Annals of Sin
Annals of Sin (辛紀年, sin-keqs-k.ning) is a annalistic history of Sin, an independent state in Themiclesia between the 5th century BCE and 256 CE. It was lost in the 6th century and survived in quotations by ancient authors, until a well-preserved copy was discovered in the Themiclesian desert in 1942. Its rediscovery is considered highly influential in history circles and is the basis of several modern works on the history of the Themiclesian Antiquity.
Content
The Annals focuses on the city of Sin (辛), which is apparently one of the earliest cities in Themiclesia, archaeologically dating to the 7th century BCE. However, the Annals do not describe this period and instead starts in 354 BCE. In this wise, it post-dates the beginning of the Six States by about 30 years. It then proceeds to provide records in the form date, event, month, with few interruptions until 8 BCE, for a total of 346 years.
Like other works of this period, the events mentioned are mostly sacramental, with some brief sections of prose not in the usual form. These are typically appended to each record in the normal form with the introductory phrase, "in that year, something happened". Some records are expanded upon by providing non-sacramental events, like the succession of rulers or battles or the births and deaths of important persons.
The following is a section for the year 343 BCE:
公吳報自比母辛母乙母癸示率八 二月
The Elder Ngwa conducted Replication sacrifice towards the spirits of Grandmother Sin, Mother Qrut, and Mother Kwi, with eight [sheep] each, in the second month.
公吳報禾自大兄乙大兄乙大兄辛父甲父辛父己 率爯宗 六月
The Elder Ngwa conducted Replication sacrifice towards Elder Brother Qrut, Elder Brother Qrut, Elder Brother Sin, Father Krap, Father Sin, and Father Keq, and made offerings at each of their shrines, in the sixth month.
公吳禱賈自比母辛于徹大 示六 ＝月 丁允各又賈自辛南鄙
The Elder Ngwa prayed for exchanges towards Grandmother Sin and even all the great spirits, six spirits, in the [sixth] month. On the day têng there were indeed merchants arriving from the southern country of Sin.
公吳報麥眔黍年自大兄乙大兄乙大兄辛 示三 十月又二
The Elder Ngwa conducted Replication for the wheat and millet harvests towards Elder Brother Qrut, Elder Brother Qrut, and Elder Brother Sin, three spirits, in the twelfth month.
茲年公及立。二月 賓女啻自奠。三月 命僓牧。六月 事毓母在西 省田。九月 報年于三示宗。
In this year the Elder was established. In the second month, he received a woman that came [as his spouse] from Ne-drings. In the third month, he established a herder in Ne-lui. In the sixth month, he conducted the affairs of his mother in the west [countryside] and inspected his fields. In the ninth month, he conducted Replication for harvests, in the three spirits' shrines.
Analysis
The contents of the Annals is conventionally into two categories—the principal and commentary texts. This is done on the basis of theme, form, and language, as the commentary text not only deviates from the "date, event, month" form but was apparently added at a later date. Nevertheless, the overall language of the book seems to date to the end of the Arcahic Period extending into the first decades of the Classical Period, suggesting a final edition no later than about 130 CE.
Most authors accept that the commnetary text was added by an anonymous compiler in the 1st century CE to a corpus of select records. Writing in the 1st century, the compiler is thought to have utilized a source of information that goes beyond the very limited scope of the principal text, but this additional source has since been completely lost. It is also debated the relationship between the principal and commentary texts, i.e. whether one was meant to support the other. In this respect, the view that the compiler was trying to convey a message of some kind, and the records selected and comments provided are not accidental, is gaining credence.
The provision of commentaries mentioning important non-cultic events has intrigued researches in the modern era. Some hypothesize that the compiler relied on an oral tradition or popular legends for his commentaries, since it is known that sacramental records are maintained by priests on cattle scapula as part of divination rites. The compiler is believed to have privileged access to these divination records and may have done chronological work upon them, as they are stored as a string of scapulae without obvious dating information on them. If the compiler did indeed perform chronological work by associating cultic events with historical ones, "it would make him the grandfather of all Themiclesian historians" according to Larter.