Dating Based on the Egyptian Lunar Calendar

The running of the Babylonian lunar calendar is simple, every 1st day of the month
coincided with the observation of the new crescent. The running of the Egyptian lunar
calendar is confusing because, according to Parker1, every 1st day of the month coincided
with the observation of the 1st invisibility (day after the new moon and before the new
crescent)! Despite this absurdity2, to begin the month by an observation which is in fact a
non-observation, his work is always considered as authoritative. Depuydt3, for example,
explains: It is necessary to check, then, whether Day 1 of the lunar month in the double date did indeed fall
around astronomical conjunction or new moon. It is accepted here on the authority of others that the ancient
Egyptian lunar day as a rule began in the morning of the day when the last crescent could no longer be seen in
the eastern horizon. The matter cannot be discussed here (Parker 1950: 9-23). Lunar Day 1 is called
psdntyw. In determining the beginning of a lunar month by means of observation, variations of one or two
days are possible due to the vicissitudes of the human factor and the climate. Furthermore the pivotal
date (I) coming from the year 12 of Amasis, mainly used to prove the functioning of the
Egyptian lunar calendar, is doubtful: Incidentally, there is a potential weakness in the validity of date
(I), because the date rests on external arguments. When Parker and Malinine first discovered the double date,
Year 12 of Amasis was generally believed to be the year lasting from 10 January 558 BCE to 9 January
557 BCE. This year was obtained by a line of reasoning which cannot be discussed here in detail. In brief,
there are sources that strongly suggest Amasis’s Year 44 was his last and that this Year 44 was 526/25
BCE. Counting back from 526/25 = Year 44, one obtains 558/57 = Year 12. But Parker showed that,
as regards double date (I) lunar II !mw 15 cannot be matched with civil I !mw 13 for the presumed Year 12,
558/57 BCE. However, there is a match in 559/58 BCE (October 19, 559 BCE). This is for various
reasons the only other year that could be a candidate for Amasis’s Year 12. Parker therefore assumed that
the civil year beginning in 526 BCE was Amasis’s forty-fifth. There is no evidence for a Year 45. Again,
the sources strongly suggest that Year 44 was Amasis’s last. Parker’s arguments appear convincing and date
(I) can therefore be deemed valid. In fact the sole weak point in Parker’s analysis, which is the necessity of
assuming a Year 45 for Amasis whereas the evidence points to Year 44 as his last, can be eliminated. In
conclusion, the date that was used to validate the Egyptian lunar calendar contradicts all the
old Babylonian and Greek sources. But, this is not serious. Why? Chronological difficulties
are numerous, but unless to admit an unlikely collusion of mistakes, the year 44 of Amasis,
the last of his reign, should be dated -526, and therefore the year 12 to be dated -558. Thus,
the dating of the year 12 in -559, obtained by Parker with the calculation of the double date
of Papyrus Louvre 7848, is unacceptable.
The solution proposed by Parker of a year 45 of Amasis dated -526 is not possible, as
recognized by Depuydt4 who prefers to date the death of Amasis in -527 in his 44th year,
assuming that the 4th year of Cambyses (at -526) was a period of disorder without pharaoh!
But this choice leads to an implausible result, contrary to the accounts of all the ancient
historians (Herodotus was close to events, and Manetho, an Egyptian priest, was to know
the history of his country): the throne of Egypt would have been vacuum for one year after
the disappearance of Psammetichus III, from May 526 BCE to May 525 BCE, when
Cambyses was recognized Pharaoh. A chronological reconstitution (below) allows to check
that the year 44 of Amasis must be dated in -526 and not in -527.
1 R.A. PARKER - The Calendars of Ancient Egypt
in: Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization 26 (1950) Ed. University of Chicago.
2 A.J. SPALINGER – Revolutions in Time: Studies in Ancient Egyptian Calendrics

Texas 1994 Ed. Van Siclen Books p. 15.

3 L. DEPUYDT - Civil Calendar and Lunar Calendar in Ancient Egypt

Leuven 1997 Ed. Uitgevers Peeters pp. 164-165, 203-207.

4 L. DEPUYDT - Egyptian Regnal Dating under Cambyses and the Date of the Persian Conquest

1996 in: Studies in Honor of William Kelly Simpson pp. 179-190.

2 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY
THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY

year in King year in according to:

year month Egypt Persia Egypt Parker Depuydt
527 1 X 43 Amasis 44 44
2 XI
3 XII
4 I Cambyses 3
5 II
6 III
7 IV
8 V
9 VI
10 VII
11 VIII 1
12 IX
526 1 X 44 P. Rylands IX 4 45 2
2 XI ##
3 XII
4 I 4
5 II ##
6 III
7 IV
8 V
9 VI
10 VII
11 VIII 1 Psammetichus III 1
12 IX
525 1 X 2 5 2
2 XI
3 XII
4 I Egypt defeated 5
5 II IM.4187
6 III
7 IV
8 V
9 VI
10 VII
11 VIII
12 IX
(## indicates an improbability)

The end of the ancient Egyptian empire was an important milestone that has been
recounted by the following historians:
! According to Diodorus Siculus: After a reign of 55 years5 he [Amasis] ended his days at the time
when Cambyses, the king of the Persians, attacked Egypt, in the 3rd year of the 63rd Olympiad
(Historical Library I:68:6). Thus Amasis died between July -526 and July -525.
! According to the Egyptian priest Manetho6: Cambyses, in the 5th year of his reign over the
Persians [in -525] became king of Egypt and led it for 3 years [from spring -525 to spring -522].
! According to Herodotus (around -450): On the death of Cyrus, Cambyses his son by Cassandane
daughter of Pharnaspes took the kingdom (...) Amasis was the Egyptian king against whom Cambyses,
son of Cyrus, made his expedition; and with him went an army composed of the many nations under his
rule, among them being included both Ionic and Aeolic Greeks (...) One of the mercenaries of Amasis, a
Halicarnassian, Phanes by name, a man of good judgment, and a brave warrior, dissatisfied for some
reason or other with his master, deserted the service, and taking ship, fled to Cambyses, wishing to get
speech with him (...) Psammenitus, son of Amasis, lay encamped at the mouth of the. Nile, called the
Pelusiac, awaiting Cambyses. For Cambyses, when he went up against Egypt, found Amasis no longer
in life: he had died after ruling Egypt 44 years, during all which time no great misfortune had befallen
him (...) The Egyptians who fought in the battle, no sooner turned their backs upon the enemy, than they
fled away in complete disorder to Memphis (...) 10 days after the fort had fallen, Cambyses resolved to
5The reign of Amasis is counted from the revolt after the attack of Nebuchadnezzar II in -582.
6W.G. WADDELL - Manetho (Loeb Classical Library 350)
Cambridge 1956 Ed. Harvard University Press pp. 169-177.
 DATING BASED ON THE EGYPTIAN LUNAR CALENDAR 3

try the spirit of Psammenitus, the Egyptian king, whose whole reign had been but 6 months (...)
Psammenitus plotted evil, and received his reward accordingly. He was discovered to be stirring up revolt
in Egypt, wherefore Cambyses, when his guilt clearly appeared, compelled him to drink bull’s blood,
which presently caused his death. Such was the end of Psammenitus (The Histories II:1; III:1,4,10-
16).
The Egyptian priest Manetho indicates the same values as Herodotus, 44 years for
Amasis and 6 months for Psammetichus III. By combining this information with data from
the reign of Persian King Cambyses who became Egypt to in May -525, the death of Amasis
can be fixed around October -526. Fixing the date of the conquest of Egypt in -525 is also
confirmed since the 5th year of Cambyses began the 1st Nisan (March 29) in the Persian
system, and the 1st Thoth (January 2) in the Egyptian system. The account of these historians
is confirmed by several archaeological finds:
! The narrative of Udjahorresnet7, the Egyptian general who led the naval fleet under
Amasis, then under Psammetichus III and finally under Cambyses, authenticates the
version of Herodotus. This war probably lasted at least six months because, according to
the historian Polyaenus: When Cambyses attacked Pelusium, which guarded the entrance into
Egypt, the Egyptians defended it with great resolution. They advanced formidable engines against the
besiegers, and hurled missiles, stones, and fire at them from their catapults. (Stratagems of war
VII:9). These narrative overlap exactly and give the following chronological scheme: war
of Cambyses against Egypt beginning in the year 44, the last year of Amasis, which ends
after the brief reign of 6 months of Psammetichus III, his successor or in the 5th year of
Cambyses.
! According to the stele IM.4187 in the Louvre, an Apis bull was born at month 5, day 29,
year 5 of Cambyses, died on month 9, day 4, year 4 of Darius I and was buried month
11, day 13, of the same year, covering a total period of 7 years 3 months and 5 days
(reading 8 years less likely). This computation is consistent (between the month 9, day 4,
and the month 11, day 13, there are exactly 70 days for the period of embalming bull)
gives the following dates in the Julian calendar: May 29, -525, August 31, -518 and
November 8, -518. This stele proves that Cambyses reigned in Egypt from May -525
because at the end of this month, an Apis bull is dedicated to him. Thus the conquest of
Egypt had to be completed in early May -525 as the last text (below) referring to
Psammetichus III is dated I Peret year 2. It is indeed Psammetichus III8 because one of
the contracting parties cited in the text is still alive in the year 35 of Darius I9.

Before his conquest Cambyses was a Persian leader but thereafter he also became an
Egyptian pharaoh. This new situation has created a dual system of counting the reign.
! Egyptian documents of the time of Darius I mention the events of years 3 and 4 of
Cambyses, apparently before the conquest of Egypt. A papyrus dated 9th year of Darius
says: In his 2nd year, therefore, Cambyses conquered Egypt really, and in 5th year he died. This
demotic text (Papyrus Rylands IX 21), entitled Peteisis petition spoke of a conflict in a
family of priests of the temple of Amon at Teuzoi (El-Hibeh) between the 4th year of
Psammetichus I and the 4th year of Cambyses10. It ends with the following dates: Until the
7 P. BRIANT - Histoire de l'empire perse. De Cyrus à Alexandre
Paris 1996 Éd. Fayard pp. 63-65.
8 That Psammetichus III was the son of Amasis is confirmed by the stele No. 309 of the Serapeum (Louvre).
9 H. GAUTHIER – Le livre des rois d'Égypte

Le Caire 1915 Éd. Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale pp. 131-132.

10 P. BRIANT - Histoire de l'empire perse. De Cyrus à Alexandre

Paris 1996 Éd. Fayard p. 92.

