OANNES - Uluslararası Eskiçağ Tarihi Araştırmaları Dergisi

Öz

Ancient Mesopotamian people conducted celestial studies with a focus on the sky. These investigations originated with the Sumerians and were further developed systematically by the Babylonians. Individuals of that era interpreted celestial movements as messages from the gods, assigning the names of their deities to each planet. Additionally, they scrutinized the movements of stars and constellations in the sky, documenting their findings in a text known as MUL.APIN (Plow Star). The primary objective was to ascertain the initial birth and sunset dates of celestial bodies. The writing of MUL.APIN commenced in the 8th and 7th centuries BC and continued until the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC.
The contents of MUL.APIN predominantly revolve around stars and their movements, with a particular focus on the seven visible planets. Each of these planets was associated with their respective chief deities: Jupiter with Marduk, Venus with Išhtar, Mars with Nergal, Saturn with Ninurta, Nabu with Mercury, Šhamašh with the Sun, and Sin with the Moon. Moreover, they divided the sky into three sections, naming each after their principal gods, and arranged the stars and constellations along these celestial paths. They also conducted intercalation by observing the stars. Later in the text, instructions were provided on how to determine the precise time of day using a shadow clock, along with information on the utilization of water clocks. The concluding chapters delved into prophecy based on celestial observations. According to the beliefs of that era, the gods communicated their messages through planetary movements, giving rise to the phenomenon of celestial prophecy, with formulas such as “If X happens, Y will be obtained.”