List of solar eclipses in antiquity

Lists of solar eclipses

Geometry of a total solar eclipse
(not to scale)

Solar eclipses in antiquity
Solar eclipses in the Middle Ages
Modern history

* 16th
* 17th
* 18th
* 19th
* 20th
* 21st

The future

* 22nd

Eclipses seen from

* Australia
* British Isles
* China
* Israel
* Philippines
* Russia
* Turkey
* Ukraine
* United States

See also Lists of lunar eclipses

* v
* t
* e

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

[edit]

Date of
eclipse  | Type  | Saros  | Magnitude  | Gamma  | Time (UTC)  | Central Duration  | Eclipse Path  | Notes

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Start | Mid | End
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]
21 Apr 899 BC  | Annular  | 53  | 0.9591  | 0.8964  |  | 22:21:56  |  | 00:03:04  |  | China's 'Double-Dawn' Eclipse[4][5]
June 15, 763 BC | Total  | 44  |  |  | – | 08:23 | –  | 04m59s  |  | Attested in Assyrian sources and providing an absolute chronology of the ancient Near East.[6]
6 Apr 648 BC  | Total  | 38  | 1.0689  | 0.6898  |  | 08:31:03  |  | 00:05:02  |  | Archilochus' Eclipse[7]
May 28, 585 BC | Total  | 57  |  |  | – | 14:28 | –  | 06m05s  |  | Allegedly predicted by Thales; occurred during the Battle of the Eclipse.[8][9]
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) give a date for which there was no eclipse visible in that area of the world.[10]
August 3, 431 BC  | Annular  | 48  |  |  | – | 14:54:51:8 | –  | 01m04.5s  | Greece, Mediterranean Sea  | Recorded by Thucydides;[11] Pericles shows his Greek Army that the eclipse was not much more than a covering of the sun by something bigger than his cloak.[12]
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.[13]
July 17, 334  | Annular  | 80  | 0.9759  | 0.3268  | – | 11:21:41 | –  | 02m23s  | Rome, Mediterranean Sea | Recorded by Firmicus Maternus in his Mathesos.[14][15]

## Statistics

[edit]

### Longest total eclipses

[edit]

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  | [16]
10 June 2567 BC  | 07m21s  | [16]
6 May 2249 BC  | 07m20s  | [16]
17 May 2231 BC  | 07m21s  | [16]
5 June 762 BC  | 07m25s  | [17]
15 June 744 BC  | 07m28s  | [17]
26 June 726 BC  | 07m18s  | [17]
16 June 345  | 07m17s  | [18]
27 June 363  | 07m24s  | [18]
8 July 381  | 07m22s  | [18]

### Solar eclipses by century

[edit]

Century  | No. | Eclipse type | Longest eclipse[a] | Two-eclipse months[b] | Ref.

