New Evidence on the Old Babylonian Calendar and Real Estate Documents from Sippar

Abstract

The Sumerian Nippur calendar, which utilizes the series of month names beginning with BARAG. ZAG.GAR and ending with SE.GUR 10 .KU 5 , became standard in Babylonia during the Old Babylonian period. But the familiar equivalent series of Akkadian month names, beginning with Nisannu and ending with A(d)daru, did not emerge until the Middle Babylonian period. During the Old Babylonian period, at Sippar and elsewhere, documents are dated by local calendars which had different sets of Akkadian month names. Recent publications of Old Babylonian real estate documents from Sippar yield important new evidence for the local month names, their place in the yearly calendar, and their equivalence with the standard, Sumerian Nippur series.