Editing History of astronomy (section)

===Mesopotamia===
{{Main|Babylonian astronomy}}
{{Further|Babylonian astrology|Babylonian calendar}}

[[File:Babylonian tablet recording Halley's comet.jpg|thumb|upright|Babylonian tablet in the [[British Museum]] recording [[Halley's Comet]] in 164&nbsp;BC]]

The origins of astronomy can be found in [[Mesopotamia]], the "land between the rivers" [[Tigris]] and [[Euphrates]], where the ancient kingdoms of [[Sumer]], [[Assyria]], and [[Babylonia]] were located. A form of writing known as [[cuneiform]] emerged among the Sumerians around 3500–3000 BC. Our knowledge of Sumerian astronomy is indirect, via the earliest Babylonian star catalogues dating from about 1200&nbsp;BC. The fact that many star names appear in Sumerian suggests a continuity reaching into the Early Bronze Age. [[Astral theology]], which gave planetary gods an important role in [[Mesopotamian mythology]] and [[Mesopotamian religion|religion]], began with the [[Sumer]]ians. They also used a [[sexagesimal]] (base 60) place-value number system, which simplified the task of recording very large and very small numbers. The modern practice of dividing a circle into 360 [[degree (angle)|degrees]], or an hour into 60 minutes, began with the Sumerians. For more information, see the articles on [[Babylonian numerals]] and [[Babylonian mathematics|mathematics]].

Mesopotamia is worldwide the place of the earliest known astronomer and poet by name: [[Enheduanna]], [[Akkadian Empire|Akkadian]] high priestess to the [[lunar deity]] [[Sin (mythology)|Nanna/Sin]] and princess, daughter of [[Sargon the Great]] ({{circa|2334}} &ndash; {{circa|2279}} BCE). She had the Moon tracked in her chambers and wrote poems about her divine Moon.<ref name="c099">{{cite magazine | last=Winkler | first=Elizabeth | title=The Struggle to Unearth the World's First Author | magazine=The New Yorker | date=2022-11-19 | url=https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-struggle-to-unearth-the-worlds-first-author | access-date=2025-02-10}}</ref>

Classical sources frequently use the [[wikt:Chaldean|term Chaldeans]] for the astronomers of Mesopotamia, who were originally [[Ancient Chaldeans|a people]], before being identified with priest-scribes specializing in [[astrology]] and other forms of [[divination]].

The first evidence of recognition that astronomical phenomena are periodic and of the application of mathematics to their prediction is Babylonian. Tablets dating back to the [[First Babylonian dynasty|Old Babylonian period]] document the application of mathematics to the variation in the length of daylight over a solar year. Centuries of Babylonian observations of celestial phenomena are recorded in the series of [[cuneiform]] tablets known as the ''[[Enūma Anu Enlil]]''. The oldest significant astronomical text that we possess is Tablet 63 of the ''Enūma Anu Enlil'', the [[Venus tablet of Ammisaduqa|Venus tablet]] of [[Ammi-saduqa]], which lists the first and last visible risings of Venus over a period of about 21 years and is the earliest evidence that the phenomena of a planet were recognized as periodic. The [[MUL.APIN]] contains catalogues of stars and constellations as well as schemes for predicting [[heliacal rising]]s and the settings of the planets, lengths of daylight measured by a [[water clock]], [[gnomon]], shadows, and [[Intercalation (timekeeping)|intercalations]]. The Babylonian GU text arranges stars in 'strings' that lie along declination circles and thus measure right-ascensions or time-intervals, and also employs the stars of the zenith, which are also separated by given right-ascensional differences.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Pingree|1998}}; {{Harvtxt|Rochberg|2004}}; {{Harvtxt|Evans|1998}}.</ref>

A significant increase in the quality and frequency of Babylonian observations appeared during the reign of [[Nabonassar]] (747–733 BC). The systematic records of ominous phenomena in [[Babylonian astronomical diaries]] that began at this time allowed for the discovery of a repeating 18-year cycle of [[lunar eclipse]]s, for example. The Greek astronomer [[Ptolemy]] later used Nabonassar's reign to fix the beginning of an era, since he felt that the earliest usable observations began at this time.

The last stages in the development of Babylonian astronomy took place during the time of the [[Seleucid Empire]] (323–60 BC). In the 3rd century BC, astronomers began to use "goal-year texts" to predict the motions of the planets. These texts compiled records of past observations to find repeating occurrences of ominous phenomena for each planet. About the same time, or shortly afterwards, astronomers created mathematical models that allowed them to predict these phenomena directly, without consulting records. A notable Babylonian astronomer from this time was [[Seleucus of Seleucia]], who was a supporter of the [[heliocentrism|heliocentric model]].

Babylonian astronomy was the basis for much of what was done in [[Greek astronomy|Greek and Hellenistic astronomy]], in classical [[Indian astronomy]], in Sassanian Iran, in Byzantium, in Syria, in [[Islamic astronomy]], in Central Asia, and in Western Europe.<ref name="dp1998">{{Harvtxt|Pingree|1998}}</ref>