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Secondary sourceDocumentNeo-Assyrian period copy, originally compiled c. mid-17th century BC

Venus Tablet of Ammisaduqa

Neo-Assyrian period copy, originally compiled c. mid-17th century BC

An ancient record of Venus's positions in the sky, compiled under a later king of Hammurabi's dynasty and used to date his reign.

This astronomical record from Hammurabi's dynasty is the main evidence scholars use to calculate the dates of his reign.

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Photograph of a broken clay tablet covered in cuneiform script arranged in horizontal lines, with small circular holes punched along some lines. It is displayed behind glass with plastic mounting clips.
Venus Tablet of Ammisaduqa, Neo-Assyrian period copy. British Museum, London.

About this source

What it is

This cuneiform tablet records the rising and setting times of the planet Venus over a 21-year period. Scholars believe the observations were first compiled during the reign of King Ammi-Saduqa, the fourth ruler after Hammurabi, though the surviving copies date from the first millennium BC. It is held by the British Museum.

Why it matters

Because the tablet records specific astronomical events, modern scholars have used it to work out possible dates for Ammi-Saduqa's reign, and from there, to calculate when Hammurabi himself ruled. This makes it a key piece of evidence in the long scholarly debate over Mesopotamian chronology.

Look closer

  • Why would an astronomical record be useful for dating a king who reigned centuries earlier?
  • What problems might arise from using a copy made centuries after the original observations?
  • What does this tablet suggest about how important astronomy was to Babylonian rulers and scribes?

This document is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Hammurabi and Ashurbanipal on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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