- Babylonian Chronicles
The Babylonian Chronicles are series of tablets recording major events in Babylonian history. They are thus one of the first steps in the development of
ancient historiography . The Babylonian Chronicles were written over a very long period of time, from the reign ofNabonassar up to the Parthian Period, by Babylonian astronomers ("Chaldaeans"), who probably used the "Astronomical Diaries " as their source.Almost all of the tablets are currently in the possession of the
British Museum .List of Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles
* Dynastic Chronicle ("ABC" 18) ( [http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/abc18/dynastic1.html translation] ) ( [http://www.geocities.com/farfarer2001/chronicles/chronicle_18.htm another version of Column 5] )
* Weidner Chronicle ("ABC" 19) ( [http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/abc19/weidner.html translation] )
* Chronicle of the Kassite and Isin Dynasties, also known as Walker's Chronicle (called "Chronicle 25", but not available in ABC) ( [http://www.geocities.com/farfarer2001/chronicles/walkers_chronicle.html translation] )
* Chronicle of Early Kings ("ABC" 20) ( [http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/abc20/kings.html translation] )
* Synchronistic History ("ABC" 21) ( [http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/abc21/synchronistic1.html one translation] and [http://www.geocities.com/farfarer2001/chronicles/synchronistic_history.html#_edn1 another translation] )
* Chronicle P ("ABC" 22) ( [http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/abc22/p.html translation] and [http://www.geocities.com/farfarer2001/chronicles/chronicle_p.html another translation] )
* Chronicle of the Market Prices ("ABC" 23) ( [http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/abc23/prices.html translation] )
* Eclectic Chronicle ("ABC" 24) ( [http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/abc24/eclectic.html translation] )
* Religious Chronicle ("ABC" 17) ( [http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/abc17/religious_chronicle1.html translation] )
*
Nabonassar toShamash-shum-ukin Chronicle ("ABC" 1) ( [http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/abc1/abc1_col_i.html translation] )* Esarhaddon Chronicle ("ABC" 14) ( [http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/abc14/esarhaddon.html translation] )
* Shamash-shuma-ukin Chronicle ("ABC" 15) ( [http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/abc15/samas-suma-ukin.html translation] ) ( [http://www.geocities.com/farfarer2001/chronicles/chronicle_15.htm another translation] )
* Akitu Chronicle ("ABC" 16) ( [http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/abc16/akitu.html translation] )
* Early Years of
Nabopolassar Chronicle ("ABC" 2) ( [http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/abc2/early-nabopolassar.html translation] )* Fall of
Nineveh Chronicle ("ABC" 3) ( [http://www.livius.org/ne-nn/nineveh/nineveh02.html translation] )* Late Reign of Nabopolassar Chronicle ("ABC" 4) ( [http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/abc4/late-nabopolassar.html translation] )
* First years of
Nebuchadnezzar Chronicle, also known as Jerusalem Chronicle ("ABC" 5) ( [http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/abc5/jerusalem.html translation] ) ( [http://www.georgefox.edu/academics/seminary/courses/bst550/reports/DStahlnecker/BM21946.html another translation] )* Third year of Neriglissar Chronicle ("ABC" 6) ( [http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/abc6/neriglissar.html translation] )
*
Nabonidus Chronicle ("ABC" 7) ( [http://www.livius.org/ct-cz/cyrus_I/babylon02.html translation] )*
Artaxerxes III Chronicle ("ABC" 9) ( [http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/abc9/artaxerxes.html translation] )* Alexander Chronicle ("ABC" 8 = "BCHP" 1) ( [http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/bchp-alexander/alexander_01.html text and translation] )
* Alexander and Arabia Chronicle ("BCHP" 2) ( [http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/bchp-arabia/arabia_01.html text and translation] )
* Diadochi Chronicle ("ABC" 10 = "BCHP" 3) ( [http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/bchp-diadochi/diadochi_01.html text and translation] )
* Arses and Alexander fragment ("BCHP" 4) ( [http://www.livius.org/aj-al/alexander/alexander_t56.html translation] )
