Natural Knowledge in Ancient Mesopotamia 19utilized by Ptolemy in the Almagest (for example, those of Mercury in
Almagest 9.7).
The regular and systematic observation of the heavens, exemplifi ed
by the astronomical diaries archive, and the focus upon lunar eclipses,
represented by the eclipse reports and their compilations reaching back
to the Nabonassar era (beginning 747 BCE and extending to the fi rst cen-
tury BCE), are testimony to the results, in purely astronomical terms, of
the interest in astronomical prediction generated by celestial divination.
Divination, however, is nowhere mentioned in the diaries. Following the
Neo- Assyrian period, the locus of astronomical activity gradually shifted
from the palace to the temple. Within the cuneiform scholarly repertoire,
new elements emerged after ca. 500 BCE. The increase in importance of
the individual with respect to the stars, the gods, and the cosmos is one
such signifi cant change. With the appearance of celestial omens for in-
dividuals, based on phenomena occurring on the date of birth, came a
disappearance of evidence for the kind of celestial divination practiced
under the Sargonid kings. Evidence is lacking for the Persian or Seleucid
kings consulting Enu ̄ma Anu Enlil through advisors, and, so far, no na-
tivities or horoscopes predate the fi fth century BCE. Despite the lack of
evidence for the practice of celestial divination in this period, Enu ̄ma Anu
Enlil itself continued to be preserved, as exemplars dated to the Seleucid
period clearly indicate.
It is possible, however, to view Babylonian horoscopy as an outgrowth
of two traditional forms of Mesopotamian scholarly divination, one being
celestial divination as represented by the omen series Enu ̄ma Anu Enlil,
which always retained its concern with public matters (king and state),
the other a tradition of birth omens, fi rst attested in a series entitled Iqqur
ı ̄puš: “He tears down, he rebuilds.”^13 Iqqur ı ̄puš contains omens for phe-
nomena occurring or activities undertaken on different dates, including
the dates of births, and, in the last third of the series, occurrences in na-
ture. In Iqqur ı ̄puš, for example, we have the omen “If a child is born in
the month of Ajaru (Month II), he will die suddenly,” or “If a child is born
in the month of Abu (Month V), that child will be despondent.”^14 Later,
during the Achaemenid period, omens from the occurrence of a variety
of celestial phenomena on the dates of births emerged. From this type of
“nativity omen” to the horoscope, which compiles the positions of all the
planets on the date of birth, seems a rather short step. Only a few horo-
scopes contain personal predictions, and those that do contain very much
the same repertoire of apodoses known from nativity omens. The subjects
are generally concerned with family and fortune, such as, “he will be
lacking in wealth,” “his days will be long,” and “he will have sons” or “he