Simmakh: Difference between revisions

From All Skies Encyclopaedia
← Older editNewer edit →
Sushoff (talk | contribs)
Administrators, Bureaucrats, User, Users, Bureaucrats, Interface administrators, Administrators, Widget editors
16,655 edits
VisualWikitext
ASEtech (talk | contribs)
437 edits
infocards and infobox
Sushoff (talk | contribs)
Administrators, Bureaucrats, User, Users, Bureaucrats, Interface administrators, Administrators, Widget editors
16,655 edits
No edit summary
Line 37: Line 37:
The characteristic folked tail of a swallow actually matches the pattern of stars in the sky very well; so it is very likely the original image seen in the asterism that is now considered a V-shaped ribbon.  
The characteristic folked tail of a swallow actually matches the pattern of stars in the sky very well; so it is very likely the original image seen in the asterism that is now considered a V-shaped ribbon.  


The transformation of the constellation of The Swallow (see [[SIM.MAḪ]]) in ancient Mesopotamia is characterised by the original image of a Giant Swallow which must be located in Cetus, as its tails are imagined in the ribbon of Pisces, to a later version of a much smaller bird (swallow) whose body is roughly in the southern fish-ellipse of Pisces. The second image is reconstructed from coordinates given in Late Babylonian texts, e.g. the normal star list in which reads "DUR sim.ma", "Swallow Ribbon" [Roughton-Steele-Walker 2004<ref name=":14">''Roughton N.A., Steele J.M., Walker C.B.F.'' A Late Babylonian Normal and ''Ziqpu'' Star Text // AHES 58 (2004)  537-572.</ref>, 551:21′, 553], suggesting a bird connected to a fish in the northern fish-ellipse. Such an image of a bird and a fish connected by a V-shaped ribbon is preserved on seals in Uruk.  
The transformation of the constellation of The Swallow (see [[SIM.MAḪ]]) in ancient Mesopotamia is characterised by the original image of a Giant Swallow which must be located in Cetus, as its tails are imagined in the ribbon of Pisces, to a later version of a much smaller bird (swallow) whose body is roughly in the southern fish-ellipse of Pisces. The second image is reconstructed from coordinates given in Late Babylonian texts, e.g. the normal star list in which reads "DUR sim.ma", "Swallow Ribbon" [Roughton-Steele-Walker 2004<ref name=":14">''Roughton N.A., Steele J.M., Walker C.B.F.'' A Late Babylonian Normal and ''Ziqpu'' Star Text // AHES 58 (2004)  537-572.</ref>, 551:21′, 553], suggesting a bird connected to a fish in the northern fish-ellipse. Such an image of a bird and a fish connected by a V-shaped ribbon is preserved on seals in Uruk.
 
<gallery>
File:Simmakh stickfigure SadeghFaghanpour-IAU-WGSN.jpg|(CC BY Sadegh Faghanpour for IAU WGSN)
File:Psc-And-Aqr_grp-GIF_engl.gif|alt=Andromeda, Pisces and adjacent constellation in their transformation.|324x324px
</gallery>


Yet earlier texts like MUL.APIN only list a Swallow and no fish in this area. The stars of Anu (no. 2), MUL.APIN I i 41 = (Anu 2right)<ref>Hoffmann, S. M. and Krebernik, M. (2023). What do deities tell us about the celestial positioning system, in: R. Rollinger, I. Madreiter, M. Lang, C. Pappi (eds.). The Intellectual Heritage of the Ancient Near East, Papers held at the 64th Rencontre Assyriologique International and 12th Melammu Symposium July 16-20 2018, Innsbruck. Austrian Academy of Sciences Press, 539-579</ref>: <blockquote>
Yet earlier texts like MUL.APIN only list a Swallow and no fish in this area. The stars of Anu (no. 2), MUL.APIN I i 41 = (Anu 2right)<ref>Hoffmann, S. M. and Krebernik, M. (2023). What do deities tell us about the celestial positioning system, in: R. Rollinger, I. Madreiter, M. Lang, C. Pappi (eds.). The Intellectual Heritage of the Ancient Near East, Papers held at the 64th Rencontre Assyriologique International and 12th Melammu Symposium July 16-20 2018, Innsbruck. Austrian Academy of Sciences Press, 539-579</ref>: <blockquote>
Line 44: Line 49:


==Mythology==
==Mythology==
no mythology known


==IAU Working Group on Star Names==
==IAU Working Group on Star Names==

Revision as of 06:32, 5 October 2026

Not to be confused with SIM.MAḪ.

