Intercalations during the co-regency of Xerxes with Darius I has sparked a
The accession of Xerxes in year 26 of Darius I (496 BC) occurred in a normal year, made his first year of reign an intercalary year (in Babylon), but since Xerxes resided in Persepolis the Persian astronomical priests did not add an intercalary month at year’s end (XIIb), they visibly began a new cycle of intercalation from the 2nd year of Xerxes (2U), shifting Xerxes intercalation cycle, that began in Persepolis (Ossendrijver: 2018, 141), from that of Darius. The intercalation cycle began during the reign of Xerxes, continuing till the end of Artaxerxes I’ reign. #2 In our last 2 blog-studies we presented Eclipse evidence for the Death of Xerxes in 475BC from Gerard Gertoux. #3 We find in 475 BC the Moon was 20° behind Sagittarius, and in 465 BC it was in the sign Sagittarius. According to an astronomical tablet the 1st lunar eclipse [total] was: in Sagittarius‘ 4 rear stars in [475 BC]. Thus, according to the astronomy, Xerxes died (14/V/21) on Wed. 23, August 475 BC with his accession 21 years earlier in 496 BC, also Darius I’ Year 26. Despite Pierre Briant denying his co–regency due to his ideology, he admits Xerxes was Crown Prince long before Darius‘ death, because if Xerxes became Crown Prince just before the death of Darius, one would have to admit that this king waited a long time-till he was 72 years old in 486 BC#43/4, as Xerxes was 35 yrs old, when his parent’s union dated to Darius’ accession in 522 BC. Consequently, this chronology involves Xerxes’ choice before 490 BC. #44/5. In fact, Xerxes was both the crown prince and co–regent, in a 10-year co-regency, with his accession from 496BC till the death of Darius in 486BC.
After his accession in November, 486 BC, the first New Year’s Day to arrive was the Egyptian 1st of Thoth, in December (Fig. 2- I);#39/7. The Egyptian 1st year began, but those of his subjects who used the Babylonian-Persian calendar (band 2) would not begin to date by his year I until the next Nisanu I, the next Spring; and those who used the Jewish fall-to-fall; Tishri calendar (band 3) continued to date the accession year until their New Year’s Day came-next Tishri I, in the 7th month-almost a year after his accession and half a year after the Persian year I had begun. (That’s why, in some of these papyri, the Dateline in two calendars can have two regnal year numbers.) So, in his reign, any specific year of Xerxes from year I to year 21–began the earliest in the Egyptian calendar, then in the Persian calendar, and last in the Jew’s calendar. This demonstrated that the Jewish year 21, reckoned from Tishri I, must be 465BC.#7a.
[And since year 21 s* PDBC (1956), p. 17. SQ For this Egyptian postdating of Xerxes, see note 31.]
As we see in the Book of [Esther 1:9-19, 2:4] Ahasuerus‘ former wife was Vashti. Yet, the Great Feast described in v. 3, the 3rd year of his reign as we learn from Persian inscriptions was held in preparation for the Persian expedition against Greece, after the death of Darius, who relinquished the title-Ahasuerus to his co-regent son Xerxes, ruling 485-465 BC, leading a vast Persian army against Greece c. 482-1 BC.#7b He fought famed battles of Thermopalyae & Salamis in 480 BC, & married Esther in the 7th year of his reign [Est. 2:16-17], in 478 BC. #8 In a key Archaeological inscription from the Shushan Palace @ Susa-200 miles East of Babylon, capital of Elam & winter residence of Kings of Persia was a site identified by Loftus in 1852, where the record from Artaxerxes II [405-358 BC] says; “My ancestor Darius [521-485 BC] built this palace in former times. In the reign of my grandfather [Artaxerxes 1; 465-425 BC] it was burned. I have restored it.” This palace was the residence of Darius, who authorized the rebuilding of the Jerusalem Temple; of Xerxes who was Esther’s husband; and Artaxerxes 1, who authorized a restoration of Jerusalem by Nehemiah.” #8a
The location of this inscription was in the famed building in Susa called its “Apadana“, the audience hall of the Palace of Darius. Apadana – the word is only known from Susa – was built together with the palace by Darius I the Great (r522-486BC). This can be deduced from an inscription known as A2Sa, that was written for Artaxerxes II Mnemon (r404-358), who finished a restoration of the complex after a great fire during the reign of his grandfather, Artaxerxes I Makrocheir (r465-424/423): The inscription below reads in part:
“Artaxerxes, the great king, the king of kings, the king of all nations,
the king of this world, the son of king Darius [II Nothus], Darius the son
of king Artaxerxes [I Makrocheir], Artaxerxes the son of king Xerxes, Xerxes the son of king Darius, Darius the son of Hystaspes, the Achaemenid, says:
my ancestor Darius I the Great, made this apadana, but during the reign of my grandfather Artaxerxes, it was burnt down; but, by the grace of Ahuramazda, Anahita, and Mithra, I reconstructed this audience hall. May Ahuramazda, Anahita, and Mithra protect me against all evil, and may they never destroy
nor damage what I have built.”#8b