4 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY
THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY

Year 44 of Amasis. In Year 3 of Cambyses, Hor son of Psammet-kmenempe, the prophet of Amon
(...) in Year 4 of Cambyses. A second Egyptian papyrus known as the Demotic Chronicle,
confirmed the year 44 of Amasis as last year11. The source said Darius I in the 3rd year of
his reign (in -519) would have given the satrap of Egypt the order that together a
committee of wise men from among the Egyptian warriors, priests and scribes in order:
that they put in writing that Egyptian law was in force until the 44th year of the reign of Amasis.
! Cambyses died in 522 BCE, it was therefore his 5th year in Egypt, the 2nd corresponded
to 525 BCE and the 1st in 526 BCE. This conquest began in 526 BCE, since Herodotus
(The Histories III:1,10) states that the war began with the death of Amasis. Years 2 to 5
of Cambyses refer to his years of domination in Egypt. It is not logical to assume that
the Egyptians used a counting system reserved for their pharaohs rather than to foreign
leaders12, what was Cambyses before his conquest (though, after 525 BCE, Persian
leaders will be considered as Pharaohs).

YEAR 12 OF AMASIS (558 BCE)

The year 44 of Amasis, the last of his reign should be dated 526 BCE, and therefore
the year 12 to be dated 528 BCE. Double-dated documents are rare, they are all the more
valuable since they allow absolute dating, which is the case of the following papyrus (pap.
Louvre 7848)13 both dated II Shemu 13 / I Shemu 15, Year 12 of Amasis (line 5):

Year 12, 1st month of Shemu, (day) 21

under Pharaoh Amasis life-prosperity-health (...)
Has said the choachyte Petosiris son of
Itourodj son of Inarou, his
[mother] being Itourou,
(choachyte = mummies guardian)
Tacheru and the choachyte Djechy
son of Tesmont, total 3 men:
“It is we who have caused the choachyte
Petosiris son of Iturodj to swear for us

in the presence of Chonsemwasneferhotep, in

year 12, 2nd month of Shemu, (day) 13,
on the 15th day of the 1st month of Shemu, saying:

‘The place of the mountain, of which I said: «I have received

Parker assumed that the first date was from the civil calendar and the second from
the lunar calendar, but it is illogical for the following reasons:
! Egyptian lunar dates being exceptional they should be specified in the civil calendar and
not the opposite. Among the twenty papyrus from Elephantine in southern Egypt, which
contain double dates, all begin with the date of the lunar calendar followed by that of the
Egyptian civil calendar, but never the reverse.

11 A. KUHRT - The Persian Empire

London 2010 Ed. Routeledge pp. 124-125.
12 R.A. PARKER - Persian and Egyptian Chronology

in: The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures LVIII/3 (1941) pp. 298-301.
13 K. DONKER V AN HEEL – Abnormal Hieratic and Early Demotic Texts collected by the Theban Choachytes in the reign of Amasis:

Papyrus from the Louvre Eisenlohr Lot (Thesis). Leiden 1996 Ed. Rijksuniversiteit pp. 93-99.
 DATING BASED ON THE EGYPTIAN LUNAR CALENDAR 5

! "It is we who have caused the choachyte to swear for us" refers to the past not to the future ("It is
we who will cause the choachyte to swear for us"). If this vow was recorded and dated, it is
logical to assume that it was written relatively soon after having been delivered,
otherwise one would admit the existence of a "prophetic vow", but the document being
dated I Shemu 21 in the civil calendar, the vow had to be made on I Shemu 15, actually 6
days before.
! As the lunar year is shorter than the solar year (the lunar month being 29 or 30 days
when the Egyptian civil month is always 30 days), dating in a lunar calendar goes faster
than in the civil calendar, thus the lunar dates are more advanced (II Shemu) than those
of the civil calendar (I Shemu).
According to these logical arguments, the first date (II Shemu 13) is lunar and the
second (I Shemu 15) is civil. As the civil date I Shemu 15 fell in -558 on September 21, the
lunar date II Shemu 1 fell on September 9 (= 21 – 12), which was a full moon day according
to astronomy14. However, there are two difficulties in reckoning the days:
! The Babylonians counted the new day after sunset (around 18 pm) while the Egyptians
counted it after the disappearance of the stars (around 5 am). If a scribe wrote on 17
Thoth around 16 pm, for example, he dated his document on 18 Kislev, but if he wrote
about 20 pm he dated it on 19 Kislev.
midnight midday midnight
19 20 21 22 23 24 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 1 2 3 4 5 6
Babylonian computation
18 Kislev 19 Kislev
Julian computation
4 January 5 January 6 January
Egyptian computation
16 Thoth 17 Thoth

! Astronomical observations being made by night, at the beginning of the day for the
Babylonians, but at the end for the Egyptians. At last, the observation of the first
crescent can be delayed by one day (due to bad weather, for example) while watching the
full moon can be shifted more or less one day.
According to this lunar calendar, the two papyrus double dated years 15 and 21 of
Xerxes15 involve an accession in 496 BCE (the full moon of 1st Elul fell on August 29 in 481
BCE at Elephantine and the full moon of 1st Kislev fell on December 20 in 475 BCE):
Year Xerxes I Civil Egyptian Julian Lunar Egyptian Julian Gap
1st Elul 29 August (full moon)
481 15 28 Pakhons 14 September 18 Elul 15 September 1
1st Kislev 20 December (full moon)
474 21 17 Thoth 5 January 18 Kislev 5 January 0

When Porten published the Elephantine papyri he wrote: The language, religion, and
names of the Jews differed from their Egyptian neighbours, but their legal procedures and formulary bear
striking similarity. Though we cannot explain the phenomenon of “Who gave to whom” we must conclude
that in matters legal the Jews and Arameans fit into their Egyptian environment rather snugly. Whereas the
demotic contracts constitute a little over 20% of the thirty-seven demotic texts here published, the Aramaic
contracts constitute almost 60% of the total Aramaic selection of fifty-two documents. If thirty documents are
ample material to ascertain schemata and verify formulae, eight may not be, particularly if they are of different
14http://www.imcce.fr/fr/grandpublic/phenomenes/phases_lune/index.php
15B. PORTEN - The Elephantine Papyri in English
Leiden 1996 Ed E.J. Brill pp. 18, 153-161.
6 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY
THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY

types. Comparison, nonetheless, shows how much the demotic and Aramaic conveyances had in common. Both
followed an identical schema (...) Variations were slight. As indigenous documents, the demotic contracts
noted only the Egyptian calendar, whereas the Jewish/Aramean scribes, writing in the lingua franca of the
Persian Empire, added for most of the fifth century a synchronous Babylonian date. This last remark
contradicts what was said at the beginning because the Egyptians never used a Babylonian
calendar in Egypt. In addition, Porten fails to mention that several Babylonian dates have a
gap of 2 days (which is difficult to explain by errors of scribes), or even a month apart (B32
and B42 for example), and that lunar calendar was closer to the Jewish or Aramaic calendar
than its Babylonian counterpart16. Stern17 noted: This explanation has been fully endorsed by Porten,
but it is problematic in more than one respect. In the ancient world, where artificial lighting was often
expensive and/or inadequate, scribes would have been reluctant to write legal documents at night: legal
documents, indeed, had to be written with precision and care. Although such a practice was possible — as
Porter points out, the Mishna refers to legal documents written at night (M. Gittin 2:2), and further evidence
could conceivably be found — it seems unlikely that the majority of contracts at Elephantine would have been
written at night (...) In order to account for this high incidence of discrepancies, it seems more plausible to
argue that the Babylonian calendar at Elephantine was reckoned differently from the standard Babylonian
calendar. How it was reckoned, however, remains somewhat unclear. The inconsistent relationship between
document dates and visibility of the new moon (nil, 1 day, or 2 days) suggest perhaps that at Elephantine,
visibility of the new moon was not used as a criterion to determine when the new month began. The solution
was at hand, but Stern did not know that the problem stemmed from the wrong
interpretation of Parker. This is particularly more regrettable that Parker had given all the
elements to find it. Parker refused to consider a lunar reckoning starting at full moon, as
proposed by Macnaughton18, for three reasons:
! He felt that Macnaughton was an eccentric19 (no comment!).
! This type of calendar was not well known during his time. Parker was unaware that the
Hindu lunar calendar, for example, is equally divided between amanta versions (8 states in
southern India) which start on new moon and purnimanta versions (10 states in the
northern India) starting on full moon. In addition, it is likely that some ancient lunar
calendars began on the full moon, like the Old Persian calendar whose 30th day is called
jiyamna "decreasing", that would be inexplicable if the lunar cycle began on 1st crescent.
! Lunar phases being symbolized at Dendera (c. -50) by 14 deities climbing stairs to
achieve the filling of the eye Wedjat20 (safe eye) the 15th day at the full moon, the lunar
day 1 (psdntyw) must match the 1st invisibility. But this cycle of 15 days is only a ! month,
the next full month had to begin at the end of this cycle at the full moon.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
16 S. STERN - The Babylonian Calendar at Elephantine
in: Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 130 (2000) pp. 159-171.
17 S.H. HORN, L.H. WOOD - The Fifth-Century Jewish Calendar at Elephantine

in: Journal of Near Eastern Studies XIII/1 (1954) pp. 1-20.

18 D. MACNAUGHTON - A Scheme of Egyptian Chronology

London 1932 Ed. Luzac and co. pp. 145-151.

19 R.A. PARKER - The Calendars of Ancient Egypt

in: Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization 26 (1950) Ed. University of Chicago p. 9.

