Two old Babylonian multiplication tables

DOI10.1007/S00407-026-00376-WMaRDI QIDQ7309173zbMATH OpenFDO

Authors Mohannad Khalaf Jamen Al Shamari, Cécile Michel

Publication date 4 August 2026

Published in Archive for History of Exact Sciences (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://doi.org/10.1007/S00407-026-00376-W

History of Babylonian mathematics (01A17)

Mohannad Khalaf Jamen Al Shamari and Cécile Michel present two mathematical cuneiform tablets, each containing a multiplication table. This genre of texts is common in collections of school tablets excavated in Mesopotamia and beyond. The tablets were unearthed during illegal excavations and subsequently found their way onto the antiquities market. Their exact provenience and archaeological context are therefore unknown. However, these tables exhibit interesting features that allow the authors for plausible hypotheses regarding their dating and origin. The authors provide a comprehensive, well-documented, and well-structured analysis and edition. All material and textual aspects are carefully examined: tablet type, condition, paleography, text organization and layout, notably the arrangement of numbers into columns. These analyses and an examination of the colophon show that the tablets can be dated to the old Babylonian period and most likely originate from southern Mesopotamia, possibly from Larsa. The authors evoke the mathematical context and probable use of these tables. They highlight the role of multiplication tables in the elementary mathematical education that was provided by scribal schools during the old Babylonian period.

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