Chronology of the Astrology of the Middle East and the West by Period Second Edition, Revised and Expanded ee eR es? neg ee Written and Compiled by Robert Hand ARHAT©Copyright 1998 Robert S. HandChronology of the Astrology of the Middle East and the West by Period Compiled by Robert Hand for ARHAT The following is not intended to be a complete history. It is only to give a rough idea of the times and order of major developments in the history of astrology, a list of the major astrologers, and events in the historical background. Preamble The origins of astrology are lost in time. Virtually every ancient people from ancient Mesopotamians to native Americans conceived of the idea that there is some kind of correspondence between events in the heavens and those on earth. However, these were all omen-based astrologies. The positions of the stars and planets were examined at certain times and scrutinized for unusual phenomena, arrangements or other strange appearances. Typically these observations were not limited to strictly astronomical phenomena but might include weather phenomena such as halos, red moons, etc. Most important were observations of lunar phases and then later on the appearances and disappearances of the planets (“wandering stars”). No effort was made (or at least no successful effort) to predict any of these phenomena in advance except possibly for the phases of the Moon. Rather, celestial phenomena were observed and to some extent measured as they happened. The alignments of Stonehenge suggest that it was just such a device. While it may have served as an eclipse predicting device (and this is still somewhat controversial among scholars) primarily it and other such observatories were more like clocks in that they told the peoples who used them what time of year it was rather then when something in the future was going to happen. The central point that needs to be made here is that the basic astrological impulse, the desire to correlate celestial and terrestrial events, was nearly universal among ancient peoples. However, a distinguishing mark of what we call astrology as it is practiced today is that celestial phenomena are computed in advance of their occurrence so that, whatever correlation there may be between the earth and the heavens, events derived from such a correlation can be anticipated in advance. In order to bring about such an astrology it was necessary to observe heavenly movements for a long time so that these movements could be computedin advance. As far as we can tell only one group of ancient peoples ever did this, the various peoples who lived in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq), especially the Sumerians, the Babylonians (later known as Chaldeans), and the Assyrians. Since we know of no other ancient peoples who did this, we have to assume that these peoples were the most likely to have given birth to astrology as we know it. Final Comment: This chronology does not at this time include developments in the history of Jyotish or Hindu astrology. This is not to slight the considerable history of the development of that system of astrology. It is simply that here I am concentrating on the history of our system of astrology in the West. But I do note times and events which might have been involved in the interaction between Middle Eastern astrology and Jyotish.Early Period — This is the period during which astrology in Mesopotamia evolved from its omen-based roots into the immediate ancestor of horoscopic astrology. See the essay “On the Early Roots of Horoscopic Astrology” at the end of this chronology. A. Before 15,000 B.C.E. The precise date is uncertain, but early human beings appear to have recorded the phases of the Moon by making scratches on pieces of bone. These would appear to be the earliest astronomical observations. B. €4000 B.C.E. Mesopotamia, the "Land between the Two Rivers," is one of the so-called "cradles" of civilization, along with Egypt, China, and the Indus Valley. It also appears to be the oldest of these. The oldest known people in Mesopotamia were a people known as the Ubaidians. We know virtually nothing about these people except that at a fairly early period another people began moving into the area and intermarrying with them. These were the Sumerians who became dominant and whose language replaced whatever was the language of the Ubaidians. C. 63400 B.C.E. The development of a notation system for numbers in Egypt. D. 63200 B.C.E. Archaic Period in Egypt. Hieroglyphic writing dates from at least this period. E. €3000 B.C.E. The Sumerians developed cuneiform which is done by impressing wedge-shapes into soft