20 E.A.W. BUDGE - Gods of the Egyptian Vol II

1969 Ed. Dover Publications p. 321.

 DATING BASED ON THE EGYPTIAN LUNAR CALENDAR 7

Babylonian lunar cycle Egyptian lunar cycle according to:

astro ! month PARKER MACNAUGHTON astro
14 full moon 1 shining ones [day]
15 2 month [day]
16 3
17 4
18 5
19 6
20 7 quarter [day]
21 last quarter 8
22 9
23 10
24 11
25 12
26 13
27 last crescent 14 perceptions [day]
28 15 subordinate [day]
29 new moon 16
30 1st invisibility 1 tp 3bd 1 shining ones [day] ! 17 perceptions [day]
1 1st crescent 2 3bd 2 month [day] 18 Moon [day]
2 3 3 19
3 4 4 20
4 5 5 21
5 6 snt 6 22
6 first quarter 7 dnit 7 quarter [day] 23 quarter [day]
7 8 8 24
8 9 9 25
9 10 10 26
10 11 11 27
11 12 12 28
12 13 13 29
13 14 14 perceptions [day] 30 Min rise [day]
14 full moon 15 smdt 15 subordinate [day]
15 !apattu 16
16 17 perceptions [day] !
17 18 Moon [day] !
18 19
19 20
20 21
21 last quarter 22
22 23 quarter [day]
23 24
24 25
25 26
26 27
27 last crescent 28
28 29
29 new moon 30 Min rise [day] !
30 1

! = "absurdity"
= New moon
= Full moon
8 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY
THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY

Parker has compiled and explained the 30 days of the Egyptian lunar month, which
shows that several days do not fit at all with their Moon phases.
" month n° Day of the month Moon phase according to:
Name Meaning Macnaughton Parker
(15) 1 psdntyw Shining ones Full moon First invisibility
2 3bd Month After full moon First crescent
7 dnit Quarter Last quarter First quarter
14 si3w Perceptions Last crescent Before full moon
15 smdt Subordinate Before new moon Full moon
1 17 si3w Perceptions Before first crescent -
2 18 i‘! Moon First crescent -
7 23 dnit Quarter First quarter Last quarter
14 30 prt Mn Min going-forth Before full moon New moon

In Parker's lunar cycle it is obvious that the meaning of days 1 (psdntyw) and 18 (i‘!)
has nothing to do and even opposed to the lunar phase that corresponds to them. The
Egyptian word psdntyw literally means "shining ones" which is opposed to its moon phase
(after the new moon) called "first invisibility". In addition the day 18 which literally means
"moon" would have no link with the lunar cycle, which would be the last straw. According
to Depuydt21: There is little doubt as to what ancient Egyptians saw of the moon on the day they called
psdntyw the first of the lunar month (...) Parker has done the most to consolidate the theory of psdntyw
outlined above. Yet the view that Egyptian lunar months began with the observation of nothing has met with
resistance. !erny and Posener believed that the passage from Theban Tomb 57 quoted above “shows that it
was possible to depict psdntyw ... For the Egyptians, psdntyw was therefore something visible ... Indeed, it
would be difficult to understand how the Egyptians could have conceived of ‘moon on psdntyw’ ... if
psdntyw was an invisible celestial phenomenon.” This remark disregards the fact, however, that “moon on
psdntyw” is modified by “whose brightness has illuminated the netherworld” (...) “you set like Re on the
day of psdntyw”. To summarize his arguments, the Egyptian day 1 (psdntyw) would represent
both the invisibility of the moon for the living ones and the sun illuminating the
netherworld, but this explanation is more theological than scientific.
Year 10 of Amasis (in -560) that began on I Akhet 1 (January 10) coincided with a
full moon, which involved the starting equivalence I Akhet 1 (lunar) = I Akhet 1 (civil). It is
noteworthy that the observation of the full moon is more difficult than the 1st lunar crescent,
because depending on the time of day or night the 1st astronomical crescent may be seen
with a day late (but never in advance) so that the full astronomical moon can be seen
frequently with one day difference (delay or advance).
Amasis Lunar calendar Civil calendar Julian day Full moon
year (day 1) (astronomy)
10 -560 I Akhet 1 I Akhet 1 10 January 9 January
II Akhet 1 I Akhet 30 8 February 7 February
III Akhet 1 II Akhet 30 10 March 9 March
IV Akhet 1 III Akhet 29 8 April 8 April
I Peret 1 IV Akhet 29 8 May 7 May
II Peret 1 I Peret 28 6 June 6 June
III Peret 1 II Peret 28 6 July 6 July
IV Peret 1 III Peret 27 4 August 4 August
I Shemu 1 IV Peret 27 3 September 2 September
II Shemu 1 I Shemu 26 2 October 2 October
III Shemu 1 II Shemu 25 1 November 1 November
21L. DEPUYDT - The Hieroglyphic Representation of the Moon's Absence (Psdntyw)
in: Ancient Egyptian and Mediterranean Studies (1998) Ed. L.H. Lesko pp. 71-89.
 DATING BASED ON THE EGYPTIAN LUNAR CALENDAR 9

IV Shemu 1 III Shemu 25 30 November 30 November

I Akhet 1 IV Shemu 25 30 December 29 December
11 -559 II Akhet 1 I Akhet 19 28 January 28 January
III Akhet 1 II Akhet 19 27 February 26 February
IV Akhet 1 III Akhet 18 28 March 28 March
I Peret 1 IV Akhet 18 27 April 27 April
II Peret 1 I Peret 17 26 May 26 May
III Peret 1 II Peret 17 25 June 25 June
IV Peret 1 III Peret 16 24 July 24 July
I Shemu 1 IV Peret 16 23 August 23 August
II Shemu 1 I Shemu 15 21 September 21 September
III Shemu 1 II Shemu 15 21 October 21 October
IV Shemu 1 III Shemu 14 19 November 19 November
I Akhet 1 IV Shemu 14 19 December 19 December
12 -558 II Akhet 1 I Akhet 8 17 January 17 January
III Akhet 1 II Akhet 8 16 February 16 February
IV Akhet 1 III Akhet 7 17 March 17 March
I Peret 1 IV Akhet 7 16 April 16 April
II Peret 1 I Peret 6 15 May 15 May
III Peret 1 II Peret 6 14 June 14 June
IV Peret 1 III Peret 5 13 July 13 July
I Shemu 1 IV Peret 5 12 August 12 August
II Shemu 1 I Shemu 4 10 September 10 September
II Shemu 13 I Shemu 16 22 September
III Shemu 1 II Shemu 4 10 October 10 October
IV Shemu 1 III Shemu 3 8 November 9 November
I Akhet 1 IV Shemu 3 8 December 8 December

According to this table: II Shemu 13 (Egyptian lunar calendar) = I Shemu 16

(Egyptian civil calendar) = 22 September (Julian calendar). If the full moon was seen on
September 9, instead of 10, we have: II Shemu 13 (Egyptian lunar calendar) = I Shemu 15
(Egyptian civil calendar) = 21 September (Julian calendar).
ELEPHANTINE CALENDARS
The calendar at Elephantine with its system of double dates (Egyptian and
Babylonian) was used by Persians officials and Jewish scribes only during a short period
from -500 to -400. For example, a Persian official erected a votive stele stating: This temple,
(W)id(arnaga) head of the garrison at Syene was done in the month of Siwan, that is to say Mehir, year 7 of
King Artaxerxes, (to) Osirna!ty, the god. Peace22.
After the conquest of Egypt by Cambyses it became a Persian satrapy but most of
the scribes were Egyptians or Jews. According to Herodotus (The Histories II:152-154),
Psammetichus I, dynasts of Sais, called on foreign mercenaries, including Ionians and
Carians, to consolidate his power in Egypt. The pharaoh then installed these mercenary
garrisons in Daphne west of Delta, and Elephantine, on the border in the south (The
Histories II:30-31). The Letter of Aristeas to Philocrates III:13 states that among these
mercenaries there were Jews. According to the biblical text, the massive emigration of Jews
into Egypt began shortly after the pharaoh Necho II established King Jehoiakim (in -609) on
the throne in Jerusalem (2 Kings 23:34, Jeremiah 26:21-23, 42:14). After the murder of
Gedaliah, many of these Jews emigrated to Egypt (Jeremiah 43:7, 44:1) especially in the
country of Patros (meaning "the Land of the South" in Egyptian) the southern province in
which Elephantine was the main town.
22A. LEMAIRE – Recherches d'épigraphie araméenne en Asie mineure et en Égypte
in: Achaemenid History V (1991) Ed. Nederlands Instituut Leiden pp.199-201.
10 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY
THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY

Persian officials at Elephantine were familiar with three kinds of lunar calendar
which appear, for example, in the Behistun inscription23 (written by Darius I around -515):
ACHAEMENID CALENDAR
ELAMITE OLD-PERSIAN BABYLONIAN JULIAN
1 Zikli Âdukanai"a Nisanu March/April
2 Zarpakim !ûravâhara Ayyaru April/May
3 Hadar !âigar"i Simanu May/June
4 Hallime Garmapada Dumuzu June/July
5 Zillatam !ûrnabax"i Abu July/August
6 Belilit Garmabax"i Ululu August/September
7 Man"arki Bâgayâdi Tashritu September/October
8 Lankelli Vrkazada Arahsamna October/November
9 #ibari Âçiyâdiya Kislimu November/December
10 Sermi Anâmaka Tebetu December/January
11 Kutmama Zamimâ Shabatu January/February
12 A""etkupi Viyaxna Addaru February/March

Jewish scribes at Elephantine were familiar with different calendars24, but they mainly
used an Aramaic calendar based on the Babylonian calendar after their return in Judaea (in
537 BCE) from Babylon. At this time there were the following equivalences25:
EGYPTIAN JEWISH CALENDAR
CIVIL RELIGIOUS HEBREW ARAMAIC JULIAN
1 I Akhet Thoth I Tebeth December/January
2 II Akhet Paopi II Shebat January/February
3 III Akhet Hathor III Adar February/March
4 IV Akhet Koyak IV Nisan March/April
5 I Peret Teobi V Iyyar April/May
6 II Peret Mehir VI Siwan May/June
7 III Peret Pamenotep VII Tammuz June/July
8 IV Peret Parmuti VIII Ab July/August
9 I Shemu Pahons IX Elul August/September
10 II Shemu Paoni X Tishri September/October
11 III Shemu Epipi XI Marheshwan October/November
12 IV Shemu Mesore XII Kislew November/December
Epagomen

As the Egyptian calendar had 12 months of 30 days, plus 5 days at the end (called
epagomenon in Greek), it was not lunar (a lunar year is 11 days shorter than a solar year).
Among all these calendars the Persians have focused on two: the Egyptian religious
calendar (not civil) and the Aramaic calendar (not Babylonian). This fact proves that this
choice was influenced by the Jews who needed to celebrate the Passover, but this religious
festival was based on a lunar calendar. The Jews of Elephantine being in an Egyptian
environment, the Egyptian lunar calendar had to be imposed on them. It is worth noting
that these Jews used only the word yerah "lunation" (implying the [full] moon)26, to designate
the month while at the same time, in Judaea, the Jews of Arad used only the word hodesh
23 P. LECOQ - Les inscriptions de la Perse achéménide
Paris 1997 Éd. Gallimard pp. 171-174.
24 P. GRELOT – Documents araméens d’Égypte

in: Littératures anciennes du proche orient n°5 (Cerf, 1972) pp. 33-63, 509-510.
25 A. KUHRT - The Persian Empire

London 2010 Ed. Routeledge pp. 885-886.

