduk- 1 15 5
1099 nâdin-aḫḫê 2 16 6
1098 3 17 7
1097 4 18 8
1096 5 19 9
1095 6 20 10
1094 7 21 11
1093 8 22 12
1092 9 23 13
1091 10 24 14
1090 11 25 15
1089 12 26 16
1088 13 27 17
1087 14 28 18
1086 15 29 19
1085 16 30 20
1084 17 31 21
1083 18 32 22
1082 Adad-apla- 1 33 23
1081 iddina 2 34 24
1080 3 35 25
1079 4 36 Ḫumban-numena 1
1078 5 37 II 2
1077 6 38 3
1076 7 39 4
1075 8 Ašared-apil- 1 5
1074 9 Ekur 2 6
1073 10 Aššur-bêl-kala 1 7
1072 11 2 8
1071 12 3 9
1070 13 4 10
1069 Marduk-aḫḫê- 1 5 11
1068 erîba 2 6 12
1067 3 7 13
1066 4 8 14
1065 5 9 15
1064 6 10 16
1063 7 11 17
1062 8 12 18
1061 9 13 19
1060 10 14 20
1059 11 15 21
1058 12 16 22
1057 13 17 23
1056 14 18 24
1055 15 Erîba-Adad II 1 25
1054 16 2 26
1053 17 Šamšî-Adad IV 1 27
1052 18 2 28
1051 19 3 29
1050 20 4 30
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