Apadana, site of the throne among the 36 column bases in the audience hall is a thirty-seventh foundation, in the exact center if one enters from the northern, main entrance. This must have been the place of the throne of the Achaemenid king. #8c The fact that there are no columns left to be erected, makes it hard to imagine what a splendid building the Apadana was in Antiquity. Thus, only the column‘ bases are left in Susa today, as seen below;
A key Achaemenid Royal Inscriptions is the “daiva inscription“. The Old Persian text is known from three stone slabs from Persepolis & the Pasargadae citadel, (Elamite and Babylonian copies exist.) The interesting detail for which this text has become famous turns on a meaning of the word daiva, that clearly means “demon” and looks similar to the word daeva in the Avesta (Zoroastrian holy book). If daiva & daeva agree, it makes it more likely the rebels lived in Iran, where the Zoroastrian religion held sway. But, if these words align, daiva can refer to gods of Babylon or Egypt. As Xerxes adhered to Ahura-mazda-primary God of Zoroastrianism, who was the only other monotheistic God than Jehovah of Israel, not considered an idol or part of an idol pantheon, it seems logical that the Persian kings especially after King Cyrus, who himself was a Messianic figure with a speacial commission to lead people positively to the One true God-even as the Persian–Zoroastrian Magi did to Christ. With this in mind we can see this sentiment in other parts of this daiva inscription;
This speaks highly of how and why The Hand of the Almighty God dealt so graciously not only with this line of Persian kings but also with the class of Parthian/Zoroastrian Magi, instructed by the Prophet Daniel as followers of the path leading to Christ’s Birth in 3BC.
Biblically King Cyrus is recognized as a Messianic figure, [Isa. 45:1] called His anointed to open the gates of Babylon as declared by the Prophet Isaiah [Isa. 44:28], who authorized the rebuilding of the Jerusalem Temple, while freeing the Jews from exile in their Babylonian Captivity, to return to their Promised Land of Israel.
Widely-held images of Ahasuerus & Vashti are found in the rabbinic midrash, and other sources where Vashti was considered of royal blood. The Midrash is a genre of Jewish Biblical exegesis,[2] including Talmudic texts that use a classical rabbinic mode of homiletical interpretation (derash). This word means; “textual interpretation“, “study”, or “exegesis“,[3] derived from a root verb (דָּרַשׁ)- darash, which means “resort to, seek, seek with care, enquire, require.”#8e
Midrash contains a method in Scripture interpretation to elucidate legal points [Midrash Halakah], or to bring out lessons by stories or homiletics [Midrash Aggadah].#8f Midrash is too named for the Rabbinic interpretations, of rabbinic readings to “discern value in texts, words, and letters, as potential revelatory vehicles.” “They review major Scripture narratives that suggest alternate readings to stand beside—not replace—existing grammatical text. #9
Midrash is also used in a rabbinic work that interprets Scripture in this manner,[7][8] containing early interpretations and commentaries on Written Torah and Oral Torah (spoken law and sermons), as well as non-legalistic rabbinic literature (aggadah) and at times Jewish religious laws (halakha), usually forming running commentary on specific passages in the Hebrew Scripture. The midrash conveys that Vashti was the orphaned daughter of Belshazzar; God was her help and kept her alive so she was wed to the emperor of Persia and Media, even though she was a Chaldean (=Babylonian) (Esth. Rabbah 3:5).#10
Belshazzar had been known only from the Book of Daniel (chapt. 5, 7–8) and from Xenophon’s Cyropaedia till 1854, when references to him were found in Babylonian cuneiform inscriptions. Though in the Book of Daniel he was the son of Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian inscriptions indicate that he was in fact the eldest son of Nabonidus, who was king of Babylon from 555 to 539, and of Nitocris, who was perhaps a daughter of Nebuchadnezzar. As the last king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, ruling from 556 BC to the fall of Babylon occured to the Achaemenian Empire under Cyrus the Great in 539 BC. The possibility exists that Nabonidus was married to one of Nebuchadnezzar II’s daughters. Not only would such a link explain Nabonidus’s rise to the throne (due to being part of the royal family), but it also explains later historical traditions when Belshazzar is described as Nebuchadnezzar’s descendant. In the Biblical Book of Daniel– Belshazzar is not only known as Nebuchadnezzar’s grand-son,[10] but Daniel himself seems to have dated events in the years of Belshazzar’s co-regency, [Dan. 7:1, 8:1]. As Nabonidus went into exile (550), he entrusted Belshazzar with the throne and the major part of his army, when Belshazzar oversaw the government, his own estates, and those of his father.#11
Jer. 27:6-7 “Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and I have given him also the wild animals of the field to serve him. 7 All the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson until the time of his own land comes; then many nations and great kings will make him their servant.”