26 B. PORTEN A. YARDENI - Textbook of Aramaic Documents from Ancient Egypt, 3

1993 Ed. Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities pp. XXXVI.

 DATING BASED ON THE EGYPTIAN LUNAR CALENDAR 11

"new" (implying the new [moon])27. We read for example on the ostracon n°7 of Arad, dated
around -600: for the 10th [month], the 1st of the month to the 6th of the month28. In the Hebrew
Scriptures the word "full moon (Proverbs 7:20)" is kese or lebanah "the white one (Isaiah
30:26)". The words hodesh and yerah are often used in the sense of "month" but they are not
synonymous since some sentences are found in Canaanite inscriptions29 like: hodesh yerah
Etanim, which can be translated as "new moon of Etanim (1 Kings 8:2)". If the two words
hodesh and yerah were synonymous the translation would be "month of the month of
Etanim", which does not make sense30. This semantic distinction is important. Indeed, in a
lunar calendar starting at the new moon, the two words hodesh "new [moon]" and yerah
"lunation" to refer to one month may be suitable. But in a schedule starting at the full moon,
only the word "lunation" is appropriate.
Following the religious reform carried out by Nehemiah in Jerusalem about -440
(Nehemiah 13:6-9), the Jews of Elephantine would celebrate the Passover again using the
Aramaic calendar based on a Babylonian pattern31, because this festival was to be celebrated
14 days after the new [not full] moon. It was indeed a reform of the calendar, not a reform
of the worship, because the Jews were in contact with the priesthood in Jerusalem and they
celebrated the Passover since at least 450 BCE32. The reform of the calendar is dated from
the 5th year of Darius II (in 419 BCE). As often happens, reforms are not fully followed.
Yefet ben Eli, a Karaite living in Iraq (towards 950 CE) recalled that while the Karaites
determined the 1st lunar day according to the observation of the new moon and Rabbinites
determined it by calculations, those who had determined it in the past as the full moon did
not exist33. By contrast, Jacob Qirqisani, a contemporary of Yefet ben Eli, also known Jewish
supporters of the full moon: the "Margariya" and Yeshua ben Yehuda (circa 1050 CE)
mentions them as the "Albedaryah".
At Elephantine the main system of dating was the Egyptian civil calendar, but as
numerous religious festivals in Egypt were based on moon phases a lunar calendar was used
to fix these dates. The Jews, then the Persians, have naturally used this calendar to their own
festivals based on a lunar calendar (as the Passover for the Jews). The language of
administration being either Egyptian or Persian, it was necessary to convert the names of the
Egyptian lunar month in the common language understood by all as Aramaic. For example,
the Jews have converted into Aramaic the name of the months of their Hebrew calendar: It
came about that in the 4th year of Darius (...) on the 4th [day] of the 9th month, [that is] in Kislev
(Zechariah 7:1). The Egyptian name of lunar months being the same as civil months, it is
clear that if the Jews had only transcribed the lunar date and the current date (for example: in
year 12, 2nd month of Shemu, (day) 13, on the 15th day of the 1st month of Shemu), it would have been
incomprehensible (except for the Egyptians). They have logically chosen to convert the
names of Egyptian lunar months into an Aramaic calendar which they were familiar (for
example: in year 12, Tishri, (day) 13, on the 15th day of Pahons).

27 G.I. DAVIES - Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions, Corpus and Concordance

Cambridge 1991 Ed. Cambridge University Press pp. 14,15,348.
28 A. LEMAIRE -Inscriptions hébraïques Tome I, Les Ostraca

In: Littératures anciennes du proche orient n°9 Paris 1977 Ed. Cerf pp. 168,231.
29 H. DONNER, W. RÖLLING - Kanaanäische und Aramäische Inschriften

Wiesbaden 2002 Ed. Harrassowitzp. 9 N°3.

30 J.A. W AGENAAR - Post-Exilic Calendar Innovations

in: Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 115 (2003) p. 7 note 9.

31 J. MÉLÈZE MODRZEJEWSKI - Les Juifs d'Égypte de Ramsès II à Hadrien

Paris 1991 Éd. Errance p. 37

32 A. VINCENT - La religion des judéo-araméens d'Éléphantine

Paris 1937 Éd. Librairie orientaliste P. Geuthner pp. 267-274.

33 S. POZNANSKI – Les écrits d'Anan

in: Revue des Études Juives 44 (1902) pp. 171,172.

12 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY
THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY

The scribes of Elephantine have used the Egyptian lunar calendar, in about twenty
documents (this lunar calendar was especially useful for fixing religious festivals), converting
the names of these months into Aramaic in order hat they would be understood by both
Jews as the Persians. These double dates enable us to reconstruct the chronology of the
Achaemenid kings on the period from -500 to -400 (# = gap in days):
Papyrus Calendar year King #
Lunar Egyptian Civil Egyptian Julian
500 Darius I 22
499 23
498 24
497 25
496 /Xerxes 00-26
495 01-27
494 02-28
493 03-29
492 04-30
491 05-31
490 06-32
489 07-33
488 08-34
487 09-35
486 10-36
485 Xerxes 11
484 12
483 13
482 14
B23 18 Elul 28 Pakhons 14 September 481 15 1
480 16
479 17
478 18
477 19
476 20
475 Artaxerxes I 0-21
B24 18 Kislev [17] Thoth 5 January 474 1 0
473 2
472 3
471 4
470 5
B25 B26 21 Kislev [21] Mesore 3 December 469 6 0
468 7
467 8
B34 7 Kislev 4 Thoth* 16 December 466 9 0
*[= epagomenal] 465 10
464 11
463 12
462 13
B35 20 Sivan 25 Phamenoth 8 July 461 14 1
460 15
N°43 18 Tammuz 3 Pharmuthi 16 July 459 16 1
B36 18 Ab [30] Pharmuthi 12 August 1
B28 24 Tishri 6 Epiphi 17 October 0
458 17
457 18
B29 2 Kislev 10 Mesore 19 November 456 19 1
455 20
454 21
453 22
452 23
 DATING BASED ON THE EGYPTIAN LUNAR CALENDAR 13

451 24
B30 14 Ab 19 Pakhons 29 August 450 25 1
449 26
448 27
B37 7 Elul 9 Payni 17 September 447 28 1
446 29
445 30
B38 25 Tishri 25 Epiphi 1st November 444 31 0
443 32
442 33
441 34
440 35
439 36
438 37
B39 20 Sivan 7 Phamenoth 14 June 437 38 0
436 39
435 40
434 Darius B 41
433 (42)-1
432 (43)-2
431 (44)-3
B40 8 Tammuz 8 Pharmuti 14 July 430 (45)-4 1
B31 1-30 Elul 1-30 Payni 1-30 September 0
429 (46)-5
428 (47)-6
427 (48)-7
B42 6 Tishri [8] 22 Payni [8] 25 September 426 (49)-8 1
425 50
424 Darius II (51)-0
423 1
422 2
421 3
420 4
Calendar reform 419 5
418 6
417 7
B32 3 Kislev [8] 12 Thoth [9] 16 December 416 8 0
415 9
414 10
413 11
412 12
B33 24 Shebat [13] 9 Hathyr [14] 10 February 411 13 0
410 14
409 15
408 16
407 17
406 18
405 Artaxerxes II 0-19
B43 24 Heshvan 29 Mesore 25 November 404 (Amartaeus) 1 1
403 2
B44 20 Adar 8 Khoiak 9 March 402 3 0
401 Amartaeus 4
400 5
14 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY
THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY

EGYPTIAN LUNAR CALENDAR RECORD

Very early (at least since the Fifth Dynasty) the Egyptians used two calendars: 1) a
civil calendar (with a year of 365 days consisting of 12 months of 30 days and completed by
5 days "in addition") in order to date their documents and 2) a religious schedule to
determine the days of their numerous festivals linked to the moon34. The Egyptians
distinguished "seasonal festivals", celebrated in their civil calendar, from "sky festivals"
related to the lunar cycle. A major point has to be noted: the Egyptians were concerned only
by the increasing part of the lunar cycle, never by its decreasing part. So they celebrated their
lunar festivals during the 15 last days (half a month) of the full lunar month. Obviously, the
feast of psdntyw "shining ones" was the starting point, day 1 of the full month corresponding
to day 15 of the half-month, which was sometimes dated in the civil calendar, and also the
wag feast (day 18 of the full month, called "day of the moon", corresponding to day 2 of the
half-month, called "month day").
An Egyptian document describes numerous lunar festivals35 that occurred during the
19 years of Sesostris III's reign, followed by the 45 years of Amenemhat III36. This shows
that the lunar days37 psdntyw which were dated in the civil calendar (dates highlighted in dark
green) fit together in a cycle of 25 years. Few wag feasts that have been dated (highlighted in
blue sky) fall on lunar day 17 (instead of theoretical day 18). These dates are shifted by one
day in relation to those of Parker who translated the word "up to" in an inclusive way38, not
exclusive. This document can be dated precisely thanks to the Sothic rising of IV Peret 16
Year 7 of Sesostris III since, according to astronomy39, it took place on July 11 around -1850
(in Thebes). This heliacal rising of Sirius is dated between -1849 and -1846 owing to the
equality: IV Peret 16 = July 11. The table below checks that the first lunar cycle of 25 years
(beginning on I Akhet 1) coincided with the full moon of November 30, 1857 BCE. In
addition, the Sothic rising of IV Peret 16 Year 7 of Sesostris III, dated July 11, 1848 BCE,
coincided with the first lunar crescent, which may have been a remarkable event (IV Peret 1
coincided with the full moon of June 26, 1848 BCE).
Colour Event
Lunar day 1 (psdntyw) dated in the civil calendar
* Lunar day 1 shifted one day compared to the theoretical cycle
Wag Feast dated in the civil calendar
Heliacal rising of Sirius dated in the civil calendar

34 A. SPALINGER - The Private Feast Lists of Ancient Egypt

Wiesbaden 1996 Ed. Harrassowitz pp. 9-72.
A. SPALINGER - The Lunar System in Festival Calendars from the New Kingdom Onwards
in: Société d'Égyptologie N°19 (1995) Genève pp. 25-40.
35 R.A. PARKER - The Calendars of Ancient Egypt

in: Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization N°26 (1950) Ed. University of Chicago pp. 63-67.
36 C. OBSOMER - Sésostris Ier. Étude chronologique et historique du règne

Bruxelles 1995 Éd. Connaissance ancienne de l'Égypte p. 149.

