law-giver, the ancient prototype of Justinian; and the epochs of
such Assyrian kings as Sargon II., Asshurnazirpal, Sennacherib,
and Asshurbanapal stand out with much distinctness. Yet, as a
whole, the record does not enable us to trace with clearness the
progress of scientific thought. At best we can gain fewer
glimpses in this direction than in almost any other, for it is
the record of war and conquest rather than of the peaceful arts
that commanded the attention of the ancient scribe. So in dealing
with the scientific achievements of these peoples, we shall
perforce consider their varied civilizations as a unity, and
attempt, as best we may, to summarize their achievements as a
whole. For the most part, we shall not attempt to discriminate as
to what share in the final product was due to Sumerian, what to
Babylonian, and what to Assyrian. We shall speak of Babylonian
science as including all these elements; and drawing our
information chiefly from the relatively late Assyrian and
Babylonian sources, which, therefore, represent the culminating
achievements of all these ages of effort, we shall attempt to
discover what was the actual status of Mesopotamian science at
its climax. In so far as we succeed, we shall be able to judge
what scientific heritage Europe received from the Orient; for in
the records of Babylonian science we have to do with the Eastern
mind at its best. Let us turn to the specific inquiry as to the
achievements of the Chaldean scientist whose fame so dazzled the
eyes of his contemporaries of the classic world.


BABYLONIAN ASTRONOMY

Our first concern naturally is astronomy, this being here, as in
Egypt, the first-born and the most important of the sciences. The
fame of the Chaldean astronomer was indeed what chiefly commanded
the admiration of the Greeks, and it was through the results of
astronomical observations that Babylonia transmitted her most
important influences to the Western world. "Our division of time
is of Babylonian origin," says Hornmel;[7] "to Babylonia we owe
the week of seven days, with the names of the planets for the
days of the week, and the division into hours and months." Hence
the almost personal interest which we of to-day must needs feel
in the efforts of the Babylonian star-gazer.

It must not be supposed, however, that the Chaldean astronomer
had made any very extraordinary advances upon the knowledge of
the Egyptian "watchers of the night." After all, it required
patient observation rather than any peculiar genius in the
observer to note in the course of time such broad astronomical
conditions as the regularity of the moon's phases, and the
relation of the lunar periods to the longer periodical
oscillations of the sun. Nor could the curious wanderings of the
planets escape the attention of even a moderately keen observer.
The chief distinction between the Chaldean and Egyptian
astronomers appears to have consisted in the relative importance
they attached to various of the phenomena which they both
observed. The Egyptian, as we have seen, centred his attention
upon the sun. That luminary was the abode of one of his most
important gods. His worship was essentially solar. The
Babylonian, on the other hand, appears to have been peculiarly
impressed with the importance of the moon. He could not, of
course, overlook the attention-compelling fact of the solar year;
but his unit of time was the lunar period of thirty days, and his
year consisted of twelve lunar periods, or 360 days. He was
perfectly aware, however, that this period did not coincide with
the actual year; but the relative unimportance which he ascribed
to the solar year is evidenced by the fact that he interpolated
an added month to adjust the calendar only once in six years.
Indeed, it would appear that the Babylonians and Assyrians did
not adopt precisely the same method of adjusting the calendar,
since the Babylonians had two intercular months called Elul and
Adar, whereas the Assyrians had only a single such month, called
the second Adar.[8] (The Ve'Adar of the Hebrews.) This diversity
further emphasizes the fact that it was the lunar period which
received chief attention, the adjustment of this period with the
solar seasons being a necessary expedient of secondary
importance. It is held that these lunar periods have often been
made to do service for years in the Babylonian computations and
in the allied computations of the early Hebrews. The lives of the
Hebrew patriarchs, for example, as recorded in the Bible, are
perhaps reckoned in lunar "years." Divided by twelve, the "years"
of Methuselah accord fairly with the usual experience of mankind.

Yet, on the other hand, the convenience of the solar year in
computing long periods of time was not unrecognized, since this
period is utilized in reckoning the reigns of the Assyrian kings.
It may be added that the reign of a king "was not reckoned from
the day of his accession, but from the Assyrian new year's day,
either before or after the day of accession. There does not
appear to have been any fixed rule as to which new year's day
should be chosen; but from the number of known cases, it appears
to have been the general practice to count the reigning years
from the new year's day nearest the accession, and to call the
period between the accession day and the first new year's day
'the beginning of the reign,' when the year from the new year's
day was called the first year, and the following ones were
brought successively from it. Notwithstanding, in the dates of
several Assyrian and Babylonian sovereigns there are cases of the
year of accession being considered as the first year, thus giving
two reckonings for the reigns of various monarchs, among others,
Shalmaneser, Sennacherib, Nebuchadrezzar."[9] This uncertainty as
to the years of reckoning again emphasizes the fact that the
solar year did not have for the Assyrian chronology quite the


<< previous page | next page >>

Jump to page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 |