Nebuchadnezzar’s Family Tree Chart #11a
The Kings of Babylon were also mentioned in the book of Daniel. Do these prophecies of Jeremiah harmonize with Daniel Chapter 5?
Jeremiah’s prophecy that many nations (including Judah) and great kings (including Jehoiachin) would serve Nebuchadnezzar and “his son and his grandson.” So Babylon was predicted to end with Nebuchadnezzar’s grand-son. Indeed it ended 60 years later with Belshazzar, son of the state noble Nabonidus who was a usurper to the throne, nonetheless not in the line of Nebuchadnezzar, who allied the Babylonians with the Medes via another royal wedding: as the Babylonian crown prince Nebuchadnezzar married Amytis, the daughter of Astyages. Via the Chart above we find Nabonidus married Nitrocis, Nebuchadnezzar’s daughter, making him Nebuchadnezzar’s son-in-law and Belshazzar, Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson.
If Darius I was indeed the husband of Esther, then what does history tell us about Darius’ wife/wives?
Via Herodotus, Otanes was blessed with royal marriages. Darius I married Otanes’ daughter; Phaedymia while Otanes married a sister of Darius, who gave birth to Amestris. As Queen of the Achaemenid empire, daughter of Otanes (Ctesias, fragment 13, par. 24 [in Jacoby, Fragmente] gives Onophas), one of seven conspirators against Gaumata. She was married to Xerxes I (Herodotus 7.61.2) and was mother of Artaxerxes I, Amytis, and others. She died at an old age, near the end of Artaxerxes’ reign.#12
Amestris was a daughter of Otanes, one of seven nobles reputed to have killed the magus impersonating King Bardiya in 522 BC. After this, Darius I the Great of Persia assumed the throne. The right side of the chart below shows an Achaemenid lineage, while the left side details Bardiya/Smerdis usurpers as pretenders to the lineage of Cyrus I/Cambyses I.
Thus, if Xerxes I who was co-regent with Darius I- starting 496 BC was not Esther’s husband, then who was his wife? History points us to a woman named Amastris;
Amestris (Greek: Άμηστρις, Amēstris, perhaps the same as Άμαστρις, Amāstris, from Old Persian Amāstrī–, “strong woman“)[2] was an Achaemenid queen, wife of king Xerxes I and mother of king Artaxerxes I.[3][4] She was an influential women of the Achaemenid era, very powerful and vindictive.#13 [5]
1. Achaemenid queen, daughter of Otanes (Ctesias, fragment 13, par. 24 [in Jacoby, Fragmente] gives Onophas), who was one of seven conspirators who killed the Persian usurper king Gaumâta (22 September 522 BC). After this, Darius I the Great who reigned from 522-486BC opened his rule. According to Greek historian Herodotus, (5th century), Otanes was honored in diplomatic marriage: the new king married Otanes‘ daughter Phaedymia, as Otanes married a sister of Darius, who gave birth to Amestris.
Midrash is also used of a rabbinic work that interprets Scripture in this manner,[7][8] containing early interpretations and commentaries on Written Torah and Oral Torah (spoken law and sermons). Midrash also asks questions of the text; at times it provides answers, that prods the reader to seek truth.” As a Jewish mode of interpretation; Midrash not only engages the words of the text, behind the text, and beyond the text, but also focuses on each letter, and their part in forming the words of each line. #17
Mordechai and the Jehoiachin Exile
A good reason for reading the story of the megillah as having occurred before the rebuilding of the Temple comes in Esther 2:5 introducing Mordechai:
אסתר ב:ה אִישׁ יְהוּדִי הָיָה בְּשׁוּשַׁן הַבִּירָה וּשְׁמוֹ מָרְדֳּכַי בֶּן יָאִיר בֶּן שִׁמְעִי בֶּן קִישׁ אִישׁ יְמִינִי. ב:ו אֲשֶׁר הָגְלָה מִירוּשָׁלַיִם עִם הַגֹּלָה אֲשֶׁר הָגְלְתָה עִם יְכָנְיָה מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה אֲשֶׁר הֶגְלָה נְבוּכַדְנֶאצַּר מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל.