Authors: Susanne M Hoffmann, ASE Tech Team

modern star name (CC BY Sadegh Faghanpour for IAU WGSN)
Simmakh
Asterism Info
Native
SIM.MAḪ
Translation
Swallow
Position (2000)
Right ascension5.149425122
Declination8.190271705
Area0 sq. deg.
Stars
Bright stars1
Bayer/Flamsteed
stars		1
Stars brighter than 3.00m0
Brightest starSimmakh (5.37m)
Taxonomy
category
of asterism		IAU-Star Name
IAU-
constellations		Psc

Simmakh is a modern star name adopted by the International Astronomical Union in the IAU-Catalog of Star Names (IAU-CSN). Its origin is Sumerian, from SIM.MAḪ. It is the name of the star d Psc (HIP 1645) in constellation Pisces.


Concordance, Etymology, History

a reflection flight of barn swallow captured in bagmati river in kathmandy valley in nepal (CC BY SA Prasan Shrestha)

Babylonian constellation that has undergone massive transformations: the original Giant Swallow was turned into a Swallow-Fish and into two fish connected with a ribbon. It is located in the area of modern Pisces. Alternative Mesopotamian terms are mulŠIM.MAḪ (𒀯𒋆𒈤) and (mul)Šinūnūtu.

The characteristic folked tail of a swallow actually matches the pattern of stars in the sky very well; so it is very likely the original image seen in the asterism that is now considered a V-shaped ribbon.

The transformation of the constellation of The Swallow (see SIM.MAḪ) in ancient Mesopotamia is characterised by the original image of a Giant Swallow which must be located in Cetus, as its tails are imagined in the ribbon of Pisces, to a later version of a much smaller bird (swallow) whose body is roughly in the southern fish-ellipse of Pisces. The second image is reconstructed from coordinates given in Late Babylonian texts, e.g. the normal star list in which reads "DUR sim.ma", "Swallow Ribbon" [Roughton-Steele-Walker 2004[1], 551:21′, 553], suggesting a bird connected to a fish in the northern fish-ellipse. Such an image of a bird and a fish connected by a V-shaped ribbon is preserved on seals in Uruk.

  • (CC BY Sadegh Faghanpour for IAU WGSN)
    (CC BY Sadegh Faghanpour for IAU WGSN)
  • Andromeda, Pisces and adjacent constellation in their transformation.
    324x324px

Yet earlier texts like MUL.APIN only list a Swallow and no fish in this area. The stars of Anu (no. 2), MUL.APIN I i 41 = (Anu 2right)[2]:

  • MUL ša2 ina IGI-it mulAŠ.IKU GUB-zu mulŠi-nu-nu-tu4
  • "The star that stands before the Field, the Swallow"

Mythology

no mythology known

IAU Working Group on Star Names

The name was suggested to the IAU WGSN in 2023. It was adopted for a star south of the Pegasus square which matches both image reconstructions: the earlier large swallow (at the tip of its tail) and the late small swallow (in the body/head).

The name was adopted by the IAU WGSN in September 2026.

  • (CC BY Sadegh Faghanpour for IAU WGSN)
    (CC BY Sadegh Faghanpour for IAU WGSN)
  • (CC BY Sadegh Faghanpour for IAU WGSN)
    (CC BY Sadegh Faghanpour for IAU WGSN)


Reference

  1. ↑ Roughton N.A., Steele J.M., Walker C.B.F. A Late Babylonian Normal and Ziqpu Star Text // AHES 58 (2004) 537-572.
  2. ↑ Hoffmann, S. M. and Krebernik, M. (2023). What do deities tell us about the celestial positioning system, in: R. Rollinger, I. Madreiter, M. Lang, C. Pappi (eds.). The Intellectual Heritage of the Ancient Near East, Papers held at the 64th Rencontre Assyriologique International and 12th Melammu Symposium July 16-20 2018, Innsbruck. Austrian Academy of Sciences Press, 539-579
Retrieved from "https://ase.exopla.net/index.php?title=Simmakh&oldid=50846"