page_title: First Babylonian dynasty
section_title: Solar aspects in Babylon
hierarchical_section_title: First Babylonian dynasty / Solar aspects in Babylon
caption_attribution_description: English: Cylinder seal,ca. 18th–17th century B.C. Babylonian
context_page_description: The First Babylonian Empire, or Old Babylonian Empire, is dated to c. 1894 BC – c. 1595 BC, and comes after the end of Sumerian power with the destruction of the 3rd dynasty of Ur, and the subsequent Isin-Larsa period. The chronology of the first dynasty of Babylonia is debated as there is a Babylonian King List A and a Babylonian King List B. In this chronology, the regnal years of List A are used due to their wide usage. The reigns in List B are longer, in general.
context_section_description: Solar aspects played a certain role in the Royal Power of Old Babylonia. Shamash is the god of the sun as well as the god of justice and divination as mentioned in The Code of Hammurapi the text states "May the god Shamash, the great judge of heaven and earth, who provides just ways for all living creatures, the lord, my trust, overturn his kingship". Shamash was considered to have an influence on Hammurabi and fosters the idea that he will execute the laws of justice on land as Shamash does in with his role as a god.
  A recent translation of the Chogha Gavaneh tablets which date back to 1800 BC indicates there were close contacts between this town located in the intermontane valley of Islamabad in Central Zagros and Dyala region.
  A text about the fall of Babylon by the Hittites of Mursilis I at the end of Samsuditana's reign, tells a story about a twin eclipse which is crucial for there to be a correct Babylonian chronology. The pair of lunar and solar eclipses occurred in the month of Shimanu (Sivan). The lunar eclipse took place on February 9, 1659 BC. It started at 4:43 and ended at 6:47. The latter was invisible which satisfies the record and which also tells that the moon setting was still eclipsed. The solar eclipse occurred on February 23, 1659. It started at 10:26, has its maximum at 11:45, and ended at 13:04. The Venus tablets of Ammisaduqa (i.e., several ancient versions on clay tablets) are famous, and several books had been published about them. Several dates have been offered but the old dates of many sourcebooks seem to be outdated and incorrect. There are further difficulties: the 21-year span of the detailed observations of the planet Venus may or may not coincide with the reign of this king, because his name is not mentioned, only the Year of the Golden Throne. A few sources, some printed almost a century ago, claim that the original text mentions an occultation of Venus by the moon. However, this may be a misinterpretation. Calculations support 1659 for the fall of Babylon, based on the statistical probability of dating based on the planet's observations. The presently accepted middle chronology is too low from the astronomical point of view.
caption: Cylinder seal, ca. 18th–17th century BC. Babylonia
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