Esth. 2:5 In the fortress Shushan lived a Jew by the name of Mordecai, son of Jair son of Shimei son of Kish, a Benjaminite. 2:6 Who was exiled from Jerusalem in the group that was carried into exile along with King Jeconiah of Judah, which had been driven into exile by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.
As a son of Kish, this name of the father of King Saul, another Benjaminite, the Talmud accords Mordecai the status of a descendant of the first King of Israel.
Grammatically speaking, the clause “who had been exiled” can refer to Kish or to Mordecai. If the rabbis hold to the latter, it means that Mordechai lived during the 1st exile, eleven years before the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple. According to Daniel 9:2, Jerusalem lay desolate for 70 years before the Temple was rebuilt, that would be 81 years after Mordechai had been exiled. As it is hard to imagine Mordechai- a 100-110+ year old man in the story, so the rabbis would have to agree that the story of the megillah took place before the Temple was rebuilt.#18 This agrees with the record of Ezra 4:1;
“Now when the [a]adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard the descendants of the captivity were building the temple of the Lord God of Israel… they opposed and discouraged them…
Ezra 4:4-6
3 But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of the fathers’ houses of Israel said to them, “You may do nothing with us to build a [b]house for our God; but we alone will build to the Lord God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.” 4 Then the people of the land tried to discourage the people of Judah. They troubled them in building, 5 and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.
Achashverosh [Ahasuerus] reigned between Daryavesh (=Darius I), during whose reign the Temple was rebuilt (Ezra 6:15), & Artachshasta (=Artaxerxes I).[7] This supports the idea that Achashverosh was identified with Xerxes.#19
Mordechai
In an introductory statement about the reign of Xerxes, after mentioning two of Xerxes’ influential advisors, Ctesias writes that “among the eunuchs,[29] Natacas (Nατακας) exercised the greatest influence.”[30] A few lines later, he refers to a eunuch of Xerxes named Matacas (Ματακας). These two names likely reflect the same person.[31]
The “as” at the end of either name is almost certainly a Greek addition. Thus, “Matacas” suggests a Persian name with the consonants MTC, which would be very close to the consonants of the name Mordechai, MRDC.[32] Even the name “Natacas” is not that different. “N” and “M” are related consonants, both being nasal stops; it is not unusual for one to transform into the other.
With either form of the name, the information provided by Ctesias, that he was a high-ranking official in Xerxes court, bears a strong resemblance to the last verse in the Megillah, which records by the end of the story, Mordechai was 2nd mishneh (=second) to the king. So, the Matacas of Ctesias and Mordechai of the Megillah may refer to the same historical person.#19a
According to the book of Esther there was a plot to kill Xerxes which was thwarted in the 11th year of his reign, we read: Bigthan and Teresh, two eunuchs & officials–ministers of the King’s Court — the porters — were outraged seeking to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. But this thing came to be known to Mordecai, and he soon revealed it to Queen Esther. Then Esther told the king in Mordecai’s name. The case was therefore sought and finally discovered, with both hanged on a pole (…) Shortly afterwards. In the 1st month, that is the month of Nisan, the 12th year of King Ahasuerus (Est 2:21–3:7). The serious accusation against the Jews is dated in the 12th year of the legal reign of Xerxes (Est 3:7–10), at the start of his effective reign (Ezr. 4:6).
1. If the first Babylonian revolt occurred in 484 BC, this year would have been the 2nd regnal year of Xerxes, however two tablets of Šamaš–erîba are clearly date in year 1 of Xerxes.
3. An astronomical fragment (JCS 1, 350 n°2) enables a dating of the Babylonian revolts. Although data are fragmentary they describe a revolt, clearly dated 05/IV/[?] during Xerxes’ reign (line 3 of the tablet) in perfect agreement with Bel–šimânni’s tablet (BM 87357). The astronomical fragment reads 30:
2) [...] ……. […]
matching Nisan (1st month of Babylonian year), and again33 on March 6th–467 (468 BC). Presumably after the death of Darius, Babylonian priests, given the dissatisfaction with Babylon and this omen early in the reign of Xerxes (year 11), had predicted wars (which happened soon after).
Xerxes began his reign on two occasions, first as co-regent till 486 BC, his accession is dated III/00 (June), and again as true king after Darius 1′ death. dated 10/IX/10 (8 December 486 BC). Darius I 522-496 Darius I/Xerxes 496-486 Pherendates 496-486 Darius I/Xerxes 496-486 Xerxes I co-regency 486-475, 486 Bel-shimanni 14+/V/00 04/VI/00 xx/VI/00 “usurper” 485–485 Shamash-eriba 04/V ! /00 11/VIII/00 xx/VIII/00 “usurper” 485–485 Xerxes I 20/ V/21 14/V/21 –475 486
Nisan (1st month of Babylonian year), & again #33 on 6 March –467 (468 BC). Presumably after Darius’ death, Babylonian priests, in their dissaffection with Babylon and this omen early in the reign of Xerxes (year 11), had predicted wars as (Greco-Persian wars happened soon after).
