MUL.APIN

MUL.APIN (𒀯𒀳) is the name given to an ancient Babylonian book that teaches us about the stars and how people long ago understood the sky. This book is very special because it brings together knowledge of astronomy, which is the study of stars and planets, and astrology, which is about how people thought the stars influenced events on Earth. It was likely written around the year 1000 BCE, which means it is more than 3,000 years old!

In this book, we find a list of 66 stars and groups of stars called constellations. It tells us important details, such as when these stars rose, set, and reached their highest point in the sky during the year. This helped ancient people create a map of the stars that guided them in many ways, like tracking seasons or important days.

We know about MUL.APIN from a copy made in the 7th century BCE. This copy is written on clay tablets and is named after its first constellation, called MUL APIN, meaning "The Plough." This group of stars is believed to be the same as what we now call the constellation Cassiopeia. Some experts think it might only refer to Cassiopeia, while others believe it also includes stars from Andromeda and Triangulum. This ancient book gives us a wonderful look into how early civilizations saw and understood the night sky.

Date

The earliest known copy of the text MUL.APIN was made in 686 BCE, but most scholars think it was first written around 1000 BCE. Some earlier guesses placed it as far back as 2300 BCE, but this idea has been questioned.

Scientists have studied the stars mentioned in the text and believe the information matches what would have been seen around the year 1370 BCE, plus or minus about 100 years, in the area of Assur. This helps us understand when the text was likely created.

Parts

The text of MUL.APIN is split into two tablets, with a possible third tablet that has not been found. Tablet 1 is very important for understanding the Babylonian star map. It shows how the constellations relate to each other and to the calendar. Even though the Babylonian calendar sometimes had an extra month, MUL.APIN uses a simpler year of 12 months, each with 30 days.

Tablet 2 is especially interesting for learning about how Babylonian astrologers predicted the movements of the sun, moon, and planets. It includes information about the paths of celestial bodies, which stars appear during important dates, and basic methods for tracking the moon and the changing lengths of day and night throughout the year. It also mentions some early astrological ideas and predictions.

Function of the text

MUL.APIN is the earliest known collection of astronomical knowledge from ancient Babylon. It includes lists of stars and constellations, helping people understand the patterns in the night sky. The text shows when stars rise, set, and reach their highest points in the sky, which was useful for creating a calendar.

The information in MUL.APIN uses special ideal days and months to describe the positions of stars. This helped Babylonian astronomers map the sky and understand the movement of the Moon and Sun throughout the year. By watching the stars, they could figure out important dates, even though some details were based on ideal measurements rather than exact observations.

Accuracy of the numbers

The Babylonian astronomers who wrote MUL.APIN faced some challenges when they observed the stars. They could only tell when a star or constellation appeared by comparing observations from different days. Sometimes clouds made it hard to see, and different observers might see things differently. Because of these issues, they could only estimate when a star rose or set within a few days.

In MUL.APIN, the information about when stars and constellations appeared is given in numbers that are multiples of five. This likely reflects the uncertainty in their measurements. When trying to figure out exactly where these constellations were in the sky, modern scientists can only estimate their positions with some error, similar to the size of the constellation itself.

Path of the Moon – the Pre-Zodiac

These depictions help show how the Moon moves across the sky, using knowledge from ancient studies. They are often used in planetariums to give people a better understanding of ancient views on the stars and the Moon.

No.	MUL.APIN name	Translation	Constellation (IAU)	associated god according to List 1	picture
1	MUL.MUL	Many Stars (or: Star Cluster)	Pleiades (Taurus)	Anu
2	GU4.AN.NA	Bull of Heaven	Taurus	Anu
3	SIPA.AN.NA	True Shepherd of Anu	Orion	Anu
4	ŠU.GI	Old Man (Enmešarra, the last of Enlil's primeval ancestors)	Perseus	Enlil
5	GAM	Crook	Auriga	Enlil
6	MAŠ.TAB.BA.GAL.GAL	Great Twins (Lugal-irra and Meslamta-ea, a pair of netherworld gods)	Gemini (north of ecliptic)	Enlil
7	AL.LUL	Crab	Cancer	Enlil
8	UR.GU.LA	Lion	Leo	Enlil
9	AB.SIN	Furrow	Virgo (north of Spica)	Šala
10	RIN	Balance	Libra and the part of Virgo south of Spica	Anu
11	GIR.TAB	Scorpion	Scorpius (maybe plus southern parts of Ophiuchus)	Ea
12	PA.BIL.SAG	Pabilsang (city god of Larak, who was identified with Ninurta, particularly in his role as the husband of the healing-goddess Gula)	Sagittarius	Ea
13	SUḪUR.MEŠ	Goat-Fish	Capricornus	Ea
14	GU.LA	The Great One (a common by-name of the god Ea/Enki)	Aquarius	Ea
15	KUNMUŠ (ša) SIM.MAḪ	Tails of the Great Swallow	Pisces	Anu/Ea
16	DingirAnunitu	Goddess Anunitu	the eastern one of the two fishes in Pisces plus parts of Andromeda (β And)	Anu
17	LUHUN.GA	Hired Man (or: Loan Worker) (Dumuzi, the mythical lover of Inanna/Ištar who is imagined as a shepherd)	Aries and Triangulum	Anu