* Antiochus and Sin Temple Chronicle ("ABC" 11 = "BCHP" 5) ( [http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/bchp-antiochus_sin/antiochus_sin_01.html text and translation] )
* Ruin of Esagila Chronicle ("BCHP" 6) ( [http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/bchp-ruin_esagila/ruin_esagila_01.html text and translation] )
* Antiochus, Bactria, and India Chronicle ("ABC" 13A = "BCHP" 7) ( [http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/bchp-india/antiochus_india_01.html text and translation] )
* Juniper garden Chronicle ("BCHP" 8) ( [http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/bchp-juniper/juniper_01.html text and translation] )
* End of
Seleucus I Chronicle ("ABC" 12 = "BCHP" 9) ( [http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/bchp-end_seleucus/seleucus_01.html text and translation] )* Seleucid Accessions Chronicle ("ABC" 13 = "BCHP" 10) ( [http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/bchp-dynastic/dynastic_01.html text and translation] )
* Invasion of
Ptolemy III Chronicle ("BCHP" 11) ( [http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/bchp-ptolemy_iii/bchp_ptolemy_iii_01.html text and translation] )*
Seleucus III Chronicle ("ABC" 13B = "BCHP" 12) ( [http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/bchp-seleucus_iii/seleucus_iii_01.html text and translation] )* Politai Chronicle ("BCHP" 13) ( [http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/bchp-politai/politai_1.html text and translation] )
* Greek Community Chronicle ("BCHP" 14) ( [http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/bchp-greeks/greeks_01.html text and translation] )
* Gold Theft Chronicle ("BCHP" 15) ( [http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/bchp-gold/theft_1.html text and translation] )
* Document on land and tithes ("BCHP" 16) ( [http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/bchp-tithes/tithes_1.html text and translation] )
* Judicial Chronicle ("BCHP" 17) ( [http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/bchp-jud/jud_1.html text and translation] )
* Bagayasha Chronicle ("BCHP" 18)
* Chronicle Concerning an
Arsacid King ("BCHP" 19) ( [http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/bchp-arsacid/arsacid_king_1.html text and translation] )* Euphrates Chronicle ("BCHP" 20) ( [http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/bchp-euphrates/euphrates_1.html text and translation] )
Literature
* Leo Oppenheim's translation of the
Nabonidus Chronicle can be found in J. B. Pritchard (ed.) "Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament " (= "ANET"; 1950, 1955, 1969).
* The standard edition is A.K. Grayson, "Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles" (= "ABC"; 1975)
* A translation of Chronicle 25, discovered after the publication of "ABC", was published by C.B.F. Walker "Babylonian Chronicle 25: A Chronicle of the Kassite and Isin Dynasties", in G. van Driel e.a. (eds.): "Zikir Šumim: Assyriological Studies Presented to F.R. Kraus on the Occasion of His Seventieth Birthday" (= "Fs. Kraus"; 1982).
* John Brinkman revises Grayson's reading of [http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/abc1/abc1_col_i.html "ABC" 1] in: "The Babylonian Chronicle revisited" in T. Abusch, J. Huehnergard, P. Steinkeller (eds.): "Lingering over words. Studies in ancient Near Eastern literature in honor of William L. Moran" (1990 Atlanta)
* Fragments of the chronicles that are relevant to the study of theBible , can be found inWilliam W. Hallo (ed.), "The Context of Scripture", volume 1 (2003 Leiden and Boston). This book also contains the Weidner Chronicle.
* A recent update of "ABC" is Jean-Jacques Glassner, "Mesopotamian Chronicles" (2004, French version 1993)
* An even more recent update of "ABC" is Amélie Kuhrt, "The Persian Empire: A Corpus of Sources of the Achaemenid Period" (Routledge, 2007)
* The publication of I. Finkel &R. J. van der Spek , "Babylonian Chronicles of the Hellenistic Period" (= "BCHP") has been announced.External links
* [http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/chron00.html Many Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles]
* [http://www.geocities.com/farfarer2001/chronicles/chronicle_index.html Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles, and King Lists]
* [http://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/chron_literature.html A detailed literature]
* [http://utenti.lycos.it/homegape/mesopot/histor/index.html Synchronistic King List, Assyrian King List (transl. and bibliographies)]
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