Akkadian Addenda · Signs

𒊹ŠAR₂ · [šar] · 3600 — the number of everything

myriad

Where it comes from

A round impression — in origin a big circle of the round stylus end, the number 3600: sixty sixties, the ceiling of the sexagesimal world (stated). Where we say “a million thanks,” the scribes wrote one round sign and meant beyond counting.

How to remember it

The myriad: one circle holding sixty sixties. When a friend wishes you MU ŠAR₂.KAM — year number 3600 — he is wishing you more calendar than arithmetic can pay out.

In the wild

Akkadian reading taught in 103’s chapter 12.