An astronomical tablet (BM 32234)34 contains 2 lunar eclipses and the death of Xerxes is dated 14/V. Given that the 2nd partial lunar eclipse is dated 14/VIII (November/ December) it is easy to check what year it occurred35. A complete analysis of these 2 eclipses (when they began and ended, how much area of the moon darkened. P = Partial; T = Total; N = Penumbral) enables us to keep only the year 475 BC (=–474), not dated 465 BC that’s usually agreed. #36/21
(4) The use of “year 21” “accession year,” in either Persian or Jewish dating, agrees with the fact that no known Babylonian tablets recognize any other kings between Xerxes and Artaxerxes, though Jewish dating implies a gap before the beginning of Artaxerxes’ accession year in Egypt.
(5) The alignment of the regnal years of the same number in the Egyptian and the two Semitic calendars (attested by the synchronisms of Ptolemy’s Canon, the Saros list, double-dated papyri, and dated tablets) follows this order: Egyptian (December), Persian (spring), Jewish (fall), in the reign of
Xerxes; likewise in Artaxerxes’ reign the order is: Egyptian, followed by Persian, followed (if AP 6 has a Jewish date) by the Jewish.
(6) This alignment makes it clear that the year formula in AP 6 does not fit the Egyptian calendar, but is an exceptional but normal double formula in either the Persian or the Jewish calendars.#22
EGYPTIAN CHRONOLOGY THROUGH ASTRONOMICALLY DATED SYNCHRONISMS 9 ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY OF THE 27TH DYNASTY (526-405) The Egyptian chronology of the 27th dynasty is the same as Achaemenid chronology, which is itself based on the Babylonian king lists. However, these king lists contain certain chronological inconsistencies, particularly to start and end the reign of Artaxerxes I. A study was therefore carried out on all dated Babylonian contracts, as well as on all the astronomical tablets listed, to re-construct an absolute chronology of the Achaemenid period (Gertoux 2018: 179-206). Consequently, the absolute Achaemenid chronology modifies the Egyptian chronology because whereas the contracts of the Achaemenid kings were dated in the Babylonian lunar calendar written at Elephantine in southern Egypt, over the period 525-400 BC, were dated in Egyptian civil calendar. In addition, regnal years opened with the 1st Nisan in Babylon but with the 1st Thoth in Egypt. 13 Bardiya (birth name) is called Gaumata by Darius I.
10 As Bardiya, Xerxes began his reign on two occasions, first as co-regent in 496 BC, his accession is dated III/00 (June), and again as true king after Darius 1 death. dated 10/IX/10 (8 December 486 BC). Xerxes I / [Xerxes as new king] 485 Xerxes I / Bel-šimânni 9 VI IX 0 Xerxes I / Šamaš-erîba Year 1 of Xerxes/ 24/VI/00 (BM 96414) 10 VII X 11 VIII XI 12 IX XII *** OECT 10 176 dated 5/IX/11 (Kish) 484 1 X I 12 2 XI II *** JCS 28 38 dated 24/XI/11 (unassigned) According to this chronological reconstruction, during his 10th year of reign Xerxes was co-regent of Darius I until 8 December 486 BC, then full king after this date. As the years of reign began on the 1st Thoth in Egypt at that time (early Jan.), the 11th year of Xerxes’ reign began in January 485 BC, while this 11th year began in April 485 BC in Babylon. A careful study of Egyptian documents confirms this change in Xerxes’ status.