clay. F. 2755-2255 B.C.E. Old Kingdom in Egypt. G. 62500 B.C.E. Beginning of Indus Valley culture in India according to conventional scholarship. H. 2330 B.C.E. Sargon of Akkad conquered the Sumerians and created the first of several Semitic empires in Mesopotamia. The Akkadian Empire fell in 2218 B.C.E. leading to a period of anarchy in Mesopotamia until the rise of the first Babylonian Empire and the early stages of the Assyrian Empire in the later second millennium B.C.E. I. 2134-1784 B.C.E. Middle Kingdom in Egypt. J. 1792-1750 B.C.E. Hammurabi’s reign in Babylonia. This is beginning of the First or Old Babylonian Empire. K. 1646 B.C.E. The Venus Tables of Ammizaduga, the oldest surviving tables of systematic observations of planetary movements. These contain not only the astronomical data but also omen lore concerning the phases of Venus. L. 1570-1070 B.C.E. The New Kingdom in Egypt.OZ U. . €1500 B.C.E. Stonehenge, the Sarsen stone circle (the large standing stones) was erected. The entire structure as it survives today was erected between the 3000 and 1000 B.C.E. 1350 B.C.E. The rise of the Assyrian Empire. 730-650 B.C.E. Assyrian Empire controls all of Mesopotamia, parts of Persia, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt. This is also notable as the first time that Egypt and Babylon were under the same regime. 687 B.C.E. Mul Apin, the oldest known star catalog. Little evidence at this time of a twelve-fold division of the zodiac by constellations of either equal or unequal length. However, several of the later zodiacal constellations were already described, but not yet codified into the “twelve signs of the zodiac.” 612 B.C.E. The fall of Assyria and the rise of the Second Babylonian Empire. The Babylonian people that brought this about were also known as Chaldeans, hence the term Chaldean Empire. €650 B.C.E. Enuma Anu Enlil, a series of omen observations in something like its final form, although parts are almost a millennium older. This indicates the presence of a very old astral religion which provided the ideological and philosophical motive behind the development of astrology. €650-€450 B.C.E. The development of a twelve-fold zodiac with equal 30° signs. True horoscopic birthcharts do not yet seem to exist. 539 B.C.E. The conquest of Babylonia by Persia. For a second time Egypt and Babylon came under one regime. Mesopotamian planetary astronomy and astrology could have begun coming into Egypt at this time. This is only supposition as evidence is lacking. 410B.C.E. The oldest individual birthchart. It is in cuneiform. Il. Early Greek Period — Note overlap in dates with the preceding. A. €624 B.C.E. Birth of Thales, regarded as the first of the Pre- Socratic philosophers. In 585 B.C.E. he is believed to have forecast an eclipse. This is regarded by some as questionable. €611-547 B.C.E. Anaximander postulated a cosmic scheme involving cylinders that held the stars and planets. 585 B.C.E. Birth of Pythagoras. Pythagoras was believed toIl. have gone to Babylon in about 530 B.C.E. D. 6490-430 B.C.E. Empedocles who set forth the first known codification of the four element theory which survives in astrology. 4702-399? B.C.E. Socrates 460-377 B.C.E. Hippocrates 6432 B.C.E. Meton expounded on the Metonic eclipse cycle. This was apparently known earlier to the Babylonians. 6428-€347 B.C.E. Plato 6408-355 B.C.E. Eudoxus who developed the first known theory to account for planetary motions and retrogrades. This is the theory based on concentric planetary spheres which was also adopted by Aristotle. J. 384-322 B.C.E. Aristotle. mm Om Hellenistic Period — During this period, beginning with the conquest of Persia by Alexander the Great, astrology in something like the form we know it developed very rapidly. While most of the writing was in Greek, most of the authors were not Greeks but Egyptians and Semites. It was during this period that we know for certain that astrology came into Egypt and developed in a manner characteristic of the Egyptians. It is this astrology which forms the basis of the Greek language astrological writings that came in later centuries. A. 356-323 B.C.E. Alexander the Great. B. 331 B.C.E. The conquest of Mesopotamia by Alexander the Great. The entire area became dominated by Greek language and culture. The Seleucid dynasty descended from Alexander's general Seleukos ruled the area including Mesopotamia. C. 6310-€250 B.C.E. Aristarchus of Samos who first proposed a heliocentric solar system much in the manner of Copernicus. D. 6300 B.C.E. Zeno of Citium founded Stoicism, a philosophy that later became very influential in the history of astrology. E. €290 