Keeping the king’s watch”: Ominous celestial events and their political significance in Assyria and Babylonia, 7th-6th centuries BC (B01)

• Subject Area: Egyptology and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
• Term: since 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 394775490

In Phase II, B01 asks how the relationship between observing, reporting, and interpreting celestial phenomena affected political decision-making in the Assyrian Empire (864−612 BC, focus: 7th century BC), and the succeeding Babylonian Empire (625−539 BC). As celestial bodies were thought to represent the gods and to communicate their will, astrologers focused their vigilance on the night sky in the exclusive employ of the crown, with the explicit purpose of keeping king and state safe. We analyse continuity and change in the strategies employed in “Keeping the King’s Watch”.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1369: Cultures of Vigilance. Transformations - Spaces - Practices
• Applicant Institution: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
• Project Heads: Dr. Mary Frazer; Professorin Dr. Karen Radner