|
|
|
|
|

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 | [19]
19th BC | 253 | 93 | 80 | 63 | 17 | 08m57s | 28 October 1896 BC  | January 1806 BC | [20]
18th BC | 254 | 95 | 74 | 64 | 21 | 11m10s | 10 November 1710 BC  |  | [21]
17th BC | 230 | 75 | 71 | 60 | 24 | 12m07s | 12 December 1656 BC  | July 1611 BC | [22]
16th BC | 225 | 78 | 67 | 59 | 21 | 10m07s | 25 January 1583 BC  | June 1535 BC, May 1524 BC | [23]
15th BC | 226 | 77 | 69 | 62 | 18 | 10m00s | 25 September 1410 BC  | April 1448 BC | [24]
14th BC | 234 | 76 | 84 | 68 | 6 | 11m29s | 18 November 1320 BC  |  | [25]
13th BC | 250 | 93 | 86 | 64 | 7 | 11m11s | 9 December 1284 BC  | December 1210 BC | [26]
12th BC | 252 | 93 | 89 | 63 | 7 | 10m27s | 14 December 1108 BC  | October 1123 BC, September 1112 BC | [27]
11th BC | 238 | 79 | 91 | 68 | 0 | 10m34s | 25 December 1090 BC  | August 1036 BC, July 1025 BC, June 1014 BC | [28]
10th BC | 226 | 84 | 75 | 61 | 6 | 09m01s | 24 October 984 BC  |  | [29]
9th BC | 225 | 80 | 75 | 66 | 4 | 10m21s | 7 November 817 BC  |  | [30]
8th BC | 234 | 79 | 88 | 64 | 3 | 11m29s | 10 December 763 BC  |  | [17]
7th BC | 253 | 96 | 87 | 63 | 7 | 10m06s | 22 November 604 BC  | December 689 BC, November 678 BC, October 602 BC | [31]
6th BC | 255 | 96 | 86 | 65 | 8 | 10m50s | 4 January 531 BC  | September 591 BC, August 515 BC, July 504 BC | [32]
5th BC | 241 | 84 | 78 | 62 | 17 | 10m24s | 26 January 495 BC  | May 417 BC | [33]
4th BC | 225 | 83 | 63 | 56 | 23 | 10m16s | 7 December 391 BC  |  | [34]
3rd BC | 226 | 83 | 62 | 57 | 24 | 11m47s | 30 November 214 BC  |  | [35]
2nd BC | 237 | 80 | 73 | 63 | 21 | 12m08s | 22 December 178 BC  |  | [36]
1st BC | 251 | 92 | 77 | 65 | 17 | 08m51s | 14 February 87 BC  |  | [37]
1st AD | 248 | 90 | 75 | 58 | 25 | 11m18s | 4 November 96  | August 7, July 18, April 97 | [38]
2nd AD | 237 | 80 | 77 | 64 | 16 | 12m23s[c] | 7 December 150  |  | [40]
3rd AD | 227 | 79 | 74 | 69 | 5 | 11m09s | 8 January 205  |  | [41]
4th AD | 222 | 73 | 76 | 66 | 7 | 10m44s | 2 January 363  |  | [18]

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.[39]

## References

[edit]

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. ^ Bamboo Annals. State of Wei. "During the first year of the reign of King Yi, in the first month of spring, the sun rose twice at Zheng"
5. ^ "NASA - Solar Eclipses of History". eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
6. ^ 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].[1]
7. ^ "NASA - Solar Eclipses of History". eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
8. ^ 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.
9. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2020-05-31. Retrieved 2009-12-15.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
10. ^ 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.
11. ^ "Eclipse – Assyrian". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 12 August 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
12. ^ "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.
13. ^ 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
14. ^ Maternus, Mathesos libri octo, I.iv.10.
15. ^ "NASA - Solar Eclipses of History". eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov. Retrieved 22 June 2025.
16. ^ a b c d "Catalog of Long Total Solar Eclipses: -2999 to -2000". Archived from the original on 2014-11-19. Retrieved 2009-12-15.
17. ^ a b c d "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: −0799 to −0700". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
18. ^ a b c d "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: 0301 to 0400". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
19. ^ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: −1999 to −1900". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
20. ^ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: −1899 to −1800". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
21. ^ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: −1799 to −1700". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
22. ^ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: −1699 to −1600". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
23. ^ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: −1599 to −1500". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
24. ^ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: −1499 to −1400". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
25. ^ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: −1399 to −1300". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
26. ^ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: −1299 to −1200". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
27. ^ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: −1199 to −1100". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
28. ^ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: −1099 to −1000". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
29. ^ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: −0999 to −0900". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
30. ^ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: −0899 to −0800". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
31. ^ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: −0699 to −0600". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
32. ^ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: −0599 to −0500". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
33. ^ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: −0499 to −0400". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
34. ^ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: −0399 to −0300". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
35. ^ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: −0299 to −0200". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
36. ^ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: −0199 to −0100". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
37. ^ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: −0099 to 0000". NASA. Archived from the original on October 18, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
38. ^ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: 0001 to 0100". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
39. ^ "NASA – Five Millennium Catalog of Solar Eclipses". eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov. Archived from the original on 9 October 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
40. ^ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: 0101 to 0200". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
41. ^ "Catalog of Solar Eclipses: 0201 to 0300". NASA. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.