37 U. LUFT – Die chronologische Fixierung des ägyptischen Mittleren Reiches

Wien 1992 Ed. Akademie der Wissenschaften pp. 150,151.

R. KRAUSS - Arguments in Favor of a Low Chronology for the Middle and New Kingdom
in: The Synchronisation of Civilisations in the Eastern (M. Bietak 2003) pp. 175-197
38 L.E. ROSE – The Astronomical Evidence for Dating the End of the Middle Kingdom

in: Journal of Near Eastern Studies 53 (1994) pp. 247-248.

39 Thebes: Longitude 32° 39' East, Latitude 25° 42' North; Arcus visionis 8.5°.

http://www.imcce.fr/fr/grandpublic/phenomenes/sothis/index.php
 DATING BASED ON THE EGYPTIAN LUNAR CALENDAR 15

Year AKHET PERET SHEMU

I II III IV I II III IV I II III IV 5
1857 Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct.
1856 1 1 30 29 29 28 28 27 27 26 26 25 25
1855 2 19 19 18 18 18 17 17 16 16 15 15 14
Sesostris III 1854 1 3 9 8 8 7 7 6 6 6 5 5 4 4 3
1853 2 4 28 27 27 26 26 25 25 24 24 23 23 23
1852 3 5 17 17 16 16 15 15 14 14 13 13 12 12
1851 4 6 6 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1
1850 5 7 25 25 24 24 23 23 23 22 22 21 21 20
1849 6 8 15 14 14 13 13 12 12 11 11 10 10 10
1848 7 9 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 16 30 29 29 28
1847 8 10 23 23 22 22 21 21 20 20 19 19 18 18
1846 9 11 12 12 11 11 10 10 10 9 9 8 8 7
1845 10 12 2 1 1 30 30 29 28 28 27 27 27 26
1844 11 13 21 20 20 19 19 18 18 17 17 16 16 15
1843 12 14 10 9 9 9 8 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4
1842 13 15 29 28 28 27 27 27 26 26 25 25 24 24
1841 14 16 18 18 17 17 16 16 15 15 14 14 14 13
1840 15 17 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2
1839 16 18 26 26 26 25 25 24 24 23 23 22 22 21
1838 17 19 16 15 15 14 14 14 13 13 12 12 11 11
1837 18 20 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 17 1 30
1836 19 21 24 24 23 23 22 22 21 21 20 20 19 19
Amenemhat III 1835 1 22 13 13 13 12 12 11 11 10 10 9 9 8
1834 2 23 3 2 2 1 1 1 30 29 29 28 28 27
1833 3 24 22 21 21 20 20 19 19 18 18 18 17 17
1832 4 25 11 11 10 10 9 9 8 8 7 7 6 6
1831 5 1 1 30 29 29 28 28 27 27 26 26 25 25
1830 6 2 19 19 18 18 18 17 17 16 16 15 15 14
1829 7 3 9 8 8 7 7 6 6 6 5 5 4 4 3
1828 8 4 28 27 27 26 26 25 25 24 24 23 23 23
1827 9 5 17 17 16 16 15 15 14 14 13 13 29 12 12
1826 10 6 6 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1
1825 11 7 25 25 *25 24 23 23 23 22 22 21 21 20
1824 12 8 15 14 14 13 13 12 12 11 11 10 10 10
1823 13 9 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 30 29 29 28
1822 14 10 23 23 22 22 21 21 20 20 19 19 18 18
1821 15 11 12 12 11 11 10 10 10 9 9 8 8 7
1820 16 12 2 1 1 30 30 29 28 28 27 27 27 26
1819 17 13 21 20 20 19 19 18 18 17 17 16 16 15
1818 18 14 10 9 9 9 8 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4
1817 19 15 29 28 28 27 27 27 26 26 25 25 24 24
1816 20 16 18 18 17 17 16 16 15 15 14 14 14 13
1815 21 17 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2
1814 22 18 26 26 26 25 25 24 24 23 23 22 22 21
1813 23 19 16 15 15 14 14 14 13 13 12 12 11 11
1812 24 20 *6 5 4 4 3 3 *3 2 1 1 1 30
1811 25 21 24 24 23 23 22 22 21 21 20 20 19 19
1810 26 22 13 13 13 12 12 11 11 10 10 9 9 8
1809 27 23 3 2 2 1 1 1 30 29 29 28 28 27
1808 28 24 22 21 21 20 20 19 19 18 18 18 17 17
1807 29 25 11 11 10 10 9 9 8 8 *8 7 6 6
1806 30 1 1 30 29 29 28 28 27 27 26 26 25 25
1805 31 2 19 *20 *19 *19 18 *18 17 *17 16 15 15 14
1804 32 3 9 *9 8 7 7 6 6 6 5 5 4 4 3
1803 33 4 28 27 27 26 26 25 25 24 24 23 23 23
1802 34 5 17 17 16 16 15 15 14 14 13 13 12 12
1801 35 6 6 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1
1800 36 7 25 25 24 24 23 23 23 22 22 21 21 20
16 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY
THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY

Lunar dates have not been translated into the civil calendar, except sometimes the
lunar day 1 (psdntyw), because these dates had no practical value. There were some exceptions
with the lunar days coinciding with a unique astronomical event such as a helical rising of
Sirius. We find such an example with the dating: III Shemu 9 "Opening of the Year" in the Ebers
papyrus (below)40 dated year 9 of Amenhotep I.

Year 9, in the majesty of the King of Upper and Lower Egypt Djoser-ka-Ra [Amenhotep I], living forever.

Opening of the Year: III Shemu 9 Rise of Sirius

[festival of] Thoth IV " 9 "
[festival of] Consent I Akhet 9 "
[festival of] Hathor II " 9 "
[festival of] Soul of Horus bull III " 9 "
[festival of] Honored spelt IV " 9 "
[festival of] Flare I Peret 9 "
[festival of] Flare II " 9 "
[festival of] Cheering III " 9 "
[festival of] Khonsu IV " 9 "
[festival of] South I Époque 9 "
[festival of] Opet's majesty II " 9 "

It is indeed a lunar date because the Sothic rising is dated July 11 (around -1500) and
the date in the civil calendar should have been III Shemu 14 (July 11). The number "9" in
Egyptian (psd) also means "shine", which also explains the connection between the lunar day
1 psdntyw "those shining ones", the Ennead of gods (psdt) and the Nine Bows (psdt).
Note that this date has not been converted into the civil calendar: III Shemu 9 (lunar)
/ III Shemu 14 (civil) as with the year 12 of Amasis, but was connected with the main religious
festival called "Opening of the Year" celebrated on this month. The same procedure is also
applied to other lunar months. Over time all the lunar months will be designated by the
40A.S. VON BOMHARD - Le calendrier égyptien. Une œuvre d'éternité
London 1999 Ed. Periplus pp. 32-33.
 DATING BASED ON THE EGYPTIAN LUNAR CALENDAR 17

name of the main festival celebrated during this month41 (with an apparent stabilization from
-1100). By a process of assimilation, civil calendar months (high-lined) have received in turn
the names of their related lunar months42.

Lunar month Ebers festival Civil month Later festival Greek transcription
1 III Shemu Wp-rnpt Horus 5 days Epagomenon
2 IV Shemu T! I Akhet D"wty Thoth 1
3 I Akhet Mn!t II Akhet P3n-ipt Phaophi 2
4 II Akhet #t-"r III Akhet #wt-"r Hathyr 3
5 III Akhet K3"rk3 IV Akhet K3"rk3 Khoiak 4
6 IV Akhet #fb-dt I Peret T3‘3bt Tybi 5
7 I Peret Rk" [wr] II Peret [P3n]-M!r Mecheir 6
8 II Peret Rk" [nds] III Peret P3n-imn"tp Phamenoth 7
9 III Peret Rnnwt IV Peret P3n-Rnntt Pharmouthi 8
10 IV Peret $nsw I Shemu P3n-$nsw Pakhons 9
11 I Shemu $nty-hty II Shemu P3n-Int Payni 10
12 II Shemu ’Ipt-"mt III Shemu Ip-ip Epiphi 11
IV Shemu Mswtr‘ Mesore 12

We note that the twelve lunar months (29 or 30 days) are in advance of one month
compared with the twelve civil months (30 days). This advance arises because the lunar year
(354 days) is shorter than the calendar year (365 days). According to astronomy there were
actually several remarkable coincidences during year 9 ("shine") of Amenhotep I:

Year Astronomical event Lunar date Festival of: Civil date Julian date
(in 1496 BCE)
9 Full moon III Shemu 1 (Shining ones) III Shemu 6 July 3
Summer solstice III Shemu 4 III Shemu 9 July 6
Sothic rising III Shemu 9 Opening of the Year III Shemu 14 July 11
IV Shemu 9 Thoth IV Shemu 14 August 10
10 25 years lunar cycle start I Akhet 1 (New Year) I Akhet 1 September 1
I Akhet 9 Consent I Akhet 9 September 9

41 L. DEPUYDT - Civil Calendar and Lunar Calendar in Ancient Egypt

Leuven 1997 Ed. Uitgevers Peeters p. 116.
42 L. DEPUYDT - The Two Problems of the Month Names

in: Revue d'égyptologie 50 (1999) pp. 107-133.

