Students prepare for primary source seminars by reading the documents in translation, not the secondary academic literature. The aim is to learn how to interrogate historical sources, and the relationships between them, oneself rather than relying on the opinions and interpretations of others.
The following suggestions, which may also serve as starting points for essays or dissertations, do not exhaust the fruitful combinations of letters, queries, and reports.
Regular celestial TT omens TT
| Subject |
Reports (SAA 8) |
Letters (SAA 10) |
| Eclipse TT of the moon |
4, 42, 46, 103, 208, 250, 251, 279, 300, 316, 321, 336, 382, 388, 447, 469, 487, 535 |
75, 128, 132, 133, 134, 135, 137, 149, 347 |
| Eclipse of the sun |
3, 47, 104, 280, 384 |
25, 46, 100, 148, 170, 216, 224 |
| Conjunction TT of Mars PGP and Saturn PGP |
48, 49, 102, 168, 327, 383, 491 |
47 |
| Morning first TT of Jupiter PGP in the month of Sivan TT |
115, 170 |
362 |
Occasional celestial omens
| Subject |
Reports (SAA 8) |
Letters (SAA 10) |
| Earthquakes TT |
8, 36, 37, 315, 366, 434, 490, 493, 495, 496, 555 |
10, 55, 56, 202, 203 |
| Fog |
34, 79, 98, 313, 328, 353, 385, 417, 433, 453 |
94 |
| Comets and meteors TT |
158, 230, 303, 334, 335, 339, 396, 432, 456, 552 |
104, 111 |
| Thunder and lightning |
1, 31, 32, 33, 43, 80, 99, 182, 221, 222, 354, 365, 444, 468 |
42, 69, 114, 224 |
Other omens and portents
| Subject |
Queries (SAA 4) |
Reports (SAA 8) |
Letters (SAA 10) |
| Animals |
|
243 |
33, 58 |
| Dreams |
202, 316 |
|
59, 298, 361, 365 |
| Anomalous TT births |
|
237, 238, 239, 240, 241, 242, 287 |
60, 120 |
| Auspicious TT days TT and months TT |
|
38, 162, 164, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 379, 565, 567 |
5, 13, 14, 31, 52, 61, 70, 73, 74, 207, 221, 254, 325, 379 |
Royal illnesses
| Subject |
Queries (SAA 4) |
Reports (SAA 8) |
Letters (SAA 10) |
| Assurbanipal |
186, 187, 188 |
|
191, 193, 322, 323 |
| Esarhaddon |
183, 184, 185 |
1, 162 |
195, 196, 197, 198, 314, 316, 318, 319, 323, 324 |
| The queen mother |
190 |
|
16, 17, 188, 200, 201, 244, 297 |
| Royal babies |
|
|
196, 197, 210, 211, 213, 215, 217, 218, 220, 301, 305 |
Politics and patronage
| Subject |
Letters (SAA 10) |
| Petitions |
161, 163, 165, 167, 176, 178, 182, 224, 226, 294, 308, 320, 334 |
| Substitute King Ritual TT of 671 BC |
11, 12, 189, 350, 351, 352 |
| Substitute King Ritual of 669 BC |
209, 210, 211, 212, 216, 219, 220, 221, 325 |
| Venus PGP or Mercury PGP ? Timing crown prince TT Šamaš-šumu-ukin's PGP visit from Babylon PGP to Nineveh PGP |
23, 48, 50, 51, 52, 72, 73, 74 |
Content last modified: 17 Jan 2017.