On Dating the Lunar Eclipse of Alexander and the Battle of Gaugamela: Discussion of Evidence and Use of Archaeoastronomy for Chronology

Sparavigna, Amelia Carolina

doi:10.2139/ssrn.3412747

Cited by 3 publications

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“…This Book, written by Cicero between 54 and 51 BC, was reporting a date in the roman calendar of Numa -that is -in the Roman republican calendar, before the reform decided by Julius Caesar [6]. As we did in [7], for the study of the lunar eclipse of Alexander, let us use software CalSKY, a webbased astronomical calculator, created by Arnold Barmettler, University of Zurich. Let us use Cuma (Bacoli) as location to observe the eclipse.…”

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The Eclipses in Livy's Ab Urbe Condita

Sparavigna

2019

SSRN Journal

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Titus Livius (Livy) is mentioning some eclipses in his monumental history of Rome, entitled Ab Urbe Condita Libri. For two of these eclipses, Livy is also reporting the dates. One occurred during the Ludi Apollinares, in the year of the consulship of Lucius Cornelius. Livy dated the eclipse 11 Quintilis. Astronomy dated it 14 March 190 BC (Julian date). The other eclipse is that at the time of the Pydna battle and it is the lunar eclipse of 21 June 168 BC (Julian date). Livy tells that it occurred during the night between 3 and 4 September. The differences between astronomical and historical dates are due to the manner the lunisolar Roman republican calendar was managed in that period by the college of Roman pontifices. Here we discuss the eclipses reported by Livy to point out the problems of the Roman chronology, when it is involving the republican calendar.

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The Eclipses in Livy's Ab Urbe Condita

Sparavigna

2019

SSRN Journal

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“…The main problem -the equivalence of the historical dates, given in different calendars, and the Julian dates -was not simple. In Scaliger's approach, astronomical phenomena, such as the eclipses, were fundamental for establishing a chronology of the ancient world (see [3,4] and references therein). An example: the lunar eclipse of 21 June 168 BC (Julian date) is reported in Livy's Ab Urbe Condita XLIV,37,5-9 at the date 3 September 168 BC of the Republican Roman calendar.…”

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Octavian Augustus at Apollonia and the Statement of His Astrological Sign

Sparavigna

2019

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The article discusses a possible link between the astrological sign of the Capricorn, that Octavian Augustus chose as his symbol, and the constellation in which the sun was at the beginning of the calendar of Julius Caesar, that is the First January of 45 BC. Augustus may have chosen this constellation as the symbol of the birth of a new age, which Caesar, his adoptive father, had established with the reform of the calendar. The astrological sign was assigned to Octavian when he was in Apollonia, in the same year of the reform, 45 BC. The "magnus gubernator" of the world was born. Under the sign of Capricorn, Octavian Augustus ruled the empire. Natus est Augustus M. Tullio Cicerone C. Antonio conss. VIIII. Kal. Octob., paulo ante solis exortum, regione Palati, ad Capita bubulo, ubi nunc sacrarium habet, aliquanto post quam excessit constitutum. This is told by Suetonius in his Life of Caesars. That is, Octavian was born in the year 63 BC. The year is given by the names of two Roman consuls. The day was 23 September. However, we know that the astrological sign of Augustus was not the Virgo or the Libra but the Capricorn. The Capricorn is the sign that we find on Augusts' coins and the standards of his legions. To have an agreement between the birthday on 23 September and the astrological sign, it is told that it was the sign when Octavian was conceived, that is, nine months before his birthday. AV Aureus. Pergamum mint. Struck 19 BC. Augustus, bare head right. SIGNIS RECEPTIS, Capricorn right. Courtesy: CNG for Wikipedia. www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=115145. The problem is not only limited to this fact. It is much more complex. It is so complex that even Johannes Kepler was not able to solve it. When he was advisor to Emperor Rudolph II, the Emperor asked him to find Augustus birthday and his astrological sign. It was evident, to Rudolph and Kepler, that September 23 is not the true date of Augustus' birth (and we will see the reason in the following). After many calculations, the great astronomer wrote to his patron [1]: "Most noble

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The Campaigns of Alexander the Great, and King John and the Loss of the Crown Jewels

Olson

2022

Investigating Art, History, and Literature With Astronomy

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On Dating the Lunar Eclipse of Alexander and the Battle of Gaugamela: Discussion of Evidence and Use of Archaeoastronomy for Chronology

Cited by 3 publications

References 2 publications

The Eclipses in Livy's Ab Urbe Condita

The Eclipses in Livy's Ab Urbe Condita

Octavian Augustus at Apollonia and the Statement of His Astrological Sign

The Campaigns of Alexander the Great, and King John and the Loss of the Crown Jewels

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