* v
* t
* e

Solar eclipses

Features|

* Baily's beads (diamond ring)
* Shadow bands
* Solar prominence
* Stellar corona
* helmet streamer

Lists of eclipses|

| By era|

* Antiquity
* Middle Ages
* Modern era
* 16th
* 17th
* 18th
* 19th
* 20th
* 21st
* 22nd
* Future

|

Saros series (list)|

* 109
* 110
* 111
* 112
* 113
* 114
* 115
* 116
* 117
* 118
* 119
* 120
* 121
* 122
* 123
* 124
* 125
* 126
* 127
* 128
* 129
* 130
* 131
* 132
* 133
* 134
* 135
* 136
* 137
* 138
* 139
* 140
* 141
* 142
* 143
* 144
* 145
* 146
* 147
* 148
* 149
* 150
* 151
* 152
* 153
* 154
* 155
* 156
* 157
* 158
* 159
* 160
* 161
* 162

Visibility|

* Australia
* British Isles
* China
* Israel
* Philippines
* Russia
* Turkey
* Ukraine
* United States

Historical|

* Mursili's eclipse (1312 BC)
* Assyrian eclipse (763 BC)
* Eclipse of Thales (585 BC)
* Muhammad's eclipse (632 AD)

Total/hybrid eclipses
→ next total/hybrid|

* 1133
* 1185
* 1560
* 1598
* 1652
* 1654
* 1673
* 1706
* 1715
* 1724
* 1766
* 1778
* 1780
* 1802
* 1803
* 1806
* 1816
* 1824
* 1842
* 1845
* 1851
* 1853
* 1857
* 1858
* 1860
* 1865
* 1867
* 1868
* 1869
* 1870
* 1871
* 1874
* 1875
* 1878
* 1882
* 1883
* 1885
* 1886
* 1887
* Jan. 1889
* Dec. 1889
* 1892
* 1893
* 1896
* 1898
* 1900
* 1901
* 1903
* 1904
* 1905
* 1907
* Jan. 1908
* Dec. 1908
* 1909
* 1910
* 1911
* Apr. 1912
* Oct. 1912
* 1914
* 1916
* 1918
* 1919
* 1921
* 1922
* 1923
* 1925
* 1926
* 1927
* 1928
* 1929
* Apr. 1930
* Oct. 1930
* 1932
* 1934
* 1936
* 1937
* 1938
* 1939
* 1940
* 1941
* 1943
* Jan. 1944
* 1945
* 1947
* 1948
* 1950
* 1952
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1970
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1976
* 1977
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1994
* 1995
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2005
* 2006
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2012
* 2013
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2023
* 2024
* → 2026
* 2027
* 2028
* 2030
* 2031
* 2033
* 2034
* 2035
* 2037
* 2038
* 2039
* 2041
* 2042
* 2043
* 2044
* 2045
* 2046
* 2048
* 2049
* 2050
* 2052
* 2053
* 2055
* Jan. 2057
* Dec. 2057
* 2059
* 2060
* 2061
* 2063
* 2064
* 2066
* 2067
* 2068
* 2070
* 2071
* 2072
* 2073
* 2075
* 2076
* 2077
* 2078
* 2079
* 2081
* 2082
* 2084
* 2086
* 2088
* 2089
* 2090
* 2091
* 2093
* 2094
* 2095
* 2096
* 2097
* 2099
* 2100
* 2186

Annular eclipses
→ next annular|

* 1749
* 1792
* 1802
* 1803
* 1820
* 1854
* 1860
* 1863
* 1865
* 1879
* 1889
* 1899
* 1900
* 1901
* 1903
* 1904
* 1905
* 1907
* 1908
* 1911
* 1914
* Feb. 1915
* Aug. 1915
* 1916
* 1917
* 1918
* 1919
* 1921
* 1922
* 1923
* 1925
* 1926
* 1927
* 1929
* 1932
* Feb. 1933
* Aug. 1933
* 1934
* 1935
* 1936
* 1937
* 1939
* 1940
* 1941
* 1943
* Jul. 1944
* 1945
* 1947
* 1948
* 1950
* Mar. 1951
* Sep. 1951
* 1952
* Jan. 1954
* Dec. 1954
* 1955
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1965
* 1966
* Mar. 1969
* Sep. 1969
* 1970
* 1972
* Jan. 1973
* Dec. 1973
* 1976
* 1977
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1983
* 1984
* 1987
* 1988
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1994
* 1995
* 1998
* 1999
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2005
* 2006
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2016
* 2017
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2023
* 2024
* → 2026
* 2027
* 2028
* 2030
* 2031
* 2032
* 2034
* 2035
* 2036
* Jan. 2038
* Jul. 2038
* 2039
* 2041
* 2042
* 2043
* 2044
* 2045
* 2046
* 2048
* 2049
* 2052
* 2053
* Jan. 2056
* Jul. 2056
* 2057
* 2059
* 2060
* 2061
* 2063
* 2064
* 2066
* 2067
* 2070
* 2071
* Jan. 2074
* Jul. 2074
* 2075
* 2077
* 2078
* 2079
* 2081
* 2082
* 2084
* Jun. 2085
* Dec. 2085
* 2088
* 2089
* Feb. 2092
* Aug. 2092
* 2093
* 2095
* 2096
* 2097
* 2099
* 2100

