Caption: A copy of the Venus Tablet of Ammisaduqa which reports observations of Venus. The original (from which many copies were made) was compiled circa mid 17th century BCE (see Wikipedia: Venus tablet of Ammisaduqa). The copy is from the Neo-Assyrian period (934--609 BCE).

The Venus Tablet is a key document in the history of ancient Babylonian astronomy (c.1830--c.60 BCE).

Note Ammisaduqa (reigned c. 1646--1626 BCE, middle chronology) was a king of the dynasty of Hammurabi (reigned c. 1792--1750 BCE, middle chronology) (i.e., the dynasty of the First Babylonian Empire).

Features:

1. We have many texts from Ancient Mesopotamia (or, loosely speaking, Ancient Babylonia) since their inhabitants wrote on clay tablets and kiln-baked clay tablets buried in dry earth (like that in Tigris-Euphrates River area) last for thousands of years---millennia---a very non-volatile memory data storage medium:
   ---"They wrote on clay", Edward Chiera (1885--1933).

2. Many clay tablets giving details of Babylonian astronomy have survived, and so we know a lot about Babylonian astronomy. This figure explicates an important clay tablet from Babylonian astronomy: i.e., Venus Tablet of Ammisaduqa.

3. The predictive mathematical astronomy of the Babylonian astronomers had simple beginnings in using cycles of repeated astronomical motions.

   The Venus Tablet of Ammisaduqa is proof of this (from as aforesaid circa mid 17th century BCE) since it shows the Babylonian astronomers knew the Venus cycle as early as that (see No-290).

4. What is the Venus cycle?

   Just the cyclic motions of Venus on the sky relative to the fixed stars, the Sun, and other astro-bodies. One could also say it is the cycle of planetary configurations (using the term broadly) of Venus.

   The full time period of Venus cycle allows you to predict the location of Venus in the sky relative to the fixed stars and the Sun since almost exactly every 8 years, Venus returns to the same place relative to those astro-bodies.

   To be more precise, the Venus cycle period = 2919.60 days = (8 Julian years (each 365.25 days) - 2.40 days) to 6 digit accuracy/precision.

5. A further explication of the Venus cycle is given in Babylon file: venus_tablet_4.html which may be just below if this is Babylon file: venus_tablet_4.html.

Credit/Permission: © User:Fae, 2010 / Creative Commons CC BY-SA 3.0.
Image link: Wikipedia: File:Venus Tablet of Ammisaduqa.jpg.
Local file: local link: venus_tablet.html.
Extended file: Babylon file: venus_tablet_4.html.
File: Babylon file: venus_tablet.html.