A Brief Introduction to Astronomy in the Middle East

by John M. Steele

The Middle East was both the birthplace of astronomy and the centre for its development during the medieval period.

In this brief introduction John Steele offers an intriguing insight into the Middle Eastern achievements in astronomy and their profound influence on the rest of the world.

Amongst other things, the book traces the Late Babylonians’ ingenious schemes for modelling planetary motion. It also reveals how medieval Islamic advances in the study of the heavens, and the design of precise astronomical instruments, led to breakthroughs by Renaissance practitioners such as Copernicus and Kepler.

An invaluable introduction to one of the oldest sciences in the world.

John M. Steele is a Royal Society University Research Fellow at the University of Durham, where he researches and teaches the history of astronomy.

Genres: Astronomy, Science

160 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2008

Reviews

[Michal Paszkiewicz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful and enlightening book.

I particularly enjoyed learning about the Mesopotamian calendar and the substitute King!

[Fernando Pestana da Costa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Astronomy is, together with mathematics, the oldest science in existence. It is also one of the very few instances of a scientific activity that inspired a huge respect and support in a wide variety of civilizations in spite of the fact that its real practical contributions were almost nil (of course its contributions on a psychological and symbolic levels, through religious observance and astrology, and on the philosophical level, were hugely important). This tiny little book, hardly one hundred and forty pages long, is a very nice introduction to the astronomical achievements of the middle eastern peoples from the Mesopotamia's cultures in the third millenium BCE, the Greek and Roman contributions (most notably Ptolemy's, working in Roman Egypt in the second Century CE) up until the medieval Islamic contributions culminating with Nasīr al-Tūsī's and Ibn al-Shātir's improvements on Ptolemy's planetary theory and their possible (indirect) influence upon European scholars such as Regiomontanus and Copernicus. A very interesting book indeed.

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Highly technical at times, this book may not be as accessible to those with no background in sciences or astronomy (like myself). Nevertheless, the book delivers a good overview of astronomical developments throughout history with a focus on the Middle East. The book details how astronomical knowledge had been built on advancements made in the Western, Eastern and Middle Eastern worlds. In particular, religion (Islam) had been a driving force in the medieval period.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a good introduction to historical astronomy without a lot of mathematics. The author delves into Babylonian, Greek, and Islamic astronomy tracing how each influenced later astronomers. The one quibble I have is that the author doesn’t discuss how the ancient astronomers felt about the stars – there’s nothing about the ancient Babylonian or Greek religions and how they saw the objects in the sky as deities. There is no mention of the names of planets or stars the Babylonians used.

[Hanna (lapetiteboleyn) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very technical and occasionally mystifying, it was still a fascinating little read that charts the rise and rise of astronomy as a science from humble beginnings as a tool for divination all the way to the Renaissance and the inventions of groundbreaking tools like the astrolabe.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was nice and short, which made its textbook style easier to get through. It was pretty interesting, but a bit dry.