Indeed, G. Posener notes the Egyptian title of Xerxes had changed from his Year 10 but without giving the reason. In Posener’s collection of hieroglyphic inscriptions (Posener: 1936, 92, 120-124, 162), Posener classified Persian kings according to a chronology accepted in his time. But several anomalies can be explained only by assuming a 10-year co-regency between Xerxes & Darius. In these hieroglyphs, the Egyptian pharaohs, from Amasis to Artaxerxes, are still called “Lord of the Two Lands”, except Xerxes who is called “Master of Crowns” between year 1 and year 10 of his reign. He got a legal title of “Lord of the Two Lands”- official title of the Pharaohs of Egypt, only from his year 10. If Xerxes became Pharaoh shortly after Darius’ death, he then would have received the usual title “Lord of the Two Lands;“ to designate Egyptian kings, but the title was awarded him only in his year 10. In Addition, for no known reason, the name Darius changed from year 27 up to year 36 of his reign to become inDarius. This hieroglyph in, literally meaning “contribution” in Egyptian 14 , or “booster”, can’t be a phonetic complement, as it deteriorates the pronunciation. FIG. 2 Year 2 Month I Akhet Day 9 Master of crowns, Xerxes Year 6, Master of crowns, Xerxes Year 10, Lord of the two lands, Xerxes (Dec. 486 BC) Year 6, Lord of the two lands, Cambyses (II) Year 36, Lord of the two lands, Darius (I) Year 12, Lord of the two lands, Xerxes 14 This hieroglyph appears in the names some pharaohs like Antef “contribution of his divine father”. It may be an abbreviation of the Egyptian word inpw “royal child”, meaning a pretender to the throne that is a “Crown prince”. #23
EGYPTIAN CHRONOLOGY THROUGH ASTRONOMICALLY DATED SYNCHRONISMS 11 TABLE 6 King in Babylonia in Egypt Cambyses (II) Kambuzia K-n-b-w-d3 From 5th to 8th year King of Babylon, King of lands Lord of the Two Lands– Darius (I) Dariawush (in)-Ti-rw-y-w-š3 From 1st year to 36th year King of Babylon, King of lands, Lord of the Two Lands– Xerxes- Khisi‘arsa Ḫ-š3-y-rw-š3 From accession to 1st year King of Babylon, King of lands? From 1st year to 10th year King of Persia & Media, King of Babylon and of lands, Master of Crowns from 10th year to 21st year King of lands, Lord of the Two Lands The years indicated in those documents have been understood as years of reign when in fact they are years of domination (months/days usually unspecified).
The Egyptian administrator Atiyawahy, for example, says that he spent “6 years under Cambyses and 36 years under Darius”. The hieroglyph with an eyebrow above the date is used, while the years of reign are typically identified by the hieroglyph. As the Egyptian word inḥ “eyebrow” also means “surround”, those years [of reign] were for the Egyptians years [of surrender]. Diodorus dates the beginning of the Persian domination in Egypt in the third year of the 63rd Olympiad [in 526 BC]
(Historical Library I: 68:6) and the end in the archonship of Euclid [in 403 BC], or in the year 2 of Artaxerxes II, when Amyrtaeus had become the new pharaoh of the 28th dynasty (Historical Library XIV:11:1-12:1, I:44:3). Those data taken from his Greek chronology are accurate. However, Diodorus wrote in summary: The Persians were masters, after King Cambyses subjected the nation by force of arms, for 135 years, contradicting his own chronological calculations (length of 123 years obtained between 526 and 403 BC). In fact, a total period of 123 years corresponds to an amount calculated with a 40-year reign for Artaxerxes I, as the 135 years corresponds to an actual reign of 51 years. Diodorus probably compiled different data from an Egyptian informer (Historical Library III:11) without trying to harmonize them. The reign of 6 years* in Egyptian reckoning can correspond to 4 years in the Babylonian reckoning (526-522). TABLE 7 Length according to: dates: official reign Diodorus Ptolemy actual reign BC Cambyses II 526 – 6 years 526–520 526-522 (6 years*) 526-522 Darius I 36 years 520-484 522-486 36 years 522-486 Xerxes I 20 years 484-464 486-465 21 years 496-475 Artaxerxes I 40 years 464-424 465-424 51 years 475-424 Darius II 19 years 424-405 424-405 19 years 424-405 Artaxerxes II –403 2 years 405-403 2 years 405-403 Total: 123 years 123 years 526-403 526-403 135 years
According to the Bible, the massive emigration of Jews into Egypt began shortly after the Pharaoh Nekau II set King Jehoiakim (in 609 BC) on the Jerusalem throne (2Ki 23:34, Jer. 26:21-23, 42:14). After Gedaliah’s murder, many Jews immigrated to Egypt (Jer. 43:7, 44:1) in land of Patros (“the Land of the South” in Egyptian) southern province in which Elephantine was a main town.
year, the king (to) Osirnaḥty, the god. Peace (Lemaire: 1991, 199-201). Egyptian documents dated in both lunar and the civil calendars allow absolute dates to be obtained because such date coincidences only occur every 25 years if the lunar day is correctly observed, or every 11 years with a 1-day observation error. The Aramaic documents from Elephantine, dated over the period 525-398 BC, contain 21 well identified double dates, making it possible to anchor the reigns of Xerxes and Artaxerxes on absolute dates.
