UŠ (Mesopotamia)

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UŠ (also Usch and US ) is the original Sumerian name for a measure of length that was later used by the Babylonians as a unit of time . For the first time the length dimension UŠ is around 2400 BC. Occupied. One “UŠ” corresponds to a spatial measure of length of 60 cubits (about 30 meters). Ten “UŠ” resulted in the higher unit NER (about 300 meters).

In the first millennium BC It was used as an astronomical unit of time for the revolutions of the sky . 30 UŠ now corresponded to a Danna , which in turn was defined as a distance measure with a length of 120 minutes as an equivalent hour . When observing the sky, a UŠ corresponded to a “three hundred and sixtyth day”, which in turn was equated with a degree of time . A degree of time is four minutes long , which is why a UŠ corresponds to four minutes.

See also

literature

  • Friedrich Karl Ginzel : Handbook of mathematical and technical chronology, Vol. 1 - Time calculation of the Babylonians, Egyptians, Mohammedans, Persians, Indians, Southeast Asians, Chinese, Japanese and Central Americans - , German book export and import, Leipzig 1958 (reprinted Leipzig 1906 )
  • Otto Neugebauer : Astronomy and history - Selected essays - , Springer, New York 1983, ISBN 0-387-90844-7
  • Otto Neugebauer: A history of ancient mathematical astronomy . 3 parts. Springer, Berlin et al. 1975, ISBN 3-540-06995-X , ( Studies in the history of mathematics and physical sciences 1).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Cf. François Thureau-Dangin: Textes de l'époque d'Agadé <Fouilles d'Ernest de Sarzec en 1895> - Inventaire des tablettes de Tello (part 1) - , Leroux, Paris 1910, 11, 1175; Otto Neugebauer: Astronomy and history - Selected essays - , Springer, New York 1983, p. 8.