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 of
eclipse		 Type Saros Magnitude Gamma Time (UTC) Central Duration Eclipse Path Notes
StartMidEnd
22 Oct 2137 BC Annular 9 0.9736 0.3842 – 03:25:29 02m52s It is said that Ho and Hi, the Drunk Astronomers failed to predict this eclipse. (story may be fictitious or misinterpreted)
3 May 1375 BC Total 16 1.0295 0.7755 – 04:51:04 02m07s Ugarit eclipse.
June 24, 1312 BC Total 35 –10:44– 04m33s Anatolia Known as Mursili's eclipse, could provide an absolute chronology of the ancient Near East.[1][2][3]
5 June 1302 BC Total 26 1.0805 0.2982 02:10:48 00:06:25 Early Chinese eclipse.
16 Apr 1178 BC Total 39 1.0599 0.5187 10:00:58 00:04:33 Odyssey Eclipse.
21 Apr 899 BC Annular 53 0.9591 0.8964 22:21:56 00:03:04 China's 'Double-Dawn' Eclipse.
June 15, 763 BC Total 44 –08:23– 04m59s Attested in Assyrian sources and providing an absolute chronology of the ancient Near East.[4]
6 Apr 648 BC Total 38 1.0689 0.6898 08:31:03 00:05:02 Archilochus' Eclipse.
May 28, 585 BC Total 57 –14:28– 06m05s Allegedly predicted by Thales; occurred during the Battle of the Eclipse.[5][6]
19 May 557 BC Total 48 1.0258 0.3145 12:52:26 00:02:22 The Siege of Larisa, firstly recorded by Xenophon.
February 17, 478 BC or October 2, 480 BC Annular 42/65 –9:58:51/11:51:0 – 06m00s/07m57s Greece Eclipse occurring prior to Xerxes' first march against Greece. The exact dating has been debated, as the writings of Herodotus (who chronicled the eclipse) gives a date for which there was no eclipse visible in that area of the world.[7]
August 3, 431 BC Annular 48 –14:54:51:8– 01m04.5s Greece, Mediterranean Sea Recorded by Thucydides;[8] Pericles shows his Greek Army that the eclipse was not much more than a covering of the sun by something bigger than his cloak.[9]
21 Mar 424 BC Annular 42 0.9430 0.9433 07:54:29 00:04:39 8th year of the Peloponnesian War.
May 6, 319 Total 72 –14:24:49– 03m56s Georgia, Europe, Mexico, United States Thought by astronomers to be the eclipse preceding the Christianization of Iberia by Mirian III of Iberia.[10]
July 17, 334 Annular 80 0.9759 0.3268 –11:21:41– 02m23s Rome, Mediterranean Sea Recorded by Firmicus Maternus in his Mathesos.[11]

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 eclipse Central Duration Reference
30 May 2585 BC 07m17s [12]
10 June 2567 BC 07m21s [12]
6 May 2249 BC 07m20s [12]
17 May 2231 BC 07m21s [12]
5 June 762 BC 07m25s [13]
15 June 744 BC 07m28s [13]
26 June 726 BC 07m18s [13]
16 June 345 07m17s [14]
27 June 363 07m24s [14]
8 July 381 07m22s [14]

