English (United Kingdom) 
Russian (Russia) Assyrian calendar on the territory of Assyria
The old Assyrian calendar is known from texts of the early second millennium BCE. Its months were in practice up to the dynasty of the Sargonids (722-612 BCE). But there are no comments on their names; so, specialists make hypothesis on translation on the base of comparison with the words of other Semitic languages.
- Qarratu
- Kalmartu
- dSin “(the Moon god) Sin”
- kuzallu “shepherd”
- Allanātu “acorn”
- Bēlet ekalli “mistress of confinement”
- Ša sarrāte “(month) of deceitful”
- Ša kēnāte “(month) of righteous”
- muḫḫur ilāni “sacrifice to gods”
- ab šarrāni “memorial place for kings”
- ḫubur “the river of the Underworld”
- ṣippu
(reconstruction on the base of Cohen, 1993, 239-240)
Despite the incomprehensibility of some names, there are quite obvious analogues with South Mesopotamian calendars. So, the third month was compared with the Nippur-Babylonian month of the god Sin, the fourth month was named for the shepherd Dumuzi, in the sixth month the goddess Inanna-Ishtar goes out of the Underworld, the seventh and the eighth months were associated with the trial and justification, the tenth month mentioned the memorial place for kings, and the eleventh month was connected to the water bringing death.
Unlike the names of the months, there are well-known names of the festivals. It can be argued that the Assyrian menologies and royal letters keep the full circle of the state festivals. However, the most detailed festival texts are preserved from the New Assyrian epoch only, when the Nippur-Assyrian calendar was established in Assyria.
Nisannu – the New Year (1-11).
Ayaru – from 3 till 11 days the sacred marriage of Nabu and Tashmetu (3-11).
Simanu – the feast of gods (24). The feast for the honour of Nisaba (30).
Duuzu – lamentation (2), the festival of Dumuzi (26-29).
Abu – remembrance of the dead (signs of the days are broken), the ritual of Gilgamesh (28).
Ululu – the festivals for the honour of An, Bel, and Nabu, washing of gods (all month long).
Tashritu – the New Year (3-9), washing of gods (all month long).
Arahsamna – washing of An, Sin, Adad, and Shamash (12-17).
Kislimu – washing of Ashur (4, 20), competitions of runners (the date is broken).
Tebetu – the festival of hearths (10-12), the festival of Ishtar (16).
Shabatu – the festival of the city god (3), sacred marriage of Ashur and Mullissu (17-22), the New Year in Ashur (16-26).
Addaru – the qarratu-ritual.
(Ermidoro, 2017, 147-153).
There is also a commentary to a cycle of monthly predictions Ikkur-ipush, where each month is under a protection of a certain deity:
Month of the Dais[1] belongs to An and Ellil.
Month of the Ox belongs to Ea, the master of the humanity.
Month of the Brick belongs to Sin, the first-born son of Ellil.
Month of the Hand belongs to the great hero Ninurta.
Month of the Fire belongs to Ningishzida, the master of the Underworld.
Month of the Ritual belongs to Ishtar, the mistress of countries.
Month of the Mound belongs to Shamash, the hero of the Universe.
Month of the Plough belongs to Marduk, the wisest of gods.
Month of the Killer belongs to the great hero Nergal.
Month of the Sea belongs to Papsukkal, the vizier of An and Ishtar.
Month of the Spelt belongs to Adad, the caretaker of the canals of the Heavens and the Earth.
Month of the Barley belongs to the Seven, the great gods.
(Labat, 1965, no. 105, 1-12).
In the New Assyrian calendar of the imperial time (8th – 7th centuries BCE), elements of the Nippur-Babylonian and the Old Assyrian calendars were mixed, but the logic was the same. In the spring, they celebrated the South Mesopotamian New Year and the sacred marriage; in the summer, they take the feasts and festivals for Dumuzi and Gilgamesh; in the autumn, there were numerous washings and cleanings; in the winter, they celebrated the local Assyrian New Year associated with the sacred marriage of Ashur and Mullissu. Beside that main event, they had the festival of hearths and the competitions of runners.
Assyrian calendar on the territory of the Asia Minor (the city of Kanish)
The earliest traces of any calendar on the territory of the Asia Minor are found in the Akkadian texts of the early second millennium BCE, written in the Old Assyrian language. There were Assyrian colonies and trade communities in the Asia Minor; their tablets give some information on local calendar months, festivals, and the structure of time. According to the Old Assyrian calendar from Kanish, Assyrians of that city had the five-days working week (ḫamuštum) and two festival days. Some names of the months are preserved:
- October – itti erāšim, erāšum “the time of plowing пахоты, plowing”
- November – gamar erāšim “the end of the work with plough”
Names of the winter months are not preserved.
- April – buqulum “greenery, green plants”
The name of May is not preserved.
- June – buqūnum, kubur uṭṭitim “wool plucking, ripening of barley ears”
- July – ṣibit niggallim, eṣādum, ebūrum “harvest”
- August – adrum, erāb adrim “threshing (when barley) goes (to) the threshing-floor”
- September – qitip keranim “vintage”
There are names of festivals in honour of local deities, the etymology of which is incomprehensible now: the festival of An (1 month, late autumn), the festival of Nipas (6 month, early spring), the festival of Park (8 month, summer and barley harvest), the festival of Tuhtuhanum (12 month, fruit harvest) (Veenhof, Eidem, 2008, 238-245).
Literature:
- Emelianov V.V. Nippurskyi calendar i rannyaya istoriya Zodiaka (The caledar of Nippur and the early history of Zodiac). St. Petersburg: Peterburskoe vostokovedenie, 1999.
- Ermidoro S. Ruling Over Time. The Calendar in the Neo-Assyrian Royal Propaganda // State Archives of Assyria Bulletin XXIII (2017). P. 131-155.
- Labat R. Un calendrier babylonien des travaux: des signes et de mois. P.: Librairie Honoré Champion, 1965.
- Veenhof, K.R., Eidem, J. Mesopotamia: The Old Assyrian Period. Fribourg, 2008.
[1] As well as in the Astrolabe B, the month are named here according the first Sumerian sign.