The planets in Mesopotamian culture: their conceptualisation in the Akkadian literature of the 1st millennium BC, with focus on planetary omens (Enūma Anu Enlil tablets 55, 57 and 58)

• Applicant: Maria Teresa Renzi-Sepe
• Subject Area: Egyptology and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 517639233

This project aims to understand how Mesopotamian culture conceived and expressed through language what the planets are and how they worked (i.e. their conceptualisation). It will investigate the astral sciences from Akkadian texts dating to the 1st millennium BC. A major focus will be on planetary omens, including an edition of ca. 40 unpublished fragments from the omen series Enūma Anu Enlil tablets 55, 57, and 58. The project pursues two key objectives. The first objective aims to analyse the role of planets in omens and other texts (e.g. MUL.APIN, Astrolabe B, Great Star List) to identify the characteristics assigned to planets (e.g. names, epithets, positive or negative symbolism). This objective will also focus on how omens work, and answer the following question: why are planets associated with specific predictions? The second objective is an analysis of the role of the planets in astrological texts. It will dwell on how the conceptualisation of planets changed in the Late Babylonian period (ca. second half of the 1st millennium BC) when Mesopotamians began to use complex procedures to predict phenomena. The ERC project “ZODIAC – Ancient Astral Science in Transformation”, which studies how the zodiac spread from Mesopotamia to the Greco-Roman world, will house the proposed project. Therefore, the second objective will lead to further studies on how the conceptualisation of the planets left its heritage to other cultures. Ultimately, this project will outline how the Mesopotamians believed the planets predicted or influenced events, using an intertextual and interdisciplinary approach. Thus, it intends to make a worthwhile contribution to both Assyriology and the history of science.

• DFG Programme: WBP Position