Hi Gem,
Over the last five or six years I have been investigating the astral traditions of ancient Mesopotamia and have come across several references to the system of Exaltations in the corpus of texts. The clearest exposition of the planetary placements can be found in the so-called ?GU-text? [dated between the 7th and 5th centuries BCE]. The text lists the constellations in long ?strings? running approximately North-South. Unfortunately the text is incomplete [and what remains needs some re-organisation] but the extant references to the planets are as follows:
String E ? ?Jupiter behind the Crab [Cancer] in front of the Lion [Leo]?
String K ? ?Mercury with the Furrow [eastern half of Virgo] in front of the Raven [Corvus]?
String L ? ?Saturn in front of the Scales [Libra]?

From the mass of omen texts and their associated commentaries it is possible to fill in the gaps thus:
Moon with the Star Cluster and the Old Man [Pleiades and Perseus]
Venus with Anunitum [Northern Fish of Pisces]
Mars with the Goatfish [Capricorn]
Sun with the Hired Man [Aries]
This model, with the exception of the sun-Aries, is faithfully reproduced in the Circular Zodiac at Dendera.

In later Babylonian texts these attributions are known as ?bit ni?irti? or ?a?ar ni?irti? meaning respectively ?secret house? and ?secret place?. This designation is tantalisingly allusive ? was there an older system of attributions or is it a case of Babylonian astrologers inventing a new system and making out it?s an ancient one? For my own part I cannot see any older system in operation in the texts [there?s no apparent evidence of Rulerships in any Babylonian material I?m familiar with and the Triplicities seem to be a very late construction] so perhaps we are dealing with a revised or expanded version of an earlier system.

Among the earliest ?organised? documents dealing with the stars are a class of text called ?Astrolabes? [the earliest extant copy is currently dated to around 1100 BCE]. These texts typically divide the constellations into 3 paths ? northern, equatorial and southern. And what is of interest is that all the early versions invariably include 3 planets ? Jupiter in the northern path, Venus in the equatorial, and Mars in the southern. This could well reflect the Exaltation system as known in later texts. This line of speculation is given further weight by one particular entry from one of the Astrolabes that clearly associates Saturn with the Sun and the Scales: ?The red star that stands at the rising of the south-wind before the Scorpion is a planet ? the Scales, Saturn; the planet ?the Scales? is the sun god?. In Babylonian astrology the Sun and Saturn are closely related, even interchangeable terms ? both planets commonly being called ?the star of truth & justice?.
Although the earliest surviving Astrolabe may only have been created circa 1100 BCE there are grounds to believe that they originated in the Old Babylonian period [1950-1650 BCE]. David Brown in his Mesopotamian Planetary Astronomy-Astrology notes the fact that two parallel traditions are apparent in the Astrolabes ? one lists 12 constellations per path, the other only 10. He further notes that lists of 10 entries are characteristic, even diagnostic, of texts created in the Old Babylonian period.

There is one further piece of information that may be of relevance to this argument: we are familiar with the exaltation of Jupiter in Cancer as were the Babylonians with Jupiter in the Crab. However, in omen literature there is a very strong [and generally positive] relationship between Jupiter and the King Star [Regulus at the heart of Leo] ? although it is entirely speculative this could possibly be an example of a very early set of exaltation-like attributions. If this has any truth to it, it would suggest a date of formation in the late 3rd Millennium!

In summary, the Babylonian evidence certainly supports the view that a system of ?proto-exaltations? was in common use by the end of the 2nd millennium BCE. This by itself argues against the theories put forward by Cyril Fagan.

As to their underlying organisation the Babylonian attributions seem to purposefully emphasise the great cross of solstices and equinoxes. Jupiter, the most favourable planet, is located at summer solstice at the most northerly section of the ecliptic; conversely Mars, the great malefic, is located opposite it at the winter solstice station; the sun marks the spring equinox while moon, located nearby in the Star Cluster occupies its ideal position at the start of the year. Opposite to them stands Saturn at the autumnal equinox. This, to my mind, seems to be the ultimate basis of the attributions.
The position of Venus and Mercury doesn't quite fit with this scheme but David Pingree in his commentary on Mul-Apin (the most important cuneiform text dealing with celestial matters) suggests that Venus' exaltation marks the early spring when the floods occur and that Mercury's exaltation coincides with the start of the autumnal rainy season. There is evidence to back this up - Mercury, whose nature in Babylonian astrology brings rain and flood, is located next to the Raven which is closely associated with Adad, the god of rain and storm. Venus is placed close to one of the Babylonian constellations that corresponds to Pisces, whose cords were originally identified with the two great rivers of Mesopotamia.
Since writing this post I have written a more detailed exploration of this subject which will appear in the articles section of Skyscript in late May 2009. If you are interested in knowing more about the Babylonian traditions concerning the stars and constellations I published the results of my research under the title 'Babylonian Star-lore'.
Hope this is of interest, all the best, Gavin

This is fascinating. Thanks Gavin

Gem wrote:This is fascinating. Thanks Gavin

I concur.Have you thought of publishing anything?

Matt