Synodic

Synodic Report

The Babylonian Theory of the Planets

Modern scholars have long struggled to understand the sophisticated workings of Babylonian astronomy and, in particular, how the scribe derived from observation the numerical parameters of their planetary theory in this book, N. M. Swerdlow offers a solution to that problem. He examines here the collection and observation of ominous celestial phenomena and of how intervals of time, locations by zodiacal sign, and cycles in which the phenomena recur were used to develop a purely arithmetical planetary theory by which the same ominous phenomena that were regularly observed were reduced to computation, thereby surmounting the single greatest obstacle to observation: bad weather.

Babylonian Mathematical Astronomy: Procedure Texts

This book contains new translations and a new analysis of the procedure texts of Babylonian mathematical astronomy, the earliest known form of mathematical astronomy of the ancient world. The translations are based on a modern approach incorporating recent insights from Assyriology and translation science. The work contains updated and expanded interpretations of the astronomical algorithms and investigations of previously ignored linguistic, mathematical and other aspects of the procedure texts. Special attention is paid to issues of mathematical representation and over 100 photos of cuneiform tablets dating from 350-50 BCE are presented. In 2-3 years, the author intends to continue his study of Babylonian mathematical astronomy with a new publication which will contain new editions and reconstructions of approx. 250 tabular texts and a new philological, astronomical and mathematical analysis of these texts. Tabular texts are end products of Babylonian math astronomy, computed with algorithms that are formulated in the present volume, Procedure Texts.