A study showed that the reigns of Xerxes and Artaxerxes had been shifted by 10 years with respect to astronomical dates 17 giving rise to different inter-calations during the reigns of Darius & Xerxes (Gertoux: 2018, 179-206; 2020, 273-279). • Elephantine papyri are letters dated in both the lunar calendar & the Egyptian civil calendar, so they provide absolute dates, assuming the lunar calendar agreed with Babylon’s conventional chronology (Porten: 1996, 152–234), but this is not scientifically adequate because if the average error is one day among most dated records, in seven contracts the double dates deviate by more than one day; in two contracts it differs by two days (C13; K2); in one it is four days (C10); in three its 1 month (K8; C8; C9); and in one it is a year (K6), which is aberrant. (Porten: 1990, 22). If the Babylonian lunar calendar is replaced by Egyptian lunar calendars suggested by Richard A. Parker (in 1950), that starts the lunar month at the 1st invisibility (day after the new moon and before the first lunar crescent), the average error increases from 1 to 2 days on lunar days (Stern: 2000, 159–171). From 525 BC Egypt became a Persian satrapy but most scribes were Egyptians or Jews. Persian officials at Elephantine were familiar with three kinds of lunar calendar, Elamite, Old-Persian and Babylonian, that appear on Darius I’s inscriptions at Behistun. Jewish scribes at Elephantine were familiar with different calendars, but they used a calendar based on the Babylonian calendar after their return to Judea from Babylon. The Babylonian chronology est. by Claudius Ptolemy was confirmed by the BM 34576 tablet (King List dated 99 BC). A study of all tablets (contracts/heiroglyphs) dated during the period 626–331 BC was published (Parker, Dubberstein: 1956) and showed that all durations in the Achaemenid period agreed with the Babylonian royal lists, providing several short co-regencies were admitted shortly before and also during the enthronement of the new king.
Xerxes reigns, including the Metonic cycle of the intercalary years. This 19-year cycle; a mathematical cycle synchronizing 19 lunar years with 19 solar years by adding intercalary months, a 2nd Adar mo. (XIIa) or 2nd Ulul month (VIb), in 7 years of a 19-year cycle (3A, 6A, 8A, 11A, 14A, 17U, 19A). But, this 19-year cycle was based on observations, not calculations (Steele: 2007, 121-123) and computed data in diaries (purely computational, not a combo observed & predictive methodology) that appear just prior to 350 BC (Rochberg-Halton: 1991, 107-120). The reading of a few months between is disputed, for example the year 7Adar (XIIa) of Xerxes should perhaps be replaced by the year 8 Ulul (VIb) of Xerxes (Ossendrijver: 2018, 138-143)
As the Egyptian calendar had 12 months of 30 days, plus 5 days at the end of the year (365 days), called epagomenon in Greek, it was not lunar (around 354 days). In Elephantine the main system of dating was the Egyptian calendar (civil), but as numerous religious festivals in Egypt were based on lunar phases a lunar calendar was used to fix these dates. The Jews (after 587 BC), then the Persians (after 525 BC), naturally used this calendar for their own religious festivals based on a lunar calendar (ie. Jewish Passover). The language of administration being either Egyptian or Persian, it was necessary to convert the names of the Egyptian lunar months to the common language understood by all: Aramaic. For example, the Jews converted into Aramaic the name of the months of their Hebrew calendar: « It came about that in the 4th year of Darius (…) on the 4th [day] of the 9th month, [that is] in Kislev » (Za 7:1). There was the same situation in Egypt, for example, an Elephantine Papyri (B24) is dated: « [17] Thoth, which is 17 Kislev, year 21 (of Xerxes), accession year of Artaxerxes » (Porten: 1996, 164-165). As Xerxes died on 14/V/21 (24 August) in 475 BC, the 1st Thoth (I Akhet 1) in 475 BC is dated 20 December and 17 Thoth on 5 January 474 BC.
