Babylonian Astronomical Tradition

Timeline

1. c. -700–-500Babylon · BabylonScribes of the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian periods systematically recorded eclipses, planetary conjunctions and oppositions on clay tablets, developed calendars based on the synodic month and introduced intercalary month rules, forming an astronomical diary tradition lasting centuries.
2. c. -500–-100Mesopotamia · MesopotamiaBabylonian astronomers compiled star list texts such as MUL.APIN and developed arithmetical methods to predict the positions of the Moon and planets, elevating astronomical observation from mere astrological record-keeping to a computable mathematical system.
3. c. -100–1Mesopotamia · MesopotamiaDuring the Hellenistic period Babylonian arithmetical astronomy was absorbed by Greek scholars, with figures such as Hipparchus drawing on Babylonian period methods; around the first century CE native cuneiform astronomical records ceased, but the methods passed to later ages through Greek and Persian scholars.