Assyrian Eclipse

The Assyrian eclipse is also known as Bur-Sagale (Bur-Saggile, Pur-Sagale or Par-Sagale) eclipse. It was recorded in Assyrian eponym lists, most likely in the 9th year of king Ashur-dan III. The actual short entry reads as follows:

Bur-Sagale of Guzana, revolt in the city of Assur. In the month Simanu an eclipse of the sun took place.

The phrase used – shamash ("the sun") akallu ("bent", "twisted", "crooked", "distorted", "obscured") – has been interpreted since the mid-19th century as a reference to a solar eclipse. In 1867, Henry Rawlinson decided that the most likely match was the nearly total eclipse of June 15, 763 BC, and this date has been widely accepted ever since. It is regarded to be the most crucial point of reference for providing exact dates of Assyrian chronology before the seventh century BC. (However, the original record does not contain any detail of the observation. It may have been observed anywhere in Assyria, not necessarily in Assur or Nineveh.)