18 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY
THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY

The reign of Thutmose III can be dated precisely by using astronomy through two
lunar days43 psdntyw, respectively dated I Shemu of 21 year 23 (657.2 Urk. IV) and Peret II
Year 30 24 (IV Urk. 836.1 -3), but also by two other exceptional astronomical events:
! A helical rising of Sirius, on a stele from Elephantine, dated III Shemu 28 about the year
25 of his reign, fixes his accession around -1470 because this Sothic rising is dated July
12 at Thebes near -1500, according to astronomy44, and it coincided with III Shemu 28
only from 1445 to 1442. The accession of Thutmose must consequently be around 1470
(= 1445 + 25) +/- 4 years45. The regnal year of Thutmose is not specified, but it was
after II Peret 10 Year 22 because, according to the Stele of Armant46, he began to reign
alone, without Hatshepsut, only after this date. In addition, his campaign in Palestine,
dated years 23 to 25, is mentioned in the stele of Buto: He is a
valiant king, who in the melee, made great slaughter among Asian allies.
He is the one who made the leaders of Retenu country, in their entirety, be
required to provide their tribute. Consequently, Sothic dates
appearing on the steles of Buto and Elephantine47 are Year 25
(or shortly thereafter).
Sothic rising III Shemu 28

! An astronomical event in year 9 of Thutmose III, dated 1463 by astronomy, fixes his
accession in 1472 (= 1463 + 9). Senenmut was a very important person since he received
the prestigious title of "Grand Intendant of Amun" around the 5th or 7th year of
Thutmose III and also had the rare privilege for an individual to arrange a royal tomb
and hugs to it his own grave. The ostraca of his tomb48 can fix the year in which the
ceiling was realized, for they state that masonry and stone cutting began on IV Peret 2 in
Year 7 of Tuthmosis III and spread out until year 9. As ostracon n°80 clarifies that the
chapel door was opened on III Akhet 27 year 11, work planning as the design (drawn
from observations) of astronomical ceiling had been executed in year 9. The famous
expedition to Punt, depicted on a retaining wall of the temple49, is also dated to year 9.
Monuments of Senenmut are difficult to date50 because they belong to a large complex
(Deir el-Bahari) including several monuments which were probably built in parallel. In
addition, the posthumous disgrace Senenmut, and that of Queen Hatshepsut
(misfortunes which still remain unexplained) resulted in many hammering and re-
registrations of names, which give rise to conflicting dates51. The start date of the tomb is
Year 7 and as the tomb is only a small part of this vast complex, 2 years of construction
seem to be sufficient to complete the ceiling in year 9. The astronomical ceiling of the
tomb of Senenmut gives the position of several constellations and planets known at the
time, some of which are easily identified as the Big Dipper, Orion, Venus, Mars,
Mercury, Saturn and Jupiter.
43 K. SETHE – Urkunden der 18. Dynastie
Leipzig 1907 Ed. J.C. Hinrichs'sche Buchhandlung pp. IV 657, 836.
R.A. PARKER - The Lunar Dates of Thutmose III and Ramesses II
in: Journal of Eastern Studies XVI (1957) pp. 39-43.
44 The Egyptian year of 365 days shifts from one day every four years compared to the solar year of 365.25 days, and one day gap on the

Sothic rising causes an error of 4 years on the evaluation of date.

45 Thebes: Long. 32° 39' E, Lat. 25° 42' N; Arcus visionis 8.5° http://www.imcce.fr/fr/grandpublic/phenomenes/sothis/index.php
46 C. VANDERSLEYEN - L'Egypte et la vallée du Nil Tome 2

Paris 1995 Éd. Presses Universitaires de France pp. 293-294.

47 A.S. VON B OMHARD - Le calendrier Égyptien. Une œuvre d'éternité

London 1999 Ed. Periplus pp. 41-44.

48 W.C. H AYES – Ostraka and Name Stones from the Tomb of Sen-mut (TT71) at Thebes

New York 1942 Ed. Arno Press pp. 7,21-23.

49 C. GRAINDORGE – Deir El Bahari le temple de millions d'années

in: Les dossiers d'archéologie n°187 S (11/1993) pp. 72-75.

50 P.F. DORMAN – The Monuments of Senenmut. Problems in Historical Methodology

New York Ed. Kegan Paul International pp. 66-109.

51 C. DESROCHES NOBLECOURT – La reine mystérieuse Hatshepsout

Paris 2002 Éd. Pygmalion p. 58.

 DATING BASED ON THE EGYPTIAN LUNAR CALENDAR 19

Astronomical ceiling of the tomb of Senenmut

On the bottom we recognize 12 circles, appointed by their hieroglyphics,

representing the 12 Egyptian months. In the centre of the panel, separating all the circles in
two unequal groups, a long narrow triangle symbolizes the meridian on the tip of which is a
small circle. It is connected to the schematic drawing of a bull named Big Dipper (Ursa
major) by a hieroglyph inscribed on his body. The Egyptians believed that the seven main
stars of this constellation were a bull, or rather its thigh and that the star (!) at the tip of the
meridian was the Big Dipper. If we extend the spear of the hieracocephalus god featured
under the Big Dipper and the meridian, the two lines meet at the north pole (declination
90°), the meridian itself on the equator (declination 0°). The star in the small circle (! Ursae
Majoris) is precisely located at 68.2° (by measuring its distance from the equator and knowing
20 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY
THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY

that the total distance from the equator to the pole is 90°). When a star is located on the
meridian, it is in its highest position (if it is a circumpolar star is also its lowest position), we
say that it culminates. The culmination played a major role among the Egyptians, and that of
the star ! Ursae Majoris happened on the night of March 18 to 19 at midnight with a
declination of 68.2° to that time (which confirms that it was culmination of the star). In
addition, if we extend the spear back it ends in month 8 (Peret IV) which began in mid-
March at this time (around 1470) which confirms the identification.

The vertical line represents the meridian, the ground line represents the equator (0°)
and the ceiling line represents the pole (90°). By extending the downside of the meridian on
the top, this line cuts the toes of the left foot of Orion (midway between the left and right
edges), that is to say Rigel (! Orionis). Indeed, the Egyptians identified Orion to the god
Osiris: its main star Rigel ("foot"in Arabic) gave its name to the whole constellation, s3"
meaning "Orion" as well as "Toes". The arrangement of 12 months in 3 groups of 4 is used
to date events. These 12 months of the Egyptian year (which has 360 days plus 5 days
epagomenal) are divided by the meridian in three equal parts of 120 days. If the boundary
between the second and the third part is the night of March 18 to 19 (culmination of the star
" Ursae Majoris), that between the first and the third is 120 days later, the night of July 16 to
17. This date corresponds to the helical rising of Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, linked
with the New Year in Egypt. So, the first season of the Egyptian year began in mid-July
when the Nile began to flood the Lower Egypt. The boundary between the first and second
part was located 120 days later, the night of November 14 to 15. During this night another
important astronomical event unfolded: the culmination of Rigel (! Orionis) at midnight (the
full year was divided into 36 decans each covering a period of 10 days):
month 8 month 9 month 10 month 11
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
19 Mar. 29 Mar. 8 Apr. 18 Apr. 28 Apr. 8 May 18 May 28 May 7 Jun. 17 Jun. 27 Jun. 7 Jul.
month 12 month 1 (I Akhet) month 2 month 3
13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
17 Jul. 27 Jul. 6 Aug. 16 Aug. 26 Aug. 5 Sep. 15 Sep. 25 Sep. 5 Oct. 15 Oct. 25 Oct. 4 Nov.
month 4 month 5 month 6 month 7
25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
14 Nov. 24 Nov. 4 Dec. 14 Dec. 24 Dec. 3 Jan. 13 Jan. 23 Jan. 2 Feb. 12 Feb. 22 Feb. 4Mar.
 DATING BASED ON THE EGYPTIAN LUNAR CALENDAR 21

From the foregoing, it is possible to date the ceiling astronomically because a heliacal
rising of Sirius on July 17 is only possible at a latitude of 30° N, around Heliopolis, and
similarly, the simultaneous passage on the meridian of Rigel (! Orionis) and the star of the Big
Dipper (" Ursae Majoris) also gives a latitude of 30° N52. Because of the precession of the
equinoxes, the value of the declination of the Big Dipper very slightly varied from about
0.06' a year, making it possible to date the ceiling in 1460 (thanks to its precise value on the
drawing)53 to +/- 10 years, because human eyes can not separate an apparent angle of less
than 1' (= 17x0,06', these 17 are rounded to be 20 years or +/- 10 years). In the upper part
of the southern sky, we recognize the god Orion standing in a boat. On its left is a woman,
also standing up. This is identified with the Isis goddess identified as Sothis. Follow two
hieracocephalus54 gods with a star on the head. The hieroglyphics above them are intended
to identify Jupiter and Saturn. On the extreme left is Venus, the Egyptians portrayed it as a
heron (bnw). Mercury is also present as a small Sethian figure, above right of Venus. Mars,
the last of the five planets known in antiquity, is missing55. Its absence (empty boat) in a
celestial map so neat is all the more remarkable, because in all the cards later and, without
exception, more schematic, Mars followed in a boat Jupiter and Saturn as a third
hieracocephalus god. The only conclusion is that Mars represented in the tomb of Senenmut
was not visible at night. Among all the "eras of the Phoenix (when heliacal risings of Sirius
and Venus coincide)" represented in the tombs of Egyptian kings56, such as those of Sethy I
(in -1299*), Tausert (in -1196*), Psusennes I (in -1056*), Nectanebo II (in -343*, below)57,
etc., Mars always appears in its boat.
Sarcophagus of Nectanebo II

! ! 1 2 3 4 5 ! ! ! ! !
Phoenix Mercure (last decan) 5 epagonemal days Mars Saturn Jupiter Sothis Orion

Another detail makes it possible to calculate the year of the astronomical ceiling.
Note from the figures of Orion and Jupiter small points that determine the exact position of
the two stars. The line matches near Jupiter on the map at all points with the same longitude
which have the same rise between 73° and 95°. But among 50 years between 1505 and 1455
(= 1480 +/- 25), there is only one58 in which Jupiter was, during the night of November 14
to 15, a right ascension between 73° and 95° N and when Mars was not visible: this is the
year 1463 BCE.
The previous result is very surprising because it seems that astronomer priests were
particularly unwise to choose this year when Mars was absent (unique in Egyptian
representations), or it is not. Indeed, the observation of the shape and the position of the
constellations of Orion Sirius and Venus explains the reason for their choice.
52 É. TISSOT – Etude de l'astronomie égyptienne et ses implications dans la symbolique astrale de la constellation d'Orion dans la religion
égyptienne (Lyon 1990) Mémoire de maîtrise : Histoire de l'art - Maison de l'Orient Université Lyon 2 (Mé - 12/1) pp. 112-114.
53 http://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/Yourhorizon
54 Hieracocephalus means "falcon's head shape".
55 C. LEITZ – Remarks about the Appearance of Mars in the Tomb of Senenmut in Western Thebes

in: Centaurus Vol. 44 (2002) pp. 140-142.

56 O. NEUGEBAUER, R.A. PARKER – Egyptian Astronomical Texts

London 1969 Ed. Brown University Press pp. 6-11, plates 3, 9, 16, 25, 28.
57 A.S. VON B OMHARD - Le calendrier Égyptien. Une œuvre d'éternité

London 1999 Ed. Periplus pp. 72-74.

