The Gentile Times Reconsidered Chronology Christ

154 THE GENTILE TIMES RECONSIDERED
the study of the Babylonian astronomical texts. After his death
another of Strassmaier’s colleagues, Franz Xaver Kugler (1862–
1929), took over the work of Epping.
Few, if any, have contributed as much to the study of the
astronomical texts as Kugler. He published his results in a series of
monumental works, such as Die Babylonische Mondrechnung (1901),
Sternkunde and Sterndienst in Babel, Vol. I and II (1907–1924), and
Von Moses bis Paulus (1922). The last two works include detailed
studies of ancient chronology, in which the astronomical texts are
fully developed and studied in depth. 1
After Kugler’s death in 1929 some of the key names in the study
of the Babylonian astronomy have been P. J. Schaumberger
(deceased 1955), Otto Neugebauer (1899–1990), and Abraham J.
Sachs (1914–1983). Many other modern scholars have contributed
much to the understanding of the astronomical texts, some of
whom have been consulted for the following discussion.
Ancient astronomy
As can be deduced from the Babylonian astronomical tablets, a
regular and systematic study of the sky began in the mid-eighth
century B.C.E., perhaps even earlier. Trained observers were
specifically employed to carry out a regular watch of the positions
and movements of the sun, the moon and the planets, and to
record from day to day the phenomena observed.
This regular activity was performed at a number of
observational sites in Mesopotamia, located in the cities of
Babylon, Uruk, Nippur, Sippar, Borsippa, Cutha, and Dilbat. 2 (See
the accompanying map.)
As a result of this activity, the Babylonian scholars at an early
stage had recognized the various cycles of the sun, the moon and
the five planets visible to the naked eye (Mercury, Venus, Mars,
Jupiter, and Saturn), enabling them even to predict certain
phenomena, such as lunar eclipses.
1 Kugler’s results are of lasting value. Dr. Schaumberger states that Kugler “on all
essential points has fixed the chronology for the last centuries before Christ,
having thus performed an invaluable service to the science of history.”—P. J.
Schaumberger, “Drei babylonische Planetentafeln der Seleukidenzeit,” Orientalia,
Vol. 2, Nova Series (Rome, 1933), p. 99.
2 In Assyrian times, such observations were also performed in the cities of Assur
and Nineveh. The observations in Babylonia were possibly performed on top of
temple-towers, ziggurats, such as the ziggurat of Etemenanki in Babylon.