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- Title
The Solar Omen of Murašili II.
- Authors
Huber, Peter J.
- Abstract
The fragmentary text KUB 14.4, a prayer of the Hittite king Muršili II, is reexamined with regard to chronological implications. The king recounts various misdeeds of the old queen, his stepmother. In particular, he tells how she tried to leverage a solar omen into an attempt to demote him. From the reconstructed sequence of events and actions of the queen and the king, I argue that this omen — presumably a noticeable, but not necessarily a total, solar eclipse — likely occurred shortly before, or in the early phase of, Muršili's campaign to Azzi in his tenth year. The most convincing candidates for such an eclipse are those of −1339 January 8 (probably total) or −1334 March 13 (possibly annular), while that of −1311 June 24 (possibly total) would seem to fall too late in the year.
- Subjects
MURSILI II, King of Hittite; KINGS &; rulers; OMENS
- Publication
Journal of the American Oriental Society, 2001, Vol 121, Issue 4, p640
- ISSN
0003-0279
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.2307/606505