1st Thoth in 475 BC thus links to 20 December in Julian astro-calendar. With
astron software (https://promenade.imcce.fr/fr/pages4/441.html), we find on 20th December –474* (= 475 BC) there was a full moon at 18:20 UT (Universal Time), or at 20:30 Local Time (LT = UT + 2:10) in Elephantine. On Kislev 1 on a lunar calendar in Elephantine thus coincided with the full moon of 20 Dec. in 475 BC. To calculate the 1st Kislev (= 1/IX) of the Babylonian lunar calendar one must first calculate the 1st Tishri (1/VII) coinciding with the 1st lunar crescent after the autumnal equinox on 29 September 01:00 UT in –474* (https://promenade.imcce.fr/fr/pages4/439.html). The 1st astronomical lunar crescent (day after the astronomical new moon) after 29 September is that of 8 October 22:11 UT (= 1/VII). It is possible to calculate the 1st lunar day of the following months: 7 Nov. 09:17 UT (= 1/VIII), 6 December 20:22 UT (= 1/IX). The coincidences between observed lunar days & calendar dates are thus perfect. In 475 BC (= -474*): 1 Kislimu (Babylon calendar) = 6 December (in Babylon) 1 Kislev (Egyptian lunar calendar) = 20 December (Elephantine). The 20 records from Elephantine with a double date enable us to reconstruct a chronology of the reigns of the 27th dynasty. The papyrus B23 is dated: «Year 15 [of Xerxes] 18 Elul, which is 28 Pahons », hence the 1st lunar day is dated 11 Pahons (= 28 – 17), which was a full moon in 481 BC (30 August). The 11 Pahons or I Shemu 11 fits exactly to day 11: Papyrus year Lunar date Egyptian calendar BC 1st lunar day Full moon Xerxes I 15 1 Elul 11 Pahons (I Shemu 11) 29 Aug. 30 Aug. Papyrus B23 15 18 Elul 28 Pahons (= 11 + 17) 15 Sept. 481. A concurrent presence of two different lunar calendars, Babylonian and Egyptian, complicates the dating of the synchronisms between these two chronologies, particularly during the reign of Cambyses II.
Nebby Captured Jerusalem on Adar 2, 597BC
offering of Xerxes in his letter dated [–]/III/01 of Xerxes (VS 6, 179). He was still šangû in a contract dated 21/III/01 of Xerxes (BM 65378) and one dated 17/III/29 of Darius (BM 64022). Consequently it’s more logical to have synchronism: Year 26 of Darius = Year 0 of Xerxes (see pages 12–13 hereafter). Also, the Babylonian revolt early in the reign of Xerxes could not occur to open his co-regency. But these revolts were early in Xerxes reign (year 11), in the 1st year after Darius’ death. Indeed, from the Battle of Marathon (in 490 BC), Herodotus describes a climate of insurrection in the Persian Empire (The Histories VII:1–4). Ctesias said after the death of Darius: Xerxes decided to make war upon Greece (…) Hence he went to Ecbatana, where he got word of a Babylonian revolt and the murder of Satrap Zopyrus (Persica F13§§25–26). Arrian also puts the Babylonian revolt at the time of his campaign against the Greeks (Anabasis of Alexander III:16:4; VII:17:2), which began in Spring of 485 BC via to Herodotus (Histories VII:20).
Cameron #27 notes that the accession of Xerxes and his 1st year are well represented in Babylon, it does not put the revolt during the first 2 years since the Babylonians had clearly recognized Xerxes in his early steps, but Waerzeggers#28 notes that the tablet BM 96414, dating the accession of Šamaš–erîba mentions the 1st year of Xerxes.
Footnotes
1.https://www.academia.edu/44915277/Intercalations_during_the_co_regency_of_Xerxes_with_Darius_I_in_NABU_2020_4_pp_273_279?email_work_card=reading-history]
2. IBID
3. [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312069819_Dating_the_reigns_of_Xerxes_and_Artaxerxes]. Gerard Gertoux.
4. IBID
5. IBID
6. IBID
7. IBID
7a. Intercalations during the co-regency of Xerxes with Darius I, in NABU 2020-4, pp. 273-279 By Gerard GERTOUX
7b. Halley’s Bible Handbook, p. 218, Henry H. Halley
8. IBID, p. 218
8a. IBID ppg. 218-219
8b. http://www.achemenet.com/en/results/?q=Susa
8c. IBID
8d. https://www.livius.org/sources/content/achaemenid-royal-inscriptions/xph/
8e. https://www.thetorah.com/article/if-achashverosh-is-xerxes-is-esther-his-wife-amestris?
8f. Encyclopedia Judaica Glossary definition of Midrash.
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/aggadah
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halakha
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Daniel
11a. https://www.onepagebiblesummary.com/pad/pad_01.php
12. Herodotus 7.61.2
13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amestris
14. (Herodotus-Histories 7.61.2, 9.109-l2)
15. Prayer & Emotion in the Septuagint of Esther“ Ego, B. (2006) Esther, Brill Online.
16. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amestris
17. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midrash#cite_note-9
18. https://www.thetorah.com/article/ahasuerus-and-vashti-the-story-megillat-esther-does-not-tell-you
19. https://www.thetorah.com/article/if-achashverosh-is-xerxes-is-esther-his-wife-amestris
19a. IBID
20.
21.
22. https://about.jstor.org/terms XERXES AND THE BOOK OF ESTHER-LITTMAN
23.
24.
25.