This article pursues two main goals: (1) to reconstruct the history of the 12 zodiac constellation system in the astronomy of ancient Mesopotamia; (2) to reveal traces of this system directly in cuneiform texts. Among the most important circumstances led to appearance of this system: (1) development of ideas about the band of zodiac constellations, including—according to MUL.APIN—the total of 18 (or 17) constellations; (2) usage of the schematic year, containing 12 months, 30 days each, and (3) development of ideas about mathematical or uniform zodiac, subdivided into 12 equal parts, 30° each. A sequence of the so-called Normal stars singled out in the zodiacal band is an additional important source shedding light on the history of the Mesopotamian zodiac. The designations of Normal stars adopted in Astronomical diaries and other texts indicate that the system of 18 constellations was used in Mesopotamia until the end of cuneiform civilization. This means that in the second half of the first millennium BC the system of 18 constellations, adopted in MUL.APIN, and the system of 12 zodiacal constellations, borrowed from Babylonians by Greek astronomers, were used in parallel. It is also shown in the article that the system of 12 zodiac constellations was used in magical and astrological text BRM 4.20, dated back approximately to the last third of the fourth century BC.

本文追求两个主要目标：（1）重建古代美索不达米亚天文学中的十二生肖星座系统的历史；（2）直接在楔形文字中揭示该系统的痕迹。在导致该系统出现的最重要情况中：（1）关于黄道带星座带的构想的发展，包括-根据MUL.APIN-总共18（或17）个星座；（2）图解年的用法，包含12个月，每个30天，以及（3）关于数学或统一的十二生肖的思想的发展，分为十二等分，每个30°。在黄道带中挑选出的一系列所谓的正常恒星是揭示美索不达米亚黄道带历史的另一个重要来源。的名称一般明星通过在天文日记等文字表明，18个星座的系统中使用的美索不达米亚楔形文字之前文明的结束。这意味着在公元前一千年的后半期，并行使用了MUL.APIN中采用的18个星座系统和希腊天文学家从巴比伦人借来的12个黄道星座。该文章还表明，在魔术和占星术文本BRM 4.20中使用了12个十二生肖星座的系统，该文本可追溯到大约公元前四世纪的后三分之一。