Assyrian calendar
The Assyrian calendar (Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܣܘܼܪܓܵܕ݂ܵܐ ܐܵܬ݂ܘܼܪܵܝܵܐ sūrgāḏā ʾĀṯūrāyā) is a solar calendar used by modern Assyrian people. The year begins with the first sight of Spring.
4750 BC was set as its first year in the 1950s,[1] based on a series of articles published in the Assyrian nationalist magazine Gilgamesh; the first came in 1952 and written by Nimrod Simono and dealt with the Akitu festival, then an article by Jean Alkhas in 1955 (April, issue 34) fixed the year 4750 BC as the starting point.[2] Alkhas referenced his information to a French archaeologist, whom he did not name, as stating that a cuneiform tablet dating to 4750 BC mentioned the year of the calming of the great flood and beginning of life.[3]
The Assyrian new year is still celebrated every year with festivals and gatherings. As of February 2021 AD, it is the 6770th year of the Assyrian calendar, and this calendar is used among many Assyrian communities. It begins 4,750 years before the Gregorian calendar; to calculate the current year (after April 1) in the Assyrian calendar, add 4750 to the current Georgian calendar year (4750 + 2021 = Assyrian year 6771).
The Assyrian month names are also used in the Arabic Gregorian solar calendar in the Levant and Mesopotamia (Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine).
Months
Season | Syriac | Transliteration | Levantine Arabic | Description | Blessed by | Days | Gregorian calendar |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Spring | ܢܝܣܢ | Nīsān | نَيْسَان Naysān |
Month of Happiness | Enlil | 31 | April |
ܐܝܪ | ʾĪyār | أَيَّار ʾAyyār |
Month of Love | Haya | 31 | May | |
ܚܙܝܪܢ | Ḥzīrān | حَزِيرَان Ḥazīrān |
Month of Building | Sin | 31 | June | |
Summer | ܬܡܘܙ | Tammūz | تَمُّوز Tammūz |
Month of Harvesting | Tammuz | 31 | July |
ܐܒ\ܛܒܚ | ʾĀb/Ṭabbāḥ | آب ʾĀb |
Month of Ripening of Fruits | Shamash | 31 | August | |
ܐܝܠܘܠ | ʾĪlūl | أَيْلُول ʾAylūl |
Month of Sprinkling of Seeds | Ishtar | 31 | September | |
Autumn | ܬܫܪܝܢ ܐ | Tešrīn Qḏīm | تِشْرِين ٱلْأَوَّل Tišrīn al-ʾAwwal |
Month of Giving | Anu | 30 | October |
ܬܫܪܝܢ ܒ | Tešrīn [ʾ]Ḥrāy | تِشْرِين ٱلثَّانِي Tišrīn aṯ-Ṯānī |
Month of Awakening of Buried Seeds | Marduk | 30 | November | |
ܟܢܘܢ ܐ | Kānōn Qḏīm | كَانُون ٱلْأَوَّل Kānūn al-ʾAwwal |
Month of Conceiving | Nergal | 30 | December | |
Winter | ܟܢܘܢ ܒ | Kānōn [ʾ]Ḥrāy | كَانُون ٱلثَّانِي Kānūn aṯ-Ṯānī |
Month of Resting | Nasho | 30 | January |
ܫܒܛ | Šḇāṭ | شُبَاط Šubāṭ |
Month of Flooding | Raman | 30 | February | |
ܐܕܪ | ʾĀḏar | آذَار ʾĀḏār |
Month of Evil Spirits | Rokhaty | 29 | March | |
See also
References
- Wozniak, Marta (2012). "Far from Aram-Nahrin: The Suryoye Diaspora Experience". In Eamer, Allyson (ed.). Border Terrains: World Diasporas in the 21st Century. Inter-Disciplinary Press, Oxford. p. 78. ISBN 978-1-84888-117-4.
- Paulissian, Robert (1999). "Tasheeta d'zoyakha d'rish sheta Khatta d'Atoraye w'Bawlaye (Part II) [Assyrian and Babylonian New Year Celebrations (Part II)]". Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies. 13 (2): 35. ISSN 1055-6982.
- Daniel, Sennacherib (2001). "Modern Festival, Ancient Tradition" (PDF). Nakosha. 39: 3. OCLC 49885037.
- "The True Assyrian Calendar - Assyrian Knowledge". Archived from the original on 2010-07-28. Retrieved 2012-11-25.