946 



How this development took place is illustrated by a remarkable 

 cuneiform text in the British Mnsenm, Sp. II 71, of which Strass- 

 MAiER gave a transcript in 1894'). Theie it is shown that this text 

 contains a list of lunar eclipses arranged according to saros periods. 

 Strassmaier thought that he could also deduce from it that the 

 Babylonians used the saros as the foundation for their calendar, 

 but this proved later on to be untrue. The importance of this text 

 lies chiefly in the fact that it shows \'ery clearly the origin of the 

 saros from earlier phases. To understand its construction, it is first 

 necessary to trace this development. 



II. 



Astrology, which directed the gaze of men to all the heavenly 

 bodies, caused by its great development in the Assyrian period an 

 ever-increasing detailed knowledge of the heavenly phenomena to 

 arise during that time. This regarded especially the moon and its 

 eclipses. As a first regularity in the eclipses, the rule must have 

 been noticed that after a lunar eclipse it was only fi months after- 

 wards thai an eclipse coidd again occur. It is true that such an 

 eclipse was often absent; but the reason for this cowld be found in the 

 observations of the moon; a hinar eclipse only occurs lohen sun and 

 moon stand opposite to each other. 



The phenomena on the days lying around the full moon (i.e. in 

 the middle of the month, which always began with the appearance 

 of the sickle moon) were, on account of their astrological signi- 

 'ficance, always carefully observed : from the times of transit of sun 

 and moon through the great circle of the horizon (the natural 

 measuring circle of the Babylonians), from the rising and setting on 

 those days, therefore, the moment of opposition could be ascertained 

 with certainty. If the full moon rose in the evening before sunset 

 or set before sunrise in the morning, the opposition was yet to come; 

 if it was later, the opposition was past. As soon as this reason for 

 the omission of an eclipse, namely that the opposition had taken 

 place during daylight, has been noticed, the positive rule could be 

 established: when a lunar eclipse has taken place, another will follow 

 six months later; whether this will be visible depends upon whether 

 the opposition takes place by day or by night. 



This regularity was noticed as early as the Assyrian period. In 

 the astrological reports notice is sometimes given of predictions that 



1) Epping u. Strassmaier, Ein babylonischer Saros-Canon. Zeitschrift fur 

 Assyriologie Vol. VIII. p. 176. The text itself is given Z, f. A. Vol. X p. 66. 



