Unless it is stated otherwise, the dates given in this volume (excluding those in bibliographical citations) are all BC. Each ancient Mesopotamian year has been given a single Julian year equivalent even though the ancient year actually encompassed parts of two Julian years, with the ancient year beginning around the time of the vernal equinox. Thus, for example, the 1st regnal year of Ashurbanipal (the eponymy of Mār-larīm) is indicated to be 668, although it actually ended in early 667 and, thus, events which took place late in the ancient year "668" actually took place early in the Julian year 667.
Texts edited in this volume occasionally mention contemporary dates and the charts in this section are intended to aid the reader in understanding those dates.
The Mesopotamian month names and their modern equivalents are:
| I | Nisannu | March–April | VII | Tašrītu | September–October |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| II | Ayyāru | April–May | VIII | Araḫsamna | October–November |
| III | Simānu | May–June | IX | Kislīmu | November–December |
| IV | Duʾūzu | June–July | X | Ṭebētu, Kinūnu | December–January |
| V | Abu | July–August | XI | Šabāṭu | January–February |
| VI | Ulūlu | August–September | XII | Addaru | February–March |
| VI₂ | Intercalary Ulūlu | XII₂ | Intercalary Addaru |
The table below for the first twenty-one years of Ashurbanipal's reign, reprinted with permission from Parpola, LAS 2 pp. 382–383, attempts to precisely convert Assyrian dates to Julian ones. Although the table is styled similarly to the conversions of R. Parker and W. Dubberstein (Babylonian Chronology pp. 25–47), there is one major difference: if the new moon is visible for the first time at 7 PM on the 3rd of March, then the chart tells you that the first day of the month is the 3rd of March, not the 4th of March, as indicated by Parker and Dubberstein's charts.[175] The dates are given as civil days, from midnight to midnight, and the dates (month/day) provided in the chart are those of the first day of each month. Based upon statements in contemporary texts and inference, S. Parpola (LAS 2 pp. 381–383) believes that in Assyria there were intercalary months in Ashurbanipal's first (XII₂), fourth (XII₂), seventh (XII₂), tenth (VI₂), twelfth (XII₂), fifteenth (XII₂), eighteenth (VI₂), and twentieth (XII₂) years on the throne.
| Year | BC | Nis | Aja | Sim | Duz | Abu | Ulu | U II | Taš | Ara | Kis | Kan | Šab | Add | A II |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ac | 669 | 11/22 | 12/21 | 1/20 | 2/18 | ||||||||||
| 1 | 668 | 3/19 | 4/17 | 5/16 | 6/15 | 7/16 | 8/14 | 9/13 | 10/13 | 11/11 | 12/10 | 1/9 | 2/7 | 3/9 | |
| 2 | 667 | 4/7 | 5/6 | 6/5 | 7/5 | 8/3 | 9/2 | 10/2 | 10/31 | 11/30 | 12/29 | 1/28 | 2/26 | ||
| 3 | 666 | 3/28 | 4/26 | 5/25 | 6/24 | 7/23 | 8/22 | 9/21 | 10/20 | 11/19 | 12/19 | 1/17 | 2/16 | ||
| 4 | 665 | 3/16 | 4/15 | 5/14 | 6/12 | 7/12 | 8/10 | 9/9 | 10/8 | 11/7 | 12/7 | 1/6 | 2/4 | 3/6 | |
| 5 | 664 | 4/4 | 5/4 | 6/2 | 7/2 | 7/31 | 8/29 | 9/28 | 10/27 | 11/26 | 12/26 | 1/24 | 2/23 | ||