Solar eclipses by century

Century No. Eclipse type Longest eclipse[lower-alpha 1] Two-eclipse months[lower-alpha 2] Ref.
Partial (P) Annular (A) Total (T) Hybrid (H) Length Date
20th BC2398471622211m38s28 December 1983 BC March 1958 BC[15]
19th BC2539380631708m57s28 October 1896 BC January 1806 BC[16]
18th BC2549574642111m10s10 November 1710 BC [17]
17th BC2307571602412m07s12 December 1656 BC July 1611 BC[18]
16th BC2257867592110m07s25 January 1583 BC June 1535 BC, May 1524 BC[19]
15th BC2267769621810m00s25 September 1410 BC April 1448 BC[20]
14th BC234768468611m29s18 November 1320 BC [21]
13th BC250938664711m11s9 December 1284 BC December 1210 BC[22]
12th BC252938963710m27s14 December 1108 BC October 1123 BC, September 1112 BC[23]
11th BC238799168010m34s25 December 1090 BC August 1036 BC, July 1025 BC, June 1014 BC[24]
10th BC226847561609m01s24 October 984 BC [25]
9th BC225807566410m21s7 November 817 BC [26]
8th BC234798864311m29s10 December 763 BC [13]
7th BC253968763710m06s22 November 604 BC December 689 BC, November 678 BC, October 602 BC[27]
6th BC255968665810m50s4 January 531 BC September 591 BC, August 515 BC, July 504 BC[28]
5th BC2418478621710m24s26 January 495 BC May 417 BC[29]
4th BC2258363562310m16s7 December 391 BC [30]
3rd BC2268362572411m47s30 November 214 BC [31]
2nd BC2378073632112m08s22 December 178 BC [32]
1st BC2519277651708m51s14 February 87 BC [33]
1st AD2489075582511m18s4 November 96 August 7, July 18, April 97[34]
2nd AD2378077641612m23s[lower-alpha 3]7 December 150 [36]
3rd AD227797469511m09s8 January 205 [37]
4th AD222737666710m44s2 January 363 [14]
  1. ↑ All eclipses listed are annular. See § Longest total eclipses above for longest total eclipses
  2. ↑ Months listed in this column had two eclipses occur during that time period
  3. ↑ This is the longest annular eclipse in the five-millennium period between the 20th century BC and 30th century.[35]

References

  1. ↑ 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. Archived 2020-01-30 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ Trevor R. Bryce, The Kingdom of the Hittites, Clarendon Oxford University Press, (1998)
  3. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-09-15. Retrieved 2009-12-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ↑ 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].
  5. ↑ Stephenson, F. Richard; Fatoohi, Louay J. (1997). "Stephenson, F. Richard, and Louay J. Fatoohi. "Thale's Prediction of a Solar Eclipse." Journal for the History of Astronomy 28 (1997): 279". Journal for the History of Astronomy. 28: 279. Bibcode:1997JHA....28..279S. doi:10.1177/002182869702800401. S2CID 118345852. Archived from the original on 2019-07-15. Retrieved 2019-07-15.
  6. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2020-05-31. Retrieved 2009-12-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ↑ Lynn, W.T. (1884). "Eclipses during the war of Xerxes with the Greeks". The Observatory. 7: 138–140. Bibcode:1884Obs.....7..138L. Archived from the original on 17 October 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  8. ↑ "Eclipse – Assyrian". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 12 August 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  9. ↑ "The Eclipse of Pericles • An Exchange in 'The Observatory' (1884)". penelope.uchicago.edu. Archived from the original on 17 October 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  10. ↑ 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
  11. ↑ Maternus, Mathesos libri octo, I.iv.10.
  12. 1 2 3 4 "Catalog of Long Total Solar Eclipses: -2999 to -2000". Archived from the original on 2014-11-19. Retrieved 2009-12-15.
  13. 1 2 3 4 "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: −0799 to −0700". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  14. 1 2 3 4 "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: 0301 to 0400". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  15. ↑ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: −1999 to −1900". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  16. ↑ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: −1899 to −1800". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  17. ↑ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: −1799 to −1700". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  18. ↑ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: −1699 to −1600". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  19. ↑ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: −1599 to −1500". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  20. ↑ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: −1499 to −1400". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  21. ↑ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: −1399 to −1300". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  22. ↑ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: −1299 to −1200". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  23. ↑ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: −1199 to −1100". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  24. ↑ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: −1099 to −1000". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  25. ↑ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: −0999 to −0900". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  26. ↑ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: −0899 to −0800". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  27. ↑ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: −0699 to −0600". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  28. ↑ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: −0599 to −0500". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  29. ↑ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: −0499 to −0400". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  30. ↑ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: −0399 to −0300". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  31. ↑ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: −0299 to −0200". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  32. ↑ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: −0199 to −0100". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  33. ↑ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: −0099 to 0000". NASA. Archived from the original on October 18, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  34. ↑ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: 0001 to 0100". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  35. ↑ "NASA – Five Millennium Catalog of Solar Eclipses". eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov. Archived from the original on 9 October 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  36. ↑ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: 0101 to 0200". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  37. ↑ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: 0201 to 0300". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
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