Sumerian calendar

E767166

The Sumerian calendar was one of the earliest known lunisolar calendars, developed in ancient Mesopotamia to organize religious festivals, agriculture, and civic life around the cycles of the moon and sun.

Jump to: Statements Referenced by

Statements (50)

Predicate Object
instanceOf ancient calendar system
lunisolar calendar
associatedWithCity Ur (moon-god cult center) NERFINISHED
associatedWithDeity Nanna NERFINISHED
basedOn lunar cycles
solar year
calendarYearType luni-solar year
dayCountPerMonthBasis synodic lunar cycle
developedIn 3rd millennium BCE
earliestEvidenceFrom Early Dynastic period NERFINISHED
geographicRegion southern Mesopotamia
hasCulturalContext Sumerian city-state administration
Sumerian religion NERFINISHED
hasDayCountPerMonth 29 or 30
hasIntercalation intercalary month
hasMonthCount 12
hasMonthType lunar month
hasTimeUnit day
month
year
influenced Akkadian calendar
Babylonian calendar
later Mesopotamian calendars
modernDisciplineStudies Assyriology NERFINISHED
history of astronomy
notationSystem cuneiform script
observedWith naked-eye astronomy
preceded standard Babylonian calendar
purposeOfIntercalation to align lunar months with solar year
regulatedBy priesthood
temple authorities
relatedTo Sumerian agricultural cycle
Sumerian legal and economic documents
Sumerian religious festivals
standardizedIn Ur III period NERFINISHED
usedBy Sumerians NERFINISHED
usedFor agricultural planning
civic administration
dating cuneiform tablets
organizing religious festivals
regulating agriculture
tax collection scheduling
timing of royal ceremonies
timing of temple rituals
usedIn ancient Mesopotamia NERFINISHED
usedInCity Lagash NERFINISHED
Nippur NERFINISHED
Ur NERFINISHED
Uruk NERFINISHED
usedWithNumberSystem sexagesimal system NERFINISHED

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Umma usedCalendar Sumerian calendar