sirhu (ṣirhu)

Definition

Sirhu (also ṣirhu; Akkadian; meaning uncertain) is the cuneiform planetary-omen term for a luminous emission, radiance, or "outgrowth" that a planet produces, is provided with, lacks, or directs toward a compass direction. In BPO 3 it is the central observational variable of a Venus-omen sub-series (VAT 10218 omens 118-123 + K.35 commentary + Groups B-C-F); in BPO 4 it carries over to Jupiter as the four-direction × three-watch sirhu omens of Groups I-J. The favorable/unfavorable polarity is fixed: a sirhu means Venus sets without completing her period (unfavorable); its absence means she completes her period (favorable).

In Tradition

Reiner and Pingree, editing BPO 3 and BPO 4, treat sirhu as a probable luminous phenomenon — its lexical kinship to mešu ("mirage") via the verb imšuḫ (root m-š-ḫ) supplying the principal control on the reading. Pingree further connects sirhu to Venus' progressive rising-amplitude via the K.35:1-2 commentary, where the term is bound to Venus' appearance progressively further from the East-point. The K.35 incipit "If Venus has a sirhu" (šumma Dilbat sirha tuk) supplies the commented-tablet's own self-identification.

In Practice

For the reader of the BPO 3 + BPO 4 planetary-omen corpus, sirhu is the named observational variable that organises a substantial omen sub-series. The Venus-omen polarity is interpretively explicit: "If Venus has a sirhu, it is not favorable; if she has no sirhu, it is favorable" (BPO 3 p. 108). In the Group F K.3601 and ND 4362 omens the term is bound to Venus' progressive ascent — when Venus has no sirhu she "goes higher by one degree each day" and her position is "altogether calm/slow," completing a fixed arc toward the ziqpu. The BPO 4 Jupiter sirhu omens form a twelve-omen schematic set in K.2076 (four compass directions × three night-watches), with the apodoses regularly assigning rapadu-disease to the head, middle, or foundation of Akkad, Elam, Amurru, or Subartu. Pingree notes a Sanskrit parallel: the lack of a sirhu in omen 123 mirrors the lack of dīpta ("glowing") in Gargasaṃhitā verse 25, supplying one of the cuneiform-to-Sanskrit transmission witnesses.

Historical Origin

Attested across the BPO 3 Venus-omen corpus (VAT 10218 Group A omens 118-123, K.35 commentary, Groups B-C-F K.2907+12248 + K.3601 + ND 4362) and the BPO 4 Jupiter-omen Groups D + I + J (BM 47688, K.2076, K.2126), copied on Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian tablets (c. 8th-5th c. BCE). Modern critical treatments: Reiner & Pingree, *BPO Part Three* (STYX 1998), Pingree Notes §§7.2 + §9 + Group F pp. 222-240; *Part Four* (Brill 2005), Intro §§I.B-C + Groups I-J pp. 135-147.

Further Reading

• Erica Reiner & David Pingree, Babylonian Planetary Omens Part Three
• Erica Reiner & David Pingree, Babylonian Planetary Omens Part Four