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( Babylonian astronomy)
Babylonian astronomy refers to the astronomy that developed in Mesopotamia, the "land between the rivers" Tigris and Euphrates, corresponding to modern-day Iraq, where the ancient kingdoms of Sumer, Akkad, Assyria, Babylonia and Chaldea were located. Babylonian astronomy was the basis for much of the astronomical traditions that later developed in Greek and Hellenistic astronomy, in classical Indian astronomy, in Sassanid, Byzantine and Syrian astronomy, in medieval Islamic astronomy, and in Western European astronomy.[1] The origins of Western astronomy can be found in Mesopotamia. A form of writing known as cuneiform emerged among the Sumerians around 3500-3000 BC. The Sumerians only practiced a basic form of astronomy, but they had an important influence on the sophisticated astronomy of the Babylonians. Astral theology, which gave planetary gods an important role in Mesopotamian mythology and religion, began with the Sumerians. 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 degrees, of 60 minutes each, began with the Sumerians. For more information, see the articles on Babylonian numerals and mathematics. During the 8th and 7th centuries BC, Babylonian astronomers developed a new empirical approach to astronomy. They began studying philosophy dealing with the ideal nature of the early universe and began employing an internal logic within their predictive planetary systems. This was an important contribution to astronomy and the philosophy of science, and some scholars have thus referred to this new approach as the first scientific revolution.[2] This new approach to astronomy was adopted and further developed in Greek and Hellenistic astronomy. Classical Greek and Latin sources frequently use the term Chaldeans for the astronomers of Mesopotamia, who were, in reality, priest-scribes specializing in astrology and other forms of divination.
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