The Cultic Calendars of the Ancient Near East

The Cultic Calendars incorporates recently discovered material to reconstruct the calendars and their associated festivals in the ancient Near East from Ugarit to Mesopotamia to Iran from 2500 to 100 B.C.E. Among the many cultic calendars discussed are those of Ebla, Nuzi, Mari, Emar, Ugarit, the Sumerians, Amorites, Israelites, Assyrians, Babylonians, and Elamites. Among topics discussed are the akitu-festival, spring, summer, and fall New Years, the lunar vs. solar calendar, festivals for the netherworld, and theories on the origin of the Nisannu-calendar.