Floods and famine. Disease and pestilence. A swarm of locusts and rampaging lions. When it came to predictions of disaster, few could surpass the astrologers of ancient Babylon.
Just how bad things might have been 4,000 years ago in what is now Iraq, is revealed in four tablets held by the British Museum, the contents of which have only now been fully translated.
The tablets were acquired between 1882 and 1914 when European archaeologists first excavated Babylon. They are believed to have been unearthed from the ruins of Sippar, a Babylonian city on the east bank of the Euphrates river.
Many of these tablets have survived but have proved notoriously difficult to decipher.
The translation of the tablets into English has now been completed by two scholars: Professor Andrew George of the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, and Junko Taniguchi, an independent researcher into the period. Their work is published this month in the Journal of Cuneiform Studies.
The tablets were created by court astrologers interpreting the meaning of lunar eclipses and are written in cuneiform, one of the earliest forms of writing that uses marks impressed by reed styli on to tablets of wet clay.
Astrology played a vital role for the kings of Babylon, a city about 80km south of present-day Baghdad. The impact of a lunar eclipse could depend on various factors, including the timings and whether it was full or partial.
The Babylonians believed “events in the sky were coded signs placed there by the gods as warnings about the future prospects of those on earth”, Prof George and Ms Taniguchi say.
“Celestial portents related to the highest level of political life: the affairs of kings, their persons, relatives, lands, and peoples. Like other portents observed in the night sky, omens arising from lunar eclipses were thus of great importance for good state craft and well-counselled government.”
The predictions were also “part of an elaborate method of protecting the king and regulating his behaviour in conformity with the wishes of the gods. Kings could also avoid the worst outcomes – at least for themselves – with rituals that provided an alternative and more acceptable ending. This was good news, given that the astrologers’ predictions were almost uniformly terrible”.
Of fire, floods and famine
“There will be famine, people will trade their infant children for silver, there will be a reduction in population,” the royal astronomers predict of one eclipse.
“Rain will be cut out from the sky and floodwater from the rivers. there will be a dearth of food,” reads another.
Adad, an ancient Mesopotamia god of storms, was believed to be responsible for much of the misery. “Adad will devastate my countryside. A large people will go to a small people in order to save themselves,” is said to be the likely meaning of one eclipse, believed to be the work of the moon god. “Adad will wipe out the bounty of the ocean,” reads another prediction.
Nergal, the Mesopotamian god of death, destruction, and war, also featured prominently in these warnings. “Nergal will devour, there will be fatalities in the land,” is one warning. “In spring a locust swarm will arise and strike the crops” reads another, while rampaging lions will “block the exits” of a city.
In better news for the king, some of the predictions apply to other rulers and people. “A great king will die, his throne will be lost, his land will become depopulated, his watercourse will dry up downfall of a field-corps in battle,” is a typical example.
The Elamites, who lived in a country which is now part of southern Iran, received especially dire warnings. “A king of Elam will die. A dog will go mad and nobody that it bites, whether male or female, will survive,” the astrologers say.
It was no better for Amurru, a kingdom in what is now part of Lebanon and Syria. “A king of Amurru will die and his land will everywhere perish,” reads part of one tablet.
The predictions are all linked to a single text, which the researchers say “organises the omens of lunar eclipse by time of night, movement of shadow, duration and date”.
The astrologers were not so much predicting as issuing warnings of future evils, Prof George and Ms Taniguchi say. These could be avoided by performing rituals. The tablets also only identify days when an eclipse might occur, and those when it will not.
As for the accuracy of the predictions, Prof George believes they were based on those past eclipses that had coincidentally been followed by natural disasters or catastrophes.
Tourists visit ancient city of Babylon in Iraq – in pictures
2.0
Director: S Shankar
Producer: Lyca Productions; presented by Dharma Films
Cast: Rajnikanth, Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, Sudhanshu Pandey
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
THURSDAY'S FIXTURES
4pm Maratha Arabians v Northern Warriors
6.15pm Deccan Gladiators v Pune Devils
8.30pm Delhi Bulls v Bangla Tigers
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENadeera%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERabih%20El%20Chaar%20and%20Reem%20Khattar%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECleanTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETotal%20funding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20About%20%241%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHope%20Ventures%2C%20Rasameel%20Investments%20and%20support%20from%20accelerator%20programmes%20%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2012%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
ENGLAND SQUAD
Joe Root (captain), Dom Sibley, Rory Burns, Dan Lawrence, Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Ben Foakes (wicketkeeper), Moeen Ali, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad
Asia Cup Qualifier
Final
UAE v Hong Kong
TV:
Live on OSN Cricket HD. Coverage starts at 5.30am
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates, Etihad and Swiss fly direct from the UAE to Zurich from Dh2,855 return, including taxes.
The chalet
Chalet N is currently open in winter only, between now and April 21. During the ski season, starting on December 11, a week’s rental costs from €210,000 (Dh898,431) per week for the whole property, which has 22 beds in total, across six suites, three double rooms and a children’s suite. The price includes all scheduled meals, a week’s ski pass, Wi-Fi, parking, transfers between Munich, Innsbruck or Zurich airports and one 50-minute massage per person. Private ski lessons cost from €360 (Dh1,541) per day. Halal food is available on request.
Barcelona 3
Messi (27’, 32’, 87’)
Leganes 1
El Zhar (68’)
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
The%20specs
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The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: ten-speed
Power: 420bhp
Torque: 624Nm
Price: Dh325,125
On sale: Now
Rafael Nadal's record at the MWTC
2009 Finalist
2010 Champion
Jan 2011 Champion
Dec 2011 Semi-finalist
Dec 2012 Did not play
Dec 2013 Semi-finalist
2015 Semi-finalist
Jan 2016 Champion
Dec 2016 Champion
2017 Did not play
'THE WORST THING YOU CAN EAT'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
SERIES SCHEDULE
First Test, Galle International Stadium
July 26-30
Second Test, Sinhalese Sports Club Ground
August 3-7
Third Test, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
August 12-16
First ODI, Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium
August 20
Second ODI, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
August 24
Third ODI, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium
August 27
Fourth ODI, R Premadasa Stadium
August 31
Fifth ODI, R Premadasa Stadium
September 3
T20, R Premadasa Stadium
September 6
Mane points for safe home colouring
- Natural and grey hair takes colour differently than chemically treated hair
- Taking hair from a dark to a light colour should involve a slow transition through warmer stages of colour
- When choosing a colour (especially a lighter tone), allow for a natural lift of warmth
- Most modern hair colours are technique-based, in that they require a confident hand and taught skills
- If you decide to be brave and go for it, seek professional advice and use a semi-permanent colour
Dubai World Cup nominations
UAE: Thunder Snow/Saeed bin Suroor (trainer), North America/Satish Seemar, Drafted/Doug Watson, New Trails/Ahmad bin Harmash, Capezzano, Gronkowski, Axelrod, all trained by Salem bin Ghadayer
USA: Seeking The Soul/Dallas Stewart, Imperial Hunt/Luis Carvajal Jr, Audible/Todd Pletcher, Roy H/Peter Miller, Yoshida/William Mott, Promises Fulfilled/Dale Romans, Gunnevera/Antonio Sano, XY Jet/Jorge Navarro, Pavel/Doug O’Neill, Switzerland/Steve Asmussen.
Japan: Matera Sky/Hideyuki Mori, KT Brace/Haruki Sugiyama. Bahrain: Nine Below Zero/Fawzi Nass. Ireland: Tato Key/David Marnane. Hong Kong: Fight Hero/Me Tsui. South Korea: Dolkong/Simon Foster.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
