This is a list of selected solar eclipses from antiquity, in particular those with historical significance. Eclipses on this list were not only recorded, but sometimes would have large effects, such as ending a war.
Historically significant solar eclipses
Date ofeclipseTypeSarosMagnitudeGamma Time (UTC) Central Duration Eclipse Path Notes Start Mid EndOctober 22, 2137 BCAnnular90.97360.384200:37:34.003:25:29.206:13:24.202m51.6sChina Two ancient Chinese astronomers, named Hsi and Ho, were said to have been executed for failing to predict this eclipse. June 24, 1312 BC Total351.031720.26192 08:46:32.3 10:30:58.3 12:15:18.9 04m33s Anatolia Known as Mursili's eclipse, could provide an absolute chronology of the ancient Near East.KUB XIV 4.24: [ma-a-an I-NA KUR A]zi-ma i-ia-ah-at nu dUTU-us sa-ki-ya-ah-ta "[When] I marched [to the land of A]zzi, the Sungod gave a sign." Theo P. J. Van Den Hout, The Purity of Kingship: An Edition of CTH 569 and Related Hittite Oracle Inquiries of Tutẖaliya (1998), 42f. Trevor R. Bryce, The Kingdom of the Hittites, Clarendon Oxford University Press, (1998)21 Apr 899 BCAnnular530.95910.896422:21:5603m04sChina's 'Double-Dawn' Eclipse June 15, 763 BC Total44 08:23 04m59s Attested in Assyrian sources and providing an absolute chronology of the ancient Near East.Rawlinson, Henry Creswicke, "The Assyrian Canon Verified by the Record of a Solar Eclipse, B.C. 763", The Athenaeum: Journal of Literature, Science and the Fine Arts, nr. 2064, 660–661 [18 May 1867].6 Apr 648 BCTotal381.06890.689808:31:0305min02sArchilochus' Eclipse May 28, 585 BC Total57 14:28 06m05s Allegedly predicted by Thales; occurred during a battle between the Lydians and Medes. or Annular42/65 9:58:51/11:51:006m00s/07m57s Greece Eclipse occurring before Xerxes' first march against Greece. The exact dating has been debated, as the writings of Herodotus (who chronicled the eclipse) give a date for which there was no eclipse visible in that area of the world. August 3, 431 BC Annular48 14:54:51:8 01m04.5s Greece, Mediterranean Sea Recorded by Thucydides; Pericles shows his Greek Army that the eclipse was not much more than a covering of the sun by something bigger than his cloak. May 6, 319 Total72 14:24:49 03m56s Georgia, Europe, Mexico, United StatesThought by astronomers to be the eclipse preceding the Christianization of Iberia by Mirian III of Iberia.Sauter, J. Simonia, I. Stephenson, F. R. & Orchiston, W. (2015) The Legendary Fourth-Century Total Solar Eclipse in Georgia: Fact or Fantasy? Springer Publishing p. 24, 42 July 17, 334 Annular 80 0.9759 0.3268 11:21:41 02m23s Rome, Mediterranean Sea Recorded by Firmicus Maternus in his Mathesos.Maternus, Mathesos libri octo, I.iv.10.
Statistics Longest total eclipses Below is a list of the 10 longest total eclipses between the 30th century BC and the 4th century.
Date of eclipseCentral Duration Reference 30 May 2585 BC 07m17s 10 June 2567 BC 07m21s 6 May 2249 BC 07m20s 17 May 2231 BC 07m21s 5 June 762 BC 07m25s 15 June 744 BC 07m28s 26 June 726 BC 07m18s 16 June 345 07m17s 27 June 363 07m24s 8 July 381 07m22s
Solar eclipses by century
Century Eclipse type Longest eclipse Two-eclipse months Partial (P) Annular (A) Total (T) Hybrid (H) Length Date 20th BC 239 84 71 62 22 11m38s 28 December 1983 BC March 1958 BC 19th BC 253 93 80 63 17 08m57s 28 October 1896 BC January 1806 BC 18th BC 254 95 74 64 21 11m10s 10 November 1710 BC 17th BC 230 75 71 60 24 12m07s 12 December 1656 BC July 1611 BC 16th BC 225 78 67 59 21 10m07s 25 January 1583 BC June 1535 BC, May 1524 BC 15th BC 226 77 69 62 18 10m00s 25 September 1410 BC April 1448 BC 14th BC 234 76 84 68 6 11m29s 18 November 1320 BC 13th BC 250 93 86 64 7 11m11s 9 December 1284 BC December 1210 BC 12th BC 252 93 89 63 7 10m27s 14 December 1108 BC October 1123 BC, September 1112 BC 11th BC 238 79 91 68 0 10m34s 25 December 1090 BC August 1036 BC, July 1025 BC, June 1014 BC 10th BC 226 84 75 61 6 09m01s 24 October 984 BC 9th BC 225 80 75 66 4 10m21s 7 November 817 BC 8th BC 234 79 88 64 3 11m29s 10 December 763 BC 7th BC 253 96 87 63 7 10m06s 22 November 604 BC December 689 BC, November 678 BC, October 602 BC 6th BC 255 96 86 65 8 10m50s 4 January 531 BC September 591 BC, August 515 BC, July 504 BC 5th BC 241 84 78 62 17 10m24s 26 January 495 BC May 417 BC 4th BC 225 83 63 56 23 10m16s 7 December 391 BC 3rd BC 226 83 62 57 24 11m47s 30 November 214 BC 2nd BC 237 80 73 63 21 12m08s 22 December 178 BC 1st BC 251 92 77 65 17 08m51s 14 February 87 BC 1st AD 248 90 75 58 25 11m18s 4 November 96 August 7, July 18, April 97 2nd AD 237 80 77 64 16 12m23s 7 December 150 3rd AD 227 79 74 69 5 11m09s 8 January 205 4th AD 222 73 76 66 7 10m44s 2 January 363
References