Mursili's eclipse

Mursili's eclipse

The solar eclipse mentioned in a text dating to the reign of Mursili II could be of great importance for the absolute chronology of the Hittite Empire within the chronology of the Ancient Near East. The text records an "omen of the sun," linked to the tenth year of Mursili's reign, which appeared just as he was about to launch a campaign against the Kaskas of northern Anatolia. According to the current debate, there are two possible candidates for the eclipse: 13 April 1308 BC or 24 June 1312 BC. The 1312 BC date is accepted by most Hittitologists, e.g. Trevor Bryce (1998), while Paul Åström (1993) has suggested the 1308 BC date.

The 1312 eclipse occurred over northern Anatolia in the early afternoon, and its effects would have been quite spectacular for Mursili and his men at their base in Hattusa:

24 June 1312 BC, total eclipse, maximum at 10:44 UTC, 38°12′N 13°42′E / 38.2°N 13.7°E / 38.2; 13.7 (Sicily)

In contrast, the 1308 eclipse was annular, and began very early in the morning over Arabia (and only penumbral over Anatolia and Syria), reaching its height over Central Asia:

13 April 1308 BC, annular eclipse (94.8%), maximum at 04:16 UTC, 44°54′N 85°42′E / 44.9°N 85.7°E / 44.9; 85.7 (Tian Shan)

Therefore, the 1312 eclipse would seem to best suit the eclipse mentioned. This means that Mursili would have begun his reign in either 1322 or 1321 BC. This date would be roughly that usually proposed for the death of Tutankhamun. It is known that Suppiluliuma I was besieging Carchemish when he received a letter from the widow of a Pharaoh (who is called Dakhamunzu in the annals). Suppiluliuma died shortly thereafter and his successor was Mursili II (whose brother would have been Prince Zannanza sent to Egypt where he died). Thus this appears to be a chronological anchor. However, there are other views, asserting for example that the dead Pharaoh was Akhenaten or that Tutankhamun died later.

References

  • Paul Astrom, 'The Omen of the Sun in the Tenth Year of the Reign of Mursilis II', in Horizons and Styles: Studies in Early Art and Archaeology in Honour of Professor Homer L. Thomas, (1993)
  • Trevor R. Bryce, The Kingdom of the Hittites, Clarendon Oxford University Press, (1998)

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Mursili II — Other names Mursilis II Title King of the Hittites Predecessor Arnuwanda II Successor Muwatalli II Religion …   Wikipedia

  • Mursili II — (également orthographié Mursilis II) était un roi de l Empire hittite (Nouvel Empire) qui régna de 1321 à 1295 av. J.C[1]. C’était le fils cadet de Suppiluliuma Ier, l un des rois les plus puissants de l’époque. Sommaire 1 Biographie 2 L’éclipse …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Eclipse de Mursili — Éclipse de Mursili L éclipse de Mursili est une éclipse solaire qui pourrait avoir été mentionnée dans les annales de Mursili II, roi des Hittites. Sommaire 1 Description 2 Voir aussi 2.1 Liens internes …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Éclipse de mursili — L éclipse de Mursili est une éclipse solaire qui pourrait avoir été mentionnée dans les annales de Mursili II, roi des Hittites. Sommaire 1 Description 2 Voir aussi 2.1 Liens internes …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Eclipse — An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when one celestial object moves into the shadow of another. The term is derived from the ancient Greek noun gr. ἔκλειψις ( gr. ékleipsis ), from verb gr. ἐκλείπω ( gr. ekleípō ), I cease to exist, a …   Wikipedia

  • Mursili II. — Muršili II. bzw. Murschili (akkadisch Mu ur ši li) war ein hethitischer Großkönig. Während seiner Herrschaft weitete er das Reich nach Arzawa hin aus, unternahm Feldzüge nach Syrien und gegen die Kaskäer. So festigte er das von einer Seuche… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Eclipse de Mursil — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda El eclipse de Mursil fue un eclipse solar que podría haber sido mencionado en los anales del rey hitita Mursil II. Descripción Los anales reales hititas indican una «señal del Sol» durante el décimo año de reinado de …   Wikipedia Español

  • Éclipse de Mursili — L éclipse de Mursili est une éclipse solaire qui pourrait avoir été mentionnée dans les annales de Mursili II, roi des Hittites. Sommaire 1 Description 2 Voir aussi 2.1 Liens internes 2.2 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Éclipse solaire totale — Liste d éclipses solaires Voici une liste d éclipses solaires notables, classée par ordre chronologique. Elles sont toutes indiquées ici. Sommaire 1 Listes 1.1 Antiquité 1.2 XXe siècle …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Crucifixion darkness and eclipse — A solar eclipse from August 2008. It takes about an hour for the moon to cover the sun, with total coverage lasting a few minutes.[1] …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”