58 C. LEITZ – Le premier plafond astronomique dans la tombe de Senmout

in: Les dossiers d'archéologie n°187 S (Novembre 1993) pp. 116-117.

22 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY
THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY

Constellation of Orion
If Rigel corresponds to
Orion's toes and to the three stars
aligned in its belt, Sirius is therefore
at the ankles of Sothis, which is at the
same level as the head of the heron
representing Venus. This heron,
called Phoenix by the Greeks,
inaugurates the beginning of the
ceiling in the upper left, month 1
inaugurating the beginning of the
ceiling on the bottom right. If the
culmination of the Big Dipper can be
dated November 14, 1463 BCE, this
year began on the helical rising of
Sirius July 16, 1464 BCE precisely in
month 1. Yet during that day
occurred an exceptional
phenomenon that only happens every
103 years: the helical rising of Sirius,
the brightest star in the sky,
coincided with the heliacal setting of Venus, the brightest planet. The coincidence of those
two astronomical events inaugurated a new era called "great year" or "rebirth of the
Phoenix" by the Greeks.
The earliest Egyptian texts mention Venus [Isis] as "the morning star" and "Phoenix"
(The Book of the Dead §13), and Sirius [Sothis] "the one which comes out in its time" (§110).
We read, for example: the day when we look at the companions of Orion (...) in order that the Phoenix
knows the result of the Duat [the hereafter] (§64), I crossed the phoenix to the East (...) I was the second of
Isis (§100), I went out in phoenix (...) morning Star, spawning me the way (§122). Venus, the morning
star, is often associated with the grey heron (bnw) returning to populate the waters of the
Nile in flood season and rose majestically at sunrise. When the risings of Sirius and Venus
coincided, the goddesses Isis and Sothis were associated. The Canopus Decree, dated year 9
of Ptolemy III Euergetes, on the occasion of a Sothic rising dated Payni 1 (July 19, 238
BCE), states: So that the seasons follow one absolute rule and it does not happen that some of the feasts are
celebrated in the winter never fall in summer because of movement of the rising of Sothis [Sirius] one day every
4 years (...) the day when Isis star [Venus] rises, the day recognized by the writings of the House of Life as
the New Year [Sirius]. Diodorus quotes a stele inscription: I am Isis [Venus], the queen of the whole
country (...) It is I [Sirius] who is the one who rises in the constellation of the Dog (Historical Library
I:27, X:2). Venus was associated with Sirius because of the coincidence of those particular
heliacal risings, the grey heron (bnw) characterizing Venus is also shown perched on a tripod
to accompany the ideogram b‘" of the "flood" whose star Sirius was usually the herald. Even
if they saw in the phoenix a half-real half-legendary creature, ancient authors noted, however,
that this particular bird characterized a specific era beginning at the time of an astronomical
conjunction.
The heliacal rising of Sirius marked the beginning of the religious year and it
occurred at a relatively fixed date in the solar year, by contrast, the helical rising of Venus
occurred on a date which changed each year because Venus has an orbital period of 224.7
days. The two heliacal risings coincide (almost 1 day) when the number of draconitic years
(passages to the same ascending nodes) gives the same duration, 8 years for the earth and 13
years for Venus (8x365.25133 = 2922.01 days = 13x224.69889 = 2921.08 days) or 243 years
 DATING BASED ON THE EGYPTIAN LUNAR CALENDAR 23

for the earth and 395 years for Venus (243x365.25133 = 88756.074 days = 395x224.69889 =
88756.063 days). To know the coincidence dates of the alignment of the earth, sun and a
third body means determining the date on which these three bodies are aligned in a cone
having an angle of 0.5° (apparent diameter of the sun). When this third body is the moon,
we talk about eclipses, otherwise these are transits.
The transit of Venus59 has a period of 243 years for the ascending node and a sub-
period of 105.5 years for the descending node. As there is a pseudo period of 8 years, this
gives a complete cycle of 243 years decomposed as: 8—105,5—8—121,5 (= 243). The
calculation of the date of the coincidence of the heliacal risings of Venus and Sirius looks
like calculating the "transit of Venus in Sirius", which gives a period of 243 years when the
two heliacal risings coincide and a sub-period of 103 years when the helical rising of Sirius
coincides with a heliacal setting of Venus60. This problem is more complicated than a
conventional transit because the arcus visionis of Venus and Sirius are different, 8.5° to 9° for
Sirius and 4.5° to 5.5° for Venus, which means that even when Sirius and Venus are in
conjunction, Venus is seen about 5 days before Sirius (1° shift per day is covered in 4
minutes, because the earth rotates 360° in 24 hours and 365 days in 1 year).

Transit of Venus

The coincidences between the heliacal rising and setting of Sirius and Venus have
been calculated by van Oosterhout61. The dates (below) with an asterisk are astronomical
dates (for example -1455* = 1456 BCE) and dates in bold have been reported in some
Egyptian documents by a heron with a star on its head:
Heliopolis
(243 years) -1558* -1315* -1072* -829* -586* -343* -100* 143
+103 years -1455* -1202* -969* -726* -483* -240* 3 246

Thebes
(243 years) -1542* -1299* -1056 -813 -570 -327 -84 159
+103 years -1439* -1196* -953* -710* -467* -224* 19 262

The dates of this table can be shifted by plus or minus 8 years because of the pseudo
8-year period. An astronomical simulation62 is used to select the best coincidence, for
example, the one in -1455* (1456 BCE) is better in -1463* (= -1455* - 8).

59 http://www.imcce.fr/fr/ephemerides/phenomenes/passages/html/saros.php
60 http://www.imcce.fr/hosted_sites/vt2004/en/index.html
61 G.W. VAN OOSTERHOUT – Sirius, Venus and the Egyptian Calendar

in: Discussions in Egyptology 27 (1993) pp. 83-96.

62 Héliopolis: longitude 31°20', latitude 30°05'; Thebes: longitude 32°39', latitude 25°42'

http://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/Yourhorizon
24 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY
THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY

Astronomy allows us to reconstitute the extraordinary event that occurred at the

beginning of year 9 of Thoumosis III (number "9" also means "lunar day 1" and "Ennead")
when there was opening a new era of Phoenix. In 1464 BCE the helical rising of Sirius was
held on July 16 at 2:06 UT63 in Heliopolis. It is possible to see the map of the sky as it
appeared during this night (astronomically dated -1463*-07-16, azimuth 90°, field of view
90°). The image is obtained for a time of 2:15 UT, 9 minutes after the rising of Sirius 64
(Venus, bottom left, and Sirius, bottom right, appear about 2 degrees above the horizon).

Venus Sirius

The star on the head of the Phoenix (left side) represents the setting of Venus
heliacal coinciding with the heliacal rising of Sirius, located in the ankles (right side) of Sothis
(associated to Isis representing Venus), Rigel is located in the toes of Orion.
63 It should be added 2:10 to the Universal Time UT in order to get the local time LT at Thebes, the sun rising at 2:51 UT or at 5:00 LT
and the solstice being occurred on July 6.
64 http://www.imcce.fr/fr/grandpublic/phenomenes/sothis/index.php
 DATING BASED ON THE EGYPTIAN LUNAR CALENDAR 25

The reign of Thutmose III is fairly well known since its duration is known (53 years
and 11 months), the date of his death (III Peret 30 year 54), the date of his accession (I
Shemu 4) and the date of his reign without Hatshepsut (II Peret 10 year 22). The reign of
Thutmose III beginning in 1472 on I Shemu 4, his year 23 started on April 21, 1450. The
date I Shemu 21 Year 23 of Thutmose III is dated May 8, 1450 and II Peret 30 Year 24
February 15, 1448. Both dates coincide with full moons (such coincidences occur only every
25 years). The reign of Thutmose III dated according to the lunar cycle of 25 years (years of
reign at this time are counted from the date of accession not from I Akhet 1):

AKHET PERET SHEMU

Year I II III IV I II III IV I II III IV 5
Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug.
Thoutmosis III 1472 1 24 22 21 21 20 20 19 19 18 18 18 17 17
1471 2 25 11 11 10 10 9 9 8 8 7 7 6 6
1470 3 1 1 30 29 29 28 28 27 27 26 26 25 25
1469 4 2 19 19 18 18 18 17 17 16 16 15 15 14
1468 5 3 9 8 8 7 7 6 6 6 5 5 4 4 3
1467 6 4 28 27 27 26 26 25 25 24 24 23 23 23
1466 7 5 17 17 16 16 15 15 14 14 13 13 12 12
1465 8 6 6 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1
1464 9 7 25 25 24 24 23 23 23 22 22 21 21 20
1463 10 8 15 14 14 13 13 12 12 11 11 10 10 10
1462 11 9 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 30 29 29 28
1461 12 10 23 23 22 22 21 21 20 20 19 19 18 18
1460 13 11 12 12 11 11 10 10 10 9 9 8 8 7
1459 14 12 2 1 1 30 30 29 28 28 27 27 27 26
1458 15 13 21 20 20 19 19 18 18 17 17 16 16 15
1457 16 14 10 9 9 9 8 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4
1456 17 15 29 28 28 27 27 27 26 26 25 25 24 24
1455 18 16 18 18 17 17 16 16 15 15 14 14 14 13
1454 19 17 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2
1453 20 18 26 26 26 25 25 24 24 23 23 22 22 21
1452 21 19 16 15 15 14 14 14 13 13 12 12 11 11
1451 22 20 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 30
1450 23 21 24 24 23 23 22 22 21 21 20 20 19 19
1449 24 22 13 13 13 12 12 11 11 10 10 9 9 8
1448 25 23 3 2 2 1 1 1/30 30 29 29 28 28 27
1447 26 24 22 21 21 20 20 19 19 18 18 18 17 17
1446 27 25 11 11 10 10 9 9 8 8 7 7 6 6

Egyptian date Julian date Lunar phase

Beginning of the 25-year lunar cycle I Akhet 1 August 26, -1471 Full moon
Heliacal rising of Sirius and Venus III Shemu [27] year 9 July 16, -1464 Last quarter
Culmination of Rigel III Akhet [23] year 9 November 14, -1464 Last quarter
Lunar date of day 1 (psdntyw) I Shemu 21 year 23 May 8, -1450 Full moon
Lunar date of day 1 (psdntyw) II Peret 30 year 24 February 16, -1448 Full moon
Heliacal setting of Sirius I Shemu 29 year [25] May 15, -1448 Full moon
Heliacal rising of Sirius III Shemu 28 year [25] July 13, -1448 Full moon

The first lunar cycle of 25 years began in 1471 BCE on 1st Thoth (I Akhet 1) or
August 26, -1471 in the Julian calendar65 and coincided with the 1st lunar day (psdntyw) which
was a full moon66. Note well that all astronomical events dated by the Egyptians have
coincided with specific lunar phases (usually the full moon). Coincidences with the full moon
explain why only certain Sothic dates were mentioned on inscriptions. The Buto stele
65 http://chronosynchro.net/base.php?dir=conv&page=conv
66 http://www.imcce.fr/fr/grandpublic/phenomenes/phases_lune/index.php
26 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY
THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY

contains, for example, a Sothic setting dated just before I Shemu 30. It is indeed a Sothic
setting, not a rising, for the following reason: between III Shemu 28 and I Shemu 29 (year 25
of Thoutmosis III) there are 61 days and the difference between these Sothic dates would
correspond to a shift of 244 years (= 4x61), which is impossible67. Moreover, the hieroglyph
representing the "rise" actually means "go out" (two legs that walk surmounted by a
horizontal bar) and not "arrive", confirming the representation (very rare) a Sothic setting
occurring about 61 day before its rising.