| 6 | 663 | 3/25 | 4/23 | 5/23 | 6/21 | 7/20 | 8/19 | 9/17 | 10/16 | 11/15 | 12/15 | 1/13 | 2/12 | ||
| 7 | 662 | 3/14 | 4/12 | 5/12 | 6/10 | 7/10 | 8/8 | 9/7 | 10/6 | 11/5 | 12/4 | 1/3 | 2/1 | 3/2 | |
| 8 | 661 | 3/31 | 4/30 | 5/30 | 6/28 | 7/28 | 8/26 | 9/25 | 10/24 | 11/23 | 12/22 | 1/21 | 2/19 | ||
| 9 | 660 | 3/21 | 4/19 | 5/19 | 6/17 | 7/17 | 8/16 | 9/14 | 10/14 | 11/12 | 12/12 | 1/10 | 2/9 | ||
| 10 | 659 | 3/10 | 4/8 | 5/8 | 6/6 | 7/6 | 8/4 | 9/3 | 10/3 | 11/2 | 12/1 | 12/31 | 1/29 | 2/28 | |
| 11 | 658 | 3/29 | 4/27 | 5/27 | 6/25 | 7/25 | 8/23 | 9/22 | 10/22 | 11/21 | 12/20 | 1/19 | 2/17 | ||
| 12 | 657 | 3/18 | 4/16 | 5/15 | 6/14 | 7/13 | 8/11 | 9/10 | 10/10 | 11/9 | 12/9 | 1/7 | 2/6 | 3/7 | |
| 13 | 656 | 4/6 | 5/5 | 6/3 | 7/3 | 8/1 | 8/30 | 9/29 | 10/29 | 11/27 | 12/27 | 1/26 | 2/25 | ||
| 14 | 655 | 3/26 | 4/25 | 5/24 | 6/22 | 7/22 | 8/20 | 9/18 | 10/18 | 11/17 | 12/16 | 1/15 | 2/14 | ||
| 15 | 654 | 3/16 | 4/14 | 5/12 | 6/12 | 7/11 | 8/10 | 9/8 | 10/7 | 11/6 | 12/5 | 1/4 | 2/3 | 3/4 | |
| 16 | 653 | 4/2 | 5/2 | 5/31 | 6/30 | 7/29 | 8/28 | 9/26 | 10/26 | 11/24 | 12/24 | 1/22 | 2/21 | ||
| 17 | 652 | 3/22 | 4/21 | 5/20 | 6/19 | 7/19 | 8/17 | 9/16 | 10/15 | 11/14 | 12/13 | 1/11 | 2/10 | ||
| 18 | 651 | 3/11 | 4/10 | 5/10 | 6/8 | 7/8 | 8/6 | 9/5 | 10/5 | 11/3 | 12/3 | 1/1 | 1/31 | 3/1 | |
| 19 | 650 | 3/30 | 4/29 | 5/28 | 6/27 | 7/26 | 8/25 | 9/24 | 10/23 | 11/22 | 12/22 | 1/20 | 2/19 | ||
| 20 | 649 | 3/19 | 4/17 | 5/17 | 6/15 | 7/15 | 8/13 | 9/12 | 10/12 | 11/10 | 12/10 | 1/9 | 2/7 | 3/9 | |
| 21 | 648 | 4/7 | 5/6 | 6/5 | 7/4 | 8/2 | 9/1 | 9/31 | 10/30 | 11/29 | 12/29 |
In his study of Babylonian observations of Saturn, C.B.F. Walker published a similar chart of the first day of each month for the second (646) to fourteenth (634) years of Kandalānu's nineteen-year reign.[176] Although Walker's chart covers the period of Ashurbanipal's twenty-third to thirty-fifth regnal years, it is not reproduced here because it is based on the Babylonian calendar, rather than the Assyrian one. According to that table, there would have been intercalary months in Babylonia in Ashurbanipal's twenty-third (XII₂), twenty-sixth (VI₂), twenty-ninth (VI₂), thirty-first (XII₂), and thirty-fourth (XII₂) years on the throne.[177]
175 This observation was made by C.B.F. Walker, who drew this matter to S. Parpola's attention in a series of letters (September, 1984).
176 Walker in Swerdlow, Ancient Astronomy pp. 69–71.
177 According to C.B.F. Walker (in Swerdlow, Ancient Astronomy p. 70), an intercalary month is also expected for Kandalānu's sixteenth regnal year (632 = Ashurbanipal's thirty-seventh regnal year). Intercalary Ulūlu (VI2) is also attested in Kandalānu's nineteenth regnal year (629).
Jamie Novotny & Joshua Jeffers
Jamie Novotny & Joshua Jeffers, 'Dating and Chronology', RINAP 5: The Royal Inscriptions of Ashurbanipal, Aššur-etel-ilāni, and Sîn-šarra-iškun, The RINAP/RINAP 5 Project, a sub-project of MOCCI, 2019 [http://oracc.org/rinap/rinap5/rinap51introduction/datingandchronology/]