Astral Sciences in Mesopotamia (Handbook of Oriental Studies) [Hardcover]

Hermann Hunger (Author), David Pingree (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1999 | ISBN-10: 9004101276 | ISBN-13: 978-9004101272

Astronomy and astrology, or the astral sciences, played an enormous, if not key role in the political and religious life of the Ancient Near East, and of the Greek and Roman world. This text provides a comprehensive account of the origins of the astral sciences in the Ancient Near East. Every type of Sumerian or Akkadian text dealing with descriptive or mathematical astronomy, including many individual tablets are thoroughly dealt with. It also features descriptions of astronomical contents, an explanation of their scientific meaning, and the place a given genre or tablet has in the development of astronomy both within the Mesopotamian culture and outside of it.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'"The handbook under review is the first reference work on the astral sciences in Mesopotamia to deserve that namean excellent reference work indispensable to anyone working with astronomical and astrological cuneiform texts. It succeeds in summarizing a hundred and twenty years of research and provides stimulating discussions of many aspects of the texts. The enormous amount of information in this book outweighs the limitations of a conservative choice of methods.'
Manual Gerber, "Journal of the American Oriental Society, 2001.
'"This is a real handbook, long awaited by AssyriologistsThose who work daily with cuneiform texts will find here a quick reference for data, units, parameters, problems and information on the state of the art; those who want to proceed to further Assyriological studies will benefit from a clear and competent guide. It is another fine example of scholarship given by Hermann Hunger and David Pingree.'
Salvo de Meis, "Annals of Science, 2001.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 303 pages
• Publisher: Brill Academic Pub (July 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9004101276
• ISBN-13: 978-9004101272
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,056,382 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Standard Reference for the Exact Sciences, February 8, 2008

By 

Dale W. Wong (Tyler, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Astral Sciences in Mesopotamia (Handbook of Oriental Studies) (Hardcover)

I first read it at the Turpin Library at the Dallas Theological Seminary. I found myself re-reading it so many times I decided to buy it. For those interested in the history of Mesopotamia and the role of the exact sciences, this is an indispensable reference book. They are two authorities with a precise command of the subject matter and understanding of the "good stuff" that has been written in the past and the promising follow-up research leading to the present. They strike you as being intellectually honest and just let the subject matter speak for itself. For non-Assyriologists like me it is a very helpful guide to the scholarly translation effort on thousands of cuneiform texts. Despite the complexity of the subject, it is well-organized and very readable. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in this subject. The authors work has been indispensable to further research for my own book: The Ancient 360 Day Year: What It Was... How It Changed