B.C.E. Berossus of Cos, Chaldean (Babylonian) priest who settled on the island of Cos and is said to have first introduced natal astrology into Greece. No extant writings. F. 263 B.C.E. The first cuneiform (or any other type) chart with degrees given. G. €200 B.C.E. Nechepso & Petosiris. Legendary Egyptian pharaoh and his priest, said to have invented astrology. Anextensive astrological textbook bearing their names was evidently written or translated into Greek around 200 B.C.E. €200 B.C.E. Hermetic writings. Roughly contemporary with the Nechepso and Petosiris writings these works were a diverse group of writings most of which were attributed to Hermes, but a few to other Egyptian sages such as Anubis and Agathodaimon. €200 B.C.E. - €200 C.E. The introduction of horoscopic astrology into India. The general view of Western scholars (and for that matter academic scholars in India) is that horoscopic astrology came into India from the Middle East. It is probable that a type of native horoscopic astrology was coming into existence prior to this based on the Nakshatras or Lunar Mansions, but the Babylonian type based on 12 signs and houses appears for the most part to have superseded the native development. The Nakshatras were however blended into the new synthesis. It is not clear when in this period this process started but it is clear that the creation of a largely independent Hindu tradition was completed by 200 C.E. I am aware that there are those who dispute this view attributing great antiquity to the Hindu tradition and who believe that India is the font of all horoscopic tradition, but this is not the view of most scholars. Lest I be accused of Eurocentricism, I do not claim that the Greeks gave India her astrology, but rather it was the Semitic Middle East and Egypt. It is true, however, that many of the authors of the Middle Eastern tradition did write in Greek. It is also apparent that much of the Middle Eastern influence on Hindu astrology comes from non-Greek speaking sources. €190-120 B.C.E. Hipparchus. He was the first Greek and possibly the first one of any of the ancient peoples to deal consciously with precession. It has often been stated that older peoples knew of precession, but it is not clear that they understood that it was an orderly and rational phenomenon. And there is no evidence that they had any idea of its rate. Hipparchus also composed a star catalog listing some 1000 stars. 69-30 B.C.E. Reign of Cleopatra. With her death the Hellenistic Era technically came to an end as she was the last independent Greek ruler descended from the generals of Alexander the Great. However, because there was no great break in the cultural traditions of the Eastern Mediterranean, it has beenconventional to refer to later Greek language astrology as Hellenistic even though it was technically of the Roman Era. The first real break in the history of the Eastern Mediterranean came with the advent of Christianity and then Islam. 68 B.C.E. Last surviving cuneiform birthchart. 62 B.C.E. Oldest known surviving Greek chart. Antiochus I of Commagene, another of the last of the Hellenistic rulers placed his birthchart on his tomb. It dates to about 62 B.C.E. This does not mean that there are no earlier charts. They may simply have not survived. N. ¢30B.C.E. The Denderah zodiac in Egypt. zr IV. The Roman Era — As stated above this is really just a continuation of the Hellenistic Era culturally speaking. The Romans made little or no contribution to astrology as a people. And there are only two Latin authors in astrology, Manilius and Julius Firmicus Maternus. A. 44B.C.E. The assassination of Julius Caesar. B. 27 B.C.E. Augustus Caesar became emperor. This was the beginning of the Roman Empire, as opposed to the Roman Republic. C. 7-4 B.C.E. Somewhere in here is the likely birth of Christ. It was most probably 7 B.C.E., hence the abbreviation B.C.E. “Before the Common Era.” D. €10 C.E. Manilius. Wrote the Astronomica in Latin, a long didactic astrological poem still extant. I am personally somewhat skeptical that this is an authentic work. Here are my reasons. 1) The work is not referred to by any contemporary. Nor was it known in the Middle Ages, whereas the work of Firmicus Maternus was known. The work was not known until the Renaissance. 2) The only copy of the manuscript that survived in the Renaissance was mysteriously lost and only a new copy survived. 3) The Latin is complex and difficult, far more so than most Classical Latin poetry. This is often a sign of Renaissance Latinists displaying their “erudition.” 