the king, my lord,
Thy servant Ishtar-iddinabal,
The chief of the astronomers of Arbela.
May Nabu, Marduk, Ishtar of Arbela
Be gracious to the king, my lord,
On the twenty-ninth day a watch we kept.
At the observatory clouds,
The moon we did not see.

This report was sent on the second day of the month of Shebat.[575] From
these specimens and others, it is evident that reports regarding the
appearance or non-appearance of the new moon were regularly sent. But in
addition to this, the kings sent to the observatory on numerous other
occasions for information with reference to the significance of certain
phenomena.

As in the case of the moon, so also for the sun and the stars, reports
were transmitted that served as guides in directing the kings in their
affairs. So on one occasion Nabu-mushesi forecasts that[576]

If the 'great lion' star is dark,
It is favorable for the country.
If the 'king' star is dark,
The chamberlain[577] (?) of the palace dies.

The official character of these reports is one of their significant
features. Their great variety is an indication of the frequent occasions
on which the kings consulted the astrologers. No important enterprise
was undertaken without first ascertaining what phenomena might be looked
for on the day fixed for any action, and what these phenomena portended.
In the case of the Assyrian reports, it is natural to find many
allusions to foreign nations, since war occupied so much of the time and
energies of the Assyrian rulers. But we have seen that for private
affairs the astrologers were also consulted, as well as for the internal
affairs of the country. The reports illustrate the practical application
of what became known in the ancient world as "Chaldaean wisdom." If,
however, we would know the source whence the astrologers derived the
knowledge which they furnished in their reports, we must turn to the
long lists prepared by the priests, in which all possible phenomena
connected with the planets and stars were noted and their meaning
indicated. These compilations constitute the 'Priestly Codes' of the
Babylonians, and, as already intimated, they were combined just as the
incantations and prayers, into series. Many such series must have
existed at one time in Babylonia. A great temple was incomplete without
its observatory, and we are warranted in concluding that every great
religious center of the Euphrates Valley had its collection of omen
tab