BCHP 2 (Alexander and Arabia Chronicle)

The Babylonian Chronicle concerning Alexander and Arabia ("Alexander and Arabia Chronicle"; BCHP 2) is one of the Mesopotamian chronicles written in ancient Babylonia in the Hellenistic Period. It deals with events from the last regnal year of the Macedonian king Alexander the Great.

BCHP 2: The Alexander and Arabia Chronicle

The Babylonian Chronicle concerning Alexander and Arabia ("Alexander and Arabia Chronicle"; BCHP 2) is one of the Mesopotamian chronicles written in ancient Babylonia in the Hellenistic Period. It deals with events from the last regnal year of the Macedonian king Alexander the Great. For a very brief introduction to the literary genre of chronicles, go here.

This is a preliminary translation of an unpublished cuneiform tablet (BM 41080) in the British Museum. The official publication will be in I.L. Finkel, R.J. van der Spek, R. Pirngruber, Babylonian Chronographic Texts from the Hellenistic Period (2020; = BCHP; Writings of the Ancient World).

Description

Small fragment. Height: 5.0 cm, width 3.5 cm. Reverse lost.

This fragment probably deals with the second entry of Alexander the Great into the city of Babylon in 323 BCE, but the condition of the tablet hardly allows firm conclusions.


Translation

[1'] [......] he pitched his [cam]p [......]

[2'] [......] they? crossed [the river Tigris] to this side and the king [......]note

[3'] [... on the river Ti]gris opposite each other [......]

[4'] [... Han]ean [troops] to the land of Arabia [......]note

[5'] [......] ... numerous gifts of the people of the land [......]note

[6'] [... Babyl]on? and the troops of the king from Ba[bylon .....]

[7'] [... Ale]xand[er, the ki]ng [......]

[8'] [...... ] x he pitched?. The citizens [of Babylon .....]

[9'] [......] ... in the Great Gate ..[ ......]

[10'] [......] Bêl and Nabû [......]