Transcript Ancient Sumeria

Ancient Sumeria
The Sumerian Calendar
By
Ivanna Subbotina
Map
Picture
Sumerian Chronology
Sumerians numbered their years by the year
of the reign of a king, i.e., ‘in the third year of
the reign of Lugalzaggesi,’ etc. King lists were
kept for dating prior reigns.
Years
Years consisted of twelve lunar months of 29 or
30 days. To keep the lunar year (354 days) in
step with the solar year, the lugal (king) decreed
the addition of an intercalary or extra month to
the Sumerian calendar every three years or so.
In Sumerian times, the year began after harvest
time, in September/October. Later, Babylonians
moved the start of the calendar year to spring.
Seasons
Sumerians had only two seasons. The dry season, the
growing season called ‘emesh,’ summer, began in
February/March at the beginning of the year. The wet
season, ‘enten,’ winter, began in September/October
when the arrival of the rains.
However, the flooding of the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers
was a result of snow melting in the Taurus Mountains
(in today's Turkey) and occurred in April and May.
Months
Sumerian months were strictly lunar and each month
began at the first sighting of the new moon. Because
there was no universal religion, there was no uniformity in
the names of months between Sumerian cities. Months
were often named for local feasts, events or agricultural
activities. Scribes overcame the name problem by
numerating the months, such as ‘the fourth month,’ etc.,
as is done in the Biblical book of Genesis.
Although Sumerian months were lunar, intercalated
months were added when needed to keep the calendar
adjusted to the seasons. This resulted in some years
having thirteen months instead of the normal twelve.
Weeks and Holy Days
There were no weeks in Ancient Sumeria. Holy days, time off from work,
were usually celebrated on the first, seventh and fifteenth of each
month. In addition to these holy days, there were also feast days which
varied from city to city.
Days
The Sumerian day started at sunset (as in
Genesis) and was twelve double hours long,
six double hours of daytime and six double
hours of nighttime.
Watches
A Sumerian day consisted of six watches, each being two double
hours long.
Daytime Watches:
1st Watch - Morning
8:00 AM - 12:00 AM
2nd Watch - Midday
12:00 AM - 4:00 PM
3rd Watch - Afternoon 4:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Nighttime Watches:
1st Watch - Evening
2nd Watch - Starlight
3rd Watch - Dawn
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
12:00 PM - 4:00 AM
4:00 AM - 8:00 AM
Hours
The length of Sumerian a hour actually varied by
season (a daytime hour was one-sixth of the
available daylight and so would be much longer
in the summer than in the winter) but over a
year, an hour averaged double the length of our
present-day hours (120 minutes).
Because of its sexagesimal-based numbering
system, the Sumerian double hour contained 60
minutes and the minute contained 60 seconds,
the same as today.
Distance
Distance was measured in terms of how far a man could walk in a double
hour and was called a ‘beru.’ One beru was about five miles (walking at
a rate of 2½ miles per hour using today's hours).
Biography
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