4) Its astrology is very different from any other astrology of the period even with respect to texts that should be quite close to it in age. E. 36 C.E. Death of Thrasyllus. A scholar from Rhodes who became a major influence under Augustus and Tiberius. He was principally an advisor to Tiberius, an astrological advisor as well as a personal and political one.1* Century C.E. Dorotheus of Sidon. Wrote the Pentateuch, a long and important astrological poem in 5 books. Dorotheus (if he is dated correctly) is the oldest source for the three triplicity tulership system. 1* Century C.E. Teucer of Babylon. Tradition has it that he was the first to delineate the decans astrologically though this may be an incorrect tradition. Late First Century C.E. Balbillus. Son or nephew of Thrasyllus and almost as eminent. He managed to survive as an influential advisor through the reigns of Caligula, Claudius, Nero and probably into the reign of Domitian. 76-138 C.E. Hadrian reigned 117-138 C.E.. He was a patron of astrology and his birthdata have apparently survived. 100?-170? C.E. Claudius Ptolemy. Ptolemy was an Egyptian by birth although possibly descended from ethnic Greeks. He was also probably a Roman citizen although he wrote in Greek. 120-199 C.E.? Galen the great physician and author in whose writing there is considerable astrological content. 146-211 C.E. Septimius Severus who reigned 193-211 C.E. was the first emperor to practice the worship of the Sun. This cult eventually led to a state religion which employed astrology as a central practice. . 6150-185 C.E. Vettius Valens. Evidently a younger contemporary of Ptolemy's, he compiled the Anthology, a long writing dealing with most facets of Greek astrology. The dates given here are not his birth and death dates, which are uncertain, but rather the apparent dates of his career. Somewhere between the rule of Hadrian and the late third century C.E. Antigonus of Nicaea. He is mainly known for having written a description of a horoscope that appears to be that of the emperor Hadrian. Late 2™ Century C.E. Antiochus of Athens (probably). Made a large collection of excerpts from earlier astrologers. Part of this consisted of a Thesaurus of technical astrological terms. 150-215 C.E. Clement of Alexandria one of the first major Christian Platonists. . 205-270 C.E. Plotinus, one of the first and the most important Neoplatonists. In his work, the Enneads, Plotinus addressed many of the philosophical problems raised by the astrology of his time. Often cited as a foe of astrology, in fact Plotinus merely< xx os questioned the doctrines of astral fatalism. In reality his views on the subject of astrology and fate were not terribly different in principle from recent humanistic astrologers such as Dane Rudhyar. 222 to 235 C.E. Pseudo-Manetho. Responsible for a didactic poem in 6 books. A fair portion survives, but the editor of the Greek text has doubted whether the attribution to Manetho was genuine. 232-304? C.E. Porphyry. A disciple of the Neoplatonic philosopher Plotinus. A commentary on Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos is attributed to him. 245-313 C.E. Diocletian, reigned 284-305, the emperor who first begin the administrative division of the empire into an Eastern and Western half. He also was a fierce opponent of Christianity. €250-330 C.E. Iamblichus, Neoplatonist of Syrian birth who attempted to create a Neoplatonic religion combined with magical practices of a tantric nature somewhat in the manner of Tibetan Buddhism. In De Mysteriis (a work either by him or written under his influence), Iamblichus deals directly with the problem of “malefic” planetary energies and how their quality is derived from shortcomings within the soul rather than from the intrinsic nature of the planet. 274-337 C.E. Constantine the Great, the first Christian (more or less) emperor. Reigned 306-337. . 313 C.E. Christianity became the state religion of the empire although paganism was still tolerated. 325 C.E. The Council of Nicaea. €331-363 C.E. Julian the Emperor called the Apostate. He reigned from 361-363. In his brief reign he attempted to disestablish Christianity and institute a new state religion based on the teachings of Iamblichus. 347-395 C.E. Theodosius the Great, reigned 379-395. He was the last Roman Emperor to reign over both halves of the empire. In his reign Christianity was declared to be the only tolerated religion although Paganism survived for a long time afterward. AA. 6350 C.E. Firmicus Maternus. His work is called the Mathesis. Julius Firmicus Maternus was the only other author who wrote in Latin aside from Manilius. His text was known through the Middle Ages and is a rich trove of late Hellenistic techniques.