Partial eclipses
→ next partial|

* Jan. 1639
* Apr. 1801
* Sep. 1801
* Oct. 1801
* Apr. 1848
* Jan. 1852
* Nov. 1855
* Nov. 1873
* Apr. 1902
* May 1902
* Oct. 1902
* Feb. 1906
* Jul. 1906
* Aug. 1906
* Dec. 1909
* Nov. 1910
* Apr. 1913
* Aug. 1913
* Sep. 1913
* Dec. 1916
* Jan. 1917
* Jun. 1917
* Jul. 1917
* May 1920
* Nov. 1920
* Mar. 1924
* Jul. 1924
* Aug. 1924
* Dec. 1927
* Jun. 1928
* Nov. 1928
* Apr. 1931
* Sep. 1931
* Oct. 1931
* Jan. 1935
* Feb. 1935
* Jun. 1935
* Jul. 1935
* Nov. 1938
* Mar. 1942
* Aug. 1942
* Sep. 1942
* Jan. 1946
* May 1946
* Jun. 1946
* Nov. 1946
* Apr. 1949
* Oct. 1949
* Feb. 1953
* Jul. 1953
* Aug. 1953
* Dec. 1956
* Mar. 1960
* Sep. 1960
* Jan. 1964
* Jun. 1964
* Jul. 1964
* Dec. 1964
* May 1967
* Mar. 1968
* Feb. 1971
* Jul. 1971
* Aug. 1971
* Dec. 1974
* May 1975
* Nov. 1975
* Apr. 1978
* Oct. 1978
* Jan. 1982
* Jun. 1982
* Jul. 1982
* Dec. 1982
* May 1985
* Apr. 1986
* Mar. 1989
* Aug. 1989
* Dec. 1992
* May 1993
* Nov. 1993
* Apr. 1996
* Oct. 1996
* Sep. 1997
* Feb. 2000
* 1 Jul. 2000
* 31 Jul. 2000
* Dec. 2000
* Apr. 2004
* Oct. 2004
* Mar. 2007
* Sep. 2007
* Jan. 2011
* Jun. 2011
* Jul. 2011
* Nov. 2011
* Oct. 2014
* Sep. 2015
* Feb. 2018
* Jul. 2018
* Aug. 2018
* Jan. 2019
* Apr. 2022
* Oct. 2022
* Mar. 2025
* → Sep. 2025
* Jan. 2029
* Jun. 2029
* Jul. 2029
* Dec. 2029
* 2032
* 2033
* Feb. 2036
* Jul. 2036
* Aug. 2036
* 2037
* May 2040
* Nov. 2040
* Jan. 2047
* Jun. 2047
* Jul. 2047
* Dec. 2047
* 2050
* Apr. 2051
* Oct. 2051
* Mar. 2054
* Aug. 2054
* Sep. 2054
* 2055
* May 2058
* Jun. 2058
* Nov. 2058
* Mar. 2062
* Sep. 2062
* Feb. 2065
* Jul. 2065
* Aug. 2065
* Dec. 2065
* 2068
* Apr. 2069
* May 2069
* Oct. 2069
* 2072
* 2073
* Jun. 2076
* Jul. 2076
* Nov. 2076
* Feb. 2083
* Jul. 2083
* Aug. 2083
* 2084
* 2086
* May 2087
* Jun. 2087
* Oct. 2087
* 2090
* 2091
* Jun. 2094
* Jul. 2094
* Dec. 2094
* Apr. 2098
* Sep. 2098
* Oct. 2098

Other bodies|

* Mars
* Moon
* Jupiter
* Neptune
* Pluto
* Saturn
* Uranus

Related|

* Allais effect
* Eclipse chasing
* Solar viewer
* Eclipse photography
* Eclipse cycle
* Eclipse season
* Eclipses in mythology and culture
* List of films featuring eclipses
* Lunar eclipse
* Magnitude of eclipse
* Planetary transit
* Solar eclipses in fiction

* Astronomy portal
* Solar System portal
* Category

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[No.]: Number
*[Ref.]: References