IV Peret 1 feast of ak-pt (...)

I Shemu 4, feast of the coronation of King Mn-Hpr-Ra [Thutmose III] (...)

Going out of Sirius, according to its days of crossing (...)

I Shemu last day [30], feast of Mrt (...)

Sothic setting I Shemu 29

Between the Sothic setting (above) dated I Shemu 29 (day before I Shemu 30) and
the Sothic rising dated III Shemu 28 there is a period of 61 days of invisibility, not 70 days.
This discrepancy could be explained by the fact that this period decreases about 1.5 day for
each degree of latitude towards the south, which gives 67 days at Buto (latitude 31.1°) and 59
days at Thebes (latitude 25.7°). This period of invisibility is different from the Egyptian texts
that indicate 70 days. This discrepancy with astronomy shows the religious role of astronomy
in Egypt. Indeed, at that time68, the period of invisibility of Sirius is about 65 days at the
latitude of Buto, 63 days at the latitude of Memphis, etc. Even assuming good observing
conditions (arcus visionis of 8° for Sothic rising and of 6.5° for setting) a period of 67 days (by
simulation) yields at the latitude of Buto, not 70 days as the Egyptian texts indicate. This
period of 70 days actually covered 7 symbolic decans69, the whole year being covered by 36
decans or 360 days (= 12x30).

The Egyptian lunar calendar was not used for the dating of documents contrary to its
Babylonian counterpart, but it served only to fix the beginning of religious festivals related to
the moon. Its working was very simple: the 1st lunar day (psdntyw) was fixed by an
observation (of full moon) which allowed one to determine the all cycle of festivals during
this lunar month. The names of the lunar months were the same as the calendar months
with usually one month advance. When the full moon (lunar day 1) fell in the same civil
month, or on an epagomenal day, the name of the lunar month remained the same. It
happened as if the Egyptian calendar had nine intercalary months (highlighted). In the
Egyptian papyrus Carlsberg 9 (column III lines 9-21), dated 144 CE, there is a list of 9
“great” years of 13 months and of the 16 “small” years of 12 months70.

67 A.S. VON BOMHARD - Le calendrier Égyptien. Une œuvre d'éternité

London 1999 Ed. Periplus pp. 42, 44 note 15.
68 M.F. INGHAM – The Lenght of the Sothic Cycle

in: The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 55 (1969) pp. 36-40.

J. CONMAN – It's About Time: Ancient Egyptian Cosmology
in: Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur Band 31 (2003) pp. 42-47.
69 A.S. V ON BOMHARD – Le livre du ciel. De l'observation astronomique à la mythologie

in: Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 150 (2007) Ed. Uitgeverij Peeters pp. 202-205.
70 L. DEPUYDT - The Demotic Mathematical Astronomical Papyrus Carlsberg 9 Reinterpreted

in: Egyptian Religion the Last Thousand Years (Peeters, 1998) pp. 1277-1297
 DATING BASED ON THE EGYPTIAN LUNAR CALENDAR 27

Babylonian Egyptian AKHET PERET SHEMU

cycle cycle I II III IV I II III IV I II III IV (5)
14A 1 1/30 30 29 29 28 28 27 27 26 26 25 25
15 2 19 19 18 18 18 17 17 16 16 15 15 14
16 3 9 8 8 7 7 6 6 6 5 5 4 4 3
17U 4 28 27 27 26 26 25 25 24 24 23 23 23
18 5 17 17 16 16 15 15 14 14 13 13 12 12
19A 6 6 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1
1 7 25 25 24 24 23 23 23 22 22 21 21 20
2 8 15 14 14 13 13 12 12 11 11 10 10 10
3A 9 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1/30 30 29 29 28
4 10 23 23 22 22 21 21 20 20 19 19 18 18
5 11 12 12 11 11 10 10 10 9 9 8 8 7
6A 12 2 1 1/30 30 30 29 28 28 27 27 27 26
7 13 21 20 20 19 19 18 18 17 17 16 16 15
8A 14 10 9 9 9 8 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4
9 15 29 28 28 27 27 27 26 26 25 25 24 24
10 16 18 18 17 17 16 16 15 15 14 14 14 13
11A 17 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2
12 18 26 26 26 25 25 24 24 23 23 22 22 21
13 19 16 15 15 14 14 14 13 13 12 12 11 11
14A 20 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 1/30 30
15 21 24 24 23 23 22 22 21 21 20 20 19 19
16 22 13 13 13 12 12 11 11 10 10 9 9 8
17U 23 3 2 2 1 1/30 30 30 29 29 28 28 27
18 24 22 21 21 20 20 19 19 18 18 18 17 17
19A 25 11 11 10 10 9 9 8 8 7 7 6 6

This Egyptian lunar cycle of 25 years remained stable over at least 525 years since it
appears only a slight difference of 0.0483 day at the end of the cycle71 (which implies 1 day
more after 21 cycles). Coincidentally the ratio of intercalary years compared to normal years
was the same in both systems: 0.36 (9/25) for the Egyptian cycle and 0.37 for the Babylonian
cycle (7/19). Intercalary years had no role in the Egyptian lunar calendar since it was only a
rough correspondence with the months of the calendar which was almost solar72. From the
Ptolemaic era, Egyptian astronomers used a lunar cycle starting on the new moon instead of
the full moon, but the coincidences have remained almost the same as can be seen in the
papyrus Rylands Inv. 66673 (dated October 180 BCE).
From the Fifth Dynasty the relationship between years of reign and census seems to
work74. The first years of the reign of Djedkare Isesi reconstructed thanks to several
livestock census75, shows however that intercalary years were, at that time (Fifth Dynasty),
associated with "years after". This reconstruction (below) also shows that these censuses
were not biannual, but with a ratio of 1.6 (= 30/19). In addition, the ratio of years "after"
compared to normal years, for the first 8 years of the reign (those ones attested have been
highlighted), is 0.37 (= 11/30 which is the value for a cycle with intercalary months.

71 25 civil years = 25x365 = 9125 days and 25 lunar years = (25x12 + 9)x29.530588 = 9124.9517 days.
72 365 days instead of 365.24219 days.
73 E.G. TURNER, O. NEUGEBAUER - Gymnasium Debts and New Moons

in: Bulletin of the John Rylands Library Vol. 32 (1949) pp. 80-96.
74 G. GREENBERG – Manetho. A Study in Egyptian Chronology.

Pennsylvania 2004 Ed. MPM8 pp. 147,171,184.

75 J.S. NOLAN – Lunar intercalations and "cattle counts" during the Old Kingdom: the Hebsed in context

in: Chronology and Archaeology in Ancient Egypt. Ed. Czech Institute of Egyptology, Prague 2008, pp. 44-60.
28 SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO AN ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY
THROUGH SYNCHRONISMS DATED BY ASTRONOMY

Festival DJEDKARÂ number of lunar 13 12 Name of the year

Year months in the year
1 12 1 Beginning
2 12 2 Year of the 1st occasion
3 13 1 Year after the 1st occasion
4 12 3 Year of the 2nd occasion
5 12 4 Year of the 3rd occasion
6 13 2 Year after the 3rd occasion
7 12 5 Year of the 4th occasion
8 13 3 Year after the 4th occasion
9 12 6 Year of the 5th occasion
10 12 7 Year of the 6th occasion
11 [13?] 4 Year after the 6th occasion
12 12 8 Year of the 7th occasion
13 13 5 Year after the 7th occasion
14 12 9 Year of the 8th occasion
15 12 10 Year of the 9th occasion
16 [13?] 6 Year after the 9th occasion
17 12 11 Year of the 10th occasion
18 13 7 Year after the 10th occasion
19 12 12 Year of the 11th occasion
20 12 13 Year of the 12th occasion
21 [13?] 8 Year after the 12th occasion
22 12 14 Year of the 13th occasion
23 12 15 Year of the 14th occasion
24 13 9 Year after the 14th occasion
25 12 16 Year of the 15th occasion
26 [13?] 10 Year after the 15th occasion
27 12 17 Year of the 16th occasion
28 12 18 Year of the 17th occasion
29 13 11 Year after the 17th occasion
heb-seb 30 12 19 Year of the 18th occasion

The theoretical ratio between the number of years of reign and the number of years
of occasion, or census, is 1.6 (= 25/16). For example, the date of Pepy's first heb-sed (jubilee
after 30 years of reign) is associated with the year of his 18th census76 (1.6 = 30/19).
According to astronomy77 Snofru's reign is dated 2526-2480 and lasted 46 years (+/- 7 years)
which is in agreement with the minimum length of 38 years (= 24x1.6) computed from the
number of census (24). It is noteworthy that the ancient port of Cheops (Wadi el-Jarf)
delivered many papyrus describing several shipments of stones for his pyramid whose the
highest date, corresponding to the end of his reign, is: after the 13th census78 (= year 23), which
confirms the ratio 1.6 (= 23/14) between the years of reign and the number of censuses. If
this ratio was 2, Kheops reign would have lasted 28 years instead of 23 years.

76 M. VERNER – Archaeological Remarks on the 4th and 5th Dynasty Chronology

in: Archiv Orientalni 69:3 (2001) Ed. Brill pp. 363-418.
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