![]() #5 Babylonian astronomy laid the basis for all western astronomyĪncient Babylonia occupies a pivotal place in the history of modern scientific astronomy. A Babylonian tablet revealing the path of Jupiter This technique is fundamental to physics and was previously believed to have originated in 14th century Europe. Using this method they tracked the position of Jupiter as well as its speed and the distance that it traveled. They did this through a method for estimating the area under a curve by drawing a trapezoid, or four sided figure, underneath. Five Babylonian tablets also provide evidence that they were using sophisticated geometrical calculations to track Jupiter across the night sky. There is also evidence to suggest that the Pythagorean theorem may have been known to Babylonian mathematicians as early as 1900 BC, over a thousand years before Pythagoras was born. The Babylonians used geometry for the calculation of the areas of rectangles, triangles and trapezoids as well as the volumes of simple shapes such as bricks and cylinders. #4 They were the first to use sophisticated geometry to track moving objects A Babylonian clay tablet with interesting and important mathematical content (courtesy Yale Babylonian Collection) Also, Babylonian tablets have been found which could have been used for calculating cubes and cube roots. The first ever evidence of the solution of quadratic equations is from Babylonia. These were also based on pre-calculated tables. Apart from arithmetical calculations, Babylonian mathematicians also developed algebraic methods of solving equations. We still have their reciprocal tables going up to the reciprocals of numbers up to several billion. As the Babylonians did not have an algorithm for long division, they instead used a table of reciprocals. If one uses formulas, a table of squares is all that is necessary to multiply numbers. Unearthed Babylonian tablets give squares of the numbers up to 59 and cubes of the numbers up to 32. #3 They could perform advanced arithmetic calculations and solve quadratic equationsĪmong the most spectacular aspects of the mathematical skills of the Babylonians was their construction of tables to aid calculation. It has now been established that Greek and Hellenistic mathematicians borrowed heavily from the Babylonians. Due to their advanced number system, the Babylonians made great advances in mathematics. However, the Babylonians did not have a concept of zero or a digit for it. The Babylonian numeral system is the first known positional numeral system and it is considered by some as their greatest achievement in mathematics. In fact it is nearly impossible to do advanced mathematics with a non-positional system like the Roman N umerals. ![]() Positional system greatly simplifies arithmetic. Unlike their predecessors, Babylonians used a positional numeral system, in which the value of a digit depends on both the digit and its position. ![]() As the number 60 has many divisors (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20 and 30), a sexagesimal system makes calculations easier than the decimal, or base 10, system we use today. From this we derive the modern day measurements of both the hour and the minute. They used a base 60 or sexagesimal number system. The Babylonians inherited their numeral system from either the Sumerian or the Eblaite civilizations. #2 They developed the first ever positional number system It was perhaps the first city to reach a population above 200,000. It has been estimated that Babylon was the largest city in the world from around 1770 BC to 1670 BC and then again between 612 BC and 320 BC. In 539 BC, Cyrus the Great of Persia conquered the Neo-Babylonian Empire bringing an end to the last independent state of the ancient Mesopotamian civilization. It was during his reign that southern Mesopotamia became known as Babylonia and Babylon eclipsed Nippur as its holy city. The sixth Amorite ruler, Hammurabi, took the Old Babylonian Empire to its greatest heights. The Amorites began expanding their influence taking over many city-states and established what is known as the Old Babylonian Empire. Around 2000 BC, nomadic people known as the Amorites began to migrate into southern Mesopotamia. Between 2900 BC and 2000 BC, two civilizations flourished in the region that would later be known as Babylonia: Sumer in the south and Akkad in the north. Mesopotamia had a long history prior to the emergence of Babylonian civilization. #1 Their capital city was the largest city in the world at the time
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